Achieving solutions through technology

JISC RSC Impact Report ACADEMIC YEAR 2010-2011

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Vital supportJISC Regional Support Centres (RSCs) play a vital role in the contribution of enhancing lifelong learning. Working with small HE Institutions, FE and Skills providers across the UK, we advise on the effective use of technology and e-learning.

Through the provision of tailor-made support, we respond to the individual needs of learning providers to help them fulfil their technology objectives. This support can take a variety of forms; from advice and guidance to mutual support and from knowledge sharing with other organisations, to partnering with the specialist services offered by JISC Advance.

Our strength lies in the expertise of our staff who come from a wide variety of educational, commercial and technological backgrounds and bring depth and breadth to our contextualised support.

We have an excellent reputation for responsive and innovative support with over ten years experience in the sector.

Our feedback shows that our learning providers have been consistently satisfied with our work.

“It’s a sounding board, a safety net and a collaborative

forum. It’s invaluable when it comes to sharing knowledge between likeminded organisations and we certainly benefit from and

champion this service.”

“The RSCs provide technical expertise relating to educational provision which is not available elsewhere.”

What makes us different?• Delivering ‘on the ground’ in-depth knowledge to providers, partners and sectors.

• A critical friend providing independent and unbiased support.

• A broker for expert advice, information and research outcomes from JISC and partners.

• Bringing people and organisations together to achieve the best results.

• Facilitating the sharing of best practice and innovation.

• A national network uniquely tailoring advice in response to local needs.

Effective engagement• We delivered over 2,500 consultations with UK learning providers to help

them meet their technology objectives.

• We supported around 200 work-based learning network meetings to promote sharing of good practice.

• We held nearly 650 events and peer-to-peer forums, attended by approximately 10,000 delegates.

• We participated in more than 600 activities with partners to share our knowledge and expertise.

• Over 350 learning providers benefited from bespoke training to address sector priorities and/or learn specific techniques.

• RSC websites collectively received in excess of 150,000 visitors.

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87%Our 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey showed 87% of customers were satisfied with our service.

2,000More than 2,000 delegates participated in online events.

95% Our 2011 Customer Satisfaction Survey revealed 95% of RSC event attendees came away satisfied.

100 We published over 100 case studies of good practice, two thirds of these feature on the Excellence Gateway.

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Collaborative partnership working• We brought our regional expertise and knowledge to the CoFHE national

working group to help create a Learning Resources self assessment toolkit.

• We inspired a Welsh Government Skills project to use technology allowing members to connect and collaborate online.

• We published over 75 case studies of good practice on the Excellence Gateway, an online resource hub for the FE and Skills communities.

• We harnessed JISC Advance specialist services to:

– devise a common Acceptable Use Policy for Northern Ireland learning providers with JISC Legal

– source books in accessible formats with JISC TechDis advice.

Meeting the challengesWe are experts in keeping abreast of the educational agenda and the benefits that using technology can bring. RSCs advise on a wide range of topics in response to providers’ needs and challenges directly impacting the quality of the learning experience in each provider. In 2010/11 the top concerns identified were:

• Addressing funding issues

• Improving development of staff

• Utilising mobile technology

• Strategic development

• Meeting accessibility requirements and the Single Equality Duty

• Using online distance learning

“I would not be able to perform my role anywhere near as well as I do if the RSC were not as active in my role and development as they have been in the three years that I have been in this position.”

“They act as our top level e-learning advisers and

will have both saved us money and helped us earn money /access

sources of funding.”

How we have helpedThese case studies show how RSCs have worked with learning providers to address these key concerns.

Collaborative working saves moneyAchieving efficiency and cutting costs are vital challenges for the sector. Through a JISCMail list co-ordinated by the RSC, Sector Heads of IT have been able to share ideas within their community and, as a result, achieve savings.

Members on the list found wide variance when they shared the prices they pay for technical items, the specification for computers and the service contract details from a major vendor. The result was the renegotiation of costs and specification of computers bought. It has also allowed some providers to bulk-buy between themselves to reduce costs. The full case study is available here.

Strategic achievements lead to CPD programmesIn keeping with a recent directive by the Department of Employment and Learning for Northern Ireland (DELni) to embed ILT in Further Education, and to assist local colleges the RSC carried out a series of bespoke ILT benchmarking activities mapping results to the Education and Training Inspectorates IQ: RS Framework (Improving Quality:Raising Standards). Colleges could identify how effectively technology was being utilised for both teaching and wider engagement and worked with the RSC in developing their ILT Strategy and subsequent design and implementation of an ILT staff development programme.

In 2009/10 DELni invited the area based colleges to pilot blended learning, selecting the RSC to support the pilot. As a direct result in 2011 DELni commissioned an accredited CPD initiative ‘Technology in Learning Delivery’ which all lecturing staff are required to complete in order to deliver blended learning.

As partners of DELni, we are the main support organisation for this initiative, assisting the FE sector in the production, packaging and hosting of the online course content. Through our extensive experience and modelling the blended learning approach, we will assist delivery through train the trainer programmes, offering efficiency savings to providers.

Mobile learning introduced for apprenticesWe supported Acorn Training in Derbyshire to introduce an e-learning system that supports teaching and learning for apprentices. The RSC Advisor was able to implement experience of the benefits of e-portfolio systems used in learning providers throughout the region to help guide Acorn on their journey to develop their own bespoke version.

This online learning platform ensured that apprentices could access their course online anywhere; vital when they are learning in workplaces across the local area. The system incorporates both internal resources and links to appropriate external resources. Learners and employers have found this style of learning flexible and interactive.

Acorn has achieved a qualification success rate for apprentices of 89-93% over the last three years, which is above the national average and can be, in part, attributed to the support from the RSC.

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Implementing a successful strategy redevelopment A key aspect of our service is to create lasting impact across organisations and share knowledge from expertise within learning providers. RSCs carry out E-Progress Reviews to help organisations assess their strengths and weaknesses in e-learning provision.

An E-progress Review at Lakes College, Cumbria, led to the redevelopment of its ILT strategy. We brought together key personnel to ask pertinent questions, involving face-to-face interviews with staff, managers and groups of learners. The findings of the review informed senior management discussions, which led the college to better reflect its current organisational aims and inform a clear development plan.

As a result of our work the college has a clearer picture of the use and effectiveness of technology in teaching, learning and support. As part of its follow-up support, a review of actions taken by Lakes College against the RSC recommendations was also undertaken.

Accessibility app achieves greater success for learnersAccessApps, developed by the RSCs and JISC TechDis, is a collection of portable and free software applications, which can be used securely from a USB stick on any Windows computer. The applications are arranged into collections which provide solutions to support writing, reading and planning as well as sensory, cognitive and physical difficulties and MyStudyBar, which provides a suite of apps to support literacy.

Coleg Gwent in Newport requested advice to help learners that need additional support achieve greater success as well as to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act and inspection criteria. We provided support, information and guidance that enabled Coleg Gwent to distribute the software to 8,500 full time and work-based learners. MyStudyBar was subsequently installed on every networked PC and AccessApps now forms part of the college’s induction. Staff received training to use AccessApps in their own work and to help support students.

The impact is that all learners and staff have benefited. One learner used DSpeech (converting text to speech) to record a ‘rap’ that has been incorporated into their musical composition.

VLE reaps rewards and awardsThrough direct support and advice provided by the RSC, S&B Automotive Academy in Bristol secured funding for an online learning project which has led to their winning a bronze award at the IMS Global Learning Impact Awards in 2011.

The ‘Jericho’ project involved the purchase of network cameras installed at apprentices’ places of work to create a more efficient system of assessment. Now, assessment can take place at any time required; the assessor logs in to the VLE and accesses the online camera for that apprentice’s workplace. The project also allows the learning provider to host virtual workplace visits at schools allowing potential candidates to exchange information about the benefits of the scheme with existing apprentices, helping to increase retention.

We helped to write the funding bid, exploring whether similar projects were already in existence, provided guidance on the length of interactive online sessions and found quantitative evidence from the National Learner Satisfaction Survey to tailor the bid by incorporating former student feedback.

Without the successful bid S&B would still have ten assessors having to cover 300,000 miles to assess 450 candidates all across the UK, taking over 10,000 hours travelling to assessments.

We have helped colleges to reduce their overall IT costs.

We have boosted collaborative working across senior management teams.

We have partnered Government agencies in the roll out of blended learning initiatives.

We have led provider strategic development reviews.

“It’s definitely working with partnerships, such as [with] the

JISC RSC South West, that really works very well – because they are a part of what we

do. I think that these networks act as a conduit for sharing. We certainly would not

have known about so many things available without these kinds

of partnerships.”

“Feedback from the majority of staff and learners has been excellent. AccessApps has been beneficial to learners with literacy difficulties, dyslexia, and ESOL learners; in particular tools and software such as VuBar, DSpeech and the screen Magnifier…”

“My tutor used DSpeech to convert written text from the internet into mp3 format, transferring the file to the class using Bluetooth. I was able to listen to this on my phone in class. I could listen to this at home if needed to. Written work is not my strong point so recording an answer would be quicker and easier for me.”

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Find out more about usIf you are a learning provider contact your local RSC to see what they can do for you.

For all other enquiries, contact Angela Harvey, JISC RSC Service Co-ordinator

Email: angela.harvey@jiscadvance.ac.uk

Web: www.jiscrsc.ac.uk

JISC receives funding from the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Scottish Funding Council, the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills in Wales and the Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland.

JISC works in partnership with the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) and Research Councils.

CopyrightThis report is disseminated under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 2.0 UK: England and Wales licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk/). Requests for reuse not covered by the CC licence should be sent to JISC Advance at info@jiscadvance.ac.uk. © November 2010

DisclaimerPlease note that the content of this report includes the work of the learning providers and their initiatives and is not necessarily indicative of of JISC policy. References to products, websites and other resources are for guidance only and do not constitute an endorsement of such resources.

“They have assisted me in introducing many new

technologies here at the college, including supporting me in making our VLE accessible.

They are invaluable!”

“It would be very difficult to keep up with practice in the sector without the various communication channels the RSC offers, and the advice is easy to put into context, and get various opinions on a topic or answers to a question.”

“Always ahead of the game with new ideas and projects and provides training which is hard to find anywhere else.”