Final Report

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HEAT3 – Final Report – Version1 – 29 May 2009

Progress Report Template Project Name

JISC TechDis HEAT Scheme Round 3

Project Website

http://www.techdis.ac.uk/getheatscheme

Report compiled by

Simon Ball

Reporting period

June 2008 to May 2009

Section One: Summary 33 of the 34 funded projects have successfully delivered their objectives and although all have reported by the project deadline many are continuing with further developments and many have spawned other developments in their own institution and beyond. Summary descriptions of the key aspects of each project are included in this Final Report. It has become clear from many of the comments received in the project reports that the HEAT scheme provides a great deal of support to the student experience through embedding the use of technologies into a variety of the areas of operation of institutions delivering HE. The scheme itself, however, does appear to have flaws which, if removed, could lead to much greater gains being made. These are discussed further below. Section Two: Activities and Progress

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This section includes a short summary of each of the project Final Reports received – this gives a very brief overview of the technologies received by the project, and developments since receipt of the technologies in relation to the original objectives. ABER301: Aberystwyth University Equipment awarded: EasyConverter by Dolphin for six month trial to engage students and staff in the independent translation of online materials into various accessible formats, digital voice recorders and associated equipment and Notetaker software, which allows annotation of audio files. The project aimed to: • Support a variety of learning styles and teaching strategies for a diverse student population • Facilitate opportunities for changes in practice and innovation over and above any legislative requirements; • Investigate opportunities for independent learning Tested primarily with language students and those who have English as a second language. Staff used the digital recorders to record lectures and make them available to students. The audio files were hosted both as a standalone resource and alongside the relevant PowerPoint presentation. There was a positive response from both staff and students to this. Staff appreciated that it was very quick to set up the recording and upload files after lectures while students liked the flexibility of having the files available for revision and, particularly, being able to use them during dead time such as commuting. There were mixed opinions as to whether the audio worked best alongside the PowerPoint files or on their own. The Notetaker software was not used – this is due to late receipt but one staff member commented that it would be unlikely to be used by staff due to the time involved. BATH301: University of Bath Equipment awarded: iPod Touch; Nintendo DS Lite; Nintendo DS Browser and Camtasia 5 studio (5 copies). The aim of this project is to develop a set of effective practice guidelines that can inform on how to design highly interactive large group teaching sessions using, for example, SMS texting to submit free text questions, the use of Audience Response Systems to engage the student / provide feedback and multimedia in presentations, in order to be as inclusive as possible. A set of guidelines on using the systems in an inclusive manner will be available in July 2009. The Mobile Moodle Project at the University is emerging as an outcome of the HEAT3 project. This project identified the need to improve Mobile Moodle on small screen devices and allowed evaluation of the enhancements being made in mobile access. The project will complete during Semester 1, 2009/10. The wider context includes the development of a new Learning and Teaching Strategy, and an e-Learning Operational Plan. Both of these emphasise the use of technology to enhance the face to face teaching experience (see http://www.bath.ac.uk/lteo). Last updated: May 09

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A sustainable key benefit is the staff survey as it quantified the type of technology and associated activities being used in the classroom. Another key benefit is improved communication between various services at the University. BATH302: Bath University Equipment awarded: 1. InftyReader Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to recognise scientific documents including mathematical formulae and InftyEditor for output from InftyReader. Both to be trialled by Academic Support Workers who currently produce alternative format mathematical resources by human transcription or alteration. 2. ChattyInfty editor for output from InftyReader including voice interface. 3. MathType professional edition of equation editor and SmartDraw graphics software with equation support to create scientific diagrams, mind maps, concept maps. All software made available to all students registered with Learning Support for this trial. A lack of assistive technology for students studying mathematical subjects was recognised. It was planned to make available software for adding formulae to documents and mind-maps, along with basic instructions, and to use a questionnaire to gain feedback from a much larger group of students on their perceptions and experiences. The software can be used in a variety of tasks, some of which were unexpected, which may improve access to mathematical subjects such as transcription to accessible formats, writing and reading mathematics via voice and Braille access, learning LaTeX to support Braille users. It is hoped to continue improving our knowledge of the processes. Reporting for both students and staff to access is located at www.bath.ac.uk/~cspehj/mathssoftware. Use of InftyReader and InftyEditor significantly reduced the time taken, and hence cost, to produce alternative versions of mathematical text. Some students may feel confident enough to use ChattyInfty and InftyReader independently. Few students responded formally via questionnaire. Unexpected difficulties including issues around installation, integration and using new and unexplored technology and / or unexpected interactions between assistive technology packages. It was concluded that there is a lack of technical guides to software for mathematics accessibility for use in a Learning Support environment. Therefore it is hoped to document the work online as a staff reference as well as providing getting started guides to the software for students and staff. BIO301: University of Ulster Equipment awarded: 1. HDD Camcorder with 3 Memory Cards to be shared throughout the bioscience practical class students on a weekly basis. 2. Toshiba Satellite Pro laptop for download of video at the end of the practical class and brief editing of videos. The project also received a refurbished webserver from the University, and a member of computing staff built the youtesttube.com website. The project aimed to: • Encourage students to reflect on their learning. • Engender a sense of inclusivity among the cohort. The video cameras were distributed to first year Bioscience students during Chemistry practicals. In small groups students recorded video clips reflecting on their experiments, Last updated: May 09

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assisted by a series of prompts supplied by staff. The videos were then uploaded to the youtesttube.com website and could be viewed, commented on and rated by fellow students. Overall the students enjoyed making the videos and watching those made by other groups. Unexpectedly the social networking aspects of the youtesttube.com site were very powerful. The main drawback was found to be the timing of the project as it began several weeks into the semester – in future years the process will be built in from the start of the semester. The project team has received further funding from a STAR (Student Transition and Retention) Fellowship at the University of Ulster to assist the aims of the project. BIO303: University of Bath Equipment awarded: Camcorder and Tripod; Digital Recorder; Sound TransPedal transcription foot-pedal with Windows Media Player Plug-In and Scribe Software. The project aimed to pilot the development of a resource to support placement learning by developing skills for research, training and technical methods, including videos of laboratory, research and specialist techniques. The project seems to have been successful with students reporting that they are more confident about applying for placements, feel more able to make decisions during their placement and are happy with the online support. Staff reported that they feel better able to support students who are undertaking placements. BRAD302: University of Bradford Equipment awarded: 7 Acre and Asus Ultra Mobile PCs with Micorosft ® Windows or Linux operating systems The project aimed to assess the suitability of Ultra Mobile PCs for disabled staff and students. A usability evaluation gave participants the chance to choose the machine that best suited them. The UMPCs were then loaned out for a two-month period, and another usability evaluation was performed at the end of this. The students enjoyed the experience of using the UMPCs and reported benefits that would be common to all students, not specific to disabled students. In particular the small size and usability meant that they could be used discreetly in lectures and during dead time, for example commuting. It was felt to be a useful supplement to a larger PC. There were some technical issues with the University’s network and the Linux operating system but these were quickly solved. However students did prefer the Microsoft® Windows-based operating system to Linux. BRIST301: University of Bristol Equipment awarded: PolyVision 104-inch interactive whiteboard; Interwrite Cricket RF USB hub, software and master handset, plus 14 additional handsets. The project aimed to use the technology to provide revision opportunities during lectures on technically challenging topics, and to improve visualisation of some of the material. The voting system was easy to use and has been used for a wider range of sessions than Last updated: May 09

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the project originally specified – for example during end of project presentations both staff and students used the voting kit to provide feedback. The project team found that the IWB software was more challenging and it has been used differently to the initial plan, however the project leader has found it to be effective. A full evaluation has not yet taken place as there was a delay in some of the equipment reaching the team, and some organisational difficulties at the University however the project leader is positive about the use of these technologies and student feedback has been good. ECONLAW301: University of Wales Equipment awarded: 5 Flip Video cameras; 5 voice recorders; 5 Closed Back Headphones. Staff used the voice recorders and Flip video cameras to record audio only and audio/video feedback on student assignments. As staff were very inexperienced in the use of these technologies, one-to-one support was needed and was offered throughout the project. This support meant that staff were enthusiastic about the project and very willing to be involved. Perhaps surprisingly the audio/video feedback was more popular with staff – it is thought that this was due to the Flip video cameras being easier to use and having more immediate outputs than the voice recorders. Students commented that they had valued the additional approaches in feedback. They commented that it provided opportunities to review the content discussed in face-to-face classes and also provided a more emotive transfer of information. However they did expect a higher standard of production in the videos. ENGL301: De Montfort University Equipment awarded: 3 Portable Digital Visualisers; plus Remote Controls, to allow the display, and discussion of, student writing in classrooms that are equipped with a data projector. Creative Writing staff used the visualisers in workshops to foster ‘holistic’ e-inclusion by making en-masse discussion of work an achievable goal without restricting the participation of students with hearing or visual impairments. There has been a very positive response to the use of the visualiser. It has enabled greater focus during whole group discussion of a single piece of work and editing suggestions can be made and immediately seen by the class. Students also appear to be more confident reading their work aloud as the focus is on the screen rather than on them, and a deaf student is able to read his work aloud to his workshop group with the confidence of knowing that his peers can follow his words on the screen. HCA301: University of Wales Lampeter Equipment awarded: Digital Voice Recorder, Microphone, Filter and Headphones, 35mm Film Scanner with LaserSoft SilverFast software (bundled); Rugged Hard Disk 500GB. There were two main elements to this project: • Digitisation of the department’s existing slides, resulting in them becoming more widely available. • Creating audio recordings of lectures to be made available to students for revision. Last updated: May 09

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Feedback for both aspects of the project has been extremely positive, with both being extended beyond the courses originally specified in the pilot due to demand. Students were extremely pleased that the digitised slides were available, and an unexpected effect is that lecturers have shown greater interest in the use of Microsoft® PowerPoint to deliver lectures and had specifically sought training in order to use it. Students have also shown greater engagement in evaluating blended learning and were more willing to offer comments and suggestions. The audio recordings were welcomed by students with 57% using them and, of those, 96% finding them useful. Staff were originally concerned that the availability of the recordings would adversely affect attendance; in fact attendance remained at normal levels. HCA304: University of Hull Equipment awarded: Digital Camcorder and memory cards; Digital audio recorder. The aim of this project, trialled during three different trips in 2008-2009, was to record archaeological fieldtrips for review and accessibility in order to enable students with specific learning disabilities to ‘replay’ and ‘revisit’ the fieldtrips to improve the learning experience. The three trips provided different settings and types of activity to test the validity of this approach. The camcorder was used to capture specifics of the locations and activities whilst the digital recorder was used by the fieldtrip leader to record the description at each site. This group of students had limited computer and technology skills, but all managed to access and produce video clips through the VLE. Benefits are: •

Aids memory recall for all students;

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Addition to a fieldtrip rather than a replacement;

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Develops self-reflection in the students;

• Sense of belonging and ownership for students taught at a distance. The equipment will also be used in the future to help stimulate students’ interpretations of what they have seen on the fieldtrips. The recording of the third fieldtrip was used in the classroom to review the fieldtrip and has been made available for students for revision purposes as an exam question has been set on one of the topics. HCA307: University of Sheffield Equipment awarded: Lumenera Infinity camera with Mount adaptor for Leitz Laborlux microscope; two 24” Flat Screen Wall-Mounted Monitors with wall brackets. These were combined with existing research-grade polarizing microscopes. The project was undertaken in order to respond to the inclusivity problem in teaching archaeological petrography at university level and a corresponding lack of skilled personnel in commercial archaeology. Archaeological petrography is an extremely specialised research tool which examines ancient ceramics and other artefacts under the microscope and only small numbers of students can be trained each year. Using a ‘lead’ microscope connected to several monitors practical sessions became more inclusive and explanation of microscopic features very accessible. High quality static images were captured for the PowerPoint presentations used in lectures. One drawback Last updated: May 09

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was that the camera did not have an auto-exposure setting resulting in the microscope dimmer being adjusted manually which meant that the microscope was not as useful for live demonstrations as had been anticipated. Additionally the technology has been used several times for UCAS open days. Prospective students showed great interest in the approach of archaeological petrography employed at the University of Sheffield. It was a great success and makes perfect pedagogical sense, so it is great that the HEAT grant provided the technology to put it into practice. It will continue to be used and has been nothing short of revolutionary for teaching and researching the microscopic world of archaeological petrography. HCA310: London Metropolitan University Equipment awarded 1 HTC Touch Pro mobile phone; 1 Nokia N96 mobile phone; 1 Nokia N85 mobile phone; 1 Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 mobile phone. The aim of this project was to enrich students’ knowledge and understanding of urban education from 1850 until the present day using mobile research. The project motivated the students to develop their own research skills and IT competences which are transferable skills. The project used a combination of smart phones, with qwerty keyboards and the internet, running the Mediascape (Mscapes) authoring environment http://www.mscapers.com/. Mscapes are a new form of media which overlay digital sight, sounds and interactions onto the physical world to create immersive and interactive experiences. Initial field work enabled a collection of images; data was collected using primary and secondary sources. A voice recorder was used for report writing and note making. Students produced video podcasts and edited videos on site. A website (as yet unfinished) contains an online version of the tour located at: www.rlocetl.ac.uk/developers/smith/urban_education/menu.html. The overall aim of this project and beyond has been a total success and 91% thought the mobile device enhanced the learning experience and promoted active learning. Staff members from other departments wish to apply the novel pedagogies to their own contexts. It is expected to employ the HEAT project in at least three different ways: • we will extend the knowledge and technical know-how to our involvement in the FP 7 MATURE project; • secondly, we will roll out the Urban Planning system to local London councils and interested partners (e.g. local schools and colleges); • finally, we will bid for additional funds in order to scale up the approach to contextsensitive learning and training. The R&D opportunities in a world where 3.3 billion people (half the population of the world) own a mobile phone are immense. Additionally it is expected to run half day mobile learning workshops for staff from different faculties and also to develop links with the local community. More funding is sought to scale up the project across departments and across institutions but the initial HEAT funding has been instrumental in forming the foundations of the work. Last updated: May 09

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HSAP303: Cardiff University Equipment awarded: 9 iPaq Personal Digital Assistants with foldable keyboards. The aim of this project was to explore the use of handheld computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), to deliver learning resources, personal development plans and assessment / evaluation tools in the clinical learning environment in order to support and enhance student learning. Problems to overcome included late arrival of technology in relation to student placements; ethical approval issues which delayed the acquisition of additional funding for software development; patient data protection concerns as NHS Trusts do not allow the use of wireless technology in clinical departments; software development delays due to costs; the internal memory capacity of the PDA is relatively small and holding charge for batteries is limited risking loss of data. Benefits have included staff enthusiasm for the use of technology to support clinical learning and CPD, and also to transfer learning packages to other professional disciplines; effective and timely student interaction with practice based educators and clinical staff in order to have competencies assessed with immediate feedback on their clinical learning; impact on student learning has yet to be evaluated; risk of cross infection reduced as PDAs easily cleaned compared to hardcopy files. ICS303: University of Hull Equipment awarded: Apple iPod Touch; Nokia N96 mobile phone; Keyboard; Memory card, Nuance Software; Nokia Tablet N810. The aim of the project is to show how a disabled student who is technologically aware can use modern devices to overcome their disability and to improve engagement in learning more readily than with the current assistive technology provided. Additional aims are to provide either a more cost effective solution or one that is more usable by the students than are traditional forms of supportive technology such as a laptop. These devices were loaned to several students with different disabilities from different schools – evaluation reports are available for each device from Year 3 Computer Science students. Barriers encountered were due to e.g. wi-fi coverage; proprietary technology in VLE not supporting assistive technology; keyboard size (e.g. for note taking); screen size (e.g. for video); multi-tasking capability; network connectivity of Smartphones and vendor exclusivity agreements; late delivery of the technology resulted in student evaluations being delayed. Benefits included the value of disabled students who have used assistive technology already and also evaluators on a technology course as they were able to quickly learn about the technology and solve any initial problems. Future development includes production of user notes which are tested by volunteers and also allow for the view of students with a wider variety of disabilities. Future investigation into keyboard size and also digital transcription of notes. ICS305: Sheffield Hallam University Last updated: May 09

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Equipment awarded: 3 Sony PSP's and PSP cameras (as well as memory cards, bags, leads, software etc.). The main driver for the project is to investigate whether reflective diaries (journals) can be made more accessible to students through the use of mobile video. An initial meeting was held with students to familiarise them with the device with weekly follow up progress meetings. The schedule was modified due to the project leader, and hence the project, moving institution. Therefore the project was conducted with first year students rather than third year students. Students used the devices with enthusiasm and motivation. Students thought they were easy to use with a large capacity for video storage. The requirement to record regular entries in video journals meant that students could pace their work. However, some students initially showed reservations to appearing in the video recordings. Weekly progress review highlighted difficulties when trying to 'flick through' - a web version or paper based approach allows the viewer (staff) to digest the content more easily allowing for construction of feedback. Student reflection was not as easy as expected because finding content within a video is not easy. Students would have to catalog / index the video and then the content in order to reflect easier. Results of this project will be presented at a Learning and Teaching Institute meeting at the University during the 2009-10 session. ICS307: University of Ulster Equipment awarded: 2 tablet PCs with headsets and webcams (i) administration / project development; (ii) classroom based; Avatar software. The aim of this project is to supplement learning and teaching through mentoring avatars. The project addressed key areas such as widening participation, student recruitment, retention and interaction, flexibility of learning, computer availability and room allocation. Inter-operational issues have been the biggest barrier. Integration of tools developed by different groups has proved harder than anticipated. Disadvantages include the gap between the complexity of the system and the resources available. Research in the area and discussion amongst colleagues of both the Schools of Computing and Education has been of benefit. It is a great platform to investigate pedagogical and social aspects of ICT facilitated support to students. This project is currently funded for future development as there is an enormous potential and it is intended to cover other areas and enrich the virtual mentoring system with a more sophisticated internal logic to support pedagogical advice and more powerful sensing. This will be tested further next academic year with students of different modules and their feedback collected. LAW302: University of Glamorgan Equipment awarded: HP Compaq Business Notebook; Digital Video Camera; 5 Digital Voice Recorders. This project is for teaching, learning and assessment. This project aimed to discover if simulation learning has any special requirements for students with disabilities and to Last updated: May 09

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assess any limitations or advantages this may reveal for disabled students. Mixed groups of students were divided into teams to simulate the Law of Torts which addresses legal damages for a person to receive compensation. Students were interviewed in front of the lap top so that they could react to visual stimuli when being asked questions. The students were also given an audio recording device to log their experiences and comments, although this was not very successful, probably because the students were reserved about communicating by this method. Students and staff gave positive feedback: students enjoyed this flexible method of working; student satisfaction, confidence and development were increased. Students identified practical issues to be passed on to the VLE developers. It is intended to produce a short internal paper about inclusion. Workshops for staff development events will be complemented by this strategy. Additional resources have been provided, including a set of Audio Log Guidelines and an Overall Findings Interview. LEE302: University of Leeds Equipment awarded: 10 licenses for NetSupport School; 1 license Camtasia Studio; 6 InterWrite Pads with Bluetooth hub. This project aimed to develop an Interactive Multimedia Mobile Classroom (known as IM2C), using the equipment provided along with 10 laptops and an interactive voting system that the project team already had, to allow teaching staff that do not have networked computer facilities to create more interactive sessions. The implementation in the staff development sessions has been successful and several colleagues in the staff development unit have requested more extensive demos and training so that they could update their current sessions to incorporate this interactive element. Following demonstrations to colleagues throughout the University, dedicated training and the collection of case studies has been requested. The Bluetooth InterWrite pads have been the most popular element of the kit, with one lecturer already using them regularly. The team feel that this project has demonstrated “that it is far more practical to have a mobile kit which is used regularly than several rooms which are more difficult to maintain and do not get as much use.” LEI301: University of Leicester Equipment awarded: 10 iPod Touch, with case, chosen for their ease of use, wi-fi capabilities and the high quality of screen display allowing a good mobile browsing experience for the users. This project aimed to utilise mobile technology to ascertain the study spaces used by students. Students used the Twitter microblogging system to provide regular updates. Short messages were easily tracked by RSS and data aggregated centrally for analysis. The devices were rotated through various student cohorts. The devices proved to be very intuitive and very little instruction was needed beyond the initial set up. Peer support emerged as a feature of the student generated network, with students using the service, not just to report on their status, but to arrange meetings, share resources, revise. Last updated: May 09

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There are limitations to accessibility, e.g. in terms of visual impairment. However, mobile devices score highly for students with limited mobility or living away from campus. For students with hearing problems, text based microblogging services are far superior to any audio communication systems. Unexpectedly around half of the undergraduate cohort of students have continued to use Twitter without the iPod Touch devices, demonstrating that the community of practice has become established. Full analysis of these data will enable us to clarify the student experience to inform institutional and departmental strategy in the future. The data collected will be subjected to detailed analysis and will be presented in a peer reviewed paper. The outcomes of this work will also be presented at multiple conferences later in 2009. LLR303: Coleg Gwent Equipment awarded: VisiKey Enhanced Visibility Keyboard; Big Keys multicolour uppercase keys; Quick-Link Pen Elite; USB/MP3 Memory Stick; Calc-U-Vue Talking Calculator; BigTrack Trackerball; EasiTrax Joystick; Cherry Internet Keyboard with Guard; Angled Keyboard Rest; Everyman Handy Arm Rest; Ultra Compact Keyboard. This project aimed to acquire additional assistive technology (AT) equipment to supplement current resources and provide support to learners with a broad range of disabilities. Also to deliver workshops to raise awareness of Assistive Technology. Unfortunately delivery of the equipment in October was after the main induction period for students. The core AT resource kit was developed and Learning Centre staff created userfriendly instructions. Hands-on workshops have been delivered to staff and students with positive feedback. An incidental benefit is inclusivity wider than the Learning Centre. The main benefit has been an increase in the level of awareness cross college. The Learning Centre has become more accessible and recently the staff were introduced to Access Apps software. The Learning Centre now installs this software on USB pens for learners. A summary of the project will be presented to the other Learning Centre Managers and staff will be offered a familiarisation session at the INSET day in the summer. LLR316: Leeds Metropolitan University Equipment awarded: KNFB Mobile Reader and Nokia N82 mobile phone. The aim of this project is to investigate the use of the KNFB Mobile Reader which is designed to allow the blind, visually impaired and dyslexic to scan text and hear it read aloud. The project was also to be used to raise awareness of the developing role of mobile technologies in supporting students with disabilities, with a view to assessing the possibility of further roll out beyond the project phase. Testing with students with varying levels of visual impairment was based on a range of print media. Further introduction and testing was carried out with a number of dyslexic students on the same basis. Feedback from students was mainly positive e.g. mobility, flexibility and quick processing speed, clarity (although less favourable towards students with more severe visual impairment). Some negative feedback was that the keypad was too small, the high cost, limitations to customisability. It is believed that the overall advantage of this technology Last updated: May 09

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was to give greater independence to the learner. It is envisaged that these benefits would add value to the learner experience. LLR318: Manchester Metropolitan University Equipment awarded: Morae Usability testing for software and web sites; JAWS 9 Professional Screen reader; 2 Logitech QuickCam Pro; USB microphone. The aim of the project is to provide an accessibility and usability testing facility for students. Students within the Department are taught web design with accessibility and usability as core themes through all stages. Providing students with hands-on opportunities has broadened the students’ experience, knowledge and understanding in the field of inclusive design. Students were enthused and positive feedback resulted from the sessions. Further suggestions for improvements were provided to students, together with some discussion on more theoretical aspects of user testing. Some students have become sufficiently confident to book the resource to carry out their own testing. Guidance and continuous supervision by experienced practitioners is beneficial. Installation of the hardware and software was delayed due to staff issues, and project time restrictions were the only major drawbacks. This will now become a standard part of the curriculum for web design within Information and Communications. A sample usability testing report has been provided. MAN301: The University of Manchester Equipment awarded: 2 iLiad Readers with MyScript Notes software; 2 Bookeen Cybooks; 2 HanLin e-Readers. This project evaluated a number of e-book readers and their suitability for assessing and marking student assignments which are submitted electronically, because of the issues caused by reading a large number of assignments on a computer screen. In addition to the e-book readers awarded by the HEAT scheme the project team received two Irex Digital Readers direct from Irex. A total of 18 staff members volunteered to trial the devices reported that: •

•

•

Most (76%) would use an e-book reader again for this purpose, although only 54% were satisfied or very satisfied with the devices themselves. The main advantages were portability, ease of use and being able to store all assignments on one device. Markers also liked the manoeuvrability of a hand-held device compared with a computer screen. This can aid markers who might suffer physical discomfort when using computers as they can easily adjust their reading position. Volunteers reported a general reduction in physical discomfort compared with reading assignments on a computer (66% reported physical discomforts using a computer screen compared to 32% using an e-reader), although there is no record of the time spent using each and therefore direct comparisons are difficult. There were notable reductions in the reported levels of eye strain, headaches and dry eyes. Negative feedback included that the screens on some devices were too small and did not allow sufficient magnification, and some of the devices were difficult to use. The project team noted that the e-ink displays are very good, but some of the devices themselves reduced the benefits.


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• •

Some of the devices lost the formatting of Microsoft® Word documents with page numbers and tables often affected. There is a potential saving in terms of administrative time and cost, as the assignments would not need to be printed out and distributed.

MDV301: Newcastle University Equipment awarded: 5 Inspiration staff licences; 30 Inspiration licences for a cluster; 10 Inspiration licences for installation on students’ own computers. This project aimed to investigate the use of Inspiration mind mapping software by students with a variety of learning styles, to identify the tasks for which mind mapping is most useful and therefore target the resource more effectively. Students were issued with a licence for the software and a notebook to record their usage and any comments on it. The overall feedback on the software was very positive, with students reporting that they found it useful. It was particularly useful for students with a strong visual learning preference. Negative feedback tended to occur because the mindmaps created were too large to be useful [students may have benefitted from training on using mindmaps effectively in this case]. N-TRENT301: Nottingham Trent University Equipment awarded: 3 iPod Nano; 3 Flip Ultra Camcorder; 1 Flip Video Action Mount. (Also MacBook Pro awarded to same project holder for HEAT2 project reused for this HEAT3 project) The project aimed to develop best practice guidance for staff wishing to use video, particularly with mobile learning, in their teaching. Ran one workshop (one had to be cancelled) and produced staff development materials. Feedback from staff suggested that they wanted more information about the pedagogical rationale for using these technologies and about the legal implications (IPR etc). This project was unfortunately curtailed due to personal circumstances of the project holder and will continue to develop now that the project holder has returned to work. PAL301: University of Chichester Equipment awarded: Digital Camcorder with Wide Angle Conversion Lens; Sony Sound Forge Studio and Final Cut Express software; Rugged Hard drive; Memory Stick. The project aimed to provide podcasts for Dance students in two formats: • Using a visual scribe classes were recorded and made available so that students could view their classes afterwards at a pace that suits them, and move forwards and backwards through the video to relevant areas. It was felt that this would be a particular advantage for students with dyslexia over traditional written overviews. • An instructional DVD was created by the project leader following a reference book format which included videos of the project leader performing specific techniques with and without verbal instruction. There were some technical issues with the visual scribe initially but these were resolved with support from the e-learning team. Students have found these resources to be very useful and the project team are hoping to embed these practices and develop links with other departments. Last updated: May 09

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PRS304: University of Wolverhampton Equipment awarded: 9 iPod Touch. The project aimed to explore the potential of the iPod Touch for interactive visits to places of worship, incorporating images, sound, text and video. A late start due to staffing problems resulted in a positive outcome in that more trips were planned. The tour for each place explored a particular media, and student users provided feedback on the contribution of this media to their learning. Positive outcomes include students could explore individually at their own pace but collaborate later to share ideas and learning; access to a variety of media benefitted different students in different ways; the project provided data which is useful in considering different student learning styles, and preferences for visual, auditory, verbal, kinaesthetic, social or solitary learning. Students were enthused to develop their own tours. However, time for learning engagement was reduced due to technical problems in uploading the tours to the iPods partly due to synchronising to university systems. Future field visits will be planned to provide the range of media to stimulate and support student learning including students with other disabilities. This experience will be presented at a Subject Centre Conference in June and a day workshop is planned in Wolverhampton for the wider learning community. PRS305: PRS Subject Centre Equipment awarded: video camera with memory card, tripod, lighting kit, microphone system and editing software. The project developed staff development video workshops on the accessibility and inclusion issues that should be considered in course design and delivery, and best practice guidance, for PG tutors and new lecturers. These are becoming available on the PRS Subject Centre website as they are completed. There were some delays in the project due to the equipment arriving late, however feedback on the workshops so far has been positive and work is ongoing. ROE302: Roehampton University Equipment awarded: 2 Camcorders with tripods, 6 Digital Voice Recorders; 2 Microphones. This project aimed to develop a set of guidelines for the assessment of multi-format coursework. A working group was set up consisting of six students with varying disabilities, and the project team have worked closely with academic staff and, where appropriate, the relevant governing body (e.g. the British Psychological Society) to ensure all of the necessary standards are met. The working group of students was offered the chance to submit coursework in an audio and video format to a group wiki rather than the traditional text-based assignment. Another output of the project has been the creation of a DVD outlining best practice in creating audio and video resources. The students have enjoyed the opportunity to create coursework in this format and have Last updated: May 09

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been very enthusiastic about the project. The project team ran a workshop at the SEDA conference in May 2009 and at LMU’s Listening to the Student Voice conference in May 2009, and the report findings have been incorporated into the University’s assessment policy and guidelines for staff. The project team were able to use TQEF funding to allow a group of students from a different module to undertake similar coursework. Some TQEF funding for 2009 has been committed to further develop this work, with dissemination planned for 2010. SAL301: University of Salford Equipment awarded: 2 Digital video cameras, 3 Digital voice recorders with microphones, Camtasia software, Adobe Premier Elements WATER - Widening Access to Employability Resources for students with dyslexia. This project aimed to produce audio and video resources to run alongside the traditional induction lectures given by the careers service, in particular it aimed to use these to improve the accessibility of the service for dyslexic students. The overall impact has not yet been evaluated but staff have shown increased enthusiasm as the project has developed, despite initial setbacks due to a combination of technical issues and a restructure of that area of the University, and the equipment has been requested for activities beyond the initial scope of the project. SHU301: Sheffield Hallam University Equipment awarded: 200 Memory Sticks with project data pre-loaded. The project aimed to disseminate information about best practice in supporting disabled students to associate lecturers, for whom the usual staff development channels are unavailable. All of the available content from was uploaded onto the USB memory sticks and sent to associate lecturers. The full impact has not yet been evaluated but initial feedback has been very positive, with one group commenting that the USB stick should be available for all academic staff and further copies have been requested. WLV301: University of Wolverhampton Equipment awarded: 2 Mini camcorders with tripods and Firewire cards, Digital camera with memory card, Mini tower PC; MacBook Pro laptop. The project aimed to include D/deaf students (particularly BSL users) in the S2S peer mentor scheme using student produced visual reflections created by the use of webcams linked to an ePortfolio system and a blog to provide support for mentors. The effects of the project have included: • Greater awareness of the issues and the feeling of isolation that can be faced by Deaf students, which has resulted in some mentoring scheme staff taking BSL modules. • The development of new training resources aimed specifically at Deaf students. • Positive feedback from mentors and mentees. The scheme has attracted some local media attention, with features in the local press and on local radio. A feature article is due to appear in the July edition of the Mentoring and Last updated: May 09

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Befriending Foundation national journal. Section Three: Institutional & Project Partner Issues All but one of the projects have achieved their objectives and reported satisfactorily. Two projects negotiated modifications to the original aims to better respond to developments during the project, and due to impressive progress to date both of these modifications were granted. One project, however, has provided serious problems. The project TRU301, led by Andy Lancaster at Truro College, has been troublesome in the extreme. After the technology (6 audio notetakers) was supplied in the autumn of 2008 no further contact was successfully achieved. When the interim report was due a total of 10 emails were sent to the project lead, 3 to the other individual named on the project bid, and one to the College Principal (in case the staff concerned had moved on). Telephone messages were also left for the project lead and College Principal. No response was received by the time of the final reports becoming due, so the JISC RSC South West were asked to enquire as to the status of the project, but were reluctant to do so in case it ‘jeopardised their relationship with the college’ which in hindsight is understandable and perhaps it was not an appropriate route to go through to establish contact. Another colleague from a nearby institution instead took a message to the project lead, who then sent a single email claiming to have emailed us in January asking for an extension to 2010. No such email arrived (spam filters have been checked) and no extension of this type would have been permitted. They assumed as they ‘heard nothing’ (obviously none of the emails or phone messages to 3 different individuals reached them) that permission had been granted. None of the several requests for summary information to include in this report have been acknowledged. I am unsure how JISC handles such scenarios. The original commissioning form stated that we would seek the return of the technology if the project outcomes were not met, but what use to anyone 6 second-hand note-takers would be is not clear, and we may indeed receive some kind of report in 2010. However, if there is a system for making such recommendations to JISC I would wish to recommend that no further funding is granted to Truro College after this experience. Section Four: Outputs and Deliverables We have 33 project reports, including a range of extra material such as project websites, photographs, video clips and conference presentations about the projects. The ‘extra’ materials will continue to arrive during the next two months as projects finish off their work and turn to dissemination activities. JISC TechDis is already working on revamping the HEAT area of the website and applying the HEAT3 project information to it – this will be complete by the end of June. In addition a leaflet describing the HEAT scheme and highlighting a range of HEAT3 projects will be produced from material already received and will be available later in the summer, ideally in time for the Higher Education Academy Conference if possible. Section Five: Outcomes and Lessons Learned


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The most important lesson to emerge, and it is stated explicitly by a number of projects in the summaries above, is that even small scale funding such as this can achieve real change in institutions, and the ripple effects are often substantial. It is to JISC’s credit that they are prepared to fund such comparatively insubstantial projects, and it is arguable that the sum total of good practice and institutional change resulting from these 33 projects is greater than would be the case from many single projects of equivalent magnitude. Aside from the issue described above with one particular project, what has emerged most strongly is that trying to complete a scheme like this inside one year is not altogether practical. The funding was confirmed by JISC in June, bids were received and evaluated in July, and technology was ordered in August and September. For the most part the technology arrived in good time and was available to projects for the start of the autumn term. However, a significant number of items did not arrive until November, or, in a few cases, December, which represented a significant loss of opportunity to projects that had planned a 6-month programme from October to March, due to the final reporting deadline of May. This has been highlighted in a number of the project reports, and although I am delighted that many project holders are planning to work further on their HEAT projects after the final reporting deadline, I would rather that extra work be undertaken within the auspices of the HEAT scheme to ensure we can fully capture and disseminate the additional good practice uncovered. Small sample sizes can be increased, extra cohorts can be involved – the project results would be much stronger overall. If JISC were able to fund another round of the HEAT scheme (and JISC TechDis would be delighted to run the scheme again if such funding were to be offered), I would request that the scheme could run over a longer period. If funding were to be granted late in the financial year (i.e. June-July) as was the case with HEAT3, then allowing for purchase and dissemination of technology it would be preferable for the projects to run from January to January, which of course carries the added benefit that the project outcomes could be highlighted at the spring JISC conference. Section Six: Evaluation Obviously as the final reporting deadline has only just passed, no evaluation of the HEAT scheme has yet been undertaken. But plans are in place to contact all project holders towards the end of the autumn term in a little over 6 months’ time with a short questionnaire asking them to reflect upon the value of the project, any follow-on activities and its impact upon both the intended audience and more widely. Evaluation activities for previous HEAT project holders are underway, with a view to writing a paper for JISC and the funding councils on the value of these highly targeted projects in terms of the volume of good practice uncovered and disseminated. Section Seven: Dissemination


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Several of the project holders have already shared their findings at national conferences or are planning to do so over the summer. 12 of the project holders are attending the Higher Education Academy Conference on July 2nd to contribute to a session I am jointly hosting with JISC InfoNet on supporting curriculum change by drawing lessons from good practice projects such as these and disseminating them institution-wide. I will also obtain from each of them a short video clip of them talking about their project on the HEAT exhibition stand (it is not a JISC TechDis stand, it is dedicated entirely to the HEAT scheme and my recent report “12 Steps Towards Embedding Inclusive Use of Technology as a Whole Institution Culture”) .These clips will be mounted on the HEAT website alongside the projects. Papers and articles are planned for submission to the organisations that kindly advertised HEAT3 for us, namely the HEA Subject Centres, ALT, UCISA, CILIP, SEDA and SCONUL. The HEAT leaflet highlighting the scheme and several projects in detail will be disseminated widely at conferences and via Subject Centre mailings during the summer and autumn. Section Eight: Risks, Issues and Challenges The biggest challenge was undoubtedly in the compressed timescales for this programme. A recommendation has been made in Section Five that any future similar initiatives should run over two financial years rather than one. There is also a risk that projects do not complete, and this risk did materialise in one case this year, with a conclusion that remains unsatisfactory. Advice from JISC on how to handle this and any future similar circumstances would be most welcome.

Section Nine: Collaboration and Support As described in Section 7 a collaborative workshop with JISC InfoNet to highlight outcomes from small scale curriculum focussed projects from both services has been planned for the HEA conference. Articles drawing out relevant issues for each discipline are planned for the Subject Centres, and themed articles are also planned for ALT, UCISA, CILIP, SEDA and SCONUL. It is planned that JISC TechDis will write a paper during the summer months using exemplars from the JISC-funded HEAT scheme and the LSC-funded Innovation programme in Independent Specialist Colleges to highlight the value to be gained from such highly targeted funding regimes and the comparatively large benefits that can be achieved. Section Ten: Financial Statement Expenditure for this project is precisely on budget. The £2250 originally allocated to Travel and Expenses associated with the cancelled networking event in January has been put towards getting project holders to attend the Academy conference to take part in the workshop and present a short video overview of their project outcomes. The budget for dissemination has not yet been spent as the HEAT3 overview leaflet is still in production, but projected costings obtained from our usual printer are precisely in line with the budget for this. Section Eleven: Next Steps


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The leaflet and web resource are being created as a direct consequence of the submission of the final reports. These will be followed by the HEA conference sessions and creation of video vignettes. As soon as time allows themed articles will be created for Subject Centres and other organisational newsletters. Evaluation will take place in the latter half of the autumn term as described above. A plea for funding for a fourth round of the HEAT scheme will shortly be made to JISC.

Total Grant

£59930

Duration of project

Reporting Period

Interim Report Feb’09 Final Report May’09

Jun’08 to May’09

Budget Headings

Total budget allocated

Expenditure this reporting period

Total expenditure to date

Further information

Staff

6680

6680

6680

Travel & Subsistence

2250

2250

2250

Equipment

0

0

0

Dissemination 5050 activities

0

0

This has not yet been spent but is allocated to the HEAT3 leaflet as described above which will be published within the next 4-6 weeks

Evaluation activities

1250

0

0

This will be carried forward into the next financial year to allow the evaluation activities to take place as planned.

Technology for Project Case Studies

44700

44700

44700

The full budget for project technologies has been spent exactly as planned.

All £2250 has been allocated as grants of £250 to 9 projects to attend the Academy conference as described above. 3 further projects were already attending and will assist for nothing.

Checklist: Before you return this report: Last updated: May 09

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F Ensure that your project webpage on the JISC site is up to date and contains the correct information. Attach details of any required amendments to this report. Project webpages can be found from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects.aspx F If there have been any changes to the original project plan and/or work packages, ensure that amended copies of the relevant sections of your project plan are attached to this report.


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