eLiteracy Online at Glasgow – the no frills approach
Allan Martin, Raj Bhaskar, Stuart MacPherson and Morag Stark
University of Glasgow
Scotland
Demonstration: 35 minutes
Convergence & Continuity
The IT Education Unit at Glasgow University runs a student eLiteracy Programme with an annual throughput of 5,500 plus students. Over the last two years we have evolved, with modest means, an online system which, without "bells and whistles", is nevertheless proving an effective mode of delivery. Crucial to its success is that entrants are selected by an online needs analysis and registration system, so that, for instance, beginners are directed to register for a face-to-face course. The course is divided into short units, each unit having a brief self-test at the end, and assignments are additionally required to be emailed to the course monitor. The course monitor is so-named to indicate that her main function is to monitor progress rather than to offer tutorial support - because students are selected for the course, tutorial demand is low, most students making use where necessary of the online hints and documentation. Student progress is monitored by the system, and checked and updated by the course monitor. The system has been used at a distance and can be customised for other courses or institutions - a trial is currently under way in Iran. The principles underlying the system will be outlined, and the course itself demonstrated. Comment on its functioning will be offered by the programmer, the course developer and the course monitor. From our experiences so far, it represents a robust and effective method of delivering basic IT and information skills.
