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activities across various different fields. Joss Winn is a senior lecturer in the use and role of technology in higher education at the University of Lincoln. He said: “At Lincoln we seek to involve students and graduate interns in most aspects of the running of the University, including the research, development and support of new technologies.” The institution brings staff and
learners together in a strategic group, one of whose aims is to “engender critical, digitally literate staff and students”. The University has described
this disruptive approach to the relationship between the two groups as a form of hacking. That philosophy is framed within a wider higher education academy project
called ‘Student as Producer’ which Winn explained: “Emphasises the role of students as collaborators in the production of knowledge.” For example, the University
has a history of employing students to work with staff on key aspects of the teaching and learning process – from open educational resources, to a University-wide Wordpress platform. Employing learners as ‘critical friends’ of the ICT department has seen numerous benefits including more open and transparent online services. Meanwhile, at the University of
Exeter, students are working in partnership with staff in order to address the challenges of using technology with large and diverse cohorts. Alex Louch said: “I firmly
HOW ARE UNIVERSITIES GETTING THEIR STUDENTS INVOLVED?
At Oxford Brookes University, e-pioneers share their digital skills, practices, ideas and expectations with staff and are supported in working towards professional recognition or academic credit. Student ambassadors for learning and teaching at the University of Sheffield are paid for between 50–80 hours of work during the academic year.
✥ IDENTIFY THE SPECIFIC INCENTIVES McGregor says, “Students’ primary motivator is not money. Peer recognition, career development and focusing on incentives are all really important.” At the University of Winchester, outgoing student fellows have claimed they were attracted to training others in technology because of the leadership and networking opportunities and a chance to have a positive impact on their course.
✥ KEEP IT SIMPLE McGregor recommends that students need a free rein to be creative. He says, “Wherever possible, keep out of the way of students.
They don't need fully robust proposals; those can be honed later on.”
✥ ENCOURAGE INVOLVEMENT FROM A DIVERSE RANGE OF STUDENTS Participants in a computer science course will approach things quite differently from others. A student with a non- technical background could help challenge assumptions about what’s ‘intuitive’, or which challenges are better solved offline.
✥ OFFER A SET ‘PROBLEM’ Consider presenting students with a fixed real-life problem to solve. At Kingston, after a previous staff-led attempt
failed, the University turned to students to design and deliver a pre-induction social network site for new business students.
✥ MAKE USE OF STAFF To help upskill students and ensure they retain a balanced view, setting up an embedded team may be more appropriate than asking undergraduates to work independently. For example, at the University of Leeds staff partner with interns and undergraduate dissertation students. Together they create and evaluate interactive learning materials for a laboratory training module in biomedical sciences.
believe that students should be part of the co-creation of technology solutions across universities. This partnership philosophy in Exeter is working very well in the implementation of online coursework management, massively open online courses, or MOOCs, and innovative technological solutions on campus, such as the publicity of available study spaces.”
Getting it right But there’s a reason, too, why students sometimes aren’t consulted. There are often reasons not to change services that learners won’t see. Behind the scenes lurk inertia, status quoism and politics. Undergraduates in particular may lack the market knowledge to weigh up potential solutions or come up with anything really innovative – but where there are calls for a piece of technology that the university already offers, that can also be a sign that there’s a real market for it and it may simply need to be communicated differently to make it more appealing to the student body. James Clay, from the University
of Gloucestershire, said at the Future of Technology in Education event, “Students don’t necessarily know what they need or what they want. It’s not just about listening to learners but also giving them an opportunity to answer this question: what do you want to do, not what do you want?”
A win-win situation? Nevertheless, the benefits of puting students at the heart of tech decision-making are obvious: switched-on, engaged students; a university that knows what its users want, and up-to-date technology. People who see services from the botom-up are often quicker than staff at identifying problems, and by applying themselves to solving them, those learners gain skills valued by future employers.Louch added: “Students in Exeter are at the heart of university technological development, and this provides the users with solutions they really want, along with a sense of ownership.” Sometimes, it seems, students
are the best people to answer their own questions. ET
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