eLearning and libraries – a “learning” view

Prof Mark Stiles – Head of Learning Development & Innovation Staffordshire University JISC-CNI July 2004

What will we get from eLearning?

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Change?

Innovative pedagogy?

New ways of widening participation?

New modes of course structure and delivery?

Learning centred on the Learner?

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We could, but worryingly, an equally likely outcome is: JISC-CNI July 2004

Attack of the Clones?

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National Context

JISC MLE “Landscape Study” of UK HE and FE

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Vast majority using a VLE and that 73% involved in MLE development Drivers for development:

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Enhancing the quality of teaching and learning Improving access to learning for students off campus Widening participation/inclusiveness Student expectations Improving access for part-time students Using technology to deliver “eLearning” Perceived disadvantages:

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Cost and time involved Resistance to culture change Need for large scale staff development JISC-CNI July 2004

National Context

JISC MLE “Landscape Study” of UK HE and FE

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positive reaction from students little evidence of enhancement of learning and teaching pedagogic issues have not in general been addressed:

“It could be said that HE has never addressed pedagogy; its priority has always been, and broadly continues to be, research and the subject discipline. Until now, pedagogy has traditionally barely figured in planning or professional development. In FE, where learning and teaching have been the prime concerns, staffing and resource deficiencies have prevented, and continue to impede, a sustained focus on pedagogy.”

MLEs not embedded in the institutions strategic and operational frameworks. MLE activities rarely an integral part of the philosophy, policies and practice of the institution JISC-CNI July 2004

Quote ONE:

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“It is as absurd to try and solve the problems of education by giving people access to information as it would be to solve the housing problem by giving people access to bricks."

(Laurillard, 1996)

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Quote TWO:

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“Pedagogical issues need to be incorporated, to ensure the academic validity of teaching and using information online. These issues have a history of being ignored by librarians in particular, but for academics to accept the close library input necessary, this must change.” -

Inspiral Report , 2001

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The Content Trap

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eLearning QA focuses on Content

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Do Libraries reinforce a “fork lift truck” view?

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Is our work on incorporating the “library” into the MLE going the same way?

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Staff development focuses on “getting your stuff in” JISC-CNI July 2004

VLE and “Library” Link (1)

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Staff want to:

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Locate resources for learners

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Build references and/or externally held resources into course content

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At “reading list” and “activity” level

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Retain their intellectual property JISC-CNI July 2004

VLE and “Library” Link (2)

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Learners want to:

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Locate resources for themselves

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Access references and/or externally held resources in course content

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At “reading list” and “activity” level

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Build their own resource collections

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At “course” and “activity” level JISC-CNI July 2004

VLE and “Library” Link (3)

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Resources can be found:

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In the VLE(s) In learning content repositories In eLibraries In Library Catalogues In national and other collections In eAggregators On the Web

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We need to REUSE and REPURPOSE these JISC-CNI July 2004

The JISC DiVLE Programme

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Linking Digital Libraries and Virtual Learning Environments programme

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Projects in HE to explore the technical, cultural and organisational issues of joining digital library resources within institutions to VLEs

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Tools developed, (also in Exchange for Learning) JISC-CNI July 2004

The JISC DiVLE Programme

Basic Model

Search

Course and Activities List

Virtual Learning Environment (Content Free) 

(Thanks to Paul Bailey)

LMS

Resource

Digital Repository Heron e-Reserve Exam Papers Digital Library Resources (Content Rich)

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8b - pass details for linking to LMS The “Olive Model” OpenURL Resolver e.g. SFX Learning Management System e.g. Blackboard

Resource Reference e.g.

1. Brown, E. (1996).

The lake of seduction: Silence, hysteria, and the space of feminist theatre. JTD: Journal of Theatre and Drama, 2, 175-200.

1 OpenURL 1 2 Source Parser 4 Metadata Lookup Table e.g.

SFX Generic Request Object 5 Target Displayers 6

Display possible Links

Digital Object Repository e.g. HLSI Web search engine e.g.

Google Library catalogue e.g. Aleph Journal portals e.g.

ScienceDirect Online resource portal e.g.

Amazon Target Parser

8a - link to resource

7 Journal Portal e.g.

Science Direct Script 3a 3b Local database e.g. SFX Knowledge Base Library Catalogue e.g.

Aleph Local database e.g. OAI repository

Searching across Local Institutional Databases

S.O.A.P. Web Service Software e.g. Axis SOAP/ SRW SOAP/ XQuery URL/ SRU TBC Digital Object Repository e.g.

OCLC Digital Object Repository e.g.

HLSI Digital Object Repository e.g.

Intralibrary Digital Object Repository e.g.

Learning Object Network

Federated or Distributed Searching over the Internet

Standards…

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Two communities of standards eLearning: IMS, IEEE LOM, SCORM… Libraries: DC, z39.50, SRW, UDDI…

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And stuff in the middle: XML, WSDL… IMS now “overlaps” with Reading List, Digital Repositories and VDEX JISC-CNI July 2004

My view of DiVLE

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Technical outcomes a valuable contribution to developments Work on standards significant Conclusions of the technical work need pulling together technical review near completion Projects generally “library” focussed Relevance to FE needs consideration Little on the pedagogic appropriateness of the work done Issues between metadata for learning resources and that for information resources Much of the work on reading lists orientated towards traditional HE pedagogy resources provided at “course” or “module” level The outputs on cultural and organisational issues both interesting and relevant JISC-CNI July 2004

Staffordshire ICE

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Linking a VLE to eAggregators

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Internal project with JISC sub component

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Focus on educational contextualisation of resources

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The external resource as “just another asset” JISC-CNI July 2004

ICE Approach

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Use VLE search tool to search VLE content & external sources

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Display search results in VLE

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Turn chosen items into Reusable Reference Objects (RROs)

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Web links can also be made into RROs RRO metadata is primary & provides educational context – information object metadata is retained as secondary metadata

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RRO metadata an AP of UK LOM Core

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RROs can be reused along with other (but local) content

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Content can be packaged (IMS CP) & exported Hub & plug model should allow others’ outputs (eg JAFER and DiVLE work on Open URL) to be used in future JISC-CNI July 2004

ICE Approach

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Development for product

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Planning & Management of Development Preparation for Approval/Validation Staff Development Pedagogy & Course Design Building the VLE Course Structure Identifying and Clearing Resources Content Creation In partnership with the Populating the VLE Course Planning Induction & Delivery Supporting Delivery Supporting Monitoring and Evaluation academic group JISC-CNI July 2004

Implications for learners (JISC view)

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Heightened requirements for information skills

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Need to manage both their learning AND resources

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Need TOOLS to help this JISC-CNI July 2004

Implications for libraries

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Increasing responsibilities for digital assets

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Exposing services in novel ways Be responsive to needs “outwards facing”

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New roles e.g. electronic copyright clearance Issue of “content plagiarism”

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Converge towards sector standards in handling meta-data

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WWW vs national vs regional vs local resources JISC-CNI July 2004

Implications for academics

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Staff development

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identifying a structured and balanced range of resources for a course

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Making resources available in a way that supports innovative pedagogies

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using VLEs in cohort with digital repositories relationship with support services

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Ownership' of resources (IPR)

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Willingness to SHARE JISC-CNI July 2004

Implications for support staff/librarians

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Collaboration between librarians, IT staff, learning development and support staff and academics

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Asset management

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Copyright/plagiarism

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Archiving of electronically provided courses promotion of the electronic repositories JISC-CNI July 2004

Where now?

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JISC Frameworks initiatives using web service technology

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JISC programmes involving “e-pedagogy”

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New “middleware projects” at Oxford and Edinburgh working together on Search and Discover toolkits – these will be Open Source JISC-CNI July 2004

Thanks

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My stuff including ICE http://www.staffs.ac.uk/COSE/cosenew/reportsandpapers.html

WS-I (WSDL etc) http://www.ws-i.org

IMS http://imsglobal.org

DiVLE www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=programme_divle E-Learning Frameworks and Tools http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=elf_projects JISC-CNI July 2004