JISC

One of the highlights of the recent JISC conference was the launch of the Users and Innovation programme’s ‘Community of Practice’. A brand new concept in programme development for JISC, the Community, which runs in its first phase from now until October 2007, will be integral to the further development of the programme, with the Community's ideas and findings leading directly into future calls.

Bob Rotheram, National Teaching Fellow, Reader in Assessment, Learning and Teaching, Leeds Metropolitan University, and keen participant in the Community, was one of those who welcomed its launch: ‘Congratulations to JISC for setting up the community of practice! Increasingly, educational institutions keep their cards to their chests and compete with each other. In contrast, the community is founded on the notion of collaboration and is a great opportunity for e-learning innovators to share their thinking.

‘I hope it will lead to the emergence of new ideas and partnerships and, when the call comes, produce some high-quality, ground-breaking bids for projects which will enrich the learning experienceof students. Personally, I'm planning to share my practice of using a hand-held MP3 recorder to give quick, but rich, feedback on coursework… I intend to contribute to debates, with the aim of helping other community members to develop their thinking and work up some great bids.’

Emerge, the consortium forming the Support Project which is coordinating the Community of Practice, adds: ‘This programme and project are trying to break new ground. We do not pretend to know all the answers about community formation and sustainability, but we do know that wide consultation is critical, and an openness to the unexpected is expected… We are looking forward to the project, the emergence of networks, groups and project teams, and to challenging some conventional thinking as we go forward.’

Over 150 individuals across more than 50 institutions are involved in the Community; UK HEIs form the lead institutions but this number includes a wide degree of international interest with institutions such as the University of Prince Edward Island, University of Southern Queensland, University of Brisbane, University of Western Australia, and University of Auckland.  

Lawrie Phipps, Programme Manager, says: ‘JISC has been one of the most innovative educational organisations in the UK, working with a broad range of stakeholders and making a real impact on practice and student learning. This community will enable JISC to engage at multiple levels with a range of users, eliciting issues and needs and seeking processes and tools in response. This first stage of the community will be focusing on the administration overhead of practitioners in teaching and research and also looking at the impact of new technologies on institutions.’

Further information about the programme can be found on the U&I blog  or the Emerge project site

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