STEPHAN

5 tips for designing an engaging blended course

Authors:
• Stephan Caspar, Media Development Lead, University of Southampton Stephan.Caspar@soton.ac.uk
• Dr Sarah Fielding, Professional Specialist in Learning Design, University of Southampton S.Fielding@soton.ac.uk
• Tamsyn Smith, Professional Specialist in Learning Design, University of Southampton T.M.Smith@soton.ac.uk

The Education Innovation team in the University of Southampton's Professional Services comprises professional Multimedia Developers and Specialists in Learning Design. We work with academic teams to deliver high quality blended learning.

In this session we offer 5 top tips for academic staff that will enable them to start blending or further enhance their courses.

We will showcase examples of how this has been achieved in a range of academic units, and will be happy to answer questions and offer suggestions for people's current practices.

Our holistic approach to blended learning enables staff to make connections with their learners, connect learners to course content, and then connect learning to the rest of their lives.

TAMSYN

One of the first steps to developing (or redeveloping) a module is to find out what's available or who's available.

Are there any support staff who can support you with your plans? Have you got the backing of colleagues? Are you intending to use University-supported tools or are you piloting a new product?

It's worth finding out what other people's experiences have been like before embarking on a new project. What were the challenges? What advice can they share? How can you prepare students in advance?

An email out on a team/course/ department/faculty mailing list can let you know who has tried similar innovations.

Listen to the experts. Let the people around you guide and support you. If you are working with a media team, then let them support what you're trying to do. Use them as a sanity check or to hear how things sound. Learning Designers and content producers are looking at the big picture - how your contribution will fit into the course. Remember it's a team game.

TAMSYN

It's really important that you consider different methods of evaluation and choose one before you start a new project.

What are you looking to improve? How will your measure the success of your intervention?

Even if it's a new module then you should think about what success would look like for that module. Does it link in with your university's strategies around areas such as internationalisation, sustainability, graduate attributes and so on?

Make sure that measures are put in place to gather feedback from the appropriate people at the right times.

STEPHAN

What are you doing to support students outside the classroom?

How can you prepare them before a class and support them after it? How can you make a connection with your audience?

Are your students excited about what they have to learn? Have you tried using 'big questions' instead of presenting them with Intended Learning Outcomes?

The greatest test of a big question is to ask it to someone! Ideally this should be someone who is not a specialist in subject, and who fits the target audience you’re designing for. In asking, you should focus on three things:
• What is their first reaction to the question?
• How would they answer it now – before having undertaken the course?
• What is the first and smallest things thing they would need to know in moving towards a better answer?

STEPHAN

Adding suitable scaffolding to ensure that learners know where to go for help.

What role do you want your learners to take? As they watch and listen, they should start to think about the part that they're going to play. Great course presenters and academic leads think about the value the learners will bring to the course - if you're only in broadcast mode then you can't be sure they're properly watching or listening!

Let your audience reflect. Keep bringing it back to them. Help your learners relate and reflect on their own practice. The connections they make are invaluable, every time an idea can be applied and absorbed even in the abstract can carry the learner onwards. It really is all about them.

Put yourself on the line. Learners love personality and individuality; they want to hear distinctive voices and they want to find their own voices in considering whether to agree or not. Get them off the fence, encroach on their comfort zones and they will respond with good questions, create discourse and discussion. There will be a buzz around your course.

TAMSYN

If you can show how information can be applied 'in the real world' then students are more likely to understand its relevance.

Can you set 'real' assessment challenges, such as instead of writing an essay, ask students to write an article for submission to a journal of their choice. They then have to abide by that journal's referencing system etc.

For example: Masters students in MSc Allergy writing journal articles instead of essays.

Another example is that prestigious national competitions in disciplines such as engineering are written into the module's assessment design. This gives students an external set of criteria to work with and may also give them the opportunity to showcase their work on a wider scale than usual.

Whilst it is easy to incorporate fieldwork into some areas, it can be more challenging in others because of issues such as cost.

Our Oceanography students get to spend a limited amount of time on RV Callista. It is essential that this time is used well, so Adobe Articulate was created to use a virtual Callista. Students can explore the boat and learn about the equipment on board and how it can be used. This was so successful, that is is now being adapted for use by Maritime Archaeology students.

There are many ways of assessing each individual's contribution to a group assessment. Make sure that clear roles are assigned and that there is a rubric, so tat students know how to judge each other's performance.

@dotsandspaces
@shieldingafar
@TamsynMSmith

What suggestions would you like for your current practice?