2. Format of the presentation
Aim of the project
What is Xerte?
Evaluation
Findings
3. Aim of the project
Create an online tutorial for
pre-reg nursing students
Used within scheduled
information skills sessions
and independently
Evaluate use of the tutorial
Tutorial created and
evaluated by Rachael Adair
and Ruth Curtis
4. Background facts
Distributed centres
900 pre-registration
students
1000 post-registration
students
Mature students – 66%
Academic work fitted in
around placements
5. Why was the project needed?
Traditional face-to-face
teaching was not totally
successful
Problem of one-size fits all
Need for post-training help
Particular needs of nursing
students
Introduction of more self-
directed learning
6. The final product
Allow self-paced,
independent learning
Revisit anytime,
anywhere
Facilitate interactivity
Provide immediate
feedback
Support different
learning styles
7. Using Xerte
Online toolkit
Created by University
of Nottingham Learning
Team
Available open source
Association of Learning Technology (ALT) award
2009
“Provides a reusable
solution to common
elearning development
problems”
“Provides a reusable
solution to common
elearning development
problems”
8. What can Xerte do?
Customisable interface
Accessibility features
Colour scheme
Screen size
Font or text size
Text to speech
Extensible
Publish to OER Repository
Sharing and re-use
Interactivity
9. Evaluation
Questionnaires pre and post-library sessions
Levels of confidence
Information skills learnt
Pre-course:
Almost 100% return
Post-course:
Derby 43%, Mansfield 36%
Semi-structured interviews
3 students from each centre
10. Observations during the sessions
Positive
Most students got on well
with the tutorials
Negative
Finished too quickly
Didn’t finish
Skipped over key
interactions
11. Observations after the session
Continued to receive
frequent requests for
further one-to-one help
Most students hadn’t
referred back to
tutorials
12. Specific Findings
Post-training questionnaire
Question Derby (Xerte) Mansfield
(Traditional)
Selecting appropriate
resources
Correct answers
increased
Correct answers
decreased
Selecting appropriate
keywords
Correct answers
increased
Correct answers
decreased
Confidence in using the
library and resources
Decreased Increased
13. Student feedback
Students highlighted the following as a means of
improving skills and confidence
Practice/
Trial and error
Frequent use/
familiarity
Asking for
help
Using supporting
materials from
sessions
14. Positive feedback from Derby
Ability to read through information
Ability to learn at own pace
Quizzes
Practical Helped build confidence
Tutorials to refer back to
Library support
15. Negative feedback
Derby and Mansfield Mansfield only
Too fast /
insufficient time
Too much
to take in
Groups too
large
Difficult to see
overhead screen
16. Changes made for next session
Simplified the content
Re-instated brief demos
of databases (captivate)
Replaced original activities
with Informs tutorials
Provided simple handouts
Suggested approximate
length of time to be spent
on each tutorial
17. Second experience
Students appeared to
get on better during sessions
Much fewer requests for
further help post-training
But, due to improvements made to tutorials?
Or Jan 09 students more confident library users?
18. Overall Conclusions
No significant difference between online & traditional
Positive outcomes:
Ability to learn at own pace
Ability to revisit tutorials
Practical
Student requirements
Practice
Frequent use
Sessions delivered at time of
assignment
Embedded in curricula and assessed
19. Our experience of using Xerte
3 Intakes
Balance
Learning by doing
Quizzes
Fewer enquiries
Promotion
post training sessions
On the web
FUN!
20. References and links
Craig, A., Corrall, S. (2007) Making a difference?
Measuring the impact of an information literacy
programme for pre-registration nursing students in the
UK. Health Information and Libraries Journal 24(2),
118-127
Franks, H., McAlonan, C. (2006) Establishing library ‘key
skill’ confidence levels amongst a cohort of nursing
students at an English university. Nurse Education in
Practice. 7(4), 258-265.
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/xerte
http://xpert.nottingham.ac.uk/