Speakers: Sarah Knight, head of change: student experience, Jisc Helen Beetham, co-leader, Jisc digital student study Duncan MacIver, senior learning technologist, Canterbury Christ Church University Dave Monk, e-learning development coordinator, Harlow College Kelly Edwards, director of professional development, Harlow College Simon Bowler, learning media services manager, Exeter College Ali Rezaei Nico and Ben Gardner, students, Exeter College Anna Udalowska, communications, marketing and e-learning support officer, Aberystwyth College Kate Wright, e-learning group manager, Aberystwyth College Emma Boys and Athena-Li Hales, students, Harlow College Vida Köster, student, Canterbury Christ Church University See what current research is surfacing about students’ expectations and experiences of technology. In this workshop you will learn how universities and colleges are gathering students’ views on their digital experiences. You will hear from students and their views on technology and how this is being utilised in their places of study. You will learn how Jisc supports organisations in making use of this data to help develop their understanding of students’ expectations of the digital environment.

1. The student
digital experience
How are students’ expectations and
experiences of their digital
environment changing?
Sarah Knight, Jisc

2. > Helen Beetham, Educational consultant
> Duncan MacIver, Senior learning technologist, Canterbury Christ Church University
with Vida Koster (studying Applied Criminology/Psychology, Level 6)
> Dave Monk, e-Learning development co-ordinator and Kelly Edwards, Director of
professional development, Emma Boys (studying media, level 3) and Athena-Li
Hales (Diploma in IT, level 2), Digital ambassadors, Harlow College
> Simon Bowler, Learning media services manager with Ali Rezaei Nico and
Ben Gardner, students, Exeter college
> Kate Wright, E-learning group manager and Anna Udalowska, IS communications,
marketing and e-learning support officer, Aberystwyth University
Our speakers

3. > To share and discuss current research in
students’ expectations and experiences
of technology
> To showcase examples of institutional
approaches to engaging students about
their digital experience
> To hear from students what their views
are on technology
> To explore Jisc resources to support
organisations with developing a better
understanding of students’ expectations
and experiences of the digital environment
> To share ideas and what works in practice
Our aims for this workshop:

4. >Icebreaker activity
>Introducing the student digital experience tracker - Helen
>Canterbury Christ Church University – Duncan and Vida
>Exeter College – Simon, Ali and Ben
>Group discussion 1
>Aberystwyth University – Kate and Anna
>Harlow College – Dave, Kelly, Emma and Athena
>Group discussion 2
>Plenary panel
Overview of our workshop

5. > Think about your personal ‘digital superpower’
> What technology do you use everyday?
> What digital habits do other people ask you for
advice with?
> What are you proud of doing well with digital tech?
> Write your digital superpower on a post-it note and stick
it to you
> Introduce yourself and your superpower to a neighbour
Introducing you…

6. >Often students' first experiences
>Many courses now hybrid/blended
>Students want to use their own devices
and services
>Students expect universities and
colleges to prepare them for digital
workplaces
>Affects students' sense of wellbeing
and belonging
>Opportunities for students to be
partners and experts in their learning
The student digital experience matters

7. Visit menti.com enter code 78 80 27
How do you gather your students’
expectations and experiences of digital
technology at your university or college?
Your students’ digital experience

8. Not ‘just another survey’

9. Digital experience improvement service
Engage Collect
Analyse
Improve
Digital Experience
improvement Service
> Student tracker
> Staff tracker
Strategic
consultancy
Tracker
customisation
Sector
comparison
Organisation
Level
analysis
Experts panel
Lock in success/
prioritise critical
weakness
Change
initiated
Share
feedback with
staff and
students
Review and
reflect
Data
collection
Tracker
launch
Insight drives
organisational
improvement
Access to advise and
community of practice
Drive
change
Strategic
consultancy

10. 1.A tried and tested (over 3 years) student survey,
made up of:
> Closed questions that can be benchmarked
> Open questions for local analysis
> Add or customise further questions
2.A student engagement process, governed
by our guidance
3.A Community of Practice around the
tracker process and findings (including
student representatives)
4.Compare student feedback with teaching staff
views and organisational factors
What the tracker is:

11. 1.Survey instrument is robust
2.Organisations value the process:
> Actionable evidence for change
> Benchmark against others; monitor progress
> Better informed decisions about digital services
> Support for student engagement and an
international community of practice
3.Popular: 2017-18 open pilot has 160
institutions and 28k respondents already
4.Huge interest in our aggregated findings
> http://bit.ly/jisctracker17
http://bit.ly/tracker17brief
What we’ve learned about it

12. New developments…

13. >How are you investing?
>How are you engaging students?
>How good are your strategies for
digital learning, BYOD?
>…
Questions for organisations

14. > Teaching staff matter:
> Support (aspects of) the student digital
experience
> Have their own experience to report
> Mapped to the student questions
and to the organisational questions
> How well are you supported?
> How fit for teaching are… ?
> What do you think about…?
Questions for teaching staff too…
Staff tracker:
http://bit.ly/trackerstaff18
Mini staff tracker:
http://bit.ly/trackerstaffmini18

15. >Local actionable data
>Students involved locally and nationally:
>Designing
>Communicating
>Interpreting
>Responding
>Institutions can benchmark themselves
but no published benchmarks
>Community of practice shares insights
into student engagement, responding to
findings, partnership working
Focus on student engagement

16. The student
digital experience
Duncan MacIver and Vida Koster
Canterbury Christ Church University
7th March 2018, ICC Birmingham

17. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lte/
About Canterbury Christ Church University
• Founded in 1962 as a teacher training college
• Gained University Title in 2007
• Four campuses across Kent and Medway
• 16,000 students & 650 teaching staff across four
faculties
• Focus on public sector careers
• Learning & Teaching Strategy (2015-2020)
• Technology Enhanced Learning Strategy (2017)
• Learning Platform Suite

18. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lte/
SDET – The CCCU Approach
• Formed a rapid SDET working group
• Time frame – Mid-Nov to Christmas
• Target – All UG & PG Students (including partner
institutions)
• Individualised Emails
• Marketing campaign
• Prizes
• Response rate : 11%
• Customised questions…

19. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lte/
Q.23 Channels of communication
• Which digital channels do you prefer the University to use when providing you with information on
the following…? (tick as many channels as you like for each type of information)
a. Your course (e.g. structure / requirements etc)
b. Programme admin (e.g. timetables / results)
c. University facilities (e.g. IT / transport / accommodation)
d. Responses to student feedback (e.g. surveys)
e. Support services (e.g. wellbeing / finance / careers)
f. Wider opportunities (e.g. events / socials / volunteering)

20. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lte/
Results and thoughts
• Response rate : 11%
• Much stronger response rate than we expected
• Anecdotal evidence suggests the prizes were a strong motivator for
our students!
• Timing was also a factor
• Emails sent via internal Uni system, not through BOS
• Big thank you to Tabetha!
• Student thoughts

21. http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lte/
SDET Findings
• Data is still being analysed
• Reporting up through University committee structure
• Data is already being considered by IT in a variety of improvement
works
• Using the data in conjunction with work being undertaken by Digital
Capabilities Working Group to develop student digital skills.
• Student Communications have developed a comms strategy and the
data backs their own findings.

22. The student
digital experience
Simon Bowler, Ali Rezaei Nico
and Ben Gardner
Exeter college
7th March 2018, ICC Birmingham

23. Exeter College
Our Digital Journey (So far…)
• Large College, 10,000 – 12,000 learners
• Entry Level, A-Levels, Vocational, IB, HE, Apprenticeships
• New College Strategic Plan
• Renewed focus on digital teaching and learning
• Improve consistency across curriculum
• Digital Champions Group established
• A Digital Learning Plan approved
• Celebrate and share existing good practice

24. Working with learners
As partners for change
• Learner Voice / Tutor Reps
• Digital Champions
• Project Developments (e.g. Moodle re-design)
• Induction and On-course Learner Surveys
• I was able to log on to the computers easily
• Where appropriate my teacher uses technology to help me
learn
• I can use a computer when I need to
• My course Moodle site(s) help me with my learning
But we wanted to find out more…

25. Jisc Student Digital Tracker
Our Experience
• First year using the tracker
• Focussed questions
• Added questions: Main Faculty
• Survey Window: 2 weeks leading up to Christmas
• Promotion: Portal, Student bulletin, posters, LRCs
• Incentives: Amazon e-vouchers
• Live monitoring: Target further advertising
• 587 responses

26. A Better Digital Student
Experience
• Digital Champions group
• Reviewed themes
• ICT Facilities and Equipment
• Teaching and Learning
• Information, Advice and Guidance
• Prioritise actions
• Impact on the student digital experience

27. Next Steps
• Feedback to student experience / ICT / student teams
• Develop action plan
• Share key themes (you said, we did)
• Benchmark against national results
• Influence ICT and Teaching Strategies
• Engage with more learners, new initiatives
• Run Tracker again to measure Distance Travelled

28. Group discussion - 1

29. >Consider your current context
and practice, and the examples
that you have heard about
today…
>Identify at least one takeaway /
action on how you might better
engage your students’ in digital
developments
>Share your feedback
>http://bit.ly/Tracker7march
On your tables…
>How could the tracker make
a difference…?
>At your university/college:
>To students?
>To teaching staff?
>To organisational strategies
and investments?
>What are the risks
and barriers?

30. The student
digital experience
The student digital experience at
Aberystwyth University
Anna Udalowska and Kate Wright
7 March 2018 | ICC, Birmingham

31. About Aberystwyth University
Images & Map Aberystwyth University ©

32. >Complemented other
feedback mechanisms
>Steering Group set up
>Aimed at on on-campus
undergraduate students
Gathering feedback
Feedback
from
Students
IS User
Survey
Students
on Tech
Project
Focus
Groups
Module
Evaluation
Digital
Tracker

33. >Diolch yn fawr iawn – roedd y ‘Tracker’ yn Gymraeg
>Easy to edit and customise
>Our suggestions
>Question wording changes
Our experience of using the tracker

34. Recent graduate perspective on the Tracker findings
Keeping it simple.
Not overflowing students with information.
Using mobile phones for teaching and learning.​
Focusing on accessibility and inclusivity.

35. Taking the findings forward...
Taking findings to Technology-enhanced
Learning Group.
Team work in providing responses to
students' feedback.
Prioritising improvements of essential
for students services.

36. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND.
Anna Udalowska
Communications, marketing and e-learning support officer
aeu@aber.ac.uk
We have been…
Kate Wright
E-learning group manager
kaw@aber.ac.uk

37. The student
digital experience
Not just Courses, Careers
Dave Monk, Kelly Edwards, Emma Boys and Athena-Li Hales, Harlow College

38. > Learning Futures Project – 2014/15
> iPads – Full staff and student rollout –
2015/16
> Core 5 – 2016/17
> Digital Top 10 – 2017/18
> Infrastructure
> Culture – training for staff and students
> Apple Distinguished School –
September 2017
Our Digital Journey
Harlow College
#EveryoneCanCode

39. Gathering
Student Views
Using the
Tracker

40. Gathering
Student
Views
Using the
Tracker

41. >Reinforcing our strategy, e.g. Showbie, Padlet,
Notes, Kahoot
>Improve neutral responses to positive ones
>Improve on students involvement in digital
decision making
>Keeping Warm – New Students
>Digital Learning is Just Learning!
Taking the
Jisc Tracker
Findings
Forward

42. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND.
Kelly Edwards
Director of professional development and
quality improvement
kedwards@harlow-college.ac.uk
We have been…
Dave Monk
E-learning development coordinator
dmonk@harlow-college.ac.uk

43. Group discussion - 2

44. >Consider your current context
and practice, and the examples
that you have heard about
today…
>Identify at least one takeaway
/ action on how you might
better engage your students’
in digital developments
>Share your feedback
>http://bit.ly/Tracker7march
On your tables…
>How could the tracker make a
difference…?
>At your university/college:
>to students?
>to teaching staff?
>to organisational strategies
and investments?
>What are the risks and
barriers?

45. Plenary panel –
ask your questions

46. What one thing can you do to
better gather your students’
digital expectations and
experiences of technology
and involve them in digital
developments?

47. > Report of 2017 Tracker findings:
http://bit.ly/jisctracker17
> Summary of 2017 Tracker findings:
http://bit.ly/tracker17brief
> Tracker blog:
https://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org
> Change agents’ network:
http://can.jiscinvolve.org
> Change agents’ network mailing list
jiscmail.ac.uk/CAN
Follow developments

48. Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC-BY-NC-ND.
Sarah Knight
Head of change: Student experience
Sarah.knight@jisc.ac.uk
I have been…

49. Thank you!
Any questions?