EdTech 2009 – National College of Ireland May 21 2009 Sustainability through Staff Engagement: Applying a Community of Practice Model to Academic Staff

EdTech 2009 – National College of Ireland May 21 2009

Sustainability through Staff Engagement: Applying a Community of Practice Model to Academic Staff Development Programmes.

Paul Gormley, Fiona Concannon and Michelle TooherCentre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT)National University of Ireland, Galway


Overview

1. Problem Definition: Sustainability through Staff Engagement2. Approach taken: Establish a Community of Practice and

supporting structures3. Case Study: Blogs and Wikis workshop4. Evaluation and Results5. Wrap-up and questions

NOTE: We’ll add you to our PBwiki site if you want any of these materials. Email [email protected]


About NUI Galway

Student population circa 15000 Blackboard v7.2 Number of Active Courses = 1819 Number of Active Users = 12174 Number of Instructor/Leader Users = 1478 Page Views on Most Active Date = 93473 Average Page Views Per Day = 25363


Sustainability through Staff Engagement

Issues 2008 Student Survey = 98% pleased with Blackboard 2008 Staff Usage Survey = Mainly being used as a repository Limited resources for face2face training (38 workshops) Developing online resources (screenshots, pdfs, video walkthroughs)

Requirements Move towards blended learning offerings Need to engage students through collaborative and reflective

practice To facilitate staff engagement to embed technology-enhanced

leaning


Sustainability through Staff Engagement

Opportunities Learning Objects Campus Pack (blogs, wikis and podcasting) The National Digital Learning Repository (2005-present)

Communities of Practice in teaching and learning culture A place to share resources nationally

The Irish Learning Technology Association (ILTA) EdTech2009 conference – Dublin May 21-22

Action To plan sustainable Academic Development plans by leveraging a

Community of Practice model at NUI Galway


Model 1/3


Model 2/3


Model 3/3


Case Study: Blogs and Wikis Workshop

Title Using Blackboard to Support Groupwork, Collaboration and

Reflection

Strategy Develop a Community of Practice (‘The NUIG Collaboration SIG’) with

the aim of: Getting academics up and running with blogs and wikis Developing a space for peer support groupings Provide opportunities to showcase work in progress Facilitate the dissemination of best practice To investigate potential research outputs



Timeline = 1 academic cycle1. Attend workshop training

Added to the SIG

2. Work with CELT member or peer to develop local case studies3. Encourage academics to keep a learning journal4. Evaluate and review the process5. Disseminate results6. …



Setting up the web space - initial1. SIG Blog – pooling ideas for blogs and wiki2. SIG Wiki

1. Useful resources2. Case studies3. Individual planning pages

3. Workshop resources Take them and use them!



Augmenting the web space – current focus1. Evaluation methodologies:

1. Whole group questionnaires2. Student interviews3. Focus group interviews4. Lecturer video feedback and recommendations

2. Case studies1. Wiki template2. Wiki/blog activities3. Assessment methods4. Lessons learned


Let’s Have A Look


Results

Huge take-up of wikis and blogs across schools/colleges Medical Education Industrial Engineering Marketing Commerce…

SIG group number = 100+ Number of publications = 6


Has it engaged staff and students?

‘It gets you to think outside the box. You think: this is the real world’

‘It’s definitely a better way of learning because it's practical and more of a real working environment’

‘It's a good challenge for future life and working in industry’

‘Because we can access the wiki permanently, and take our own copy of the wiki, I can look back and see what I wrote and how I wrote it. That's when I'll really recognise the leaning’


Has it engaged staff and students?

'The students unprompted told me that they really liked it…I really enjoyed it… I think that they got more satisfaction out of it and that gave me a lot more satisfaction out of it… definitely I’d say the best thing that I could say is that I’ll certainly be using it again and looking at ways in which I can bring it into other courses.’ [staff member 1]

'I think that there is a fear of technology for most people, including myself , I can definitely say that I can run with this now, on my own without the support of CELT into the future.’ [staff member 2]


Staff Survey – Trend Analysis

When asked about intended use of collaboration tools in the2009-10 academic cycle, staff indicated: 63% group wikis 57% reflective blog 42% lecturer podcast 35% group blog 23% individual wiki 15% student-based podcasts.


Staff Survey – Peer Knowledge Sharing

CELT is currently harvesting 2008-09 staff experiences of theirstudent-based collaboration activities. The SIG survey revealedthat participants wished their colleagues to share (in order):

1. Student engagement and motivation strategies2. Marking, correcting and assessment strategies3. The logistics of using wikis with larger groups


Staff Survey – Informing CELT Practice

When asked how CELT could best support the academiccommunity for 2009-10, the SIG identified the followingpriorities:1. Uploading student and staff experience (e.g. case studies,

videos, testimonies etc.)2. Conducting student research and evaluations (including

student perceptions of learning technologies)3. Supporting academics to develop research-based practice4. Show and tell sessions (e.g. coffee mornings and informal

gatherings)5. CELT to work with academics to create case studies and

conduct joint research activities


Applying the Model

Have applied this model to: NUIG: ‘An Introduction to Educational Podcasting’

workshop Nationally: ‘Learning Technologies: From Pilot to

Mainstream’ Collaboration strand: Train the Trainer in Trinity College

Dublin and University College Cork Staff development workshops at four Institutes of Education Using PBwiki as a SIG space for this group Currently evaluating the impact of this model


Dissemination Channels

Institutional NUI Galway Teaching and Learning Forum

National PB Wiki sites National Digital Learning Repository Irish WebCT/Blackboard Users’ Group

International BBWorld Europe09 EdTech2009


Wrap-up and questions

Documents

EdTech 2009 – National College of Ireland May 21 2009 Sustainability through Staff Engagement: Applying a Community of Practice Model to Academic Staff