inspirED Seminar Series 2011-2012

The Library & Learning Centre is delighted to announce this year's programme of inspirED seminars to support excellence in teaching and scholarship. In 2012 we will be addressing the question; 'Is there a pedagogy of e-learning?', with four leading experts in the fields of e-learning and educational development adopting different positions and delivering thought-provoking presentations on this subject.

All seminars are open to academic, research and support staff and will be held in the EduZone, located in the Main Library. To register for a seminar please email inspirED and state the title of the seminar you wish to attend. A light lunch will be provided.

'Is there a pedagogy of e-learning?'

Wednesday 15 February 2012, 1.00pm - 2.30pm

I would like to challenge this question from 2 main perspectives. The first assumption I would like to challenge is that 'a' single pedagogy is available. I suggest that there are several pedagogies of e-learning vying for our attention, including: the theoretical/critical ones in some of the textbooks; the implicit pedagogy buried in many HE institution's policy and strategy statements; and the practical pedagogy which informs many tutors' actions inside and outside the classroom (which may or may not be informed by specific theory). These different pedagogies have different implications for teaching staff behaviour and for student learning which we need to unravel. My more fundamental challenge is to argue that all these pedagogies are misleading and potentially dangerous in terms of their implications for the ways that we understand and enhance student learning. The common implication is that e-learning is a 'distinctive entity' which needs particular attention. While this is necessary for some policy and strategic decisions, the practical consequence is that we limit our approaches to both curriculum design and delivery. I will offer current examples which illustrate this limitation.

Professor Peter Hartley

Peter Hartley is Professor of Education Development at the University of Bradford and Visiting Professor at Edge Hill University. He has been involved in several national UK initiatives to enhance student learning, including Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning - CETLs - and development projects for JISC and the Higher Education Academy, including initiatives on e-portfolios, computer-aided assessment, and audio feedback. As a National Teaching Fellow (NTFS), he has promoted the use of new technology and developed educational software applications, including 'The Interviewer' (2nd edition, Gower, 2010), 'Interviewer Viva' (Bradford, 2011) and his work on 'Making Groupwork Work' with the LearnHigher CETL.

He is currently leading the NTFS Group Project on Programme-Based Assessment (PASS) and working with several UK universities on the integration of technology to support student learning.

Peter Hartley summarises his seminar in a short video presentation

'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore...'

Wednesday 14 March 2012, 1.00pm - 2.30pm

How we learn, where we learn, when we learn, what we learn and why we learn has changed beyond all recognition over the last 30 years… yet for far too many learners of school age, their experiences of learning are remarkably similar to those of their parents and grandparents.

The problem I wish to examine is why so many teachers and indeed, so many schools, are effectively ICT and e-Learning free zones. Recent research suggests that blended learning is one of the most effective means of improving learner achievement, yet few schools are making any use – let alone effective use – of the panoply of tools available… including Glow.

The problem lies, not with individual teachers – for there are many who already appreciate the potential, but with schools and authorities who cannot see past the next set of results, or the newspaper headlines when something goes wrong. These fears have effectively lead to a stifling of the very creativity that is demanded by Curriculum for Excellence. Of course, the reality is that, despite apparent restrictions, learners are quite capable of finding solutions themselves… even if that means breaking a few ‘rules’ along the way.

In this talk, I’ll be making the case that we need to engage with the tools that are available and that will mean doing some things differently because, if we don’t, we will gradually fulfil the second part of this prediction:

“If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less.” General Eric Shinseki, former United States Army Chief of Staff.

Neil Winton

Neil Winton has been one of the front runners in adopting and utilising Web2.0 tools in his teaching for the last 10 years. One of his first attempts was a class blog that didn’t take off because none of his pupils had the internet at home!

He has spoken widely on the impact of ICT on Literacy including at the Scottish Learning Festival, the National Literacy Conference (organised by LTS/HMIe), and these lead to an ongoing involvement with the SQA for whom he has delivered keynote addresses. Recently, he has been involved in helping shape the Scottish Survey of Literacy & Numeracy for the SQA, specifically in the development of assessments of multi-modal texts such as graphic novels, websites and moving image.

As part of the writing team for the new National Assessments in Literacy and English, Neil was asked to write a discussion paper on the impact of Web2.0 tools on Literacy. Some of his ideas and suggestions have found their way into the recently published National 4/National 5 guidelines.

He has recently decided to step down as Head of English at Perth Academy in order to concentrate on his blogging, speaking and writing. He is currently working on a guide to Web2.0 tools for English Teachers.

Neil Winton summarises his seminar in a short video presentation.

'Acknowledging and celebrating e-pedagogy'

Wednesday 18 April 2012, 1.00pm - 2.30pm

Julia will suggest that there is indeed a distinctive e-pedagogy which must be celebrated and acknowledged. Julia’s work in schools, colleges and HE institutions has left her in no doubt that if we refuse to recognize a distinctive e-pedagogy then we fail to acknowledge the potential for learning interactions which, if not revolutionary, are certainly evolutionary. She will explain how existing learning theories provide a strong basis on which to build educative strategies and pedagogic approaches that may only be successfully enacted in online environments.

In her argument, she will explain the importance of acknowledging that e-pedagogy presents new and further opportunities which enable new roles for educators and students as co-learners and as co-tutors and as more equal partners in the co-creation and co-ownership of educational experiences, resources, and public knowledge. Without appropriate opportunities to develop the skills required for effective e-pedagogy, many educators will never realise their potential to make real changes to their practice because technology will be used only in ways which provide useful but limited extensions to classroom based practice. That would be a disastrous waste of potential.

Julia Fotheringham

Julia Fotheringham brings to this debate more than 20 years experience of working with educators in order to develop excellence in learning, teaching and assessment. In her present role as Lecturer in Academic Practice at Edinburgh Napier, she works with practitioners in over 30 institutions on the applied and practice based Masters in Blended and Online Education.

Julia Fotheringham summarises her seminar in a short video presentation

'Rattling the cage: disturbing pedagogical orthodoxy in the landscape of e-learning'

Wednesday 23 May 2012, 1.00pm - 2.30pm

Contemporary shifts in the landscape of learning and teaching in tertiary education pose a number of fundamental questions regarding the role of educators. As the educator becomes increasingly decentred and displaced as gatekeeper to the repository of knowledge, there is a need to reconsider the pedagogic principles underpinning learning and teaching practices and to align the educational opportunities provided by emergent electronic technologies with these principles. Reflecting on the experience of enabling and promoting student engagement with e-learning technologies, this presentation will question the potential of established pedagogic practices to underpin learning and teaching in a technologically-enhanced environment.

Dr Neil McPherson

Neil McPherson, Lecturer, University of the West of Scotland

Neil is a Lecturer in Sociology within the School of Social Sciences at University of the West of Scotland. He is interested in the use and development of electronic learning and assessment technologies, which he uses widely in his learning and teaching practice. He is currently researching the potential of particular e-assessment technologies to enhance the student experience of assessment and feedback through the provision of a stable and safe environment within which to locate the practice of peer review.

Neil McPherson summarises his seminar in a short video presentation.