Papers by Joanna Stroud
Advances in Higher Education Journal, Apr 2013
The UK student profile is becoming ever-more diverse (HESA, 2012), with the range of capabilities... more The UK student profile is becoming ever-more diverse (HESA, 2012), with the range of capabilities, expectations and attitudes of those students likely following suit. Figures indicate (NSS, 2012) that students continue to be comparatively dissatisfied with feedback provision and that differences in experience exist between diverse student groups. Delivery of feedback via recorded audio file has been found to mitigate a number of commonly-reported issues and elicits a positive reaction from students (Merry & Orsmond, 2008). This project evaluates two groups of students’ (part-time, mature learners and ‘traditional’ undergraduates) overall response to audio feedback, revealing support for the technique, particularly amongst traditional undergraduates and those with learning disabilities. It also finds that for a proportion of mature learners the receipt of audio feedback had a strong emotional impact.
Conference Presentations by Joanna Stroud
The WHO "Universal eye health: Global Action Plan 2014-2019" prioritises human resource developme... more The WHO "Universal eye health: Global Action Plan 2014-2019" prioritises human resource development. Particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) ophthalmic training is constrained in key ways.
Open Education is action to increase access to learning. Open Educational Resources (OER) can be freely used, adapted and shared at low cost digitally. OER can increase innovation, raise standards and foster knowledge sharing as they are reviewed by learners, educators, policymakers and employers.
We are developing free, online, self-directed courses for eye care professionals otherwise unlikely to be able to access public health eye care education. Between 2014 and 2016, delivered two courses - Global Blindness & Epidemiology for Eye Health - to a global audience as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and on LSHTM’s open learning platform, Open Study.
In recent years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been an emergent mode of educational de... more In recent years, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have been an emergent mode of educational delivery. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has launched three MOOCs in the past year, with nearly 40,000 students enrolled worldwide. These courses have driven awareness of open educational practices within the School, culminating in the launch of our Open Study at LSHTM platform, housing open access courses and OER both independent of and related to our MOOC provision. This growing culture of openness is in line with our broader strategic aims of promoting better health and equity through high quality, flexible, and global study opportunities.
MOOCs produce a vast amount of learner data, thus affording significant opportunities for educational research (Breslow, et al., 2013, p.13), and with much of this conducted around online pedagogies and learning design. While it is clear that universities are now increasingly able to reach a worldwide audience and extend access to research, education and training of the highest quality, there remains a lack of robust data and analysis around the effectiveness of and motivations for flexible, self-directed learning.
Simple exploration of our MOOC analytics indicates that professional learners are strongly represented in each course cohort. Milligan and Littlejohn suggest (2014, p.1) that while the open context of such courses can broadly reduce barriers to learning, this same open, flexible online format can also be useful to professional learners, enabling individuals to tailor their learning needs to their corresponding work demands. This presentation will report upon our findings regarding learner perspectives of the value and impact of MOOCs in terms of professional development. Based on data gathered in surveys and focus groups, it will highlight some of the reasons why working learners might participate in open courses, the importance of certifying or accrediting learning in this context, and how online learning can be attuned to workplace study.
References
Breslow, L., Pritchard, D.E., DeBoer, J., Stump, G.S., Ho, A.D., & Seaton, D.T. (2013) Studying learning in the worldwide classroom: Research into edX’s first MOOC. Research & Practice in Assessment, vol. 8, pp.13-25.
Milligan, C., and Littlejohn, A. (2014) Supporting Professional Learning In A Massive Open Online Course. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, vol.15(5).
"This paper considers barriers to the uptake of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and how these ba... more "This paper considers barriers to the uptake of Open Educational Practices (OEP) and how these barriers might potentially be overcome. ‘Open education’ has become an increasingly important topic in TEL and wider educational debates, partly driven by the rapid emergence of MOOCs. Various activities, such as sharing of teaching resources, open access publishing, and delivery of free, online courses, are being promoted under the umbrella of ‘openness’, yet the majority of scholars do not appear to be embracing the concept wholeheartedly.
Amidst dramatic changes to the current learning, teaching, and research landscape, academics are increasingly called upon to become ‘connected’, ‘digital’, and ‘open’ scholars, requiring engagement with a kaleidoscope of interconnected open social and digital practices. Potentially the most powerful and compelling argument for any version of ‘open education’ is the claim that academics should adopt Open Educational Practices (OEP). For example, Andrade et al. (2011) assert that “OER and OEP are changing learning scenarios” and that “the use of OER and the implementation of OEP lead to innovations in pedagogical terms”.
OEP consist not only of creating and reusing OER, but also of other forms of transparency around academic practice, such as blogging, tweeting, presenting, and debating scholarly and pedagogic activities, in ways that promote reusability, revision, and collaboration (Ehlers, 2011; Jacobi & Woert, 2012). OEP are therefore tactics for increasing access to knowledge, developing and strengthening communities of practice, disseminating positive ways of working, leveraging high-quality existing resources, and promoting innovative pedagogies (Andrade et al., 2011). In spite of this, there appears to be a lack of engagement with OEP. It’s possible that these theoretical and practical benefits have not been widely understood by the academic community, but it also seems to be the case that real or perceived regulatory, technical, cultural, and skills barriers exist. In our presentation we will consider the nature of these barriers in greater detail and suggest potential strategies for their mitigation."
Book chapters by Joanna Stroud
Smart Learning: Teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post-compulsory education, Apr 2015
The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom ... more The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom has implications for academic practice in post-compulsory education. Unlike previous eras of learning with technology, change is being led by the students and academics themselves and this establishes a challenge to institutions. This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, and the people we involve.
Smart Learning: teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post compulsory education observes how personal smart technology, social media, rich digital media as well as ideas about open learning work together to form a new immersive and interactive space for learning.
The Smart Learning book is a product of the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) which has considered the opportunities and challenges afforded by new media in developing a forward looking Digital Age, learner-centred view of academia since 2008. MELSIG is a self-driven association fascinated and excited by thinking differently, reflectively and critically. Working informally across UK post-compulsory education around special foci, the group runs sharing and developing practice events and webinars, as well as organising collective research and writing activities about academic innovation with digital and social media.
Smart Learning is made up of thought pieces, research chapters and case studies. It is punctuated with scenario vignettes, making real this new thinking about learning with personal smart devices.
Books by Joanna Stroud
by Elaine Garcia, Dave Kennedy, Catherine J Hack, Santanu Vasant, Martial Bugliolo, Neil Withnell, Andrew J W Middleton, Joanna Stroud, Juliette Wilson, Chris Rowell, Michelle Blackburn, Sue Beckingham, Bianca Wright, Withnell Neil, and Diane Rushton The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom ... more The use of smart technologies and social media by staff and students in and out of the classroom has implications for academic practice. Unlike previous eras of learning with technology, change is being led by the students and academics themselves and this establishes a challenge to institutions.
This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, the people we involve, and our psycho-social being.
The edited book features 28 contributors - research, case studies and scenarios
Thesis Chapters by Joanna Stroud
Institute of Education master's dissertation, 2018
When open online courses first appeared within the broader educational landscape there was much d... more When open online courses first appeared within the broader educational landscape there was much discussion surrounding their potential to widen access to higher education internationally and notably among 'developing' communities. However, as the course format has matured it has become clear that the issue is far more complex than simple availability, requiring more considered analysis to better understand problems and develop the kinds of learning design approaches that could offer both technical and cultural inclusivity. This qualitative study looked to explore these issues, conducting semi-structured interviews with educational professionals who were not only engaged in open online course development but had produced courses that had attracted a significant proportion of their learners from low-resource settings. Inductive thematic analysis of the data revealed that while it is thought that the key traits of the format could offer flexibility and rich educational experiences to learners in these settings, educators face many difficulties in catering to diverse and often unknown audiences. There are nevertheless a range of attitudes and pedagogic stances that could be adopted to address, if not entirely solve, issues of cross-cultural relevance within courses. Based on these findings it is recommended that those who wish to develop courses that are both accessible and offer positive learning experiences for global learners should adopt a reflexive stance within the design process. This involves active acknowledgement of the benefits and drawbacks of the format, but furthermore requires the learning designer to engage with the principles of openness from technical, cultural, and pedagogic perspectives.
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Papers by Joanna Stroud
Conference Presentations by Joanna Stroud
Open Education is action to increase access to learning. Open Educational Resources (OER) can be freely used, adapted and shared at low cost digitally. OER can increase innovation, raise standards and foster knowledge sharing as they are reviewed by learners, educators, policymakers and employers.
We are developing free, online, self-directed courses for eye care professionals otherwise unlikely to be able to access public health eye care education. Between 2014 and 2016, delivered two courses - Global Blindness & Epidemiology for Eye Health - to a global audience as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and on LSHTM’s open learning platform, Open Study.
MOOCs produce a vast amount of learner data, thus affording significant opportunities for educational research (Breslow, et al., 2013, p.13), and with much of this conducted around online pedagogies and learning design. While it is clear that universities are now increasingly able to reach a worldwide audience and extend access to research, education and training of the highest quality, there remains a lack of robust data and analysis around the effectiveness of and motivations for flexible, self-directed learning.
Simple exploration of our MOOC analytics indicates that professional learners are strongly represented in each course cohort. Milligan and Littlejohn suggest (2014, p.1) that while the open context of such courses can broadly reduce barriers to learning, this same open, flexible online format can also be useful to professional learners, enabling individuals to tailor their learning needs to their corresponding work demands. This presentation will report upon our findings regarding learner perspectives of the value and impact of MOOCs in terms of professional development. Based on data gathered in surveys and focus groups, it will highlight some of the reasons why working learners might participate in open courses, the importance of certifying or accrediting learning in this context, and how online learning can be attuned to workplace study.
References
Breslow, L., Pritchard, D.E., DeBoer, J., Stump, G.S., Ho, A.D., & Seaton, D.T. (2013) Studying learning in the worldwide classroom: Research into edX’s first MOOC. Research & Practice in Assessment, vol. 8, pp.13-25.
Milligan, C., and Littlejohn, A. (2014) Supporting Professional Learning In A Massive Open Online Course. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, vol.15(5).
Amidst dramatic changes to the current learning, teaching, and research landscape, academics are increasingly called upon to become ‘connected’, ‘digital’, and ‘open’ scholars, requiring engagement with a kaleidoscope of interconnected open social and digital practices. Potentially the most powerful and compelling argument for any version of ‘open education’ is the claim that academics should adopt Open Educational Practices (OEP). For example, Andrade et al. (2011) assert that “OER and OEP are changing learning scenarios” and that “the use of OER and the implementation of OEP lead to innovations in pedagogical terms”.
OEP consist not only of creating and reusing OER, but also of other forms of transparency around academic practice, such as blogging, tweeting, presenting, and debating scholarly and pedagogic activities, in ways that promote reusability, revision, and collaboration (Ehlers, 2011; Jacobi & Woert, 2012). OEP are therefore tactics for increasing access to knowledge, developing and strengthening communities of practice, disseminating positive ways of working, leveraging high-quality existing resources, and promoting innovative pedagogies (Andrade et al., 2011). In spite of this, there appears to be a lack of engagement with OEP. It’s possible that these theoretical and practical benefits have not been widely understood by the academic community, but it also seems to be the case that real or perceived regulatory, technical, cultural, and skills barriers exist. In our presentation we will consider the nature of these barriers in greater detail and suggest potential strategies for their mitigation."
Book chapters by Joanna Stroud
Smart Learning: teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post compulsory education observes how personal smart technology, social media, rich digital media as well as ideas about open learning work together to form a new immersive and interactive space for learning.
The Smart Learning book is a product of the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) which has considered the opportunities and challenges afforded by new media in developing a forward looking Digital Age, learner-centred view of academia since 2008. MELSIG is a self-driven association fascinated and excited by thinking differently, reflectively and critically. Working informally across UK post-compulsory education around special foci, the group runs sharing and developing practice events and webinars, as well as organising collective research and writing activities about academic innovation with digital and social media.
Smart Learning is made up of thought pieces, research chapters and case studies. It is punctuated with scenario vignettes, making real this new thinking about learning with personal smart devices.
Books by Joanna Stroud
This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, the people we involve, and our psycho-social being.
The edited book features 28 contributors - research, case studies and scenarios
Thesis Chapters by Joanna Stroud
Open Education is action to increase access to learning. Open Educational Resources (OER) can be freely used, adapted and shared at low cost digitally. OER can increase innovation, raise standards and foster knowledge sharing as they are reviewed by learners, educators, policymakers and employers.
We are developing free, online, self-directed courses for eye care professionals otherwise unlikely to be able to access public health eye care education. Between 2014 and 2016, delivered two courses - Global Blindness & Epidemiology for Eye Health - to a global audience as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) and on LSHTM’s open learning platform, Open Study.
MOOCs produce a vast amount of learner data, thus affording significant opportunities for educational research (Breslow, et al., 2013, p.13), and with much of this conducted around online pedagogies and learning design. While it is clear that universities are now increasingly able to reach a worldwide audience and extend access to research, education and training of the highest quality, there remains a lack of robust data and analysis around the effectiveness of and motivations for flexible, self-directed learning.
Simple exploration of our MOOC analytics indicates that professional learners are strongly represented in each course cohort. Milligan and Littlejohn suggest (2014, p.1) that while the open context of such courses can broadly reduce barriers to learning, this same open, flexible online format can also be useful to professional learners, enabling individuals to tailor their learning needs to their corresponding work demands. This presentation will report upon our findings regarding learner perspectives of the value and impact of MOOCs in terms of professional development. Based on data gathered in surveys and focus groups, it will highlight some of the reasons why working learners might participate in open courses, the importance of certifying or accrediting learning in this context, and how online learning can be attuned to workplace study.
References
Breslow, L., Pritchard, D.E., DeBoer, J., Stump, G.S., Ho, A.D., & Seaton, D.T. (2013) Studying learning in the worldwide classroom: Research into edX’s first MOOC. Research & Practice in Assessment, vol. 8, pp.13-25.
Milligan, C., and Littlejohn, A. (2014) Supporting Professional Learning In A Massive Open Online Course. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, vol.15(5).
Amidst dramatic changes to the current learning, teaching, and research landscape, academics are increasingly called upon to become ‘connected’, ‘digital’, and ‘open’ scholars, requiring engagement with a kaleidoscope of interconnected open social and digital practices. Potentially the most powerful and compelling argument for any version of ‘open education’ is the claim that academics should adopt Open Educational Practices (OEP). For example, Andrade et al. (2011) assert that “OER and OEP are changing learning scenarios” and that “the use of OER and the implementation of OEP lead to innovations in pedagogical terms”.
OEP consist not only of creating and reusing OER, but also of other forms of transparency around academic practice, such as blogging, tweeting, presenting, and debating scholarly and pedagogic activities, in ways that promote reusability, revision, and collaboration (Ehlers, 2011; Jacobi & Woert, 2012). OEP are therefore tactics for increasing access to knowledge, developing and strengthening communities of practice, disseminating positive ways of working, leveraging high-quality existing resources, and promoting innovative pedagogies (Andrade et al., 2011). In spite of this, there appears to be a lack of engagement with OEP. It’s possible that these theoretical and practical benefits have not been widely understood by the academic community, but it also seems to be the case that real or perceived regulatory, technical, cultural, and skills barriers exist. In our presentation we will consider the nature of these barriers in greater detail and suggest potential strategies for their mitigation."
Smart Learning: teaching and learning with smartphones and tablets in post compulsory education observes how personal smart technology, social media, rich digital media as well as ideas about open learning work together to form a new immersive and interactive space for learning.
The Smart Learning book is a product of the Media-Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (MELSIG) which has considered the opportunities and challenges afforded by new media in developing a forward looking Digital Age, learner-centred view of academia since 2008. MELSIG is a self-driven association fascinated and excited by thinking differently, reflectively and critically. Working informally across UK post-compulsory education around special foci, the group runs sharing and developing practice events and webinars, as well as organising collective research and writing activities about academic innovation with digital and social media.
Smart Learning is made up of thought pieces, research chapters and case studies. It is punctuated with scenario vignettes, making real this new thinking about learning with personal smart devices.
This shift demands that we reassess our understanding of formal and informal engagement, the physical and virtual environments we use, the people we involve, and our psycho-social being.
The edited book features 28 contributors - research, case studies and scenarios