Reuse, repurpose, recycle: Utilising existing technology to reduce staff workload in Higher Educatio Home : Annual Conference 2017

Public Group Active 4 years, 8 months ago

Tue, Sep 5 2017, 3:30pm – 5:00pm

Authors: Laura Roach

Room: Mountford Hall (G)

Theme: Wildcard

Type: 20-minute session

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Description

The use of technology in Higher Education often focuses on the student experience and the benefits for students. However, rising student numbers coupled with continuing higher education funding constraints means that there is a requirement for teaching staff to do ‘more with less’ to provide an excellent student experience. We have explored how capture technology, usually used for recording events such as lectures and workshops, can be utilised by teaching staff to reduce the number of hours spent moderating summative assessments with a presentation or practical element, thereby allowing these hours to be redirected to other tasks.

Witton (2016) identified that ‘much of the published research into the use of capture technologies in higher education has focused on the use and impact of recorded lectures’. The papers share a theme of: the impact of event recording on students and staff, specifically in the areas of perception of capture technologies, use of recordings, class attendance, and academic performance (O’Callaghan et al., 2015). Likewise, there is a growing evidence-base for the use of capture technologies in formative assessments, allowing students to practice self-assessment and self-reflection. There is not, however, an evidence-base for the use of capture technologies in summative assessments for the purpose of moderation.

Historically, within the institution, summative presentations were marked simultaneously by two markers present in the room. However, the paperwork of the second marker would only be used if a student’s assessment needed to be moderated. This meant that all students would be moderated, but only a percentage would be required to be processed. In the pilot, capture technology was used to record all presentations and the moderators reviewed only the students required to be moderated.

The analysis following the pilot has shown, for a single summative assessment, the number of moderation hours was cut by 90.5%, with the total number of staff hours (marking, moderation, technical support) cut by 46.7%. In real terms, this relieved teaching staff of 110 hours of unnecessary moderation, which were redirected for tasks such as providing students with valuable feedback.

To enhance the student experience, we draw on Kolb’s (2015) experiential learning theory. Ahead of summative presentations, students participate in formative presentations and review the recordings. This provides the students with an opportunity to reflect, draw on the experience and implement changes before the summative presentation. Data shows that 83.6% of students who choose to participate in this process find it useful.

This presentation will explore the process of developing a robust capture system, challenges (both logistical and staff engagement), plans for roll out, and physical learning spaces upgrades.

Kolb, D. 2015. Experiential Learning. 2^nd ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.

O’Callaghan, F.V. et al. 2015. The use of lecture recordings in higher education: A review of institutional, student, and lecturer issues. Education and Information Technologies, 22(1), pp.399-415.

Witton, G. 2016. The value of capture: Taking an alternative approach to using lecture capture technologies for increased impact on student learning and engagement. British Journal of Educational Technology. 10.1111/bjet.12470 [Accessed 23^rd March 2017]

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