"Technology based teaching and learning at the eLaw Summer Institute, UCC"

The aim of this presentation is to provide an insight into our experience of developing and delivering a summer programme which relies on innovative, technology-based teaching and learning to explore current issues in eLaw. The eLaw Summer Institute (ELSI), which is currently in its 6th year, is a valuable opportunity for students to acquire expertise in areas such as Electronic Commerce Law, Intellectual Property Law and Cyber Law.We will demonstrate the effectiveness of the use of technology within the legal curriculum of the Summer Institute, explore the challenges arising, and, the manner in which they have been met.Given that the subject-matter of ELSI concerns the interface between the legal system and development in information and communications technology, ELSI embraces technology in the delivery of the programme, including the more ‘traditional’ use of Power Point presentations and Blackboard, and the more innovative methods including the use of CDs to supply reading materials, asynchronous classes recorded on DVD or available via the internet to download, and personal response system to encourage class participation. The use of technology has also spread beyond the Summer Institute into the wider UCC Law Faculty curriculum, in particular at postgraduate levels and in relation to continuing professional development. In this regard, ELSI has operated as an effective launch-pad for innovative forms of teaching and learning.In delivering the programme, the importance of adopting a reflective approach to the lecturing and learning experience has become increasingly evident as we attempt to improve the course annually. During the currency of the Fifth eLaw Summer Institute (2009), the ELSI directors devised a student questionnaire which sought to elicit views from students on matters concerning the design and delivery of the programme. This ‘programme questionnaire’ was unlike previous subject-based students questionnaires that had been administered annually enabling to gauge the student experience of technology based delivery.