This document discusses using technology to promote student engagement and feedback. It explores various technology options like Moodle forums, multimedia message boards, and apps. A local app called Study Space was designed by students to supplement Moodle in an informal way. Students found Study Space useful for getting quick answers to questions from both peers and lecturers. It helped consolidate knowledge and allowed for social learning. The current status is that Study Space is being piloted in various programs with early results promising. Developing the app further to collect additional feedback data for academic reps and senior management is discussed. The key takeaway is that proactive use is more important than the technology itself.

1. Keith Brown
Learning Technologist
Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback
@KeithBrownBath blogs.bath.ac.uk/keithbrownkeith.brown@bath.ac.uk

2. Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback
Focus on Academic Reps and Staff
Student Liason Committee (SSLC)

3. Where are we?
With permission from Julian Stodd

4. What do we want technology to do?
•Connect
•Communicate
•Collaborate & Share
•Community
Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback

5. What are the requirements?
• Widely available to students
• Effortless to use
• Private – no impact on the reputation of the university
• Private – no impact on a student’s digital identity
• Data stored on university data-base
• Anonymous
Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback

6. A small selection of possible solutions:
• Moodle Forums
• Multi-media Message Boards
• Lino-it
• Padlet
• Apps
• Private Apps
Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback

7. Moodle Forums
• Private – securely hosted
• Available to all students
• Easy to Use?
• Anonymous?
• Effortless?
• Compared to an app, the
‘distance’ is longer
• But, the moodle app is
coming soon

8. Multi-media
Message Walls
• allows users to
communicate and ask
questions publicly, and
anonymously
• Quick and easy way to
contribute

9. Multi-media
Message Walls
• Public & Anonymous
• Private – requires user to sign-
up (Facebook, Twitter etc)
• Database hosted externally

10. Apps
• Facebook
• Twitter
• WhatsApp
• Google Apps
PRIVACY ?

11. Local Apps
• Skype
• Will be rolled out to students
• Skype groups
•Study-Space
• Internal App

12. Study Space App
Designed by students, for students

13. What is it?
• Additional resource to supplement Moodle
• Aligned with how young people use technology
• Convenient - in your pocket
• App culture
• Social Media type App
• Privacy
• Anonymous postings - most students have chosen to post
anonymously

14. What were the most useful things about the app in terms of your learning?
The first pilot ran mid-February to mid-May 2016
with a cohort of around 140 pharmacy students
• Both students and lecturers could post in the same
place
• when lecturers posted some important notes
• When people asked a question the answers helped
my knowledge and I could also try to answer
questions which helped me to learn more
• Getting answers from students AND staff.
• Aided my revision
• Lecturers' responses
• Was able to ask questions and get help from other
students. Lecturers could intervene if peers were
wrong.
• The chance to talk to other students in an informal
way. Sometimes it feels inappropriate to email the
lecturer so having a means of consulting peers instead
is very useful
• The lecturers answering any unanswered questions
• A causal way to communicate and share ideas with the
lecturers and other students; rather than writing an
email asking about some simple questions
• You could ask any question and in most cases it would
be answered. It was useful in this way but also I'm
quite shy so probably wouldn't have the confidence to
ask the lecturers myself in case it was a stupid
question, so this enabled me to get answers fast and
without any worries
• It consolidated my knowledge by me helping other
people
• It was useful to gain lecturer feedback on some of the
questions
• very quick Q and A system; feedback from both
academics and students

15. The current status
• Small-scale
• 10 programme units, around 25 channels
• Also being tried for Academics Reps and feedback for SSLC for
Pharmacy and Pharmacology Year One students. Looking good.
• So far, some channels are more successful than others
• It works when the leader is proactive and makes it work
• Too early to tell - Revision was a key period for activity from
earlier trial

16. What was it designed to do?
• Enable Feedback
• Academic -> Student
• Student -> Academic
• Student -> Student
• Support communities of students helping each other
• Social Learning

17. • Posts
• Anonymous Posts
• Up/Down Vote
Features

18. Features
• Questions or Surveys
• Voting Competitions

19. Study Space App
Please:
• Act Responsibly
• No inappropriate comments
• Anonymous Posts have user id

20. Now developing the SSLC App
• Undergraduate Coder
• Find out the specification
• What students want
• What Academic Reps want
• What Senior Management want
• Custom features for collecting data (is the Question and Voting
Competition enough)
• What reports and visualisations are required?

21. Playtime

22. No matter what technology you
use, being proactive is the key
(it is not the technology that
matters!)
With permission from Julian Stodd

23. Keith Brown
Learning Technologist
Using Technology for
Student Engagement and Feedback
@KeithBrownBath