SFC e-Learning Transformation Projects

1. SFC e-Learning Transformation Projects ALT Away Day June 2006 Joint Information Systems Committee Lou McGill

2. SFEFC/SHEFC joint e-learning report 2003 • It’s about learning, not technology • Economies of scale require collaborative solutions • Strategic change requires re-engineering of institutional processes • Incremental and transformational change

3. Nature of Transformation Transformational change will require a conscious and deliberate decision made by (one or more) institutions to do something differently, in a systematic way, across the whole institution, on a defined timescale of two or more years.

4. Key Principles • The process of change will mean that certain aspects of learning and teaching are conducted in a new way • The process of change is consistent with, and embedded in, institutional strategies, and is not a peripheral process driven solely by the possibility of external funding • The intended outcome is sustainable, and is expected to result in long-term change in activities beyond the period of external funding • The process will yield measurable benefits to the institution and its learners

5. External influences • Pew Learning and Technology Program of the National Center for Academic Transformation2 (NCAT) • http://www.thencat.org/ • JISC funded Citscapes Project – ICT literacy in FE and HE • http://www.citscapes.ac.uk/ • Becta matrix - online self-evaluation and action planning tool • http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/corporate.cfm?section=8&id=3109 • Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT90s model • Scott Morton, M S (1991) The Corporation of the 1990s: Information technology and Organizational transformation. Oxford University Press, New York

6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT90s model Transformation of practice through e-learning. . High Re-engineering core practice Revolutionary Phase Embedding in core practice Change in learning and teaching practice Transitional Phase Impact on core practice Co-ordinated Evolutionary Phase Localised Individualised Low High Low Potential Benefits to learners

7. Transformational Projects • £6M investment 2005-07 • Six large-scale collaborative projects • Equal funding for FE and HE • Diverse approaches to aspects of e-learning • All focus on sustainable solutions • Co-ordinated by JISC • Externally evaluated by Glenaffric Ltd.

8. Programme evaluation • Assess the extent to which the projects met their aims and objectives and implemented new models of delivery in FE and HE institutions • Provide constructive feedback to the Council’s executive and to project teams on the progress of the projects • Assess the extent to which the programme as a whole (including the arrangements for monitoring and co-ordination) met its objectives • Inform future Council policy on e-learning

9. Transformational activity • The SFC Circulars inviting bids for the Programme identified three broad areas of transformational activity

10. Projects: partners, aims, early outcomes and developments

11. BlendEd BlendEd – Collaborative Transformation of Course Delivery Reid Kerr College, Cardonald College, Coatbridge College, Colleges Open Learning Exchange Group (COLEG), Dundee College, Glasgow College of Nautical Studies, JISC RSC, Scotland (South and West), Langside College Aims to introduce a pedagogically sound blended delivery model within HNC Social Care and HND Business. The emphasis will be on producing a practical working model which clearly demonstrates the benefits for institutions and their students • www.Blend-Ed.ac.uk

12. BlendEd Early developments • the BlendEd Cookbook Programme for staff development • a content packaging methodology • a metadata generator • a robust quality assurance (QA) process. Strengths • significantly high level of ‘buy-in’ from partner institutions at all levels • the efforts of the team to clarify roles, • robust and clear communication methods • high quality staff development activities and support documentation • well developed project management structure and support mechanisms • developing enthusiasm of staff as they realise the potential benefits of changing practice and acknowledge the value of the new topic based approach. The emerging strong central roles of the Blended Learning Technologists (BLTs) also identify a different model of support within the sector. Issues • Early on highlighted challenges in relation to depositing content in JORUM

13. CELLS CeLLS – Collaborative e-Learning in the Life Sciences Dundee University, Napier University, Falkirk College/Scottish Biotechnology Consortium, Interactive University, Scottish Qualification Authority A cross-sector project which aims to design and develop a set of coherent and rational curricula for degree and Higher National programmes in Life Sciences and establish a major project in transformation to student based learning within the Life Sciences • www.cellsproject.org

14. CELLS Early developments • Adjustment of the project plan to reflect experiences and lessons learned during the early phase of the project • established a prototyping approach to content development and documented the changing perceptions of individual staff and partner colleagues. • developed a new ‘transformation’ strand in acknowledgment of the need for all partners to develop a common understanding and language. • a staff and student survey • strong evaluation and dissemination strategy • a glossary of terms Strengths • significant efforts made by the project team to engage and motivate staff from the partner institutions • significant collaboration planned with other SFC transformational projects and links to wider developments in the sector through the QAA and HE Academy Issues • A key challenge has been developing an understanding of different ways of working across colleges and universities

15. ECTP ECTP - eConstruction Moray College,Glasgow Metropolitan College, Aberdeen College, North Highland College, Inverness College, CITB-Construction Skills, Learndirect Scotland, Historic Scotland Aims to transform the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of the Scotland-wide of work-based/related qualifications and learning in the built environment sector in order to meet skills shortages and gaps and individual learning and turoting needs at general operative and craft levels in the fields of brickwork, joinery and carpentary, stonework, painting and decorating. • http://www.learndirectandbuild.com/Transformation/course5.htm

16. ECTP Early developments • ongoing research into the Scottish-wide construction education sector • extensive partnership building within and outside the education sector (including the public sector and employers) • the development of a learning management system and virtual construction site Strengths • the wide ranging nature of the partners and the fact that this project is part of a portfolio of wider projects present challenges but have also emerged as strengths • demonstrated by the increased levels of support, advice and dissemination opportunities available to the project team • a strong relationship has been established with the Scottish Qualifications Agency (SQA). • flexible team approach to problem solving • willingness to adapt and enhance their approaches to transformation and evaluation • the very strong core team have introduced practical methods to develop effective communication across geographically and culturally diverse partners. Issues • Complex partnership issues particularly including agencies outside the education sector and across a wide geographical area

17. ISLE ISLE – Individualised Support for Learning through ePorfolios Paisley University,University of Abertay, DundeeUniversity, Angus College, Ayr College, Bell College, Dumfries & Galloway College, Glenrothes College, Fife College of Further & Higher Education, James Watt College of Further & Higher Education, Motherwell College, Queen Margaret University College Aims to develop a sustainable model of effective FE/HE collaboration to move the concept of PDP forward to a new level through the integration of the various blended learning tools (e.g. VLEs, ePortfolios, and diagnostic assessment tools) and by developing an individualised, self-reflective learning environment for students. • http://isle.paisley.ac.uk

18. ISLE Early developments • an Integrative Pedagogical Framework • a developing matrix to evaluate ePortfolio tools • development of an ISLE resource set which has potential for the wider community Strengths • the team has made significant efforts to engage and motivate staff from the geographically dispersed and diverse partner institutions. • a Scottish ePortfolio Network has been developed and this is an important step towards developing a community of practice in this field as well as providing an excellent means of support and dissemination opportunities for the project. • a Sharepoint site provides a wealth of content and reveals some excellent project documentation. • extensive efforts to engage the stakeholders at institutional and practitioner levels. Away days and workshops have had a positive impact on the level of common understanding of the project boundaries and deliverables. These discussions led to a revision of the aims and objectives identified in the original project plan. Issues • Complex partnership issues across the FE/HE sectors and across a wide geographical area

19. REAP REAP - Re-engineering Assessment Practices in Scottish Higher Education University of Strathclyde,Glasgow Caledonian Business School, University of Glasgow Aims to pilot transformational change based on the implementation of technology-enhanced assessment practices in Higher Education. A range of technologies will be harnessed to support assessment reengineering in blended learning contexts (involving online and offline interactions). • www.reap.ac.uk

20. REAP Early developments • redesigning the curricula of many departments • several pilot implementations with students • a significant early output is the evaluation framework which is recognised by also being utilised for the HE Academy benchmarking exercise. Strengths • a particular strength of the REAP project is the early embedding of transformational change within Institutional strategies. • the project presents a coherent model of transformation working throughout the institutions at many levels, such as organisational structures, human resources and capacity building, management processes and technology. • the project team have been actively disseminating and communicating with the wider community at both Scottish and International levels. The involvement with the HE Academy and Scottish benchmarking activities are noted as are the links to the wider UK e-assessment and e-portfolio communities. Issues • recruitment challenges for HE development projects

21. TESEP TESEP – Transforming and Enhancing the Student Experience through Pedagogy Napier University,Edinburgh’s Telford College, Lauder College TESEP is cross-sector project which aims to create a sustainable transformation process for learning and teaching practice. The Project Partners plan to pool collective knowledge and experience to create situations where College and University staff can better understand e-pedagogy and work collaboratively to create innovative and high quality learning environments, programmes and learning experiences for students. This Project is about culture change and have adopted the strapline ‘Learners in Control’. • http://extranet.lauder.ac.uk/tesep

22. TESEP Early developments • TESEP model for learning and teaching • an institutional transformation index as a method of measuring levels of transformation • development of video diaries to record the changes in staff perception and development Strengths • in relation to communication and collaboration the team have made considerable effort to engage and motivate staff from the partner institutions and other stakeholders and a similar commitment to disseminate and communicate with the wider community at both Scottish and UK levels. • significant institutional commitment at both strategic and grass roots levels • Involving the stakeholders in the development of the models and indices is recognised as having been particularly productive • a significant level of engagement with the concept of transformation and the evaluation of this Issues • identified the need to engage and target middle managers as well as strategic managers, teachers and support staff

23. Cross project issues Partnership issues - cross-institutional, often cross-sector and sometimes geographically dispersed • Community • history of collaboration in the Scottish post-16 sector • Unusual level of cross-project communication and sharing at a very early stage • All projects are developing strong communities of practice within their partnerships but they are also widening these inside and outside the Scottish sector to create solid relationships. More importantly they are developing mechanisms to sustain these after the duration of the projects. • Diverse institutional cultures and states of readiness for transformation • 􀂃 Staff development and differing perceptions • 􀂃 Slow start-up periods due to the number and diversity of partners

24. Cross project issues Partnerships (cont.) • a growing engagement with the concept of transformation. Most projects underestimated the extent of work required to develop a common understanding across partners. • A submission has been made on behalf of all projects to the ALT-C 2006 which proposes a symposium on the issues of transformation. This will provide an opportunity for the projects to inform the wider community of different models and varied approaches to transformation.

25. Cross project issues • Staff recruitment and changes • Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Consortium agreements • Re-purposing content • JORUM repository • Historical restrictions on existing content • Guidelines for projects • Measuring transformation • baseline position prior to transformational change as appropriate to each project as a benchmark to help projects track progress. • Imaginative solutions to geographical dispersion • effective use of technologies to facilitate communication and sharing. • balancing these approaches with face to face communication and several have held ‘away days’ and workshops to allow partners to focus on project issues.

26. Long term challenges • How will we measure success? • Timescales for transformation • Can change be sustained? • Can the whole sector benefit?

27. Lou McGill • Programme manager • l.mcgill@jisc.ac.uk • http://www.jisc.ac.uk/elearning_sfc.html