Collaborative engagement in case-studies through learning technology

Experience to date was of limited collaborative case-study engagement by students outside the classroom environment. Up to this point such engagement had primarily relied on face-to-face meetings among students. The opportunity therefore seemed to be available to address this issue, at least in part, and at the same time contribute to two strategic objectives: student inclusion and engagement, and greater emphasis on effective problem-based learning. In order to deliver a meaningful contribution to both strategies, an open access online platform was identified, allowing for groups of students to work collaboratively with case-studies and problem-based learning. Open access outputs from recent collaborative EU initiatives were considered. The Casemaker (The Casemaker, 2015) platform was selected, as it was perceived that it was likely to fulfil given strategic requirements for ease of use in delivering student inclusion and engagement.