Students as agents of change

With more and more emphasis being placed on educational establishments to meet the expectations of their learner-customer base, universities and colleges are being encouraged by JISC to tap into the knowledge and experience of their student population to come up with innovative ways to influence the use of technology for learning.

Today’s students tend to be well informed, technologically ‘savvy’ people who have a great understanding of the potential of the various technologies they use every day. However, while some have an awareness of how technology can be used innovatively to bring about change some are still not confident in using this in their studies.

Earlier this year the University of Exeter in association with JISC organised a symposium to consider the role of students as change agents in curriculum innovation. This followed a report from the National Union of Students to HEFCE that suggested that educational establishments should have a clear strategy covering the use of ICT and that they [students] should be involved in the process of developing it.

David Boughey, Director of Education at the University of Exeter, talks about the range of technologies used during the university’s JISC-funded integrative technologies project. He emphasises that teaching and learning support through technologies needs to be responsive and adaptive when looking to transform curriculum design and delivery.

The Symposium included presentations from students at Lewisham College, the University of Exeter and the University of Westminster that showed how they had taken responsibility for driving new and innovative solutions and for driving change in their university and college.

Lisa Gray e-learning programme manager at JISC explains, 'Instead of university and college courses being designed by the tutors delivering them, collaborative partnerships between learners and tutors are emerging, changing the shape of the process.

'The students as change agents theme has emerged from our curriculum delivery work through the many ways in which learners were engaged in driving and shaping technology-enhanced change.

'Approaches included providing opportunities for students to have a voice, through to students leading change and driving innovations. For example at the University of Exeter, students were used as researchers exploring how technology could best enhance curriculum provision, which led to the adoption of audience response systems across all undergraduate taught courses in the Business School. Both Kingston and Lewisham Colleges both used students as mentors to other students, another approach used to great effect.

“The benefits for institutions include greater engagement of students, utilising a previously untapped resource to drive change, ensuring the curriculum is one which best matches learner ne Students can develop skills useful for their future employability, and benefit from having the opportunity to shape the way in which they engage with a curriculum.'

It sounds simple to adopt a business supply and demand model to education by looking at what your customers would like, but changes like this for established courses take time and commitment from the university or college teaching staff.

There are also a large number of variables that also need to be considered. For example what works for different courses, different university structures and technology provision, the make-up of the learners attending a course can also affect how it is designed in terms of wanting to embrace the balance between those who are tech-savvy and producing the support for those who need up-skilling.

Gray adds, ‘There hasn’t been a one size fits all approach to course design and delivery for many years and education organisations are constantly looking for ways to engage learners who are studying full time, part time, on campus, through distance learning and often a combination including work-based learning too.’

Bringing learning to life is key and one college which has done this successfully through JISC funding is the College of West Anglia. In looking to prepare its 14-19 year-olds media students for the world of work with practical skills as well as the theory, the college remodelled their curriculum around production activities for an internet tv station, they reinvigorated the curriculum, reporting improvements in learner and staff engagement and motivation. SpringboardTV was born.

‘The creation of SpringBoard TV has had a major impact on the motivation and passion of our students for their subject. It has enabled us to reverse the decline in applications and enrolments, improve the engagement, retention, achievement and attainment of students in the media area,’ says Ben Jackson, project manager for SpringBoard TV. The channel is also now an integrated part of the college’s marketing strategy to promote not only its students but the work of the college as a whole.

 

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