Supporting academic staff
JISC and the Higher Education Academy are collaborating to implement the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s (HEFCE) e-Learning Strategy and 2009 UK policy update statement. The collaboration comprises the two organisations and their networks, including JISC’s Services and Regional Support Centres and Academy Subject Centres. One of the aims of the collaboration is to improve access to the wealth of relevant resources produced and funded by JISC and the Academy, and to highlight those of particular interest to practitioners working in further and higher education. This overview paper (with supporting web pages) is one of a series of four on the themes of Assessment, Supporting Academic Staff, Work-Related Learning and The Student Learning Experience
This paper highlights a selection of JISC and Higher Education Academy resources and activities for supporting academic staff in their use of technology for learning and teaching. While this is not a comprehensive guide it provides an overview of the resources available. Further information can be found using the search facility on the Academy and JISC websites.
Guidance
JISC and the Academy provide practitioners with advice and guidance on how to make best use of technology to enhance their practice. Two useful publications are:
Effective Practice with e-Portfolios
Effective Practice in a Digital Age takes a fresh look at design for learning in a technology-enhanced context, focusing on scenarios commonly experienced in learning and teaching today.
JISC infoNet offers a range of resources to support good practice in the use of technology for learning and teaching. The infoKits on e-Portfolios and Effective Use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are likely to be of particular interest to practitioners who are keen to realise the full benefits of these tools within their own practice.
JISC TechDis provides a range of staff development and guidance materials on using technology to create a more inclusive learning experience.
JISC Digital Media (formerly TASI) provides information and guidance on sourcing, creating, managing and using digital media resources. A tutorial on Finding Free-to-Use Images is available, focusing on copyright-cleared images.
JISC Netskills provides a range of resources for staff development, including workshops, online tutorials and on-site training and offers a BTEC-accredited qualification in e-learning.
The Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP) Subject Centre’s help sheets provide concise how-to guidance on video conferencing, uses of e-portfolios for reflection and assessment, using online resources and digital images.
Using the Virtual Learning Environment from the Legal Education Subject Centre is a good general guide to VLEs including advantages and disadvantages, designing activities, copyright and practical tips for successful delivery of a new VLE-based course.
Supporting Student e-Portfolios is an excellent guide offered by the Physical Sciences Subject Centre.
Regional Support Centres
The 13 JISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) act as a gateway to expert advice, information and research outcomes. They facilitate knowledge brokering and offer advice and guidance to further and higher education institutions to help them develop and achieve their organisational mission through the deployment of digital technologies.
Legal issues
JISC Legal provides guidance to prevent legal issues being a barrier to the development and adoption of new Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the education sector.
The website provides advice, links to further information and FAQs on topics including Data Protection and Intellectual Property Rights.
Case studies
Exploring Tangible Benefits of e-Learning showcases a diversity of approaches to e-learning.
The Higher Education Assistive Technologies (HEAT) Scheme includes over 80 examples of the inclusive use of technology by academic staff from a wide range of disciplines.
Stories from Regional Pilot Projects consider e-learning in a human context, looking at usability, personalisation and ways of motivating and engaging learners.
All the JISC Regional Support Centres regularly contribute case studies of local good practice to the Excellence Gateway.
Academy Subject Centre case studies include:
English – Using Wikis to Support Small Group Work.
Materials Education – Working in Partnership with Students is a long running, successful project in which students and academic staff collaborate in the creation of re-usable learning resources.
Subject resources
The Academy Subject Centres are the place to look for resources and guidance tailored to a specific academic discipline. Subject Centres often fund small projects to develop new web-based resources. A small selection of resources is given below.
Biosciences: e-Learning Case Studies.
Effective use of IT: Guidance on Practice in the Biosciences.
Economics Subject Centre: Using the Web to Teach Economics handbook.
The English Subject Centre provides various resources.
The Academy’s UK Centre for Legal Education has many good resources available following a successful e-learning seminar series.
The Materials Education Centre has resources including leaching and teaching packages, video and micrography libraries, in-depth simulations and interactive online resources.
The SWAP Subject Centre has a collection of digital learning resources.
New technologies
The resources available cover a range of topics:
What is Web 2.0? There’s a brief answer here and a more detailed look at the ideas, technologies and implications and an educational perspective on some of the newer services in a TechWatch report.
Guide: Using Blogs in Economics, also useful for other subjects.
The Social Software infoKit, for enthusiasts of flexible delivery.
Games-Based Learning, a briefing paper exploring the potential of games-based learning.
The use of mobile devices in learning has been expanding in recent years. Upwardly Mobile provides a ‘getting started’ staff development resource.
Further resources
This overview mentions only a few of the resources available from JISC and the Academy. We hope it will encourage readers to explore what’s available in more detail.
Academy Supporting Learning web pages
Academy Subject Centres
Search Academy/JISC resources