This area concerns the environments used by learners, including the digital environments offered by their institutions, the technologies they own and use themselves, and the physical environments within which they work with those technologies. For example, the area takes forward work on learning spaces, on mobile and wireless learning, on user-owned technologies, on gaming and work previously taken forward under the innovations theme.
JISC’s aims in this area are to:
- develop and pilot effective practice in the delivery of flexible, seamless and personalised services to learners
- explore and enhance the technical interface between learners and their learning environment
Some key issues and challenges we have identified in this area are:
- Need to understand learners’ changing practices and experiences of ICT use and impact on their learning
- Need for institutions to move towards provision of flexible learning services and to support the technologies chosen by learners to access them
- Need for institutions to understand and exploit the benefits of innovative technologies as well as VLEs
Some priorities for project funding that we have provisionally identified are:
- Projects that pilot and/or demonstrate institutional delivery of flexible, personalised learner services
- Investigate integration of web 2.0 technologies with other institutional and learner-owned technologies
Please add your own comments on this activity area, including key issues and challenges we may have missed, and your own ideas for priority development projects.