Under the auspices of the JISC/NSF1 funded project, Digital Libraries in Support of Innovative Approaches to Learning and Teaching in Geography (DialogPlus), a number of new computer-based activities have been developed and used to enhance student learning. In December 2004, the author of this paper undertook specifically student-focused evaluation of some of these innovations. Three separate programmes of study were involved, two at level two (intermediate) and one at level three (final year and postgraduate). Two were in the domain of Physical and Environmental Geography, the other in Earth Observation and Geographical Information Systems. Two adopted a blended approach to learning and teaching, the other was delivered in distance learning mode. In the blended models, students attended traditional lectures and occasional seminars. The eLearning activities here comprised a number of online practicals which introduced the students to a specific topic, offered them a wide range of embedded digital library resources for further study, set them tasks involving the manipulation of real data sets, and assessed their learning both formatively and summatively. In the distance learning model, the students were in fact campus-based but the tutor was in a different country. The lecture material was online, released weekly to the students who then had to undertake practical, lab-based assessments. The tutor offered fast email response to queries and the unit had an online discussion board. The evaluation involved observation of two groups of students as they were introduced to specific eLearning activities, design of questionnaires, analysis of completed forms, and the use of a nominal group discussion technique with the distance learners. The questionnaire design drew on the MECA-ODL methodology and quality criteria (Riddy & Fill, 2004), facilitating comparative analysis of results. Teaching staff were invited to add any questions of particular interest and preliminary findings from the analysis were discussed with them. Their reflections informed the final evaluation reports. Overall, student responses were particularly positive with respect to descriptions of learning objectives and content, accessibility of linked resources, inclusion of required tools, appropriateness of assessments and improvement of their knowledge and skills. The students on the distance programme, all young undergraduates with no prior experience of this delivery mode, were particularly negative about their own motivation, preferences for learning and support, a propos the online and remote tutoring components. Female students' responses, on these aspects, were more negative than those of male students. A vocal minority of all students on the three programmes reported that their tutors significantly underestimated the time required to complete eLearning activities. This paper outlines the background to the DialogPlus project, the specific programmes and eLearning activities reviewed in December 2005, the evaluation processes and detailed outcomes. Notes: 1 JISC is the UK's Joint Information System Committee, NSF is the USA's National Science Foundation. 2 Riddy, P and Fill, K. (2004). Evaluating eLearning Resources. In Networked Learning 2004, (eds.) Banks, Goodyear, Hodgson, Jones, Lally, McConnell & Steeples, Lancaster & Sheffield University, pp. 630-636. ISBN 1- 86220-150-1.
