Digital Directions

LILAC10 - Student Feedback, E-bay style

 The LILAC 2010 conference keynote speaker was Aaron Porter, the vice-president (higher education) of the National Union of Students. Speaking on the challenges ahead for the UK HE system, his argument was aimed at the broader level of education – although one point raised during the audience debate that is worth mentioning here, is student feedback.

Yes, the perennial problem of student feedback! Aaron’s view was that face to face feedback carries more value for students and leads to greater improvements, or the opportunity for greater improvements, to be made in subsequent assessments. He suggested a possible model for more immediate and holistic feedback, based upon the Amazon, E-bay, ‘how-was-it-for-you’ format.

Whilst it may be useful for the impatient student to track their assignment:

• We have received your order (essay)
• Your order is in the warehouse (department office)
• Your order is being gift wrapped (marked)
• Your order is being dispatched (second marked)
• Your order is with Parcelforce (external examiner)
• You were not in to collect your deliver, please call at the post office (law department) between the hours of…

It is perhaps more useful to consider the feedback and star ratings that buyers and sellers can enter into in order to evaluate their experience of ordering the item / writing the essay and the receipt of their goods / comments and assessment.

Aaron also suggested that students should perhaps respond to the assessment feedback in some way before the actual grades were released in order to encourage active dialogue between staff and students, whether this be face to face or electronic. Perhaps the electronic method can encourage feedback to be given sooner, rather than later; and may have benefits for part-time students.

The 's-mode' of legal education

Digital Directions has been rather quiet over the winter vacation - but then so has news on legal education!

A colleague brought my attention to an article in The Times Online yesterday, by Richard Susskind.  He describes the 's-mode' of learning where 's' stands for supervised (yet another to be added to the list of e- and m- learning) that is used in a some law schools.  On balance, he concludes:

Sceptics protest. They say that a law lecture should be a communal event at which students are professionally socialised. It would be regrettable, of course, if law students were never to experience the thrill of assembling with peers in a fine hall and listening to an outstanding live performance. But we should not preserve the old ways in the delusion that such performances are commonplace. Unless the lecture is genuinely outstanding (a rarity, students say), the convenience and flexibility of e-learning will trump the benefits of the communal learning experience.

Conventional lectures can be, and indeed are, replaced by electronic materials, but the hardware, software skills, effort and expense required often prevents some law schools from taking full advantage of the technologies available.

The article also links to Susskind's 5 year review of e-learning in The College of Law, which further elaborates on s-learning.  Here, technology is used to move away from the typical one-to-many style of teaching that the traditional classroom offers, and is more akin to the one-to-one style tutoring that is commonly associated with Oxbridge.

It is interesting to note that the student feedback tended to be less positive from students who have no previous direct experience of studying under the s-mode.  This may suggest then, that Susskind's examples of BPP, College of Law and GGSL may benefit from increased use of s-learning blended into the undergraduate curriculum of other law schools.  Indeed, law firms may adopt s-mode for trainee and in-house CPD purposes, increasing further the need for undergraduate providers to adopt, adapt or even pioneer s-mode so that students are both capable and comfortable in this mode of study, yet not disadvantaged by graduates from other institutions who may have a head-start in this style of learning.

Susskind concludes his review with recommended enhancements, which include the use of synchronous communication modes such as skype, other messenger services, or even, dare I add, face to face!

LILAC social networking site

The LILAC conference is taking place next week in Warwick - and I see already that the logo has been adapted to recognise the 10 year anniversary of UKCLE, and the HEA subject centres in general!

So far, the wiki social networking site has details of the conference papers, including the parallel sessions, keynote speakers, posters and the cybercafe.

A number of attendees have already registered on the site, and started discussions relating to papers, travel (someone is offering a lift from central London!), and other things.

A limited number of the papers will be recorded as podcasts, so they will be available after the conference.

Sign-up at http://lilac10.wetpaint.com/ for further details.