eSkript 2.0: Pushing collaboration and interactivity
Abstract
With eSkript, the product of the project ‹Interactive Lecture Material›, we have built an interactive platform that offers several output formats (including HTML, EPUB, MOBI, PDF) of lecture material content, enables peer review and communication through public annotation, and facilitates students who want to work digitally through the use of private annotations. Last but not least, some interactive modules are available like time lines, interactive videos and self-test questions. Furthermore, students can open their own eSkript and create their own texts or summaries using all the available features. So far, the former innovedum project was only intended to find ways to modern lecture material. eSkript is now (FS15/HS15) already in use in five lectures in three different departments (D-HEST, D-MATL, D-PHYS; 600 students per year). eSkript shall be implemented in the collaborative teaching and learning activities. To achieve this, few features must be met (mostly better LaTeX rendering, the handling of private annotations, and requirements for academic and scientific writing) and didactic scenarios for students and lecturers are needed.
The goal is to make the material students work on outside and inside of class interactive and connected, i.e. in a network with their peers and lecturers, where collaboration is possible and easy.
D-HEST: S. Lorenzetti, https://eskript.ethz.ch/bsb/, https://eskript.ethz.ch/bsb/, https://eskript.ethz.ch/biomech2/, https://eskript.ethz.ch/biomech2u/
D-MATL: N. Spaldin, https://eskript.ethz.ch/sspcm1/, https://eskript.ethz.ch/sspcm2/, https://eskript.ethz.ch/sspcmexercises/
D-PHYS: A. Wallraff, https://eskript.ethz.ch/physik3/
Success factors
Lecture material is inherently embedded in the learning process of the students. The new components of interactive lecture material (interactive videos, images, self-tests, private and public annotation,…) all enhance the learning outcome because of the diverse codification and unification of the activities. Interactive and online, the eSkript platform offers networking and through that collaboration features.
Innovative elements
The ease of use of eSkript with all the additional features (interactivity, annotation and output formats) has never been seen before. Lecturers and students can use it and they do not need any additional skills to produce modern and interactive material. Public annotation enables new ways of discussions and debate on lecture material where students are asked to be critical and where they can contribute.