Evolution of E-learning Projects: A Creative Experience?

Abstract

e-Learning Projects involve the construction by final year students of e-learning resources in project work. Students are supported in a blended training course in which they acquire appropriate skills and critically review eresources of their peers This paper describes innovations in course design that have lead to the evolution of eresources from simple web sites into interactive multimedia learning resources, the best of which are used in the undergraduate curriculum. The latest incarnation of the course includes creative thinking activities to facilitate more imaginative learning designs. This work aimed to compare project scores of e-learning students with those students doing traditional laboratory-based projects, evaluate the pedagogic design of the training course, and explore the impact on students of creative thinking activities. Course evaluation was positive, and students appreciated the collaborative approach to learning enabled by the use of online and face-to-face interactions, and there was no significant difference between e-learning and other project scores. A preliminary evaluation of student creativity demonstrated no statistically significant increase in the creativity of students pre- and post-course, but these results were limited by a small sample size, which may in part be due to time and work pressures on students at the end of their final year.

Keywords:

• e-learning (elearning)
• resources
• creativity
• inquiry
• projects

Acknowledgements

To Ian Miller and the e-learning team, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, for their unstinting help and support with ELPs.

Software and Creative Thinking Resources

NVivo: www.qsrinternational.com/products_nvivo.aspx

Opus Pro 6: www.digitalworkshop.com/Products/Pro.shtml

Softchalk: www.softchalk.com

Scenario-based learning interactive: www.sblinteractive.org

Wimba Create: http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_create

Random words: www.randomwordgenerator.com/randomwordtutorial.html

Random pictures: www.brainstorming.co.uk/onlinetools/randompicture.html

Mycoted, Creativity and Innovation techniques:www.mycoted.com/Category:Creativity_Techniques [accessed 15 March 2011]

Creativity tools: www.virtualsalt.com/crebook2.htm