Leading by ExampleSam Taylor (@samwisefox)Southampton Solent University

Assessment types:• Essay• Report• Presentation• Live performance• Video• Poster/spread• Audio recording• Interview• Portfolio• Physical media

…Mahara ePortfolio…

Lecturer engagement and enthusiasm is key to

students building great ePortfolios

Strategies to try…

Show students inspirational videos

Create example templates

Showcase previous students’ work

Involve peer mentors

1) INSPIRATIONAL VIDEOS

Video: “Hole in the Wall”

Sugata Mitra:• 1999 experiment in the slums of

New Delhi, India• Computer embedded in a wall

with hi-speed internet• Left it there with no instruction

Outcome:The local children worked out how to use it & organised themselves into peer learning roles

http://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_shows_how_kids_teach_themselves

Business Foundation Year“The rationale for showing my students Sugata Mitra's ‘Hole in the wall' video is to develop their self-efficacy, that they can use Mahara successfully. So long as they put the effort in to learn the system via watching the help videos provided.

For the students, watching the video really made them reflect on the resources and support that they have around them, and importantly that compared to the children in India they are in a very advantaged position.

My students were inspired by the children in the video and from this I have received no resistance from students who at first may be a little reticent about using Mahara software.”

Dr Ruth McLellan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business, Sport and EnterpriseUnit leader for Introduction to Marketing

2) TEMPLATES

Variety of approaches

1. Basichttp://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=WEqephHXslMjxaQFVu8C

2. Intermediatehttp://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=raMgYKyip7VJSv45ED1Q http://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?id=72504

3. ‘Full on’http://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=Ex3W2VbtsP90gmkOpZ5F

This approach involves lots of input from lecturers!

3) STUDENT EXAMPLES

Benefits

• Great for past students: Promotion & pride in their work

• Great for current students: Helps them to structure and visualisethe aims of the assessment

• Great for lecturers:It makes their job more interesting

• Great for Sam & Mahara community! Every year the students are producing higher quality work to showcase at Mahara UK & elsewhere!

http://mycourse.solent.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=116379

MSc Shipping Operations“A Mahara portfolio is at the heart of the 'Professional Skills and Practice Portfolio Unit’, and this year I have had the huge advantage of last year's students' portfolios to share with the current cohort. I have chosen two good quality portfolios and made them available for students to view, review and discuss in a forum.

The two I chose clearly stood out as well developed and designed portfolios that benefitted from the students getting started on using Mahara very early in the process - they got to grips with e-Portfolio concurrently with working on their professional portfolio, and the early work really paid off.

I am confident that these examples will have a positive impact in demonstrating the value of Mahara and a standard that can be achieved or exceeded.”

Andrew Doig, Associate Professor of Learning TechnologiesUnit Leader for Professional Skills Practice Portfolio (MSc Shipping Operations)

Next steps…What can Fashion Marketing students learn from Architectural Technology students?

Maritime & Business Foundation? PR Comms & Teaching?

CROSS-DISCIPLINE SHARING

4) PEER MENTORS

http://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=Z5rY8yOvtqlD7CsaW0eh http://mahara.solent.ac.uk/view/view.php?t=f3xCGitHMwQcXy4WJB1o

PR Communication:

@SolentPR No.1 in the UK for Student Satisfaction (NSS 2013 Publicity Studies JACS subject area)100% Professional Employment (DHLE 2013)

Case study: http://bit.ly/pr-comms

Feedback on being a ‘Peer Leader’:

“I think it has been useful for the students having two extra people to help them in class that have done the assignment and carried out amazing work placements themselves as we can relate to what they are going through.

I have had some really good comments back from the students too and they seem very grateful for all our help, I definitely think this unit should have peer mentors next year too as I wish we had them last year. It has also made me feel really good that I can help, and I like sharing my experiences with them.

I have also encouraged them to do as many work placements for long periods as I think it has been so beneficial to myself, and hearing that from a student opposed to a lecturer is really important too I feel.”

Chloe Seaforth3rd yr Student

BA(Hons) PR Communication

Feedback on having ‘Peer Leaders’:

“For me I find them extremely useful, mainly because they have had to work with the software directly whereas Sally hasn't had a lot of experience with it; so it's great to talk to fellow students on how to use it.

It's also great to have them talk to us about the layout and creativity side; they've been able to give us advice, and show us examples of their work.

We wouldn’t have been able to get the hang of Mahara quite as well as we have without the support of the peer leaders.”

Paige Hiley 2nd yr Student

BA(Hons) PR Communication

EXAMPLES OF LECTURER ENGAGEMENT

Organise an IT Induction

Drip-feed activities into schedule

Develop ‘How to’ guides

And if all that fails…

Direct email to all students!

Sharing storiesI am looking for case studies on Employability-focussed

assessments using Mahara:

Mahara for the recording of personal development

Mahara for career development planning

‘Shop window’ websites using Mahara

I’m appealing for you to send me a Mahara page with your college/uni/WBL provider’s case study(s)

Please email secret URL to sam.taylor@solent.ac.uk

Example: http://bit.ly/pr-comms See more: http://bit.ly/maharacall

Thank you!

Sam TaylorLearning Technologist

http://about.me/samwise