e-Learning trends in HE

1
RSC Conference HE in FE e-Learning solutions
e-Learning trends in HE An overview of the Higher
Education Academy and its role in supporting HE
in FE Lawrence Hamburg Associate Director and
Head of e-Learning Higher Education Academy
2
Some questions to answer

• Where are we now with e-Learning in HE?
• What are we trying to achieve?
• Whats on the horizon
• Where we are moving to in terms of learning
• Personalised student learning
• The role of the Higher Education Academy
• What is the HE Academy doing to support HE in FE?

3
The state of e-learning in UK HE

• What is e-learning?
• Not a single entity
• A development of educational processes driven by
  possibilities enabled by new technology
• Perceived benefits, DfES, SHEFC, HEFCE e-learning
  strategies embedding, transformation

4
Where are we (1)?

• ICT as a communication tool is widely used by
  students and staff.
• Tools such as the WWW and email are becoming
  common practice.
• Numerous examples/case studies of staff using the
  WWW in their teaching to provide additional
  resources and support for their students.

5
Where are we (2)?

• Institutional Learning and Teaching strategies
  increasingly make references to their chosen VLE
  (Virtual learning Environment) and MLE (Managed
  learning Environment) as the institutional VLE
  becomes more embedded
• However, the use of ICT to deliver substantial
  proportions of course materials and to provide an
  integrated approach to student-teacher and
  student-student interactions is much less widely
  established.

6
Why isnt it happening?

• Management commitment and organisational
  structure a lack of understanding?
• Willingness and ability to invest (what are the
  actual benefits can we cost them?)
• Competing resources staff time and rewards
  (research vs- teaching in HE)
• Lack of skills in the emerging area of learning
  technology (those that can do, but what about the
  rest and whats the motivation)
• Lack of examples of appropriate models for using
  e-learning to improve campus-based learning
• Lack of affordable, reliable tools and technical
  infrastructure within universities and
• Uncertainty as to the pedagogic effectiveness of
  e-learning.

7
e-learning alternatives?

• Three broad approaches to e-learning
• At one end . . . wholly based e-learning
  primarily for students studying at a distance(?)
  UKeU (e-Universities) model web delivered
• At the other end . . supportive e-learning -
  conventional face-to-face campus based teaching
  supplemented with additional electronic resources
  web enabled
• An embedded approach - e-learning replaces some
  face-to-face teaching - this does not necessarily
  mean less staff/student contact, but requires
  reflection and consideration of the whole
  course/module design/delivery/assessment process
  web facilitated

8
What does the future hold?

• Next five years more of the same, i.e. fairly
  predictable
• 10 years time all bets are off we can guess,
  but think back (say) 15 years as to how HE
  teaching and learning has changed
• How do we plan for something we cant predict?
• Move towards personalised student learning
  removing institutional barriers to learning
• Boundaries between HE and FE eroding?

9
ePortfolios more than a P(VLE)?

• Personalised student learning P(VLE) and more
• Blackboard, WebCT etc tools
• Home grown open source tools
• Move away from institutional focus
• Recognition of student as lifelong learner
• Regional agenda
• PDP Personal Development Planning
• ePortfolios
• Reflection
• Planning
• Presentation
• ePortfolios and assessment?

10
ePortfolios examples

• Three approaches to the technology
• Commercial e.g Blackboard PVLE?
• Open source e.g. www.theospi.org,
  http//electronicportfolios.org
• Home grown
• Wolverhampton University Personal Development
  Planning tool reflective http//pace.wlv.ac.uk
  
• University of Denver allows collaborative
  development, although focus on presentation

11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
SFEFC/SHEFCScotlands transformational change
agenda

• Needs to happen at institutional level need to
  build capacity and capability not just about
  infrastructures
• March 2004 Implementation of the SFEFC/SHEFC
  joint e-learning report
• 3m for FE and 3m for HE over 2 yrs
• Bidding process (single institution and
  collaborative) to support institutions in making
  the necessary step changes
• Not focused on e-learning as a separate entity,
  but suggests bids that address specific needs,
  for example
• transition between FE and HE,
• assessment
• Student skills
• Widening Participation
• discipline specific approaches, e.g. mathematics

14
DfES and HEFCE e-learning strategies

• DfES consultation results on website over 50
  in favour of identified areas.
• A unified approach The achievement of their
  potential for all learners An education
  workforce empowered to change.
• Blended learning approach favoured.
• 5-year strategies (DfES and HEFCE) to be
  published end 2004/early 2005
• HEFCE working on their strategy
• Sounding board meetings
• Higher Education Academy/JISC joint response

15
Higher Education Academy

• The HE Academy is a new organisation (1 May 2004)
  which incorporates
• Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher
  Education (ILTHE)
• Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN)
  subject centres
• National Co-ordination Team (NCT)
• National Teaching Fellowship Scheme (NTFS)

'The Higher Education Academy is concerned with
every aspect of the student experience. It will
provide coherence, added value, inclusivity and a
powerful emphasis on the needs of
stakeholders. Paul Ramsden, Chief Executive
16
Higher Education Academy

• Generic Themes
• The HE Academy has appointed Senior Advisers to
  work across a range of generic themes, for
  example
• e-Learning
• Employability
• Assessment
• Widening Participation
• HE in FE
• Senior Advisers are supported by Project Officers
  and work with subject centres and other
  organisations, e.g. in the area of e-Learning
  with the JISC, RSCs, ALT.

17
Academy 24 Subject Centres
18
Subject Centres - key purposes

• Through a discipline focus
• promoting and sharing good practices in learning,
  teaching and assessment
• brokering the transfer and take-up of knowledge
  and practice between users, experts, developers
  and innovators
• setting up, supporting and developing LT networks

19
Subject Centre approaches (1)

• Information resources
• on-line databases and resources
• publications,briefings and guides
• case studies
• questionbanks
• news feeds and online updates
• enquiry service
• journals and books

• Profile and awareness
• newsletters and e-bulletins
• surveys and needs analyses
• subject community events

20
Subject Centre approaches (2)

• Engagement
• workshops, seminars and conferences
• department based activities
• awaydays and joint events
• benchmark clubs
• services - student surveys
• special interest groups
• regional groups networks
• Departmental contacts

• Brokerage
• links with subject academics and professional
  bodies
• practitioner focus
• connecting expertise with needs
• consultancy advice
• funding projects
• supporting Ped. Research
• harvesting good practices
• creating partnerships and collaborations
• facilitating key subject issues

21
Subject Centres and and e-Learning

• Subject Centre examples
• Engineering
• Medicine
• English

22
Distributed elearning Programme

• Why are the JISC and Academy working together?
• To foster a closer collaboration and strategic
  alliance between the JISC and Academy.
• To address both pedagogic and technical issues
• To explore issues associated with the sharing of
  e-learning resources
• To engage with and help inform and develop the
  overall JISC framework.
• To provide a mechanism for subject centres to
  discuss, share and develop their e-learning
  approaches and experiences.

23
Higher Education Academy 3 year plan for
supporting higher education delivered in further
education colleges in England
24
Rationale and Funding

• Given the current levels of participation, and
  the likely increase in the number HE students
  studying in the FE sector it is appropriate that
  the Higher Education Academy should support staff
  in this sector.
• To this end, the Academy has received 500,000
  over three years from HEFCE to establish a
  programme of support for enhancing HE learning
  and teaching provision in FE colleges from
  2004-05 onwards.

25
Principles

• A focus on enhancing the student experience
• Recognise the distinctiveness and diversity of
  the further education sector, and the delivery of
  HE in FE
• Responsive to the needs of colleges and
  practitioners in FECs
• Be outcomes based, demonstrating impact
• Collaborative whereby we work within existing
  support frameworks and infrastructures

26
Key Objectives

• Provide an effective means for staff supporting
  HE in FECs to engage with the wider support
  infrastructure for improving student experiences
  in HE.
• To share access to HE information and resources.
• To share good practice and work with colleges to
  enhance management strategies and policies to
  improve all aspects of the HE student experience.
• To combine efforts with key partners to deliver a
  coherent and integrated support infrastructure to
  enhance HE learning and teaching policies and
  practice in FECs
• To promote professional and scholarly development
  to increase the professional standing and
  recognition of all staff supporting HE in FECs.
• To develop a stronger evidence-base of effective
  practice to improve the quality of the student
  experience.

27
Key Outcomes

• Improved access to and use of appropriate
  resources and materials by HE staff in FECs to
  enhance HE provision in FECs and the overall HE
  student experience.
• Effective strategies and policies to enhance the
  student experience deployed in FECs.
• Increased body of knowledge and evidence to
  inform HE policy and practices in FE colleges.
• Professional development of staff teaching HE in
  FECs.
• Coherent and integrated infrastructure of support
  and advice operated by the Academy and key
  partners.
• An effective regional support infrastructure.

28
What the HE Academy will do

• Promote means to share appropriate resources and
  materials
• Promote and support professional and scholarly
  staff development
• Promote recognition of HE staff in FECs
• Facilitate research on key enhancement themes
• Broker programmes of support on thematic areas
  concerning the HE student experience in FECs,
  which will be decided in collaboration with staff
  in the FE sector
• Offer tools and approaches to assist senior
  managers to enhance HE student experience

29
How the HE Academy will do this (1)

• Appoint a Senior Adviser for HE in FE
• Dedicated web-site for FE based users, with links
  to appropriate resources and materials.
• The production and distribution of hard copies of
  resources and materials to reach FE staff with
  limited computer/internet access.
• Resources will be allocated to clusters of
  subject centres
• relevant to the main subjects covered in FECs to
  deliver appropriate activity and resources.
• to include training and networking events, the
  provision of specialist resources and possibly
  the secondment of FE staff.
• Academy-central staff and in particular senior
  advisers for employability, assessment, widening
  participation and HE in FE (depending on when the
  appointment is made) will work with clusters of
  subject centres to develop appropriate action
  plans.

30
How the HE Academy will do this (2)

• Support and develop existing regional
  infrastructures to facilitate reaching and
  supporting HE staff in FECs.
• Work in partnership with key agencies already
  established in supporting FECs, particularly
  those working at a regional or sub-regional level
  RSCs, LSDA, AoC, FDF, RDAs, QAA etc to deliver
  events, share resources and provide support and
  expertise.
• Offer workshops and events, targeted at defined
  groups on specific themes, probably in
  partnership with others (above).
• Establish a research programme and network to
  disseminate research findings.
• Promote and support the scholarly development of
  HE in FE staff.
• Develop our Registration and Accreditation
  functions to support staff development.