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TECHNOLOGY IN HE – A LOOK INTO 2015
By Richard Maccabee, ULCC (pictured)
Providing IT services to over 300 higher and further education institutions across the UK provides us with unique insight into the challenges colleges and universities face in today’s competitive climate. The term most frequently used in recent months is ‘student satisfaction’, driven by the rise in student fees and the consumeratisation of IT – today’s student not only expects systems such as their virtual learning environment to be available 24/7/365, they want it to be a smooth experience, working across devices.
The fl ipped classroom A concept popular in the US, we are now seeing concerted eff orts by key players in the UK education market to deploy lecture capture solutions on an institution-wide scale. For example, University of York has expanded its Echo360 lecture capture trial (hosted by ULCC) to 40 rooms and 17 departments for the start of the academic year 2014/15. And only last month the University of Leeds announced a £2m investment in Mediasite, rolling out lecture capture to 250 teaching spaces, expecting to record over 50,000 hours each academic year. I expect this trend to continue and for lecture capture to become as common across the HE landscape as VLEs have become by now.
Learning analytics As part of an overall drive to ‘slice and dice’ the myriad of data collected by educational institutions to provide valuable insight into trends, pat erns and behaviours, learning analytics is set to move from theory into practical large scale application in 2015. The scale of implementation is likely to vary with IBM’s Exceptional Student Experience (as chosen by South Bank University) on the top end, fi nancially speaking and smaller scale in-house analysis of VLE data on the other.
The MOOC is dead, long live the SPOC Although MOOCs have challenged traditional universities’ business models, questions about sustainability and pedagogy at massive scale are being raised. Having said that we have seen a number of UK institutions experiment with Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs), which are usually aimed at students and staff on campus, to deliver inductions and statutory training sessions.
Bucks app gives students helping h
An app has been created at Bucks New University to support new students during their fi rst weeks of set ling into university life. The Bucks Student app is tailor-made
to empower new students with the knowledge of how to get around campus and where to go for support and enquiries. Developed by BucksUnity game
designer Thomas Maycock, the app puts students in control whilst reducing anxieties of where to go and who to meet during and beyond freshers’ week. Thomas said: “I have really enjoyed
developing the Bucks Student app. I’m convinced it will deliver real value to both new and experienced students. We are hoping to create more apps that support people throughout their Bucks journey, from freshers’ to graduation, and even recruitment.” The app was developed as part of
the Bucks Welcome, the University’s innovative programme of activities which welcome and support new students during their fi rst week at Bucks. Ruth Gunstone, Director of Student
Services at Bucks New University, said: “The app is at ractive and accessible. It’s really helped students orientate
ABOVE: Thomas Maycock showcases the Bucks Student app
Southampton MOOCs reach milestone
The University of Southampton has reached a milestone of 100,000 enrolments on its Massive Open Online Courses. Since launching its fi rst MOOC on web science in November last year, the University has pioneered free interactive courses on oceanography, archaeology and research skills for A-Level students. Unlike other types of online learning,
MOOCs provide real-time forums, allowing participants to interact with one another, debate issues and build an online community around areas of common interest. In addition, PhD researchers and alumni from the University act as online mentors, facilitating the learning experience of participants. MOOCs are accessible to anyone in
the world and students from over 180 countries have taken the University of
Southampton courses. “It is really exciting to interact with a
community of enthusiastic learners from around the world, and to explore the
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