technology and education

1. Technology, Education and Student
Outcomes at Northumbria University
Professor Peter Francis
Deputy Vice-Chancellor

2. NORTHUMBRIA
UNIVERSITY

3. Northumbria University Vision
2025
Partnership
Working
Where With
Business
Education
Globally
Research
What
• Northumbria University’s Vision for
2025 is to be a research-rich,
business-focused, professional
university with a global reputation for
academic excellence.
• Our ambition is to reposition
ourselves in the top quartile of
universities in the UK, reaching top
30, then top 20.
• Our ambitious University Strategy
2018-23 sets out the next phase in
our transformation, with an increased
pace of change.

4. Progress Towards Transformation
• Top 20 UK University by size
• 32 subjects
• New programme areas e.g. Cyber
Security, Artificial Intelligence, Human
Computer Interaction
• Multidisciplinary research and areas
of particular research strength, e.g.
HCI, Digital Living, security and
policing, future engineering,
glaciology

5. Quality at Our Core
UK Top 50 for Good
Honours
Top 250 in the world
for research citations
UK Top 50 for
Student Experience
World Top 500
University
No. 1 in the UK for
Graduate Start-Ups
Top 50 UK
University
7th Largest Provider
of Graduates into
Professional Jobs
Top 30 in the UK for
Entrance Quality
Top 10 in the UK for
Transnational
Education
Top 50 in the UK for
Research Power
32nd out of 116 in
the UK for student
experience
World Top 200 for
Employment and
Employer-Student
Connections

6. Education Strategic Plan
2018-23

7. Rebalanced and refocused taught portfolio based on
quality and demand
More collaborative and small group learning
Technological innovation in the classroom
Experiential and degree plus opportunities for all
students
Post-study employment support for all students
Expanded Knowledge Exchange portfolio
Transformed Student and
Stakeholder Outcomes

8.  Technology is changing all aspects of higher education and will
increasingly drive innovation in both teaching and research.
 Our strategic aims:
1. Teaching will be enabled by technology and educational analytics will
enable students to take responsibility for their own development.
2. All students will have a research-rich, experiential and enquiry-based
educational experience.
3. Students will be equipped with the skills, knowledge and reflexivity
they need to succeed in a digital, global, changing world.
4. Programme design and delivery will be outcome base
5. Working in partnership delivers results
Education, Technology and
Student Outcomes

9. 1. Teaching and Learning will be
enabled and enhanced by

10.  Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) at Northumbria is about:
 Bringing people – staff and students - and technology together to
improve the learning, teaching, assessment and wider student
experience for all.
 Ensuring innovation and creativity are actively encouraged and
supported through a model of provision that is effective, efficient
and accessible to all.
 Allowing the pedagogy and learning opportunities that it offers to drive
the approach and not allowing the technology itself to take over or drive
the agenda
 Informed by evidence from evaluation and research at institutional,
sector and trans-sector levels.
Technology Enhanced Learning at
Northumbria University

11. Technology, Education and Student
Outcomes
Customer
Relationship
Management
Portfolio and
Programme
Delivery
Student
Central
Workstreams >>>
1. Blackboard Ultra
2. Electronic Marking and Assessment
3. Educational Analytics
4. Attendance Monitoring
5. Digital Fluency
6. Innovation in the Classroom
7. Student Surveys
8. Distance Learning
Data and
Technolog
y

12. Blackboard Ultra
A new Virtual Learning Environment launched for use
by all students from academic year 2018/19, with
course level conversions planned for 2019/20.
A best-in-class VLE (comprising a number of
technologies and tools) using a mix of the right
technologies in a joined-up way in which all the
University’s programmes are managed and delivered.
Outcomes
 A consistent module experience for all students –
campus, online, distance, overseas
 Mobile responsive, anytime, anywhere, anyway
 Improved Accessibility
 SaaS Continuous delivery
 Deeper internal and external system integration

13. Blackboard Ultra for:
Electronic
Management of
Assessment
• E-Submission
• E- Marking
• E-moderation
• Peer Assessment
• Video Audio
Feedback
• TurnItIn integration
• Originality Reporting
Blended and Distance
Learning
• Collaboration tools
• Discussion Boards
• Blackboard
Collaborate
• Journals
• Electronic Reading Lists
Innovation in the
Classroom
• Accessibility
• Blackboard
Ally
• Quizzes
• Communication
Tools
• Adaptively release
content
• LTI Integration

14.  A new Student Attendance Monitoring solution will be implemented for use by all
UK-based students from academic year 2019/20.
 A pilot of new solution is now underway involving 1,700 students and will identify
further improvements that can be made before the new academic year.
Outcomes:
 Improved capability to enable monitoring of all student Learning and Teaching
activities.
 Better quality data to inform Learning Analytics and engagement with students
to improve support, retention and progression.
 Reduced income lost due to non-continuation of study.
 Improve student satisfaction – move to student self-service approach to record
attendance in class via smartcard readers and also online.
Student Attendance Monitoring

15. A state of the art Student Central
building with managed hubs to
ensure consistency of student
experience
A state of the art Student Portal
hosted in Microsoft Azure to
ensure that the student experience
is the same as online as in person
Student Portal and Student
Central

16. Educational Analytics at
Northumbria
...an Educational Data Mining (EDM) platform which harvests, processes and analyses Big Data from the Learning Environment to identify
patterns and generate insights facilitated by investment in...
...Institutional
Analytics
which enables strategic
interventions for
improved utilisation
of physical, spatial,
technological or digital
resources and informed
communications...
Academic Analytics
which empowers staff to
make academic, pedagogic
or other Learning and
Teaching interventions..
Learning Analytics which
promotes targeted personal,
pastoral, wellbeing or other
support interventions ...
Learner Analytics which
enables students to self-
regulate their learning and
benchmark their performance
through targeted
communication, visualisation
tools and other enhancement
activities...
A transformative and immersive experience evidenced through improved student outcomes enabled by .
Northumbria Educational Analytics 2023
Systems People
Data
Adaptive Analytics which
drives a customised learning
environment where
programmes, staff, services,
resources and technology are
optimised...
...as part of a personalised student experience which is built upon...
...a high quality, academically challenging learning community which delivers proactive and tailored support models enabled by...
Processes Policies
Theory of
change
Inputs
Benefit
Outcome

17. All staff and students will be supported to achieve a threshold
level of digital literacy against the following elements:
• ICT proficiency
• Information, data and media literacies
• Digital creation, problem solving and innovation
• Digital learning and development
• Digital communication, collaboration and participation
• Digital identity and wellbeing
Digital Fluency – Business
Outcome 6

18. Overarching principles:
1. Pedagogy
2. Context
3. Digital capability threshold
4. Peer support
5. Change management strategy
6. Evidence-informed rationale
7. Innovation and risk-taking
Guidelines for Developing Digitally-
Capable Teaching Excellence*
* Digital capability and teaching excellence: an integrative review exploring what
infrastructure and strategies are necessary to support effective use of technology enabled
learning (TEL) Dr Liz Austen, Helen J Parkin, Stella Jones-Devitt, Kieran McDonald and

19. 2. Students will have a Research-
Rich, Experiential Educational

20. Research Rich Learning
Research-based Curriculum
emphasises students undertaking
enquiry-based learning
Research-tutored Curriculum
emphasises learning focused on
students writing and discussing
papers or essays
EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH
CONTENT
Research-led
Curriculum is structured
around teaching
subject content
STUDENTS AS PARTICIPANTS
EMPHASIS ON RESEARCH
PROCESSES
AND PROBLEMS
Research-oriented Curriculum
emphasises teaching processes of
knowledge construction
in the subject
STUDENTS AS AUDIENCE

21. 3. Students will be Equipped with
the Skills, Knowledge and
Reflexivity they need to Succeed
in a Digital, Global, Changing

22.  The Career EDGE model:
 Career development learning
 Experience – placements, live
projects and study abroad
 Degree subject knowledge
and skill
 Generic skills transferable
from university
 Emotional intelligence.
Employability Through Learning
• Career Readiness
• Placement / Internship / Study
Abroad
• Opportunities to Apply for
Professional Employment
Northumbria is ranked as one of the
top universities for ‘job readiness.’**
*Destination of Leavers from Higher Education
Survey 2016/17 (DLHE)

23. Employability
• Placements.
• Live Projects.
• Study Abroad – Amsterdam.
• Experiential Learning and Clinics.
Northumbria is ranked 1st in the UK
for graduate start-ups.*
*Higher Education Business and Community Interaction Survey 2016/17
(HEBCIS)

24. Professional Recognition

25. 4. Programme Design
and Delivery will be
Outcome Based

26. Programme Framework for Northumbria Awards
(PFNA)
Research-Rich
Learning
Employability
Through
Learning
Technology-
Enhanced
Learning
Assessment
For Learning
Student Outcomes: Recruitment, Continuation, Achievement,
Satisfaction, Employment or Further Study
Programme Design and Delivery
for Results

27. 5. Working in
Partnership Delivers

28. Partnership Working as a Stylistic Trait
Technology:
Blackboard
TurnitIn
Pearson
Civitas Learning
Evasys
Strategic
Partnerships:
Northumbria
Police
Durham Police
Virgin Money
EY
Vertu
Delivery:
St George’s
University
Kaplan
BMS

29. Transformative partnerships

30. TEF Silver Award
Top 50 in UK for
Overall Satisfaction
Top 50 in UK for
Student Experience
Top 50 in UK for
Firsts/2:1s
Ranked 12th in UK
for Learning Gain
Top 50 in UK for the
proportion of
graduates in
employment or
further study
Eight subjects in the
top 30 in the UK for
Graduate Prospects
Consistently high
continuation rates
Student Experience and Learning
outcomes – achievements so far
Entry Standards
improved from 58th
in 2013 to 45th in
2018
Overall Satisfaction
improved from 73rd
in 2014 to 49th in
2018
Firsts/2:1s improved
from 87th in 2013 to
48th in 2018
% of graduates in
employment or
further study up
from 75th (2011/12)
to 44th (2016/17)

31. Summary and Conclusions
Technology Enabled
Learning
Education Strategic
Plan 2018-23
Employability and
Reflexivity
Innovative
Programme Design
Research Rich and
Experiential
Working in
Partnership