UNIVERSITY OF KENT E-LEARNING STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION PLAN UPDATED MAY 2011 Strategic Aim: To enable technology to be used effectively, creatively and confidently for the enhancement of the student learning experience. Key areas for focus for 2011-12 Online/blended learning provide curriculum development workshops, presentations, and consultations with DoLTs and schools, including costings and planning (Implementation Objectives 5.1, 5.2) CPD for academic staff. Pushing the boundaries - a series of linked workshops and individual development work with academic staff (3.1, 3.2, 3.3) Quality of Moodle modules to impact on the student experience (2.2, 3.1) MyFolio to support PDP, Employability and PASS (1.3, 6.3) Continued development of the e-learning platform (also part of Information Services Strategy) (1.1, 1.3) Please note: as agreed at last ELSG, the E-learning Strategy and 8 Strategic Objectives remain the same, but all new additions added to Implementation Objectives.
1. Develop and strengthen capacity for provision of e- learning and related support 2. Support institutional strategies in learning and teaching, and to inform e-learning developments in schools 1.1 MaLT group to further develop Moodle and provision of learning technologies in response to university, school and central services requirements. 1.2 Further develop the e-learning Forum (elf) as an open forum to discuss operational and strategic issues on a termly basis. 1.3 Formalise the interface with Information Services (IS) with regard to provision of core technologies (VLE administration and technical issues) piloting and further implementation of peripheral technologies, including Turnitin, classroom technologies and software, and the Mahara e-portfolio system. 1.4 Provide staff development for core and peripheral technologies, including understanding of digital and information literacy and sustainability. 2.1 Assist schools to incorporate e-learning implementation into their annual planning and monitoring cycle, in line with the L&TE strategy 2009-12 and Faculty templates. 2.2 Assist schools to increase the quantity and quality of Moodle modules, including considering setting a baseline for percentage of SDS modules using Moodle by end of 2011/12. 2.3 Encourage schools to internally open modules on moodle@kent by providing support, advice and guidelines MaLT IS / / IS / Schools / Faculties / Schools / Faculties / Schools / Faculties
3. Promote creativity and innovation in learning and teaching 2.4 Continue to develop the e-learning website to disseminate best practice, case studies and other relevant information (e.g. national initiatives, key documents, guidelines etc) 2.5 Focus on use of e-learning for development of new provision, or use of Moodle for providing staff development, taster courses or collaborative courses or projects. 3.1 Support and encourage academics to develop use of Moodle beyond basic provision and engage with e-learning by: identifying potential uses of new learning technologies, use/creation of e-resources, appropriate learning design in a subject area, and incorporation of e-learning into new programme and course design. / Schools / Faculties / IS 3.2 Promote sharing of best practice by encouraging academics to open up Moodle modules, and providing opportunities for discussion and networking via the elf. / Schools / Faculties 3.3 Provide information, advice and the opportunity to explore new technologies e.g. podcasts, web-conferencing, or multi-media authoring software; consider teaching and learning approaches; and opportunities to showcase and discuss work at e-learning Forums and the PGCHE technology module / IS 4. Support and promote use of technology in assessment 4.1 Promote the use of technology for formative assessment and feedback e.g. Moodle assessment tools, Turnitin Grademark and e-portfolios tools, and investigate and promote the use of new tools and software. / IS
4.2 Support developments within the University theme on Assessment and Feedback, and engage with national organisations and initiatives such as the LearnHigher CETL and the HE Academy. 5. Support flexible delivery 6. Provide student support 5.1 Provide expertise in designing both blended and fully on-line courses, for use in a variety of learning environments, including student support, accessibility, quality considerations and QAA codes of practice 5.2 Advise on the use of VLE and other technologies to support students on flexible or blended course, including support for part-time students 6.1 Provide guidelines to schools on advice for students regarding how their courses use the VLE and the related expectations on them e.g. submission of assignments, frequency of logging on, input to discussion boards etc 6.2 Provide guidance on digital and information literacy including the use of digital technologies and resources for academic work and University study. 6.3 Support student engagement in the use of e-portfolios e.g. MyFolio / IS 7. Support monitoring, evaluation and quality assurance 7.1 Monitor and evaluate the use and impact of e-learning in schools to inform the annual learning & teaching plans and monitoring report and provide annual Reports on e-learning developments within individual schools, to DoLTs, Faculty DoLTs & Deans. 7.2 Collect and analyse student feedback on their e-learning experiences via a student Moodle survey. / IS
8. Engage in research: learning technologies and/or their application in learning and teaching. 7.3 Gather data on the use of e-learning at Kent to allow comparison with national benchmarks, such as UCISA, to inform future institutional strategic developments. 7.4 Ensure that all regulations relevant to e-learning are readily available via the e-learning website e.g. QAA codes of practice, University regulations, information and guidance on e-copyright, IPR, accessibility. 8.1 Identify current areas of good practice, or develop a practice base which is sufficiently robust and innovative to support bids for internally or externally funded projects 8.2 Actively engage with organisations such as the HE Academy, JISC, subject centres, HEFCE and identify potential opportunities for research projects 8.3 FLTs to seek certified membership of the Association of Learning Technologists and engage in research 8.4 Continue to provide a reward and recognition scheme to recognise and encourage e-learning best practice, moving funding from the Challenge Fund (2008/9) to applications to the TESS (2009/10/11). / IS / IS
Appendix 1: Salmon s E-learning and pedagogical innovation framework 1 Created as a 4 quadrant matrix, it engages consideration of technology, pedagogy, objectives (e.g. curriculum development, new modules), mission (e.g. institutional, departmental) and markets (e.g. outreach, international provision) when evaluating current or future e-learning developments. Below is an example of how it might apply to Kent. current technology/pedagogy current objectives/ mission new technology / pedagogy current objectives /mission Exploiting the currently available core technologies more fully to improve the current provision. E.g. the objective may be to increase the quality of resources or student support, or vary delivery on an existing module. VLE Turnitin (Plagiarism Detection Software) Library e-resources Use a wider range of the VLE tools e.g. organisation tools, communication tools, journals, e-assessment, or e-submission of assignments via Turnitin. What is the current level of knowledge and skills in the department? Are students sufficiently supported? Exploring new technologies to improve current provision. Can these technologies help? How are they being used at other universities? How are they used in your subject area? Are they being used in a pedagogically interesting way e.g. using online constructivist approaches, simulations, recorded email feedback for language students, re-negotiating lecture practices? Is there a rationale for conducting a pilot? Areas such as: Podcasting, desktop conferencing, video conferencing, VLE voice tools, lecture recording, multimedia content creation, e-assessment tools, classroom technologies e.g. voting systems, mobile technologies e.g. i-pods, smartphones, PDAs or wireless networks, blogs, wikis, communities of practice, networked learning. current technology / pedagogy new objectives /mission new technology / pedagogy new objectives mission Further exploiting the current technologies and exploring teaching approaches to enable new provision in terms of student groups, international delivery or collaboration, new disciplines or levels of study, flexible delivery, work-based learning, engaging with the wider community. May be highly innovative and potentially risky ventures, although this depends on the particular circumstances - technologies new to your department may be well established elsewhere. This quadrant also includes research with very newly developed and untested technologies or pedagogic approaches, plus development of new technologies themselves, often involving projects done in collaboration. E.g. researching the use of the Second Life Virtual World.
elearning Forum (LT Team) IS e-learning Tech Developers School e-learning co-ordinators Kent Union Open to all staff E-learning strategy group (ELSG) MaLT (Technical /Operational) IS Web strategy steering group (WSSG) Faculty Learning Technologist Schools e-learning coordinator e-learning plan Faculty Learning Technologist Schools e-learning coordinator e-learning plan Faculty Learning Technologist Schools e-learning coordinator e-learning plan Various support networks between and among schools and academics e-learning web site IS support