RAPPORT
WWW.RECORDINGACHIEVEMENT.AC.UK
Issue 2 (2015)
dyslexic student studying a botanical course. The
Deputy Director of Student Success was
approached to discuss the possibility of carrying
out a pilot project at the University based on this
initial study. Details were then provided for the
Learner Development team and, in particular, a
member of the team who specialises in dyslexia.
Student Support Officers advertised the pilot
project on student Moodle areas in May 2013. In
July 2013, eight students from a number of
schools - Physiotherapy, Architecture, Art &
Design, Photography & Architecture and Food
Technology – were recruited to the pilot study.
The majority of the students were in their final
year of study and one of the students was a postgraduate research student at the University. Four
of the students were confident in using digital
technology, whereas a couple of them struggled
to envisage how the use of technology could aid
their learning. Four of the students had specific
special educational needs including dyspraxia,
ADHD and dyslexia.
and managing their own notes. The students with
specific learning needs stated they currently used
up to six different applications to organise their
learning resources. The group had not previously
used Evernote as an application to organise,
collate and share resources. A member of the LI
team highlighted the main features of Evernote.
Participants were set up with individual accounts
and provided with basic training on how to set up
and use the technology. This training was carried
out at a workshop where students used their own
devices to set up their Evernote accounts and
were able to provide peer support. This training
covered how to collate, organise, and add
personal notes (in audio and written formats) and
how to share content from their Evernote accounts
with other participants and tutors.
The Learning Development Advisor made initial
contact with the students using official University
channels. It was explained to those students who
elected to join the pilot study that it would form a
part of a continuing case study to determine the
success or failure of implementing Evernote
across the University. A member of the Learning
Innovations (LI) team provided ongoing technical
support, training and advice to participants on the
effective use of Evernote over a six-month period.
An Evernote notebook (similar to that in Figure 1)
was shared with all the participants by the LI team
member. This contained resources and ideas for
refining and developing their skills and expertise.
Participants were then encouraged to use
Evernote independently as part of their studies.
To achieve this, each student created a number of
Notebooks based on their subject area as part of
the initial meeting. Academic staff were not
involved in the pilot in terms of support and
guidance using Evernote. The LI team member
was available, via email or phone, to support
students with any issues or problems they
encountered and participants were encouraged to
support and help one another.
Embedding the technology
At the second face-to-face meeting, students
discussed the main issues they faced in terms of
using technologies, organising learning resources
Over a period of five months, the group met face
to face every 6-8 weeks to discuss progress and
share their experiences of using the technology.
Due to the study schedule, it was not always
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