Category: Learning & Teaching Development

Applied Theatre: Utilising Technology to Analyse Workshop Processes

Living in a ever-more technological world we often discover technological tools and apps, that can be applied to many different disciplines and practices. This morning a group of students from the BA Theatre course, who attend the Schools module, were introduced to an app – ‘Coach’s eye‘ to use for analysing workshop practice. The session was taught collaboratively between Kay Hepplewhite, Senior Lecturer in Theatre and Dasha Zhurauskaya of Learning and Teaching Development here at York St John University.

The session began with students creating workshop scenarios that involved teaching younger children and some issues that may be faced when teaching. Using the ‘Coach’s eye’ app on the university’s iPads’, the students could record the workshop and then later analyse strengths and weaknesses of the workshop delivery. The app allows for a commentary to be added over the video, it also allows users to highlight specific areas in the video and to zoom in for deeper analysis.

In discussion after the session many of the students agreed that the use of the technology allowed for a closer critique of how a facilitator delivers a workshop. The app also could be used in general theatre practice for analysing live performances. Kay Hepplewhite asked students whether they would like feedback given through an app such as ‘Coach’s eye’. Many responded with positive feedback for use of the app commenting ‘it’s such an easy form to be able to display shortfalls and strengths of practice’. The videos created can also be easily shared on sites such as YouTube and the University’s Media Library.

Personally I can begin to see the benefits of the integration of technology when trying to analyse workshop process. It also stands as a form of documentation for a devising process for performance. After spending more time using the ipad and associated apps, it will become a useful asset for both an applied theatre practitioner and a theatre maker.

On behalf of the module participants, I would like to thank Dasha Zhurauskaya of Learning and Teaching Development for introducing the technology and both Kay Hepplewhite and John Merrylees for organising and facilitating the session.

Simon Bedwell
www.simon-bedwell.co.uk

Blog nomination

The iPad project team received some good news this week. The York St John University iPad project blog has been nominated as to be on a list of Tremendous Thesis and Dissertation Resources that will be published soon on OnlinePhDProgram.org.

Here’s a copy of the email we received:

“I’m writing to share the news that iPad Project Blog has been nominated to be on a list of Tremendous Thesis and Dissertation Resources that will be published soon on OnlinePhDProgram.org

We strive to connect students with higher education opportunities and sources of information about different paths of graduate study. We’re constructing this list as a tool for our readers who are interested in, or already pursuing, masters and doctoral level studies. Your site could make a great entry on this list.

We’re still looking for other sites to consider for inclusion, so if you could email me links to any site you think is a great resource for someone working on a thesis or dissertation, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

It’s great to get recognition for the work we have been doing on the project and a nice start to the Easter Break. :)

Lunchtime forum on using iPads in the classroom

At York St John University we run lunchtime forums to provide an opportunity for staff to hear about curriculum innovations that are happening across the university. Today’s forum focused on the use of iPads in the classroom. It was a great session with lots of discussion and hands on activities. The forum was attended by representatives from all four faculties and a few other departments. Having academics who have used iPads before as part of our initiative added an extra value to the session.

Lena and I set the scene by presenting an overview of the project. The tutors who have been part of the project then shared their experiences of being part of the project and gave examples of using iPads. We then shared three other examples of using iPads for inquiry based sessions, peer feedback and video analysis.
In the second half of the forum we had two tutors from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences presenting some specialist apps and sharing they ideas of how using iPads in their faculty enhanced students learning.

In the end, we asked everyone to give us some feedback on the session using a response system called Socrative. The feedback was 100% positive and here are some comments from the delegates in response to “What did you find particularly useful?”:

“Getting to play! Hearing specific examples or case studies from academic colleagues. Well-structured and clearly delivered”.

“Seeing other lecturers approaches and recognising what we have in common”.

We left feeling very positive and more confident in presenting at a lunchtime forum on iPads in Teesside University in April.  Thank you to everyone who participated!

iPads in Geography Lessons

Last week we have used iPads with a cohort of full-time PGCE students studying a module on “Creativity and Diversity in Learning and Teaching”. The students on this module are divided in to five teaching groups with 30 people per each group.  The iPads provided students with an opportunity to consider how mapping can be related to ICT in primary Geography lessons.

The students were able to use Maps on iPads to compare road map with satellite view of a given area, e.g. school where they did their placement and think about what questions children might have if they saw these maps.

In addition, using Keynote, a presentation app, students were able to create a few slides incorporating the images of different map views and questions that children can ask about the maps. See an example below.

Overall, it seemed that students really enjoyed using iPads and thinking how technology can be used in their own classes with younger children to explore Geography.

How an iPad Session Changed My Learning

I was slightly dubious about using iPads in a session at University. I am the first to admit that I am pro-technology within education, but not being an Apple user I could not see the educational potential that iPads had. I personally thought that they would be an easy distraction for people to ignore tasks and play on Angry Birds.

In hind-sight I was slightly ignorant to think as much. Within the session we were advised to use Notability™ in order to create spider-diagram plans of our own curriculums. This required students to research ideas for their own curriculums, jotting them down into the programme. There are many advantages to doing this rather than on a piece of paper. Firstly, the instant access to information is invaluable; not only is this practical, it also defers tutors to sending groups off to the library to do research, which frankly results in not enough computers and people disappearing to Costa. Secondly, the fact that these ideas are now online is much better than having a piece of paper to lose or ignore at a later date. It also allows for easily displaying of the work on the projector.

I think the reason I was wrong about people getting distracted is the fact that students were genuinely interested in the educational capabilities of the iPads. It was a new interesting piece of software that the majority of us had not seen before and we jumped at the opportunity to use it. Also the ease of using the iPads was much more appealing than having to write pages of notes.

The session with the iPads has definitely enlightened me on a personal level. I would always struggle with my notes in class; to keep them organised, neat and understandable. After the session with the iPads however, I have begun to type up my notes onto my laptop, using apps on Windows 8 to complete things such as spider diagrams.

I have now taken this a step further and started taking my laptop to classes with me, in order to compile notes and save myself a lot of time. This has not only helped me organise my work, I believe, it has also improved my learning.

Although using my laptop does not have the same practicality as using an iPad, or the same software, the concept is the same. Developments for me though, would be to see more sessions based around technology. The sessions work so smoothly, I would not hesitate in recommending more sessions like it.

I would also like to see more use of technology/ iPads from tutors. I recently came across a screen recording app that if used correctly, can record anything on screen, whilst highlight and moving around a document, while recording audio. This would allow for much more detailed feedback with assignments and also a lot more clarity. Hopefully we will see an increased use of iPads and technology in general in the near future.

“It wasn’t as easy for me as for other people”

One pleasing outcome from the project has been the engagement from those students who are not completely comfortable with using technology. Although their initial responses were not wholly favourable, their subsequent comments showed that they had soon come to appreciate the benefits of new approaches:

  • “It was the first time I had used an iPad so it was a learning exercise but I found it user friendly.”
  • “I found them helpful once I had worked out how to navigate the app”.
  • “Really good – once I got over my difficulties with technology”.

However, it’s important to point that a small minority (less than 2%) had reservations. This was mainly due to the fears of, or unfamiliarity with the new technology:

  • “They [iPads] were easy to operate in some areas other tasks seemed hard. I was not keen on the idea as it meant I was unable to have my work written out to take away with me. They were useful for group work”.
  • “I am not used to using them so it wasn’t as easy for me as for other people”.
  • “Personally I prefer a text book; friends in the class loved it. I spent ages looking for what I wanted, I’m hopeless with technology”.

The later three responses suggest that we cannot assume that all students are comfortable with adapting to the use of new technology. It takes longer for some students to get up to speed with new technology and this could be down to the individual’s preferred learning style.

This is illustrated by the following comments from two different participants: “Personally I prefer a text book; friends in the class loved it. I spent ages looking for what I wanted, I’m hopeless with technology”. In the other hand another student said:  “Very useful, much easier to find information from rather than using a book. Better for visual learners like myself”.

In order to support the students when using the iPads a member of the project team has been present at the sessions to provide support and guidance to both students and staff.

Lessons Learnt 2

Happy New Year to all our blog readers!

Following on Daniel’s post I would like to add that probably one of the main lessons we learnt is the importance of having initial meetings and testing with staff. So the way our projects work is we have application forms which are available on-line. Staff are invited to fill them in providing the details of the activity they would like to use iPads for, learning outcomes, dates and times of their session/s.  When a complete application form reaches the project team, it gets discussed and assigned a project lead.  The role of the project lead is to liaise with the stuff member to identify the best way of using iPads to assist the activity. Aside from email communication with staff we try to have face-to-face meetings to make sure that staff are also comfortable with using iPads and that they are happy with the application that we suggested. We also found that sometimes staff need time to get familiar with using iPads and/or a particular app, therefore our solution is to lend an iPad to a member of staff prior to their session. This enables staff to be more comfortable when using a device at their session.

Overall, I would say that using iPads in the classroom really enhanced student learning and especially group work. From one of the latest evaluations students said that “iPads were very helpful and I could interact with other classmates”, also “could do more research without leaving classroom”. Common feedback about having iPads also included that it was “fun , helpful, interactive, interesting and different” .

Use of iPad and app on Analysing Movement module

We have been experimenting with the use of Muscle System Pro III app on iPads to facilitate student learning on a first year, semester 1 module on the undergraduate Occupational Therapy degree programme.  Analysing Movement module enables students to learn observation skills and then apply these to analyse individuals completing everyday occupations, also known as activities of daily living.  This includes being able to analyse the motor skills, processing skills and the contextual influences on successfully participating in occupations.  Students learn to understand the implications for individuals with disability and how they may apply therapeutic interventions as future professional occupational therapists.  As part of analysing participation in occupations, students learn to identify muscles that enable joints in the body to move and analyse the muscle action.

Usually, this learning is done through use of lectures, workshops, links to web sites, YouTube and key texts.  Whilst these are helpful for students, we felt that using alternative media with some level of animation that would illustrate the 3D nature of the body, would enhance their learning and ability to understand the concepts.  We are increasingly aware of how much students interact with these media so felt it was a worthwhile chance to capitalise on this experience.

The iPads and app were used to enrich and supplement the learning in workshops, faciliated by lecturers.  Students worked  in small groups of 5 with an iPad as part of a larger group of 18-24 students.  Students quickly embraced the idea of using the iPads and app – many had prior experience of using the technology if not the app and assisted those who were novices.  Students were clearly working as co-learners.  Subsequent to the workshop, a short questionnaire using Survey Monkey was sent to all students [n=115] asking them to share their experiences.  This was overwhelmingly positive, a response that surpassed even our expectations.    Using the app helped students to understand musculoskeletal anatomy in a more interactive way.  This helped to improve their knowledge by accessing the information icons, identifying and naming muscles, viewing animations to help their skills of analysis and becoming aware of the features offerred by the app that they could use as a resource to help their independent learning away from taught sessions.  The level of interest, active participation and engagement observed in the students was rewarding, for students and staff.  Many students have subsequently purchased the app as a result of using it in one workshop and some have stated they have purchased an iPad!  Many students report using the app on their iPhones.

An opportunity for independent practice prior to the workshops for the 3 lecturers who deliver and structure the sessions, was really beneficial and made us much more aware of the potential benefits of using the technology.  This was a new foray into the use of apps and iPads for myself, as the module leader.  The support and guidance from Lena Henderson and Dasha Zhurauskaya was excellent.

In thinking about the future, we anticipate this approach becoming more mainstream for the teaching team.  Whilst this is a new strategy for us, we envisage using a range of apps on iPads in future workshops and lectures and are actively considering their application on numerous modules.  We plan to use some alternative apps on the Analysing Movement module before the end of the semester.  We plan to ask the Dean to consider purchasing additional iPads for FHLS as a worthwhile investment in exceptional student learning.  We are grateful to the staff in Learning and Teaching Development at YSJU for purchasing the Muscle System Pro II app and installing this onto the iPads.  We are liaising with our line manager regarding the purchase of other apps and accessing relevant free apps.  If we have dedicated iPads in the faculty, this should enable us to access them more readily instead of booking with another support service – more to go around!

Janet Golledge

Module Leader

22.11.12

Embedding tablet and mobile technology into the teaching and learning ecosystem

This post started out as a comment on the image in this post about using iPads and other tablets and mobile devices in the classroom:

http://blog.yorksj.ac.uk/ipadproject/2012/09/25/teaching-with-tablets-infographic/

I think this image really just scratches the surface of the potential for using tablet type devices in learning and teaching. In addition to the possibility of using devices as electronic multimedia textbooks and to access apps, these devices can be used right across the learning and teaching process and environment. Just some examples:

  • They can be used to facilitate enquiry based and collaborative learning – such as by enabling students to research a topic, discuss and collaborate, share information and present it
  • They can be used by students to structure their time, plan projects, make todo lists, etc
  • They can facilitate less linear approaches to thinking, problem solving and learning, such as through the use of Mindmapping, card sorts, cork boards etc – this may also be of benefit to students with Dyslexia
  • Although there is room for improvement, iPads in particular have some useful accessibility features such as text to speech, dynamic screen zooming, audio cues for touch control, contrast control, dictation support etc, which potentially widens opportunities for students to participate
  • They can be used to access research, databases and web based resources such as Moodle, Mendelay, research comunities like Linkedin etc
  • They can be used by students or staff to review literature, comment on articles and provide feedback on work (including the potential to do this more creatively and interactively such as via Facetime and video links or audio comments)
  • They can be used by educators to prepare and present sessions interactively and using a variety of media (including virtual anatomy, physics etc)
  • They can be used by staff and students to create blogs and websites, videos and multimedia portfolios; these in turn may provide a basis for assessment as well as presenttaion of research, learning or discussion topics

I tend to think that sometimes when considering the integration of new technologies into teaching (or many other things) often we tend to be captivated initially by the “shiny new toy” aspect of the technology, such as apps and their uses, which tends to focus on the technology as a thing in itself rather than as a means to an end. To get beyond that we need to consider how the tools we use (in this case iPads etc) may be embedded into educational processes right across the board (potentially) but also recognise in practice we need to ensure that process is student centred and not a one size fits all approach. Its about providing opportunities not prescriptions.

Using tablets to enhance enquiry based learning

 We had a very interactive enquiry-based learning workshop this morning with some of our level 3 students, making full use of the recently purchased iPads as a research, collaboration and presentation tool. The workshop was part of a level 3 module in the Occupational Therapy programme on External influences and contexts of practice, and the subject matter for the workshop was Challenging stigma and ageism; promoting well-being and personhood, in practice working with older adults. The subject seemed ripe for a student-centred, interactive and enquiry-based approach that students could really engage in and be motivated to research various aspects of the issues themselves, then present, critique and discuss their findings. To facilitate the workshop we had already set up a discussion forum on the module Moodle site where students had been able to share information, media and websites pertinent to the session learning outcomes, and for the workshop itself students worked in 4 groups, each one investigating a different aspect:

1.Stereotypes and negative attitudes about ageing

2.How stigma and ageism impact on occupation, health and well being

3.Older people as a social resource – positive views of ageing

4.Challenging stigma and ageism practically (including relevent policy,  legislation and professional guidelines as well as examples of good practice)

The advantage of using iPads in this session was that it greatly increased opportunities for students to work collaboratively and interactively, and to creatively research and engage with the topic. Since most classrooms only have one computer terminal,  previously an activity of this nature would have required that students go to the library and try and access as many computer terminals as possible to do their research and create a presentation. This process is time consuming, and as one student pointed out in the session, there is no guarantee they will all be able to access a workstation, and it’s much harder for them to work collaboratively under those conditions.

The iPads made it possible for them to stay in the room and work together, they were able to discuss topics and research information very quickly and effectively and much more collaboratively. Students used the iPads to share links, images and discussion points by posting them on the Moodle discussion forum we set up for this purpose, and were able to gather information in a variety of media, including video as well as images and text, and present it to their peers to facilitate a group discussion. They were creative and engaged and the feedback suggests that they found the session stimulating and to have been a valuable learning experience. As expected a few students needed some additional help getting used to the iPad interface and tools but this is where having Dasha in the session was invaluable (as well as some familiarity with the tools myself). This did not present a major obstacle though and most students seemed to find the interface easy to learn, even those unfamiliar with it. The main problem we encountered was the erratic wifi signal in DeGrey level 2 which at one point was significantly slowing down Internet access. For iPads and other tablet devices to be used to their best potential we need a IT and educational ecosystem in place that allows them to be used easily and without barriers. One of the aims of this session in terms of pedagogy was to evaluate how well such devices could be used in the context of core everyday learning processes; the focus was not on any particular apps or the technology per se, but on facilitating enquiry based learning and collaboration.