e-Learning Programme Publications
There are a number of important publications synthesising outcomes from the JISC e-Learning Programme. To order copies of the e-Learning publications, please email publications@jisc.ac.uk
Effective Practice with e-Learning (2004)
This is the first publication from the e-Learning Programme and will be of particular interest to practitioners beginning to integrate e-learning activities into their practice. Built around a sequence of ten case studies, the guide offers a valuable insight into the pedagogies emerging around blended learning. Five of the ten case studies are illustrated by video clips providing visual evidence of the challenges and benefits experienced, and planning and evaluating tools can be downloaded from the accompanying CD-ROM to apply e-learning effectively in your own context.
This publication has been updated and the new version Effective Practice in a Digital Age is released end of June 2009.
Effective Practice with e-Learning
CD-ROM and video clips can be viewed online
Innovative Practice with e-Learning (2005)
‘Innovative Practice with e-Learning’ from the e-Learning Programme is a partner guide to ‘Effective Practice with e-Learning’ which focuses on embedding more mobile and wireless technologies into everyday practice. It explores what is termed ‘mobile and wireless learning’ from three perspectives: those of the learner, the practitioner and the institution. The case studies illustrate the use of six mobile devices and five case studies have supporting video clips which capture up-to-the-minute examples of learning and managing learning assisted by innovative technologies.
This guide, with 4 downloadable planning tools, is of relevance to curriculum and e-learning managers and practitioners in all parts of the sector.
Innovative Practice with e-Learning
CD-ROM and video clips can be viewed online.
Designing Spaces for Effective Learning (2006)
Also from the e-Learning Programme, this publication was launched in March 2006 with the aim of providing the post-16 and higher education sector with a guide to essential considerations when designing learning spaces. It highlights currently available thinking about the use of learning technologies in both new and refurbished spaces, and links this to prevailing pedagogic models of learning and requirements for space efficiency. Richly illustrated by case studies, general guidance on maximising the effectiveness of learning through space design is supported by an overall checklist of key points for senior managers.
The publication builds on the report commissioned under the JISC e-Learning and Innovation strand from Birmingham University Learning Development Unit - How innovative technologies are influencing the design of physical learning spaces in the post-16 sector, known as the JISC eSpaces Project
Designing Spaces for Effective Learning
Related resources
Planning and designing technology-rich learning spaces publication formed the basis of a new web-based resource from JISC infoNet which links tools for project management and process review with key principles in designing for 21st century learning spaces.
Video case studies – 21st century learning and teaching (March 2007) Five video case studies of innovative spaces for 21st century learning and teaching were released on CD-ROM at the JISC Conference 2007. (Windows Media Player and QuickTime™ formats and a Word transcript are available). To order a copy of the CD-ROM, email publications@jisc.ac.uk
Effective Practice with e-Assessment (March 2007)
A new publication from JISC, Effective Practice with e-Assessment, was launched at the JISC Conference on 13 March 2007. This review of systems, technologies and practice in e-assessment features up-to-the-minute case studies from FE and HE to help institutions assess how they should prepare for computer use in assessment.
Effective Practice with e-Assessment will be a valuable introduction to the domain of e-assessment for all those who manage, deliver or support educational practice in a technology-rich context - departmental heads, learning technologists, e-learning managers, staff development managers, examinations officers and administrators. It defines unfamiliar terms with the help of entries from the JISC/QCA e-Assessment Glossary and will also be of value for any practitioner exploring the role and value of technology in assessment practices.
For more information about JISC projects relating to e-assessment
Effective Practice with e-Assessment
Games-based Learning (September 2007)
This briefing paper is aimed at policy makers, senior managers and practitioners who are interested in an overview of game-based learning and how it may be used to support effective learning and teaching practice. The paper provides an overview of game-based learning, including the background, policy perspective and benefits and challenges. In addition, the paper provides a section outlining the work that is currently being funded by JISC in support of this area of activity. The aim of the report is to inform readers about game-based learning and to assist those interested in finding out more about the area.
Games-based Learning
In Their Own Words (September 2007)
During 2005-09, the JISC e-Learning Programme is funding a two-phase theme on Learners’ Experiences of e-Learning. The aim of the programme is to inform the development of appropriate learning environments and tools and the effective design of learning activities for 21st century learners. Two reports and five video case studies completed under Phase 1 of the theme have provided striking insights into the way digital learners select and use technologies for learning. These findings have been synthesised into a new publication launched at ALT-C in September and have some important implications for institutional IT provision, academic practice and learning support.
Called In Their Own Words, this publication includes a CD-ROM which gives access to the original reports, a series of short guides summarising key messages for different sectors and roles and the five learner voice video case studies. Also included in the publication are two pull out information sheets explaining key terms used in the publication – social software and personal tools and technologies. The aim is not just to inform about the outcomes of studies, but also to provide institutions with resources and guidelines to commence their own research into learners’ experiences of e-learning.
In Their Own Words
Technology-Rich Physical Space Design: An overview of JISC Activities (April 2008)
Good design and effective management are fundamental to the success of a new-build or refurbishment project. With the chance to influence the future direction of learning and teaching in an institution, much is at stake for directors of estates, project managers, academic and library staff embarking on a large capital project.Since 2006, JISC has been helping institutions develop physical spaces that anticipate the pervasive use of technology in learning and teaching, enable innovative, learner-centred pedagogies and inspire and motivate wider participation in learning.
JISC resources support each stage of the journey towards a successful project – from determining the vision for technology-enhanced learning spaces to exploring the processes behind successful outcomes. The most recent include an investigation of the design and management issues associated with open-plan spaces and video case studies of the impact on practice and culture of five technology-rich new-build and refurbishment projects. This paper provides an overview of JISC activities to date and outlines the most recent work in more detail.
Technology-Rich Physical Space Design: An overview of JISC Activities
Distributed e-Learning Programme: Stories from regional pilot projects (April 2008)
These stories are based on a selection of regional pilot projects (completed between 2005 and 2007) that took a regional, cross-institutional and collaborative approach to supporting lifelong learners and facilitating progression. The motivation for this was the recognition that work, background or personal commitments may act as barriers to learning, and these projects piloted ways to help people to engage more effectively with learning opportunities in their region.
The stories follow some of the institutions' activities through the regional pilots, and look at specific messages and lessons learned along the way. They consider the importance of personalisation, context and purpose, the need to look at people-related requirements as well as the usability of the technology, and show how the project managers motivated tutors and learners to get involved. They also touch on the issue of collaboration across different sectors and cultures.
Distributed e-Learning Programme: Stories from regional pilot projects
Tangible Benefits of e-Learning: Does investment yield interest? (April 2008)
A briefing paper has been published to disseminate the outcomes from the ’Tangible Benefits of e-Learning’ Project. The JISC e-Learning Programme set out to explore the diversity of current e-learning practice across the sector and to find out what evidence there is relating to return on investment. A project led by JISC infoNet, in partnership with ALT and the Higher Education Academy, worked with 16 universities and 8 subject areas to investigate this question. The project produced 37 case studies which show clear evidence of a range of significant benefits resulting from investment in various types of e-learning activity.
In addition, the e-Learning Programme funded the production of the full publication produced by JISC InfoNet and launched at the JISC Conference in April, Exploring Tangible Benefits of e-Learning:Does investment yield interest?
Tangible Benefits of e-Learning: Does investment yield interest?
Effective Practice with e-Portfolios (September 2008)
Two new JISC resources on e-portfolios were launched at ALT-C in September 2008. The first is a new guide in the JISC Effective Practice series, Effective Practice with e-Portfolios, which explores examples of effective practice in the use of e-portfolios throughout a lifetime of learning.
The guide complements an infoKit on e-portfolios from JISC infoNet which offers a comprehensive synopsis of the main drivers, purposes, processes, perspectives and issues around e-portfolio use. A revision of this kit will take place next Spring following a synthesis of lessons learnt emerging from the projects due to finish in March 09.
Effective Practice with e-Portfolios
Serious Virtual Worlds Report (November 2008)
The Serious Virtual Worlds report focuses on virtual worlds for educational uses, and explores the ‘serious’ – as opposed to leisure-based – uses of virtual worlds. One of the problems with this area is that there is a plethora of virtual worlds available and practitioners do not always know which one to use and in which contexts. In order to help practitioners to identify the worlds that are the most relevant for their particular learning context, the report presents an overview of the available virtual worlds, describing in particular the serious virtual worlds that have educational potential or have been used in education and training settings. However, stepping beyond this traditional mode of teacher and learner, the report also aims to foreground how learners themselves are becoming a more central component in the use of immersive worlds, creating learning experiences for themselves and adopting a more exploratory mode of learning.
The aim of the report then is two-fold: to provide a context for learning practitioners and policy makers, aiding with their understanding of virtual worlds and how they can be selected and used in tertiary education; and to highlight how learners, through greater empowerment, may play a different and enriched role in the process of forming collaborative learning experiences and engaging in activities which may support their own learning and meta-reflection.
Serious Virtual Worlds