Description of the Lodz case

Scenario

Can you tell briefly what the context was at the beginning of the project?

The Academy of Humanities and Economics (AHE) is divided into several departments. The methodology of teaching differs from one to another. There are two main ways of teaching: face-to-face and e-learning [Polish Virtual University (PVU/PUW)]. Traditional teaching includes lectures, exercises, laboratories, projects and workshops. In AHE the students are also given the electronic books for each course. The books are the main source of knowledge for the distance-learning students.
We observed that some students prefer having their lectures in traditional way, but they also use some modern web applications.
At the very beginning of the project the department of IT was involved. We decided to choose one teacher to lead course with new methodology of teaching. The course took place at their fourth semester of studies. The function of the teacher was to introduce the idea of Blended Learning-XL project and to choose the initial blended web tools. The teacher had to adapt the current course (Administration of network) to the demands of the project.

What problem areas was the project going to address?

The computer science students complain about several issues: courses are difficult and some exams are extremely difficult mainly due to the amount of material or due to complexity. Examination of Administration of Networks was one of them.
They also complain about lack of web programs which would be freely available for them to communicate. They lack the common area (environment) where their thoughts, ideas, files, reports, etc. could be exchanged (collaboration). It is extremely important especially for more practical oriented courses, e.g. Networks Administration. The teachers are also the ones who complain. They admit that, depending on the attitude of the group, they need some additional web environment to provide students with extra teaching materials.

Who have been involved, apart from your students and yourself?

Administration collaborators.

What were your main goals for the Blend-XL project?

The main objectives of redesigning the course are:

• to teach better
• to make the course more interesting and challenging learning experience
• to make good use of students’ abilities and their technical knowledge
• to meet students’ expectations
• to encourage students to be more hard-working and to motivate them to try harder
• to give some tools to exchange ideas between students 
• to give some additional teaching tools for the teachers
• to choose the most suitable web tools/programs for learning/teaching

How did you plan for improvement in practical terms?

We decided to make lecture’s PowerPoint presentations and notes available for students. There were some extra files provided to students (also created by them). A forum was compiled for them, where we expected to have fruitful discussion with students. Also, just after the exam had taken place, the exam topics were posted to students (they were encourage to solve the tasks in group work). We also expected feedback from students to receive their opinion on new methodology. The course syllabus has been rebuilt. 

Process

Can you briefly describe how the two cycles of the local case were set up?

We decided to enrich the traditional way of teaching by adding some e-tools. As mentioned before the AHE has a long tradition to give e-learning courses. The e-tools were made available for us.
For the purposes of the BlendXL project we decided to use R5 Generation e-learning platform, which has been set up for the course. We provided the following e-learning tools: fora, chat-rooms, drop-in folders, course content folders and mailing system. There are several tools to help administering the users (students, teachers, admin). The students were given the accounts for the system.
For the second run of the project the e-learning system was completely changed (students decided which one to choose). The teacher animated the forum discussions, replied to students’ posts and questions.

What were the main differences between the cycles?

First cycle of the project showed how important the web program is. The students criticized the R5 Generation e-platform and chose their own. The students were better informed about the aims of the project.

What problems did you encounter?

In the I cycle of the course three main problems were encountered:

• students’ dissatisfaction from group work and group discussions (in the I cycle evaluation most of the students did not feel encouraged by fellow students to participate in group work and they found quality of group discussions poor
• students’ feeling that introductory explanations given at the beginning of the course were not sufficient (they were lacking information concerning the following points: what is blended learning, the role of blended learning tools, amount of study time required)
• students’ doubts concerning their preferences – 48% of them could not say if they prefer blended learning or traditional teaching methods

Taking into consideration these three problems the teacher conducting the course did his best to improve II cycle course and paid more attention to group work, providing students with more detailed introductory information and encouraging them to be more active in the course.
Second run of the project run smoothly without severe problems.

Lessons

What were the main lessons from the project?

• The “blended way” of teaching is more effective
• Students like “blended way”.
• “Blended way” may teach how to make good use of team/group work
• The “blended way” should not mean “without the teacher”. This should mean to enrich the traditional way of teaching with web environment.
• “Blended way” is very demanding on the teacher. If the teacher is not determined the students will not profit from “blended way”.
• Forum is a good e-tool but not enough. Students need more off-line data – podcasts, lecture recordings, etc.

What were lessons for you personally as an educator and professional.

I will never go back into pure traditional teaching. I become the propagator of blended-xl teaching.

What new problem areas have you discovered? What actions will you take in the future on these points?

• “Blended way” is difficult for older teachers
• The members of management of the university (Rector, Chancellor) are the ones who should introduce “blended way” to the academic staff.
• Courses of blending learning are needed for the academic staff. The more the methodology is known the easier it will win support.
• Some money is needed to install and host web software.