God, Queen and country: their place in a team assessment, using instantaneous audio visual communication technology, with external and on-campus students in a first year law course

Abstract

Cutting edge technology has provided equality in assessment for on-campus and external students in a first year law course offered multi-modally, both externally and on-campus at two campuses, ninety-four kilometres apart, to around 170 undergraduates and 40 postgraduate students annually. This paper provides an evaluation of student responses to the team assessment item utilising ‘state-of the-art’ web conferencing tools facilitating online teaching and instantaneous audio visual communication (Elluminate-2007; Wimba-2008). The technology enables external students to present, as a team, live debates via audio and video. The course, Law in Context, models a team approach to legal work. Students must work together to produce an assessment item that engages them in critical thinking, oral communication and the art of argument, all vital to the practice of law. The findings reveal an overall positive response, with some areas for improvement. Implications are drawn from the evaluations, together with research on team assessment and the use of technology in higher-education learning, for academics teaching law in today’s globalised technological world