Feedback on VOXUR Unit loaned by T-SPARC to UG-Flex.
Overview
The T-SPARC project kindly loaned one of their VOXUR units to the UG-Flex project at the University of Greenwich over a two month period from December 2010 to January 2011. Oliver Jenkins from T-SPARC gave an introduction to the unit, guidance on usage and some top tips at a workshop at Greenwich in early December 2010, which was attended by 8 members of staff.
While on loan to the UG-Flex project the VOXUR was demonstrated and trialled at an e-centre meeting and by at least six members of staff on an ad hoc basis. The most concerted period of use was in January 2011 when it was used to collect feedback from students on assessment and feedback and over 270 clips of video feedback were collected.
Feedback
Colleagues at Greenwich were invited to give feedback (in confidence) on the unit in particular on
1. Ease of use
2. Support/guidance/documentation requirements
3. Benefits and challenges of using video to collect information (i.e. feedback) compared to other methods questionnaires, focus groups etc
4. Benefits and challenges of using VOXUR unit specifically (compared to e.g. static units at one end to flip camera, hand held devices at the other)
5. Their plans for using the feedback
6. Other comments
1. Ease of Use
There was general agreement that the VOXUR was easy to use from the start (i.e. their first time). Increased use lead to greater familiarity with the unit.
One user (SUUG member of staff) who used the unit over a series of days observed of new users (students) that at first there was a tendency for them to look at the keyboard rather than at the camera.
2. Support/Guidance/Documentation Requirements
The view from Greenwich is that the guidance material produced by VOXUR (and supplied by BCU along with the unit) was very good. The tips from Oliver Jenkins were very helpful as well and provided a good perspective based on “hands on” experience.
Suggestions from users:
- Could Oliver’s tips be written up in a short “handy hints” guide?
- A very short document that summarises the main keys to use for key functions, possibly on laminated card, would be welcome.
3. Benefits and challenges of using video to collect information (i.e. feedback) compared to other methods questionnaires, focus groups etc
A key benefit noted is that the VOXUR unit offers a new method of engaging. The unit did elicit considerable interest among students and it was evident that students wanted to have a go.
The most extensive period of usage at Greenwich was with students and it was observed that while many users spoke freely, a significant number wanted clarification about how their feedback would be used. Some students did not want to be associated with specific comments they had made personally, which negated the impact of video capture somewhat. These students said that they were more comfortable being “generally” associated with the collective views expressed. On this note, only one student chose to cover the camera and record their views by audio alone.
A drawback noted by at least 3 users who tried out the unit was that the method of capturing feedback is relatively time consuming, although not substantially more so that other methods.
4. Benefits and challenges of using VOXUR unit specifically (compared to e.g. static units at one end to flip camera, hand held devices at the other)
It was observed that the portability of the VOXUR unit has pros and cons - a bigger unit would have been difficult to transport although students might have been more inclined to use a more enclosed unit.
From discussions among colleagues introduced to the VOXUR a view emerged of some risk that the VOXUR unit “over complicated” the method of capturing verbal feedback on video. One user commented “I would have been just as happy with a flip camera”.
Some reservation were expressed about how useful the VOXUR’s functionality to ask structured questions and organise the responses will prove to be as a method for capturing and conveying qualitative feedback from students. Given the relatively limited usage by Greenwich, it is not possible to comment with any certainty on the scope of the VOXUR to produce more quantitative outputs (e.g. statistical data). However, initial reaction is that this would not a preferred option.
5. Future use of information
The majority of users of the VOXUR took part in short trials which were not intended for future use.
The exercise to capture student feedback on assessment and feedback in which over 270 clips of video feedback were collected was undertaken as a pilot and the evidence will be used. The intention is to produce a short video compilation of no more than 2 – 3 minutes. (Some reservation was voiced about how easy it will be to compile a single video from the clips, say compared with editing and compiling a video clip from more free flowing feedback that has captured previously using a flip camera.)
In addition, the SU in collaboration with the EDU will look through the assembled clips in order to identify five or six key messages that will be used to inform future policy / activity.
6. Other comments
A number of observations were made on the VOXUR in terms of value for money:
One user commented “It is supposedly unique but I’m not sure how difficult it would be to replicate.... I just feel it is prohibitively expensive... the difference between a top of the range Mac and the VOXUR in terms of functionality and editing software just doesn’t seem to justify forking out another £4,000.”
Users at Greenwich concur that the VOXUR trial has been a very useful exercise and we would like to put on record our thanks to T-SPARC, Paul Bartholomew and Oliver Jenkins for their interest and generosity.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
Monday, 17 January 2011
UG Flex at the SEUG Conference in Durham
A rare guest appearance from Duncan Reeder on the UG Flex blog! Finally!!!
Friday the 14th of January saw Dave Mutti and myself make the six hour (!!!) round trip to Durham, to present to the Sungard European User Group (SEUG) annual conference. SEUG brings together Banner institutions from around Europe, and we wanted to use the conference as a way of finalising our research into methods of configuring terms in Banner for flexibility.
Presenting on the final day of a three day conference, we were a bit worried no one would show up. We were even more concerned when we learned that some delegates were just getting in from the Gala dinner, while we were boarding the train from London!!
Luckily we had good representation from five different institutions. It was great to get some insight from other Banner institutions on how certain configurations can limit or enhance flexibility. We also learned that the configuration model we regard as being the most flexible is in use at Nottingham Trent University, which will lead us to get in contact with them soon.
So a good days work then. It was also a good opportunity to give some recognition to JISC, and point out that all our work would not have been possible without the framework the project provides.
And finally great to see Durham - just beautiful!
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
HEA publication "University Management of Work-based Learning"
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/York/documents/ourwork/employability/employeelearning/EEL_UniversityManagementOfWBL.pdf
I have finally tracked down this HEA publication that came out in August 2010. It includes a chapter on "Reorientating institutional systems to support the flexible learner" by M. Noble, S. Frame & C. Eustance and includes some of the early insights from the UG-Flex project.
Interesting to see how UG-Flex has progressed since.
I have finally tracked down this HEA publication that came out in August 2010. It includes a chapter on "Reorientating institutional systems to support the flexible learner" by M. Noble, S. Frame & C. Eustance and includes some of the early insights from the UG-Flex project.
Interesting to see how UG-Flex has progressed since.
T-SPARC comes to Greenwich
I’ve had good feedback from colleagues who attended the VOXUR training session run by Oliver Jenkins from BCU's T-SPARC project last week. VOXUR really is straightforward to use. It is such a clever concept that it is not that surprising that one question asked was whether there are other products that do the same thing cheaper/easier still? The answer appears to be no!
It was very encouraging to note that my colleagues were as intrigued as I have been by BCU’s innovative work that seeks to shift the focus on curriculum design from a single concluding approval event to the wider thinking and processes that underpin curriculum approval and review.
All in all a worthwhile session. Thanks Oliver and Paul from BCU for your generosity in lending UG-Flex one of your VOXUR units until the end of January. Thanks also to my colleagues for taking the time to attend. All suggestions of similar sessions UG-Flex might run are very welcome.
It was very encouraging to note that my colleagues were as intrigued as I have been by BCU’s innovative work that seeks to shift the focus on curriculum design from a single concluding approval event to the wider thinking and processes that underpin curriculum approval and review.
All in all a worthwhile session. Thanks Oliver and Paul from BCU for your generosity in lending UG-Flex one of your VOXUR units until the end of January. Thanks also to my colleagues for taking the time to attend. All suggestions of similar sessions UG-Flex might run are very welcome.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Project, Cluster & Programme Meetings, Presentations and Progress
September and October 2010 will go down as busy, productive months for UG-Flex despite the blows of Browne's Review and Osborne's axe.
Validation & Review Enhancements Go Live
Monday 20th September saw the formal launch of UG-Flex's enhancements to the University's Authorised List of Programme. To recap, one of the recommendations that came out of the project's investigation into validation & review processes was to design an accessible and accurate way for staff to view any programme’s approval and review status and history, to review progress and plan activity accordingly.
A training needs survey has been conducted to ensure that staff would receive information and guidance most appropriate for their needs, and as a result a series of short 'how to' crib sheets have been produced and face-to-face training conducted. An issues log has been set up to record comments; feedback, suggestions etc and plans are in place to monitor the impact of these enhancements next year.
Birmingham CAMEL
Tuesday 28th September saw Claire & Duncan in Birmingham for a 2-day CAMEL meeting with colleagues from other projects in our cluster. It was a timely opportunity to reflect on our projects at the mid-way point and I felt pretty upbeat in being able to report on the completion of our "quick win" piece of work (hmmm) as well as the initial outcomes from our consultation with staff on the changes needed to deliver a better experience to students who do not study via one of the University's "standard" modes.
Our group work to identify the themes that have emerged from our projects so far and produced a huge, complex, 'wicked' mind map. I came away recognising that all of the projects have generated a huge amount of new information, knowledge and insight over the past couple of years. (Note to self to remember that just because I have experienced this incrementally having lived with it day to day, the knowledge and evidence produced is not necessarily common-place or even acknowledged in many cases!)
The highlight of the sessions on student engagement for me was Birmingham City's Student Academic Partners project (superb) and since then I've been doing my best to bring it up in conversations with as many colleagues at Greenwich as I can.
Project Meetings at Greenwich
The week of 10th October saw meetings of the UG-Flex Steering Group and the Management Group. In both cases challenging but useful discussions followed Duncan and my presentation on 'Improving the experience of students on "flexible" programmes - the problem and possible solution'. The next step is to raise awareness and hopefully build wider support in advance of my presentation to the University Executive (gulp) in early November. Interesting times at Greenwich generally with impending change of VC in 2011.
JISC CDD Programme Meeting in Nottingham
The same week saw Duncan and me on the train again, this time to Nottingham to attend the joint design and delivery programme meeting. UG-Flex was busy and contributed to the sessions on ‘Project Perspectives on Quality Assurance and Enhancement’ and ‘Students as Change Agents’, and both went pretty well. Both keynotes from Peter Findlay (quality & QA in HE) and Betty Collis (learning from a workplace perspective) were thought-provoking and I enjoyed the closing plenary. Regrettably as I try to recall the key messages, I find they have been swamped by thoughts of Browne and Osborne.
The same goes for the JISC Learning & Teaching Experts Group I attended in Birmingham on 20th October. Our cluster presented on some of the themes and learning outcomes that have emerged from our projects so far. Hard to quantify? Probably. Tecchie? Definitely not, but nevertheless significant and I hope colleagues in the sector agree and stick with us. I'll leave the last words on this to Stephen Brown, Cluster B's critical friend, "on the day when so much madness was unleashed on HE I think our presentation stood out as a beacon of good sense."
An unusually long post - so thanks for reading!
Validation & Review Enhancements Go Live
Monday 20th September saw the formal launch of UG-Flex's enhancements to the University's Authorised List of Programme. To recap, one of the recommendations that came out of the project's investigation into validation & review processes was to design an accessible and accurate way for staff to view any programme’s approval and review status and history, to review progress and plan activity accordingly.
A training needs survey has been conducted to ensure that staff would receive information and guidance most appropriate for their needs, and as a result a series of short 'how to' crib sheets have been produced and face-to-face training conducted. An issues log has been set up to record comments; feedback, suggestions etc and plans are in place to monitor the impact of these enhancements next year.
Birmingham CAMEL
Tuesday 28th September saw Claire & Duncan in Birmingham for a 2-day CAMEL meeting with colleagues from other projects in our cluster. It was a timely opportunity to reflect on our projects at the mid-way point and I felt pretty upbeat in being able to report on the completion of our "quick win" piece of work (hmmm) as well as the initial outcomes from our consultation with staff on the changes needed to deliver a better experience to students who do not study via one of the University's "standard" modes.
Our group work to identify the themes that have emerged from our projects so far and produced a huge, complex, 'wicked' mind map. I came away recognising that all of the projects have generated a huge amount of new information, knowledge and insight over the past couple of years. (Note to self to remember that just because I have experienced this incrementally having lived with it day to day, the knowledge and evidence produced is not necessarily common-place or even acknowledged in many cases!)
The highlight of the sessions on student engagement for me was Birmingham City's Student Academic Partners project (superb) and since then I've been doing my best to bring it up in conversations with as many colleagues at Greenwich as I can.
Project Meetings at Greenwich
The week of 10th October saw meetings of the UG-Flex Steering Group and the Management Group. In both cases challenging but useful discussions followed Duncan and my presentation on 'Improving the experience of students on "flexible" programmes - the problem and possible solution'. The next step is to raise awareness and hopefully build wider support in advance of my presentation to the University Executive (gulp) in early November. Interesting times at Greenwich generally with impending change of VC in 2011.
JISC CDD Programme Meeting in Nottingham
The same week saw Duncan and me on the train again, this time to Nottingham to attend the joint design and delivery programme meeting. UG-Flex was busy and contributed to the sessions on ‘Project Perspectives on Quality Assurance and Enhancement’ and ‘Students as Change Agents’, and both went pretty well. Both keynotes from Peter Findlay (quality & QA in HE) and Betty Collis (learning from a workplace perspective) were thought-provoking and I enjoyed the closing plenary. Regrettably as I try to recall the key messages, I find they have been swamped by thoughts of Browne and Osborne.
The same goes for the JISC Learning & Teaching Experts Group I attended in Birmingham on 20th October. Our cluster presented on some of the themes and learning outcomes that have emerged from our projects so far. Hard to quantify? Probably. Tecchie? Definitely not, but nevertheless significant and I hope colleagues in the sector agree and stick with us. I'll leave the last words on this to Stephen Brown, Cluster B's critical friend, "on the day when so much madness was unleashed on HE I think our presentation stood out as a beacon of good sense."
An unusually long post - so thanks for reading!
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Engaging Students in their own learning - good practice
It's been a busy time for the UG-Flex Project team with a Steering Group and a Management Group meeting and visits to Birmingham and Nottingham for a cluster meeting and a programme meeting in recent weeks.
Further posts on these events will follow, but first I wanted to shared Birmingham City University's (BCU) inspiring practice on involving their students in creating a learning community.
BCU have drawn on the philosophy embedded in Futurelab's 2006 'Learner Voice' handbook and have thought in detail about how students are engaged in learning development on a spectrum ranging from passive - active - co-dependent - independent.
BCU's Student Academic Partners Scheme has sponsored 30 educational development projects designed to develop specific aspects of learning and teaching practice. The innovation that takes it further along the spectrum (or "ladder") of engagement is the requirement that projects must be a genuine and equal partnership of staff and students, with the latter being the initiator. The student/s negotiate their own role in the project and are paid for up to 125 hours of work. Already some notable benefits have emerged.
I would really recommend you take the time to find out more at: http://www.birminghamcitysu.com/saps/
Further posts on these events will follow, but first I wanted to shared Birmingham City University's (BCU) inspiring practice on involving their students in creating a learning community.
BCU have drawn on the philosophy embedded in Futurelab's 2006 'Learner Voice' handbook and have thought in detail about how students are engaged in learning development on a spectrum ranging from passive - active - co-dependent - independent.
BCU's Student Academic Partners Scheme has sponsored 30 educational development projects designed to develop specific aspects of learning and teaching practice. The innovation that takes it further along the spectrum (or "ladder") of engagement is the requirement that projects must be a genuine and equal partnership of staff and students, with the latter being the initiator. The student/s negotiate their own role in the project and are paid for up to 125 hours of work. Already some notable benefits have emerged.
I would really recommend you take the time to find out more at: http://www.birminghamcitysu.com/saps/
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Reflections on University of Greenwich annual e-learning conference "Future Learningscapes: a 21st Century Challenge
Last week's e-learning conference was enjoyable and (echoing the unofficial theme of the day) provided me with some food for thought.....
I enjoyed the keynote by Grainne Conole from the Open University and in particular I recognised a lot in her description of "a ha" moments. In short - there are so many resources out there but it takes an "a ha" moment for an individual to bridge the gap between promise and reality in how they could use and benefit from them.
Like Grainne I haven't had an "a ha" moment with SecondLife - although CNWL's presentation at the same event has made me want to take a closer look http://secondlife.com I'm also going to check out language learning community website www.busuu.com and the TED talks at http://www.ted.com/.
I enjoyed the keynote by Grainne Conole from the Open University and in particular I recognised a lot in her description of "a ha" moments. In short - there are so many resources out there but it takes an "a ha" moment for an individual to bridge the gap between promise and reality in how they could use and benefit from them.
Like Grainne I haven't had an "a ha" moment with SecondLife - although CNWL's presentation at the same event has made me want to take a closer look http://secondlife.com I'm also going to check out language learning community website www.busuu.com and the TED talks at http://www.ted.com/.
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