UKCLE E-learning Seminar Series

The series focused on how e-learning, and in particular emerging technologies, can be embedded and integrated into the law curriculum. Participants included law teachers, IT support staff and e-learning developers, who were provided with practical ideas and materials they could take back to their law schools.

Sessions included a podcasting workshop and the use of an electronic voting system (EVS). We also discussed wikis and blogs, plagiarism issues, accessibility, MCQs and e-portfolios. One of the attractive features of the seminars was the chance to network with like minds, and the wide variety of particpant backgrounds was a definite strength.

Three papers from the series appeared in JILT 2009 (3):

• Making law teaching accessible and inclusive
• The role of new technology in improving engagement among law students in higher education
• Virtual seminars: problem-based learning in healthcare law and ethics

Seminar 1: Collaborative and distributive learning

The first seminar, held at University College London on 1 November 2007, was made up of the following sessions:

• Social collaboration and the immersive: a new vision for legal education? - Sara de Freitas (Serious Games Institute, Coventry University)
• Discussion forums in legal education - Michael Bromby (Glasgow Caledonian University) looked at the use of discussion boards to replace traditional seminars - see his slidecast on discussion forums and read his full paper, Virtual seminars: problem-based learning in healthcare law and ethics
• Using podcasts in teaching, learning and assessment - Irene Anderson and Alan Hilliard (Blended Learning Unit, University of Hertfordshire) gave a presentation on the technology and pedagogy - download the particpants' podcasts on the benefits and challenges of podcastng
• Using blogs in law teaching and assessment - Caroline Coles (De Montfort University) reviewed the pedagogic benefits of Web 2.0 tools - read her full paper, The role of new technology in improving engagement among law students in higher education
• Wikis: a tool for distributive writing - Paul Maharg (University of Strathclyde)

A report on the seminar appeared on the Digital Directions blog.

Seminar 2: E-assessment

The second seminar, held at the University of Bristol on 31 January 2008, was sponsored by the Academy/JISC Collaboration Team and made up of the following sessions:

• Online formative assessment: does it work? - Paul Catley (University of the West of England) reported on his research into the use of MCQs
• What can electronic voting systems add to the classroom experience? - Penny Wiggins (Blended Learning Unit, University of Hertfordshire)
• JISC/Academy e-assessment workshop - Karen Barton (Glasgow Graduate School of Law) and Patricia McKellar (UKCLE)
• Plagiarism in an electronic age - Fiona Duggan (Academy/JISC Academic Integrity Service)
• Supporting tutors with their feedback to students using OpenMentor - Denise Whitelock (Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University)
• Accessibility in e-assessment - Simon Ball (JISC TechDis Service) and Helen James (University of Winchester) presented the Accessibility Checklist Game
• E-portfolios: the UKCLE e-portfolio project - Karen Barton (Glasgow Graduate School of Law), Patricia McKellar (UKCLE) and Federica Oradini (University of Westminster)

For more see the JISC e-assessment guide.

Seminar 3: Mobile learning

The third seminar was held at Glasgow Caledonian University on 26 March 2008. A live video feed, allowing participants to follow the event from anywhere in the world, was offered on the day, and a videocast of John Mayer, the principal speaker, is still available.

The seminar was sponsored by BILETA and ran alongside their annual conference. It included the following sessions:

• Mobile learning in legal education (videocast) - John Mayer (Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, USA)
• Mobilising webcasts: portability and agility in learning design - Karen Barton and David Sams (Glasgow Graduate School of Law)
• Learning from Digital Natives - Allison Littlejohn (Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University)
• Enhancing learning with mobile learning objects - Carl Smith (Reusable Learning CETL, London Metropolitan University)
• Mobile technology: can we really make it work in legal education? (panel session) - John Mayer, Carl Smith, David Sams, Karen Barton and Patricia McKellar

For more on mobile learning see RLO-CETL's m-learning page.

Seminar 4: Simulation learning

The final seminar, held at the University of Warwick on 11 September 2008, was again sponsored by the Academy/JISC Collaboration Team and made up of the following sessions:

• Simulations in legal learning - Paul Maharg (University of Strathclyde)
• SIMPLE case studies - Patricia McKellar (UKCLE), Karen Barton (Glasgow Graduate School of Law), Karen Counsell (University of Glamorgan), Nick Johnson (University of Warwick)
• Second Life in Law? Teaching in virtual immersive worlds - Mark Childs (Centre for the Study of Higher Education, Coventry University)
• Using simulations in law: can it work? - workshop led by Patricia McKellar (UKCLE), Karen Barton and Paul Maharg (University of Strathclyde), including a hands-on session led by Michael Hughes (Learning Technologies Development Unit, Glasgow Graduate School of Law)

For further information on using simulations in law see the SIMPLE project.

A report on the seminar appeared on the BPP College Virtual Learning News blog.