Week 2 - On-line group work

Started the morning off well by completing the on-line task for the day and getting ready for my on-line tutorial. Last week I was told the sound issue was not due to my PC but the tutors and so I did not worry over the weekend. How wrong was I? My system does not work on sound or video software. I therefore sat through an entire on-line tutorial not knowing what was going on. As it was group work, we are expected to contribute. Being normally a good contributor and participator the experience was awful and I'm now sat in tears in the office. Ok, this may be an extreme reaction but for me on-line teaching was my way back to normality and now its just another obstacle to tackle with my voice. Even if I had had the right equipment an hours discussion on line would not be possible for me. Its just so hard to make people understand about the voice.
My thoughts on the tutorial:

1. If you don't have the equipment you cannot participate.
2. Disengagement
3. Isolation
4. Exacerbation at not being able to join in still through a medium I thought would enable me not disable me.
5. When an other member of the group reaches out to you as they know you have no idea what is going on - it is a life line :-)
6. When I was asked 'Clare do you have something to offer', and the conversation continued without allowing me to participate I felt anger and saddness. I did have something to offer but I just couldn't get it out there quick enough or in the right medium.
7. You do feel very lost when you cannot hear the discussion of the group.
8. Totally and utterly despondent - disengagement with the subject in its entirety.
9. When people did start to type material it was messy and illogical. I suggested structure but we moved off that very quickly. I cannot work without structure. I was even more amazed when our task is to produce an argument around the theme 'on-line learning should be compulsory' without the other side being discussed. As a lawyer I cannot fathom how or why this should be done. 
10. I have also wondered about not being disturbed during an on-line tutorial. In a classroom you are there and cannot be interrupted. At home I have many distraction, the phone, e-mail and the animals not to mention the post man!

All in all I can say that I am heading down to lunch despondent and disheartened.

Week 1 - day 10

Yesterday I had my on-line tutorial and it was very instructive in the use of Wimba and I am going to try and sort something out for my students so they can use it next week. I have a few comments regarding one to one tutorials on-line:

 My helpers in the office: Horace checking the printer and pretending not to be interested.

 Mae as a puppy and her helpful suggestions to the book.

 Enzo demanding cuddles at the most inappropriate times.

The other work we do

1. They are lengthy - use interact via text and if you are not at the same speed of typing/thinking then it does make it rather slow
2. You do lose some of that personal contact, it does help if you can see that person. I am going out and investing in a web cam this weekend. This may bring with it many pitfalls but I tihnk the benefits outweigh them.
3. It is actually tiring sitting through a tutorial on-line. Now I am still recovering from surgery so I am more tired than most but at the end I was exhausted and useless for the rest of the day.
4. The meaning of explanation sometimes gets lost in text and you do have to watch your phrasing at all time. It is sill things like if you have just been told something and you understand it, in person you would smile, nod etc... in text there are only so many forms of right, ok, cool. And then you think cool, really I am meant to be a professional and I put cool. I am not one for being quiet and you really do have to sit and listen  on this one.
5. The technology is still rather slow and clunky. We were meant to have sound connections but this did not work and the application sharing was rather slow as well.
6. You do need some understanding of how a computer works to be able to do undertake a tutorial
7. You really need peace and quiet when studying, when you are at home things, happen, the door bell rings, the cats want cuddles and the dog may need to pop out for a comfort break! You can't really stop and say hang on there...

Overall I found the experience worth while and enjoyable but there are many pitfalls and issues you as a tutor have to think about before you set up a tutorial. f2f teaching (check me out with the lingo) may be easier and quicker as you are there and bam you do the teaching but with on-line you have to be much more composed and logical. I think therefore you and the student get better quality discussion from it.

Today I am going to be working on the tasks for next week. I am not meant to but I had a quick look at them and I want to do the reading .... I hate being behind so here it goes...

The best till last: Keats demanding that work shall not be attempted :-) Who could resisit

Week 1 day 8

One minute to 12 and I am only just getting things in order. I have IT issues and it has made me really consider some major implications of working on-line. The internet went down in Hereford today and I had no access at all. I have just had to sit and wait for it to come back and I have a tutorial on my course on-line later today. I had no way of letting my tutor know about the access issues. This made me really worry about missing things that were happening on-line through course discussion etc... and what impressions it was making of me missing out and not being a slave to being on-line. How would a student feel if this were to happen? How could they contact me? And how could they capture the lost time they were not on-line. All interesting aspects of the transition to on-line learning.
Yesterday was fantastic I was in work and although I love working on-line nothing replaces that human interaction where fresh ideas can be bounced around. What I need to do is to replicate that in the written form.
I suppose that brings us back to the question posed yesterday to which I still have no answer for. I shall ponder this afternoon some more.
I am eager though to start building my new course so that I can have it up and running asap. Very exciting times.
I shall let you know how I get on after my first on-line tutorial this afternoon.

Week 1 - day 8

Morning everyone, I am in work today which is very unusal as I normally work from home. I have just logged on and read all the posts from the previous evening. I have to think about one task today what advantages are there of working and interacting in text other than time and continuum?
Interesting topic... any suggestion?

week 1- day 7 later in the afternoon

Whilst grappling with my book chapter on game theory and economic crime and trying to find an appropriate epistemology I took time out to visit my VLE. The tutor through posts of where we as e tutors add value posted this:

I am trying to figure out now where I fit into this as an e tutor and how to manage my input into the sessions without a) assuming my students know when I want them to know and b) not taking over.

My propensity for verbosity is not a good things, keep it short and to the point..... ummm work in progress.

week 1 - day 7- afternoon

Wow I am really getting addicted to this on-line learning. I have spent the morning replying and responding to the discussion boards on the benefits of e-learning and the ice breaker activities of yesterday. Some points to note and which I must do:

1. work out a way to record the thoughts from the others in the discussion board - can I print them out?
2. think about the response of promptness from one of the others on the course. is it good to always respond immediately or is time to reflect better. Am I slave to trying to respond immediate so that I am not thought of as slacking?
3. Allowing others to do the talking and discussions. I am very verbose and I don't want to appear pushy but on the other hand I am getting a lot of of the discussion so why shouldn't I be contributing as much as I want to. I think I just need to be aware that others do not work at the same pace as me.
4.  it is occurring to me that for me to teach affectively on-line, I do need a bespoke site this the one I am using now so that the students get the most out of it. I therefore need to talk to the IT guys sooner rather than later.
5. I need to find a way to disseminate my ideas to my colleagues so we can all get on board.

Mae and I were brainstorming the above thoughts together, she is a very clever spaniel.

Week 1 - day 7

Spending the day thinking about the other course tutees posts on what are the benefits of e-learning and also thinking about how to adopt e-learning into the commercial law course. A useful suggestion I had last night from a friend who did not want to make a post here was to connect the updates that I put on twitter and on the discussion site to an RSS feed. So today I need to figure that out. Going to get stuck into the course materials book as well today and juggle writing a chapter for my own book as well.
Happy reading :-) and please do make suggestions/ comments when you are reading.

Week 1 Day 6 - task 3

Task three is to design and write an icebreaker for the course.... ok initial musings go something like this:

Hi Everyone,

About me:
I am Clare Chambers and I am the course tutor the Commercial Law module on your LLB / Banking and Finance  module on your LLM. This course is taught primarily on line. (do I put in why - should the students know why I cannot do face to face teaching?) My university web page containing my research can be found at: http://law.uwe.ac.uk/staff-directory/dol-staff/clare-chambers.aspx Please also follow my @DocChambers on twitter for regular updates on banking regulation and my research updates. I am available to for one to one meetings please e-mail me to check availability.

Your course and how it works
Each week you have a timetabled session for discussions with me and you can also book appointments with me on-line to discuss your studies. Additionally you can contact me at any time, remember though, I may not be on-line at 2am in the morning.
On-line learning in a dynamic and interactive way of learning and we will work together through the course to achieve the best possible outcome for you. Please feel free to ask questions at any point.
I will post lecture materials and seminar discussion points for your weekly sessions in advance so you have time to prepare your notes.
I do expect that your all prepare and you all participate. This space is to be used for learning and so I should remind you that appropriate behaviour should be used at all times. Having said this, learning should be fun and so we shall adopt this throughout the course.

Technical information
If you have any technical difficulties then please contact myself or the learning adviser (contact here)
Also please attend one of the introductory sessions for the software use of this course. (sign up here hyperlink)
Please browse around the site and the tabs on the left and on the top of the page and carry out the introductory tasks which will familiarise yourself with the layout of the site.

Introducing you
As an icebreaker I would like you all to a) introduce yourself here (name and where you are from and your expectations of the course and why you chose it) b) post a picture or a pictorial representation that represents you c) tell us something interesting about yourself.
I shall go first. I am a keen surfer and horse rider, although not very good at either and in the process of thinking about building my own home. Finally (d) I would like you to post your favourite song and a link to it if possible.

Chat room
There is also a chat room available to you and which I have access to as well. This room is designed for you to chat about your course and share ideas and questions. I shall jump in when I see necessary on discussions and questions.

I hope you all enjoy the course and remember the more you particpate the more you will get out of it.

Week 1- day 6 - task 2

It is a busy day today. My next task is to think about the following question:


This discussion is about the benefits of e-learning. What is your perspective? What do you get out of e-learning as a participant? (Or as a tutor?)
Here is what I came up with.
Perspective of the benefits of e-learning:

• Because I cannot teach face to face I feel like I am not giving my 100% to the students by only teaching on-line. (How can I get round this?)
• It is a good way to communicate a lot of material and for the students to learn at their own pace.
• It is the way forward because of tuition fees and rising living costs, students can enrol full time and also work. Their studies can be fitted around their work.
• It is a new way of teaching which could meet student resistance. (I want to counter this before it happens - how do you manage their expectations?)
• I think students will like this way of teaching and learning. I am enjoying it and it is engaging me although it does test you.
• I am worried though that students won't think it is value for money.

Benefits as a participant:

• You can manage your own time and work at your own pace.
• You can be anonymous if you want to as you can have a voice without being in a classroom situation. Therefore you can be more proactive than you normally would be.
• There is a permanent record so you can revisit the material more than one unlike a seminar or lecture.
• You can ask questions easily from your classmates through the interactive devices provided.
• You have access to your tutor more easily than in a classroom/lecture/office hours scenario.
• You can continue learning whilst you are doing other things.  

Benefits as a tutor:

• You can teach anywhere and at any time with this technology.
• You can put out a lot of materials from the students that is not constrained by time or money.
• For me personally I can continue teaching and researching. 
• You can be more creative with your teaching.
• You give each element of your work a lot more thought than if you were just doing your normal routine. It is is easy to get lost in what you normally do, rather than to reflect and alter your teaching.

Week 1 -day 6 afternoon

I have just started working on the tasks for the week. We have to decide on our on-line personalities. Here is what I have posted in our 'walled garden' Brookes Wiki. I had to make a decision and be open and honest about my operation so that we don't get any 'moment' later in the course and I do need to discuss my options as to how to manage the students expectations of my lack of vocal ability.
So here it goes.

Hi Everyone,

My name is Clare and I am a senior law lecturer at UWE and I specialise in banking and finance law. My Phd in 2004 was entitled, 'Financial exclusion and banking regulation in the UK: A template analysis'. I have always tried to mixed up black letter law with social elements of life so that the law is seen in context and not just some rules laid down.

In 2008 I completed a research project which designed a mobile phone game, sponsored by Vodafone, which taught children how to make financial decisions through game play. See listed journal papers for more details. Chambers. C. L. & Shufflebottom, M. Innovation in Inclusion: A financial M-learning game Part 1'. The Law Teacher. March 2010 Vol, 44, 1, 17-31.
Chambers. C. L. & Shufflebottom, M. Innovation in Inclusion: A financial M-learning game Part 2'. The Law Teacher. July 2010, Volume 44 Issue 2, 117

I am now in the process of writing a couple of books, one on the financial crisis 2007 to present for the Ukraine Banking Academy and one for Edward Elgar on Virtual economic crime and money laundering. I am a bit of a self confessed geek and love working on my research and passing this enthusiasm on to my students.

Following an illness last year and several operation I can no longer vocally teach as my voice is too weak and unusable now, so determined not to give up I am going to alter my course to teach it on-line. I am also going to try and use on-line conferences as a means of getting my research out there and heard so I have been looking forward to this course for a while. Although it has been a tough year it is good to get back into the swing of things.

I am therefore hoping that this course will let me carry on my teaching and I am open to lots of suggestions as to how to engage my students (around 100) when I cannot speak to them (unless its one on one, once a day??).

As for other interactive tools, I use twitter for my students @DocChambers and update them as to the regulatory position of the financial market place daily. I also use facebook for socialising. My webpage for work is : http://law.uwe.ac.uk/staff-directory/dol-staff/clare-chambers.aspx (it needs updating).

On the more general side I have three cats and a dog and live in the middle of no where in Hereford with my partner who owns/runs a county department store. I therefore have a lot of wellies....

I can't wait to meet you all 

Week 1- day 6

I finally managed to get the software programme installed last night and I registered for my on-line tutorial which is on Thursday at 4pm. Not an ideal time for me but as it took me so long to get started I only had a few options. Well the work starts today! I have down loaded all my materials for the week and I am going to start working through them today. There appears to be four tasks and after reading through the long list of instructions I am already getting anxious that I will get it wrong or make a fool of myself. We have to introduce ourselves to the others on the course and its really hard not to a) come across as being 'odd', or too enthusiastic and b) coming across as yourself. It is nerve racking and its making me wonder whether my students will feel like this. When you write something down in a forum its out there for everyone to see so I am wondering whether it will make the more timid students not participate. I wonder if there is anything I can do to solve this one for the students? Any ideas? Additionally by having a week lots of work downloaded in one you can feel rather swamped and concerned that you will never get it all done. However the advantage is that it is on-line and you can do it when you need to and can fit it in. Time management here really is a key theme and it is good to lean how to manage this, despite us all thinking we are excellent at time management. Right I am going to crack on with the work today and see how I get on and what issues crop up!

Week 0 day 3

Day three = high motivation and little to do until the software work for me which I still can't get done. I am going to spend the afternoon thinking about the aspects of on-line teaching and how it fits in with my course. I have a book to read accompanying the course and I think I shall get into that today. I have spent the last week thinking of how this course will take me down a new avenue of teaching and I want to set myself some ILO's and objectives that I can bring forward into my teaching. First thing first though.... and onto the book...

Week 0 day 2

After finding out that part of the course involved video conferencing last night I was a little downcast as I didn't want to have another obstacle in my way for my work, but I have been assured that it is not necessary for the course to undertake these. At the moment I am not going to partake in them. Perhaps later I may do.
Day two on the course and I am still not sure how one of the programme works so I am going to have a go later with the more technical other half!
I have been thinking about the course a lot though and keep thinking about how my student will feel about having a course taught on line. I teach banking law and I want it to be as dynamic and academic as if I were in front of them. So I have many concerns such as; can it be as interactive as normal seminars and workshops? Can it be engaging for all the students? What will be there main criticism and how can I circumvent it. How can I make it enjoyable for them.
Yesterday I really enjoyed the mini quiz and I think that is going to have to be part of the main element of the course. Perhaps after each section of the course, to test comprehension the students can have a mini pop quiz on the topic. I also think that it is important to have a point of access accessible when the students are on-line. The internet is such an immediate media that we are know used to getting instance answers. I think if the students had to wait a while they may lose interest. Therefore I will need to have specific times and dates to be on-line for them. The disadvantage of this is to become obsessed with being on-line and not knowing when to stop! Students work at odd and often unsociable times so I must make sure I am not being a slave to them for fear of being criticised that I was not on-line at 2am on a Saturday morning. Exceptions on both parties must be real and I think must be set out in the first instance.
Other things I want to think about over the course:
How to put up lecture materials to make them understandable? - I normally use ppt and lecture handouts, I was thinking perhaps a pod cast to go along side the lecture materials?
How to post reading materials? - is a list sufficient - I would have to put instructions up as to when I needed them read by.
How to engage in seminars on line?
How to make me (the vocal teacher) come across on-line? This is really important to me as I liked to engage the students and read them as to how best to teach them - will this be lost in the virtual ether.
I have mentioned this course to past students of mine whom I keep in contact with and they have been very positive towards it. One said teaching is the same in what ever medium. They are very supportive of my change in teaching and understand why I am doing it. I did think I should give it up as I never thought I could do anything without the voice, but a past student e-mailed and said I changed their life by just believing in them. I don't want to lose that and I want to believe in them. But the internet is so impersonal. How do I make it personal?

Week 0 day 1 - afternoon

I have now sorted out the issues that thwarted me this morning and I am pleased to say it was IT systems and not me. However I have been in contact with the course tutors who are really lovely and helpful. I have explained about my lack of vocal ability, gone through all the operation histories and that I can no longer teach vocally and that this course is my way of continuing teaching. They are very supportive and have suggested I think about what my involvement will be in group work when they are required to video link each other to discuss work. At the moment I am not keen on going on video and chatting vocally to others. My voice breaks up a lot and is very weak anyway but with it being over a microphone I really don't want to sound awful. So the tutors have told me to take as long as I want to think about it and that its not a key part of the course to participate. But I know me and I like to try everything. This is going to bug me if I can't do it, but then again I am not sure I want my voice heard over the Internet. Umm some thinking shall go on tonight with the other half....

Week 0 day 1 – Wednesday 19 January 2011

I logged onto the OB site armed with my password and my bits of printed paper I complied yesterday with butterflies the size of elephants. The reason I am undertaking this course is because I can no longer teach vocally due to an operation I had to have last year which although saved my life, change my profession for ever. Online teaching will be the only way I can carry on my profession for the rest of my life, so I want and need to get this right.

Initially everything seemed quite simple until I could not find the learning activities page and then when I logged on to the announcements the web page had gone down. You get an overwhelming sense of being lost and that you need reassurance. I am consciously thinking of how my students may feel and if they feel lost would they lose interest and walk away without engaging with the experience? I am thinking of ways to ensure that at the beginning they do not have this sense of feeling lost and unsure of how to use the system.

Other problems I have encountered so far at 9.26 is that I cannot change my visibility to available, is that because its me so I am not available to myself or have I done something wrong? The other thing is that tying to install Wimba Pronto the programme failed and now I can’t log on at all?? Umm a little bit frustrating. I have e-mailed the instructor as I didn’t want to post online for everyone to see that I cannot use the system first time round! (9.32) Waiting for response. It’s actually quite frustrating as I had got myself in the mind set of working through tasks and learning and now I have to wait to carry on. I must bear this in mind to give the students enough tasks to carry on with so they don’t lose interest in the course.

During the induction I undertook a task called, ‘managing my time’, I completed the course as I love taking tests and 5 minutes later the grade result was out and I am pleased to announce that I got 5/5! My geekiness has returned with vengeance. I like having small tests like this as it gets the interest of the student. It was only small and very quick but it does make you feel like you have achieved something.

Writing this log reminds me of the MA Academic Practice course I took at Bournemouth during my first days of teaching and I really enjoyed that so its looking good, as long as I get the installation upload things sorted.

I have done the worst thing, I have look at the tasks on week 1 and I want to complete them already! I must not rush ahead!

I have just had a reply back from the course tutor about welcoming me to the course, one of the first tasks we were asked to do was to post a hello in the arrivals room. So that is working and I have been exploring more of the site… (9.43).

The tutor got back to me and asked to clarify a few issues, apparently there are always teething problems. This makes me think that we will need to get the IT guys on board for when the course goes live so that if the students have issues I can refer to them as well. I thought the response time was excellent and makes me relieved that it is not me but perhaps a system error.

Whilst the issues are being sorted out. I have created a blog for this to go on! http://clarechambersonlinelearning.blogspot.com J