Research In Distance Education (Research Exhibition)

Practical matters
We give priority to research that investigates issues of concern to teachers and learners. Please
email cde@london.ac.uk with your requests and suggestions, or telephone +44 (0)20 7862 8404
Research
into practice
More than 42,000 people in 180 countries
study with the University of London by
various forms of distance learning. Within
the University, an active research strategy
stimulates and supports enquiries by teachers
and researchers to improve pedagogy,
technology and delivery systems for distance
learning and to discover and test new ideas.
An exhibition of recent and current research supported by the Centre for DIstance Education through its Teaching and Research Awards Scheme and other projects
Research in distance EDUCATION
The University of London External System promotes
research in distance education alongside the
development and delivery of programmes. Its research
is multi-disciplinary in nature, engaging scholars from
the arts and sciences, medicine and the humanities in
exploration of teaching and learning at a distance. Most
of the researchers are distance-learning practitioners
working in the Colleges or the central University.
The Teaching and Research Awards are a
key element in a networked community of
practice in the University of London. The
awards provide small to moderate amounts
of funding to encourage research and
teaching development activities that can
enhance knowledge about, and methods
of implementing distance learning and
teaching. The Scheme assists the introduction
or development of educational innovations
that individuals or colleges would otherwise
be unable to fund, making it easier for
practitioners to engage in research and
development that may not have a priority
for funding within their own discipline or
institution.
The Awards scheme now comprises one
of the biggest research programmes on
distance learning in the higher education
sector, and has included the funding of 37
research projects (with average funding of
approximately £18,000 per project). Findings
have been widely disseminated at national
and international conferences, and in some
cases, projects have attracted further research
funding from external sources.
The Distance Education Teaching and Research Awards

Communication
and collaborative
learning
The internet is transforming distance education,
particularly with Web 2.0 technologies that
make it easier for teachers and learners to
interact in the fluid and informal relationships
and networks that are taken for granted on a
traditional campus. Much of our current research
focuses on the place of social software in global
distance learning programmes.
Different methods
of online
communication
This study evaluated students’
preferences between
three different methods
of online communication:
individual real-time
tutorials, group real-time
tutorials and asynchronous
communication via discussion
boards. A majority of a small
sample of students preferred
the more interactive real-time
methods but a substantial
minority felt inhibited in real-
time discussion and preferred
the discussion boards.
Principal researcher
Virginia Hubbard
Queen Mary, University of
London
LASSIE: libraries
and social software
in education
The LASSIE project involved
an extensive review of the
use of social software tools
in libraries – including blogs,
wikis, social bookmarking
and Facebook – to establish
whether such tools would
be a useful resource to
support distance learners
in information work. Tools
studied were shown to help
distance learners develop
information literacy skills.
Jane Secker
London School of Economics
Computer-
mediated tasks and
tutor inputs
This project explored how
students on a postgraduate
distance learning course
learned from each other
through working together
online, and how this is
affected by the tutor’s
approach and the choice
of task. Asynchronous
computer-mediated
conferencing was shown
to help students learn from
each other and demonstrate
higher-order thinking skills.
Hugh Starkey
Institute of Education
Social software in
a MSc in Structural
Biology by distance
learning
This project explored the
use of social software tools
– a blog, a wiki, Instant
Messenger conferencing,
social bookmarking and
Second Life – in an online,
distance-only MSc course in
Structural Biology. The blog,
Instant Messenger, and, for
some students, Second Life
proved the most popular
tools, although only the blog
is yet in day-to-day use.
Clare Sansom
Birkbeck, University of
London
Designing online
tasks for effective
discussions
This project reviewed
the literature on the
use of computer-based
tools for asynchronous
communication by learners
and teachers involved in
distance learning, with
particular attention given
to the role of the tutor in
developing the discussion.
The study was reported in the
journal Open Learning and
provided the basis for further
action research.
Hugh Starkey
Weblogs as a
dialogic tool
for supporting
communication,
community,
collaboration and
social presence
Students and tutors on an
online MSc maintained blogs
(weblogs) throughout the
first course year. The level of
engagement and the value
that the students placed on
their blogs was variable but
in general positive. A tool
to integrate blogging into a
virtual learning environment
was developed.
Steven Warburton
King’s College London
MoSAIC: Models
of synchronous
audiographic
interactive
conferencing
Synchronous Audiographic
Conferencing (SAC) is a web-
based tool that combines
audio conferencing with
visual interaction tools from
text chat to interactive video
and which can be used for
distance learning. The use of
SAC in teaching within the
University of London has
been monitored, case studies
followed and its efficacy
evaluated.
Tim Neumann
London Knowledge Lab
University of London Centre for Distance Education
www.cde.london.ac.uk and cde@london.ac.uk

Course
development and
course design
Good distance education relies on high quality
course design that can support effective learning
when the teacher is not present - providing
motivation, sustaining interest and supporting
active learning and critical reflection.
Research questions address both the specifics of
subject teaching and aspects of learning design
that are of wider application.
Guidelines for
online learning
in support of
mathematics
learning in a
diverse group
Web-based‘virtual tutors’
were created to help students
who are taking mathematics
courses by distance learning
and who have no local
tutor support. Twelve such
‘microsites’were created,
each dealing with a specific
topic, and each aiming to
help students diagnose
and solve problems, and
consolidate their knowledge.
Martin Anthony
London School of Economics
Developing course
team approaches
to online task
design
In this project, researchers
are exploring how the course
teams involved with the
development and delivery
of three different distance
learning courses work on
designing student tasks, in
order to understand how
team members work together
and identify pedagogic and
design issues. The project
is still in progress and will
report later in 2009.
Adam Unwin
An eLearning
distance course in
phonetics
A course in phonetics –
the study of the physical
properties of human speech
– was developed for delivery
at a distance using electronic
communication tools. Ways
of using phonetic symbols
within the constraints of the
chosen computer platform
were investigated, and a pilot
course was delivered to 25
students, sixteen of whom
completed.
Michael Ashby
University College London
London Pedagogy
Planner: a user-
oriented planner
for learning
analysis and design
The London Pedagogy
Planner is an online tool that
has been developed to help
lecturers plan and design
learning materials. It can be
used to support face-to-face,
distance or mixed-mode
learning, but is designed
explicitly to encourage
lecturers to make increased
use of learning technology,
to collaborate and to test and
modify their designs.
Diana Laurillard
The RAMLINE
project - a coherent
structure for the
delivery of music-
based education
An index of music and
musicians has been
developed and linked to
online resources including
scores, recordings and
criticism. Its content can be
searched and displayed by
person, place, work, or date,
using a formal but flexible
vocabulary to link music,
musicians and concepts
effectively in different ways.
The report presents a number
of case-studies.
Anthony Pitts
Royal Academy of Music
Online self-access
course teaching
reading skills for
business Dutch
An online self-access course
in business Dutch has been
developed and tested
for English speakers with
little or no knowledge of
that language. The course
consists of thirty lessons,
including exercises and
revision sessions. It aims to
enable students to build
up a working knowledge of
business Dutch good enough
to understand newspaper
financial pages.
Theo Hermans
Courses for all?
improving access
to online learning
Methods for making
distance learning materials
and courses accessible to
disabled students were
evaluated through a
literature survey, an analysis
of disparate pre-existing
guidelines and a focus
group.The study showed
that academics need time
and guidance to comply
with guidelines. Two courses
using different platforms
were evaluated to compare
their compliance with
accessibility requirements.
Will Gibson

Distance education depends on the appropriate
use of educational technologies of every form,
both to provide learners with access to learning
content and to support effective learning
activity. Established and emerging technologies
are changing rapidly to transform traditional
relationships between teachers, learners,
institutions and knowledge providers.
A model for
delivery and
support
that incorporates
m-learning
This study investigated
the use of mobile phones,
to support students in
developing countries, in the
distance learning courses
run by the Centre for
Development, Environment
and Policy. Mobile-based
multimedia activities and
resources were developed
and tested successfully in two
course modules and will be
introduced more widely.
Jon Gregson
University of London
Improving student
retention in
postgraduate
distance education
A series of recommendations
for improving student
retention in the Centre for
Financial and Management
Studies were derived from
literature reviews and
surveys of practice at other
institutions. The amount and
quality of communication
between tutors and students
was highlighted as crucially
important for retention.
Sarah Jones
SOAS
Teachers as media
producers in virtual
classrooms
The experiences of teachers
in virtual classrooms,
which combine live audio,
conferencing, and text
and image manipulation
to replicate a classroom
environment online, were
explored and evaluated in
a wide range of situations.
The findings identified gaps
in our understanding of how
these are used, enabling
future developments to be
planned sensibly.
Tim Neumann
CoMo: supporting
collaborative
groupwork using
mobile phones in
distance education
A series of group-work
activities using mobile
phones were designed
for students on distance
learning courses in veterinary
medicine, in collaboration
with those students and
their tutors. The students
evaluated the activities in
practice. Camera phones
were shown to help
document case studies and
procedures and to aid group
cohesion.
Niall Winters
Organisational
management
eBenchmarking
and quality
enhancement
The University participated
in the UK Higher Education
Academy eBenchmarking
project, to assess and
compare the embedding
of good e-learning practice
within higher education. The
CDE led a review of the use
of e-learning within the
provision of distance learning
programmes in the
External System, focused on
two undergraduate and four
Masters programmes from
different Colleges.
The programme teams found
value in the opportunity
that the process gave
Technologies for
learning
Distance education creates unique management
challenges for higher education institutions,
to oversee programmes where the quality of
teaching and learning relies on specialised and
dispersed systems.
for a complete survey
of programme delivery,
development, planning and
policy. The review
offered a structured
opportunity to revisit and
reassess work on e-learning
in the light of experience and
a view of future possibilities
of e-learning tools and
services.
The eBenchmarking tool was
considered a valuable tool for
producing evidence to inform
institutional strategy and for
change. It is being further
developed for use within
the System to support self-
evaluation by programme
teams.
Research in distance EDUCATIONResearch in distance EDUCATION Research in distance EDUCATION

Learner experience
and learning
contexts
The University's community of distance learners
is one of the most diverse student populations in
the world, spanning almost every age, academic
background, life experience and cultural
environment. Having a detailed understanding
of differences and similarities amongst these
students is key to planning and managing
support services and academic guidance.
Developing
communities of
practice: third party
institutions in the
Laws Programme
Student and tutor interviews
led to recommendations
for improving the working
relationship between the
University and local providers.
These recommendations
should support development
of a‘community of
practice’characterised by
‘joint enterprise, mutual
engagement and shared
repertoire’.
Vigneswari Thanapal
Queen Mary, University of
London
e-Learners’
experiences in
a mixed-mode
professional degree
programme
The project evaluated
subjective experiences of
learning by students on the
Master of Teaching course
at the Institute of Education,
which is taught both face-
to-face and at a distance.
A narrative of students’
progress through the course
showed them reflecting on
the process of e-learning,
and learning to learn
collaboratively.
Caroline Daly
The place of
distance education
within the student
‘life-world’: a study
of international
distance learners
This project examined the
experiences of students
studying distance education
courses from the External
System. In-depth interviews
with students from a range of
countries and backgrounds,
probed motivation for study,
expectations, perceived
learning outcomes and
constraints on study, revealing
serious structural inequalities
in study experiences.
Neil Selwyn
Eliciting learner
narratives within
a framework
for embedded
evaluation for
learners online
Narrative methods of
evaluating students’
experiences were trialled with
students on postgraduate
programmes in media
practice and primary health
care. Evaluation methods
found to be useful included
telephone interviews, online
discussion exercises and
focus groups. Students
reflected on evaluation and
its effect on their learning.
Caroline Daly
Assessment
for learning
Student assessment is emerging as a new area
for research in the External System as new
technologies create new opportunities.
Effective formative
assessment
practices and
feedback processes
Methods of formative
assessment in distance
learning – assessment
designed to aid learning
rather than contributing to
final marks – were compared.
The analysis found that the
learning potential of this
type of assessment can be
enhanced by appropriate
use of technology but
also through dialogue and
collaboration between
students.
Stylianos Hatzipanagos
The reflective
and empowered
learner: building
student
engagement
with formative
assessment
This project is focusing on the
value and role of formative
assessment, in distance
education. The researchers
interviewed students to
establish their experiences of
formative assessment and the
quality of feedback received.
Data is still being analysed
and will be published later in
2009.
Stylianos Hatzipanagos
Research in distance EDUCATIONResearch in distance EDUCATION

Teacher
development
The University's distance learning programmes
involve an array of people in teaching capacities,
as course designers, programme leaders, module
writers, tutors and assessors. Many students also
get support for their studies from third-party
institutions adding a further level of complexity
for course coordination.
Peer observation
of teaching in the
online environment
The paper established
a UK-wide network of
university teachers involved
in distance learning and
interested in observing each
others’online teaching (peer
observation). Discussions
between the teachers
involved highlighted both the
inherent difficulties and the
overall value of this approach.
Peer observation was
implemented within the UCL
MSc in International Primary
Health Care.
Deborah Swinglehurst
‘Reading for a
degree’: a study
of the information
seeking behaviour
of undergraduate
students
The information needs of
undergraduate students
on the External Laws
programme, and the way
those students search for
information, were studied
in a small pilot project. This
fed into an analysis of the
effectiveness of current
library services and will
contribute to new guidelines
for information provision for
these law students.
Sandra Tury
Senate House Library
Tutor accreditation
as a means of
enhancing student
support in distance
learning
Teachers and senior staff in
London and overseas
involved with the University
of London’s External Laws
Programme were interviewed
in order to evaluate their
response to a proposed
teacher accreditation
scheme. The positive
response informed further
development of the scheme.
Beverley Brown
External Laws Programme
Wake-up calls
for learning: an
inclusive approach
to supporting
students in
distance education
This project aims to develop
and evaluate materials to
support distance students’
development of skills to
support learning, particularly
regarding academic writing.
So far, three modules have
been produced, covering
writing, referencing and
plagiarism. The project will
report by mid-2009.
Ursula Wingate
Teaching
Framework
Scheme: enhancing
support for
distance learning
Guidelines have been
produced for teachers in the
University of London, to
help them promote student-
centred active learning and
make full use of the resources
available. These include a
teaching framework and
a detailed teachers’guide;
to enable teachers to work
towards formal accreditation
within the programme.
Beverley Brown
E-learning
and teaching:
activity templates
Activity templates are
generic computer-based
resources for use by
teachers in all disciplines to
prepare materials and work
through lesson plans. This
project created a number of
templates in different formats
for use by the University
of London community
via the web. Study skills
aids and subject-based
learning templates have
been developed, and the
background learning theory
is reviewed on the website.
Anita Pincas
Individualised
learning
Research in distance EDUCATIONResearch in distance EDUCATION
Distance learners take on many of the tasks
traditionally performed by teachers - managing
their own time, resources, progress and problem
solving. Learner support must accomodate their
independence and autonomy.

Many of the University's postgraduate students
work in national or international development,
and this has been a key activity area for the
University over many decades. Several of
our research projects focus on the particular
challenges and opportunities of the education
in the development context, and the Centre is
working with other agencies to develop the
research agenda in this area.
Access to learning
for development
The University of London
formed a partnership with
the Commonwealth of
Learning to convene the
Fifth Pan-Commonwealth
Forum on Open Learning,
one of the world's leading
conferences on education for
development
The Forum was organised
by the Centre for Distance
Education and brought 700
educationalists from more
then seventy countries
together in London in July
2008 to explore the role
of distance education in
acheiving international
development goals.
Distance Learning
for Development
The Centre is part-funding
a study to identify needs
and explore possibilities
leading to the improvement
of existing and new
distance learning courses.
The project will also build
an understanding of the
opportunities created
by information and
communication technologies
for development in distance
learning.
Jeff Waage
London International
Development Centre
Learning for
development
300 papers provided the
foundations for workshop
sessions, presentations,
debates, reviews and plenary
sessions around seven
themes:
livelihoods•
children and young•
people
governance, conflict and•
social justice
health•
appropriate learning•
technologies
learner support•
The presentations, papers
and reports are avaialble
online at www.col.org/pcf5
and provide a unique record
of the 'state of the art' in this
important area for education.
Study skills
This action research project is developing federal
resources to support study skills development for use
across the External System to help students improve their
performance. The project is exploring the impact of study
skills advice and the best ways to deliver advice to students
at a distance.
The study skills project
supports a generic approach
to materials development,
provided that materials can
be closely integrated with
programmes and related to
the study context.
The project has four main
components:
development of a•
taxonomy and metadata
to provide a planning
framework for skills
development
assembly of a repository•
of existing resources
development of skills•
curricula for four
programmes
evaluation and•
dissemination
The project has developed
a common core of materials
that can be adapted and
used selectively to develop
appropriate strategies for
skills development. Exemplars
have been developed by the
undergraduate Laws and
LSE programmes, and by
postgraduate programmes at
Royal Holloway and SOAS.
The general conclusion
of the project is that skills
development is more
effective when embedded
in the learning process in a
structured and progressive
way throughout programmes
of study, with opportunities
to practise and develop skills
in an iterative manner.
The Study Skills project reports and resources are
available online at http://elab.cde.london.ac.uk/.

Continuing
professional
development online
The University is working in partnership with
the Universities of Cambridge, Derby and the
Open University on a major HEFCE-funded study
to explore how higher education institutions
can best respond to the needs of professionals
and employers for continuing professional
development on demand.
There are five strands to
the project, which also has
evaluation and dissemination
activity built-in:
Market and
competitor analysis
Working with professional
bodies - Sector Skills Councils,
employers and employees
- to research what attracts
employers and employees
to CPD, and what HE-specific
aspects appeal to them.
This aspect of the project
is led by the University of
London working with the
Professional Associations
Research Network (PARN)
Institutional readiness
Examining some of the
barriers to cost-effective CPD
at institutions - including
the nature of current degree
programmes, institutional
culture, and processes - in
order to identify solutions.
Each of the institutions has
conducted a readiness study.
Outcomes-based
credit vehicle
Developing an innovative
framework to assess CPD
activities and award them
with an academic credit.
The Open University is
leading this development.
Course models and
exemplar modules
Developing learning design
models for short online CPD
courses and testing them
with CPD modules that utilise
them.
Each university partner is
developing two modules.
In the University of London
the Eastman Dental Institute
is developing modules
to support professional
development for dentists
and for dental health
professionals. Other
exemplar modules being
developed by the project
partners include CPD for
teachers and managers.
Prototype CPD portal
Developing a prototype
CPD portal using Web
2.0 technologies to bring
together multiple CPD
providers through a single
resource.
Derby, the Open University
and London are working on
the portal development.
Researchers
Katherine Bull
Brian Sayer
UoL External System
Chris Louca
Karen Widdowson
University College

Excellence and
innovation
in distance
education
The Centre for DIstance Education provides
a focus for professional development,
scholarly activity and new ideas amongst
those engaged in distance education in the
University of London. cu
The focus of the Centre’s work will be to:
provide an expert resource to stimulate•
and support distance education
developments
support an active community of practice•
across the University, working with
academic development units and centres
in the Colleges
contribute to continuing professional•
development for a large and dispersed
group of practitioners
provide a hub and clearinghouse for•
University research in transnational/
distributed learning
CDE 2009-2012
The Centre organises research and development through a
University-wide network coordinated by staff in the central
University, working with a group of Distance Education
Fellows who offer specialist expertise within a community
of distance learning practitioners in the Colleges and
Institutes. It is a unique resource designed for the distinct
environment of the federal University of London and its
External System for transnational, distributed learning.
For more information
Visit the Centre's website at www.cde.london.ac.uk email cde@london.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 7862 8404
The Centre will work with:
distance teaching practitioners in the•
University and elsewhere
teaching development centres in the•
Colleges
third-party institutions, students and•
alumni .
Priority activities will be to support self-
evaluation and quality enhancement by
progframme teams, and to engage with
institutions supporting students registered
with the University of London. It will also strive
to continue to be an innovation centre through
research and evidence-based practice.
The Centre organises a rich programme
of conferences, seminars, training
workshops and symposia
The fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum
on Open Learning attracted 700 practitioners
from seventy countries to the University to discuss
Access to Learning for Development

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