The Higher Education AcademyUpdate

Eddie GulcSenior Adviser

The Higher Education Academy

25 May 2006 York

Update

• Benchmarking & Pathfinder• Academy/JISC joint working• Other work

Benchmarking• Started in January 2006• Should be finished by July 2006• Involves 12 institutions

– Chester– Leicester– Manchester – Staffordshire– Hertfordshire– Bristol– Institute of Education– Warwick– Oxford Brookes– Coventry (with Warwickshire College)– Strathclyde– UWIC

Benchmarking

• Three consultancy groups supporting – Prof Paul Bacsich– Prof Peter Chatterton – OBHE

• Five approaches – Pick & Mix – supported by Bacsich– Manchester – eMM (e-learning Maturity Model) - liaison with

Bacsich– ELTI Embedding Learning Technologies Institutionally - supported

by Chatterton – OBHE – Strathclyde - based on MIT90 framework - liaison with Chatterton

• Links to Scottish Universities Benchmarking

SBG

Overview: the e-benchmarking pilot

Bristol

Hertfordshire

UWIC

Strathclyde

Warwick

Oxford Brookes

Institute of Edu

Coventry & WC

Chester

Leicester

Staffordshire

Manchester

ELTI

MIT90

OBHE/ACU

Pick & Mix

eMM

Benchmarking - Early Feedback

• External Evaluator (Critical Friend) – Prof Terry Mayes

• Interest in what is the ideal unit for benchmarking – Student– Academic– Module– Programme– Department– School/Faculty– Institution– Sector

• Difficulties in collecting data– A political process– Sampling– Quality of data

Early Feedback

Early Feedback

Some general findings:– Low level of interest on external comparisons– Subject-level comparisons attract more interest– Senior management interest in costs/benefits– Deepens the debate about pedagogy– Sharpens awareness of options for development– Agreement that process more important than outcomes

Benchmarking – More Information

• For more information go to the website:– http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/benchmarking.htm

• Benchmarking blog:– http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/weblogs/benchmarking

• 30 Aug 2006 – briefing event for Phase 1 e-benchmarking institutions

Pathfinder

• Will start in October 2006• Open to the 10 HEFCE funded Benchmarking Pilots • Invited to submit a proposal for Pathfinder Pilot• Funding up to £170,000• A second call will be issued in February 2007 • Open to all HEFCE funded institutions• Demonstrate a formal process of in-depth institutional

review/reflection on e-learning provision

• Joint Management Board (HEFCE, JISC and Academy) agreed how to take forward HEFCE e-learning strategy incl. new ‘virtual centre

• We agreed on a need to consult internally and externally

• Agreed that the sector doesn’t want another ‘Centre’

• Aim: to establish a seamless e-Learning brokerage function both within and between our respective organisations to support the HE sector in a coherent and meaningful way.

• Key Objectives:– To ensure that whatever the starting point of an enquiry, this will

lead to the same set of resources, alternatives and support to answer specific needs, i.e. advice & support around specific themes, e.g. e-Assessment.

– To adopt a proactive approach, supporting Academy Subject Centres and JISC advisory services to engage with the HE sector (individuals and groups) to further the embedding of e-learning within institutions, e.g. closer collaboration with the staff and educational development community.

Academy/JISC supporting the sector

JISC and the Academy

• JISC and the Academy bring a wealth of complementary expertise and service:

– JISC – development programmes, tools, resources, content, repositories, research etc

– JISC - advisory services

– Academy – pedagogy, overarching L&T context, resources, professional development, research, staff development focus etc

– Academy – discipline focus through subject centre network

engagement with institutions at all levels i.e. individuals, discipline groups, staff & educational developers, senior managers (PVCs etc) . . . . . . .

JISC/Academy e-learning support model incorporating brokerage function

Advisory and Content Services

Developments

Subject Centres

Learning and teaching practice and research

developments

JISC Higher Education Academy

PVC network & e-learning SIG

CETLs, FDTL, NTFS, Scottish Transformation CRA etc

HEIsIndividuals/Groups

(HeLF)

Aim: to establish a seamless brokerage function both within and between our respective organisations to support the HE sector in a coherent and meaningful way.

Brokers

Bringing coherence to the sector

• 1 FTE broker to be located within each organisation (JISC & Academy)

• Process should identify gaps (to stimulate new activities and programmes)

• Consultation with sector to be undertaken

• e-Assessment to be first theme (2 themes per year)

• Joint Academy/JISC workshop: Autumn 2006

Other e-learning work

• Capital Spending Review projects – ‘DeL2’ – Subject Centres

• ePortfolios - Key strategic partnership with the Centre for Recording Achievement (CRA)- Survey:https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/survey/eportfolio/

• eTutor– 2 strands – pedagogy/tools – 2 first prizes - £1,000 and a Toshiba notebook– closing date 9 June

• PVC Network – e-Learning SIG

Other e-learning work

Events• Sself – first workshop on 23 June - Belfast• Innovations Academy

– Blended Learning – 15 June– OS VLE event – 29 June

• Learning Space– 17 July - Technology-rich spaces for inquiry-based group learning:

University of Warwick – 21 July - Technology-rich spaces for blended learning and teaching:

University of Hertfordshire – 25 July - Technology-rich social and collaborative learning: Glasgow

Caledonian University – 21 September - Enabling institution-wide, strategic development of

technology-rich learning spaces: University of East London

Other e-learning work - ResearchRecent e-Learning Research Call for Proposals.  4 projects funded - they are:

University of Central Lancashire • "Impact of blending a multimedia e-learning resource with traditional teaching

methods to support mathematics learning within the life sciences."

University of Leicester • "Informal Mobile Podcasting And Learning Adaptation (IMPALA)"

Queens University, Belfast • "Evaluation of generic, open-source, web-based marking tools with regard to their

support for criterion-referenced marking and the generation of student feedback."

University of Strathclyde • "Putting web 2.0 to work: new pedagogies for new learning spaces". 

Activity

• Discuss what the five main priorities are for you and your institution over the next 6 months and 3 years. Why are these issues important? – discuss the detail/offer a context.

• See if we can pull together any common priorities/ issues and areas of work

• Is there any merit in gathering together a knowledge base of UK e-learning? Who has expertise in doing what with whom? – individual/institutional level

• This could help with support/partner finding/locating speakers for events e.g. Fred at x is doing lots of work on blogs, podcasting, m-learning etc

Thank You

Any questions?

Eddie Gulc

eddie.gulc@heacademy.ac.uk

www.heacademy.ac.uk