SMT Focus

1. RSCs Join JISC Advance2. Latest e-Learning Good Practice From Our Region - Regional Survey Results3. Meet the RSC Team:HE Co-ordinator - My StudyBar Saves Organisations £500,0004. Online Tutorials for Finding Images and Videos - A Guide to Screencasting5. LSIS Introduce Regional Development Managers - Save Yourself Time Online: RSS Feeds6. Getting the Most From Moodle - RSC Launches Network-in-a-Box7. Apple iPad is a Hit with the RSC - iPad Alternatives8. Forthcoming Events - Green Tips From the Team - Coming Soon - Online Delegate Packs

New Online Impact Report Published

The impact of the RSC’s work, demonstrating the benefi ts brought to supported learning providers is illustrated in a new report for the Academic Year 2010-11 – Achieving Solutions Through Technology

Key achievements include:

Delivering over 2,500 • consultations with UK learning providers to help them meet their technology objectives.

Running more than 650 RSC • events and peer-to-peer forums attended by 10,000 delegates.

Providing bespoke training to • over 350 learning providers.

Participating in over 600 • events with partners to share knowledge and expertise.

Case studies illustrate the tangible benefi ts that the RSC network bring to learning providers - from improving strategies to reaping cost and effi ciency savings.

A supported learning provider explains: “They act as our top level e-learning advisers and will have both saved us money and helped us earn money/access sources of funding.”

To read the full report, visit http://bit.ly/tRZ9Ag

SMT Focus Issue 5 – Winter

2012

In this Issue

1. New Online Impact Report Published2. Same Great Service - One New Website - E-learning Progress Reviews: New Pick and Mix Service3. Is Your Organisation Making the Most of the RSC? - BIS Confi rms Funding for Sixth Form Colleges Until 20144. Tell Us What You Think! - JISC Publishes Business Intelligence Paper

Have you registered with the Gateway?

E-learning Progress Reviews: New Pick and Mix Service

The JISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) are pleased to announce the launch of their new website - www.jiscrsc.ac.uk

The 12 RSCs, operating as a UK wide support network, have a proven track record across the sector for providing expert advice and guidance in the effective use of technology. The website provides a common route to news, events and resources, increasing user access to a richer seam of information from all RSCs, whilst maintaining regional connections.

Key features of the new website include:

Seamless access to • information from both a UK and regional perspectiveUp-to-date news and event • listingsAdvice and guidance on • how RSCs support you and your organisation - from maximising effi ciencies to enhancing the student experience.

In creating a living website the RSCs can deliver more for less and improve the user experience by reducing time spent in searching.

Explore the website today - www.jiscrsc.ac.uk

To access the West Midlands pages featuring our news and events, visit www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/westmidlands

Knowing how far you have progressed with embedding technology, or exactly how your learners are performing can help to inform future decision making. In addition to our comprehensive e-learning progress review service, and in response to learning providers who want a shorter, more focused review, RSC West Midlands has developed a new service to assist managers, which allows providers to ‘pick and mix’ the elements of the e-learning progress review they wish to explore in-depth.

Designed to suit a broad range of provider needs, the pick and mix review will identify progress made in the adoption of technology in a specifi c area. These include:

Learning spaces• E-safety • Sustainability • Document management• IT help desk• Accessibility and inclusion• Teaching and learning strategy• E-learning strategy•

You can choose one or a combination of up to three areas to provide a fast and informed review. It also minimises the amount of time taken and unlike the services offered within the full E-Learning Progress Review, a pre visit planning process is not required.

Whether the review is a single or a combination, the process will take no longer than half a day. Once completed, a short written

report will be delivered to highlight existing good practice and strengths; as well as making recommendations for further development.

Where appropriate, the review will signpost you to sources of further information, additional support from our e-learning advisers or the resources on offer from JISC Advance.

To arrange an impartial review, please contact the individual adviser responsible for the review areas below. Contact details for each of our e-learning advisers are listed on the back page of this newsletter:

- Learning Spaces (Matt Gallon) - E-safety (Jason Curtis) - Sustainability (Jane Edwards) - Document management and IT help desk (Colleen Romero) - Accessibility and Inclusion (Alison Wootton) - Teaching & learning and e-learning strategies (Allen Crawford-Thomas)

Same Great Service - One New

Website

2

eLearning Health checks – Refl ections on their impact at

City College Birmingham.

“Having recently had our second eLearning Health

Check from the team at RSC West Midlands in just over 2 years and refl ecting back on

the process, I’m struck by the marked impact each individual

visit produced.

The fi rst one carried out in April 2008 allowed us to identify the areas that we felt needed work

i.e. in improving the Student experience in the classroom

and resulted in the college writing an e-Learning strategy that delivered real benefi ts by

increasing the level of ILT in the classroom coupled with

an extensive teacher support program.

The second health check completed in June 2010 was

used to give an external view on our progress in terms of infrastructure, student experience and learning

resources and delivered a much needed confi rmation that our

strategy was working. It also identifi ed key areas where we

could develop further resulting in improvements to the college’s

Learning Resources Centre and some new projects that we have

plans to pilot. So all in all an experience which proved to be key in supporting progress and

producing real results. And, best of all, – this high quality service

was provided for free.”

Rob Jones, Head of Learning Technologies

City College Birmingham

eLearning Health checks –Refl ections on their impact at

g

City College Birmingham.

“Having recently had oursecond eLearning Health

Check from the team at RSCg

West Midlands in just over 2years and refl ecting back on

j

the process, I’m struck by themarked impact each individual

visit produced.

The fi rst one carried out in April2008 allowed us to identify theareas that we felt needed work

yy

i.e. in improving the Studentexperience in the classroom

and resulted in the collegewriting an e-Learning strategythat delivered real benefi ts by

g g gy

increasing the level of ILT iny

the classroom coupled withan extensive teacher support

program.

The second health checkcompleted in June 2010 was

used to give an external viewon our progress in termsof infrastructure, student

gg

experience and learningresources and delivered a much

needed confi rmation that ourstrategy was working. It also

identifi ed key areas where wegy g

could develop further resulting yy

in improvements to the college’sLearning Resources Centre and

some new projects that we haveplans to pilot. So all in all an

experience which proved to bekey in supporting progress and

producing real results. And, bestof all, – this high quality service

g

was provided for free.”g yy

Rob Jones, Head of LearningTechnologies

City College Birmingham

In 2011, RSC West Midlands ran 39 events, both face to face and online, on a variety of e-learning topics including e-safety, accessibility and inclusion, learner voice and content management (e-portfolios and virtual learning environments). The majority of these events were free of charge, making them a very cost effective continuing professional development (CPD) option, particularly in the current economic climate.

We have also carried out over 400 consultations, at no cost, to our regional learning providers, including staff development sessions, e-learning progress reviews, equipment loans and advice on e-learning in a number of areas. Hot topics of interest amongst learning providers have included:

• E-safety• Moodle 2.0• Making use of existing technologies• Re-organisation of existing learning spaces• Learner voice • Measuring the impact of e-learning

We want to ensure that your organisation is making the most of the free e-learning services available from your RSC. Each year, we contact the heads of all our supported learning providers to let them know how their organisation has engaged with their local RSC, and will be contacting them again in January 2012. The summary includes the consultations we have carried out with your staff, and the CPD

opportunities that they have taken advantage of.

It is also a useful reminder of some of the services that your staff can access. These include:

Forums • (for specifi c roles, eg. IT Managers, or users of particular technologies ie. Moodle). They provide an excellent opportunity to share best practiceRSC Assist - • the RSC will work closely with a member of your staff on a specifi c e-learning project. Your organisation will benefi t from project planning, a limited amount of training and advice from the RSC teamPick and mix• reviews (see opposite) - a review of your organisation’s e-learning progress in a specifi c area (ie, learning spaces, e-safety).Online events• - hosted via web conferencing software. Allows your staff to attend an event without having to leave their workplace. Saves time and travel expenses whilst developing their e-learning knowledgeEquipment loans• - not sure if that piece of kit is worth the investment? Try out a number of items through the RSCs loan service before you invest any money

To fi nd out more about all of the the services that your staff can access, visit www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/westmidlands

Is Your Organisation Making the Most of the RSC?

JISC Advance has recently announced that Sixth Form Colleges will continue to benefi t from JISC services for the 2012/13 and 2013/14 fi nancial years.

The funding, confi rmed by BIS (the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills), will apply to Sixth Form Colleges in England. It will include cover for all JISC Advance services including Regional Support Centres and Advisory Services as well as JANET and other JISC services.

The announcement follows discussions between BIS and the Department for Education (DfE) who now has responsibility for Sixth Form Colleges.

JISC Advance welcomed the news which refl ects that its services are recognised by both departments as representing good value to the sector.

Guy Lambert, Managing Director for JISC Advance said:

“The continuation of this provision will ensure that Sixth Form Colleges can benefi t from the free advice and guidance provided by JISC Advance services and the other JISC services which are so vital to the sector.”

BIS Confi rms Funding for Sixth

Form Colleges Until 2014

3

JISC Publishes Business Intelligence Paper

Business processes and the interrogation of college data has been a hot topic amongst our learning providers during the past year. As providers are increasingly required to be more business focused, JISC has addressed this with the recent publication of a briefi ng paper, aimed specifi cally at senior managers, offering guidance on performance monitoring.

The paper, ‘Business Intelligence: Monitoring Performance and Planning Improvement’ outlines the type of business intelligence data needed by learning providers, the challenges faced by education, and the benefi ts of accurate data including more effective decision-making and change management processes. It also explains how learning providers can assess their own level of business intelligence maturity using a 6-step model, and highlights the approaches taken by four different organisations. This includes a data dashboard, which we highlighted in the last issue of SMT Focus. A number of learning providers in the region have turned to data dashboards to help increase effi ciency. Data dashboards present real-time data in a visual display, using charts, graphs and dials, by drawing information from existing systems into one, easy to read screen.

Further examples of how learning providers are monitoring performance are available on the Excellence Gateway at http://bit.ly/ve7sKB

To read the business intelligence briefi ng paper in full, visit http://bit.ly/t1ghtk

For more information on how the RSCs can advise on business processes, please contact the RSC..

Tel: 01902 518982E-mail: [email protected]: www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/westmidlands

We want to hear what matters to you most so that we can address those topics in future editions of SMT Focus.

If you have any suggestions for future articles, please contact Kirsty Hill by e-mail at [email protected]

Contact our E-learning advisers:Christa Appleton (HE Co-ordinator)[email protected]

Jason Curtis (Learning Technologies)[email protected]

Jane Edwards (Adult & Community Learning)[email protected]

Matt Gallon (Learning Resources)[email protected]

Colleen Romero (Technical Infrastructure)[email protected]

Allen Crawford-Thomas (Teaching and learning)[email protected]

Theresa Welch (Work-Based Learning)[email protected]

Alison Wootton (Staff Development and Accessibility & Inclusion)[email protected]

Tell Us What You Think!

4

SMT Focus

Documents

Transcript of SMT Focus