Networked Legal Learning: An Evaluation of the Student Learning Experience

This paper reports the findings from a case study that was conducted as part of the JISC/CALT funded Networked Learning in Higher Education project. The paper casts light on the wider debate about how and whether tutors can 'align' their teaching style with students' approaches to learning. It evaluates a law course that has been taught on campus using Lotus Notes to support group work and to provide a general course environment. The paper builds upon earlier evaluations of the course reported by the course tutor and used to develop the course design. The findings combine a firm understanding of the tutor's intentions and design with an evaluation of the student experience. This allows a consideration of alignment in a networked learning environment and uses several sources of rich data to triangulate designers' intentions with outcomes. Our findings incline us to the view that networked learning environments may be more open to unplanned influences than traditional courses. As a consequence of the increased number of influences students' may encounter greater degrees of variation in their experience.