Developing the Guided Learner Journey Paul Hudson - User Experience Development Manager Helen Barefoot - Deputy Director of the Learning and Teaching Innovation Centre University of Hertfordshire

Very much embedded into the University culture and working practices. Background Facilitates a continuum of student engagement from blended approaches to online distance learning 2001 – Studynet launched Receives 17,000 unique logins Manages over 250,000 assignment submissions Very much embedded into the University culture and working practices.

Looking to the future The need to change: Limitations of the programming software Reliance on small team for developments Future proofing Mobile compatibility University wide consultation (2014) Discussion forums with staff from all 10 academic Schools Student focus groups including students from all Schools and all levels of study Online forums with distance learning/online students Idea gathering at our annual learning and teaching conference and our partner conference Meetings within the Hertfordshire Students’ Union Discussion forums with the Doctoral College including supervisors and PGR students Alumni survey

Phased Implement- ation Change Process Consultation Agree aspirations for new Online Learning Environment Consult on requirements Identify potential challenges for staff and students and identify strategies to overcome these Prototyping and piloting Pilot module: ‘Academic Skills’ Full-scale pilot – 26 live Guided Learner Journey modules Tender Process All feedback from consultations, prototypes, engagement events and pilots captured and prioritised into tender document Competitive process to identify partners Phased Implement- ation Extensive staff and students training programme Year 4 modules September 2017 All other modules from September 2018

University wide agreed Principles Be simple and intuitive to use and developed around the needs of students and staff Provide a personalised portal that will support a range of pedagogically sound learning and assessment opportunities Facilitate effective communication between staff and students; students and their peers; and students and their representatives Facilitate the provision of a consistent experience across a student’s modules Give students a clear sense of their learning pathways (within each module and across their modules) Enable students to enhance their learning pathways and create a record of their learning by annotating, adding to it and sharing it as they see fit Provide effective data analytic and module feedback mechanisms to facilitate module enhancement, student success and student satisfaction Seamlessly integrate third party services, giving staff and students greater choice in how to support and engage in learning

What it needed to have Areas for peer interactivity, collaboration and sharing A single portal - access integrated University services Personalisation for individuals using the student record -allowing for personal customisation, features and tools Rich assessment and feedback workflows and supporting tools A single communications channel -targeted messages for groups and events

What we want in relation to the Guided Learner Journey Module sites should provide a consistent presentation of learning activities and resources Provision of a timeline / overview for learning activities and assessment points at module and programme level Students should be able to comment on and supplement the resources and learning activities A more effective search functionality should be available Simple mechanisms should be available to provide links to journals, eBooks and other external resources Students should be able to customise / personalise their view of the module site, including alternative views of the GLJ by, for example, topic rather than timeline Module sites should provide a consistent presentation of learning activities and resources There should be provision of a timeline / overview for learning activities and assessment points at module and programme level Students should be able to comment on and supplement the resources and learning activities in the GLJ A more effective search functionality should be available Simple mechanisms should be available to provide links to journals, eBooks and other external resources Students should be able to customise / personalise their view of the module site, including alternative views of the GLJ by, for example, topic rather than timeline

Prototypes and pilot modules What did module leaders like? Defined structure - prompted additional thinking about how they layout their course and supporting materials. Look and feel of module sites.

Tender process and selecting partners

Implementation

Staff and Student Guidance

Training and Support Extensive regular programme of workshops Staff member feedback: ‘I love [the GLJ] and I’m so happy we got training before the summer starts. Everything has been so well organised.’ Level 4 student feedback ‘It supports me a lot, as it is very easy to access and it gives me notifications on anything important and any work that needs to be completed; therefore it helps me to be prepared.’ Level 4 student feedback ‘It allows me to see the structure of my module and how it’s split into different parts. This helps me when planning out my revision.’ Extensive regular programme of workshops One-to-one sessions Office walks and drop ins Programme, subject-level or School-level bespoke workshops Training videos Online guidance documents Online module for staff 20 student technology mentors to support staff on a one-to-one basis

Conclusion Staff and Student consultation Discussions Agreement of Vision and Principles Prototyping and Piloting Tender process Implementation Staff and Student consultation Partnership working both with students and commercial providers

Thank you