Bryson, D. Cassella, J. and McCartney, C. (2010) Learning from the evidence – Moving from paper to web, pdf and e-books. FORREST Conference, 29 - 30 June, Coventry University, Coventry.

Professor John Cassella,
Department of Forensic and Crime Science, Faculty of Sciences, Staffordshire University, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr Carole McCartney,
School of Law, University of Leeds and Marie Curie Fellow, Centre for Forensic Excellence, Bond University, Australia. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The HEA Physical Sciences Centre has been successful in bidding for the HEFCE/JISC/Academy Open Educational Resources (OER) programme, with the goal of creating a variety of learning resources freely available, easily discovered and routinely re-used by both educators and learners. 'Skills for Scientists' is the collective title for physical sciences resources made available through this programme.
This paper reports upon one such resource: the development of a novel teaching and learning ‘packet’ for law students, to support their handling of forensic evidence within the context of a case report at the pre-trial stage. Students are required to assimilate a range of materials and then complete a pre-trial disclosure for the prosecution in addition to a post-test questionnaire.

The written statements, crime scene photographs etc. were originally converted to a series of web pages. In an attempt to create a more familiar format for students and prompt full engagement with the learning packet, the evidence was re-formatted and presented as an electronic series of pages using InDesign then exported as a portable document format (pdf) which could be viewed on screen or printed out and as an embedded Flash file (swf) for the Web.

Such development of teaching and learning materials has progressed over time but still a key feature is ‘the page’ whether it be student’s notes, handouts, in a journal or even the traditional textbook. It has been possible for some time to make interactive documents but some of the questions still to be considered and addressed as part of this project and wider pedagogic inquiry are:
“How do these support teaching and learning?”
“What do students like and dislike about this format?”
“What is possible now?” and
“What are the indications for the future of interactive pdfs and e-books in Forensic Science and the Law?”

To view presentation go to Learning from the evidence web page to download the swf file click here swf file format 14Mb