1. HEA
Digital
Champions
pilot
Supporting transition
with peer-learning and
digital stories
University of Liverpool
2013/14

2. Project context
Undergraduate students may be enthusiastic,
competent users of digital tools but need
guidance to use them in an academic context.
Simon Snowden, Lecturer,Academic lead, University of Liverpool
Clickable image: https://stream.liv.ac.uk/tjcb69jn

3. Project context
ULMS211 student journal entry

4. Project aims
The project aims to support the transition of
first-year students in their academic study and
employ them with skills that would benefit them
beyond graduation.

5. Objectives
• Engage 5 digital champions (3rd year students) to offer
peer-learning for first-year students on making their
academic study easier.
• Engage the Digital champions in creating videos in the
form of digital stories.
• Create edit and share the videos for wider use.
• Investigate students’ perspectives on micro-
certification as a way of recognising their skill
development.
• Evaluate the pilot and whether this peer-learning model
is successful for wider adoption institutionally and
beyond.

6. Recruited champions from an enquiry-based learning module
(ULMS211)

7. The Digital Champions 2013/14
Bradley Griffin Adam Byrne
Emily Evans Laura Cash
Who makes good
Digital Champions?

8. Intended outcomes
• First-year students
– To foster the development of digital learning skills
in students in a disciplinary context.
• Digital champions
– To gain further confidence in their digital skills
through peer-learning.
– To be able to articulate the progress they have
made in the area of digital literacies development.

9. What happened?
• Training and support (e.g. RefWorks by Library)
• Peer-learning drop-in sessions
– In library – Friday afternoons!
– With laptop
• Digital story creation (video)
• Later: Facebook group & handout created by
students

10. Sample videos created by Digital Champions

11. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/qcey96ab

12. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/e6ayx3q4
1

13. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/unas3adx
2

14. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/qvuczabf
3

15. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/ha6uuv8h
4

16. https://stream.liv.ac.uk/brgjpubr
5

17. Pilot evaluation
• Focus group (Champions) & Survey (Year 1)

18. Outcomes

19. Benefits for the Digital Champions
“When you have the responsibility to
teach others,
you change your ways of doing things.
You review your bad [study] habits and
develop good habits.”
“Good for the CV”
“Good feeling of being
able to help students”
Skills acquired:
Digital study skills
Problem-solving
Teamworking and
leadership skills

20. Benefits for first-years
”I could really relate to
Digital Champions as they were my age
and experienced the same thing as
me.”
Advice gained on digital skills - essay writing, using referencing
software and general advice on being a Management School student:
“[Digital Champions] made the research for my assignment easier”
“reassuring”

21. Digital Literacies
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/
developed

22. Self-perception of need
vs
“It was extremely
helpful even
though I didn’t
realise this at first.
I visited them
twice for general
advice.”
“Students are
more familiar with
the technology
and don’t feel they
need the
support.”

23. What support would be useful?

24. What aspects of general advice would
be most useful to you? (n=37)
13
9
15
21
3
0
5
10
15
20
25
Gaining
confidence in
Y1
Getting to
know senior
students
Familirise
with Y1 study
requirements
Advice on
assignment
writing
Signposting
me to
ULMS/Uni
support

25. What DL support would be useful? (n=37)
19 19 19
17 17 17 16 15 14
12 11 10
8 7 6
4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20

26. Areas in most needed: those
relevant to their assignment writing
All 7 areas of digital literacies in need

27. Student suggestions (Y1+Y3)
• Keep doing the Digital Champions project!
• Practicalities:
–Timing: Not last thing on Fridays!
–Venue: Outside lecture theatre.
• Better introduction as to what Champions can
offer.
• Champion-led Y1 workshop - chance to get
to know them
• Online extension to reach Champions.

28. Considerations / Recommendations
• Online access :
– considerations e.g. Champions’ workload, response
time, availability?
– VLE vs Facebook?
• Training
– Extend training for Champions : e.g. media literacy
(see gap/needs list).
– ?Identify DL practices in Co/Extra/Curriculum?

29. Next year plans
• Continuing with this approach in the
Management School and
• Looking for wider institutional adoption
– Linking to existing peer-learning initiatives
• Certification and links with HEAR

30. University of Liverpool Project team
TündeVarga-Atkins (co-lead), eLearning Unit
Emma Thompson (co-lead) & Beryl Stanley, Library
Simon Snowden (academic lead), Management School
Dave Hocker (multimedia)
Digital Champions 2013/14
Adam Byrne, Laura Cash, Bradley Griffin and Emily Evans
Poster credit
Lynne Crook (drawing)
Amy Jackson (typography and digitisation)
Blog: http://digilearnblog.liv.ac.uk/
Contact : tva@liv.ac.uk