Tuesday, May 23, 2006
From Robin, Before they arrive, Welcoming new students
Blackboard World: Europe - Conference
Session: Before they arrive: Welcoming New Students
Institution: University of Southern Denmark (USD)
As a whole this session was to focus on these overall ideas regarding what the benefits would be for welcoming students to blackboard before they arrive;
• Welcome newly admitted students to the VLE before first real on-campus experience
• To build on enthusiasm and eagerness to learn
• Invite newly admitted students to actually do and learn things in the VLE prior to their first real experience, which may be a week after they've started.
• Real on-campus experience.
USD decided to implement this across their equivalent of Health and Wellbeing to help improve the efficiency and maximum study progression from day one of their courses, as they felt that students were not getting the maximum possible gains from the VLE from day one.
Not only did it help with the above but it also helped with the overall PR and student 'catch' from their open days and beyond. Rolling out the program via their marketing department they decided to call it a name which was catchy and as they put it 'ideal for a prominent buzzword'. The name they used was 'Study Start' and the whole process was given a X-Files/CSI inspired flash intro screen to log-in to blackboard for the first time.
When USD planned the implementation of 'Study Start' they thought the following aims should happen from implementing the study start programme;
AIMS:
Students should;
• Know about the curriculum before they start
• Know what the primary learning activities and outcomes of their course
• Feel comfortable in and be able to use the VLE including the content system, quiz tools and discussion board.
Day one;
• Be able to use student email straight away
• Have met their fellow students and tutors online via discussion board
• Know about and be able to use library using online tutorials
• Feel that they are welcome that they are already part of a student community
• Get a feeling that they are getting a lot out of this and that it “will be great”
• Should give students a feeling that they are really eager to come to the first sessions and beyond.
To implement the Study Start programme they decided that it would be best to start the VLE activities 1 month prior to the start of the course via post which was sent out with the welcome pack upon the student accepting their place at university. The pack included login details whereby once they signed in they saw;
• study information on their course
• intro to IT facilities
• Quiz*
• Online presentations student to student via the discussion board, similar to the various 'My Space' quizzes which are very popular at the moment (A sample is attached at the end of this document)
• Video content made by current students (see video postcards in the next section)
*Their quiz, while quite simple worked in two ways. It not only got the students used to the feel of the survey/test part of blackboard but the 'winners' received some goodies which were related to their equivalent of LITS. For instance; Mugs, Mouse mats, Pens, backpacks, all with the LITS student help numbers/website on them.
After the trial period USD noted the following learned lessons:
• Quizzes do get students to actively retrieve information
• Loosen up! The course introductions should be warm, welcoming and fun
• Online introductions to IT facilities are great but they may not be sufficient to meet all students’ needs.
• Study guides for intros – made by course genie for reference, although a system based on the staff intranet might be useful and easier. A printed guide sent out with the welcome pack was also an option.
The following sections of the introduction were very well received by all students who took part in the trial;
• Personal greetings used in the intro text. Tutors and Students 'hired' to break the ice in the discussion forum for introductions
• Official greetings not only from the Vice-Chancellor but also from students and staff.
• “Video postcards” which were made by the students, detailing introductions and site info. They also chose to keep their attention by including details about local pubs, where to go and how to get round university. I personally found this the best idea out of all the ideas used to welcome students to University.
As an aside to the introduction to the course and the VLE they used this to help enhance the introduction to the IT Faculties in USD;
• Including more advanced topics to look at regarding blackboard and general IT support (but were careful not to swamp people)
• Access to the IT help question box tool
• Upgrading the on-campus face to face intro but in the form of trouble solving workshops. Smaller more interactive groups, or drop in sessions on a wide range of sessions from getting on the internet to uploading a document into TurnItIn
• Quizzes based on the IT facilities (Computer access, Wi-Fi, ePDP) and how to use them. Again prizes were given out similar to above.
• A final quiz on how their course is structured and what topics will be covered. Here the prizes would have to be something different and given to everyone who took the quiz. An idea that I thought would be useful would be to give all participating students a small amount of printer credits while one or two randomly selected people from the higher range end of the results won more print credit still.
Appendix:
MySpace survey, which could be adapted for use in an introduction to VLE blackboard site:
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Current Location:
Eye Colour:
Hair Colour:
Height:
Right Handed or Left Handed:
The Shoes You Wore Today:
Your Weakness:
Your Fears:
Your Perfect Pizza:
What Would you Like To Achieve This Year:
Your Most Overused Phrase:
Thoughts First Waking Up:
Your Best Physical Feature:
Your Bedtime:
Your Most Missed Memory:
Ice Tea or Hot Tea:
Chocolate or Vanilla:
Cappuccino or Coffee:
Do you Smoke:
Do you Swear:
Do you Sing:
Do you Shower Daily:
Have you Been in Love:
Do you want to get Married:
Do you believe in yourself:
Are you a Health Freak:
Do you get along with your Parents:
Do you like Thunderstorms:
Do you play an Instrument:
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:
In the past month have you Smoked:
In the past month have you gone on a Date:
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:
In the past month have you been on Stage:
In the past month have you been Dumped:
Ever been Drunk:
Ever been called a Tease:
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:
What country would you most like to Visit:
Session: Before they arrive: Welcoming New Students
Institution: University of Southern Denmark (USD)
As a whole this session was to focus on these overall ideas regarding what the benefits would be for welcoming students to blackboard before they arrive;
• Welcome newly admitted students to the VLE before first real on-campus experience
• To build on enthusiasm and eagerness to learn
• Invite newly admitted students to actually do and learn things in the VLE prior to their first real experience, which may be a week after they've started.
• Real on-campus experience.
USD decided to implement this across their equivalent of Health and Wellbeing to help improve the efficiency and maximum study progression from day one of their courses, as they felt that students were not getting the maximum possible gains from the VLE from day one.
Not only did it help with the above but it also helped with the overall PR and student 'catch' from their open days and beyond. Rolling out the program via their marketing department they decided to call it a name which was catchy and as they put it 'ideal for a prominent buzzword'. The name they used was 'Study Start' and the whole process was given a X-Files/CSI inspired flash intro screen to log-in to blackboard for the first time.
When USD planned the implementation of 'Study Start' they thought the following aims should happen from implementing the study start programme;
AIMS:
Students should;
• Know about the curriculum before they start
• Know what the primary learning activities and outcomes of their course
• Feel comfortable in and be able to use the VLE including the content system, quiz tools and discussion board.
Day one;
• Be able to use student email straight away
• Have met their fellow students and tutors online via discussion board
• Know about and be able to use library using online tutorials
• Feel that they are welcome that they are already part of a student community
• Get a feeling that they are getting a lot out of this and that it “will be great”
• Should give students a feeling that they are really eager to come to the first sessions and beyond.
To implement the Study Start programme they decided that it would be best to start the VLE activities 1 month prior to the start of the course via post which was sent out with the welcome pack upon the student accepting their place at university. The pack included login details whereby once they signed in they saw;
• study information on their course
• intro to IT facilities
• Quiz*
• Online presentations student to student via the discussion board, similar to the various 'My Space' quizzes which are very popular at the moment (A sample is attached at the end of this document)
• Video content made by current students (see video postcards in the next section)
*Their quiz, while quite simple worked in two ways. It not only got the students used to the feel of the survey/test part of blackboard but the 'winners' received some goodies which were related to their equivalent of LITS. For instance; Mugs, Mouse mats, Pens, backpacks, all with the LITS student help numbers/website on them.
After the trial period USD noted the following learned lessons:
• Quizzes do get students to actively retrieve information
• Loosen up! The course introductions should be warm, welcoming and fun
• Online introductions to IT facilities are great but they may not be sufficient to meet all students’ needs.
• Study guides for intros – made by course genie for reference, although a system based on the staff intranet might be useful and easier. A printed guide sent out with the welcome pack was also an option.
The following sections of the introduction were very well received by all students who took part in the trial;
• Personal greetings used in the intro text. Tutors and Students 'hired' to break the ice in the discussion forum for introductions
• Official greetings not only from the Vice-Chancellor but also from students and staff.
• “Video postcards” which were made by the students, detailing introductions and site info. They also chose to keep their attention by including details about local pubs, where to go and how to get round university. I personally found this the best idea out of all the ideas used to welcome students to University.
As an aside to the introduction to the course and the VLE they used this to help enhance the introduction to the IT Faculties in USD;
• Including more advanced topics to look at regarding blackboard and general IT support (but were careful not to swamp people)
• Access to the IT help question box tool
• Upgrading the on-campus face to face intro but in the form of trouble solving workshops. Smaller more interactive groups, or drop in sessions on a wide range of sessions from getting on the internet to uploading a document into TurnItIn
• Quizzes based on the IT facilities (Computer access, Wi-Fi, ePDP) and how to use them. Again prizes were given out similar to above.
• A final quiz on how their course is structured and what topics will be covered. Here the prizes would have to be something different and given to everyone who took the quiz. An idea that I thought would be useful would be to give all participating students a small amount of printer credits while one or two randomly selected people from the higher range end of the results won more print credit still.
Appendix:
MySpace survey, which could be adapted for use in an introduction to VLE blackboard site:
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name:
Birthday:
Birthplace:
Current Location:
Eye Colour:
Hair Colour:
Height:
Right Handed or Left Handed:
The Shoes You Wore Today:
Your Weakness:
Your Fears:
Your Perfect Pizza:
What Would you Like To Achieve This Year:
Your Most Overused Phrase:
Thoughts First Waking Up:
Your Best Physical Feature:
Your Bedtime:
Your Most Missed Memory:
Ice Tea or Hot Tea:
Chocolate or Vanilla:
Cappuccino or Coffee:
Do you Smoke:
Do you Swear:
Do you Sing:
Do you Shower Daily:
Have you Been in Love:
Do you want to get Married:
Do you believe in yourself:
Are you a Health Freak:
Do you get along with your Parents:
Do you like Thunderstorms:
Do you play an Instrument:
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol:
In the past month have you Smoked:
In the past month have you gone on a Date:
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos:
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:
In the past month have you been on Stage:
In the past month have you been Dumped:
Ever been Drunk:
Ever been called a Tease:
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:
What country would you most like to Visit:
// posted by Brian @ 12:06 PM 
