Changing the learning landscape

JISC communities may be interested in two current opportunities in the Changing the Learning Landscape programme, a new partnership venture we’re involved in which aims to take a multi-pronged approach to helping English higher education providers make strategic changes in the way they use technology to support learning, teaching and the student experience. If that sounds a bit all-encompassing, it’s meant to: the programme has a broad focus which encompasses technology-enhanced learning as well as using technology in other ways to support students and staff. It’s also broad in its audience group – the programme’s activities will be relevant to senior managers, anyone involved in implementing technology-enhanced change, educational developers, and academic programme teams. There is a strong theme of student engagement which runs throughout the programme.

The progamme is a partnership between the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, the Higher Education Academy, Association for Learning Technology, National Union of Students and JISC, and is funded by HEFCE. It has three strands of activity:

• an intensive development programme for strategic leaders;
• the provision of consultancy support and expertise to institutional teams involved in technology-enhanced change; and
• a CPD programme for academics and educational developers.

The first two of these strands are currently open for applications.

The strategic change programme aims to equip leaders of learning, teaching and the student experience to develop, communicate and deliver a vision for the enhancement of these areas through the strategic use of learning technologies. It has interesting links with JISC’s Developing Digital Literacies Programme, which has identified digitally literate senior management as one of the key emerging themes: what skills do strategic managers need in order to develop digital capacity across the institution and develop a cutting-edge digital environment for learning and research? Applications for the strategic change programme are now closed, and the programme started with a face to face event on 27-28 November.

The consultancy support strand offers the equivalent of six days of support to institutional teams to help them implement strategic change in the use of learning technology. Support is available in a wide range of areas, and is provided free of charge to the institution. JISC is planning to bring everything we have learned about supporting our projects to this strand. Bids from institutions will need to outline the project they wish to work on, with evidence for the need for the work. Round 1 is now closed, but watch out for round 2.