The outcomes from the project so far include:

• Outcomes from the baseline research
• Outcomes from Psychology podcasting research

1. Outcomes from the baseline research

Consultations took place to gather baseline data from the key stakeholders: the course teams, students and employers.

a.Outcomes from consultation with the course teams

The two course teams were consulted about their current practice as well as problems and challenges faced in curriculum delivery.   The consultation took place through informal channels such as discussion with the tutors, presentations at workshops or seminars, reports presented at project meetings, and gathering and analysing programme and course documentations.

Over a number of years the Psychology team have incorporated and used Blackboard to deliver their course. Structured e-tivities were integrated into the course material and the Blackboard discussion board was used for enquiries and interaction. The team identified a number of challenges faced in curriculum delivery:

• Flexible teaching and learning environment needed to engage time-poor students. Flexibility is important to work-based learners.
• Increase interactive, fun and supportive teaching and learning in the VLE through enhancing student-student and student-tutor interaction. The (previous) course content is considered ‘dry’. According to the course team, students feel isolated from the tutors and other students.
• Enabling skills development and bridging theory and practice.
• Improving the quality of feedback.

The Education team began to use Blackboard (BB) for their MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL in September 2008. The focus has been on converting all the course materials into appropriate formats for delivery by September 2009. They have identified a number of challenges:

• Meeting the September 2009 deadline.
• Increasing interactivity through the addition of audio materials and e-tivities.
• Improving support and interaction with students; by making use of the BB discussion board as an interactive tool. Providing support through other technologies.
• Increasing learner flexibility and mobility.
• Engaging time-poor students.

b.Outcomes from consultation with the students

Both the Psychology and Education students were consulted for their needs and challenges in their study, and their satisfaction with the course.  Both the sets of students identified a number of areas where delivery can be improved:

• More prompt, timely, detailed and clearer feedback.
• More interaction and support from tutors and peers.
• More detailed explanation on assessment and marking.
• Further explanation and clarity on certain topics.
• Provision of essential readings and referencing resources.

c.Outcomes from consultation with the employers

In both Psychology and Education, employers were consulted for their views on the needs and challenges faced by work-based learners through semi-structured interviews.

In Psychology, three employers were consulted. They identified a number of professional development needs faced by practising occupational psychologists in their organisations:

• Becoming chartered psychologists.
• Enhancing quantitative and qualitative research skills.
• Developing practical skills, including consultancy skills.

They offered insights into how course delivery can be improved to meet the professional development needs of work-based learners: this included strategies to integrate the chartership model into course delivery.

Three employers from the Education field were consulted. They identified two professional development needs faced by practising language teachers in their organisations: how to incorporate technologies into the design and delivery of a language course and how to transfer theory into practice.

They offered ideas on how the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL can be improved to meet these needs, including:

• Offering an optional module focusing on technology-supported course design and delivery.
• Adding more practical elements to the current course by incorporating more project-based activities and promoting reflections and critical thinking.
• Adding practical components from the early modules.

2. Outcomes from Psychology podcasting research

The integration of podcasting in Psychology has had a significant impact on students and tutors’. The Psychology team have produced more than 40 podcasts, which have been made available on Blackboard since April 2009.

Evidence on the impact on student experience due to the use of podcasts was collected during May-July 2009 through semi-structured interviews, Blackboard surveys and students’ responses and comments on the Blackboard discussion forum. Feedback from the course team regarding their experience in producing podcasts and the impact of podcasts on their work was collected through informal channels such as discussion with the tutors, presentations at workshops, seminars and project meetings.

Overall, the student experience of using the podcasts was very positive. A number of areas were identified as to why the podcasts enhanced their learning experience:

• Built tutor-student relationships
• Provided clearer and more detailed instructions and guidance
• Provided reassurance
• Enabled learners to think ahead
• Increased flexibility and mobility in learning

The course team has identified a number of positive changes both in the impact on their work and on student learning:

• Reduced traffic on BB (i.e. a reduction in the number of questions on for, example, assignments, as a result of the added clarity introduced through the podcasts).
• Retention rates improved significantly.
• Improved quality of assignments and dissertation (i.e. reduced failed rate and improved quality in discussing research methods, justification of research questions, etc.)
• Quicker and more effective mechanism to deliver certain messages than writing. It is effective in providing explanations, guidance and feedback.
• Time-saving for tutors (i.e. the material that might take 4-5 pages to write can be covered in a 4-5 minutes podcast)
• Flexibility for tutors (i.e. tutors don’t need to produce the podcast together. They can stay at different locations and record their sections, and bring different sections together in Audacity)
• Students use podcasts from their mobile devices

The tutors have been motivated to produce more podcasts due to increased student engagement with content, teachers and each other.