1. ICT in Higher Education:
Policy Perspectives
Adrian Kirkwood
The Open University, UK

2. Introduction
• Long-term interest in teaching &learning with ICT
– at strategic and tactical levels
• Informed by enquiry and evidence of what
actually happens – rather than fashion,
assertions, speculation and wishful thinking
• Effective use of ICT is much more complex than
most people in HE imagine
• Many educational issues and problems persist
much longer than technologies and tools
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3. ICT in Higher Education –
Main areas of impact
• Administration
• Research
• Teaching and learning
This talk is mainly about the last of these –
the least well understood
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4. ICT in Higher Education
Context Design for Learning
- of Learners & Learning; Function & Nature of Activities,
- of Course & Teaching Materials & Resources
Technology
Characteristics, Constraints,
Potential
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5. Access to Technology
• Technology associated with a range of social
changes
• Having a differential impact – the digital divide
• Higher Education institutions increasingly
adopting ICT - in differing ways
• Considerable costs involved – not just for ICT
itself, but also staff and student time
• Policy dilemmas for some universities – e.g.
those meeting the needs of the ‘hard to reach’
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6. Clarifying Institutional
Aims & Goals
Need to clarify the types of enhancement that are
sought form ICT use
• Increasing the use of technology?
• Improving the environment in which educational
activities are undertaken (e.g. more flexibility)?
• Improving teaching practices?
• Improving student learning (quantitatively and/or
qualitatively)?
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7. Learning – A ‘Net Generation’?
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8. Evidence from Research
Confusion of 2 separate issues –
• Technical skills and familiarity
– Many young people have good access and familiarity
• Intellectual skills – digital literacy for education
– Little evidence that use of ICT for social and
entertainment purposes develops competencies
appropriate for higher education
• ‘Net Generation’ / ‘Digital Natives’ concepts are
technologically deterministic
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9. Evidence from Research
• Students’ study behaviour is NOT driven by
technology
• Students will make more use of ICT tools and
resources and rate them as helpful when they
relate well to the pedagogy and assessment
requirements of the module or course they are
studying
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10. Assessment
• Assessment is the primary driver of
students’ study behaviours:
• Assessment is the main determinant of
WHAT gets studied by students
• Assessment is also the main determinant
of HOW it gets studied
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11. Plagiarism
ICT enables learners to easily locate, copy
and use – or misuse – information & data
• Use detection software • Help learners develop
on all students’ scripts appropriate digital literacy
skills
– the technology- • Design assessment tasks
focussed approach that require more than
copying – e.g. personal
involvement & application
– the learning-focussed
approach
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12. Learning –
Qualitative Improvements
• Learners develop and deepen their knowledge &
understanding
– Not just knowing more, but knowing differently
• Develop capacity to participate in a ‘community of
practice’
• Develop autonomy and self-direction in learning
• Appreciate the relative & contested nature of
much knowledge
• Developed ‘generic’ or ‘life’ skills, etc. 12

13. Teaching –
Influences on How ICT is Used
• Differences in teachers’ attitude
to the adoption of innovations
• Differences in teachers’
conceptions of & approaches to
teaching
• Departmental / faculty /
institutional ethos and ways of
working
• Competing demands of research
& administration
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14. Differing Views of Teaching
with ICT
• Focus on the technology • Replicating and/or
– how it might be used supplementing existing
for teaching teaching practices
(teaching-centred)
• Focus on learners and • Enabling and supporting
learning – what different forms of learning
educational benefits can / types of learner
be derived (learning-centred)
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15. Professional Development
• Many professional • A learning-focus
development activities enables teachers to
for academics have a consider why the use
technology-focus of ICT might be of
• Attention to technical educational benefit
issues – How to use • Many teachers need to
tools and technologies reconsider their beliefs
• ICT often seen as just and practices for
a means of delivery enabling learning
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16. Conclusions
• Policy makers in Higher Education need to be
clear about the aims and purposes of using ICT
• Implications for many aspects of institutional
culture:
– Policies for infrastructure & technical support
– Policies & strategies relating to student assessment
– Policies for developing the digital literacy of students
– Policies and strategies for the professional
development of academic staff
– Policies for promoting & rewarding scholarly activities
relating to using ICT for teaching and learning
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17. Thank you
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