Responding to learners: The LEaD project

1. Responding to learners:The LEaD project Judy Hardy University of Edinburgh j.hardy@ed.ac.uk

2. The context & overview to the LEaD project Findings and implications Students’ voices Responding to changing student needs:Some messages Institutional responses at Edinburgh Presentation overview JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

3. Teaching Feedback Application Researching Assessment Enrolment Arrival Learning Graduation Administration Socialising Networking The context: Student lifecycle JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

4. UK Overseas Visiting Graduate Divinity Semester 1 • Survey • Experiences & expectations Year 1 • Diaries • First impressions • Assessment & feedback • Preparation for exams Semester 2 • Diaries • Looking back, looking forward • Exams revisited • Advice for next year’s students • Survey • Changing skills & competences Learner Experiences across the Disciplines (LEaD) Female Male School Work Vets Physics JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

5. Vast majority (94%) have PC (>90% laptop) Mainly confident or looking forward to using technology at university Expectations high but limited by lack of experience and knowledge No clear vision of technology-rich education Views quite conservative and traditional Don’t have high expectations for innovative uses of technology …Still a small minority who Are not confident with technology, or Have no access to the internet, or Do not recognise the value of technology for studying Experiences and expectations: Findings JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

6. Don’t assume too much about technology-immersed young adults May use very limited features of devices and gadgets May not recognise the potential of technologies for learning Potential to engage with students at an early stage:window of opportunity to smooth transition before arrival Could become more important as the student population becomes more heterogeneous Experiences and expectations: Implications JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

7. Technologies used by teaching staff become the norm Limited vision of what the future of technology holds for education Would like more consistency across courses Recognition that some staff do not use technology Strong desire for face-to-face contact Technology to supplement and enhance this “Tried and tested” methods valued Find comfort zone and personal ways of working Some students are more digital than others Aim for balance between different activities/approaches to learning Technology used where it offers added value Institutional use of technology: Findings JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

8. Make systems and services robust, accessible and visible Provide clear explanations about technologies that students are expected to use What and why Base the use of technology on needs Driven by pedagogy not technology or product Give students control over their use of technology How, where and when Institutional use of technology: Implications JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

9. Personal use of technology: Findings • Technology is embedded seamlessly into people’s lives • Skills don’t belong to a particular generation • Students learn from each other where they perceive a need • Social learning and support in informal groups • Often facilitated by technology JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

10. Technology is becoming mainstream Blurring of the distinction between technology for education, administration, research and personal use Nothing special anymore about e-learning Just learning with strands of technology running through Personal use of technology: Implications JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

11. Students’ voices JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

12. It is almost certain that technology will be widely used for both your academic studies and for administrative tasks at university. It is well worth spending some time preparing before you arrive, especially if you do not have much experience of using technology for your studies at school or at work. Once you get to university you will find that there are many sources of help, but you will have to be pro-active in searching them out. University is about self-reliance and it will be up to you to ensure you have acquired the skills you need to support yourself. Messages for new students JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

13. Despite the fact that technology is often integrated transparently into students’ personal lives, new students may have limited experience of the ways that technology is used to support learning and teaching or for academic research. Students also value direct contact with academic staff, so it is important to explain how and why technology is used within the context of academic study, and what benefits it provides to students. Messages for teaching staff JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

14. Students often need to be pro-active in seeking help and advice from support services, rather than it being delivered to them in timetabled class time. New students in particular are likely to suffer from ‘information overload’ and may not know where to turn for help. It is especially important to provide clear signposts to sources of assistance, and for online information to be presented in a clear and coherent way. Messages for support staff JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

15. Senior management must be aware of the range of issues facing new students, especially with the increasing move towards part-time and full-time adult return to higher education, the emphasis on the importance of lifelong learning and the increase in numbers of International students. They should ensure that the deployment and use of technologies are to a consistent standard across the university, and that this provision takes into account the needs of the student body. Messages for senior management JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

16. Checklists: examples Is the use of technology driven by pedagogy ? Do you provide resources in different formats? Teaching staff Do you know how to use online journals, e-books, & databases? Do you know how to maintain your laptop? New students Is online help presented in a coherent way? Is it clearly signposted? Do you provide access to online resources before arrival? Support staff Do you provide help for the effective use of technology for teaching and learning? Is there a “netiquette” policy for both students and staff? Senior management JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

17. E-learning technologists Academic staff IT support staff Students Teaching assistants Senior management Admin staff Library staff Institutional response to changing student needs:Who responds? JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

18. The University of Edinburgh e-Learning Strategy“The University of Edinburgh actively supports the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in learning and teaching at all levels; undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing professional development. The University considers that appropriate use of such technologies can enhance the quality of the student learning experience, promote greater and wider access to the university’s courses, and improve the effectiveness of teaching. It is particularly relevant to supporting learning in a research-rich environment at this time, when use of ICT in research is also increasing rapidly.” Institutional response at Edinburgh: I JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

19. The College of Science & Engineering Learning and Teaching Strategy“Our learning environment, and the requirements and expectations that we communicate to students, will be designed to ensure that they are given, and feel, a genuine responsibility for their own learning, seeing rewards and benefits from effectively managing their activities, and negative consequences from failing to do so.Collaborative learning of an informal nature will be encouraged and study-support measures will be designed with that in mind. Where possible, our degree programmes will contain significant elements of formal collaborative learning, supported by academic staff and by flexible computer-based interactions.Wherever possible, learning opportunities will respond to the variety of students’ circumstances, experiences and aptitudes.” Institutional response at Edinburgh: II JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

20. Teaching studios New learning spaces for teaching Promoting collaborative work using cutting edge technology. Institutional response at Edinburgh: III JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

21. Principal’s eLearning Fund (2003 - 07) Principal’s Teaching Award Scheme (2007 - )“The scheme is intended to encourage and support activities that will make a significant contribution to the enhancement of learning and teaching at the University of Edinburgh at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level.” Institutional response at Edinburgh: IV JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

22. The eLearning Professionals’ & Practitioners’ Forum ~60 members from across the University Sharing good practice Representation on top-level eLearning Committee “The eLPP seeks to represent and support those members of staff who would consider themselves to be either professional eLearning/Learning Technology practitioners, or those who make use of technology within their own teaching practice and would like to engage in a more substantive way with others undertaking similar activities across the colleges, or those who are enthusiastic about the potential benefits of eLearning and would benefit from closer contact with experienced professionals and practitioners. “ Institutional response at Edinburgh: V JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting

23. Judy Hardy, Project Manager Denise Haywood, Project Officer Across the Disciplines Jessie Paterson, eLearning Advisor, School of Divinity SimonBates, Director of Teaching, School of Physics & Astronomy SusanRhind, Director of Teaching, School of Veterinary Medicine Central Services JeffHaywood, Vice Principal, Knowledge Management HamishMacleod, Centre for Teaching, Learning & Assessment www.epcc.ed.ac.uk/projects/lead LEaD project team JISC Learning & Teaching Practice Experts Group Meeting