E-books at the University of Worcester: a Case Study.

Purpose To describe how an e-books project was set up at the University of Worcester Information and Learning Services with the aim to improve user access to the range of textbook materials available. Methodology/Approach Details of the background and circumstances of the University and the effect of these on the process undertaken by the e-books project group are described. The selection of an e-books provider and subsequent ordering, cataloguing and promotion activities are outlined. Findings This paper outlines the importance of tailoring the approach to e-books acquisition to the individual institution. It is found that authentication is a major issue and that for e-books packages to be successful, technical problems need to be kept to a minimum. Practical Implications Examples to assist others in setting up e-books provision are given. Technical difficulties and the range of titles available are both impediments to providing a full e-books service. Originality/ Value of the Paper E-books appear to provide greater access and flexibility to library users. Information and Learning Services fully intend to extend the range of e-books available to students. This paper looks at the practicalities of setting up and expanding such a service

The evaluation of the national learning network

In December 1998, the Department for Education and Employment announced that £74 million would be made available, over a three‐year period, to fund improvements in information and learning technology within English further education: this initiative is known as the National Learning Network. An evaluation team has been appointed to report on whether the investment is being used nationally and locally in an efficient and effective manner. This paper outlines the process by which this task is being fulfilled and how the impact of the investment is being evaluated through the close monitoring of forty‐one representative English FE colleges. It also presents a range of free‐standing evaluation tools which have been developed by the evaluation team for use within these colleges by internal practitioner‐evaluators. These tools will enable colleges to assess the effectiveness of the investment and enable the evaluation team to monitor the impact of the national investment on a small, representative cohort of students and staff over a two‐year period The paper concludes with a brief look at the role this development is playing in designing a universally applicable model for assessing cost‐effectiveness across all educational sectors

'First Portal in a Storm': A Virtual Space for Transition Students

The lives of millennial students are epitomised by ubiquitous information, merged technologies, blurred social-study-work boundaries, multitasking and hyperlinked online interactions (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005). These characteristics have implications for the design of online spaces that aim to provide virtual access to course materials, administrative processes and support information, all of which is required by students to steer a course through the storm of their transition university experience. Previously we summarised the challenges facing first year students (Kift & Nelson, 2005) and investigated their current online engagement patterns, which revealed three issues for consideration when designing virtual spaces (Nelson, Kift & Harper, 2005). In this paper we continue our examination of students’ interactions with online spaces by considering the perceptions and use of technology by millennial students as well as projections for managing the virtual learning environments of the future. The findings from this analysis are informed by our previous work to conceptualise and describe the architecture of a transition portal

Epistemic and Social Scripts in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning in computer-supported learning environments typically means that learners work on tasks together, discussing their individual perspectives via text-based media or videoconferencing, and consequently acquire knowledge. Collaborative learning, however, is often sub-optimal with respect to how learners work on the concepts that are supposed to be learned and how learners interact with each other. Therefore, instructional support needs to be implemented into computer-supported collaborative learning environments. One possibility to improve collaborative learning environments is to conceptualize scripts that structure epistemic activities and social interactions of learners. In this contribution, two studies will be reported that investigated the effects of epistemic and social scripts in a text-based computer-supported learning environment and in a videoconferencing learning environment in order to foster the individual acquisition of knowledge. In each study the factors "epistemic script" and "social script" have been independently varied in a 2×2-factorial design. 182 university students of Educational Science participated in these two studies. Results of both studies show that social scripts can be substantially beneficial with respect to the individual acquisition of knowledge, whereas epistemic scripts apparently do not lead to the expected effects.Unter kooperativem Lernen in computerunterstützten Lernumgebungen versteht man typischerweise, dass Lernende Wissen erwerben indem sie gemeinsam Aufgaben bearbeiten und dabei ihre individuellen Perspektiven mittels textbasierter Medien oder in Videokonferenzen diskutieren. Kooperatives Lernen scheint aber häufig suboptimal zu sein in Bezug auf die inhaltliche Bearbeitung der zu lernenden Konzepte sowie hinsichtlich der sozialen Interaktionen der Lernenden. Eine Möglichkeit kooperative Lernumgebungen zu verbessern besteht darin, Skripts zu konzeptualisieren, die epistemische Aktivitäten und soziale Interaktionen von Lernenden unterstützen. In diesem Beitrag werden zwei Studien berichtet, die die Wirkungen epistemischer und sozialer Skripts auf den individuellen Wissenserwerb in einer text- bzw. einer videobasierten computerunterstützten Lernumgebung untersuchen. In beiden Studien wurden die Faktoren "epistemisches Skript" und "soziales Skript" unabhängig voneinander in einem 2×2-faktoriellen Design miteinander variiert. 182 Studierende der Pädagogik der LMU München nahmen an diesen beiden Studien teil. Die Ergebnisse beider Studien deuten darauf hin, dass soziale Skripts individuellen Wissenserwerb substanziell fördern können, während epistemische Skripts scheinbar nicht zu den erwarteten Ergebnissen führen

Epistemic and social scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning

Collaborative learning in computer-supported learning environments typically means that learners work on tasks together, discussing their individual perspectives via text-based media or videoconferencing, and consequently acquire knowledge. Collaborative learning, however, is often sub-optimal with respect to how learners work on the concepts that are supposed to be learned and how learners interact with each other. One possibility to improve collaborative learning environments is to conceptualize epistemic scripts, which specify how learners work on a given task, and social scripts, which structure how learners interact with each other. In this contribution, two studies will be reported that investigated the effects of epistemic and social scripts in a text-based computer-supported learning environment and in a videoconferencing learning environment in order to foster the individual acquisition of knowledge. In each study the factors ‘epistemic script’ and ‘social script’ have been independently varied in a 2×2-factorial design. 182 university students of Educational Science participated in these two studies. Results of both studies show that social scripts can be substantially beneficial with respect to the individual acquisition of knowledge, whereas epistemic scripts apparently do not to lead to the expected effects

Route choice in the presence of a toll road: The role of pre-trip information and learning

Choosing a route is a complex task, especially since the roads’ capacities are limited and road users non-cooperatively seek to optimize their own trip. This article present the results of three in-laboratory route choice experiments. In all experiments the participants had to choose repeatedly between a high-capacity toll-road and a toll-free main road. We investigate the role of pre-trip information on the resulting route usage dynamics. Besides the absence of a stable equilibrium point (Wardrop’s User Equilibrium), we found that the participants improve their decisions over the course of time as a result of learning. Additional information appears only useful if only a limited number of participants possess such information. Moreover, we found gender-related differences in the observed road usage patterns: female participants were more likely to choose the toll road than male participants

Mapping the Oceans - Helping Students Make Connections

COSEE-Ocean Systems (OS) is moving forward in its development of effective tools and techniques to aid learners in better understanding the context of the oceans in both the earth and solar systems. Acting upon recent national efforts to "map" ocean topics into the educational standards, COSEE-OS is piloting effective ways to bring the relevance of the oceans to classrooms. This resource introduces concept mapping and demonstrates its effectiveness. Educational levels: Primary elementary, Intermediate elementary, Middle school, High school, Undergraduate lower division, Undergraduate upper division, Graduate or professional

Water institutions and sector performance: A subjective theory of institutional change

Institutional developmentOrganizational changeEvaluation

Facilitating change: tablet PC trials across two distance education focused universities

This paper reports on initial findings in comparing two distance universities’ approaches to trialling tablet technology to enhance communication between instructors and students. There were different reasons for initiating the trials and different approaches to each of the trials, but there were also some striking similarities. For instance both trials were led from the bottom up, however they were each conducted with no knowledge of the other. Funding for each of these trials was resourced from a university learning and teaching grant/fellowship and both projects used an action research approach. The emphasis for both trials was on pedagogical and technological staff development facilitated and administered through each project leader. The paper gives an overview of how the trials were conducted, what did and did not succeed and what could be improved. Longer lasting outcomes that have been achieved through these projects are described. This comparison is meant to guide and inform change agents and identify good practice in the management of technology trials