<< Back to Show and Tell

Reflection on Practice

Who:
Professor Russell Yates, Department of Health Sciences
Management of Change

What: Teams LX

Objective: For students, who were also working professionals in the mental health field (e.g. as nurses or in the department of health), to reflect on their practice and apply change management theory within that practice.

Process: The course was a hybrid with both a distance and classroom learning component. Outside of the classroom, Teams LX was used to create 15, topic specific wikis of which each student was a member of 3. Inside the classroom, each topic was covered by a workshop. The students used the wikis to collaboratively work online and develop a course knowledgebase inclusive of their assigned topic groups.

Result: At the end of the course, a knowledgebase covering 15 specialized topics was created, and students were tested by a final exam derived from information within knowledgebase. To lean more, access the Yorkshare page here.

Who:
Professor Brian Loader, Department of Sociology
New Media and Society

What: Teams LX and Journal LX

Objective: Have Sociology students explore a range of sociological influences in the realm of new media including the Internet, mobile telephony, and digital communication technologies; and, acquire a critical understanding of how sociologists theorize the emergence of these technologies within the context of debates about broader sets of social transformations.

Process: A combination of lectures, workshops and online communication and collaboration tools were used to deliver course objectives. Teams LX and Journal LX worked in tandem with the lectures and workshops, and were used to create blogs and group wiki pages to inspire reflection, group collaboration and peer feedback. Within the class blog, each student was asked to publish a minimum of 3 entries per week and include web links to informative articles and resources; students were then encouraged to post comments discussing the ‘new media' theme presented by the blog entry. Two class wiki's were created. The fist wiki was set up to host a collaborative glossary of new media concepts and was referred to as a "Mediapedia." Here students each selected a ‘new media' concept, wrote a brief essay and linked it to the main page. The second wiki was a workshop wiki. Within the weekly workshops, 2-3 students were responsible for a power point presentation and peers contributed feedback and engaged in discussion on the concepts presented. The wiki was used for groups preparing a presentation and then for peers to post feedback.

Result: Within the class of 43, student logins were frequent across the module. Each student contributed an entry to the "Mediapedia", and there was an extensive range of entries to the course blog, which reflected individual research. To learn more, access the New Media and Society Case Study here

Sharing Information and Building Reports in a Common Workspace

Who:
Professor Rob Aiken, Department of Politics
World Politics: States, Development and Conflict

What: Teams LX

Objective: Have students explore the institutions and practice of contemporary politics through the analysis of diverse cases from different regions; give students an introduction to researching case studies and report writing; facilitate discussion and collaborative learning amongst students by providing a common work space to share information and build reports.

Process: Sixty-three separate teams make up this large cohort and Teams LX was used for collaboration within assigned working groups. Within the course, wikis were used for the development of weekly, group case-study reports. The wiki allowed file uploads to be combined with online editing and report writing. This facilitated a more collaborative approach to file-exchanges and report writing, and allowed tutors to monitor individual students' contributions. Thus, the wiki effectively provided an environment to support group-based research activities, resource links, and a dedicated space for each group to work in and develop weekly reports.

Result: Of the 185 students, 88% were considered active users of the group pages. And, using wikis with the small group model generated more commitment and responsibility in members toward one another, as well as the incentive to contribute. To learn more, access the World Politics Case Study here.