The next ten years

I spent yesterday at the JISC Annual conference in the Liverpool Echo Arena. It was a day packed full of seminars and workshops, and I will report on it later, when there is some space to think. For now though, here is JISC's own report on the keynote given by Eric Thomas:

Professor Eric Thomas, vice chancellor of Bristol University, today highlighted the importance of colleges’ and universities’ use of technology in encouraging student applications. He said: “An integrated, sophisticated use of [new technology] is going to mean that the university is seen as cutting edge and more attractive. I see JISC’s role as assisting us in making the university look as attractive as possible.”

JISC’s deputy chair Professor David Baker agreed: “Over the next 5-10 years JISC will have an ever more vital role to play not just in the education sector but across the UK. I don’t believe that JISC or higher or further education can afford to slow down.”

Against the backdrop of an increasingly demanding student body, Professor Thomas predicted that within ten years there would be more students studying in their home towns to save costs, and that they would also have the choice of non-degree entry to traditional careers like accounting. Professor Thomas also highlighted recent scrutiny of universities’ connections with Libya as an example of how the public see education as operating within a different value system.

He said: “It’s essential that we see ourselves as educational institutions and that we retain our values. People expect higher education to have different value set. It’s really important that we maintain that.”

Professor Thomas’ talk opened the JISC11 conference in Liverpool today, which is attended by nearly 700 delegates from across further and higher education in the UK, China, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain and Sweden.

His keynote introduced a day of advice, guidance and future-gazing on the theme of ‘financial challenges, digital opportunities’ to help colleges and opportunities reduce costs and improve their efficiency.

Follow the conference online using the hashtag #JISC11Watch the live streamed sessions online today and after the conference here.

Press release courtesy of JISC Announce Mail Service

Image source by Eric Jones

The next ten years by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The edgeless university?

This just in from JISC: British universities will lose their leading international standing unless they become much more radical in their use of new technology, a JISC commissioned report says today. British universities occupy four of the top ten world rankings and the UK isone of the top destinations for international students. But the Edgeless University, conducted by Demos on behalf JISC, suggests that a slowness to adopt new models of learning will damage this competitive edge. The research showed that the recession has put universities under intense pressure as threats to funding combine with increasing demand. A wave of applicants is expected to hit universities this summer as record numbers of unemployed young people seek to ‘study out’ the recession.

The report says that online and social media could help universities meet these demands by reaching a greater number of students and improving the quality of research and teaching. Online and DIY learning can create 'edgeless universities' where information, skills and research are accessible far beyond the campus walls.

Malcolm Read OBE, Executive Secretary for JISC, which supported the research, said: ‘The UK is a leading force in the delivery of higher education and its universities and colleges have been punching well above their weight for some time. Safeguarding this reputation means we have to fight harder to stay ahead of developments in online learning and social media, and embracing the Web 2.0 world. ‘This is a great opportunity for UK universities and colleges to open up and make learning more accessible to students who would not traditionally stay on in education. 'Edgeless universities' can transform the way the UK delivers, shares and uses the wealth and quality of information its institutions own.’

The report also calls for universities to acknowledge the impact of the internet by making academic research freely available online. Author of the report, Peter Bradwell, said: ‘The internet and social networks mean that universities are now just one part of the world of learning and research. This means we need their support and expertise more than ever. Just as the music industry may have found the answer to declining CD sales with Spotify, universities must embrace online knowledge sharing and stake a claim in the online market for information.’

The report makes a series of recommendations for opening up university education, including making all research accessible to the public. It says teaching should be placed on a more even footing with research in career progression and status and teaching which uses new technology rewarded.

Read the full report www.jisc.ac.uk/edge09

Image source

Edupunk stalks the institution...

There has been much rhetoric over how academics are increasingly disenchanted with institutional VLE provision and are subscribing to a 'doing it yourself' approach. Students are also voting with their feet, with many preferring to use social networking tools such as Facebook to communicate in place of the institutional e-mail system. The adoption of free social software tools has raised questions over corporate branding, security and privacy issues, and legal requirements. The storm is just beginning, and people are now getting worried, for according to this press release from JISC earlier today:

As learners increasingly adopt free third party email providers over their institutional email, further and higher education institutions are faced with whether to follow the crowd by outsourcing their email and data services.

JISC, UCISA and Universities UK recognise this challenge and are today launching two new briefing papers to help institutions understand the implications and opportunities involved in no longer hosting their own email service.

Steve Bailey, Senior Advisor at JISC infoNet, said: "Outsourcing email and data storage facilities is being viewed as an increasingly attractive proposition by many institutions faced with growing user demand for increased storage and functionality.

"However, it is important that institutions enter into such arrangement with their eyes wide open and fully appreciate that outsourcing these services does not also outsource their management responsibilities, liabilities and obligations.

"These papers highlight the experiences of four institutions, the University of Westminster, the University of Oxford, Leeds Metropolitan University and Glasgow Caledonian University on how they considered outsourcing and what solutions worked for them," added Steve.

The opportunities include:

* Enhanced and enriched student learner experience
* Email account with an ac.uk address
* Retain email account beyond leaving education
* Storage of emails in GB rather than MB - greater capacity
* Access calendar and file storage services
* Information sharing.

The implications are:

* Hidden setup costs
* Legal, contractual and procurement processes
* Whether to outsource email services for learners, or learners and staff
* Privacy and confidentiality of data storage
* Compliance with Freedom of Information and Data Protection Acts
* Beta status of services - which are constantly changing.

David Harrison, Chair of UCISA, said, "There are many aspects an institution should consider before opting to outsource. These papers highlight the issues and encourage institutions to take a holistic view when considering outsourcing."

So Edupunk is stalking the institution, and has begun to undermine previously secure and structured provision. Where will it all end? Your views and experiences will be welcomed on this blog - post your comments here.

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.

Wikis in Stages

I have had a lot of interest about the Wiki Activities 5 Stages Model I presented recently in Plymouth, Bristol, and Utrecht, Holland. By popular demand then, I have posted up the PowerPoint presentation I used at the JISC Higher Education Conference in Bristol on Tuesday which has graphic illustrations of all of the stages with some examples and a hyperlink to one of the live wikis. There is also some initial research data to support the use of wikis for collaborative and reflective learning.

You will also find the PowerPoint presentation about MentorBlog project on the same site. Any feedback from interested persons will be gratefully received....

JISC does well

Enjoyed an interesting and profitable day at the JISC South West Regional (Higher Education) e-Learning conference in Bristol today. Travelled up under blue skies... a good omen. The venue (At Bristol, left) was high quality, and apart from occasional 'noises off' from the exhibition downstairs, a most excellent place to hold a conference. Food was good - company was good. Met up with some old friends including James Clay (Gloucestershire - who did some live streaming video from the event), and Andy Ramsden (now Head of e-Learning at Bath), both in the picture below.... as well as David Benzie (Marjons) and Ali Press (Cornwall College).

After a somewhat disappointing start from some of the keynotes, we got down to some real business in the breakout sessions. Neil Witt (Plymouth) was on form with his presentation on videoconferencing. Julie Hughes (Wolverhampton) presented an interesting and engaging talk on blogging and e-portfolios for PGCE students. I used my iPhone to Twitter throughout the day directly to this blog for the first time. Will do more of this from other events. My own two sessions on MentorBlog and WikiLit projects were well attended and seemed to be well received going on the feedback I had. There were also papers on mobile learning, Shibboleth and digital storytelling to name a few.

So congratulations, JISC - you have done well with this one day event, succeeding in bringing together the great and the good e-learning bods from across the region in a thought provoking and stimulating day. But, please, one small word to the wise - there is still room for improvement on the keynote speaker front!

I'm shy, therefore iHub

I'm speaking at the JISC Regional Support Centre conference in Taunton later today. (streuth - it's 1.30 am already - better get some kip in a moment....) It's an event especially laid on for learning technologists and 'webmasters' (are there any of those still around?) and looks so interesting I may stay for the whole day.... I'm accompanied by my colleague Graham Russell who is a health psychologist here at the University of Plymouth, and a marauding band of learning technologists who are doing wonderful things with ...erm... learning technology at the moment. We will be presenting an update about our project - the development and testing of the iHub - a web service for students who suffer from social anxiety (shyness).

Other presentations are from Mel Roberts (JISC RSC), Janet Harvel (Bridgewater College) and a fellow edublogger ... James Clay (Gloucestershire College). Remember Hood 2.0? That was him, that was....

A JISCy Business

There are a number of conferences I plan to attend this year, so I can find out what the latest is on e-learning and how it is being embedded in education. If you bump into me, do say hello ..... I haven't bitten anyone in over a year now. I have also been invited to speak at several conferences, and will do my best to report back from as many events as I can over the year, right here in this blog.

One particularly interesting fast approaching event is hosted by the JISC South West Regional Support Centre in Bristol, on April 8th, four days after the Plymouth e-Learning Conference. Entitled Innovation through partnership, the one day event will showcase several recently funded projects. Mobile learning will feature, as will videoconferencing. Shibboleth will rear it's head, and digital repositories will put in an appearance. My two (yes two) papers will feature our CETT funded projects on blogging for mentors and wikis for delivery of the minimum core delivery. You'll be hearing so much about these two studies from this blog over the year that you will probably sell up house and move somewhere where the internet isn't... Mars is a possible option.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to attending, and hearing some interesting, kind of JISCy stuff. See you there maybe...?

Dinosaur warning!

Is the traditional library in danger of becoming a dinosaur? Well, a new report, issued on 16th January and commissioned by JISC and the British Library, warns it may do if libraries don't change to keep pace with digital trends.

The report challenges the common assumption that the ‘Google Generation’ – young people born or brought up in the Internet age – is the most adept at using the web. The report by the CIBER research team at University College London claims that, although young people demonstrate an ease and familiarity with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to asses the information that they find on the web.

The report ‘Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future’ also shows that research-behaviour traits that are commonly associated with younger users – impatience in search and navigation, and zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs – are now the norm for all age-groups, from younger pupils and undergraduates through to professors.

The study calls for libraries to respond urgently to the changing needs of researchers and other users and to understand the new means of searching and navigating information. Learning what researchers want and need is crucial if libraries are not to become obsolete, the report warns.

The findings also send a stark message to increasingly lack-lustre Brown government - that young people are dangerously lacking information skills. Well-funded information literacy programmes are needed, it continues, if the UK is to remain as a leading knowledge economy with a strongly-skilled next generation of researchers. Will the government see the dangers and cough up some funds? Do a dog's lips move when it reads?

Dame Lynne Brindley DBE, Chief Executive of the British Library, said of the report findings: “Libraries have to accept that the future is now. At the British Library we have adopted the ‘Wiki’ view and the ‘Beta’ mindset. We have seized many of the opportunities new technology offers to inspire our users to learn, discover and innovate. However, we must do more and welcome the report findings, particularly the need to equip users of all age-groups with wider information and digital literacy skills.”

Dr Malcolm Read, Executive Secretary of JISC, welcomed the publication of the report, saying: “These findings add to our growing understanding of subjects that should concern all who work in further and higher education – the changing needs of our students and researchers and how libraries can meet their needs. We hope that this report will encourage debate around these important questions. We hope it will also serve to remind us all that students and researchers will continue to need the appropriate skills and training to help navigate an increasingly diverse and complex information landscape.”

Bringing e-learning to book

A new book arrived on my desk on Friday. I get a lot of them these days, mainly because I'm the book review editor for a journal called Interactive Learning Environments. A lot of freebies land on my desk and I then send them out to reviewers, who write their comments and then get to keep the book as 'payment'. But this one caught my eye, and I thought - I'm going to review this one myself! I'm glad I did.

It's by Chris Hill (he manages the JISC Regional Support Centre in the East Midlands), and is entitled 'Teaching with e-learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector'. It caught my eye, because it covers quite a number of issues and concerns that currently impact upon e-learning in further education. OK, It has JISC stamped all over it. But Hill does offer some useful little models and frameworks to help people understand what has, frankly, started to resemble the battle of the Somme. He expertly picks his way through the morass of ILT, ICT, IT and e-learning, and neatly skirts around the machine gun posts of Moodle and other VLEs. He even avoids the minefield that is social networking (I was disappointed with this, even Web 2.0 barely merits more than half a page) but then carelessly allows himself to be snagged on the barbed wire of learning styles and individual differences. Nearly a home run, but no cigar.

Hill lobs in a molotov cocktail of theories, models and frameworks towards the reader, and then waits for it to explode. There are many, many problems with 'learning styles', and I would not be as courageous as Chris Hill to venture into attempting to unpick them, especially not in the field of e-learning, I can tell you. Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles Inventory for example, has been *heavily* criticised by just about every self respecting psychologist (and his dog) for not only being overly prescriptive, and ignoring personal and group contexts, but also for demonstrating exactly .... zero internal reliability.... when tested. Bandler and Grinder's Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) theory is even more reviled, not least due to Richard Bandler, a cocaine addict who associated with gangsters, who was tried for the brutal murder of one of his girlfriends. NLP has been slated for lacking any scientific validation - and yet it is still sold as a personal development concept, (earning its inventors a never ending stream of money) and just like Honey and Mumford's theory, is swallowed whole by many FE and HE education lecturers.

Despite this dodgy little section in the book, which Hill tries gamefully to hold together, the remaining sections of the book, although in places simplistic, are useful and at times even insightful. There is also a dusting of humour which never goes amiss. The standard QTS/QTLS style Learning Matters format pervades throughout, with the obligatory Practical and Reflective Tasks and Teaching Tips. and there is a visual overview at the end of each chapter which, I suspect, most readers will ignore.

My verdict: Generally this book will be useful to all those who are embarking on a career of teaching in the 'Learning Skills Sector' (read Further Education), and I will be recommending it to all my students in this field. My advice: Drop the first two words of the title Chris: "e-Learning in the Lifelong Learning Sector" says it better.