Programme - Extended Classrooms
| Extended Classrooms |
| Radical Changes to Tutorial and Laboratory Programmes in Life Sciences
Kevin Moffat (School of Life Sciences)
Leanne Williams (School of Life Sciencess
The School of Life Sciences has two strengths that set us apart from other institutions; these include our intensive tutorial programmes and high laboratory contact hours. The two IATL funded projects being presented have allowed us to pioneer the ‘Digichamps’ project to transform our approach to laboratory teaching and develop a number of fully interactive e-Tutorials to enhance student engagement and enable inclusivity. |
| Augmenting student experience with open innovation platforms: the example of OpenIDEO Emmanouil Gkeredakis (WBS) In this presentation, I will describe how I experimented with an open innovation platform - OpenIDEO - to augment student experience. Open innovation platforms are websites where complex problems are publicly posted and an undefined group of people is invited to generate and submit proposed solutions. Such platforms might provide opportunities for students to engage in online interactions with people outside the narrow classroom environment and build their creative confidence. Yet, what challenges might be entailed and what considerations may need to be made to capitalise on these new opportunities? In this presentation, I will describe the steps I took to use OpenIDEO as a part of an innovation module taught at Warwick Business School and I will also showcase briefly what happened, what worked, what didn’t and how students reflected on their engagement with OpenIDEO. In the light of this recent experience, I will offer reflections on the potential of open innovation platforms to not only “extend classrooms”, but also enhance students experience in higher education. |
| Tansforming Technologies: Reflections on Curriculum Design and Digital Identity Sara Hattersley (Centre for Lifelong Learning) “Transforming Technologies: teaching and learning in the digital age” is a new postgraduate award from Centre for Lifelong Learning, designed for anyone involved in teaching and learning who would like to use technology more effectively. The award is part of the Centre’s Gateway to Postgraduate study; an access route for those returning to learning who may wish to build up experience and credit towards Masters level study. So although the award has practical application, its position as a level 7 HE programme means it also contains a critical and theoretical element. This presentation will look at the curriculum design of this course and how students will be encouraged, as active participants, to critique and engage with the evolving curriculum as partners. Central to this session is making explicit some of the decisions made about the curriculum and other design aspects of this programme, including platform choice, technology tools employed, assessment and activities designed. These decisions are also shared with and will be critiqued by the students on the programme as it evolves, creating a ‘meta-curriculum’ which is well-placed on a course which is all about delivery and pedagogy. Therefore, students will be asked to consider both their understanding/use of technologies as teachers/trainers, as well as critically evaluating their experience as ‘e-learners’. Students entering this programme will have a range of digital skills and experiences. They are lifelong learners with a digital identity shaped by work, study and life experiences and from the start, students will be asked to reflect on this, with reference to theoretical frameworks and to consider how it feels to be not just a learner but an ‘e-learner’. The challenge for a course tutor is how to capitalise on these varied experiences and help students to use them effectively on the course. This presentation will attempt to draw together the two strands, arguing that understanding a students’ digital identity on a programme is important, and can contribute to good design in e-learning, whilst also exploring the issues and opportunities that arise from giving students more agency in curriculum design decisions. Participants will have the opportunity to see and try out some of the course activities. |
