Ellie Franklin
Ellie Franklin, Middlesex University Capturing students’ imagination and motivating critical thinking continues to be a crucial challenge in Higher Education. Ellie Franklin (Senior Lecturer, Middlesex University, Business School) provided a working example of how this was accomplished with a large student cohort.
The proposed strategy involves challenging students with the historical context of a subject and drawing parallels to current practice. Engagement and excitement is induced through online discussion boards, podcasts, and Personal Response technology.
‘Inspired’, ‘intriguing’, ‘opened my mind’ and ‘extraordinary’; student words describing their learning experience reveals the success of this approach. Even students with ‘I already know this’ attitude finding themselves shifted out of their comfort zone.
Impressing the audience with a creative way of surprising the learner, this approach demonstrates the potential offered by technology to engage students in learning.
Asanka Dayananda
e-Learning Academic Advisor
Middlesex University
