Dr Bill Harvey Deputy Director, Learning and Teaching Transforming tertiary education through ICT: hype or reality?

Scottish Funding Council(s) SHEFC created 1992 SFEFC created 1999 Merged Council created October 2005 Total annual funding ~ £1.5 billion

Learning and Teaching policies Quality enhancement Supporting institutions to ensure that students have a high quality educational experience Promoting innovation and the spread of good practice E-learning is ONE area for development

Joint SFEFC/SHEFC E-learning Group Created 2002 Reported 2003 Advice to both Councils Actions taken forward review of progress

Why study e-learning? Widespread interest Lots of hype and speculation Lack of strategic analysis Clarify the roles of institutions and Councils Identify key action points

Pedagogy Focus on learning, not teaching Promote blended learning, not wholly ICT Analyse the learning process; use ICT in a range of different ways Strategic review of the curriculum and delivery methods

Economics E-learning is not cheap Sustainable solutions must be supportable from core institutional funding Identify the intended return on investment Economies of scale require large student cohorts or aggregation

Potential Markets Wide diversity of student markets Increase reach Increase flexibility and choice Overseas markets Do students want this model?

Supply-side issues Technical infrastructure Staff development Content Open source v proprietary solutions Quality and standards Scope for collaborative solutions

Key messages It’s about learning, not technology Economies of scale requires collaborative solutions Incremental and transformational change Strategic change requires re-engineering of institutional processes

Next steps Maintain IT infrastructure Institutional toolkit Staff development and TNA Promote transformational change

Actions taken SuperJANET 5 and RNO procurement Toolkit produced to assist institutional strategic planning HE Training needs analysis conducted £6M Transformation programme launched

Transformational change? Embedded in mainstream processes Core business, not peripheral Substitutes for existing practice, not an ‘optional extra’ Step change in functionality Financially sustainable within institutions’ own budgets

Localised Co-ordinated Impact on core practice Embedding in core practice Re-engineering core practice Evolutionary Phase Transitional Phase Revolutionary Phase Potential Benefits to learners Change in learning and teaching practice Low High Individualised Low. Transformation of practice through e-learning.

Lessons learned so far Not everyone understands our objectives Not everyone is ready for transformation It’s hard to build new collaborations Initiative focus v institutional change Sustainability/exit strategy difficult to obtain Subject communities are not necessarily the answer

Institutional readiness Does the institution want to increase academic productivity? Are leaders committed to e-learning? Is computing firmly integrated into the institutional culture? Does the institution have a mature IT support structure? Does the institution have a real commitment to learner-centred education?

Pedagogy and Staff culture Are staff familiar with e-learning concepts and practice? Is there scope for substitution of capital for labour? Are staff willing to use learning materials from outside? Do staff have the requisite skills – or can they be purchased? Are the students prepared for this?

Challenges and issues (1) Not invented here Cottage industry models What’s the role of the private sector? Open source solutions? Is collaboration ‘real’?

Challenges and issues (2) Diversity of institutions Is this for everyone, or just the few? How will we measure success? Can the whole sector benefit? Can change be sustained? Can good practice be transferred? How can ALT help?