JISC 01/08: Institutional Responses to Emerging Technologies Nov 13, 2008, London 08/06/09 | SRC Briefing | Slide R esearching E merging A dmin Ch annels (an institutional “experiment”) Professor Mark Stubbs Head of Learning & Research Technologies M anchester M etropolitan U niversity [email_address]

JISC 01/08| REACh Overview Programme Aim… To understand issues surrounding the support for emergent technologies of Web 2.0 software and mobile devices from an institutional and organisational perspective – to help institutions manage their responses to the challenges that can arise, particularly in the context of staff and students’ demand for flexible access REACh response… Action-research on responses of diverse student groups when administrative communication processes are extended to deliver personalised information via RSS feeds and mobile channels Publish personalised RSS feeds from the institutional VLE and integrate with SMS (text messaging) gateway to push urgent messages to mobile numbers that learners supply through web-based subscription management service 08/06/09 | SRC Briefing | Slide

Programme Aim…

To understand issues surrounding the support for emergent technologies of Web 2.0 software and mobile devices from an institutional and organisational perspective – to help institutions manage their responses to the challenges that can arise, particularly in the context of staff and students’ demand for flexible access

REACh response…

Action-research on responses of diverse student groups when administrative communication processes are extended to deliver personalised information via RSS feeds and mobile channels

Publish personalised RSS feeds from the institutional VLE and integrate with SMS (text messaging) gateway to push urgent messages to mobile numbers that learners supply through web-based subscription management service

REACh | Institutional Context MMU Size: 34,000 students; 4,400 staff (1,500 FT teaching) Geography: 5 Manchester sites; 2 in Cheshire Positioning: “The University for World-Class Professionals” Current initiatives: Admin & services restructuring; Estate consolidation; Institutional Audit; MLE; 2 new DVCs: Strategic Planning & Student Experience… IT infrastructure: Novell (file, print, email); Agresso (SRS); SAP (finance); Talis (library); WebCT Vista (vle) Imperatives: improve satisfaction/retention league table position Institution (90 th Times ) Biological Science (81 st Times ) Computer Science (70 th Times ) Law (47 th Times ) 08/06/09 | SRC Briefing | Slide

MMU

Size: 34,000 students; 4,400 staff (1,500 FT teaching)

Geography: 5 Manchester sites; 2 in Cheshire

Positioning: “The University for World-Class Professionals”

Current initiatives: Admin & services restructuring; Estate consolidation; Institutional Audit; MLE; 2 new DVCs: Strategic Planning & Student Experience…

IT infrastructure: Novell (file, print, email); Agresso (SRS); SAP (finance); Talis (library); WebCT Vista (vle)

Imperatives: improve satisfaction/retention league table position

Institution (90 th Times )

Biological Science (81 st Times )

Computer Science (70 th Times )

Law (47 th Times )

REACh | Institutional Approach Secured Senior Management support for… A self-contained, properly-evaluated action-research intervention Piloting RSS/SMS infrastructure before institution-wide rollout decision Exploring cost implications up-front Expecting… Evaluation Report for ICT Strategy Group & Directorate 08/06/09 | REACh Briefing | Slide

Secured Senior Management support for…

A self-contained, properly-evaluated action-research intervention

Piloting RSS/SMS infrastructure before institution-wide rollout decision

Exploring cost implications up-front

Expecting…

Evaluation Report for ICT Strategy Group & Directorate

REACh | Technical Approach 08/06/09 | SRC Briefing | Slide IMS Enterprise XML Agresso SRS Provisioning System WebCT Vista Oracle Fast-refresh Replication REACh SMS Gateway JDBC API calls RSS news Subscription Management Text alerts

Population Research Design Baseline user survey of 3 groups (Nov/Dec 08) Analysis of system data: RSS/SMS usage patterns (Apr/May 09) Post-intervention evaluation survey of 3 groups (Apr/May 09) Focus group evaluation 3 x 2 x 3 (Apr/May 09) Stakeholder interviews: lecturers, admin, IT, finance, L&T support (Apr/May 09) REACh | Research Approach 08/06/09 | REACh Briefing | Slide 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25+ Total Ratio Biology F 21 15 7 4 2 2 1 7 59 52% M 18 11 11 3 2 1 1 8 55 48% Computing F 28 18 2 8 1 0 1 1 59 25% M 43 50 36 17 9 2 5 11 173 75% Law F 2 71 24 13 1 4 1 4 120 62% M 0 36 15 9 5 5 2 2 74 38% 540

Population

Research Design

Baseline user survey of 3 groups (Nov/Dec 08)

Analysis of system data: RSS/SMS usage patterns (Apr/May 09)

Post-intervention evaluation survey of 3 groups (Apr/May 09)

Focus group evaluation 3 x 2 x 3 (Apr/May 09)

Stakeholder interviews: lecturers, admin, IT, finance, L&T support (Apr/May 09)

REACh | Progress … we didn’t count on VLE becoming victim of its own success… October: moved 1.5 Terrabytes network traffic and all AV now on Apple! 1,040 regular staff users; 23,000+ students Experiencing load-related performance/stability problems can’t afford to give Blackboard excuse to blame REACh so haven’t deployed to live servers that said… http://portal.mmu.ac.uk/reach/rss.aspx?u=99900496 … which is already raising questions in the pilot departments about communications policy 08/06/09 | REACh Briefing | Slide ! Change at Work

… we didn’t count on VLE becoming victim of its own success…

October: moved 1.5 Terrabytes network traffic and all AV now on Apple!

1,040 regular staff users; 23,000+ students

Experiencing load-related performance/stability problems

can’t afford to give Blackboard excuse to blame REACh so haven’t deployed to live servers

that said…

http://portal.mmu.ac.uk/reach/rss.aspx?u=99900496

… which is already raising questions in the pilot departments about communications policy