Presentation on e-teaching given at Blackboard World 2014 conference July 2014. Based on doctoral research investigating the influences on attitudes and behaviours of staff who teach and support learning towards virtual learning environments, it offers seven top tips for managing online learning based on the Teaching and Learning in a Digital Age (TELEDA) short postgraduate courses at the University of Lincoln.

1. e-teaching:
from digital shyness to confidence
with Blackboard Learn
Sue Watling
17th July 2014

2. About me: Sue Watling
HEA Accreditation
Fellow Status
CMALT
Learning
Technologist
Senior Lecturer in
Educational
Development
Doctoral research ‘e-teaching’
MA in Open and
Distant Education
2
suewatling.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk
@suewatling
http://staff.lincoln.ac.uk/swatling

3. About my work and research...
Education
Development
• Digital Pedagogies
• Digital Design
• Digital Literacies
• Digital Culture
e-teaching
• Teaching and
Learning in a
Digital Age
(TELEDA)
• TELEDA 1
digital design and
delivery
• TELEDA 2
social media and
e-resources
Research
• PhD e-teaching
• Digital inclusion
• Open Education
‘Embedding OER
Practice’
(HEA/JISC)
• Supporting
transition
(HEA/ALDinHE)
3 Image from http://www.comunidadunete.net/boletines/img48/contenidos1.png

4. e-teaching
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5. Research Drivers
 UCISA Surveys
http://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/groups/ssg/s
urveys/TEL_survey_2012_with%20Apps_final
 HEA Flexible pedagogies reports
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/projects/detail/Re
search/FP_prep_for_future_research
 NMC Horizons Higher Education
http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-
he-EN-SC.pdf
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6. NMC Horizon Higher Education report
“Faculty training still does not acknowledge the fact
that digital media literacy continues its rise in
importance as a key skill in every discipline and
profession.
Despite the widespread agreement on the
importance of digital media literacy, training in the
supporting skills and techniques is rare in teacher
education and non-existent in the preparation of
faculty.”
NMC Horizon Higher Education (2014: 23)
http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2014-nmc-horizon-report-he-EN-SC.pdf
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7. HEA Flexible Pedagogies T.E.L. report

8. BC - Before Computers
8 Dial up modem sound file page http://www.soundjay.com/dial-up-modem-sound-effect.html

9. Digital Pedagogies
• Heutagogy (Case and Kenyon 2001) self-directed learning
http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/pr/Heutagogy.html
• Alignment of the Curriculum (Biggs 1999)
• Deep and surface approaches to learning through critical
reflective practice (Biggs 1987, 1992; Moon, 2004 2008)
• Community shared practice and inquiry (Garrison and
Anderson 1999, 2012)
• Conversational framework (Laurillard 2001)
• Scholarship Reconsidered (Boyer, 1990)
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10. 10

11. Teaching and Learning in a Digital age (TELEDA)
• Module1. online design, communication,
collaboration, assessment, feedback, open
education
• Module 2. social media in teaching and
developing e-resources
• 24 weeks (30 M level cats)
• Delivered and assessed through Blackboard
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12. Research engaged practice
• Evidence based practice
• Research informed/engaged
• Action research cycles:
evaluation, reflection, action
• Experiential learning opportunities
• Shift from Blackboard as repository
to Blackboard as generator of
learning activities
12

13. LB 1:
Online Design and
Delivery
LB 2:
Open Educational
Resources
LB 3:
Communication
and Collaboration
LB 4:
Assessment and
Feedback
13
Group
Tools
Activity
Wiki
Discussion
forums
Reflective
Journal
Grade
Centre
Blogs
TELEDA
Learning
Blocks
eportfolio
LB 5:
Social Media
LB 6:
e-resources

14. TELEDA Learning Outcomes
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the open education movement, the
theory and practice around learning in online environments and the challenges for
students, tutors and institutions in higher education;
• Critically evaluate a number of freely available digital learning tools and resources,
including OER material, which extend and support teaching and learning in online
environments for specific learning outcomes;
• Reflect upon, and demonstrate a critical awareness of inclusive practice in relation to
online teaching and learning resources, communication and collaborative working
with and between students;
• Design or select and critically evaluate a learning activity which includes assessment
and feedback and has the potential to enhance student learning in online
environments.
• Demonstrate a scholarly approach to the development of teaching practice in online
and open contexts through making critical and developmental use of the relevant
published evidence-base
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15. Digital Literacies for e-teaching
15 Image from http://www.iacbe.org/pdf/2014-region-9-conference-brochure.pdf

16. Digital Literacies (JISC model)
16 Image from http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/digilit-7elements.png

17. I do feel slightly more confident about trying things and
if they’re not successful to learn from it and try
something else instead.
I have used a website creating tool for the first time, I
have used it, I have found it relatively straightforward.
YouTube is going to prove to be a more useful resource
than I ever imagined I’ve realised this through the way
TELEDA is structured – I love the video clips!
This has been quite revealing in terms of the way I
previously organized materials on Blackboard, and
perhaps missed opportunities to integrate digital tools
and materials more fully into my teaching
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18. Seven TELEDA Tips for e-teaching
Myths of digital confidence
Text mis-communication
Identity blur
Activity Based Content
Signposting
Do a MOOC!
Pedagogy of ‘Uncertainty’
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19. TELEDA Tips 1: myths of digital confidence
“…I have made assumptions
previously about the skills of
students I am working with and
presumed that they would find
learning in an online
environment ‘easy’ as this was
something that they had chosen.
Preparation is not just about
being technically competent, it is
about ensuring learners are able
to deal with the social and
emotional challenges of learning
online too…” 19

20. TELEDA Tips 2: text mis-communication
“…the whole digital learning
experience is changing the way I
think about communication…”
“…I realise now how naïve I was
in the past to simply open the
discussion board with a question
and expect the students to
participate. As a tutor I have to
make it possible for my students
to participate through the design
of my tasks…”
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21. TELEDA Tips 3: identity blur
21
“…there is no doubt that the transition from being an
effective classroom practitioner to an effective
online practitioner is complex and challenging…”

22. TELEDA Tip 4: Activity Based Content (ABC)
“…I need to know more about e-pedagogy,
differences between
learning and teaching online and face-to-
face and how to redesign sessions
for an online environment…”
“…I recognise that online learning is
all about the activity of the student
and what you get them to ‘do’… I
would like to find out more about
how I can encourage students to be
active and construct knowledge in an
online environment…” 22

23. TELEDA Tip 5: signposting
“… It seems obvious now that the lack
of student engagement with my online
resources was due to inappropriate
design. I placed too much emphasis on
text based, self-directed learning and
didn’t recognise the important roles of
self and peer assessment, interaction
between students and probably most
importantly, investing time in building
solid foundations and helping students
develop skills for online learning.”
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24. TELEDA Tip 6: do a MOOC!
“…the experience being isolating and
lacking human connection also supported
my feeling about the importance of the
social in the learning experience
“…This activity has opened my eyes about
the strengths and weaknesses of OER’s.
They are many, many resources out there
that can be used but the search process is
daunting because of the sheer number and
adapting resources for a specific purpose
is time consuming and often more complex
than starting from scratch…”
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25. TELEDA Tip 7: Pedagogy of Uncertainty
“As a tutor in the classroom you can be on hand to make
connections for students or clarify activity instructions. This
is less easy online, you have to almost pre-empt questions…”
“…Being an online learner is confusing and disorientating.
There is no tutor to check what you are doing ‘is right’…”
“The reasons why people have not necessarily
contributed to activities …may be because
they were unclear about what was expected
and/or afraid of getting it wrong
and looking silly.”
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26. …made me appreciate the issues students would face
such as feeling unsure and not finding it as easy to talk.
adopting the role of student is a useful experience, it
reminds me of the pressures…and enables greater
empathy to students and their experiences.
What fascinates me about this process is how as a
novice online tutor I instinctively reverted back to what
many novice classroom practitioners do and focused on
transmitting content. This is something I would always
try and avoid in a classroom setting.
Undertaking this activity, and reading about online
design has made me realise that I need to approach
online design …. and stop being scared of it!

27. Digitally shy to digitally confident with Blackboard
to

28. Summary
• e-learning success requires e-teaching
attention
• Practicing practice: value of
experiential learning
• Relocate staff as students on VLE
• Shift from Blackboard as
repository to Blackboard as
generator of learning activities
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ&
list=RDUOorZQLsmuA (2.44) Medieval Helpdesk

29. Thank you
Contact details
Sue Watling
University of Lincoln, UK
Email swatling@lincoln.ac.uk
Twitter @suewatling
Blog
http://suewatling.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk
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