Articulate & Collaborate: Creating Interactive Staff Training Material for Virtual Classrooms

Articulate & Collaborate: Creating Interactive Staff Training Material for Virtual Classrooms Kevin O'Connor eLearning CAPSL Trinity College Dublin Practitioner Presentation Key Words: Virtual Classrooms, Change in... [ view full abstract ]

Articulate & Collaborate: Creating Interactive Staff Training Material for Virtual Classrooms

Kevin O'Connor
eLearning CAPSL
Trinity College Dublin

Practitioner Presentation

Key Words: Virtual Classrooms, Change in Practice, Articulate Storyline 2, Blackboard Collaborate.

Summary:
This study explores how situated learning in the form of an online interactive scenario can be used to address barriers to adopting virtual classrooms as part of continuous professional development among staff in higher education.

Context:
Educational research on synchronous tools such as virtual classrooms has been limited compared to research on asynchronous tools. Professional development workshops for virtual classrooms tend to be limited to one-off events but change in practice models suggest that it takes time and reflection for staff to adopt new methods of teaching.

Method:
For this exploratory case study, an interactive facsimile of Blackboard Collaborate (a virtual classroom program) was created using Articulate Storyline 2. The interactive tutorial used a scenario to teach staff how to use virtual classrooms as part of teaching. The aim was to provide a source of professional development aligned to change in practice models and situated learning.

Results:
Participants found the tutorial to be effective at addressing barriers relating to time and confidence due to its interactive, self-paced design but viewed it as an addition rather than replacement to traditional workshop approaches.

Benefits to Teaching and Learning:
This research will be of interest to those looking to explore how materials for professional development in the use of webinars can be improved in higher education. It will also be of interest for those who wish to see how Articulate Storyline 2 can be used to create interactive versions of software with anchored instructions and guides to support staff in integrating TEL as part of their teaching practice.

Video Link:
An overview of the interactive tutorial is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ61Wkw9Yeo