SoC Blended Delivery Guidance by Victoria Wheeldon

Lectures

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:07:50 UTC

A long live lecture (>30minutes) is tiring for students, can disadvantage those with technological issues or those who do not have a quite place at home for prolonged study. Poor experiences of live online study can exacerbate feelings of loneliness.

SYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Zoom meeting
Length: <30 mins
Students: 200 max
Must do's: Record, upload to Stream & share on Moodle unit page
Use breakout rooms to encourage collaboration
Pros: Connectedness
Opportunity for Q&A
Feedback
Consistency of message
Cons: Zoom fatigue
Disengaged learners
Reasonable flow of conversation difficult

Narrated Video

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:11:13 UTC

Students watch an interactive video which has narration over the top by the tutor.

ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: iSpring
H5P
Length: <10 mins
Students: unlimited
Must do's: consider accessibility eg transcripts
provide context for content
break longer lectures into shorter videos to increase engagement
Pros: allows flexible learning
useable for revision
can combine w video
Cons: can be boring to watch
no connectedness

Moodle Lesson

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:14:18 UTC

ASYNCHRONOUS
These lessons are designed for student to work through in their own time.
Platforms: Moodle
Length: Any (<15mins ideally)
Students: unlimited
Must do's: clear ILOs
include context for use
Pros: allows flexible learning
platform already in use
Cons: not very dynamic
no connectedness

Simulation

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:44:37 UTC

Platforms: Video
Podcast
Length: 10mins max
Students: unlimited
Must do's: include context
consider accessibility
Pros: real life experience
high applicability to practice
Cons: no connectedness

Live Q&A session

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:47:44 UTC

Students attend a live Q&A session to ask questions, following a specific task or learning activity.

SYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Zoom meeting
Teams meeting
Length: <30mins
Students: 200 max
Must do's: set clear expectations for behaviour
set clear guidelines for topic
set clear expectations for prior learning
Pros: contextualises learning
opportunity to question
connectedness
Cons: difficult to manage
intimidating for quiet students

Video critique

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 12:52:05 UTC

Students are asked to critique a video which is provided for them. Applicable to all levels and techniques.

ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Moodle
iSpring
Length: <5mins
Students: unlimited
Must do's: clear context & ILOs
provide format for critique
Pros: encourages higher level learning
considers context
Cons: open to interpretation

Create a video

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:05:16 UTC

Students create a video of them demonstrating a practical skill or technique. They discuss rationale & preparation, and post technique considerations.

Quizzes

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:07:15 UTC

Students undertake quizzes to test their learning of a subject/topic. Can be before or after teaching.
ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Moodle
iSpring
H5P
Turning Point
Length: 20 questions max
Students: unlimited
Must do's: relate to ILOs
provide answers
discuss in a live Q&A
Pros: excellent pedagogy
popular with students
Cons:

Peer Collaboration/Group Task

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:08:02 UTC

Students move into breakout room to consider a group task or challenge.

This can be moderated by a tutor or by peers in higher years or cohort leaders.

SYNCHRONOUS/ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Breakout rooms Zoom
Length: <15mins
Students: 6 max
Must do's: set clear expectations of task & behaviour
set/ask for group leader
set context/feedback
create area for collaborative work eg google doc, OneDrive, Padlet
Pros: connectedness
peer learning
Cons: engagement
group function
technology

Create a learning blog

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:12:04 UTC

Students create a blog which they add to each week about their learning/reflection on the topic/s in the unit. Can be guided by pre-reading.

ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: OneDrive doc
Wordpress
Length: ongoing
Students: unlimited
Must do's: relate to ILOs
provide context & application
Pros: allows creativity
promotes reflection
can encourage practical application
Cons: different for our learners
technology

Active Reading

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:16:41 UTC

Students read an article and list in a collaborative space all the questions that the article raises for them. These can be addressed in a live Q&A later.
ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: any collaborative space
Length: <30 mins
Students: unlimited
Must do's: provide access to article
clear expectations for feedback
Pros: connectedness
applicable to any subject
applicable to any level
Cons:

Discussion forum - peer moderated

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:18:52 UTC

ASYNCHRONOUS/SYNCHRONOUS
Platform: Moodle
Length: any
Students: unlimited
Must do's: clear guidelines for behaviour
times for moderation by faculty
Pros: connectedness
allows flexible learning
Cons: intimidating for quiet students

Self-grade assignments

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:27:44 UTC

Asking students to self-grade their work enables them to become critical readers of their own work and learning. Rather than perform for a grade, they curate their own work.
ASYNCHRONOUS
Platform: Word/PDF
OneDrive
Length: 1hour
Students: unlimited
Must do's: provide feedback template
give feedback on work
Pros: creates reflective deep level learning/metacognition
Cons:

Create a Glossary/Wiki

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:31:38 UTC

Students create definitions and descriptions of anything together using a wiki or other type of collaborative doc. Tutor can edit or comment on errors.
SYNCHRONOUS/ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Padlet
Google Docs
Length: ongoing
Students: unlimited
Must do's: clear expectations
Pros: connectedness
self-directed learning
peer collaboration
Cons: consistent group strength

Takeaways

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:35:23 UTC

Students read an article or chapter or similar; identify 5 takeaways and 3 ways that they have applied it in real life. They are asked to submit these via any means they wish (audio, video, drawing, text) - it does not matter how they reflect.
ASYHCNRONOUS
Platforms: any
Length: 15 mins max
Students: unlimited
Must do's: provide article/material
clear guidance
Pros: flexible
could be collaborative (groups)
generates reflection
Cons: variety

Revision pinboard

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:38:03 UTC

Learners share key points from a topic on a pin-board app such as padlet. Encourage the inclusion of links, references, diagrams, maps, quizzes etc.
ASYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Padlet
Pinterest
Length: ongoing
Students: unlimited
Must do's: clear guidelines
clear topics
Pros: easy to create
allows flexible learning
good revision tool
Cons: needs monitoring

Drop-in clinic

vwheeldon — 2020-05-28 13:40:07 UTC

Students are asked to identify a particular problem they are having and sign up to a 10 minute slot with their tutor.
SYNCHRONOUS
Platforms: Skype
Zoom
Length: <10mins
Students: 6 per hour
Must do's: pre submit Qs
Pros: easy to manage
easy for learners to engage
connectedness
Cons: high demand

Weekly Activity Planner Template

vwheeldon — 2020-06-25 10:09:49 UTC

Helping students understand the expectations of them during online teaching is key. This weekly activity template will help them plan their learning around synchronous and asynchronous activities.

Upload to the unit page on Moodle ready for each Monday 9am.

Weekly introduction video

vwheeldon — 2020-06-25 10:12:04 UTC

It is vital to take steps to create and maintain connectedness during online learning. A short video by the unit leader can help with this.

Weekly closing video

vwheeldon — 2020-06-25 10:13:07 UTC

In the online environment, it is helpful to learners to understand how and when to apply their learning. An end-of-the-week video to discuss this provides guidance and connectedness.

Unit introduction video

vwheeldon — 2020-06-25 15:04:58 UTC

Students are apprehensive about online learning and how it will work and the expectations of them. A short video, introducing the unit leader and staff who teach on the unit, with an outline of how material will be delivered, how students should engage with it, how they can get support if needed and how they will be assessed and receive feedback is vitally important.

Guiding Principles

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 14:45:39 UTC

Design unit teaching around a consistent template to make it easy for students to engage and navigate.

Each week should have a weekly activity planner so students can plan their learning.

Build in synchronous activities each week to ensure connectedness.

Signpost to times when tutor support is available in real time.

Guiding Principles

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 14:49:04 UTC

Synchronous (live) sessions should be used to allow discussion of asynchronous learning, to apply context to learning and to foster collaboration.

Live sessions should take place at times consistent with the published timetable.

Set expectations of synchronous sessions to minimise disruption.

Build at least one synchronous session into each week to maintain connectedness.

Pedagogical best practice suggests time limiting live sessions to minimise student dissatisfaction.

Guiding Principles

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 15:02:40 UTC

Asynchronous activities allow students to engage with learning in a flexible way. They can choose activities which suit their learning needs. Good quality asynchronous activities significantly improve learning outcomes.

Choose a variety of activities, so as not to favour one type of learner.

Keep activities short - ideally less than 10 minutes each.

Build in collaborative or peer-group learning and/or feedback to foster connectedness.

Ensure you indicate how students should apply the knowledge/skills they learn from these activities.

Allow discussion of this asynchronous learning during a live session.

Guiding Principles

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 15:13:29 UTC

Practical skills are difficult to teach remotely, but students can learn from carefully considered activities.

Pre-class video/s introducing the practical skill and it's application can help learners prepare for a F2F session.

Incorporate reflective activities into unit teaching to follow on from F2F practical classes.

Guiding Principles

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 15:16:58 UTC

Aim to build in multiple opportunities for feedback from many activities.

Be clear how knowledge/skills learned during asynchronous activities will be assessed.

An end-of-week wrap up video or Q&A provides opportunity for students to gauge their learning and plan further learning.

Decide on a platform where student questions can be left during the week, and answer them in this final session.

Wrap up session

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 15:20:28 UTC

Student Question Generation
Platforms: Moodle (Forums, Chat, Padlet widget)
Length: Variable
Students: Unlimited

Live Q&A
Platforms: Teams Meeting
Length: 20-30 mins
Students: 200 max

Active Blended Learning Approach

vwheeldon — 2020-07-01 15:24:54 UTC

While the recreation of existing teaching into a bespoke online delivery programme is unrealistic and unnecessary, it should be recognised that pedagogic evidence consistently shows that prolonged live lectures causes student dissatisfaction and disengagement with their learning.

Faculty should be encouraged and supported to revisit their planned teaching for semester 1 of the upcoming academic year to consider where some specific sessional learning outcomes previously met by lecture delivery could be met instead by completion of asynchronous individual or collaborative learning activities which is supported by shorter live discussion activities.

Guidance can be gained from this resource, learning resources colleagues, from pedagogic evidence and from faculty colleagues.