Friday 16 September 2016

Web conferencing
Using webinars to increase student engagement

Students enrolled in the Master of Medical Imaging Science at the Faculty of Health Science study off campus, part-time while working full-time. One of the aims of the program to offer off-campus students an experience similar to on-campus students by using eLearning technologies. The webinar tool Blackboard Collaborate Ultra has been implemented within the instructional design of the program to increase engagement between the student, the facilitator and their peers. We proposed a minimum of three webinars a semester for a UoS. The first to introduce the UoS coordinator and discuss the learning and assessment. The next two webinars are offered one or two weeks before major assessments. We will share our initial experience with the use of webinars within the Master of Medical Imaging Science.

Dr Peter Kench is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Health Science with an interest in pedagogy and eLearning tools that enhance the student’s learning experience. Peter has managed to obtain external and internal grants to support the development of educational innovations. Current interests include the learning experience of the part-time off-campus students and improving the integrity of assessments using tools such as Turnitin and Examity.

Web conferencing for flexibility and communication

Flexibility – of geographic location and time - is becoming increasingly necessary to both learners and teachers, yet great communication is one of the foundations of a successful unit of study.  This presentation will look at how web conferencing using Blackboard Collaborate was used to bridge this dilemma in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences first year subject, Writing and Rhetoric: Argumentation.

Synchronous tutorials via Collaborate were used to create a bonded cohort of on-campus and off-campus students and provide a close to equivalent learning experience.  Students also used the online meeting space with peers to plan and develop their collaborative group work.  At the same time, web conferencing was also being used for teaching team meetings to manage the unit, allowing for flexibility and excellent communication between members of staff.

Dr Frances Di Lauro is an inter-disciplinary scholar formally trained in archaeology and religious studies who teaches writing, argumentation and workplace communications. She was an early adopter of blended learning, flipped lectures and emerging teaching technologies and, since 2012, has been developing innovative ways to use Wikipedia as a collaborative writing platform and a vehicle for formative assessment that can be implemented across all teaching units at the University.

Event details

• When:

  Friday 16 September 2016
  12.00pm - 1.00pm

• Where:

  Rooms 218, Level 2, Fisher Library South (F04)

• Cost:

  Free

registrations closed