The Learning Technologies Group

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The Learning Technologies Group
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The Panel is impressed with the outcome of the
restructuring of OUCS and in particular notes
the important and successful role of the Learning
Technologies Group in providing training and user
education in IT across a wide range of areas, and
encouraging and supporting the use of IT in
learning and teaching
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Review(s)

• EPSC/ICTC IT in Learning and Teaching Strategy
  (2002) - 3 primary recommendations, and 20
  secondary ones - e.g. IT literacy survey, IT
  literacy tests, etc (see http//www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/
  ltg/literacy/index.htm)
• Oxfords Revised Learning and Teaching Strategy
  2002-2005 (published in 2003)
• HEFCE and DfES E-Learning Strategies (Draft)
• Divisional Strategies related to E-learning
• Institutional Audit
• As well as OUCS Review, 5-year plan, etc.

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Review(s) cont.

• Main recommendation within OUCS review is
  furthering the VLE but see also OULS, widening
  contacts, etc.
• VLE/Marketing (Paul)
• Development (Sophie)
• Training (Grazyna)
• New Areas of Research (Peter)

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Virtual Learning Environment
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WebLearn, where we were

• Just started with a basic system.
• Handful of users
• Handful of resources
• Paul Trafford working 80 as VLE sysadmin, NSMS
  facilitating system.
• Manchester Medics and Leeds onboard
• Open Source but no coherent support / development

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What the review said

• ICTC should advise EPSC on e-learning matters
  this happened successfully in the case of the
  pilot, centrally supported, VLE.
• commends the work by the LTG in introducing the
  pilot and refuted in clear terms that an open
  source product was chosen on ideological grounds
  without consulting the academic community
• (10) That the development of the pilot VLE
  continues.
• (13) That OUCS plays a leading role in the
  instigation of the single sign-on in the Oxford
  University domain, acting in co-operation with
  OULS, MIS, and other bodies as necessary.
• Applied for HEFCE funding also PRAC funding

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WebLearn - now and future

• Bodington.org, Sourceforge, JA SIG
• Eton College, UHI, York and others interested
• Interoperability with LAMS, LUSID, Isidore
• 11046 resources 13 buildings, 90 floors, 1566
  suites of rooms, and 1006 plain rooms.
• 268 Communication Rooms, 482 Structured
  Documents, 477 Web Documents, 234 Questionnaires,
  33 Log books, 27 Pigeonholes
• Jafer / student project developments
• Full time sysadmin, soon Developer
• (Thanks to Rays team) All users input
• Most now have Oxford username, aiming for SSO

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Marketing

• (Observation) Communications the improvement in
  communications between OUCS and the wider
  University
• OUCS Open day
• - for academics
• - for students/course users.
• Freshers Fair
• Welcometoit
• Xmas card, OUCS News, Learning Technologies,
  LTG eBulletin, etc.
• Working towards a Marketing Strategy

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Development
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Last year

• As usual, lots of projects
• - Multi-media framework
• - INQUIRE (Interactive Questions Reinforcing
  Education)
• Herding Tigers event - OUCS attend a number of
  national conferences, and are active on the
  national - and in some cases international - IT
  scene, and would encourage this to continue
• Accessibility

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Plans for 2004 (1)

• enhancing user input and feedback on OUCSs
  services
• Strong user focus
• Reassessment of our key project selection
  criteria, in response to the review, user
  feedback and LTG advisory group
• Evaluation (with added real students)

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Plans for 2004 (2)

• VLE pilot has been developing well to datesome
  subject areas for which its advantages need to be
  developed
• VLE products are developing rapidly
• A modular approach to the Learning Environment
• Taking on work relating to WebLearn and LAMS
  (subject specific)
• Light touch integration of our other projects
  with WebLearn
• A general educational interoperability focus

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Training
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Changes to IT Learning Programme since 2002/2003
academic year

• Refining online booking system work in progress
• keyword searching
• changes to course announcement list
• automating more tasks
• Changes to course admin database work in
  progress
• synchronising technical information for DSDS
• alerting services for teaching staff
  (date,time,place,number of participants,names of
  demonstrators etc.)
• automating clerical procedures (i.e sending
  invoices etc.)
• Introducing new courses
• Programming (PHP and MySQL, Java, Javascript,
  VBA)
• VLE
• Illustrator
• Expanding byte-sized series (Hilary)
• Programming made easy
• Self defence for your computer
• Email safe, smart and organised
• Further Linux
• Applied Research Technologies
• Offering more out of term and evening courses

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Some statistics

• Michaelmas 2002
• 52 courses
• 2413 online bookings
• 200 - ECDL
• 1000 new graduates - subject specific Computer
  based research skills
• 95 people with no email
• Michaelmas 2003
• 93 courses
• 3160 online bookings
• 360 ECDL
• 1500 new graduates subject specific Computer
  based research skills
• and still 105 people with no email not much
  change there!

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Collaborative work

• with other sections within OUCS
• E.g. Research Technologies Service, etc.
• with OULS
• Electronic Resources Awareness byte-sized
  series and Computer based research skills
  courses
• with the faculties / departments
• 1st year medics
• Pharmacology
• Clinical Sciences
• Gene Medicine Group
• Materials, Earth Sciences, Geography
• Development Studies
• Dept of Education
• all Humanities faculties
• Politics, International Relationships, Sociology
  and Social Policy
• Said Business School
• with ITSS
• new lunch-time and evening courses

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How does it all relate to the review of OUCS?

• Quote No 1
• the Panel in particular notes the important and
  successful role of the Learning
• Technologies Group in providing training and user
  education in IT across a wide
• range of areas, and encouraging and supporting
  the use of IT in learning and
• teaching.
• Quote No 2
• Links with OULS. It may be beneficial for the
  OULS Systems and Electronic
• Resources Service and OUCS to review how they
  communicate in the event of
• problems in each other's services
• Quote No 3
• Communications. The Panel would encourage OUCS
  to think about whether there
• are ways of enhancing user input and feedback on
  OUCS's services
• Quote No 4
• to increase demand on support for the
  applications run over the network, such as
  training and development of e-learning

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LTG Services
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Bringing People and Technology Together

• Teaching
• 19 Courses
• Working Lunch series for Academics
• Digital Projects weekly talks
• National LTSN divisional days
• Help, Support Dissemination
• Multimedia, Bids, Tech briefings
• AHRB Ruskin Digital Images project
• Presentations at National Conferences
• Advice on educational technology
• Educational Standards Interoperability
• Online VLE reading list project with Libraries
• DivLE project LAMS Learning Design pilot

LTG Services Team
Jonathan Miller
Howard Noble
Peter Robinson
Clive Rickett
Marina Cacioppo
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Responding to the review

• Building closer ties with libraries and
  Divisions,
• e.g.online reading list pilot for Medicine, DiVLE
  libraries project
• Collaborating with the Portal, VLE, Wing
• Dissemination and outreach
• Project Isidore

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Future ChallengesMaking Technology Invisible

• ICT of tomorrow ? Mobile wireless classrooms ?
• Providing a relevant service!
• Educational Standards Interoperability
• Promoting good practice in Learning Technologies

Standards are the key !
Educational Interoperability Making the
Weblearn VLE modular, using best of breed
interoperable components
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Any questions?