The Open University Business School and elearning

Learning and teaching technology developments in OUBS

Where: Walton Hall (Library Seminar Rooms 1 & 2)
Time: 10.00-12.50, 15th December 2010
A recording of this session is available to OU staff via Stadium.

This event featured:

Introduction: the OUBS context – Keith Honnor, Learning and Teaching Technologies Manager, OU Business School (OUBS)

‘The use of reflective learning journals in an Online ‘Residential School’ - Sharon Slade & Fenella Galpin, Regional Managers, OUBS

Students’ reflections in their learning diaries as a prescriptive part of the Professional Certificate in Management offered by OUBS. The research focused on the unstructured learning diary entries of students over an 18 day period of an online residential school.  

‘Down the line, down to earth, surfing the learning curve in Africa’ - Carmel McMahon, Associate Dean, International & Jerome Kiley (eDegree), OUBS International Fellow and Associate Lecturer, Undergraduate Business Studies programme

Establishing and operating teaching partnerships is a complex activity and misunderstandings and miscommunications are likely. This session will outline the School's teaching activity in Africa and will focus on the challenges in establishing a partnership with eDegree, a South African based distance learning provider to offer an undergraduate business studies degree across several countries in Africa.

‘Developing participative approaches using Elluminate’ – Paul Ketchley, Associate Lecturer, MBA and Undergraduate Business Studies programme

In business and management studies, our approach to face to face tutorials has always been about participative discussions rather than ‘lectures’. On-line tutorials using Elluminate can easily become one way lectures. How do we retain the best of our previous learning approaches with the best of on-line technology?

‘The Online Study Spine – the use of Structured Content for Practice-based Activities on a Stage 1 MBA course’ – B716 Module Team & LTS 

How the use of structured content provided for an innovative, practice-based design for an online guiding narrative for the new Stage 1 of the MBA in the Business School to create:

1. Connections between theory and practice
2. More student-directed learning
3. Flexible structure allowing different paths through the material
4. Potential for developing ‘learning objects’ that can be tailored for specific employer needs and groups of students.