Acclaim for the programme
Here are some comments from previous students and from professionals in the field who helped us develop and review the programme, as well as links to press coverage.
Press coverage
The MSc programme has received substantial press coverage thanks to our innovative work in the virtual world Second Life:
The Times, 18 June 2007, Today's tutorial will take place on the virtual beach
The Guardian, Tuesday 8 May 2007, It's a world of possibilities
The Times Higher Education Supplement, 1 December 2006, Campus created in an acre of pixels (sign-in required)
The Scotsman, Saturday 18 November 2006, Welcome to your second life
The University of Edinburgh Bulletin, October 2006, University enters Second Life
Comments from students
My own experience as a participant on the Introduction to Digital Environments course had a profound effect on my own practice. On the basis of previous introductions to the use of VLE’s, I had been sceptical about their value, and by extension, the use of online resources in general. I have been persuaded now, however, that there are exciting possibilities, especially in the way the internet can extend the range of individual connections that students can make for themselves, as well as in the development of new, expanded forms of writing. The MSc programme offers an imaginative mix of activities, approaches, tutorial support and cross-institutional expertise. Multiple target groups should ensure interesting exchanges, and multiple exit points make it flexible. As far as my own experience of the course goes – I haven’t had such a good time since I first got a sound out of one of my ceramic whistles!
Judith Harding, Associate Director of Learning Development, Centre for Learning Development, Middlesex University
I enjoyed the course and hope that I will be able to relate some of my increased understanding back into the world of FE. My objectives have been achieved, and I thank you for your patience and support throughout.
Janet Gardner, HM Inspectorate of Education, Further Education
The course has been invaluable experience both in terms of improving my online teaching but also in terms of my understanding of how it feels to be a part-time student… It was stimulating, well put together and very well supported. It certainly has had a positive impact on my online teaching for the Open University and I feel much more confident about my online tutoring... This seems a good time to tell you that I thought the course was great and the quality of tuition superb.
Fiona McGibbon, the Open University
Can I firstly say just how much I enjoyed the course and how much I learned; full of ideas just need time and willing victims to look at implementing...
Jessie Paterson, School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
Endorsements from colleagues
Digital Environments for Learningis a highly innovative, exciting and, to my knowledge, unique postgraduate course which enables participants to gain both theoretical and practical understanding of issues in online learning. Significantly, the course encourages students to develop critical approaches to learning technologies (as opposed to a technical or mechanistic approach) and this criticality is in evidence through the readings, assessment and dialogues between tutors and students. The course is well-designed, both in terms of the look [and] feel of the materials in the digital space (that is, the excellent customisation of the WebCT software) and the curricular choices (course topics, readings, activities, tutor interventions). A highly supportive framework has been developed and sustained by the tutors and this is essential for the successful delivery of a course of this nature. […] I feel this is an exemplary and exciting course. The area of learning technologies is a fast-developing one in UK higher education and courses such as this one, which requires a thoughtful, critical and creative approach to the subject, are absolutely essential to the development of the field.
Dr Colleen McKenna, Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching, University College
London
I think this is a strong, well thought out and comprehensive programme. It takes a far-sighted approach to e-learning, looking not just at learning theories and technologies but examining the wider context of digital learning and its impact on learners and global culture. Taking in topics such as the strategic issues of managing and implementing e-learning, the politics of e-learning, and the psychological and social contexts of learning technologies it gives the student a birds-eye view of the digital learning landscape. I like the strong emphasis on the student being able to engage critically with the theory and practice of online learning, and the mix of hands-on experience with the examination of research, online pedagogies etc. It covers all the areas I would expect to see as core to an MSc in e-learning such as: accessibility and inclusivity, supporting and developing the online learner, online assessment and information literacies. Overall I think this is a well designed programme that will enable its students to achieve the outcomes described. Its flexible delivery and the use of technologies such as avatar environments and weblogs as well as the more commonly used tools such as discussion forums is likely to prove to be a key strength.
Mary Cuttle, Head of the e-learning Innovation Support Unit, Glasgow Caledonian University
The MSc in E-learning at Edinburgh breaks new ground in the systematic provision of professional development in E-learning at Masters level. Having had the opportunity to be a guest contributor to the pilot of this programme, I would have no hesitation in endorsing it unreservedly. E-learning in the UK remains substantially under-theorised. Course offerings to date have tended to be predominantly pragmatic or focused on technical operational issues. This programme, refreshingly, addresses a well-recognised need for provision that retains a focus on the development of important professional and practical skills but locates these skills within richly theorised explanatory perspectives on online learning. It is the first programme to draw from such a varied but interconnecting range of conceptual frameworks, bringing together issues of strategy, policy, discourse, learning theory, technology, gaming, culture and course design into a powerful, coherent whole.
Professor Ray Land, Professor of Higher Education, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow