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Aberystwyth University | JISC Building Capacity Case Study of 39

ABERYSTWYTH UNIVERSITY JISC Building Capacity Case Study, 3 March 2011

PROJECT INFORMATION

Project Title Building Capacity Programme – Aberystwyth University

Project Director Rebecca Davies, Director of Information Services

Project Manager Mary Jacob, E-learning Advisor, Information Services

Chair of Project Board Martin Jones, Pro Vice Chancellor for Quality, Standards, Student Experience

Project Board Member Kate Wright, E-learning Development Officer, Information Services

Assistant Andy Greenway, Information Services

External Consultant Paul Bacsich, Sero Consulting

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

What – We aimed to create a virtual (online) and physical (face-to-

face) Information Commons for staff to facilitate peer support,

promote good practice, and draw upon information in the sector.

The Virtual Information Commons exists as part of the Nexus

website for good practice in technology-enhanced learning

(http://nexus.aber.ac.uk). The Physical Information Commons was

piloted in the Senior Common Room, an under-used space in the

Geography Tower. Results from the pilot event will be used to

inform decisions made by Information Services (IS) and University

senior management for further development.

Who – The work for the project was carried out by the Project Manager in consultation with the Project

Director and with help and guidance from the Project Board as well as the external consultant. An

assistant was hired to work one day per week for the length of the project, primarily to release the

Project Manager from her regular duties. Under the direction of the Project Manager, the assistant also

helped build up the Nexus website. Various IS staff also contributed, especially to the pilot event.

Why – Most of our support for technology-enhanced learning has traditionally been done through group

training sessions and consultations, but once staff have been trained, they work primarily on their own

and may not be aware of what other staff in the University are doing with technology-enhanced learning.

Through the E-learning Benchmarking exercise sponsored by the Higher Education Academy in 2007, we

found that peer support among academics is important for promoting good practice, and this often takes

place in informal contexts such as the coffee room. We also found that many staff were not aware of

relevant publications in the sector.

Figure 1 View from Senior Common Room

(photo by Paul Bacsich, used with permission)

http://nexus.aber.ac.uk/


How – We began by identifying six priority areas for the institution and then conducting an in-depth

literature search for each. The areas are:

Distance learning and e-learning focussing on community building and interaction - This area was

vibrant with many resources.

E-assessment, feedback, e-submission - This area also yielded rich materials.

FE collaboration with HE – In our search focussing on JISC and HEA materials, we found a few

items publicly available for this area.

Learning spaces, learning styles, learning environments - There is a lot of information about these

topics, but we must consider economic constraints when identifying useful models.

Timetabling learning spaces flexibly - This topic is quite specific, so we didn't expect to find a

large number of resources, but the ones we found were useful.

Widening participation including digital skills and information skills – We found very useful

information.

We mapped out a proposal for embedding an information monitoring system so that key material from

the sector can be forwarded to the relevant staff, especially senior management (see WP 1.3 EMBEDDING

INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT in the Appendix for details of the model).

For the Virtual Information Commons, the key activity was expanding Nexus with the addition of JISC

resources and media-rich case studies from Aberystwyth staff. The full content of the literature search

was uploaded onto Nexus. We also created entries for the existing case studies on the HEA’s EvidenceNet

website (See WP 2 / 4.1: BUILDING A VIRTUAL INFORMATION COMMONS in the Appendix for details of

our work with Nexus and WP 1.1 AND 1.2: INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS AND LITERATURE REVIEW for the

literature search).

The Physical Information Commons was piloted by holding a one-day event in the target space. The

event included installation of a movable plasma screen and computer for use in presentations, multiple

copies of JISC publications for participants to take away, a display about services offered by IS,

presentations from a guest speaker and four academic staff members showcasing innovations with

technology-enhanced learning. The last part of the event consisted of a focus group to collect feedback

from participants about staff needs, asking how the University can best facilitate peer support among

academics (see WP 3 / 4.1: BUILDING A FACE-TO-FACE INFORMATION COMMONS in the Appendix).

Our consultant, Paul Bacsich, supported us throughout the process through email and telephone contact.

We had valuable discussions with him at the JISC Innovation Forum. He attended the entire 6 December

Showcase event in Aberystwyth and provided the closing observations at the event. His December visit to

Aberystwyth also gave us the opportunity to discuss the next steps for the project. Paul has reviewed and

informed the project deliverables as they have been created. His deep understanding and knowledge of

the HE sector as well as our institution has been invaluable.

THE ISSUE - PEER SUPPORT FOR ACADEMIC STAFF AND SHARING GOOD PRACTICE

As we began our Building Capacity project, we felt a need for a platform to raise the profile of good

practice in teaching and learning with technology and enable a community of practitioners to support


each other in technology-enhanced learning at AU. We wanted a place to bring good practice from the

sector into AU, and to let others know what good practice is already taking place here. We aimed to

expand and build upon existing practice in the following ways:

The Nexus website for good practice in technology-enhanced learning was created initially under the

Gwella project but needed to be expanded and enhanced. In particular, the case studies and resources

sections needed to be updated and enriched.

We already promote relevant JISC and HEA materials to staff and senior management, but wanted to

embed a formal dissemination channel to ensure that useful documents reach the people who need

them the most in a timely fashion in order to bring excellence into the University.

Staff already support each other informally within departments, and for staff undertaking the

Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education (PGCTHE), there is peer support among

members of each cohort. We wanted to provide additional channels in order to reach more staff and

build a community of practitioners across departments.

This activity supports the following items from AU’s Learning and Teaching Strategy:

Ensure that teaching and programme development are informed by current research and

scholarship.

Develop more effective means of identifying and sharing good practice.

Promote and facilitate the appropriate use of information and communications technology (ICT)

as a means of improving access to learning and enhancing the quality and effectiveness of the

learning and teaching experience.

Improve dissemination of information on good practice in learning and teaching.

Promote links with the HE Academy and work with colleagues in Wales to promote learning

enhancement across the sector.

The project targets the following sections of the HEFCW Enhancing Learning and Teaching through

Technology strategy under Enhancement of Learning, Teaching and Assessment, and of Core Processes:

7.2 Emphasising learning rather than technology

7.3 Mainstreaming the role of technology in enhancing learning, teaching and assessment

7.4 Staff development

7.5 Normalising the role of technology within other core processes

7.6 Enhancing the student learning experience

7.10 Increased flexibility and accessibility

7.11 Collaboration

The main strand that links many of the strategic items above is identifying and mainstreaming effective

practice in learning and teaching with technology.

Good practice is informed by current research and scholarship, so we provide a channel for staff to access

JISC and other materials. This helps staff at all levels, from senior management through departmental

administrators, particularly academic staff working on ‘teaching cycle’ reports for the PGCTHE. The


teaching cycles in turn form a pool of good practice for us to draw upon when looking for examples of

effective technology-enhanced learning.

We selected examples of good practice to showcase in the pilot event and on Nexus. In choosing what to

showcase from AU, we emphasised learning over teaching, engaging learners in the learning process, and

integrating technology into the general learning and teaching processes. In choosing which materials

from the sector to highlight for our own staff, we focussed on current research and scholarship, flexibility

and accessibility, as well as mapping to our six priorities, such as e-assessment (for example, we made

multiple copies of the JISC publication, Effective Assessment in a Digital Age

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/digiassess, available during the Showcase event for staff to take away with them).

The ultimate aim of all our work, of course, is to enhance the learning experience for students. Our role is

to enhance staff development by promoting good practice so that students can benefit. Participants on

the PGCTHE are required to evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching interventions, so working with

staff undertaking the PGCTHE is one way of gathering information on the impact of our activities.

JISC IMPACT

The area where JISC has had the biggest impact through this project is tangible changes in institutional

thinking, communications, and approaches to change and continuous improvement. Our senior managers

are aware of developments in the sector, but involving the Pro Vice Chancellor for Quality, Standards,

Student Experience and Director of IS closely in the Building Capacity project has strengthened that

awareness and made it easier for managers to get the information they need to inform strategic

decisions.

WHAT ARE THE HEADLINE ACHIEVEMENTS OF YOUR PROJECT?

Nexus – The Nexus website has reached a much broader audience than we anticipated. Others working in

the sector have highlighted the site as being particularly useful, and this external validation results in

increased traffic to the site. Since the beginning of the project, we have added 13 new case studies and

enriched several others with video clips, thus nearly doubling the number of case studies on Nexus.

Nexus has global impact, having been visited by people from 74 countries from 1 May 2010 through 8

January 2011. The map below shows the expected high concentration of visits from the UK. From a total

of 3,339 visits, 2,805 were from 231 cities in the UK, and 1316 visits from Aberystwyth. The top ten UK

cities were Aberystwyth, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edgbaston, Manchester, Swansea, Edinburgh,

Bangor, and Caerphilly. That five of the top ten cities are in Wales shows that Nexus is well-poised for

sharing information amongst Welsh institutions.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/digiassess


Figure 2 Visits to Nexus 1 May 2010 through 8 January 2011

Please see WP 2 / 4.1: BUILDING A VIRTUAL INFORMATION COMMONS in the Appendix for more details.

Pilot Showcase Event – There were two main areas of benefit from the Showcase Event. Firstly, the guest

speaker was Les Watson, who spoke about learning spaces, one of our priority areas. The principles he

presented apply not only to the possible renovation of the Senior Common Room, also extended to

planning for classrooms and other types of learning spaces for students. This was particularly valuable as

we had not only representatives from academic departments in the audience, but also Estates. The event

brought together academic staff and planners.

Figure 3 Les Watson speaking at the Showcase event

Secondly, even though the Building Capacity project provided for a pilot event, not the establishment of a

centre, staff have made contact across departments and began a dialogue of mutual support. For

example, there was a presentation from a tutor in Modern European Languages, with the coordinators

for the Lifelong Learning Modern Foreign Language programme and Welsh for Adults programme in the

audience. These programmes operate autonomously and the teaching takes place in different locations,

so staff don’t have contact with tutors in the other programmes on a day-to-day basis. At the Showcase

event, these tutors shared concerns, experiences, and approaches to technology-enhanced language

teaching.


A set of recommendations has come from the focus group in the Showcase event. Staff said they would

need a reason, such as a specific event, to come into a common space. Thus the key recommendation is

to hold a brown-bag lunch series in which academic staff can demonstrate their good teaching practice

for others in departments across the University. This will draw people together to generate conversations

about their common interests in teaching.

There were mixed feelings about using the Senior Common Room. Most of the attendees had never been

in the room before, and they appreciated some of its qualities. It was also recognised that a central

location would be more convenient. Should we develop the Senior Common Room as a regular venue for

sharing good practice, it was not deemed essential to make significant structural changes to the space,

however, staff felt more suitable furniture would make it more comfortable and maximise the benefit

from the view. The computer and plasma screen that we installed through Building Capacity have made it

possible to use the room for demonstrations and presentations. As that equipment is not fixed in place, it

can be moved should we decide to use another location for the Physical Information Commons.

Please see WP 3 / 4.1: BUILDING A FACE-TO-FACE INFORMATION COMMONS in the Appendix for more

details, including a full focus group write-up.

WHAT BENEFITS HAS YOUR PROJECT DELIVERED AND WHO ARE THE BENEFICIARIES?

The project has delivered benefits to AU staff and students as well as to other institutions in the sector, as

shown below.

Figure 4 Beneficiaries of the project

•enhanced learning through enriched teaching practice

Students

•better information streams

•evidence to use in strategic plan Senior

Management

•cross-departmental network-building

•new ideas for teaching

•recognition of existing good practice Academic Staff

•information to share with dept staff

•coordinate efforts to support learning & teaching Other Staff

•examples of good practice for the sector to draw upon

•increased impact of reports from the sector HE Sector


The ultimate benefit of our Building Capacity activity is enhanced learning for students through enriched

teaching practice by academic staff and informed strategic planning by senior management. With better

information streams, senior managers have more evidence to support strategic planning decisions. There

is a strengthened integration of senior management with e-learning support. The information shared on

Nexus and during the Showcase event benefits academic staff by giving them a richer source of material

to spark ideas for teaching enhancements. Case studies on Nexus and in such events also provide

recognition of both internal and external excellence in learning and teaching, which reinforces good

practice. Cross-department contacts, such as the one across the three language programmes, contribute

to community building and strengthening. The expansion of Nexus helps AU to transcend our spatial

exclusion and connect more effectively with other institutions and the HE sector.

Specifically, the AU staff groups who benefit from this project include:

Senior management team

Directors of Learning & Teaching

ALTO Steering Group (the E-learning advisory committee)

Academic staff in general

Teacher trainees

IS staff in both library and e-learning support gain a better understanding of good practice and

coordinate our efforts to help staff

HAS YOUR TEAM / INSTITUTION DEVELOPED NEW CAPABILITIES?

New capabilities are summarised below:

Channels for sharing information – JISC publications and project sites have reached a wider

audience through the literature search and the enhancement of Nexus. News about JISC

publications that are particularly relevant to the priority areas is now being forwarded to the

senior management members concerned. The relationship between E-learning Support (now part

of the E-Services and Communications group) and senior management is stronger than before,

which will enable the institution to respond with agility to the challenges we face in the future.

Skill building within E-learning Support – In the process of enhancing Nexus, the E-Services and

Communications group has gained expertise in the use of the institutional streaming media

server, which we can use in future for this and other projects. Organising the Showcase event has

helped us to develop a model for holding similar events in the future, including the brown-bag

lunch series. Increased engagement with the scholarship of learning and teaching enhances our

ability to help academic staff.

Extended reach of Nexus – The global reach of Nexus is a key capability developed through the

project. The impact of Nexus can be seen through Google Analytics statistics. Since we started

putting new material on Nexus through Building Capacity at the beginning of September 2010,

traffic to the site has roughly quadrupled. Within IS, we have worked to integrate our efforts at

sharing good practice, as can be seen by the recent creation of a consolidated YouTube channel

to promote both Nexus case study materials and related clips created by other IS groups.


WHAT ARE THE KEY LESSONS LEARNED DURING YOUR PROJECT?

We learned lessons in several areas:

Value of external validation – Some of the lessons learned from this project are consistent with

those learned from the Gwella project – participating in an externally-supported project lends

weight to any endeavour and makes it easier to implement change. Such a project requires

dedicated staff time but can have a big impact with a relatively small amount of funding.

Senior management involvement – A project such as this cannot be successful without the

involvement of senior management. We were fortunate in having a strong and engaged team,

which enabled the project to move forward smoothly. In particular, the close work in identifying

institutional priorities was key to the success of this project. Any impact lasting beyond the life of

the project will be due in large part to the high level of engagement of senior management.

A regular timeslot dedicated to work on the project, spread across the project timescale,

enabled us to stay on target for deliverables and to maximise productivity, this included a

meeting with the Project Director to ensure institutional buy-in, support and focus.

The most important lesson learned specifically from the Physical Information Commons component is:

Giving people a reason to come into a space – We were not surprised to hear from staff that

they would make use of a Physical Information Commons, but only so long as events of some kind

were held in the space. The space should be department-neutral and physically welcoming.

The lessons learned specifically from the Virtual Information Commons component are summarised here,

with more detail in the Appendix:

Time on detail – We found that the initial literature search took more time than expected, due to

the large amount of material available.

Power of social networking – The fact that the URL was tweeted on Twitter resulted in a

noticeable increase in visits. We recommend that other institutions make full use of Web 2.0

channels such as Twitter to promote public resources.

Staff support required for sustainability – Maintaining a site such as Nexus does require an on-

going commitment to provide staffing resources to keep it up to date.

Strategies for monitoring of information – Monitoring sources of information can also be an

overwhelming task for a single individual, so it is best shared among several staff.

HAS DELIVERING THE OBJECTIVES SET OUT IN YOUR PROJECT BROUGHT ABOUT ANY

DISADVANTAGES OR DRAWBACKS?

We didn’t find many disadvantages in the project. The needs of all the stakeholders appear to have been

met. The primary areas that could be challenging to sustain are associated with staffing and funding

allocations. For example, future development of the Senior Common Room depends on Estates funding in

the context of broader institutional priorities.


The literature search and information monitoring were somewhat time-consuming. This level of activity

can be sustained providing that it remains a priority for the current IS group, E-Services and

Communications. The proposal for formal information monitoring may need to be scaled down before

implementation.

There is a vast number of projects and reports available through JISC and other organisations. It was a

challenge to work through all of them to identify the ones most relevant to our priorities, so in the end,

we adopted a ‘best effort’ approach. Attempting to compile an exhaustive list was not feasible.

The maintenance of Nexus also requires on-going staff time, but as this has become a core part of E-

learning Support activity, it should be less of an issue.

In organising an external speaker, we found some challenges in working around external timetables. The

geographic isolation of Aberystwyth requires that an external speaker make a long journey and most

likely stay overnight. Any future events with external speakers will have to take this into consideration.

Videoconferencing and web conferencing could provide partial solutions to the geographic disadvantages

of our location.

HOW WILL THIS PROJECT BE TAKEN FURTHER? WHAT SUSTAINABILITY MEASURES HAVE

YOU ARRANGED FOR YOUR PROJECT?

The continuing updating and maintenance of Nexus is now embedded in the E-Services and

Communications group processes, and informal information monitoring and forwarding among

members of our group is already part of standard practice.

Reports from various parts of the project are being taken forward in the following ways:

Based on the recommendations from the focus group, we plan to organise a brown bag lunch

series to begin in September 2011. In addition to recruiting academic staff whom we know are

innovating, we will also open the series up for any interested staff members to propose their own

topics. This project will involve coordination with the PGCTHE Coordinator and the Director of the

Centre for Staff and Academic Practice.

Recommendation for a more formal information monitoring system based on Workpackage 1.3

Model for embedding information streams will be discussed with senior management.

Recommendations for development of the Senior Common Room will be drawn up, should the

University decide this project fits into existing plans.

The full report from the project will be presented at the ALTO Steering Group, and members’

suggestions invited for developing peer-to-peer support among academics.

AU is currently implementing a Sustainability Improvement Programme to provide the basis for the

University's response to emerging challenges.


SUMMARY AND REFLECTION

We believe this project met, and in the case of Nexus, exceeded, our expectations. As stated in the Key

Lessons section above, the involvement of senior management and identification of institutional priorities

was important for the success of the project. A similar vertical integration will help any institution wishing

to follow our approach.

Several components have contributed to the success of the project. Our consultant, Paul Bacsich,

provided valuable guidance throughout the process. Arranging a regular timetable of dedicated work –

one day per week throughout the length of the project – helped ensure that we stayed on track with

deliverables and distributed the workload evenly across the project timeframe. This meant that we did

not face the pressure of tight deadlines as the project neared its end. We would recommend this

approach to other institutions considering similar projects.

Continuation after the end of the Building Capacity project relies on the priority of several processes:

Maintaining Nexus

Implementing the series of brown-bag talks

Continued communication with senior management to ensure that we can adjust our monitoring

of information streams as institutional priorities change

If we were starting the project now, there are only a few things we would do differently for the Showcase

event. We recruited specific staff members to present at the showcase event, in order to ensure coverage

of a range of approaches. The length of the event made it hard for some staff to attend in its entirety. For

future events, we will invite staff to volunteer. We will also hold a series of shorter presentations, rather

than one all-day event.

We hope that our approach will benefit other institutions. In particular, both the Virtual and Physical

Information Commons projects focussed on breaking down barriers so that good practice does not

remain hidden within departments, invisible to the wider community. It is not a trivial activity for

academic staff to share the details of their teaching with a broader audience, but the benefits are great.

The principle of joining up resources so that they are easily discoverable on Nexus mirrors the inter-

personal sharing that took place in the pilot event.

We encourage other institutions to make their own good practice more visible in this way.

APPENDICES

Outputs from individual workpackages are included below, beginning with the evaluation report from

Paul Bacsich, consultant for the project. The annotated literature review appears at the end.


WP 5.1 EVALUATION JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

REFLECTION BY CRITICAL FRIEND, PAUL BACSICH, SERO CONSULTING

It has been a pleasure to continue my existing relationship with Aberystwyth University into the Building

Capacity Programme. Indeed, given the limited number of days available, without that continuity I cannot

see how I could have formed the necessary depths of relationships needed for effective engagement and

formative evaluation.

In terms of the process, in view of the project brief and the limited number of days available I focussed

my attention on adding value and context to the processes, rather than assisting the processes

themselves (as was more the case in earlier projects), except where it was easy and quick to make ‘in mid

flow’ specialist input based on my other work via Matic Media Ltd and Sero Consulting – such as on the

Online Learning Task Force, e-learning benchmarking/quality developments, Libraries 2.0 and so on.

I am not saying that this would be a rule across all my other Building Capacity projects – it depends on the

institution and the level and sophistication of skills and knowledge it can deploy – which in the case of

Aberystwyth University is high.

I concur with the growing view that the Nexus database is a particular jewel. In particular it has lessons

for activities outside the University and indeed outside the learning and teaching sector. I have three:

Since Wales has a strong tradition of collaboration but institutions will suffer a certain amount of

loss of continuity of knowhow as mergers and funding/staffing changes take place in the near

future, there is merit in considering an all-Wales solution for a database of good practices based

on the Nexus approach. JISC has its own challenges in the future but one idea might to be look at

the role of the JISC RSC in collaboration with HEFCW and other agencies in fostering this across

Welsh HE – and maybe even into the FE domain given the increasing integration of FE institutions

into some at least of the university clusters in Wales.

There are other complex knowledge-rich situations which face HEIs, especially research-led ones

like Aberystwyth University. In the next few years it will be much more challenging to gain

research grants, necessarily from across a far wider range of agencies in the UK and beyond.

Employer engagement is becoming ever more important – and there are particular challenges in

engaging with smaller employers and third sector entities. Both of these areas could benefit from

Nexus-type approaches and Aberystwyth University is well-placed now to activate these.

Aberystwyth University is also one of a number of ‘distant’ (not distance) Universities in Wales

and across the UK – those who do not have a populated hinterland completely surrounding them

and are thus remote from other centres of population. Other clear examples include Falmouth,

Plymouth and UHI but a wider range of universities are ‘geographically challenged’. There are

particular issues affecting such institutions and specific solutions available, including an increasing

amount of videoconferencing ‘in’ and ‘out’ for meetings and seminars. It could be useful if some


JISC resources could be devoted specifically to these issues. While the Travel Fund was a partial

alleviation of the ‘distance’ issues, technology will have to play an increasing role.

At a more technical level, it will be beneficial to other institutions and agencies if Aberystwyth University

can share its knowledge of wiki editing with other interested parties (such as CETIS and EU projects) who

run wikis for similar purposes. There is very little useful literature on the skills needed to create material

and foster activity on wikis – and some useful lessons in the Aberystwyth University report.

A similar level of delicacy was apparent in the analysis of the requirements for a future physical

Information Commons. Again it was evident that quite small and seemingly superficial or even irrelevant

aspects could indeed be key – known issues such as location, stairs, food and drink but less obvious ones

like the ability to see a view outside – and the use (hard to schedule) of a wonderful sunset to round off

the pilot Information Day!

In conclusion, although evident more implicitly from the Nexus wiki, the presentations given on the

Information Day were an excellent demonstration of the overall care that Aberystwyth has taken with

this project and its predecessors. Paraphrasing my closing remarks on the day, I was very impressed with

the quality of the learning interventions presented by all the speakers - good examples of ‘learning

design’ in action. Their work was firmly based on their subject expertise but not imprisoned by that - all

their examples could be applied more generally – thus they are excellent examples for wider

dissemination via Nexus and at relevant meetings. In particular they exemplified the adage that ‘practice

makes perfect’ - polishing their interventions with each iteration of the course.

Too often in universities managers expect results right away – yet some results will take years to

demonstrate incontrovertible evidence of their impact. (Lord Dearing might have been more right than

we thought at the same when he said that ‘change would take a generation’.)

But as a tribute to the IT systems and their management, it also helped the lecturers that they had stable

underlying systems - nothing is worse for lecturers than the IT people changing a key system under their

feet.

And finally, a thought about ‘scale’ - a possibly controversial point in these times of mergers and shared

services. A good feature of Aberystwyth University is that it is small enough for innovations to be able to

percolate, yet large enough that academics can get stimulus from like-minded colleagues. This in my view

makes it a particularly fruitful place for agencies like JISC to engage with.


WP 4.3 SENIOR MANAGEMENT TESTIMONIALS JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

MARTIN JONES, PRO VICE CHANCELLOR FOR QUALITY, STANDARDS, STUDENT EXPERIENCE

The JISC Building Capacity initiative is helping us drive forward some new and exciting agendas for

change. Learning and teaching is central to the development of and future of Aberystwyth University,

which operates at a number of different scales: global, national, regional, local — or ‘glocal’ when

combining these together.

I am a human geographer by academic training, and this has helped me greatly in my current managerial

role in quality, standards, and student experience. I often thinking about and talk about space, which is

now relational, i.e. made up of many relationships. Learning and teaching takes places in spaces and

places, which occur in the virtual and material form, as Rebecca highlights below. My goal has been to

tease out the relationships here (strategy and operational reality, and experience therein), coordinate

them, and take forward the learning experience at Aberystwyth University for all. We are a learning

community of practice, which is shared for mutual benefits.

Aberystwyth University is committed to developing not just the student experience, for which we are

internationally distinct, but also developing the staff experience. JISC Building Capacity has been

important for getting us to think about this seriously. The spaces used by staff, and research students

too, are important for developing and sharing good practice, which in turn develops best practice, and

more importantly ‘interesting practice’. Aberystwyth is known for interesting and interested lecturers.

Space is at a premium, it has to be used for best affect/effect, and this project has helped us think

differently about learning spaces as staff ‘learning places’.

We are currently redrafting our learning and teaching strategy for submission to HEFCW in July 2011, and

the JISC Building Capacity project has proved to be enormously beneficial. As part of the staff experience,

we intend to create opportunities for peer support in informal contexts for the sharing of ideas.

Technology-enhanced learning will comprise a key strand in the new strategy.

REBECCA DAVIES, DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES, PRO VICE CHANCELLOR FOR

SERVICES

DEVELOPING STAFF AND LEARNING LESSONS: OUR EXPLORATION OF PHYSICAL AND

VIRTUAL LEARNING COMMONS

On my return to the Higher Education environment after working outside of the sector for 8 years, I

realised that the digital revolution had made some significant changes in the ways in which knowledge

was shared and exchanged between my academic colleagues. The neutral physical spaces where

serendipitous exchange had taken place (e.g. Senior Common Rooms) were no longer the place for

vibrant conversations and ‘replacement’ spaces had not yet been developed to fit a 21st Century


academic working environment in the physical or virtual spaces we inhabit. This project has allowed us to

explore different routes in virtual and physical environments, to maximise the dissemination, impact and

adoption of best practice from JISC, the HEA and other external catalysts for change. I’ve been thrilled

that we’ve been able to work using a partnership approach using the knowledge and experience of the

experts in staff development, information services and academic departments steered by our external

advisor Paul Bacsich and our Programme Management support in JISC to test our assumptions and try

new approaches.

The visible success of our project in developing individuals was highlighted in the Pilot Showcase Event,

where we saw academics and support staff debating the value of a physical learning commons, as a

shared team each bringing unique skills to stimulate knowledge sharing and exchange. Ways of working

have changed, so the concept of wandering to a space, just in case interesting exchanges might take place

(the Senior Common Room in times past) was clearly not a natural way to collaborate – instead staff

wanted targeted events highlighting specific topics to stimulate discussion on the application of external

and internal experience. Instead, the ‘drop in’ knowledge exchange opportunity appears to have

transferred into the virtual world – with the uptake and use of nexus demonstrating a different approach

which exploits the technological tools on our desktops, netbooks and mobiles.

We’ve learned from our colleagues about their preferred informal learning styles, had to recognise that

the ‘halcyon’ days of the Senior Common Room (despite my initial assumption that this space was

‘missing’) are not the right fit for the 21st century University but that a blend of virtual ‘drop in’ and

targeted physical spaces can provide the solutions to meet the internal/external knowledge exchange

interface.


WP 3 / 4.1: BUILDING A FACE-TO-FACE INFORMATION

COMMONS JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

SHOWCASE EVENT AND FOCUS GROUP

As part of AU’s commitment to technology-enhanced learning, staff were invited to an event to showcase

good practice in teaching and learning with technology. The aim was to explore ways to foster a culture of

innovation in technology-enhanced learning and facilitate peer support among academic staff. We

especially wanted to solicit opinions from academic staff about what they need in order to use

technology effectively in teaching.

Date: Monday 6 December 2010

Time: 11.15-16.30

Place: Senior Common Room, Geography Tower, Llandinam Building

[Photo by Paul Bacsich, used by permission. This image of sunset

over Cardigan Bay was taken from the Senior Common Room at the

end of the Building Capacity Showcase event.]

After a welcome from the Director of IS and the Dean of Arts, there

was a talk about learning spaces by invited speaker, Les Watson.

During lunch, participants were free to browse the JISC publications

made available in the display rack. There was time for participants

to chat with Sahm Nikoi from IS, who brought a display about IS and

a sample e-book for staff to try out. This was followed by presentations from AU academic staff

demonstrating technology-enhanced learning innovations, including varied approaches to interactive

teaching and formative feedback. The presenters used the computer and plasma screen we purchased

with the Building Capacity funding.

The event concluded with a focus group to discuss whether academic staff would like an Information

Commons (a place for staff to meet both formally and informally to share ideas). If such a physical space

is developed, what types of activities should take place in it? How should the space be configured to best

suit those activities?

At the end of the session, participants were divided into three groups. Each group had a sheet of flipchart

paper and a marker. They were given 25 minutes to discuss and map out their ideas for using the space to

promote peer-to-peer support among academics, after which each group shared their ideas with the

other groups.


Everyone recognised the value of both the idea of a meeting place and the Geography Tower, but there

was some concern that it might not be the ideal place. This is mainly due to its location – it was felt that it

was not the sort of place that people would use for passing visits; staff would need a reason to visit. It

was recognised that this is the same of any space – people need to have a reason to go there. Often the

reason is food – it was noted that the Geography Tower is always full when there are cakes available! It

was clear that the view was a selling point of this location, but work would need to be done on the room

to ensure that the view is visible when staff are sitting down.

Other spaces suggested included the Chapel underneath the Arts Centre and Brynamlwg (the University

staff club). It was also suggested that rather than staff coming to one location, information was taken out

to other locations using the ‘pop-up restaurant’ model.

In terms of the kinds of events run in the space, suggestions included a conference or mini-conference as

well as one-hour lunchtime sessions. It was also suggested that regular events or themed days would be

useful. These could be supplemented by ‘stalls’ or posters advertising work done and options available to

staff. It was felt that it would be useful for staff to have regular advertised times for meeting up. There

was also interest in having technology available for staff to try out before they use it in teaching.

It was suggested that any face-to-face events could be supported by online resources such as webinars.

This would also help people who don’t work on the Penglais Campus.

Overall it was recognised that this, or any other space used, would need to be agile – able to be used for

different purposes at different times.

RECOMMENDATIONS

A number of possible directions for future development came from this session. Some of them could be

easily implemented with a modicum of staff time and little or no funding, others would require a capital

expenditure.

1. JISC publications made available in spaces used by academic staff – A set of the new JISC

publication, Effective Assessment in a Digital Age, was put on display for attendees to take with

them. The JISC TechDIS Accessibility Essentials were also available.

It is recommended that we continue this practice. E-learning Support Staff can order sets of

relevant JISC (and other) materials to have on hand for participants whenever similar showcase-

type events are held.

2. Brown bag lunch series – To some extent, it is the activity rather than the space itself that is key.

A series of one-hour sessions featuring one or two presentations by academic staff on their

teaching interventions would be easy to organise. It could take place in the Senior Common

Room or other venues. Attendees would be invited to bring their own lunch. This could be an

extension of existing practice in the PGCTHE programme, where candidates make presentations

on their teaching interventions during mini-conferences. Talks given in the Senior Common Room

using the computer equipment (as with any other location on campus) can be lecture-captured.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2010/digiassess.aspx

http://www.techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=3_20


There should be a central website to make it easy for people to access the recordings. It should

be possible to implement this by the start of AY2011/2 without additional funding.

3. Consider other venues – It is recommended that we consider other locations besides the Senior

Common Room for the staff Information Commons. While it is currently under-used and its

advantages not fully-exploited, the Senior Common Room is also not ideal. It is not immediately

clear what available site would be better, but this should be investigated further by the

University.

4. Bring a food service cart or vending machines into the Senior Common Room – There are

vending machines including one for fresh-ground coffee on the ground floor of Llandinam

building. It would enhance the environment of the Senior Common Room to install similar

machines there. An even more attractive option would be to have Residential Services bring a

cart with fresh coffee and pastries for sale in the mornings. This would make the space more

attractive for drop-ins. Any change to the room itself should be accompanied by organised events

in the room, so that staff have a reason to come to the space in the first place. Once they have

come for an event and find that the environment is pleasant, they may come back on a drop-in

basis.

Further discussions with Residential Services will be required to determine whether either the

food service cart or vending machines are feasible. If so, they should be self-sustaining in terms of

cost, as either option would provide a revenue stream.

5. Refurbish the Senior Common Room – To make best use of the advantages of the space, some

relatively small changes need to be made. If funding is found for such a project, a countertop

needs to be installed in front of some of the windows, so that the view can be seen. Ideally, the

countertop should be modular and have wheels so that it can be used anywhere in the room and

have an adjustable height. When the computer is being used for presentations, the speaker can

then position the countertop as desired to hold keyboard and mouse (as people tend to stand

and face the audience when speaking, they will need a surface in front of them for the keyboard).

Appropriate furniture includes barstool chairs so that staff could sit at the countertop as well as

more comfortable chairs at a lower level. If resources permit, part of the floor could be raised at

the back so that staff can sit at tables normally and face across the room to see the view. With

this model, the room would be used regularly for events as well as informal exchange over coffee,

and it might even be used by staff wishing to work outside their offices using a laptop. (Some of

the recommendations for refurbishing the room are based on discussions with Peter Jamieson of

Melbourne University in addition to Les Watson and the focus group).

This option would require capital funding on a variable scale depending on the amount of change

desired in the space (e.g. raising the floor). If funding is available, a moderate degree of change is

recommended, primarily involving the installation of appropriate furniture.


WP 2 / 4.1: BUILDING A VIRTUAL INFORMATION

COMMONS JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

OUTLINING THE ISSUE

As we began our Building Capacity project, we felt a need for a platform to raise the profile of good

practice in teaching and learning with technology and enable a community of practitioners to support

each other in technology-enhanced learning at AU. We wanted a place to bring good practice from the

sector into AU, and to let others know what good practice is already taking place here.

The Nexus website for good practice in technology-enhanced learning (http://nexus.aber.ac.uk) was

created initially under the Gwella project to serve that purpose, but needed to be expanded and

enhanced. In particular, the case studies and resources sections needed to be updated and enriched.

WHAT WE DID

Together with the Pro Vice Chancellor for Quality, Standards, Student Experience, we began by identifying

six priority areas for the institution. We used the priority areas as the basis of our literature search and

also to set up channels for forwarding relevant information from the sector to senior management. The

areas are listed below, together with what we found in the literature search process:

1. Distance learning and e-learning focussing on community building and interaction – This area was

vibrant with many resources.

2. E-assessment, feedback, e-submission – This area also yielded rich materials.

3. FE collaboration with HE – In our search focussing on JISC and HEA materials, we found a few

items publicly available for this area.

4. Learning spaces, learning styles, learning environments – There is a lot of information about

these topics, but we must consider economic constraints when identifying useful models.

5. Timetabling learning spaces flexibly – This topic is quite specific, so we didn't expect to find a

large number of resources, but the ones we found were useful.

6. Widening participation including digital skills and information skills – There was some very useful

information here.

The results of the annotated literature search have now been incorporated into the Nexus website. We

also expanded the range of case studies from AU, with an emphasis on digital media such as video clips

and images to enrich the web pages. Material from the Building Capacity Showcase event has also been

added into Nexus. The Nexus news blog is updated frequently, including posts about particularly relevant

JISC events and publications. AU case studies have been added, as appropriate, to the HEA EvidenceNet

site.

http://nexus.aber.ac.uk/


In addition to building up Nexus, we also created and implemented a plan for continuing monitoring of

relevant publications and directing them to the attention of relevant staff, including senior management.

NEW CAPABILITIES DEVELOPED

The Virtual Information Commons component of our project has enabled us to develop new capabilities

in several areas:

Channels for sharing information – JISC publications and project sites have reached a wider

audience through the literature search and the enhancement of Nexus. News about JISC

publications that are particularly relevant to the priority areas is now being forwarded to the

senior management members concerned.

Skill building within E-learning Support - In the process of enhancing Nexus, the E-Services and

Communications group has gained expertise in the use of the institutional streaming media

server, which we can use in future for this and other projects.

Extended reach of Nexus – The primary capability that has been developed is the Nexus website.

The website has expanded its reach globally. The impact of Nexus can be seen by comparing

Google Analytics statistics for two 4-month periods. We started putting new material on Nexus

through Building Capacity at the beginning of September, and traffic to the site has roughly

quadrupled since.

May – Aug 2010 Sep – Dec 2010

Visits 682 2,525

Page views 1,213 4,106

Unique visitors 616 2,381

The chart below shows visits to Nexus by week from 1 May 2010 – 8 Jan 2011. There has been a dramatic

increase through the period in which we were expanding Nexus via Building Capacity, an expected dip

over the Christmas holidays, and resurgence as staff return to campus for the start of term again.

Nexus has global impact, having been visited by people from 74 countries since 1 May 2010. The map

below shows the expected high concentration of visits from the UK. There were a total of 3,339 visits with

2,805 of them from 231 cities in the UK. There were 1316 visits from Aberystwyth. The top ten UK cities


were: Aberystwyth, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edgbaston, Manchester, Swansea, Edinburgh, Bangor,

and Caerphilly. This shows that Nexus is well-poised for sharing information within Wales.

FUTURE PLANS

The monitoring of sources of information and forwarding of relevant items has been embedded in our

normal functioning and will continue after the project. We hope to refresh the literature search on a

regular basis, possibly once a year. Providing that our team is able to maintain its current level of staffing,

Nexus will continue to grow and is poised to become the institutional gateway for learning and teaching.

KEY LESSONS

The key lessons from the Virtual Information Commons part of the project are noted below:

1. Time on detail – We found that the initial literature search took more time than expected, due to

the large amount of material available. Now that the initial work was done, however, it doesn’t

take as much staff time and effort to maintain it. A certain amount of time expenditure should be

planned at the start of such a project.

2. Power of social networking – Nexus has been even more successful than anticipated. Having a

single point of entry that gives staff access to a wide range of information sources has a

significant impact that reaches beyond the institution to have a global impact. Some contributing

factors to the high traffic on Nexus include the fact that the URL was tweeted on Twitter at

several key points, which a resulting increase in visits. This demonstrates that others in the sector


have found the material useful. We would recommend that other institutions make full use of

Web 2.0 channels such as Twitter to promote public resources.

3. Staff support required for sustainability – Maintaining a site such as Nexus does require an on-

going commitment to provide staffing resources to keep it up to date. It is not something that can

be done once and then left to fossilise, but must be kept alive with new material added regularly.

In order to maximise usefulness of an online resource, it is necessary to mainstream its

maintenance.

4. Strategies for monitoring of information – Monitoring sources of information can also be an

overwhelming task for a single individual, so it is best shared among several staff. The most

important factor is to be selective and only forward the most relevant information to senior

management. Once created, such a communications channel has great benefits to the institution

because it increases agility and the ability to respond quickly to changes in the sector.

5. Senior management involvement – The initial work carried out by the Project Manager with the

Pro Vice Chancellor for Quality, Standards, Student Experience to identify priorities has been

crucial in ensuring that the material we find and disseminate is useful for the institution. The

involvement of senior management in this project has been essential to its success. We would

urge any other institution considering this type of initiative to take a similar approach if possible.


WP 1.3 EMBEDDING INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

AIM

The workpackage specifies that we should create:

Models for institutional engagement with HE Academy presented as case studies with a

flowchart outlining process.

The aim is to provide a sustainable channel so that information from the HEA, JISC and other sources in

the sector can be monitored, evaluated, and directed to the attention of the appropriate people at

Aberystwyth University while avoiding information overload.

The landscape of higher education in the UK is changing, so we anticipate that the resulting processes will

have to be flexible.

We are interested in several broad categories of information:

Funding calls

Events

Major publications

Individual reports from projects of particular interest

Emerging technologies and trends in the sector

CURRENT PROCESSES

There are some processes already in place for disseminating information from the HEA and other sources,

which can be strengthened and formalised. The current picture is outlined below:

Emails are sent out by various staff:

o The Academic Office sends information from the HEA to a select mailing list of interested

parties (‘HEA mailing list’). This is based on information feeds primarily from the HEA

directly, and filtered by institutional priorities. The filtering and sending is done by one

person.

o The Centre for Development of Staff and Academic Practice (CDSAP) forwards items to

individual staff on an occasional basis and sends the Academic Office information to be

shared via the HEA list. This is ad hoc and usually based on matching items with

institutional priorities.

o E-learning Support sends information from the sector to individual staff members on an

occasional basis. This is ad hoc and usually based on knowing which staff are interested in


a particular areas. A small number of items of wide interest are sent to the Aberystwyth

Learning and Teaching Online Steering Group (ALTO SG).

Information is posted to the web:

o Items of strong general interest are posted to the Nexus website by E-learning Support.

o Items of specific interest are bookmarked and tagged with key words in the E-learning

Support Delicious account.

ENHANCING THE PROCESS

The fundamental steps in the process are diagrammed below.

There are several ways in which the process can be enhanced.

Collection of information can be more systematised and comprehensive, drawing on feeds from

more sources.

Evaluation and dissemination of information can be designated as a formal remit of one or more

staff members.

The dissemination process can be unified and refined by expanding the membership of the

existing list. A decision needs to be made whether to use primarily the mailing list (sending to all

members) or targeting specific individuals in a more customised way.

The process by which information is posted to the web can be formalised to be more

comprehensive.

Once the information has been disseminated initially, it can be stored in a unified place to

facilitate retrieval by others after the initial dissemination.

Involvement in collecting, evaluating, and disseminating the information can be distributed so

that the workload does not all fall onto one person.

MODEL – MULTIPLE INPUTS INTO A SHARED LIST

We considered a model in which one individual or office is responsible for monitoring and disseminating

information from the sector, but it would require too heavy a workload concentrated on one person, so

we rejected that model in favour of a model of distributed responsibility.

In the model we propose, members of CDSAP, E-learning Support and the Academic Office share

responsibility for posting to the mailing list (possibly to be called ‘HE Insiders Info’) and forwarding

information in

collect evaluate

select disseminate information

out


information with individuals not on the mailing list. E-learning Support is responsible for further

dissemination such as posting to the web or sharing with the ALTO Steering Group. The model in the

diagram below, or some variation thereof, is recommended.

In brief, responsibility for monitoring a wide range of sources is distributed among members of a small

monitor group. Any member can post an item to the mailing list and/or disseminate it further by putting

it onto the web or sending out targeted emails to individuals or the ALTO Steering Group. Anyone is

welcome to subscribe to the list, with read-only but not posting privileges. Subscribers may include senior

management, teaching staff, and any other interested parties.

Different information sources require varying degrees of activity:

Web sites – check websites pro-actively

Twitter feeds – subscribe to JISC and other Twitter accounts

RSS feeds on blogs – subscribe to key blogs and websites

Mailing lists – subscribe to HEA, JISC and other mailing lists

Staff email – receive email from any other staff with recommendations for items to share

Monitoring of this information is distributed among members of a small group, who each take

responsibility for certain information streams, thus keeping the workload reasonable. The monitor group

is comprised of staff from three offices:

Academic Office


CDSAP

E-learning Support / E-services and Communications Group

Any members of the monitor group can identify items of particular interest to the University and forward

them to the mailing list. Posts should include a common signature that provides an email address for staff

to use if they want to suggest an item for the list.

Anyone can subscribe to the mailing list, including teaching staff and senior management. Anyone can

contact the monitor group to recommend an item, but only the monitoring group can post to the list.

Contact and subscription information will be included in the email messages sent to the list and also

located on Nexus.

Members of the monitor group can also choose to disseminate items further by including them in Nexus,

posting links to the E-learning Support Delicious account, and emailing the ALTO Steering Group or

specific individuals. It is expected that E-learning Support will do most of this, as it falls within their

existing remit, but there is also scope for others in the monitoring group to do so. The monitoring group

may also forward items to specific individuals as needed.

The risks of this model are associated with too much information coming in (the staff effort required to

filter information may become unsustainable), and too much information going out (there may be so

many messages that senior management cannot feasibly read them). A light, yet targeted, touch is

required. As long as the information flow is kept to a suitable level, the process should be sustainable.

NEXT STEPS

Additional steps required in order to implement the model are:

Identify additional streams of information:

o Which websites should be checked periodically?

o Which Twitter accounts should be followed?

o Which blogs should be subscribed to?

o Which mailing lists should be subscribed to?

Among the Academic Office, CDSAP and E-learning Support, identify who should be responsible

for monitoring which sources of information.

Enlarge the HEA mailing list as appropriate with additional members.

Identify a rubric for deciding when to send items to individual staff members and to the ALTO

Steering Group.

Identify a rubric for deciding when to post items to Nexus and/or Delicious.


WP 1.1 AND 1.2: INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS AND LITERATURE REVIEW JISC Building Capacity, Aberystwyth University

We identified six institutional priorities, which then formed the structure of our literature search. The resources identified here, together with the

comments, have been merged with the Resources section of the Nexus website (http://nexus.aber.ac.uk/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Resources). This allows us to

add to the results as new materials become available, and makes our findings easier for the public to find.

DISTANCE LEARNING

This priority focuses on the intersection of several components – distance learning, e-learning, and blended learning. In particular, the emphasis is on

interaction and building a space for students to engage actively in the learning process. In north and mid-Wales, spatial exclusion is a particular challenge.

Regionalisation and the increased emphasis for Wales on international recruitment means it is likely that we will expand our provision in distance learning,

and so would like to plan to do it effectively and efficiently. We want to deliver effective learning in a cost-efficient manner. Swedish free schools offer one

model for building communities through combined e-learning and distance learning.

It would be useful to find models for operating distance learning in an interactive way, perhaps blending it with some face-to-face components.

DISTANCE LEARNING

Title URL Date Comments

A Student Feedback Tool That Links CMS Use With Good Grades

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AStudentFeedbackToolThatLinksC/163663 http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wired-Way-to-Rate-Profess/1439/

2009 Educause case study with evidence to show Bb use correlates with good grades, there is a reporting tool that lets students see how their use of Bb compares with class average.

Carpe Diem - U Of Leicester

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/carpe-diem-folder

no date Gilly Salmon’s ‘e-tivities’ form part of this model, based on a 2-day training session

http://nexus.aber.ac.uk/xwiki/bin/view/Main/Resources

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AStudentFeedbackToolThatLinksC/163663


http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wired-Way-to-Rate-Profess/1439/

http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wired-Way-to-Rate-Profess/1439/




DISTANCE LEARNING


Communicating Learning: Evaluating The Learning Experience Of Distance Learning Students

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/events/annualconference/2008/Ann-conf_2008_Rachel_Kirk

2008 HEA conference paper - useful case study of a technology-enriched DL programme, good bibliography

Delivering University Curricula: Knowledge, Learning And Innovation Gains , U Of Leicester

http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-alliance/projects/duckling

ongoing Beyond Distance Research Alliance - see how this project develops

Digital Technologies And Their Role In Achieving Our Ambitions For Education

http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/628/1/Laurillard2008Digital_technologies.pdf

2008 ALT occasional publication, Diana Laurillard identifies fundamental issues in educational system, applies to distance and face-to-face learning

Embedding Technology Enhancing Learning

http://www.ed.napier.ac.uk/staffconference/jan2010/abstracts.htm

2010 Jan

Case study conference papers at Edinburgh Napier, see examples for feedback and Elluminate (for international DL)

Flexible Learning Pathfinder Report

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/alldisplay?type=resources&newid=ourwork/flexiblelearning/flexble_learning_pathfinder_review&site=york

2009 Useful summary of several Pathfinder projects covering key issues of market research and recruitment

Guidance On Distributed Learning Environments

http://jiscinfonet.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2010/05/07/guidance-on-distributed-learning-environments/

2010 May

Five models for creating online learning environments, which can be used for distance learning

HEA Evidence-Based Practice Seminars

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/events/seminar_series_2010_dates_and_host_institutions

2010 Good archives of past seminars, the Employability and Employee Learning seminar is useful for distance learning

HEFCE Online Learning Task Force

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/enhance/taskforce/ http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/enhance/taskforce/OLTFdiscussion_paper.pdf http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/hefcetaskforce.aspx

2010 March and ongoing

Online Learning Taskforce report on DL online learning in the UK, very useful tips for current economic climate more detailed report should come out soon. Oxford is the lead institution, although funded by HEFCE, the results should be useful for Wales
















http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/enhance/taskforce/

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/enhance/taskforce/OLTFdiscussion_paper.pdf

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/enhance/taskforce/OLTFdiscussion_paper.pdf

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/hefcetaskforce.aspx


DISTANCE LEARNING


Higher Education Lifelong Learning Opportunities - Leicester College

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/workforcedev/hello.aspx [this page was not available as of 9/8/10, see project link below] http://hello.lec.ac.uk/

ongoing This project combines distance and online learning communities with employer engagement

International Students’ Experiences Of Online Participation In Learning Activities: An Annotated Bibliography

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/EvidenceNet/International_students_experience.pdf http://elesig.ning.com/

2010 ELESIG (Evaluation of Learners' Experiences of e-learning Special Interest Group), annotated bibliography specifically targeting international students, very useful

Phoebe Pedagogic Planner

http://phoebe-project.conted.ox.ac.uk/ 2009 Lesson-level planning tool useful for distance learning, although the current version is just for proof-of-concept, it is fully functional

Quality Enhancement For E-Learning Courses: The Role Of Student Feedback

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3467 http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/957/

2010 Good advice on DL and getting feedback from students

Re.ViCa – Reviewing (traces of) European Virtual Campuses

http://revica.europace.org/ 2009 Major European study of virtual campuses, identifying parameters of success

Study On The Effective Use Of Social Software By UK FE & HE To Support Student Learning & Engagement

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/effectivesocialsoftwarefinalreport.aspx

2009 Study by the Open University with many case studies (mostly but not entirely from the OU)

Teaching International Students - Informing Teaching And Learning For International And Internationalised Students

http://search3.openobjects.com/kb5/hea/evidencenet/resource.page?record=UbEXzgK9qSA

2010 June

HEA national conference paper - overview of the teaching international students project, excellent insight

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/workforcedev/hello.aspx


http://hello.lec.ac.uk/

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/EvidenceNet/International_students_experience.pdf

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/EvidenceNet/International_students_experience.pdf

http://elesig.ning.com/

http://phoebe-project.conted.ox.ac.uk/

http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloud/view/3467

http://eprints.ioe.ac.uk/957/

http://revica.europace.org/






DISTANCE LEARNING


Teaching International Students / Transnational And Multimodal Teaching

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/internationalisation/internationalstudents http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/internationalisation/alldisplay?type=resources&newid=ourwork/internationalisation/ISL_Transnational_Teaching&site=york

ongoing Extensive project about extending into the international market

The Impact Of VLEs On The Roles Of Tutor And Students

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/effective-use-of-VLEs/intro-to-VLEs/introtovle-approaches/introtovle-impact-of-roles

no date This is just one page in the JISC Infokit about VLEs, please see the entire package for useful advice

Theory And Practice Of Online Learning

http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/index.html 2004 Free e-book by Terry Anderson, Athabasca University, highly recommended

Video Clips Of International Student Focus Group

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/audioandvideo/internationalisation

2010 May

De Montfort University video interviews with international students, very relevant, especially the clips about plagiarism

Xerte Learning Object Development Tool

http://www.techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=3_28 2008 JISC TechDIS learning object creation tool, could be useful for DL

E-ASSESSMENT

The priority for e-assessment focuses on the policy implications for the intersection among e-assessment, e-submission, and feedback.

It would be useful to find studies in which useful approaches to feedback and consequent policy approaches are examined.

E-ASSESSMENT


A Student Feedback Tool That Links CMS Use With Good Grades

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/AStudentFeedbackToolThatLinksC/163663 http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wired-Way-to-Rate-Profess/1439

2009 Educause case study with evidence to show Bb use correlates with good grades, there is a reporting tool that lets students see how their use of Bb compares with the class average.

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/internationalisation/internationalstudents

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/internationalisation/internationalstudents

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/teachingandlearning/internationalisation/alldisplay?type=resources&newid=ourwork/internationalisation/ISL_Transnational_Teaching&site=york





http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/index.html



http://www.techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=3_28



http://chronicle.com/article/A-Wired-Way-to-Rate-Profess/1439


E-ASSESSMENT


Case Study Academic Writing

http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Cases/Academicwriting http://feasst.wordpress.com/outputs/

2009 Case study from PLANET on teacher training and formative e-assessment, academic skills

Coventry Online Writing Lab

http://cuba.coventry.ac.uk/cowl/project-documents/ http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/cowl.aspx

ongoing Report in October 2010, innovative approach to providing writing training to students online, complements writing centre activities, including writing across the disciplines

Deterring, Detecting And Dealing With Student Plagiarism

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/briefingpapers/2005/pub_plagiarism.aspx

2005 Although this briefing paper was written in 2005, the advice still holds

Effective Practice with e-Assessment

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2007/pub_eassesspracticeguide.aspx

2007 A new version entitled ‘Effective Assessment In A Digital Age’ is expected Sept 2010

Effective Practice In A Digital Age

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/effectivepracticedigitalage.aspx

2009 June

A publication about technology-enhanced learning generally, it includes information on e-assessment, especially the Leeds Metropolitan University case study

Effective Practice With E-Portfolios

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios/effectivepracticeeportfolios http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/e-portfolios

2008 JISC Infokit and case studies of use of e-portfolios for reflective practice, broadly defined including their use as e-assessment

Electronic Feedback Wiki http://electronicfeedback.pbworks.com/ http://www.educause.edu/Resources/ElectronicCommentingonStudentP/194837

2009 / 2010

Good checklist on the Wiki for giving electronic feedback, the associated presentation at Educause is from 2010

Exploring E-Assessment: A Practitioner’s Perspective

http://www.elearning.ac.uk/features/eassessment/view?searchterm=Exploring%20e-Assessment:%20A%20practitioner's%20perspective

2008 JISC CETIS Assessment Special Interest Group, overview of e-assessment

Exploring Tangible Benefits Of E-Learning

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/publications/publications/info/tangible-benefits-publication

2008 JISC Infonet, an extensive review of the sector with 37 downloadable case studies

HEA Evidence-Based Practice Seminars


2010 Good archives of past seminars, there is one on e-assessment

http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Cases/Academicwriting

http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Cases/Academicwriting

http://feasst.wordpress.com/outputs/

http://cuba.coventry.ac.uk/cowl/project-documents/

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/cowl.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/cowl.aspx







http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios/effectivepracticeeportfolios

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios/effectivepracticeeportfolios

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/e-portfolios

http://electronicfeedback.pbworks.com/

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/ElectronicCommentingonStudentP/194837

http://www.educause.edu/Resources/ElectronicCommentingonStudentP/194837









E-ASSESSMENT


Higher Education In A Web 2.0 World

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/generalpublications/2009/heweb2.aspx

2009 This important document focuses on the impact of Web 2.0 on higher education generally, and addresses issues of new forms of assessment

Learner Experiences Of E-Learning Phase 1 & 2 In Their Own Words Responding To Learners Pack

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learneroutcomes http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learnerexperience.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/intheirownwords.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/respondingtolearners.aspx

2007 / 2009

Key documents on learner experience, Responding to Learners Pack dates to 2010, addresses self-assessment and reflection

Legal Aspects Of The Use Of Technology In Assessment

http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/tabid/243/ID/1118/Legal-Aspects-of-the-Use-of-Technology-in-Assessment--04092009.aspx

2009 JISC legal advice on using e-assessment

Making Assessment Count http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/makingassessmentcount.aspx

ongoing Ereflect - a tech tool for getting students to respond electronically to feedback on their work, this approach is gaining favour in the sector

Making The Grade: The Role Of Assessment In Authentic Learning

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3019.pdf 2008 Jan

Comprehensive document of guidance on assessment for learning by Educause, written by Diana Oblinger, President and CEO of Educause

Osney Grange Group Calls For Change In Assessment And Feedback

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408668 http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske/OGG.html

2009 Oct

Times Higher Education article and web page of Osney Grange Group calling for change in feedback practice. Read the comments to the article for in-depth views from the sector

Plagiarism Dot Org http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video-resources http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video/judecarol.swf http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_educational_tips_on_plagiarism_prevention.html

ongoing Advice on avoiding plagiarism. See video Plagiarism: an overview by Jude Carroll, one of the leading researchers in this field



http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learneroutcomes


http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learnerexperience.aspx


http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/intheirownwords.aspx


http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/respondingtolearners.aspx





http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/makingassessmentcount.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery/makingassessmentcount.aspx

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3019.pdf

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408668

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=408668

http://www.brookes.ac.uk/aske/OGG.html

http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video-resources

http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video/judecarol.swf

http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_educational_tips_on_plagiarism_prevention.html



E-ASSESSMENT


QAA Scotland Enhancing Practice, Integrative Assessment Outcomes, Four Recent Papers On Assessment

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/themes/IntegrativeAssessment/outcomes.asp http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/publications/Default.asp

2007, 2010

QAA four leaflets, especially good is Balancing Assessment of and assessment for learning, very good on feedback, includes process writing as a way to prevent plagiarism, concise and detailed

Scoping A Vision For Formative E-Assessment

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/feasstfinalreport.aspx http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/

2009 Lengthy report with case studies in association with the Pattern Language Network project (PLANET), Diana Laurillard contributed (see Case Study Academic Writing above for an example from PLANET)

Transforming Assessment http://www.transformingassessment.com/index.php http://www.youtube.com/user/transformassessment

ongoing Australian series of free webinars on assessment, see the downloadable video clips from the archives, good example of Wimba webinar

Transforming Curriculum Delivery Through Technology

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/curriculumdelivery.aspx

ongoing Set of JISC projects with reporting date in Oct 2010, about half of them focus on new approaches to assessment and feedback

FE COLLABORATION WITH HE

In response to changing conditions for HE in Wales, we would like to look at models for collaboration between HE and FE, possibly in the form of an online

portal. Such a portal may be shared by multiple institutions including both HE and FE. Warwick may be such an example of a learning environment that is

open to FE.

It would be useful to find examples of HE/FE collaboration and sharing of physical/virtual spaces.

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/themes/IntegrativeAssessment/outcomes.asp

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/themes/IntegrativeAssessment/outcomes.asp

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/publications/Default.asp

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/feasstfinalreport.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/reports/2009/feasstfinalreport.aspx

http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/

http://patternlanguagenetwork.myxwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main/

http://www.transformingassessment.com/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/user/transformassessment




FE COLLABORATION WITH

HE


Study on the Effective Use of Social Software by UK FE & HE to Support Student Learning & Engagement


2009 study by OU with many case studies, including some that are not from the OU ones

HE in FE directory http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/heinfe/directory

ongoing HEA directory of bodies relating to HE in FE

LEARNING SPACES/STYLES/ENVIRONMENTS

This priority looks at the intersection between learning styles, online learning environments and physical learning spaces. These considerations can be

considered in academic planning. Effective learning requires interaction, so there is a need for both online and face-to-face interactive spaces. This can take

the form of discussion, social networking, or other modes.

It would be useful to find studies that map online and physical learning environment design with learning styles.

LEARNING SPACES /

STYLES / ENVIRONMENTS


21st-Century Campus Report: Campus 2.0

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/What-Belongs-in-a-21st-

Century/25642/ http://newsroom.cdwg.com/features/feature-

07-19-10.html

2010 July

Just-released US Govt commissioned report noted in Chronicle of Higher Ed about student expectations for tech use in universities, it addresses classroom technology, interesting to compare with the UK environment

Cascade - Oxford http://cascade.conted.ox.ac.uk/ ongoing Information about VLEs etc – the project has not been completed yet, should be useful to watch



http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/heinfe/directory

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/heinfe/directory

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/What-Belongs-in-a-21st-Century/25642/

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/What-Belongs-in-a-21st-Century/25642/

http://newsroom.cdwg.com/features/feature-07-19-10.html

http://newsroom.cdwg.com/features/feature-07-19-10.html

http://cascade.conted.ox.ac.uk/


LEARNING SPACES /



Designing Spaces For Effective Learning Publication

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eli_learningspaces.html 2007 JISC publication with a range of case studies.

Higher Education In A Web 2.0 World


2009 This comprehensive report includes case studies and issues relating to learning spaces.

Higher Education Lifelong Learning Opportunities - Leicester College

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/workforcedev/hello.aspx http://hello.lec.ac.uk/

ongoing This case study examines ways to move the learning space online and build community, including engagement with employers in relation to vocational learning

Large Classroom Design http://www.crlt.umich.edu/learningspaceguidelines/largeclassroom.php

2010 Clear, concise advice - Large classrooms are defined as accommodating 25-100 students for lecture, collaborative learning and/or the integration of multimedia technology into class lessons.

Learning Landscapes In HE - Case Studies

http://learninglandscapes.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/case-studies/

http://learninglandscapes.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/

2009,

final

report

2010

The final report makes a strong case for

including academics in the planning stages - 'A

central issue for Learning Landscapes in Higher

Education is the extent to which the academic

voice is engaged in the design of progressive

teaching and learning spaces.'

Making The Most Of Your Physical Learning Space

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/events/2009/03/physicallearningspaces-tintopm.pdf

2009 JISC conference handout that includes several case studies, takes into consideration the current situation for HE in the UK, highly recommended

Managing Curriculum Change

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/managingcurriculumchange.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/curriculumdesign/designbaselinereport09.doc

2009 How to implement institutional change, provides a clear and simple model, see the Word document for more details. This can be applied to learning spaces and other aspects of curriculum planning.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/eli_learningspaces.html





http://hello.lec.ac.uk/

http://www.crlt.umich.edu/learningspaceguidelines/largeclassroom.php

http://www.crlt.umich.edu/learningspaceguidelines/largeclassroom.php

http://learninglandscapes.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/case-studies/

http://learninglandscapes.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/



http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/managingcurriculumchange.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/managingcurriculumchange.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/curriculumdesign/designbaselinereport09.doc

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/curriculumdesign/designbaselinereport09.doc


LEARNING SPACES /



MIT TEAL Technology-Enabled Active Learning

http://icampus.mit.edu/teal/content/?whatisteal An example of a SCALE-UP classroom in use (see SCALE-UP below), explains the principles of active learning for large group teaching, recommended

Online Learning Task Force: A Study Of Current UK Online Learning / Oxford TALL team

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/hefcetaskforce.aspx http://www.tall.ox.ac.uk/

2010 June

The Oxford TALL team (technology-assisted lifelong learning) is leading this project. Funded by HEFCE, the purpose is ‘to help the UK higher education sector maintain and extend its position as a world leader in online learning...to undertake a study of online and distance learning provided by, and on behalf of, UK institutions in the higher education sector.’

Planning And Designing Technology Rich Learning Spaces Applied Infokit

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learning-space-design 2006 spring

Although this dates back to 2006, the information is still relevant. It is the most comprehensive guide available.

Responding To Learners http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/respondingtolearners.aspx

2009 Packet of material pulling together learner voices, with postcard notes. Valuable insight into the learner experience from many angles, including learning spaces and environments.

SCALE-UP Model For Large-Group Interactive Teaching

http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html Examples can be found at http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/SCALEUP/Classrooms.html

ongoing The primary goal of the Student-Centred Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project is to establish a highly collaborative, hands-on, computer-rich, interactive learning environment for large-enrolment courses. Recommended.

Technology-Rich Physical Space Design: An Overview Of JISC Activities

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/briefingpapers/2008/bpelearnspacesv1.aspx

2008 Jan

Good case studies, this is the most current information available, watch for updates in the future

http://icampus.mit.edu/teal/content/?whatisteal

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/hefcetaskforce.aspx

http://www.tall.ox.ac.uk/

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learning-space-design



http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html

http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/SCALEUP/Classrooms.html




LEARNING SPACES /



The Design And Management Of Open Plan Technology Rich Learning And Teaching Spaces In Further And Higher Education In The UK

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/themes/elearning/approved_learning_spaces_case_studies_vers1b.doc

2005 The case studies are somewhat old but still useful

The Edgeless University http://www.guardian.co.uk/edgeless-university/1 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/2010/03/egelessuniversity.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/publications/research/2009/edgelessuniversity.aspx

Jun 2009 / April 2010

Report was written in 2009, colloquium sponsored by the Guardian held in March 2010, useful and current. It identifies two current issues ‘the need to give more people the opportunity to access lifelong learning regardless of background, and the positioning of the UK as a global centre of innovation in the knowledge economy’. Recommended.

The Impact Of VLEs On The Roles Of Tutor And Students


no date This is one page from the JISC Infokit about VLEs, please see the entire kit

TIMETABLING

There is a need to revise the timetabling system for teaching spaces to make it more flexible. This can enable the university to accommodate more diverse

learning styles, maximize use of learning spaces, and allow for a more varied range of available spaces. Although this is a very specific priority, providing

more flexible timetabling will have a significant impact on the effective use of learning spaces.

It would be useful to find models of flexible classroom timetabling at other institutions.



http://www.guardian.co.uk/edgeless-university/1

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/2010/03/egelessuniversity.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/publications/research/2009/edgelessuniversity.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/publications/research/2009/edgelessuniversity.aspx





TIMETABLING


SCALE-UP Model For Large-Group Interactive Teaching

http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html examples found at http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/SCALEUP/Classrooms.html

ongoing The primary goal of the Student-Centered Active Learning Environment for Undergraduate Programs (SCALE-UP) Project is to establish a highly collaborative, hands-on, computer-rich, interactive learning environment for large-enrolment courses. The implications for timetabling include flexible scheduling of learning space usage

Solving The Problem Of School Timetabling

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100106093631.htm

2010 Jan Article on methods used for flexible timetabling in Brazilian high schools, may have application to HE

The Design And Management Of Open Plan Technology Rich Learning And Teaching Spaces In Further And Higher Education In The UK


2005 Case studies date from 2005 but have interesting timetabling information

Timetabling And Resource Scheduling

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/briefingpapers/2009/bptimetablingv1.aspx

2009 March

Briefing paper – very useful

Timetabling And Resource Scheduling - Event

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/events/2009/11/timetabling.aspx

2009 Nov Event - launch of the Academic Registrars Council (ARC) Timetabling Practitioner Group and promotion of the Association of University Administrators (AUA) Space Management Special Interest Group (SIG).

Timetabling And Resource Scheduling Workshop-Birmingham

http://blogs.cetis.ac.uk/kamala/2010/04/28/timetabling-and-resource-scheduling-workshop-birmingham/

2010 April Blog entry - JISC Timetabling and resource scheduling workshop Academic Registrars Council (ARC) timetabling practitioner Group and the Association of university Administrators (AUA) Space Management Special Interest Group (SIG) were launched. The main role of ARC practitioner group is to conduct periodic meetings, discuss the sector wide issues with respect to timetabling, analyse system and processes, exchange information through the mailing list ([email protected]).

http://www.ncsu.edu/PER/scaleup.html
















WIDENING PARTICIPATION

Widening participation will be increasingly significant due to demographic transitions, bringing with it academic challenges. In addition to the dimensions of

widening participation already covered above, digital literacy and information skills require consideration. Students need these skills in order to succeed in

academia, but students from backgrounds that do not expose them to higher education may have a particularly difficult time in this area. International

students often have comparable needs, as the academic environment in their home countries may not prepare them for the requirements of higher

education in the UK. Therefore, this classification in the spreadsheet will be used to identify items relevant to widening participation that are not already

covered in the other priorities.

It would be useful to find examples addressing ways to support digital and information literacies in the context of widening participation.



Developing Writing Skill In The First Year: An American Model.

http://www.enhancementthemes.ac.uk/newsletter/June2010/News.asp#item6

2010 See the article by Victoria Amador about instituting a regular academic module on writing and composition into the curriculum, this model could be useful for AU

Embedding Technology Enhancing Learning


2010 Jan Case studies presented in conference papers at Edinburgh Napier University, see examples for uses of feedback and Elluminate web conferencing for international DL students

Exploring Tangible Benefits Of E-Learning


2008 JISC Infonet, with downloadable case studies

Learner Experiences Of E-Learning Phase 1 & 2 In Their Own Words Responding To Learners Pack

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learneroutcomes http://www.jisc.ac.uk/en/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/learnerexperience.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearningpedagogy/intheirownwords.aspx http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/programmerelated/2009/respondingtolearners.aspx

2007 / 2009

Key documents on learner experience, Responding to Learners Pack dates to 2010, addresses information skills and digital literacy for widening participation

Plagiarism - RSC West Midlands

http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Plagiarism

2008, rev 2010

Wiki page on plagiarism




















Plagiarism Advice Dot Org http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video-resources http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video/judecarol.swf

ongoing See video Plagiarism: an overview by Jude Carroll, one of the leading researchers in this field

Plagiarism Dot Org http://www.plagiarism.org/plag_article_educational_tips_on_plagiarism_prevention.html

ongoing Advice on avoiding plagiarism, this organisation was involved in development of the TurnItIn Plagiarism detection tool

The Edgeless University http://www.guardian.co.uk/edgeless-university/1 Jun 2009 / April 2010

Report was written in 2009; the associated colloquium was sponsored by the Guardian March 2010

Thriving In The 21st Century: Learning Literacies For The Digital Age (LLiDA Project):

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/llida/outputs.html http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/elearningllida.aspx

2009 June Information skills and digital literacy, very good.

http://www.plagiarismadvice.org/video-resources





http://www.guardian.co.uk/edgeless-university/1

http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/llida/outputs.html

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/elearningllida.aspx

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/projects/elearningllida.aspx

aberystwyth universitynexus.aber.ac.uk/xwiki/bin/download/main/outputs/aubuilding... · project...

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