Synthesising the programme

George Roberts

Isobel Falconer

Patsy Clarke, Ellen Lessner

Mark van Harmelen

A complex strategic environment

[In] Today’s complex strategic environment … a threat or opportunity can emerge from almost anywhere, there is no single point for analysts to focus on.

Intentions and relationships are much more dynamic, so the context in which raw intelligence must be analyzed is far more ambiguous.

Access to information is almost unrestricted, now that the world is wide open and awash in data.

http://experts.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/06/26/intel_outside

Institutions of society

• Institutional innovation takes place in the wider context of the institutions of society

• Institutions are powerful, persistent and emergent

• Institutional innovation is about the connected commons (21st c learners) gaining a purchase on the institution of education

• The strategy an institution chooses will depend on its self conception (identity)

• Most universities think of themselves as brick and mortar institutions with a physical campus..

• However, a university could see itself as a global change agent, acting through teaching, research, and public service.

• Or a university could try to be known as an institutional improvement facilitator—for businesses, government agencies, NGOs, and other universities.

Umpleby et al (2009)

Data collection from phase 2 projects

• Purpose– developing themes that may:– guide project assemblies, benefits realisation

calls and proposals

• Approach & Methods– 3D matrix:

• D1 – the projects• D2 - bottom up emergent themes from projects• D3 - top down themes from JISC, HEFCE, etc

– cross correlation and interrogation between top down and bottom up

Deriving bottom-up themes

Elicited themes – clustered (D2)• Open educational dialogue

– Information Sharing– User-centred design– Community– User-generated content– Assessment, feedback/forward– Learning resources and services– Audio & Video– Student induction & retention

• Technical enabling practices– Systems mapping, BA & work flow– Information aggregation practice & RSS– Web services/SOA– Mobility and location-based services

• Social and cultural enabling practices– Legal/IPR– Flexibility

Top Down themes – Institutional Pragmatics

• Learning teaching and assessment• Research and development• Business and community engagement• Learning resources• eAdmin• Institutional ICT services• Physical estates and learning spaces• Mobile, location aware and pervasive computing• Green ICT

From JISC topic list (36 topics), initial administrativegrouping of projects (6), HEFCE funding streams (3), JISCstrategic themes (8)

Synthesis & the LLLWFD projects

• Since the April start of the 13 Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development projects (LLLWFD)

• Analysis and discovery (by Ellen and Patsy)– Collecting projects’ key words and themes

• Baseline report from each project to JISC – 30 June – Including outcomes and lessons of previous projects

and initiatives, and the experiences of other institutions who have implemented similar types of innovations or technologies.

– key lessons relevant to the focus of the project– Intended to to provide a broad view of sector practice

in lifelong learning and workforce development

http://www.wordle.net

Key points from first reading

• There are many areas where projects can support each other, learn and develop– APEL– shell frameworks– XCRI standards for course information from different

institutions– ideas about employee engagement– CRM -customer relations management systems– e-portfolios and VLE use

• between HEIs, learners and employers– online socialising and support for work based learners– identity management systems

 

Institutional views

• Projects were looking to develop something which would be useful to the institution, be valued and sustainable – to bring together and provide a tool (s) for separate systems within the institution

• A number of projects already have good employer engagement – not starting from ‘first base’

• Variety of types of software/e-portfolios being tried/used – PebblePad, Mahara, Bb, Moodle etc.

• Most projects have partners outside of their institution – FE is seen to have a useful history of employer

engagement

Nationally

• HEFCE and the Leitch Review – emphasis on employer engagement

• Demise of Dius and the rise of BIS– Department for Business, Innovation and

Skills is in charge of universities

• Other (JISC/HEA) projects – use of different software tools and systems, apel, e-portfolios with learners

Modeling the programme

Various 3D representations

• Projects, emergent themes, given themes• Micro, macro, tools (Phipps)

• What, why, how (Wentworth)

• Deductive, inductive, pragmatic– Theory, experiment, engineering (Gailson)

• Theory, practice, praxis (Freire)

• Knowledge, power, discipline (Foucault)

From model to methodology

• The challenge is operationalising the model

• to choose the elements of any model such that they either answer given questions or are productive of new and useful questions

Where next?• 2 level synthesis

1. Projects as actors using tools in contexts• Programme is the system• Focuses on the local/micro/what• Institutional improvement facilitation

2. Programme as actor using projects as tools• How widely do we draw the system?• All HE? JISC?• Focuses on the wider/macro/why• Global change agents

What next?• Tools

– Social & cultural enablers– Technical enablers

• Rules– Institutional pragmatics– Open educational dialogue

• Communities– Stakeholders– Disciplines

• Roles– Institution-centred– User-centred