Digital students?

This just in from JISC mail: A Guardian supplement published today looks at the way technology has transformed education over the last decade. Sponsored by JISC to launch its 'Student experiences of technology' campaign, the supplement - 'Digital Student' - explores the achievements of institutions in this area and some of the future challenges as universities and colleges look to exploit technology and place the student experience at the heart of learning and teaching.

As Stephen Hoare reports in the opening article: 'Technology has dramatically changed the way students experience university life, and not just in terms of the number of gadgets they own. It has affected where and how they study, helped them collaborate with each other and broken down barriers between students and teachers, social life and study. It has also given students a bigger voice in they way they learn.'

Podcasting, wikis, immersive worlds such as Second Life and texting are just some of the technologies highlighted in the publication, technologies that have placed technology at the heart of the learner experience. How such technologies have impacted on assessment, the management of intellectual property rights, student progression and retention, the building of new and more flexible learning spaces, is also a focus of the supplement.

The challenges faced by institutions during this period of change is a further theme of the supplement. As Stephen Hoare continues, 'All this presents major challenges for institutions, which are also learning to cope with a larger, more demanding and more diverse student body.'

The supplement also highlights JISC's and others' work to support institutions meet these challenges, through innovation projects and through its support for the take-up and use of new technologies. Among the JISC projects and services highlighted are 'learner experience' projects such as LEaD and STROLL; Users and Innovation projects such as APT Stairs, Sounds Good, Web2Rights; e-portfolio activities; the JISC TechDis service which supports the use of technology for disabled students and staff; the Regional Support Centres; market research into students' expectations of technology, and much more.

The supplement also features an interview with Sir David Melville, whose Committee of Inquiry is soon to report on the implications for institutions of students' use of new technologies, and explores a number of institutional initiatives, such as University College Plymouth St Mark and St John's decision three years ago to offer a free laptop to all undergraduates, the University of Leicester's Media Zoo, and the University of Hertfordshire's scheme in which students mentor lecturers in their use of technology.

I acknowledge Philip Pothen, Press and PR Manager of JISC for the contents of this post.