217 - The digital department... exploring, developing and accrediting
1. The Digital Department
Project Team: Stefanie Anyadi (PaLS), Lorraine Dardis (Internat.
Affairs), Alison Gilry (ICH), Ciaran Moynihan (ICH), Clive Young (LTSS)
2. Aims
• Professional profile and expertise of UCL teaching
administrators (TAs)
• Training programme
• External accreditation via
....semi funded by Aug 2011 to July 2013
3. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: What areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
4. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: What areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
5. Digital Literacy according to JISC
• digital literacy defines those capabilities
which fit an individual for living, learning and
working in a digital society
– ICT/computer literacy
– information literacy
– media literacy
– Communication and collaboration
– Digital scholarship
– Learning skills
– Life planning
19/04/201
2|
6. Why teaching administrators (TAs)?
• 30k? individuals across UK HE (c150 at UCL)
• major contribution to the student experience in
increasingly technologically 'blended' learning
environments – manage the digital presence
• have a range of responsibilities - admissions,
quality management, programme and course
coordination and planning, VLE course
management, student advice, student feedback
processes, distance learning etc
• digital literacy underpins all these activities
7. The backstory
1. The unexpected guests (2009)
2. “The dog that didn‟t bark” (2010)
3. The Forum (2009-11)
4. Total Moodle (2011), Moodle 2 (2012)
5. The Digital Department (2011-13)
8. Some of the tools UCL TAs use
UCL admin and financial systems Communication and networking tools
Portico – student information service Email – inefficient way of contacting students?
Financial Information System (FIS) - financial data and Facebook– seen mainly as a communication tool
management Phone Text messaging – no UCL service but a strong demand
Timetabling/CMIS - room bookings and timetabling Messenger - text messaging
Service in Partnership (SiP) – HR forms Skype – video conferencing
Rome - online recruitment Linkedin – professional networking
Web content management (silva) Blogs – UCLWordpress service
Scanners – being piloted as attendance checks for Points- Twitter –how to use in HE?
Based Immigration System (PBIS) YouTube – online videos
UCL teaching and learning systems Productivity tools
Moodle - e–learning environment MS Office – Word, Excel, PP, Acrobat
Turnitin – plagiarism detection Dreamweaver – web page development
Lecturecast – automated lecture recording Etherpad – collaborative note taking
Opinio - web-based surveys Evernote – stores notes, photos
My Portfolio – staff and student e-portfolio Google docs – share web documents
Electronic Voting Systems (EVS) – audience response Google analytics – web usage
'clickers'
UCL Dropbox – exchange large files
Wiki – collaborative web pages
Dropbox – web-based online storage
Blackboard Collaborate – virtual classroom
Marketing and events management
Eventbrite – events management
“It is almost impossible for busy academic Find a Masters – marketing
staff to stay up to date” (SLiDA) Oxboffice – ticketing service
Google Adwords – online advertising
10. What do TAs want to learn about?
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
11. TDD activities
1. Review current processes and practices to establish a baseline of
digital literacies required and a framework of good practice.
2. Analyse the likely future requirements - via focus groups and 'mini
projects„.
3. Plan innovations - co-develop a knowledge base.
4. Pilot a practitioner-led workshop programme.
5. Evaluate with a particular focus on enhancing the student experience.
6. Certify the programme (with the AUA) – a portfolio approach.
7. Cascade the literacies to colleagues and students.
8. Adapt the model for other groups of professional services staff.
12. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: What areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
13. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: What areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
15. Digital literacies and the learner experience
Students - must become skilled at identifying and
integrating learning opportunities to meet their
personal needs.
Academics - support Administrators -
and feedback to students complex enrolments and
seeking a range of timetables, new modes
learning of study, courses
outcomes, maintaining delivered in different
contact and support settings.
progression.
Key: Enhancing student experience and meeting new expectations
16. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: Which areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
18. Workshop aims and structure
• Activity: what are „digital literacies‟?
• Intro to The Digital Department
• Activity: how does this relate to your organisation?
• Activity: The digital literacies „triangle‟
• Activity: Which areas to investigate?
• Discussion: accreditation and networking
19. Next steps
Accreditation – map knowledge, skills and experience
against AUA professional behaviours and design
accreditation framework with AUA
UCL TA induction and professional development –
produce handbook and standard operating procedures and
work with UCL HR to design a professional development
programme for TAs
Best Practice – produce best practice guidelines for TA
responsibilities cutting across departments
Professionalisation – investigate and report on recent
developments in university administration
20. Networking
• Links to relevant other
activities/projects/institutions
• Links to development for support staff in other
areas/jnstitutions
• Lessons for cross-institutional working
• Any questions?
Notas do Editor
History, restructuring FLS – different way of working particularly for TAs, TA = admin support for teaching, programmes, modules, students, so always strong link to students; new working across depts, admin tasks from academics, harmonisation, TAC 2010, successful, TAF, central divisions particularly LTSS and Registry, TAC2011, outcome: need support for induction, personal, professional development of TAs; working across; integration of systemsAftermath of TAC, Lorraine/Stefanie following up, talking to Clive in LTSS, narrative from their perspective – dog that didn’t barkJISC call to apply for funding to support digital literacies, with AUA involvement, successful, part-funding
Investigate and benchmark
ICT/computer literacy: the ability to adopt and use digital devices, applications and services in pursuit of goals, especially scholarly and educational goals.Information Literacy: the ability to find, interpret, evaluate, manipulate, share and record informationMedia Literacy: the ability to critically read and creatively produce academic and professional communications in a range of media communication and collaboration: the ability to participate in digital networks of knowledge, scholarship, research and learning, and in working groups supported by digital forms of communication.digital scholarship: the ability to participate in emerging academic, professional and research practices that depend on digital systems learning skills: the ability to study and learn effectively in technology-rich environments life-planning: the ability to make informed decisions and achieve long-term goals, supported by digital tools and media,
TA workshop – list of common tools; how compare with your list, any tools you use that are not on here? How many tools do you use?Developments in technology make jobs complexIncreasing demands also from another source – student experience and importance of student feedback; student unions and NUS also becoming more focused on student experience – NUS develop charters, focal points for local actions
Central: to support and enhance teaching and learning experienceMore varied student communities, different teaching and learning options, new technology...so need to be more flexible and focusedEnormous range of tools used by TAs, but probably also by other support staff – take a few minutes to think about the tools you use for your work, list the ones you can think of and talk to your neighbour to compare notesHeadings may help you