Engaging students - Annual review 2010
Over the past year we have continued to investigate students' changing expectations and developed tools and resources to transform the learning and teaching experience. Our work has enabled colleges and universities to apply digital technologies to challenges such as retention - progression, graduate employability, diversity and widening participation, thereby giving students the best possible opportunities wherever and however they study.
The transforming curriculum delivery through technology programme shows how you can develop autonomous lifelong learners, for example through the award-winning Springboard TV project.
'The Springboard TV project has enabled development of a very learner centred, meaningful, realistic work environment which is challenging and engaging students leading to skills development and interactive assessment opportunities'. David Pomfret, College Principal, College of West Anglia |
The programme also delivered a range of technology-enhanced curricula and highlighted the benefits (and issues) of use.
The Design Studio is a developing toolkit which draws together a range of existing and emergent resources around curriculum design and delivery and the role technology plays in supporting these processes and practices.
Our research into curriculum design and feedback has resulted in several reports in 2009 that inform curriculum development and disseminate good practice for universities and colleges looking to respond to students’ views on e-learning and prepare them for study in a digital age.
JISC’s and the Higher Education Academy’s programme on Open Educational Resources is working with UK universities and colleges to share educational materials freely online and make them available to anyone world-wide, whether they are informal learners, students or academics. The OER Infokit contains findings from phase one of the programme and offers a complete guide to releasing open resources from within UK universities, incorporating case studies, examples of benefits, legal and technical advice, and project findings.
Once students have arrived at college or university, their social integration will be a key factor in keeping them there. JISC is exploring new technologies that can help students to feel integrated and supported at every stage of their university life. This also includes improving accessibility through award-winning tools like Xerte developed by JISC Techdis to help non-technical staff to build resources with improved accessibility for all.
The challenges facing colleges and universities in the 21st century were the focus of JISC’s 2009 online Innovating e-Learning conference. The theme - ‘Thriving, not just surviving’ - attracted 450 delegates from 12 countries. Recordings of the keynote sessions include presentations from Charles Leadbeater and Peter Bradwell from Demos about the role of innovation and becoming an 'edgeless university'.
Effective practice in a digital age
Effective practice resource exchange