The BOLT Project Newsletter Issue 2
28 June | 6 p.m.
Upcoming: BOLT Module 1 starts Monday 22 August!
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BOLT Stories
CMALT Introductory Webinar
news
BOLT
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www.bolt.edu.hk/cmaltwebinar/
In this first BOLT Story, Dr Veronika Schoeb from PolyU’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences talks about the Learning Innovation that she developed on the BOLT Foundation Course. Veronika developed the plan during Module 1 and in Module 2 implemented it with her learners and evaluated the outcomes. In this video, Veronika outlines the process and reflects on what blended learning could offer her learners. Keep your eyes open for more BOLT Stories and if you have a blended learning tale to tell, please get in contact with us.
BOLT Stories CMALT Professional Development: Online & On-Demand Summer BOLT, Summer Blend Deep Dive into Video-Centric T&L
Mr. David WATSON The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
AN ON-DEMAND
written by
What is CMALT? CMALT is Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), a UK based active community of committees and groups comprising professionals in academic and learning technology roles. Highly valued, the CMALT accreditation scheme allows applicants to submit a portfolio of their work to be assessed by their peers for evidence of compliance with the principles and values of the CMALT scheme, which are: A commitment to exploring and understanding the interplay between technology and learning A commitment to keep up-to-date with new technologies An empathy with and willingness to learn from colleagues from different backgrounds and specialist options A commitment to communicate and disseminate effective practice Who is CMALT accreditation for? Typically, CMALT appeals to Learning Technologists, Instructional Designers, Educational Developers, Researchers, Librarians, Academics, Teachers & Trainers, amongst others who feel they can demonstrate that they meet the outlined criteria. Professionals value CMALT as a way to have their experience and capabilities certified by peers and to demonstrate that they are taking a committed and serious approach to your professional development. Who is the CMALT Professional Development module for? The CMALT Professional Development module is designed by the BOLT team to support participants who have registered or will be registering to complete the CMALT accreditation scheme offered by ALT (and ASCILITE in Australasia). Its aims are to provide advice, guidance and mentor feedback focused on the development of the participant’s portfolio prior to submission for assessment to ALT. The module incorporates official ALT content and provides external links where appropriate to ensure participants receive the crucial information which they require to achieve CMALT accreditation. What is the purpose of the module? The module is designed to assist participants in developing a robust and fruitful portfolio which they can submit to ALT with confidence. In addition, the module focuses on the development of quality statements, ensuring that participants achieve accurate description of their practice, provide sufficient evidence and also critically reflect on their past work and practices. In general, the ethos of the module is to encourage participants to think differently in their approach to their portfolio, such as using alternative platforms and methods of providing evidence. Participants may request and receive mentor feedback at any stage throughout the module, however there are clearly defined mentor points which the team recommends for participants to seek feedback from their mentor, in addition to multi-media Mentor Views which provide audio of valuable mentor-driven advice and guidance. On successful completion of this module participants will be able to: Outline the aims & objectives, principles & values of ALT & ASCILITE and the benefits of their accreditation process Examine the structure, template, guidelines and acceptable formats of a CMALT portfolio Interpret the assessment process and assessment outcomes of the CMALT accreditation process Construct and implement a CMALT portfolio in alignment to its ethos of 'Description - Evidence - Reflection' How do I participate in the module? Hosted on Blackboard CourseSites the module is self-paced, delivered online and is designed so that participants can access it on-demand as they progress through their portfolio following five defined sections: An Introduction to CMALT; Portfolio Design & Structure; Development & Implementation; Mentor Review & Feedback; and Submission & Assessment Process. Participants are also encouraged to engage and share knowledge with each other via discussion forums and Padlet wall, encouraging the communication and dissemination of effective practice. Find out more & register: www.bolt.edu.hk/cmalt or contact bolthk@polyu.edu.hk
MENTORSHIP MODEL
Mr. Brant KNUTZEN The Education University of Hong Kong Dr. Theresa KWONG Hong Kong Baptist University
On May 23, 2016, a new iteration of the BOLT foundation course began. The summer session of Module 1 is co-hosted by Dr. Theresa Kwong at Hong Kong Baptist University and Brant Knutzen at The Education University of Hong Kong (formerly known as the Institute of Education). Designed to provide an alternative to the regular term-time BOLT Module 1, academics and teaching staff can do their professional development separate from their busy school year activities, and develop their Learning Innovation Plans before the start of the spring teaching session. Instead of the typical weekly session, the “Summer Edition” BOLT Module 1 is spread out over the entire summer, with two or three weeks between each of the six sessions, resulting in a relaxed course pace. The two campuses were linked by an Adobe Connect web conference Summer BOLT has successfully attracted over 30 participants from the two universities and kicked off with a face-to-face meeting held simultaneously on both campuses, with the two venues linked by an Adobe Connect web conference. After a brief wave hello between the two groups, the attendees all used their mobile devices to participate together in a Kahoot! quiz and a Mentimeter poll. This active learning approach is a key aspect of the pedagogy underpinning the design of the BOLT course: exploring blended learning through experiencing blended learning! The participants from the two universities competed in a Kahoot! quiz Although the rest of the Session 1 activities were conducted separately, the course participants went on to discuss their plans and ideas together online in discussion forums. This iteration of the BOLT course allows participants to take off a week or two to attend a conference, or a much-needed family vacation, without falling out of touch with the course activities and their peers. Colleagues participated in the first face-to-face meeting actively The synchronous Session 3 is scheduled for Monday, June 27 at 3pm, and will be conducted using an Adobe Connect web conference session hosted on Education University servers. Participants will explore the affordances of this technology, including virtual face-to-face discussion, screen sharing, whiteboards, group breakout rooms, real-time blog entries and commenting, and simultaneous group editing of a Google Slide document as a “super-wiki”. These activities will feed into a discussion of the topic: “How does synchronous online learning compare with asynchronous?” The final Session 6 is scheduled to conclude on August 31 with a face-to-face meeting, and the submission of finalized Learning Innovation Plans. Graduates from Summer BOLT can also join the regular BOLT Module 2 when it runs in October 2016 to put their Learning Innovation Plans into practice. The BOLT foundation course continues to grow and evolve with each iteration, and the “Summer Edition” will give its participants the opportunity to interact with peers and develop their plans at a relaxed pace around a flexible summer schedule.
SUMMER BLEND
SUMMER BOLT,
Ms. Elizabeth OH Dr. Leon LEI Mr. Donn GONDA The Hong Kong University
LEARNING THROUGH
SHARED EXPERIENCES
In April 2016, HKU’s TELI1 organized a six-week blended course as part of the BOLT Project, entitled “Scale Out Teaching; Scale Up Learning”. This course is a deep dive into video-centric online teaching & learning, and was attended by colleagues from Hong Kong higher-ed institutions including CUHK, EdUHK, HKBU, HKUST, and PolyU. The course covered the basic learning blocks in creating an online course, including educational videos & courseware for a flipped classroom, gaining inspiration from HKU’s MOOC experiences, and improving teaching by analyzing students’ online behaviour. Image: 4-week learning blocks of the course The course participants came from various disciplines ranging from the logical/mathematical field, such as Computer Engineering, to the verbal/linguistic field, such as Social Sciences. Yet one characteristic that stood out from this cohort was their tremendous enthusiasm for e-learning. When asked about their reason for joining the course, most responded that they were very much interested in these topics. One participant mentioned that he “wanted to improve [his] current teaching” while another participant was looking to “apply the skills in the program [he] teach[es]”. To give the participants a more hands-on experience, two face-to-face (F2F) sessions were arranged at the start and end of the course. In the first F2F session (22 April), a basic mock-up filming studio was set up to give the participants a taste of producing their own video. They were invited to draft a short script and storyboard, and record themselves in front of a green screen, learning how to use the chroma-key effect with Camtasia. Many participants were surprised at how quick and simple it was to apply this neat tool to make their videos more engaging. During the second F2F session (20 May), both course team and learners gathered together to 'dissect' the online course by looking into the learning data that had been generated. In particular, the video browsing log pattern was analyzed to help participants gain deeper insights into learners’ engagement in an online environment. Participants played both the role of “student” and “teacher” to gain different perspectives on the teaching and learning experience. Overall responses were positive, with one participant saying that the “F2F sessions are really useful because they give [the participants] much more ideas about the filming and learning analytics.” Another participant added that “the taste of editing software is good for the teachers.” To further enhance the course, we asked participants about the topics they wish to see in the next re-run. These topics include gamification, personalized learning, advanced video editing, animation, advanced learning analytic tools, and online forums. It is TELI’s mission to provide technological support to teachers in creating these e-learning materials. We are re-running the course this summer – why not sign up? (https://goo.gl/1h2T6W) 1TELI, Technology-Enriched Learning Initiative, is a team under Teaching and Learning of The University of Hong Kong (HKU). Its mission is to showcase, facilitate and improve technology-enriched teaching and learning (e-learning) across HKU. If you’d like to get updates on HKU’s e-learning developments, please sign up for our mailing list, visit our e-learning blog or subscribe to our Facebook page.
Mr. Darren HARBUTT Miss Katie CHAN Mr. Donn GONDA Mr. Brant KNUTZEN Dr. Theresa KWONG Dr. Leon LEI Ms. Elisabeth OH Mr. David WATSON Ms. Lynn YANG Miss Arinna LEE Dr. Charlie YEUNG Miss Birley CHAN Mr. Anthony HO
UPCOMING
BOLT NEWS TEAM
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-Scale Out Teaching; Scale Up Learning: Join the summer cohort of HKU’s BOLT module. More details at https://goo.gl/1h2T6W -BOLT Foundation Course: Module 1 starts on Monday 22 August 2016. More details soon at http://www.bolt.edu.hk/course/
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