Good CoP

Free book :OD

In 2009 the Australian ePortfolio Project < http://www.eportfoliopractice.qut.edu.au/ > conducted a series of semi structured interviews from 14 online communities across the globe.  This research project was designed to elicit a picture of the types and methods of engagement afforded to these "virtual" eportfolio communities of practice (CoP).  RSC East & West Midlands very own virtual eportfolio CoP < http://groups.google.co.uk/group/rscmeg?hl=en > was discussed in terms of platform types, level of management/ facilitation, and participation engagement.

This type of facilitating and supporting subject specific "forums" either F2F, online, or both, has long been a strength of the JISC  Regional Support Centres, and we were merely continuing the good work already being carried out across the UK by all RSC's.  The very nature of the online domain to support embryonic CoPs presents many new challenges, in terms of maintaining a manageable balance between facilitation, engagement by its members, and choice of platform. We were influenced by local successful CoPs, specifically as the elearning Best Practice run by Helen Walmsley(former RSC member),   http://learning.staffs.ac.uk/moodle/login/index.php  .

This collaborative venture between myself & Ben Williams (RSC East Midlands) also prove that cross RSC projects are essential, by reaping the benefits of sharing effective practice both internally and externally. It is hoped that others may learn from our experiences when considering supporting similar CoPs in their own areas.

See also our wiki page that covers all things eportoflio , plus the excellent EPAC - USA based wiki pages - my original inspiration the http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/e-portfolios

While I'm on the subject of eportfolios, I saw a demo of in-folio the other day.  It's been funded by JISC Techdis and developed (by the RIX centre)with UK specialist Colleges. I was impressed at it's ease of use and straight forward interface. Two years in the making, it goes from strength to strength, and was mentioned that it will be released as Open Source.

They have even developed an innovative image based log in function to assist those who cannot type. This project alone looks like it has potential to made logins easier for many (to eliminate the bane of multiple passwords) : http://www.clippi.com/where.php

new ways for HE?

Lord Mandelson’s 11th Feb Dearing speech defends the government’s record on HE funding, commits to “sustainable expansion” and urges HE to source other forms of income and consider alternative modes of provision.  


Lord Mandleson, continues the debate and defends his Higher Ambitions report, by facing critics and outlining new ways that UK HE needs to respond to market trends, competition, student needs, and maintaining quality.
He said...

" For universities Lord Dearing had a clear message that the institutions needed to focus on distinctive missions, diversified sources of income, a new recognition of the value of teaching, a constant focus on the quality of the service to the student."
and in regards to improving flexible provision he said...
 "along side traditional three year full time degrees, I want to see more part time study, I want to see two year Foundation Degrees and three years Honours courses delivered intensively over two years expand as part of the mix. Not creating a single blueprint in which everyone is made to conform. We’ve got to create a mix to take higher education forward"


..."And because these flexible kinds of education and training are vital for those who miss out on higher education straight after school the push for two year degrees and wider part time or work-based study should be at the core of the wider participation agenda. Those who argue against it risk painting themselves as defending an institutional inflexibility that doesn’t serve students, and doesn’t get the most out of public investment that we make in higher education."


...."All these apprenticeships will earn UCAS points so that they act as a ladder into university."

In respect of UK HEIs diversifying to attract private investment he said..


"The first is on the need to seek out alternative sources of funding. The best university systems in the world are defined by a wide range of public and private funding and British universities need the same diversity."


..."Part time degrees, shorter and more intensive courses all offer the potential to lower student support costs, use resources more intensively and improve productivity."

And finally...


"I passionately believe universities cannot stand still. Universities must adapt to new times, to new sorts of courses, to new ways of delivering and teaching. This is where I will continue to lead the debate and policy. "


All I can say is that distance and blended learning is the answer, using the VLE, eportfolios and cloud computing methods. This mix of flexible approaches and a (less resource based) curriculum rethink will give UK Higher Ed' the edge we need. My view is backed up by Dr Tony Bates in his comments on eLearning progress in HE, Dr Bates recognises the importance of e-tutoring & sound instructional design models to move online/blended delivery to a more "active" realm of student-tutor interaction.  And David Lammy also throws his two 'penneth in by stating the following at a recent conference


“Students are all on Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, i-Phones and i-Pads for their social life and their university experience is still divorced from that […]  Universities have to be advancing technology.”


Tho' ,  as we are all well aware UK HE is a slow beast to move and react to change and forcing UK HEIs to simply adopt ICT as the panacea to cure all ills is a road well trodden and resisted 'afore. Innovative teaching, improved CPD, and adoption of flexible (blended) curriculum delivery is key, so says Drew Whitworth in his insightful comments on Should e-learning change university management blog post. And, as Drew also states in his posting, not all students are demanding unfettered access to a pletohora of social networks, as we know, poor digital literacy is an issue to be addressed by generations X,Y and baby boomers alike. As we are well aware the term digital natives is a misnomer perpetuated by the media, and JISC have done quite a bit of work in this area to try and find out how a modern student studies.


Interestingly The 2010 Horizon Report  also highlights some key trends facing education across Europe, which echo some of the innovative approaches UK HE need to address, as mentioned above. They are;

1. The abundance of resources and relationships made easily accessible via the Internet is increasingly challenging us to revisit our roles as educators in sense-making, coaching, and credentialing.
2. People expect to be able to work, learn, and study whenever and wherever they want to. 
3. The technologies we use are increasingly cloud-based, and our notions of IT support are decentralized.
4. The work of students is increasingly seen as collaborative by nature, and there is more cross-campus collaboration between departments.

• And, not so coincidently JISC have just announced a suite of resources for universities on employing technology to support their business goals.

Under the JISC and Leadership Foundation partnership, this interactive publication highlights the characteristics of an agile university and how to achieve a dynamic business environment.

Ewart Woodridge CBE, Chief Executive of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, says, “The ‘Agile University’ is about the capacity to innovate, particularly in new business or operating models. It requires a creativity in how an institution is structured and people are equipped to lead and manage it. It also requires a strategic and entrepreneurial approach to the use of technology.”

JISC online conference 2009

I've just been into the first day of the conference. Very interesting keynotes, and discussions taking place.  Plus there's a "have a go" area full of useful resources and demonstrations.  Thought I'd share some of those with you;

• The EVOLUTION project - reusable materials
  
  

The JISC funded EVOLUTION project is an Open Educational Resources project that is disaggregating existing materials so they may be re-used and re-purposedfor different contexts or pedagogies. Click here to listen to a talk about the project and the materials available. If you would like to download the materials for review than please register to use the materials on our repository at www.employability.org.uk. Open to UK HE only!

•  LexDis - student participation, issues and strategies

This project, with the help of students, explored successful 'e-skills' and supporting strategies, including the use of assistive technologies introduced by e-learning and Web 2.0 type services such as blogs, wikis, social networks and mobile technologies. The outcome has been the development of an online database with student strategies, explanations about the technologies used and a series of one page guides with print versions. The latter have been provided to encourage staff to develop accessible teaching and learning materials. Some link to the work of JISC TechDis Accessibility essentials and all have links to further resources.

• The Design Studio: a curriculum design and delivery toolkit
  
  

The newly launched Design Studio is a developing dynamic web-based toolkit hosted by JISC infoNet which draws together a range of existing and developing resources around curriculum design and delivery and the role technology plays in supporting these processes and practices. The Studio will provide access to project outcomes and outputs from the JISC Curriculum Design and Delivery programmes as they are developed and will continue to be sustained as a community resource after the programmes end. A curriculum lifecycle concept provides a structure for this wiki-based resource and the primary portal to materials whilst tagging provides flexible entry levels to information based on e.g. themes, technologies and subject areas. This is a recorded (not live!) tour in Elluminate. Click https://sas.elluminate.com/mrtbl?suid=M.257864C26A4F22C5EE6DB9B8A536AD to view the recording. Access the curriculum change document that accompanies this resource.

• 
  
  

  JISC Digital Media videos

  
  
  
  

These are videos covering a range of topics, including those of interest to teaching and learning:  http://vimeo.com/user2187259/videos

• Internet for Image Searching
  
  

This is a practical tool for learning how to use the Internet to find copyright cleared images to support learning and teaching. The link below takes you to an online tutorial about the tool. http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/tutorial/imagesearching/

• 
  
  

  The Phoebe Pedagogy Planner tool

  
  
  
  

Phoebe is a pedagogy planner tool, designed to help teachers create learning experiences that are motivating and productive for both their students and themselves. It comprises a simple authoring environment and extensive guidance on teaching and learning with digital technologies. Phoebe was developed from 2006-2008 by a team from the University of Oxford, with funding from the JISC Design for Learning programme.

About Phoebe:

• Overview (2 pages, PDF format)
• Introduction and demonstration by Marion Manton, given at the University of Oxford on 28th August, 2008 (23-minute video)

Exploring Phoebe:

• Phoebe Pedagogy Planner
• Exploring Phoebe guide (12 pages, PDF format)

• You might also like to visit the website of the LDSE project, on which we are now working with colleagues from five other institutions.

e-research

Richard Lambert talks to the BBC about research and innovation

This post is all about initiatives to open up the silos of traditional academic research, by taking advantage of what the web can offer. I'll cover drivers, current projects and moves towards a new open way of sharing using the Web 2.0 ethos. The Times Higher supplement called "The Data Revolution" also covers this subject.

...'Supporting the science community and maintaining our excellent research base is critical to the UK's future economic growth and prosperity. This is why the government will invest a record level of almost £6 billion in UK science and research by 2011.' ......

So says Lord Drayson in the latest JISC Inform publication which is loaded with some interesting articles on moving research firmly into the 21^st C. There is a article & podcast by Professor Robert Darnton of Harvard University discussing their move to an Open Access policy.

JISC are also spending 10 Mi££ion on a 3 year e-research programme.

For those who are ne wto this area of Open Access, there was an open access week – supported online @ URL: http://www.openaccessweek.org/ , plus this 2007 paper on THE EMERGENCE OF OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES, will help contextualise the subject.



I've collated a number of established & new Open Access / research portals and repositories to give you an idea what innovations are already in operation;

• The Directory of Open Access Repositories - OpenDOAR
  
• Welcome to WIRE - Wolverhampton Intellectual Repository and E-Theses - an open access repository
  
• Welcome to Worcester Research and Publications
  
• Welcome to Association of Learning Technology Open Access Repository
  
• Pioneering collaboration between publishers, repositories and researchers – PEER (project)
  
• The Depot is an assured gateway to make your research Open Access – EDINA project
  
• JORUM is a free online repository service for teaching and support staff in UK Further and Higher Education Institutions
  
• EThOS aims to enable end-users to access the full text of electronically stored UK theses, in secure format, via a single Web interface.
• E-Evolve Repository. This repository is a free online service for UK Higher Education Institutions 
• The Academy Evidence Net - find current evidence relating to teaching and learning in Higher Education. 

Methods of giving busy academics "Web 2.0" spaces to share and collaborate over research projects are gaining popularity. Here are some I've stumbled across recently;

• Google knol – publish and share your research
  
• Concept Linkage In Knowledge Repositories – C-LINK
  
• Dr. Richard Price, post-doc, Philosophy Dept, Oxford University has started http://www.academia.edu/ - which looks very interesting
  
• myExperiment makes it easy to find, use and share
  scientific workflows and other Research Objects, and to build communities.
  
• The Teaching and Learning Research Programme database
  
• Participate is a large-scale research project, which explores at how we can use new and emerging technologies to encourage people to engage in environmental issues.
  
• Science Shops are not "shops" in the traditional sense of the word. They are small entities that carry out scientific research in a wide range of disciplines – usually free of charge. The Scienceshopswales is a good examples of what can be achieved with this micro (social) research model
  

This 21^st century open (web 2.0) ethos of sharing and collaborating is exemplified in the real world examples in the wikinomics (free ebook), of how modern business is responding and exploiting the networking afforded by Web 2.o social tools. And, if you want to get some pointers into communities of practice collaborating online, this new (free ebook) called The Art of the Community will help.

ILT research & bids

Technological innovation in universities in the UK has been supported by
the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). In its role as a university think-tank, million+ has investigated the impact of funding awards from JISC to 28 UK universities over a six-year period. Published October 2009. Download the report from
www.millionplus.ac.uk/research/index

To overcome barriers in achieving JISC funding, it was suggested that a single named
person in each HEI be identified to ensure effective communications between the HEI
and JISC, thus offering the potential for more constructive feedback to be given over a
period of time, which could be assimilated and disseminated within that institution. For the future, it is clear from our research that collaborative working between universities
is likely to be crucial, to maximise co-learning and to ensure cost-effectiveness.

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/publications/research/2009/millionplusfundingimpact.pdf

• Many of the project teams were successful in obtaining further funding or generated associated projects (36% of the case studies).

• those HEIs which have a formal or co-ordinated approach to responding to calls for bids, with appropriate facilities and staff, tended to have a higher likelihood of obtaining JISC funding.

• My observations : what about those who have problems in obtaining funds!!  I have often been on the receiving end of comments hinting at a "closed shop", and "the same old faces"! But as one very successful JISC project bidder pointed out to me, "it's (the bid calls) not a secret - all you have to do is keep an eye on the JISC funding road map." 

And more importantly he said  "bid for projects to ensure that they align with existing internal project proposals.  So in effect you are getting money for what was part of your ILT strategy anyway."

Often organisations fall down by not placing enough emphasis on the planning and management of sed plans , etc. i.e they either underestimate or under resource the project in hand.

• nb : Just got note of a new JISC report relevant to this this posting :  Understanding Global Activity in Higher Education and Research: Primary, desk and web-based research. Report of Findings (abridged version)- it says 

" Although this study did not set out to „benchmark‟ the UK against the other study countries, it is nevertheless impossible not to consider in very broad terms the UK‟s position on the world stage. Clearly the UK enjoys several key advantages: its compact size; the English language; and the UK‟s system of powerful central government to name but three. JISC is seen by other countries as a strong centralizing force and, largely as a result of JISC‟s role, the UK is viewed as being a leading player in most areas of e-Learning and e-Infrastructure development. Various reviews of specific areas of e-Learning and e-Infrastructure identify the UK as amongst the leaders in areas such as digitisation, data repositories and co-ordinated Web 2.0 enablement strategies, paving the way for the opportunities it opens up to be successfully and consistently introduced into learning and teaching practices."




Useful bidding resources

• jisc guide to bids :http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/bidguide.aspx

• http://www.fundingguide.co.uk/  

• http://www.planningandfunding.co.uk/training.asp  
• Our workshop bidding & planning resources we ran last year: http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Bid_writing_for_e-Learning_projects,_2nd_December_2008
• RSC Easterns 2006 workshop resources : http://info.rsc-eastern.ac.uk/events/event_details.asp?eid=293
• Subscribe to this JSIC funding RSS feed, and you'll never miss a bid call again
  

eportfolio book review

Electronic Portfolios: Personal Information, Personal Development and Personal Values.

Electronic Portfolios: Personal Information, Personal Development and Personal Values.








This book was written by Simon Grant of JISC CETIS fame, covers all things eportfolio.  It’s a very easy book to digest for senior managers, and practitioners alike who need to know, “just what is an eportfolio, and why and what would we need it for”? Dip into the bits you need and pass it onto others.
The book begins with an overview of current thinking; by identify 4 primary areas of use;

• Supporting the overall learning process ing
• Supporting transitions between learning experiences or learning organisations
• Assessing the learning process
• Presenting the outcomes of the learning processes

Ref: http://wiki.rscwmsystems.org.uk/index.php/Eportfolios  (see BECTA video which also explains these areas – link on above page).
Simon then complements the above areas of eportfolio “use” with 3 primary principles, namely;

1.     

1. Purpose – usually very specific (assessment, reflection, CPD, PDP, etc);

2.    Information – personalised – which is the underlying message of the book. The eportfolio owner chooses to share the contents with whomever and whenever they choose;

3.    Functionality – what bells and whistles can the platforms offer? Or indeed what kind of learning approach is afforded by its interface + feature set.

Simon argues that if we remove any of these 3 pillars, our ability to understand eportfolio based learning and try and implement or support it becomes implausible. 

 
The book is fronted by a chapter on typical scenarios which help to contextualise all of the possible uses of an eportfolio that are currently being implemented in academic, work, and professional (CPD) areas.  These scenarios help to set the scene and guide readers through this daunting subject area. 


 
The book does not purport to give you the answer to which platform to choose, but it does give a well thought out set of guides, underlying principles, and current practice, that will help inform all interested stakeholders.
See also:

• ‘Study on the role of e-portfolios in formative and summative assessment practices’ by a team led by the Centre of Recording Achievement, is now available from: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/eportfolios/studyontheroleofeportfolios.aspx
  

• http://kev-brace.blogspot.com/2009/10/eportoflio-evaluation-survey.html (current evaluation of popular eportfolio platforms)
• http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/e-portfolios (a very comprehensive guide)
• http://www.qaa.ac.uk/scotland/PDP/PDP.asp  (Effective PDP planning)
• http://delaney.typepad.com/files/e-portfolios.pdf (the state of play in the USA)
• http://www.wlecentre.ac.uk/cms/files/occasionalpapers/op5_eportfolios_models_and_implementation.pdf 

(this paper explores the use of ePortfolio tools to support teaching, learning and the personal and professional development of postgraduate students at the Institute of Education (IOE). The needs of tutors and students are considered alongside the affordances and limitations of specific tools in relation to these needs.)

knol is king

Whilst wandering around the research information network website (RIN)+ associated blogs today I noticed Google knol! More about that later, first the RIN portal.

The is an invaulable resource for those whishing to build up their research skills by by ensuring their CPD is research informed. We call it "scholary activity" for HE or HE in FE tutors. The RIN (supported by JISC) website and publications cover the entire specturm of communicating knowledge for UK researchers.  Articles cover publishing platfroms, and collaborative papers to name but a few. A linked web portal VITAE also promotes CPD and research across the HE landscape. VITAE, has plenty of resource to download.

Now, back to Google Knol ... As Branwen states " the site enables one to post defined units of information on any topic you wish. One of the interesting things the site enables you to do is state if you trust the individual to be an expert on the topic or agree that the document cite adequate and reliable references to support its claims. These ratings get converted to a rating system, which helps you figure out if the information is accurate and worth reading. As with all things Web 2.0 one can leave comments and discussions ensue."

So this is a neat attempt to utilise web 2.0 ethos and collaborative platforms to enable a trusted system of peer reviewing knowledge.  Nice idea.  I'm sure there are others around?

Soundcloud

This idea is not too disimilar to the web 2.0 ethic of user participation of a new music site I stumbled across yesterday.  http://soundcloud.com/ .  This allows budding DJ's or artists to upoad tunes or full mixes, that can be commented upon (see image above).  Now if we uploaded a lecture podcast, our students could then make comments :OD... or visa versa. Students could submit an assessment in audio firmat & it could be commented upon by peers or tutors.  Neat eh?

access the grid

ja.net services are offering Access Grid Nodes allow people to communicate through visual images and sound exchanged between different computers. There is no theoretical limit to how many nodes can be linked, and the number of people at each site is limited only by room size and hardware present.

 
Access Grid (AG) in simple terms is an advanced videoconferencing application that uses audio and video tools allowing people in different locations worldwide to meet in a virtual venue (virtual meeting room). In these virtual venues participants can see and speak to each other in realtime, use online chat and share applications simultaneously.

The image above typifies this application in action. It looks impressive.

• This service complements their existing JANET Video Technology Advisory Service (VTAS)

• ja.net also offer an extensive list of training events across the UK
  

Managing Curriculum Change

New JISC publication

Institutional approaches to curriculum design explores through the work of 12 projects ways by which technology can make the systems and processes underpinning curriculum design more efficient, flexible and adaptive – systems such as those used in review, validation and audit; learning and assessment; course documentation and marketing information; the allocation and management of teaching spaces and other resources, and administration of learner records and interoperability of this data with other systems.

There is also a very useful web based curriculum Design Studio that is choc full of links to associated models, case studies, and resources. go to URL http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/curriculum

dload : Managing Curriculum Change doc

JISC-Advance(s)

A new organisation called JISC Advance launches this week which will bring together eight established JISC services as part of JISC’s ongoing strategy to deliver world-class support to colleges and universities.

The organisation will be led by new managing director Guy Lambert and will co-ordinate;
* JISC Digital Media,
* JISC infoNet,
* JISC Legal,
* JISCMail,
* JISC Netskills,
* JISC Procureweb,
* JISC TechDis,
* & the JISC Regional Support Centre UK by centralising funding and business development opportunties.

Managing director Guy Lambert said: “All of these services are extremely well-respected within the education sector and receive good feedback from their users. JISC Advance will allow the services to reach new audiences, and will help our users to understand what we can collectively deliver for them.”

Guy, working with the JISC Advance team of service directors, will be talking to sector-wide organisations as well as individual universities and colleges to better understand their priorities and needs.

JISC Advance will launch at the Association for Learning Technology conference (ALT-C) at the University of Manchester on 9 September 2009.

http://www.jiscadvance.ac.uk

concerns for HE(A)

Quango man has your cash!

In a recent House of Commons report entitled Students and Universities the Higher Education Academy effectivley receive a vote of no confidence, as do the QAA!! Testing times ahead for both Quangos me thinks?

"We remain concerned that the Academy could not demonstrate what value it added for the
money supplied by the taxpayer or show that it was providing good value for money."

The Times Higher has summarised the report here. And also pulls out some very interesting bullet points, among them is this old chestnut:

Plagiarism by students is a “serious problem”, and there needs to be further investigation into why UK students appear to spend less time studying than their peers elsewhere in Europe.

So it looks like the QAA need to improve/regroup/disappear, etc, and try and reduce the fraudulent claims by some top Universities claiming for students who had left courses early. The Guardian also report on how they intend to keep closer tabs on the QAA to try and abate these poor management practices by public funded Universities.

And while were at revamping the entire education sector, 800 Quangos (like the Academy, JISC, Becta, fDf, LSC, etc, etc) are all in for severe pruning if the Tories get in next, or indeed when the recession bites harder after the next election.

I'll get me coat :O/ ....... Time for a holiday :oD