This presentation was delivered before a delegate of the Yamaguchi Prefectural University of Japan, on 1st July 2013 at University of Leicester.

1. Overview of the Institute of
Learning Innovation
Terese Bird, Grainne Conole, Palitha
Edirisingha, and Paul Rudman
1st July 2013

2. Outline
• The context
– E-learning timeline
– Learner experience
• Research at ILI
• Future challenges

3. E-Learning timeline
Multimediaresources
80s
TheInternetandtheWeb
93
LearningManagementSystems
95
OpenEducationalResources
01
Mobiledevices
98
Gamingtechnologies
00
Socialandparticipatorymedia
04
Virtualworlds
05
E-booksandsmartdevices
MassiveOpenOnlineCourses
07 08
LearningDesign
99
Learningobjects
94

4. The importance of e-learning
• Potential to support
interaction, communication and collaboration
• Developing digital literacy skills
• Preparing students for an uncertain future
• Improving employability opportunities
• Increased importance of technology in society
• Connecting students beyond the course

5. The MATEL study
• Productivity and creativity
• Networked collaboration
• Content creation
• Visualisation and simulation
• Learning Management Systems
• Learning environment
• Games
• Devices, interfaces and connectivity
http://www.menon.org/matel/

6. 6
• Technology immersed
• Learning approaches: task-
orientated, experiential,
just in time, cumulative,
social
• Personalised digital
learning environment
• Mix of institutional systems
and Cloud-based tools and
services
• Use of course materials
with free resources
Learner experience
Sharpe, Beetham and De Freitas, 2010
EDUCAUSE survey

7. Institute of Learning Innovation
• Mission
– To research and apply learning
innovations to inform policy and
shape practice
• Vision
– To enable creativity, quality and
innovation in learning and
teaching to enhance the
learner experience

8. Areas of activity
• Research
• Teaching
• Supervision
• Consultancy
• Visiting scholars
• Institutional advice

9. Areas of research
• Openness (OER, MOOCs, digital scholarship)
– POERUP, OER in Rwanda
• Learning Design
– SPEED and METIS
• Mobile learning
– eBooks and PLACES, iPads for reading strategies, podcasts
• Virtual worlds
– SWIFT
• Social media
– use for research
• Learner experience/teacher practice
– use with teachers
• Digital literacies and creativity
– PELECON
• Technology-Enhanced Pedagogies
– Overview and SCENE

10. POERUP outputs
• An inventory of more than 100 OER initiatives
http://poerup.referata.com/wiki/Countries_with_OER_initiatives
• 11 country reports and 13 mini-reports
http://poerup.referata.com/wiki/Countries
• 7 in-depth case studies
• 3 EU-wide policy papers

11. MOOCS
Free
Distributed global community
Social inclusion
High dropout rates
Learning income not learning outcome
Marketing exercise http://olds.ac.uk
http://olds.ac.uk

12. Promise and reality
Social and
participatory media
offer new ways to
communicate and
collaborate
Wealth of free
resources and tools
Not fully exploited
Replicating bad pedagogy
Lack of time and skills

13. Digital literacy skills
http://edudemic.com/2013/04/important-21st-century-skills/
Creativity
Multi-tasking
Performance
Simulation
Appropriation
Play
Distributed cognition
Judgment
Collective
Intelligence
Transmedia
Navigation
Networking
Negotiation
Jenkins et al., 2006
Lisa Marie Blaschke on fb

14. The 7Cs of Learning Design
Conceptualise
Vision
CommunicateCapture ConsiderCollaborate
Activities
Combine
Synthesis
Consolidate
Implementation
http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/oer/oers/beyond-distance-research-alliance/7Cs-toolkit

15. Course features
• Pedagogical approaches
• Principles
• Guidance and support
• Content and activities
• Reflection and demonstration
• Communication and collaboration
http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/5950

16. Embedded E-books and E-Readers in
Distance Learning
Lessons from projects
DUCKLING
& Places
Terese Bird
Learning Technologist and SCORE Research Fellow
MobiLearn Asia 2012
Singapore
Photo by brewbooks on Flickr

17. DUCKLING: Delivering University Curriculum: Knowledge,
Learning and INnovation Gains
• 3 distance programmes in 2 disciplines:
– One MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Education
– Two MSc in Occupational Psychology, Psychology
• 4 technologies:
Podcasting Wimba Voice Board Sony E-book readers Second Life
http://www.le.ac.uk/duckling

18. 28 Sony PRS-505 e-book readers, pre-loaded with course materials and
podcasts, given to 17 TESOL and 11 OP students
Instruments TESOL OP Total
Blackboard Survey 17 11 28
Cognitive mapping
Interviews
9 3 12
Causal map
The pilot and research

19. Course material conversion
epubbud.com
Calibre.com

20. Flexibility and mobility
Small, compact size
Readability
Easy on the eyes
Access from a single
device without internet
Portability Capacity
Long battery life
Continue reading, Bookmark
Photo by Kzeng on Flickr
Photo by Yummy Pancake on Flickr

21. One-iPad-per-distance-student:
MSc in Security, Conflict and
International Development,
Department of Criminology
Photo by The USO on Flickrr

22. Peacekeeper-student’s coffee break during long-range patrol

23. Yida
refugee
camp,
South
Sudan by
Acnur Las
Americas,
Flickr

24. Overall course evaluations 2012-2013:
50%
use the Course App and iPad daily
90%
found iPad to be ‘useful’ or ‘very useful’ part of the study pack
61%
use the Course App more than Blackboard
…even though Blackboard is required

25. Student comments:
Being in the military I needed a course I could study literally anywhere.
The innovation of Leicester in taking distance learning forward into the 21st
Century made it an obvious choice.
The course App is easily accessed, it is pre- structured and organised. I find it a
logical progression and a great guide to complete a unit by using the course
app. If it was not available I would use the blackboard as opposed to
print, again as it easier to access view. I travel quite a lot for work making the
use of Ipad ideal
Course tutor’s comments:
“…Absolutely fantastic. Aside from it being so intuitive, the way students can
access materials, it’s just so lightweight; the amount of stuff they get, it
doesn’t take up much room. “
“… In the field, they’re not going to take their laptop, they may not have access
to computers… but they’ve got their iPad, so they can look at the material.”

26. Enhancing learners’ metacognition about L2 reading in
Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)
School of
Education
Postgraduate
Researcher
Conference
2013
Saturday 29th
June 2013

27. Enhancing learners’ metacognition about L2 reading in
Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL)
School of
Education
Postgraduate
Researcher
Conference
2013
Saturday 29th
June 2013
Natalia Auer

28. PURPOSE
• To examine the reading strategies used by
adult Spanish learners to understand
digital texts when using tablets
• To determine which features in the tablets
enable awareness of reading strategies

29. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• How L2 metacognitive reading
strategies can be mediated by the
technology?
• What type of metacognitive L2 reading
strategies do Spanish language learners
use with tablets?
• Which functions in the tablets (iPad)
facilitate metacognitive L2 reading
strategies?

31. VIDEOCONFERENCING and CODING

32. Social media
Include learninginn, ILI blog, tbird
twitter, fb page

33. Social Media
to enable and profile the researcher
Terese Bird, Institute of Learning Innovation
Dr Alan Cann, Department of Biology
Researchers’ Workshop, 14 June 2013
University of Leicester
Photo by
jennifermackenziejones,
Flickr

34. iTunesUReach & SPIDER Projects: Social
Media to conduct & disseminate research
• Website
• Blog – open notebook,
disseminate, collaborate
• Online survey – baseline
• Scoop.it – identify, curate,
collaborate, disseminate
• Data collection via Twitter and
‘Chinese Twitter’ Weibo
• YouTube, Vimeo - disseminate
• Slideshare - disseminate
• Twitter & Facebook to
disseminate and discuss

35. SWIFT – Learning in virtual worlds
Features:
• Harnesses imagination
• Experiential learning
• Creates learning context
• Computer as personal tutor
Example applications:
• Practical subjects
• Language practice
• Abstract concepts
• Artistic creation

36. SCENE – Problem-Based Learning (PBL)
Aims:
• Promote the use of PBL
as a teaching method
in the EU
• Train teachers, trainers
and head teachers on
PBL pedagogy
Online course
video, discussion
forums, virtual
classrooms
PBL repository
To share PBL
scenarios
Virtual
Facilitator
To assist learners

37. Research Aims
• To identify HE students’ access to and the use
of digital technologies and web 2.0 tools for
their formal and informal learning in HE.
• To identify their level of media
literacy, awareness and to develop strategies
for addressing gaps in levels of literacy.
• To make recommendations for supporting
students to further develop their
competencies with online information.

38. Methods
• Questionnaire surveys of 100 undergraduate and
postgraduate students to identify their ownership of and
use of digital devices and web 2.0 tools
– First round (2010-11) returned: 53
– Second round (2011-12): returned 41
• Focus groups (4) with students (3 – 4 in each group) to
gain a deeper insight into their use of web 2.0 tools in a
learning context
– First round (2010-11) 3 groups (10 students in total)
– Second: 1 group of 3 students
• Workshops with students to develop and validate
appropriate online activities and learning tools to improve
their level of web awareness and literacy.

39. Key Theoretical Concepts
Digital / media
literacy
Online
affinity
spaces
Participatory
culture

40. You can download the data from the
2010-2011 questionnaire survey
http://goo.gl/kraQF
Next slides based on 2011 - 2012
data

41. Ownership of computer and other digital devices (% reporting)
2012 data
35
100
82.5
17.5
92.5
87.5
42.5
10
25
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Desktop
laptop
Smartphone
Phone
Camera
MP3Player
Tablet
eReader
GameDevice
2012 data set 1, n = 40

42. Devices used to access internet during term-time (% reporting)
2012 data
85
100
77.5
7.5
10
25
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
UniComputer
OwnComputer
MobilePhone
iPodTouch
OtherDevices
Tablet
2012 data set 1, n = 40
[55% in 2011]

43. FrequencyofusingWeb2.0toolsandactivities–2012data 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Update SNS
Watch Television
Listen to radio
Write blog
Use SBMS
Contribute to wikis
Play video games
Download / share music
Use 3-D virtual worlds
Chat (e.g., MSN)
VOIP
Share digital photographs
Share videos
Record own music
Mix music
Make graphic art
Contribute to bulletin boards
Microblogging
Subscribe to RSS feeds
Programming
Selling on ebay
Online shopping
Online banking
Use ‘Apps’
Missing
Rarely/never
Sometimes
Frequently

44. Special issues
• Designing for learning
• Social inclusion and OER

45. Professional bodies

46. Social media
Include learninginn, ILI blog, tbird
twitter, fb page

47. Policy debate

49. PhD students and visitors
• 11 PhD students
• 2 - 3 visiting scholars per year
• Visiting delegates (including: OU
China, Denmark teachers, Finland, South
Africa, India, Kurdistan)
• 2 – 3 visiting PhD students

50. Consultancy
• Offerings across our research expertise areas
• Learning Design workshops particularly
popular
• Clients (including: Singapore, South
Africa, Ireland, China, UK, Malawi/Ghana)
• Off the shelf workshop and bespoke offerings

51. Activities
• Cutting edge research and
horizon scanning
• Institutional service and
support
• Advice and consultancy
• Input to policy debate at
UoL and beyond
• Dissemination (at events
and via social media)

52. Learner practice
Use of technologies Diversity/culture
Teacher practice
Design practice
Use of technologies
Research
OER
Learning design
Web 2.0
Virtual worlds
Learner experience
Horizon scanning
Research into practice
Policy
OER/iTunes
Learning spaces
Cloud computing
Virtual Learning Environment

53. Future challenges
• Disaggregation of
Education
• Digital literacies
• Digital skills and
jobs gap
• Changing business
models
• Future of work
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrsdkrebs/6400358699/