Lin Smith – Regional Manager from East Midlands – “Online e-moderating – a quality approach”
Dean Taylor chairing.
Staff development for OUBS, got OU Teaching Award this morning for whole team, more than were named on award. Five years programme. Identified that tutors needed help in becoming good e-moderators on tutor group forums.
ALs did a lot of the work, done online – integrated.
Trying to set up as a Community of Practice. Courses lasted only two weeks but they became real CoPs, brought in examples from web and own practice. Of course, was based heavily on Gilly Salmon’s 5 stages but went beyond – got tutors working on knowledge development very quickly. Also engaging course teams – on d10 and d13, course teams come in, observe, and answer questions – to specific queries about their courses. Some specific to e-moderating, some general. Caused a lot of admin work, and is different to e-moderating offered through Janet Macdonald which is available through TutorHome.
Started with Certificate ALs and students, then fed through to more wide audiences (whole BA Business Studies and Law) – based on constructivist ideas of learning.
Principles of excellence – from EQFM – people, processes, results/learn/feedback. Paid staff to do it. They did 70% of the exercise and did a PDP afterwards. 85% said they got a lot out of it.
Web monitors (special tutors) – give positive fb that have been changes in behaviour (of tutors) – a pool of tutors who are ‘super tutors’ who can do stuff like Alternative Learning Experiences (online instead of residential schools) and BZX (online versions of ordinary courses). Tutors demanded a certificate, now ask for it as part of recruitment and selection.
Doug Clow's Imaginatively-Titled Blog 