Moira Helm, Joint Project DirectorSu Westerman - Learning Technology Coordinator

October 2007

New build, new challenges, new skills

Experience at Canterbury Christ Church University

Question:

“What made you choose this session?”

View from the floor..

Contents

•How our philosophy developed

•Progress – building, technology, people

•Practical concerns

•Pitfalls and lessons learnt

New challenges

•Digital literacy

•The “net gen”

New skills

•DEBUT project (Digital Experience Building in University Teaching)

ContentsNew build

Who are We?

• Established as a teacher training college some forty years ago

• Retain emphasis on professional education

• Over 10,000 students• Four campuses in Kent• 6 libraries

Contents

Question:“What is your experience of new builds?”

View from the floor..

Question:“Have any of you been involved in converting existing buildings?”

Question:

“What do you think the drivers for change in learning environments are in the HE sector?”

Why Change?Major Drivers

• Massification• Widening participation• Globalisation• Technology

– Social networking• Changes in learning & teaching• Changes in assessment• Community engagement and

access

Why Change?External Benchmarks

Sector guidelines: • League tables• National Students Survey• Sodexho Universities Lifestyle• SCONUL sector means• JISC• UCISA HEITS, etc.

New BuildLearning From the Sector

“Good quality higher education requires good quality environments”(CABE, 2005):

– “Creative – Innovative– Flexible– Future-proof– Bold– Creative– Supportive– Enterprising”

(HEFCE/JISC, 2006) – Sustainable– Supportive of equality & diversity

Contents

Question:

“What do students want from a library/learning centre?”

View from the floor..

Question:

“What do academic staff expect of a library/learning centre?”

Question:

“What kind of learning environment is needed for the future?”

New BuildUnderpinning Principles

• Values– Importance of messages

which “broadcast by architectural imagery” the value of the institution and the people who work in them”(Duffy, 1997)

• Educational philosophy– “Built pedagogy” =

“architectural embodiments of educational philosophies”(Monahan, 2000)

• Student Experience– “Well designed learning

spaces and enabling technologies encourage students to spend more time on campus, increasing engagement and improving retention” (Lomas and Oblinger, 2006)

New BuildPhilosophy of “Students First”

• Students “want an environment more like the one-stop shopping of the malls they frequent, more convenience, more interaction, and better amenities (Coffey and Wood-Stead, 2001)

• “All of the resources of the campus must be brought to bear on the student's learning process and learning must be reconsidered”(ACPA & NASPA, 2004)

New Build – Augustine HouseRequirements

• Takes cognisance of the Information Rich Society

• Flexible to meet the needs of current and future generations of staff and students

• Recognised need to leverage our resources to support student learning in the broadest sense

Deliverables Facilities

• Space per FTE from 0.34 m2 to 0.73 m2

• Learning Centre space =7500 m2

– 3X current library• Study spaces tripled to 900• Open Access IT spaces per

student FTE from 128:1 to 26:1• Significant increase in provision

of social space• Increase in capital and revenue

spends for Library and Computing

DeliverablesTechnology

• All learning spaces (furniture) IT enabled – power and data to desktop

• Full wireless cover• Mix of fixed and mobile IT provision• Unified virtualised desktops provided

through fixed, mobile and user provided hardware

• Touchdown and short use provision across all floors

• Group rooms and spaces with mobile AV provision

• Larger meeting rooms for tutorials, video conferencing, training, meeting, etc.

• Self issue & return

DeliverablesAccessibility

• Fully accessible building with induction loops at all interaction points and in all consulting and support locations

• Access controlled building supporting extended hours of use

Progress The Time Challenge

• Planning approval granted March 2007

• Demolition commences November 2007

• Build commences February 2008

• Open September 2009

Contents

Question:

“What do you think the pitfalls in a development of this type may be”?

View from the floor..

Question:

“Advice from anyone on how to avoid pitfalls?”

Progress Practical Concerns

• Archaeology• Tender for building contract• Space• Interior design• Migration of 200,000 books &

learning resources• Migration and co-location of

180 staff

Pitfalls and lessons learnt

• Visit • Research • Market

Pitfalls and lessons learnt

• Communicate – Governors– Students– Staff– External stakeholders– Planners– Disabled staff & students

• Expect – some excitement– some resistance– some cynicism– some realism

Pitfalls and lessons learnt

A vision which is future proof implies being before your time – some initial

redundancy– staff training &

development

New challenges – Digital LiteracyWhat do we mean by literacy?

•Traditionally “literacy” meant the ability to read and write, and to understand.

•Towards end of 20th century – there was a shift towards:

•Not just focusing on text•Looking at the wider social context •Seeing literacy not as a universal skill, as it can only have meaning within the social context of the individual

New challenges – Digital LiteracyWhat is digital literacy?

•Alan Martin suggests “it is about knowing what information is available and where to find it. It is about understanding what is right for you. It is about using it (responsibly) in your daily life”.

•Martin identifies five elements of e-literacy:

1.awareness of the ICT and information environment2.confidence in using generic ICT and information tools3.evaluation of information-handling operations and products4.reflection on one’s own e-literacy development5.adaptability and willingness to meet e-literacy challenges

New challenges – Digital LiteracyCharacteristics of the digital World

The digital world is….

•Full of information•A place where anyone can publish

•A visual world •A multi-media multi-medium •Non-linear •A highly social place •Interactive and instant•Constantly changing

New challenges – Digital LiteracyCharacteristics of the digital inhabitants

•The digitally literate individual has been given a number of names, most common is the digital native (Prensky, 2001). Born post 1982 and have grown up with the web.

•Many commentators have implied that growing up with the Internet = confident and competent users – digital natives.

•Experience in HE is however showing that many of the net-gen are not experienced users of many of the latest social tools and require much support to use them.

•So who is going to provide this support – us - Baby Boomers (1946-64) and Generation X (1965-81) at best –digital immigrants, at worst digital aliens!

Question:

“Where do people think students in their institution are at in terms of digital literacy?”

View from the floor..

Question:

“Where do people think academic staff in their institution are at in terms of digital literacy?”

Question:

“What approaches are people taking in terms of staff development for digital literacy?”

New skills – DEBUTDigital Experience Building in University Teaching

DEBUT drivers

•HEA benchmarking•Staff development•Web2 & the “net-gen”•Augustine House•Digital literacy:

Awarenessconfidencecriticalityreflection Adaptability(Martin, A)

DEBUT project

Exploring and evaluating alternative approaches to staff development for building digital capacity through:

Offering wide range of digital tools to participant group

Contextualised, situated staff development

DEBUT evaluation

Macro level – the DEBUT approachMicro level – what staff development best supports digital literacy development

Participant digital ranking before and after

Participant evaluation of digital experiences

Thoughts on impact of practice inc. CBAM