Traditional lecture-led models have long dominated higher education; however, these methods are being replaced by more active, outcome-focused approaches, which are considered more effective for teaching students the higher-order skills needed in real-life situations. In addition, advancements in educational technology and the rise of online learning increasingly demand models able to provide flexible and innovative learning solutions. (1)

In this landscape, the flipped classroom model is gaining significant attention (2) due to its emphasis on flexible delivery, students’ active engagement, and deeper learning. In a nutshell, this model proposes that students acquire foundational knowledge independently while educators use in-class time to facilitate deeper thinking through interactive and collaborative activities.

But what design considerations should educators make when considering the implementation of the flipped classroom online?

Flipping the classroom in an online course

In the UCL online environment, educators can use Moodle to shift foundational activities to asynchronous formats (like pre-recorded lectures, readings, quizzes, and preparatory assignments), allowing students to access and complete them in their own time. This frees up valuable live (synchronous) class time for interactive sessions. Educators can then use video conferencing tools and web platforms (such as Teams, Zoom, Mentimeter, chats, breakout rooms, and editable documents) to foster knowledge application through discussions, collaborative exercises, and practice-based activities.

A significant feature of flipping the classroom is the focus shift from passive learning during class (such as lectures) to interactive activities (like problem-solving, and analysis). This change can be challenging for students accustomed to traditional lecture-based methods, and students may struggle to adjust (3). It is essential that educators set clear expectations, are realistic about students’ efforts to prepare for the live sessions, and coherently design asynchronous and synchronous components.

Initial considerations

The flipped method doesn’t mean students are teaching themselves; by undertaking preparatory activities independently, they only get a baseline understanding; the skills to apply conceptual knowledge are done in class. To begin with, educators need to decide which course components benefit asynchronous learning and which benefit from real-time interaction. To guide this process, educators should assess the course and audience-specific needs, including:

• Course outcomes: What level of knowledge and skills should students attain? (4)
• Activities: What activities (discussions, projects, quizzes, lectures) will best support students’ learning?
• Subject matter complexities: How can I scaffold learning to gradually build mastering? What are the subject matter pain points?
• Challenges students may encounter: Do students have the prerequisite knowledge to complete tasks? What materials can I provide to address knowledge gaps?
• Feedback: How and when will I provide feedback to guide students’ learning progress?
• Technology: Do students have access to reliable technology and internet connectivity?
• Are the tools accessible to all students?

Asynchronous learning: Building foundational knowledge

Asynchronous learning is ideal for content acquisition, such as explaining theories, technical demonstrations, background reading, or audio interviews with experts. By allocating targeted self-paced content to asynchronous formats, educators can allow learners to access and revisit the material at their own pace and direct them to material relevant to the live sessions.

However, material such as short, pre-recorded lectures can be passive and not particularly memorable. Educators can use technology to foster understanding, address the knowledge gap, and improve retention. For example:

• Interspersing short video lectures with questions or quizzes
• Combining readings with poll questions
• Using frequent low-stakes quizzes with feedback
• Ask students to revisit a process and reflect on their learning

Asynchronous learning can also be used to promote student-led learning,  engaging them in activities that encourage exploration and collaboration, such as contributing to discussion forums, brainstorming in group settings, or preparing questions for expert Q&A sessions.

Supporting preparation for live sessions

To support learners in preparing adequately for more complex scenarios, educators can scaffold the learning process by implementing conditional releases of materials, ensuring that students complete foundational tasks and are then ready for more challenging scenarios.

Educators’ ongoing presence is essential to further guide and support students, and they can establish a strong presence in asynchronous components without being physically present. Using tools like automatic quiz feedback, personalised options such as video or audio summaries, monitoring discussion forums, establishing badges to reward participation, and offering targeted guidance can help keep students motivated and on track.

By monitoring these activities, educators can identify areas where students may struggle or excel, allowing for timely interventions and support, ensuring students are prepared for deeper engagement in live sessions.

Synchronous learning: Knowledge application

A key element of the flipped classroom approach is the seamless integration of foundational knowledge and deeper engagement in classroom activities. If there is a disconnect, students may struggle to see how their progress is shaping how theory connects to practice, leading to confusion, disengagement, and a fragmented learning experience.

While the primary focus of live sessions should be on applying knowledge and bridging theory and practice, educators should remain flexible and assess whether a short lecture is still needed to lay the groundwork for more advanced activities.

As educators reduce lecture time and shift foundational knowledge to asynchronous formats, their role in the live session becomes more of a facilitator. Observing students as they engage with the material and their peers allows educators to provide immediate feedback, address misconceptions, and help master the subject matter like a professional.

Activities can be time-consuming in live sessions, so planning for adequate quality time is essential. Educators can use technology to scaffold activities by breaking the learning process into smaller steps so that students can stay focused and complete the tasks within a set time. For example, educators can start with a Q&A session to activate prior knowledge, use breakout rooms to allow smaller groups to discuss a problem (providing instructions and outcomes expected), follow up with a worked example for the whole class and conclude with reflecting practice activity.

Getting started: Using a staggered approach

Flipping the classroom online is not merely about creating flexible learning opportunities for students; adopting this model requires a shift in how educators and students approach their roles. (5) Students must take more responsibility for their independent study and demonstrate achievement through contribution and collaboration, while educators must transition from being the primary source of knowledge to facilitators of learning.

Those changes are demanding (6); however, flipping the classroom does not have to be done in one go, and gradual implementation is possible. To make the transition smoother and more manageable, educators can start by flipping one or two weeks of their course, integrating targeted reading or research tasks, and gradually adopting more changes such as peer review or group work.

Whether starting with large-scale changes or small adjustments, students should understand how the model works and how their efforts align with the overall learning goals. To minimise students’ disengagement, components must be intentionally designed rather than added as an afterthought, and all elements should be clearly connected, appropriately scaffolded, and aligned with the intended learning outcomes.

Contact us to discover how our Learning Designers can help you create an engaging and effective learning experience.

1. Digital Education Market Size – By Learning Type (Self-paced, Instructor-led), By Course Type (STEM, Business Management, Others), By End User (Academic Institutions & Individuals, Enterprises) & Forecast, 2024 – 2032
2. Flipped classroom in higher education: a systematic literature review and research challenges.
3. Flipped Classroom Pedagogy | Teaching Commons (stanford.edu)
4. A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy: An Overview.
5. Using technology to enable flipped classrooms whilst sustaining sound pedagogy.
6. The flipped classroom: A review of its advantages and challenges – ScienceDirect

In recent months staff from Digital Education have been engaged in a project to migrate the public-facing short courses platform, UCLeXtend, to a new hosting provider. As part of this process the platform will be upgraded to a version of Moodle that offers several GDPR compliant features in addition to an updated interface.

A change of theme

As part of the migration we are also taking the opportunity to refresh the platform’s aesthetic, or ‘theme’, which in recent years has required continued investment to remain functional. This change will mean that the platform’s existing courses look different, although underlying functionality will remain the same and the content and activities present will not be changed. Course layouts will bear greater similarity to the internal UCL Moodle platform and course teams will have more choice over how their courses are structured and presented. 

The new site theme’s primary differences are as follows.

At site level

• The UCLeXtend homepage will be refreshed with a change in colours and imagery, in addition to separate buttons for UCL and non-UCL logins (see work-in-progress screenshot below); 
• Upon login, learners and staff will be presented with a dashboard of their courses. This dashboard can be controlled by individual users, giving the opportunity to highlight recently visited courses and ‘favourite’ or hide courses.

At course level

• Section navigation will move from the top of the page to the left-hand side. The left-hand navigation panel can be expanded or collapsed by the user; 
• There will be greater control over the layout of each course with course formats; 
• Courses can feature an illustrative image that is presented on both the course dashboard and as a background upon entry (see work-in-progress screenshot below).

Key information

The migration is anticipated to be completed in the week commencing 18th November 2019 (updated: 13/11). A notice will be applied to the front page of the platform as to the precise date and time and it should be unavailable for a few hours at most. Teams with live courses during this period will be contacted separately with further information about how to manage the transition.

If you have any questions please get in touch with the Digital Education team at extend@ucl.ac.uk.

UCL Digital Education Advisory members contributed to a new Open Access e-book that provides valuable insight into the way technology can enhance assessment and feedback. The book was launched formally on 26th October by Birkbeck College Secretary Keith Harrison, with talks from the editors Leo Havemann (Birkbeck, University of London) and Sarah Sherman (BLE Consortium), three case study authors, and event sponsor Panopto.

Havemann, Leo; Sherman, Sarah (2017): Assessment, Feedback and Technology: Contexts and Case Studies in Bloomsbury. London: Bloomsbury Learning Environment.
View and download from: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.5315224.v1

 

The Book

The book is a result of a two-year project on e-assessment and feedback run by the Bloomsbury Learning Environment (BLE), a collaboration between five colleges, including the UCL Institute of Education, on issues around digital technology in Higher Education. It contains three research papers which capture snapshots of current practice, and 21 case studies from the BLE partner institutions and a little beyond, thus including practice from wider UCL.

The three papers focus on

• the use of technology across the assessment lifecycle,
• the roles played by administrative staff in assessment processes,
• technology-supported assessment in distance learning.

The case studies are categorised under the headings:

• alternative [assessment] tasks and formats,
• students feeding back,
• assessing at scale,
• multimedia approaches, and
• technical developments.

Seven of the 21 case studies were provided by UCL Digital Education colleagues Jess Gramp, Jo Stroud, Mira Vogel (2), and Tim Neumann (3), reporting on examples of blogging, group assessment, peer feedback, assessment in MOOCs, student presentations at a distance, and the UCL-developed My Feedback Report plugin for Moodle.

 

Why you should read the e-book

As one of the speakers at the entertaining launch event, I suggested three reasons why everybody involved in Higher Education should read this book, in particular the case studies:

1. Processes in context:
   The case studies succinctly describe assessment and feedback processes in context, so you can quickly decide whether these processes are transferable to your own situation, and you will get a basic prompt on how implement the assessment/feedback process.
2. Problems are highlighted:
   Some case studies don’t shy away from raising issues and difficulties, so you can judge for yourself whether these difficulties represent risks in your context, and how these risks can be managed.
3. Practical tips:
   All case studies follow the same structure. If you are in a hurry, make sure to read at least the Take Away sections of each case study, which are full of tips and tricks, many of which apply to situations beyond the case study.

Overall, this collection of papers and case studies on assessment and feedback is easily digestible and contributes to an exchange of good practice.

 

View and Download the Book

The e-book is an Open Access publication freely available below.

For further information, see ble.ac.uk/ebook.html, and view author profiles at ble.ac.uk/ebook_contributors.html

 

My first two days as Digital Education’s new Distance Learning Facilitator (hi!) were spent at the UK and Ireland edition of MoodleMoot 2017 taking place in London. Presentations ranged from the more technical aspects of Moodle implementation to reports into its more pedagogically-driven uses and impacts. My note-taking over the course of a packed conference schedule was frenzied and now, upon writing this post, occasionally unintelligible, so rather than provide a full overview I’ll reflect upon two presentations in greater detail.

A Head Start for Online Study: Reflections on a MOOC for New Learners. Presented by Prof. Mark Brown (Dublin City University)
This project was described by Mark as a means of supporting flexible or distance learners’ transitions into higher education. Despite an established distance learning provision, DCU’s programmes had, like many institutions, experienced higher levels of attrition than those seen with more traditional face-to-face courses. Mark reported that this is largely attributable to the diverse motivations of flexible learners and lack of support at key stages of the study life cycle. DCU thus applied for and gained funding to produce resources that would attempt to bridge these gaps and improve outcomes for flexible learners.

DCU’s subsequent Student Success Toolbox, containing eight ‘digital readiness’ tools, and the Head Start Online course, piloted on the new Moodle MOOC platform Academy, aim to help potential flexible learners ascertain whether online higher education is right for them, how much time they have and need for study, their sources of support, and the skills they will need to be a successful online learner.

Mark focused on the outcomes of the Head Start Online pilot course. Of the 151 users registered as part of the pilot, 37 were active after the first week and a total of 24 completed the entire course. However, Mark was keen to stress that learners were not expected to progress through the course in any strict or linear fashion, and completion/non-completion can thus be an unhelpful binary. Feedback from learners proved very positive, with the vast majority believing that they were more ready to become flexible learners, better equipped to manage their time, and more aware of the skills needed for online study after taking the course.

More information:
Head Start Online via Moodle Academy
Student Success Toolbox
Mark’s presentation from MoodleMoot

Towards a Community of Inquiry through Moodle Discussion Forums. Presented by Sanna Parikka (University of Helsinki)
Sanna’s presentation described her use of Moodle discussion forums to facilitate meaningful and constructive online conversations that adhere to the principles of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework theory. Use of the CoI framework defines three vital elements of any educational experience as:

• Social presence: the ability of learners to communicate and engage in social interactions within the learning environment
• Cognitive presence: the means by which learners can build meaning through reflection and discourse
• Teaching presence: how we design, facilitate, and guide learners through experiences to achieve the desired learning outcomes.

Sanna reported upon a range of approaches designed around the CoI framework, suggesting that it is possible to build social presence and give learners the chance to project their personalities online through simple ice breaker activities. Cognitive presence, meanwhile, can be developed through jigsaw learning activities. Cohorts are split into smaller groups of students who discuss and specialise in one specific topic before being redistributed evenly to new forums with specialists from each area and tasked with teaching their new group about their specialism. Teaching presence is built and threaded through each task by providing direct instruction, scaffolding understanding, facilitating discourse, and sharing personal interpretations of meaning.

Discussion forums are often unfairly criticised, most frequently for lack of student engagement. However, Sanna’s position was that basic interaction is not enough to develop engagement and create new meaning. Her framing and examples of practice underscored the forum as a versatile, flexible means of delivering not just discussion-based tasks but collaborative exercises too.

More information:
The Community of Inquiry (Athabasca University)
M08 Add new learning forums

Consumer-ready virtual reality is just around the corner

Next year is touted as a potential for the ‘year of VR’ and as a wonderful precursor, people are already selling the hardware  required for only 99p. Some are even giving it away. This will ripple into higher education with video being a likely contender for early adopters. But what is VR and how does one get it for 99p (or free)? Well you need a smartphone and around 10-15 minutes of your life…

What is VR?

Virtual reality was resting firmly in the ‘cold’ part of the ‘what’s hot’ spectrum for about 20 years; but over the last 18-24 months it has leaped from the ice to the fire in a rapid way. It is now so cheap you can have it for 99p; which smacks the technology depreciation/throw-away market so hard in the face it may have to reinvent itself too (some people already talk of throwaway tablets). But what does it mean, and why does higher education care?

If you want to find out about VR I’d point you back to a previous post, or you should search around the internet a little bit. It’s an emerging technology which places screens very close to your head, and sensors to know where you’re looking, to simulate you being in another environment. It also needs a computer to power the images you see, and the movements you make to look/move around it.

Oculus Rift is a simple example of a complex tech landscape. Popularised when bought by Facebook for $lots the technology plugs into your computer and can provide you with an experience which some say is immersive, and others say is nauseating or induces cybersickness. But please remember, these are developer units; they’re not consumer friendly (yet – Q1 2016 isn’t far off). This sickness is as close as you may ever want to get to experiencing a software bug!

Oculus, and many others, share a similar trait – they need a powerful computer to use them. I’ve tried it on my Macbook Air – I had forgot the machine had a fan; it became too hot to touch (near the back). The lagginess from the ultraportable didn’t help the sickness. All in all, eww & gross. Some other laptops are better, but it’s still a little off-putting when you’re new toy needs to be put away and you need to go lie down as recovery.

Enter: the smartphone.

Google Cardboard was a mini-revolution in the VR field. Being provocative, ‘not evil’ and generally idiosyncratic in their approach, Google released what seemed like the most basic VR product possible – Cardboard. This was a few years ago now but it enabled anyone with a smartphone to start playing/developing. Developers, techies and big children started buying these and exploring a new world.

Smartphone + Video = one way to VR

Your smartphone is insanely powerful for the size of it. It has a tiny display, a powerful CPU and GPU, motion sensors, location awareness, it is personalised and portable. Slotting it into a Google Cardboard now makes it a Virtual Reality device; as it can show content and sense your every movement. It’s also low-threshold, in some sense, because you are already comfortable with it. Video on smartphones is already mainstream. So what about 360, spherical or immersive video?

One example is vrse.works who released two documentaries; Clouds Over Sidra and Waves of Grace. These two UN-backed ‘films’ were two, touching, compelling and utterly enthralling pieces of cinematic content. Watchers in a UN building, somewhere nice and safe, watched in Clouds Over Sidra how Sidra, a young girl in the Za’atari Refugee Camp and having fled from Syria, would offer a chance to explore her world. Chris Milk, Director at vrse.works commented in a TED talk how VR can be a bridge to empathy for the experiences of others.

99p VR

Google Cardboard wasn’t technically doing too much; it’s a complex puzzle the first time but you’re folding cardboard, adding lenses and sticking on a magnet. Children can do this; and many will this Christmas. The reason why? Cheap manufacturing has taken the cheap Google Cardboard and made it as cheap as the market can go; 99p! I have hunted on eBay and bought four of the rival offerings. I’ll report back with which is best, but from experience I am sure they’re all the same.

Free VR

Just to kick it to everyone – on Sunday 8th November 2015 the New York Times gave a free Cardboard VR kit to every reader.  Just to make a point? At this stage it doesn’t really matter; it got VR into another new audience, NYT readers (or their family/friends). You might even know someone with an unused voucher from their digital subscription, or willing to share theirs. NYT also released an App to share content and introduce their first documentary shot for the giveaway. Maybe, just maybe, they know it’s a part of the future landscape of journalism (like VICE News knows already) and want to break their readers in gently…

Back to the content – video first

Google Cardboard is also an app for Android and iOS. It has a video player which links to YouTube, which now supports 360 and VR video. If that doesn’t mean anything to you – STOP – and load this link (on your smartphone is best)

Welcome back to 2015

People are already making this content and there is a whole YouTube channel dedicated to it. There are also an increasing amount of apps for games, simulations, experiences, stories, social networking, explorable environments and more.

So what about higher education?

Video is the first logical step for changing HE. Who has not tried, or considered, lecture capture yet? Obiquity is likely but not so for VR, not yet anyway. To make 360/VR/spherical video you’ll need at least a 360 degree camera, which are also still quite expensive. But with this you’ll be able to capture any environment, action or event that is taking place. The trick isn’t necessarily in the editing, it’s in the experience you’re trying to capture. Imagine a researcher on a field trip; taking the watcher to a place they simply couldn’t go. Lab experiments can capture multiple synchronous events. How about an event that is so hard to replicate that you’ve only really got one shot – a rocket launching, blue moon Panda birth-type thing. The kind of event you want to capture but can’t even predict what should be in the frame, and what shouldn’t. VR video offers the playback of the whole environment, the viewer choses what to watch. It’s experimental now; but the power shifts towards the experience of viewing. Additionally; cameras can go when you can’t send a person; a volcano, to Mars or into the body – all quite tricky.

Proper VR needs a powerful amount of hardware; 99p VR does not. Video is a way in.

Limitation, there are still a few:

• You need a smartphone. The cardboard on it’s own is only going to distort the back of a pice of cardboard – very real, not very virtual.
• The official Google Cardboard app is for Android and iOS and it has a load of great content already (and more coming).
• It’s 99p. It will not feel comfortable, it’ll break, get dirty easily and probably not hold all types of smartphone.
• The really cheap ones don’t come with a strap for your head, so it’s hands-up to hold it.
• They are not shaped to any head.
• You’ve still got to put a thing on your head. Daftness points++

Summary

Throw it around, take it places and share it with people. It’s so cheap that 99p cardboard VR is worth the experiment if you have a smartphone. Also once used (or you’ve got bored of it) pass it on. Someone else can try it.

Conclusions

VR is nauseating but it also bring people right into an experience. Bugs will be fixed, hardware will improve, but this lack of gap between cheap and professional is similar to disposable cameras and SLRs. Say what you will about the smartphone requirement but it’s ever-more true that the world is connected via these devices. If they can also deliver a VR experience (and soon, capture them), imagine what’ll it be like when we’re all making the content too. It’s unlikely to become an immediate new must-have, but VR is coming and lodging itself in.

Closing thought on distance learning and virtual reality

I am learning, but the power of giving cheap VR to distance learners is certainly something to keep an eye on. This is one of my topics for exploration during 2016. I think it offers a unique and unchallenged method for connecting remote people to important things. We’ll see where it goes.

BoB (Box of Broadcasts) National is an innovative shared online off-air TV and radio recording service for UK higher and further education institutions.

Staff and students can record programmes from 65+ TV and radio channels.  The recorded programmes are kept indefinitely in an media archive, which currently stores over 2 million programmes and are shared by users across all subscribing institutions. The archive also includes searchable transcripts and one click citation referencing.
The recordings can be set before or after the broadcast (30 day recording buffer). The programmes can be edited into clips and shared with others. They can also be embedded into Moodle.
To start using BoB, log in with your UCL user details http://bobnational.net/