Student expectations and experiences of the digital environment: consultation event

04/03/2014

Digital Student - Students' expectations and experiences
of learning in a digital environment
http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org

#digitalstudent

Welcome and introductions

Helen Beetham,
Consultant in
Higher Education
@helenbeetham

04/03/2014

Dave White, Comanager of TALL,
University of
Oxford
@daveowhite

Jisc Digital Student http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org.uk

Sarah Knight,
Senior CoDesign
Manager, Jisc
@sarahknight

Paul Bailey,
Senior CoDesign
Manager, Jisc

2

Digital Student Project
» Digital Student phase 1 study conducted a review into students’

»
»
»
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expectations and experiences of the digital environment at university
The study reviewed existing research and survey evidence from
institutions, as well as conducting original interviews and focus groups
Jisc and its co-design partners (UCISA, SCONUL, RLUK and RUGIT) are
now supporting a consultation phase across the higher education sector
which will inform the final guidance to institutions and further actions by
Jisc and its partners
Parallel study in FE and Skills with consultation events will shortly get
underway
Review of current practice in secondary schools is also underway

04/03/2014


3

Digital Student - Phase 1

» An initial study reviewed existing evidence about students'

expectations and experiences of study in a digital environment.
This includes both:
› digital environment generally e.g. wifi, IT support, access to
devices and printers
› the study environment in its digital aspects e.g. how digital
resources and media are used; what software students access,
how they use their own devices and services to support learning
› The study also looked at how universities collect, manage and
analyse such information locally, and how they engage students
in a productive dialogue about their digital experience.

04/03/2014


4

Welcome to the launch consultation event
Aims of today:
» To have early sight of findings and
resources from the Jisc Digital
Student project
» Sharing experiences and
approaches with other delegates
» A chance to influence the form of
guidance to institutions
» A chance to shape conclusions and
inform the next phase of activities
» http://padlet.com/wall/digistudent

04/03/2014


5

Food for thought

digital know-how --- academic practice
personal/social --- institutional

expectations --- requirements
ICT in schools --- HE/FE use

05/03/2014

Developing digital literacies

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So what?

How should institutions respond?

05/03/2014


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The student digital experience in 2020

» The year is 2020.
» How will students
experience the digital
environment of university...

» ... in a number of different
future scenarios?

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The process

» Introduction - some common
ground for all the scenarios

» Groupwork (at tables of 5-8):
elaborate one future scenario

» Ideas captured and shared on
posters

» Groupwork (same table):
identify problems/issues for
institutions and students today
04/03/2014


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Principles to remember

» Scenarios are ‘tools for

thinking with’, not predictions.
» 2020 is not that far ahead so
think continuous rather than
discontinuous change
» Much of the common ground
can be ignored...
» ...what matters is how things
are different for students and
institutions in the four
scenarios.
04/03/2014


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Common ground
Ideas about HE2020 (mainly) from students
» Ubiquitous connectivity and data exchange
» Blend of institutional and personal devices, services,
licenses, networks (PLE).
» Digitally-enhanced lectures, seminars
» Virtual classrooms but also offline community hubs
» All potentially useful content ‘a blink away’
» Libraries as service hubs: micro-subs and licenses
» Continuous digital recording of experience
04/03/2014


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Common ground
» More choice, flexibility, looser ties to institutions
(but also) face to face as gold standard
» ‘Authentic’ curriculum not all based on campus:
wider range of people in ‘teaching’ roles
» Formal/informal learning becoming blended
» Faster, more personal/adaptive feedback
» Open content, open accreditation
» Students needing more family/community support
04/03/2014


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Common ground

» More stratification and deeper digital divide
» More competition/new providers in the HE sector
» More international, distance, work-based students
» Universities’ use of student data key to success
» Data privacy and digital rights are key issues
» New pressures on institutions – environmental,
financial, energy-related
04/03/2014


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Common ground

» You can read more about students’ ideas for HE
2020 on the blog


04/03/2014


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Different scenarios
example: Beyond Current Horizons (2010)

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Different scenarios
example: HE Futures (2014)

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Our four scenarios

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Our four scenarios

» Expectations
› Responding to what students’ want based on their
experiences before/outside of university

» Experiences
› Providing what students need to succeed at university
and in the digital world beyond

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Session 1 poster
What is it like in your scenario?

» What are institutions providing for students?
» What are students providing for themselves?
» What is the experience like for students?

networks
digital know-how
library services
relevant experiences
data services
devices
curriculum
accreditation
feedback
learning content
teaching and learning support
04/03/2014


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Time to share ideas…

» Put up your poster on the
relevant scenario quadrant

» Look at what the other
group(s) have said about the
‘same’ scenario

» Collect coffee and return to
your groups!

04/03/2014


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Session 2: Post-it notes
How did we get here?
Consider...
» In the ‘successful’ scenarios:
What went right? Which internal strategies
worked? How were external problems addressed?
» In the ‘failing’ scenarios:
What went wrong? Which internal decisions were
badly taken? How did external problems prove
intractable?
» In all scenarios record on post-it notes
the key issues that were/were not addressed
04/03/2014


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» Put your post-it notes on the
relevant posters as before

» Be ready to report verbally
(no deviation or repetition!):

what issue must universities
address now to ensure
success / avoid failure?
04/03/2014


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Problems from our study

» students unclear how personal technologies can legitimately
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»
»
»
»
»
»
04/03/2014

be used in university setting
students poorly prepared to study with digital technologies
curriculum slow to change
teaching staff often lack confidence with digital tech
lack of joined-up provision or clear responsibility for
students’ digital experience
BYOD creating new uncertainties and risks
tension between seamless access and awareness of digital
boundaries e.g. paid for/open content and services
digital know-how poorly recognised and rewarded


23

Challenges from this morning
› Invest sufficiently & continuously in digital environment (leading to) robust fit-for›
›
›
›

›
›
›
›

purpose infrastructure: parity across sites
Seamless access to and effective signposting of information
Bring every student up to speed with using digital tech for their course of study –
integrated with subject know-how – communicate value
Bring every member of staff up to speed with using digital tech for their role
Use digital tech/media to: build links beyond course, produce digital footprint/identity,
be involved in authentic learning
Integrated digital strategy with
– champion and budget
– devolved/shared responsibility/planning
– capacity to respond to emerging open landscape for data, knowledge and learning
Ask students – listen – involve them in the response
Engage external stakeholders including employers, alumni, community
Agile decision making and course (re)design, supported by…
– Big data and analytics
– Qualitative and longitudinal evidence

04/03/2014


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Stakeholder groups
A = Library and learning resources
B = IT environment

C = Learning and teaching
D = TEL/e-Learning
E = Student experience
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What are the key problems?
1. Identify up to three critical problems that your stakeholder group can help

to address
2. Write down each problem on a separate poster
3. Add in your ideas, suggestions, approaches
4. Consider in practical terms what could be done and who could do it
You can also add ideas, suggestions etc to the padlet at:
padlet.com/wall/digistudent
04/03/2014


26

Challenges from this morning
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.
9.

Invest sufficiently & continuously in digital environment (leading to) robust fit-forpurpose infrastructure: parity across sites
Seamless access to and effective signposting of information
Bring every student up to speed with using digital tech for their course of study –
integrated with subject know-how – communicate value
Bring every member of staff up to speed with using digital tech for their role
Use digital tech/media to: build links beyond course, produce digital
footprint/identity, be involved in authentic learning
Integrated digital strategy with

– champion and budget
– devolved/shared responsibility/planning
– capacity to respond to emerging open landscape for data, knowledge and learning
Ask students – listen – involve them in the response
Engage external stakeholders including employers, alumni, community
Agile decision making and course (re)design, supported by…
– Big data and analytics
– Qualitative and longitudinal evidence

04/03/2014


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Responses from this afternoon
» C. 3 students developing digital capability for their course
›
›
›
›
›
›

Pre-induction and extended induction thru first year introducing key tech, services, attitudes and behaviours
Critical input must be relevant, just-in-time, at the point of use
Close links between ICT skills professionals and subject team
Digital capabilities must be assessed to emphasise value
Put digital capabilities into context of whole course/career
Self-reflective approach to identifying skills gaps

» E. 3+7 students developing digital capability/becoming engaged
›
›
›
›
›
›
›

04/03/2014

Bring informal and formal/academic uses closer
while keeping boundary between personal/academic spaces
Give students feedback, not by email e.g. course reps giving info f2f
Consult with students but give feedback on how uni has responded
Library training compulsory and assessed
Communicate to students the costs of their learning and the benefits of engaging (via an app!)
Why are students not engaged? We need to know more.


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› D. 9 – big data and metrics

– What do we need to know? Level of engagement with LT but in conjunction with other
–
–
–
–

data about retention, qualitative etc
What do we have? Much of this data already resident in systems
Gap? Bring this data together and use it/make it readily available
How? Need coordinated reporting process and ways of giving access to staff/students
involved.
Who needs to know? Academic staff, central staff and management? May be
coordinated by a new role – information manager/learning analyst? Cross-disciplinary
expertise needed.
Who owns the data – programme teams? How is it made meaningful at the right level?

–
› B. 7 – student engagement and feedback
– Are surveys a good way to engage students? Focus groups? How else to involve them?
– Use students to help beta testing.
– Incorporate requirements of IT service into curriculum – students learn by improving
service quality.
– Build feedback into services – use what we have more effectively

04/03/2014


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› A. 7 and 9 – engaging with students

– Call it a library: students do!
– Unified info and digital literacy support where separate
– Do more research alongside ed dev/acad practice and communicate

effectively
– Library 7-up – longitudinal study following effects of different information
skills/practices/approaches on student outcomes
– Help staff manage their assets effectively in open publishing environment:
value assets of the uni as learning assets

› E. 7 and 9 – involving students and agile response

– Have a tech rep on each course to enhance feedback and respond to
student ideas – and advise students on IT issues
– (SLA for all technology issues – needs to be a person)

› C. 4 and 7 Enhance staff digital skills

– Look at working hours model so tech becomes part of the job not extra
– Look at recognition for staff who develop digital expertise

04/03/2014


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› D. 3 and 5 (authentic learning experiences, connecting students to others)

– Student digital champions e.g. working with academics in faculties to showcase digital practices
– Embedding digital literacies into academic programmes – but how is it to be fitted in? Map existing
–
–
–

activities and enhance opportunities for digital practice.
Involve professional staff in partnerships with academics.
Bring alumni and employers into the curriculum
Change modes of assessment to include digital artefacts, online peer review, natural (authentic)
group work

› B. 6 digital strategy
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

04/03/2014

Involve IT at strategic level with senior management
Define problem – what is DL for and who does it benefit? Students must be engaged as stakeholders
Requirements analysis,roadmap
Architectural strategy for integration and interoperability -> seamless experience for students
Roadmap
People, organisation, processes, stakeholders
Analytics will have a role to play


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Student app/service

›
›
›
›
›

Customisable by each student e.g. with photos
Select information channels
Select features
Support live updates and messaging
More of a social media approach to interacting with the
uni – not broadcast information

04/03/2014


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» Leave your posters for
others to browse – we’ll put
it online after the event

» Be ready to feed back
verbally:
what is the one critical thing
your stakeholder group
should do now?
04/03/2014


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For more on problems and approaches

» try, use and comment on the cards
provided in our pack

» continue the discussion on the blog:

04/03/2014


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What is next - join the conversation
12th March – Jisc DigiFest Birmingham
26th March – ELESIG meeting, Bristol
26th March – UCISA Conference, Brighton
1st April – ALT Webinar
2nd April – HEA Wales Conference
21st May – Final event, London
HELF
UCISA, SCHOMS, AUDE
SCONUL
…..

CC philcampbell on Flickr

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35

Jisc Summer of Student Innovation 2014
How it works:

» Create – Make a video to explain
your idea

» Share – Upload your video and
encourage people to vote

» Vote - If you hit the voting target
we will consider it for funding

So if you have a brainwave, come and
join us for a Summer of Student
Innovation:

jisc.ac.uk/student-innovation

Change Agents’ Network
» Enhance student change agents’ understanding of effective practice and
change issues.

» Identify and share effective practice in the area of students/student
groups as change agents.

» Provide a forum for support and sharing of ideas.
» Create and link to resources to support staff and students promoting the
use of student change agents sector wide.

» Develop a framework to support possible accreditation through SEDA.
» Develop a Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change.
» http://www.changeagentsnetwork.co.uk and can@jiscmail.ac.uk
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Supporting staff and student partnerships
» A series of resources to support staff and students in instituting student
partnerships:

›
›
›
›
›
›

Practice points
Viewpoints for student partnerships
Case studies
List of benefits
Useful links
Educational agency initiatives

http://tiny.cc/can001
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Developing digital literacies infokit

» Practical guidance, tools and approaches from the Jisc

Developing digital literacies programme and beyond
» ‘Top-down’ strategic considerations involved in developing
digital literacies across an institution
» ‘on the ground’ view of what this means in practice for many
different role groups
» Available from 10 March (not now!) at
www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies
» Give us feedback at
www.surveymonkey.com/s/digital-literacies
26/11/2013

Jisc Co-design

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Find out more…

Digital Student

#digitalstudent

Sarah Knight
s.knight@jisc.ac.uk

Paul Bailey
p.bailey@jisc.ac.uk
Helen Beetham
Helen.Beetham@gmail.com
Dave White
david.white@conted.ox.ac.uk

Except where otherwise noted, this
work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND

05/03/2014


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Student expectations and experiences of the digital environment: consultation event

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