E-learning advocate

E-learning advocate

English (School of the Arts)

The aim for the e-learning Advocate at Northampton is to facilitate the full use of e-learning in English Literature, Language and Creative Writing modules during the revision of The University of Northampton English curriculum for a September 2007 start. The new BA in Creative Writing will also be supported. English at Northampton already uses a VLE (Blackboard) for most modules, but in terms of the 'four models of on-line education' indicated by Roberts, Jones and Romm (2000), most of these uses are at Levels 1 and 2 ('naïve' and 'standard'). The challenge is to lift some of modules to 3 and 4 ('evolutionary' and 'radical'), whilst making the 'standard' (with lecture notes, slides, summaries, web links, discussion boards) the norm for the Department. There should be exciting opportunities for showcasing student work in Creative Writing. Most important, in the initial year, will be to produce examples of innovative e-learning module sites that can act as exemplars in our own community, and be logged and demonstrated elsewhere as a stimulus to other English colleagues.

• To provide English staff with practical original examples of the creative use of e-learning and assessment in English within and beyond the Blackboard platform
• To help individual staff to incorporate e-learning into their modules, and to raise their awareness of the potential uses of IT in English teaching
• To provide a platform for the publication of student creative writing and editing
• To ensure that the revised English curriculum from September 2007 makes use of a full range of e-learning, as appropriate, and that that this is developed in a holistic and embedded way
• To make what Roberts, Jones and Romm call "a standard model of e-learning" the baseline for English modules
• To make some of the learning materials 'open access' to interested English students and staff world-wide through the University internet
• To use students in the project as active remunerated participants, and to incorporate regular student feedback into the development process

• A checklist of best practice in managing online discussion forums In English, and the use of them for assessment
• Samples of web-based learning activities related to particular genres and periods
• Examples of e-magazines for the showcasing of student creative writing, and student editing
• Examples of customized e-portfolios used for English students' PDP, keyed in to the particular demands of the subject
• Examples of on-line logs and portfolios for assessment
• Examples of different kinds of student work, with links to tutor marking comments on different sections
• The results of English staff and student focus groups' reflections on the rewards and difficulties associated with e-learning