1 www.technologyenhancedlearning.net Normalising digital literacies across the university Professor Neil Witt Head of Academic Support, Technology & Innovation Plymouth University
Mar 29, 2015
1www.technologyenhancedlearning.net
Normalising digital literacies across the
university Professor Neil WittHead of Academic Support, Technology & InnovationPlymouth University
The influence of digital technologies in creating a new context for Higher Education
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It’s not just ‘digital’
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Optimal Educational Value
It’s not just ‘digital’
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Optimal Educational Value ?
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SurfacePDA
Kindle FireOther (please specify)
Windows phoneAssistive technology
Android TabletBlackberry
KindleDigital video camera
Digital audio recordernon-smart Mobile phone
iPad/iPad MiniiPod Touch
iPhone phoneMp3 player
Android phoneGaming Device
WebcamDigital camera
LaptopMobile phone
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
0.3%0.5%2.0%
5.0%5.2%6.5%
9.6%11.1%
13.9%15.9%16.3%17.4%18.8%
25.6%33.0%
37.8%42.2%
48.3%50.0%
71.7%89.8%
97.8%
Which of these devices do you have? Please select all applicable(n=1106)
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Windows phone
Blackberry
iPhone phone
Android phone
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
5.2%
11.1%
33.0%
42.2%
Smart Phone ownership(n=1106)
Surface
Kindle Fire
Android Tablet
Kindle
iPad/iPad Mini
0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0%
0.3%
2.0%
9.6%
13.9%
18.8%
Tablet ownership(n=1106)
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0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
How confident do you feel about your digital literacies?(n=1110)
Extremely con-fident
Very confident
Moderately con-fident
Slightly confident
Not at all con-fident
Impact of technology?
• Students willing to use, and expect their devices to be used to support their learning experience.
• An urgency in developing services that meets the students’ needs and expectations.
• Assume that academic staff can/will support their use of technology
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Impact of technology?
• Expectation Management?• How to meet these digital needs?• How to engage and support ALL staff?• How to embed into practice?
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Change via a JISC project?
• Builds on 2011 BCUP project• Audit of systems, policies,
infrastructure and data• Views from academic and
support staff on use of, and practice with, existing software and hardware systems.
• Recommending Institutional change on DL issues around:• Infrastructure• Support• Curriculum Design
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Digital SkillsIn the 21st century digital competence needed by– learners– teachers– professionals– everybody (>90% jobs require IT competence of some degree)
Seven separate ‘literacies’ contribute to 3 areas– Content Production– Content Consumption– Professional and Academic Practice
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Digital Skills
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Digital Literacies
• ICT / Computer Literacy
• Information Literacy
e.g.• working with documents, presentations and
spreadsheets• choosing and using cloud services
e.g.• understanding issues of authority, reliability,
provenance• knowledge of IPR, plagiarism, citation
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And …..
• Media Literacy
• Communication and Collaboration
e.g.• Selecting transmission means most suited to
target audience• Use of text, video and audio editing software
e.g.• Email, online forums, chat rooms, social
networks, webinar• Collaborating in online documents &
interactive events
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Not forgetting …..
• Digital Scholarship
• Learning Skillse.g.• An academic’s blog might have 1000s of
followers• Academic debates in an online community of
practice• Mandates for Open Access Publishing
e.g.• Think critically, academic writing, referencing,
managing tasks• Receive assessment and acting on feedback in
digital formats
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And finally ……
• Being a Professionale.g.• Digital tools, services, social networks can be used,
to aid reflection and build an ePortfolio.• Online promotion through blogs, Twitter, Facebook,
website• Knowing what others can find out about you on the
Internet• Use digital tools to support PDP and CPD.
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Digital Skills
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The Digital Strategy
Opportunity 1 – inputting into Strategy
• Key theme 1 - Digital People• Key theme 2 - Digital teaching, learning and research• Key theme 3 - Digital services• Key theme 4 - Digital Infrastructure and Capability
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Digital Strategy????
Professional Support Staff• Develop the digital literacy skills and
confidence of professional services staff to enable them to develop and deliver efficient services, communicate effectively and promote the reputation of the instituion
Academic Staff• Develop the digital literacy skills and
confidence of academic staff to embed technology in their learning approach, to communicate effectively and support the delivery of their curriculum.
Students• Develop digitally literate students who are
able to appropriately choose, use and personalise technologies and digital content to suit their own needs.
• They will be skilled users of digital information able to act ethically, responsibility and securely in a fast-moving digital environmentEmbed in the curriculum???
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Performance Development Review
Opportunity 2 – using new processes
Embed in PDR
Embracing Change
Opportunity 3 – use Restructuring
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An opportunity to recommend Institutional change:• Infrastructure• Support
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Being part of the solution
• Technology and Information Services – Strategy & Architecture– Solution Development– Service Management– Library and Digital Services– Academic Support, Technology & Innovation
• the annoying academic on the shoulder of the CIO
Being part of the solution
• Subject Librarians, IT Trainers and Learning Technologists working in 3 teamsDigital Skills Development Engagement and SupportTEL & Assessment
• Strong focus around Digital Literacy
• Faculty support via LTs in the Faculties
• Part of TIS, so embedding and sustainability of innovation easier
• Single point of entry for training & teaching and learning resources
• Focus on community development
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What we said we would do
• We would make recommendations only.
BUT
• JISC Curriculum Design Programme reported• We have the opportunity to investigate
embedding
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Joining it all up
Embed in the curriculum
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Where to focus?
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Where to focus?
• New Programme Design• Annual Programme Monitoring• Schools Action Plans• New Partnerships
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Big Picture Thinking
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Where can we embed DL?
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A caveat
• "This range of approaches has also had a significant impact on the kind of evidence presented at the end of the projects with research-based projects offering some compelling evidence, but with impact on much smaller numbers of students, whilst impact on the whole institution is harder to measure and present as evidence, but has much more significance in terms of sustainability and embedding. Funders should continue to value this „softer‟ evidence. "
Lou McGillCurriculum Delivery Programme Synthesis
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• Benchmark and gather evidence• Agree and use institutional definition of
Digital Literacy / Digital Skills. Keep it simple.• Take every available opportunity• Influence then operationalise strategy• Embed into Staff Development• Embed into processes (e.g. Curriculum
Design)