Spotlight

 A new guide in the well-received JISC Effective Practice series, Effective Assessment in a Digital Age, is available from 7th September following its launch at ALT-C 2010 at the University of Nottingham.
 
The guide adopts a principles-based approach to explore how technology can improve the experience of assessment and feedback for practitioners and learners, demonstrating through ten newly researched case studies how both generic and more complex technologies can increase learner autonomy, improve teaching efficiency and enhance the quality of the experience of assessment and feedback.  As many higher education institutions are reviewing their assessment strategies, the publication of this guide is timely. Copies of the publication will be mailed out to institutions next week. You can order print copies of Effective Assessment in a Digital Age online until end of October 2010.
 
The supplementary online resources which accompany the guide include video case studies, a planning tool and expert podcasts designed to support individuals and curriculum teams in harnessing the potential of technology to transform their assessment and feedback practice. To increase accessibility, the resources associated with Effective Assessment in a Digital Age are available in different formats.
 
The guide is also available online in PDF and text-only formats, together with extended versions of the case studies. These can be read online or downloaded.
 
Visit the JISC website for the full news item (with podcast).
 
Effective Assessment in a Digital Age is a partner publication to Effective Practice in a Digital Age (JISC, 2009). Combined, the two publications provide an accessible introduction to the application of technology to learning, teaching and assessment in further and higher education.

When we were launching our Strategy infoKit last year one of the strap lines we adopted was a quote from Sir Brian Pitman, former Chairman of Lloyds Bank which states “’There is always a better strategy than the one you have, you just haven’t thought of it yet’. It’s a quote which seemed at the time to exemplify our approach when providing advice to the sector on aspects of strategic planning and implementation: “we don’t say you’re doing it wrong, but no matter how well you do things currently we might be able to help you do it just a little bit better”.

Beaumont College, a leading Independent Specialist College in Lancaster, providing courses to Learners with learning difficulties and disabilities definitely falls into this category, as its recent rating of ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted and ‘Excellent’ by the Care Commission testifies. But this has not stopped the management of Beaumont College striving to improve things at the College still further with regards to its strategic planning and management.

Following on from their highly successful participation as one of four pilot projects of the Strategy infoKit, Beaumont College and JISC infoNet have agreed to work together over the next 12 months to explore how the application of a selection of JISC infoNet’s resources can improve things at the College still further. This initiative will include delivery of a range of our popular and well regarded workshops to College staff, including those on change and risk management and process review. It will also see the College making extensive use of JISC infoNet’s extensive suite of resources to support institutional strategic development, such as our Scenario Planning resources. We will be working closely with College staff over the next 12 months, not only to deliver this support to them, but also to find ways of empirically measuring improvements within the College as a result of this programme: both to confirm to the College the benefits of their participation, but also to provide quantifiable evidence of the benefits which can be realised by other institutions as a result of the application of JISC infoNet’s resources.

Watch this space for further news as the project progresses!

JISC infoNet is represented at today’s Open Educational Resources International Symposium event in London where we shall be demonstrating the OER infoKit. The infoKit can be found at:

http://openeducationalresources.pbworks.com

Doug Belshaw is undertaking a mobile and wireless technologies review for the JISC e-Learning programme. This will be accompanied by video case studies and eventually form part of an update to a 2005 JISC Effective Practice with e-Learning guide.

Do get in touch via the link below if you’ve got some expertise or insights to share!

http://scr.im/douginfonet

Image CC BY Jorge Quinteros

The results from this year’s Information Legislation & Management Survey, launched today, will come as little surprise to those at the sharp end of answering FOI and Data Protection Act requests within institutions. The volume of both received during 2009 increased markedly, with institutions now receiving on average over 6 FOI requests per month and a significant increase in the number received from journalists.

Further analysis and the full survey results are now available. This year there are more ways than ever to view the results plus, for the first time, the opportunity to access the raw data itself to enable you to explore in more detail the returns from individual institutions or to analyse the data in ways which are most useful to you.

Our thanks to all who participated in this survey.

For further comment and feedback please contact steve.bailey@northumbria.ac.uk

JISC CETIS have recently published guidance on Distributed Learning Environments in the form of a briefing paper by Sheila McNeill and Wilbert Kraan. It is available as a freely-downloadble PDF.

After a period of relative stability and deeper embedding, the debate about the role and function of the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) within the institution is gathering pace again. Many institution in the UK are in the process of reviewing their current VLE provision in the light of changing pedagogical requirements, more administrative integration and the emergence of new classes of social media on the wider web.

JISC infoNet has an Effective Use of Virtual Learning Environments infoKit that readers also may find useful.

JISC Regional Support Centre Scotland North & East has recently published the latest version of its Electronic Training Needs Analysis (ETNA) analysis. Those involved in any kind of tertiary education should find valuable strategic information in the free, 123-page report.

The report is based on the analysis of thousands of responses from individuals (both staff and students) in every Further Education College in the country. We look at how technology is currently being used in colleges, how it might be used in the future, and the infrastructure and skills necessary to continue the huge progress which has been made over the last decade.

Subtitled On the right track: an analysis of skills and attitudes to technology in Scottish Further Education the analysis covers everything from Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) to Web 2.0 to emerging technologies.

Download the ETNA Report here

JISC infoNet, on behalf of JISC and the Higher Education Academy, are looking for feedback on the new draft Open Educational Resources infoKit. Click on the link on the front page of the draft infoKit to share your views!

Participate in a review of the e-Portfolios infoKit and related resources

JISC infoNet is looking for up to 10 reviewers with a range of experience of using e-portfolios – from those who are quite new to e-portfolios to those with considerable experience; and from a range of roles (e.g. lecturer, PDP practitioner, IT manager) to contribute to a review of our e-Portfolios resources.

The six infoKit sections are:

• What are e-portfolios? (compulsory section)
• Policy Drivers and Trends (optional section)
• Purposes (optional section)
• Perspectives (optional section)
• Choosing, Implementing and Embedding e-Portfolios (optional section)
• The Future of e-Portfolios (compulsory section)

Those selected will be asked to consider the appropriateness of the content, format, structure, ease of navigation and overall usefulness of the resources from their perspective; to identify any gaps in information provided; and to provide structured feedback and suggestions by completing an extensive evaluation form. All comments and suggestions made will then be considered before a report is submitted to JISC recommending revisions to the resources to be undertaken during the latter half of 2010.

Successful applicants are required to review all sections, but provide detailed feedback on both compulsory sections plus any two of the other four optional sections available (you should indicate your chosen two on your application).

The review process will commence from Monday 31st May 2010 and the work must be completed by Tuesday 31st August 2010. A grant of £3,000 will be paid to each participating institution upon completion.

Colleagues from interested institutions should email JISC infoNet by Friday 30th April 2010 with a short summary of their current role, outlining their experience in the areas of e-portfolio use within the further or higher education sectors. Please include an indication of your preferences with regard to the two optional infoKit sections that you feel would be most appropriate for you to review.

Confirmation of authorisation by appropriate line management to undertake this work and a commitment to completing the process by Tuesday 31st August 2010 should also be included in the email.

Selected institutions will be informed on or before Friday 28th May 2010 and will receive further instructions, links to the evaluation tool and to the infoKit.

If you require any additional information then please do not hesitate to email.

Please note: Open to UK post-compulsory public education institutions only

Under the Flexible Service Delivery programme, JISC invites institutions to submit proposals to undertake work in the following four areas of innovation:

• Shared Service and Cloud Computing Pilots
• Business Process and ICT Change Projects
• Modularisation Proof of Concept Projects
• Technical Rapid Innovation Projects

The deadline for receipt of proposals is Wednesday 19 May 2010 – full information on this opportunity is available at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2010/04/510fsd.aspx.

JISC is holding an online community briefing event on Thursday 22 April 2010 between 11:00 and 12.30 where potential bidding institutions will be given information about the background to the call, its objectives and the bidding process. On the same day there will also be an online briefing event for suppliers between 14:00 and 14:45. Registration for both events can be found at https://www.eventsforce.net/jisc/39/register.