Derivation of electronic course templates for use in higher education

Abstract

Lecturers in higher education often consider the incorporation of web technologies into their teaching practice. Partially structured and populated course site templates could aid them in getting started with creating and deploying web-based materials and activities to enrich the teaching and learning experience. Discussions among instructional technology support staff and lecturers reveal a paucity of robust specifications for possible course site features that could comprise a template. An attempted mapping from the teaching task as understood by the instructor to the envisaged course website properties proves elusive. We conclude that the idea of an initial state for a course site, embodied in a template, remains useful and should be developed not according to a formula but with careful attention to the context and existing pedagogical practice. Any course template provided for the use of lecturers should be enhanced with supporting instructions and examples of how it may be adapted for their particular purposes

A collection of suggested electronic course templates for use in higher education

“…Hence, the goal of designing and producing electronic course templates is to facilitate building electronic course sites by academic staff Á quickly and easily, as well as to make the student learning experience more structured and consistent (see Paper III Á forthcoming). Paper I in this series (Hill et al, 2012) investigated 'how to find, describe and categorise course design dimensions that will inform our construction of electronic course templates, embracing the widest variety of notions that are expressed informally by instructors' (p. 5). We proposed a lattice model ( Figure 1 in this paper), interweaving Pedagogical Dimensions (Logistical, Practice, Purpose and Participation) with Course Site Properties (User Roles, User Experience, Functionality and Tools, Initial Content and Technical System Settings).…”

“…We provided two example templates Á 'Cornerstones' and 'Web 2.0' which reflect respectively 'a strong need for a simple Figure 1. Lattice model for course templates (Source: Hill, Fresen, and Geng, 2012). course template for distribution of materials, teacher-to-student .…”

“…This article (Paper II) is the second in a series of three by the same authors. Paper I, 'Derivation of electronic course templates for use in higher education' (Hill, Fresen, & Geng, 2012), describes the thinking processes and exploratory attempts to analyse and classify dimensions of course sites leading to a conceptualisation of types of templates. The present article presents the distillation of that process in the form of a collection of electronic templates to be used as a practical starting point for academic staff who embark on setting up a course site in an institutional VLE.…”

A study of the role of a technology-enhanced learning implementation group in mediating an institutional VLE minimum standards policy

“…This solution hoped to satisfy student expectations in a way that did not jeopardise pedagogical creativity. This example also demonstrates how the Group developed the template with pedagogical value as its underpinning principle (Hill, Fresen, and Geng 2012) to influence re-interpretation of policy.…”

“…One case study by Glover et al (2012, p. 29) reports on how establishing a minimum standard motivated staff to 'explore and interact with technology'. There are two studies who focus explicitly on the design work of institutional VLE course templates (Fresen, Hill, and Geng 2014;Hill, Fresen and Geng 2012). This research team's interest is in arguing that partially structured and populated VLE module sites can influence academics' adoption of technologies through embedded instructional design.…”