The good news about tech and student mental health
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The document discusses how technology can enhance student well-being and support at universities. It notes that sustained leadership is needed to make well-being a priority. Technology can help by getting important messages to students, enhancing existing support, enabling self-support and independence, and improving access to courses. Top tips are provided for making teaching resources and documents more inclusive through online presentations, accessible media options, self-assessment opportunities, and linked differentiated resources.
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The good news about tech and student mental health
- 1. The good news about technology and well-being Julia Taylor, Subject specialist (inclusion), Jisc
- 2. “There are some VCs who think ...these things are extra.. It can’t be something that belongs to the wellbeing department of the university. This requires sustained and serious leadership from the top.” Sam Gyimah. Universities Minister Slide title goes here
- 3. »Getting the message across »Enhancing existing support »Enabling self-support »Maintaining engagement »Improving access Where can digital add value?
- 4. Getting the message across
- 6. Enabling self-support and independence
- 7. Enabling self-support and independence
- 8. Improving access to courses
- 9. Inclusive digital capability - Improving the students experience
- 10. »Maximise resources online »Make presentations meaningful »Make documents easy to navigate and understand »Provide alternative accessible media »Link to differentiated resources »Provide opportunities for self assessment »Accessible organisations blog Top Tips for inclusive teaching staff
- 11. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND. Julia Taylor Subject specialist (inclusion) Julia.taylor@jisc.ac.uk Thankyou
Editor's Notes
- The good news about technology and well-being Julia Taylor Jisc Subject Specialist Inclusion #connect More18
- https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jun/28/student-mental-health-must-be-top-priority-universities-minister Strategic approach in Scotland AoC Mental health tool kit #stepchange framework “They can’t do that, they’ve got to get behind this programme. It can’t be something that belongs to the wellbeing department of the university. This requires sustained and serious leadership from the top.” Quote from Sam Gyimah. Universities Minister on new mental health imitative includes £100,000 Student minds will be developing a charter with partners, charities and HE bodies - a voluntary award and quality scheme that will recognise and reward those institutions that demonstrate good practice , make student and staff mental health a university-wide priority and deliver improved student mental health and wellbeing outcomes. Mental health to be a top priority Review of the transition between school and university Opting into an alert system Drawing up a mental Health Charter
- Key message – A strategic – whole organisation approach to mental health is required – co-created with students and staff A way of auditing mental health and well being and a platform for sharing knowledge and good practice The key is to be clear where the technology can ‘add value’ to services and interventions that we know work. Getting the message across Enhancing existing support Enabling self-support Maintaining engagement Improving access
- One role universities can play is to promote open discussion, approaching mental health pressures as a normal part of student life that should be accommodated and managed through normal support channels. UWE – focus on prevention #MentalHealthFirst website features student case stories to encourage conversations Online sites like student minds, student forums and online ‘listening sessions’ can provide a valuable, easy to access, informal means of maintaining communication with students who are not engaging fully. Case study: Direct referral Forth Valley to make it immersive – via library on desktop icons – or via an area on student portal UWE and sunderland technology to support wellbeing - link directly to NHS https://www.thinglink.com/scene/866269647333228547
- For staff, ‘Knowing’ an individual student is central to identifying the changes in their behaviour patterns that might invite further investigation by a personal tutor – with larger cohorts to manage, often remotely, technology could at least help present and analyze the patterns . Could we identify students at risk in order to trigger and improve interventions via the existing support channels? The significant ethical and practical concerns about using student data to support their well being were debated at Jisc Digifest 2018. What is clear is the potential to enhance existing support and personalise the response we make more effectively. York University: To idenfy specific mental health needs of postgraduate community and how strategy can be refined to meet them. https://www.york.ac.uk/media/abouttheuniversity/governanceandmanagement/documents/Student%20Mental%20Health%20and%20Wellbeing%20Strategy%202017-2020.pdf
- Acknowledging the obvious limitations, we could build on the popularity of mindfulness courses and apps with more formal research into their effectiveness in order to refine their use. But just by encouraging students to self-monitor their wellbeing and their academic progress in tandem, we acknowledge the connection and the need to prioritise both . The University of the West of England have collaborated on the SAM app which helps students manage anxious thoughts. Abertay University: Jiscs student app - study goal – using holistic data gives the tutor and student a picture. Little bit more of a handle on a student that they might not see from week to week
- The symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress can impact greatly on a students ability to engage with learning and engage with people. Thinking creatively about how students can stay in touch without turning up. Create a thread to keep them attached, to help avoid missed deadlines that might lead to a deterioration in their condition. Designing non time limited activities, and differentiated media rich teaching and flexible assessment that allows for students preferences and strengths as well as vulnerabilities. Encouraging online collaboration ( using Google docs, class tools or linking into social media) will allow a student to contribute remotely and informally rather than face to face, at times when they feel able to participate. University of Wolverhampton songwriters course uses a discussion forum to engage students in group work on song analysis Glasgow Clyde captioned video and transcripts encourage learners to engage more readily and informally
- Inclusive use of technology will also maximise flexibility and responsiveness in the way we teach. Using Built in options to remove unnecessary barriers for those learners who are finding it hard to cope - See our Jisc Hiding in plain site training. Promoting productivity tools widely, apps, even browser plugins, helping students to manage and prioritise their time and work. They can make reading and writing less challenging, with text to speech, voice recognition or by providing referencing and grammar support. Screen capture and recording apps can make it easier to capture learning activities and to review or remember key learning ‘takeaways’ from a teaching session. Glasgow Clyde captioned video and transcripts. Video lessons multi-sensory ways. https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=Djy-eCsZoVE Digital capabilities for staff are crucial so are standards and guidance on using the VLE inclusively. Adding digital reading lists to the courses and structuring them so students can easily follow and find what they need. The University of East London sports therapy skills course has a simple but highly effective traffic light system to help students identify requirements for different outcomes. The University of Westminster’s construction technology and innovation course has clearly identified week- by-week resource collections, with an overview of the content.
- Digital capabilities for staff are crucial so are standards and guidance on using the VLE inclusively. Adding digital reading lists to the courses and structuring them so students can easily follow and find what they need. Read about Inclusive Digital Capability in our Accessible organisations blog https://accessibility.jiscinvolve.org/wp/category/inclusive-digital-capability/ Inclusive Digital Capability – Training for staff will improve the experience for all students Staff digital capability is key to inclusion so Jisc offer training in Inclusive Digital Capability A framework for identifying the digital skills that ensure staff can support every students digital development. Jisc A&I Snapshot - Checking what students get against what students might reasonably expect Students don’t always get what they expect https://youtu.be/z_bwRKnobRQ Our snapshot examines the 5 areas where small changes in the way we use technology can make a big difference to the student experience. There are links to all our services on the next slide
- Top tips for inclusive teaching staff Maximise resources online Make presentations meaningful Make documents easy to navigate and understand Provide alternative accessible media Link to differentiated resources Provide opportunities for self assessment https://accessibility.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2016/03/14/6-tips-teach/ Read about Inclusive Digital Capability in our Accessible organisations blog https://accessibility.jiscinvolve.org/wp/category/inclusive-digital-capability/