Making History in the Digital Age Vicki Dale 1 , Mira Vogel 1 , Paul Walker 2 , Zubin Mistry 3 and Margot Finn 3 1 E-Learning Environments, 2 Centre for the Advancement for Learning and Teaching, 3 Department of History, University College London Main contact: [email protected]http://pixabay.com/en/london-silhouette- skyline-city-147791/
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Making history in the digital age apt2014 presentation v3
Design and evaluation of a 'Making history' group project for history undergraduates at UCL. Students used Mahara to showcase outcomes of research-based learning in year 1. Presented at APT2014, Greenwich, July 2014.
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Making History in the Digital Age
Vicki Dale1, Mira Vogel1, Paul Walker2, Zubin Mistry3 and Margot Finn3
1E-Learning Environments, 2Centre for the Advancement for Learning and Teaching, 3Department of History, University College London
• To promote research-based learning (Healey, 2005) in new first year history curriculum
• To help students develop:– Digital literacies (Mahara, iPads)– Historical skills (original research, primary sources)– Other employability skills (groupwork, communication, time
management, critical thinking, presentation)
• To encourage student engagement with London’s rich historical past
• Complement to parallel ‘Writing History’ course
(Wordle of text from the course handbook)
Design of student project
• Groups of 6-8• Decide their research
question • Website using different
media and modes• Three group essays
including one on teamwork process
• One 20min presentation• Weekly logs of planning
and progress
Assessment criteria not specific to web genre but originality double-weighted.
A single mark shared by all group members.
Comparison for Teaching Committee - http://goo.gl/HEcCu2
• Assessment would be single mark per group; in need of show space more than collaborative space
• Operational issues loomed large (academics convinced that tech would pose the problems)
"I didn’t have a single student … who said they couldn’t use the platform … The platform as a whole wasn't an impediment, and that's crucial because it was of course meant to be a vehicle, it wasn't supposed to be the thing that the course was about.“
(course leader)
Student survey, n=33 Students (survey & focus groups) and tutors (interviews)
Assessment
• Generally straightforward for tutors to mark– Weekly logs helped tutors, though
they made an effort to assess ‘finished product’
• Mixed student views on peer assessment– Some found it easy, some felt
criteria were vague
• Mixed views on allocation of ‘group mark’– Some thought fair, others not fair
“All members of the group should not receive the same mark. There should be at least one element of the course which is individually assessed to give every member of the group the incentive to commit to working as a team, otherwise a few members of the group can get away without putting in any effort and still get the same mark as a person in the group who worked the most.”
(student)
Student survey, n=33 Students (survey & focus groups) and tutors (interviews)
Skills• Digital literacies
– Range of literacy levels– Using other internet tools– Students saw relevance of
blogging as a medium
• History skills– Primary sources– Original research– Historiography– Material culture
• Other generic skills– Groupwork, working with others
professionally– Communication & presentation– Time management & organisation– Referencing– Interviewing– Writing– Dealing with ethical issues
Student survey, n=33 Students (survey & focus groups) and tutors (interviews)As a result of the MHGP, I consider myself to be more effective at …
Conclusions and other observations
• Commended by external examiner• Engaged students successfully in primary research from day 1 • Tutors (PGTAs) saw themselves as facilitators rather than
information-transmitters• MyPortfolio (Mahara) fit for purpose although limited
– Recent upgrade allows for more flexibility
• Evidence of functional and dysfunctional groupwork, including ‘sanitising’ groupwork accounts and unequal division of labour
• Assessment straightforward though some reluctance towards shared group mark
• Other observations: So much follows from the assessment strategy.
References
• Delclaux, A., Ruumi, A., Helm, C., McBurnie, C., Cassire, J., Saunders, K., Tushingham, P., Rist, R. 2013. Welcome to Hooray for a 4a3 foray into History's MyPortfolio Page. Making History group project webpage [not public access], UCL.
• Gourlay, L. and Oliver, M. 2013. Digital Literacies as a Postgraduate Attribute project. Available at: http://jiscdesignstudio.pbworks.com/w/page/50732695/Digital%20Literacies%20as%20a%20Postgraduate%20Attribute%20project [Accessed 3 July 2014]
• Healey, M. 2005. Linking research and teaching: exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning. In: Barnett, R. (ed.) Reshaping the University: New Relationships between Research, Scholarship and Teaching. McGraw Hill/Open University Press. pp.67-78.