Continuous Improvement in eLearning: Investigating the Effect and Impact of Our WebCT Chemistry Supp

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Continuous Improvement in e-Learning
Investigating the Effect and Impact of Our WebCT
Chemistry Support Initiative (CSI) and
Implications for Further Enhancement of the
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) Developed
EdTech 2007, 24th May, Bolton St. Claire Mc
Donnell, Christine OConnor Michael Seery,
School of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences,
DIT
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Background - Teaching and Learning Strategies
Used to Support Learning for First Year Chemistry
Students at DIT

• Contextualisation
• Visual Images
• Molecular models
• Virtual learning environment (VLE) -
• introduced Sept 2004
• Problem solving workshops / tutorials
• Integrating study skills into subject
• teaching

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Aims We Had for this Virtual Learning Environment

• Pool resources in Chemistry at DIT
• Provide formative assessment quizzes (cyber
  tutorials) with instant and detailed feedback
• Promote a learner-centred environment
• Enhance visualisation and animation/ simulation
  in our delivery to improve engagement and
  understanding
• Provide a central resource for course information
• Utilise the e-learning platform (WebCT) that our
  Institute has invested in

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General Template of the VLE
Necessary Information contains course
handbook, assignments, assignment criteria,
selected lecture notes, summary sheets, useful
links.
Noticeboard access to WebCT mail and calendar
(assignment schedule and assessment dates) and
discussion board.

Tutorials sample and past exam questions,
problem solving question sheets,
Welcome and General info course information.
Glossary chemical definitions.
Careers examples of careers in Chemistry.
Quizzes database of chemistry multiple choice
quizzes and crosswords.
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Evaluation of Current Use of WebCT by Staff

• WebCT incorporated into every year of every
  programme in the School since Sept 04
• Staff surveyed last month to ascertain level of
  use of WebCT in the School.
• The results of the survey are discussed under the
  following headings
• Motivation for adoption
• Resource implications
• Training and support required
• Current use of WebCT (Programme management,
  School management)
• Level of interactivity
• Management of VLE
• Constraints and problems encountered

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Motivation for Adoption of WebCT

• Comments from staff reflected that use of WebCT
  stemmed from a personal interest and student
  expectations.
• Taught first year group who already had a WebCT
  site for another subject (Physics) and got a
  Learning and Teaching grant with a colleague to
  develop VLE with quizzes for first year students.
  Also, had used WebCT as a student in the Learning
  and Teaching Centre and could see it was useful.
• Positive impression from colleagues,
  expectations of students, makes
• life much easier.
• Main motivation is to use WebCT as a programme
  administration and communication tool.
• Facilitation of work placement students in 30
  companies in Ireland.
• Coordinators for part-time postgraduate
  programmes in particular use the
• VLE for
• (i) making programme material available, (ii)
  the discussion board functionality,
• (iii) storing module and programme information,
  (iv) as a remote learning tool.
• Applications of the VLE for part-time
  postgraduate and full-time
• undergraduate programmes are different to
  cater for different learner
• types.

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Resource Implications

• 250 undergraduate students, 89 part-time taught
  postgraduate students in the School of Chemical
  and Pharmaceutical Sciences supported by our VLE
  and large amount of service teaching to other
  schools (Physics, Biological Sciences) and
  faculties (Tourism and Food), some of which are
  also supported.
• With greater use of WebCT, there will be a
  greater pressure on access to
• the system perhaps requiring more student
  facilities.
• The School currently has one computer room which
  has 20 computers with internet access for student
  use and one computer for the lecturer. All
  computers were replaced in January 2007 through
  school budget.
• There is access to one printer in our computer
  room and other than that there are printing
  facilities in the library.
• Students have poor Wi-Fi access on the floor
  where our
• school is located. However, they do have Wi-Fi
  access in most
• other areas of the college.

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Training and Support Required

• Most members of staff received their training on
  courses run by the DIT Learning Technology Team
  (LTT).
• In-School training was requested in 2005 and the
  LTT facilitated this request over lunch time once
  a week for 6 weeks. 60 of the staff attended.
• In general one day training events are not
  sufficient.
• The timing of the training is significant as it
  is felt that WebCT is not user friendly.
• Received introductory training. It was good and
  covered all aspects, but I find learning by doing
  is best once basics are covered.
• Training was fine, but I did not use it straight
  away so all was forgotten by then.
• Peer tutoring from colleagues in the School and
  over the phone support from the LTT are useful
  support mechanisms.
• 38 of staff would be interested in learning more
  about (i) more WebCT functionalities, (ii)
  extending their current use of WebCT and (iii) to
  learn from other users how and why they use WebCT.

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Future Training Required
The Staff in the School of Chemical and
Pharmaceutical Sciences have expressed an
interest in the use of WebCT applications such
as My grades for formative assessment results
Quizzes (especially uploading from Respondus)
Discussion boards Interactive sites and
developing own animations E-packs to enhance
visualisation of programme material and provide
support material.
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Current Use of WebCT

• Programme Management
• WebCT facilitates effective programme management
  and the main applications of the VLEs are listed
  in the following Table.

Only for final year students and part-time
taught postgraduate programmes.
School Management WebCT Site (launched (2006/
2007)
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Level of Interactivity
to use the web as simply a coat hanger where
files are left for students to access will not
engage students and thus be counter productive
(Broad, 2004)

• Young and Kornblith, (2006) gave examples of the
  interactivity to look for
• case studies, games and simulations at a level
  that should require input and actively engaging
  students in a learning process.
• Some staff replied that the level of activity was
  based on how regularly students logged on to the
  VLE. However, some of the existing users are
  making efforts to enhance the interactivity of
  the VLE.

High when using discussion board, crosswords or
quizzes. Low students mainly use e-mail
except for on-line assignments. Basic
interactivity in terms of quizzes, crosswords and
links to interactive websites, but I have not
developed animations/ simulations
myself. http//jchemed.chem.wisc.edu/JCESoft/CCA/
pirelli/index.html
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Management of VLEs

• Programme coordinators or a responsible person
  are the VLE designer for the year and programme
  they coordinate. Other users can send their
  material to the VLE coordinator for uploading or
  ask for designer status.
• In future preferable if all the teaching team on
  that programme year are added as students so all
  can view what the students have access to.
• Designers feel WebCT is a very cumbersome and
  unintuitive system, especially as it is not
  Microsoft compatible.
• For many designers the programme template was
  already designed.
• VLE designers access WebCT on a weekly basis and
  spend on average 1 to 3 hours a week uploading/
  maintaining the site.
• One designer required 2-4 hrs per week when using
  a discussion board.
• As an exception one member of staff uploaded all
  of the material required for a mature student
  part-time programme last year and has not
  accessed the VLE at all for this academic year.

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Constraints and Problems Encountered

• 'Time is perceived by staff as the major
  inhibiting factor to e-learning. (Oates,1999)
• The main factor arising with staff as an issue
  is time. Nearly all users complained of the time
  it takes to upload onto/maintain a VLE.
• One by one uploading/ managing is ridiculously
  primitive even with Netdrive!
• Uploading and removal of material takes too
  much time when using the site regularly.
• Having the time to upload quizzes and write
  messages on discussion boards.

• Other issues arising are
• - ease of adding staff as students/ teaching
  assistants.
• the current programme template is limited in
  terms of how
• material is presented as a list under module
  title for programme year.
• - students forgetting passwords.
• - WebCT is not intuitive so if you are not using
  it regularly it is not very user-friendly.
• - a save-draft option is not available on the
  discussion board.
• - WebCT mail is not linked with Microsoft
  Outlook.

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Staff Not Using WebCT

• 20 of staff in School are not using WebCT
  directly as a VLE.
• 60 of that 20 are using our school staff
  administration site on WebCT.
• From the comments below it is hoped that in the
  next academic year the teaching team on each
  programme year will have a minimum of student
  access.

• Of the staff surveyed who are currently not
  using WebCT, only one felt they would not like to
  use it in the future. This individual felt that
  they had done all the courses but were unable to
  get a grasp of WebCT.
• All other members of staff felt that they would
  all like to use WebCT in the future.

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Evaluation of Current Use of WebCT by Students

• One group of 2nd Year students surveyed last
  month. Evaluation questionnaire series of
  questions, some open-ended.
• Group selected as had used greatest number of
  applications of the VLE (calendar, WebCT mail,
  discussion board, quizzes, grades, on-line
  assignments)
• Feedback from shorter questionnaire given to 1st
  Years and verbal feedback from other students
  similar to data from this questionnaire.
• Review of the VLEs in use also carried out to
  assess categories of use they belong to. Very
  similar patterns to those reported in staff
  questionnaire.

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Student Responses

• 91 had found the Chemistry VLE useful in 1st
  Year
• The features they found useful in 1st Year are
  presented in the
• table below

• 79 said they found the VLE useful in 2nd Year
  and the pie chart on the next page summarises
  which aspects they found most useful.

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Student Responses
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Benefits of the VLE

• 100 of the students surveyed would like to see
  WebCT used more in the future

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Disadvantages of the VLE
How Could the VLE be Used More?
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VLE Review
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Main Conclusions/Issues from Student Responses

• Usefulness as a central repository and means of
  communication with staff and project group
  members
• Flexibility cited as an advantage
• Students would like more staff to use WebCT and
  many are also asking for lecture notes to be
  available
• Survey will be extended in 2007-8

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Main Conclusions Where to from Here?

• Introduction of new version of WebCT in September
  should address some of the current barriers to
  adoption. Additional training required.
• Proposed to give all teaching staff student
  access to relevant VLEs
• Specific topics for future training have been
  identified
• In-School workshop in September to plan strategy
  and review survey results

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Evaluation In Other Colleges

• At Michigan Technological University
  (Charlesworth and Vician, 2003), WebCT introduced
  as course management tool for First Year
  Chemistry in 2000 (Course notes, on-line quizzes
  and exams, e-mail and discussion board)
• Students appreciated the flexibility
• Used WebCT to complement other methods
• of learning, not to replace them
• Improvement in students perceived learning and
  confidence. 75 said WebCT helped them enjoy the
  class more than traditional Chemistry classes
  theyd had before.
• University of Texas-Pan American (Gregorius,
  2005) and Sunderland Pharmacy School (Cunningham,
  2003) also report positive effects

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References

• Broad, M. et al (2004) Accounting education
  through an online supported VLE, Active Learning
  in HE, 5(2) pp135-150
• Charlesworth, P. and Vician, C. (2003) Leveraging
  Technology for Chemical Sciences Education An
  Early Assessment of WebCT Usage in First-Year
  Chemistry Courses, Journal of Chemical
  Education, Vol. 80, 11, pages 1333 - 1337.
• What Can A Virtual Learning Environment Do for
  you and Your Students, Oral presentation by Dr
  Anne Cunningham, Sunderland Pharmacy School at
  LTSN Physical Sciences Workshop, Cardiff, 19th
  November 2003. Accessed at (http//www.physsci.lt
  sn.ac.uk/Events/WorkshopReportsExtras/wsr_id52/Car
  diff03v2.ppt )
• Gregorius, R. (2005) Traditional Versus
  PowerPoint and WebCT Augmented Classes, The
  Chemical Educator, Vol. 10, pages 72-77.
• Young E. and Kornblith P., Evaluating an e-Pack
  in 10 Minutes or Less Using the WebCT Key
  Features, Accessed in May 2007 at
  https//www.elluminate.com/site/pmtg.jnlp?psidd18
  12929470.397628

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Acknowledgements

• Colleagues in School of Chemical and
  Pharmaceutical Sciences and Faculty of Science
• Learning and Teaching Centre Staff
• Learning Technology Team
• DIT e- Learning club