In this Spotlight on LOUISA post, Dr Melissa Highton introduces the Learn Optimised for In-course Submission and Assessment (LOUISA) project. LOUISA is the next stage of the VLE Excellence programme, exploring how to apply an accessible and consistent approach to assessment and feedback across the University. Melissa is Director of Learning, Teaching and Web Services and Assistant Principal Online Learning.
Assessment and feedback play a crucial role in helping students reach their potential while studying, and our learning technology must provide administrators and course leaders with the necessary tools and structure to provide constructive, timely guidance and feedback to students in ways which they can easily access.
Guided by user research with both staff and students, LOUISA is a change programme which focuses on the ‘people side’ of change. By identifying changes in workflows and processes that can address ‘pain points’, we aim to mitigate the inconsistent practices and inefficiencies that increase staff workload and impact student experience. The benefits will be seen in improvements to streamline the work of academic colleagues and professional services.
The LOUISA team engaged with students to understand their experiences of submitting assessments and receiving feedback using Learn. Previous research with students highlighted frequent problems associated with the in-course assessment process at the University of Edinburgh. The LOUISA project is now returning to these issues to find out more. ISG learning technologists and user-experience researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with student interns over the summer in 2024 and discovered that students often struggle to find information about their assessment because it sits in different places across different courses. This particularly impacts students studying across multiple Schools, where information is organised differently.
The LOUISA project will focus on the administration of assessment and the return of feedback to students in the Learn VLE, whilst underpinning key elements of the Enhancement Led Institutional Review (ELIR) 2020 reflective analysis, the University’s Strategy 2030, the Digital Strategy and the Curriculum Transformation Programme.
Year one of LOUISA is underway to implement preparatory steps for the Early Adopters Programme (EAP) stage of the project that will work to:
- Test the workflows of the three common assessment types (Essay, Media, and Group Submission) to establish what resources are needed to support a consistent use of learning technology within assessment and feedback for staff and students;
- Establish a sustainable knowledge transfer process between Schools and Deaneries across the University;
- Identify standard terminology used across Schools and Deaneries in relation to assessment and feedback to support standardisation;
- Continue to gather regular user experience insights, with the help of the project’s dedicated Academic User Group (AUG) and Professional Service User Group (PSUG) to identify pain points and define solutions to be rolled out in the delivery stage of the project.
For the latest updates and project news on LOUISA, and to find out who your representative is on the board, visit the SharePoint page here: LOUISA – Home
Check out other related ‘Spotlight on…’ series:
Melissa Highton
Dr Melissa Highton leads services and projects in support of the University’s strategic priorities for digital and distance learning on global platforms, blended learning, virtual learning environments, technology enhanced learning spaces, the digital student experience and use of the web for outreach and engagement. Melissa is strategic lead in the University for a wide range of technologies and support for innovative learning and teaching, including blended learning tools, bespoke web development, online video, lecture recording, VLEs, open education resources, partnerships with platforms such as Coursera, Edx, FutureLearn and Wikimedia. Her teams support a range of online provision including taught online Masters programmes, Micromasters programmes, CPD and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
