Student technology ambassadors schemes: their impact on roles, relationships and digital skills training in UK higher education [1698] Home : Annual Conference 2017

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Tue, Sep 5 2017, 11:00am – 12:20pm
Authors: Fiona Handley
Room: Library Rm (1)
Theme: Empowerment in Learning Technology
Type: 40-minute session

Description

This presentation presents some initial findings from a research project that explores student technology ambassadors schemes at 3 institutions. It examines the institutional contexts in which these schemes were developed, the roles of, and relationships between student ambassadors, learning technologists and academics. The project aims are to develop a better understanding of the changes in digital skills training and support in three contrasting institutions, and to consider this in the light of changing roles and responsibilities around learning and teaching especially involving digital practice, for example, students as partners (HEA 2016), academics working collaboratively through teaching as a design science (Laurillard 2012), the increasing move to online digital skills training such as Lynda.com, and the debates around the future of IT trainers (Handley 2016). The analysis of data, collected through analysis of institutional policy and initiatives, staff and student development materials, and semi-structured interviews with participants, highlights the potential opportunities these schemes provide, as well the potential for reorganising professional practices in the higher education context. The project takes a social practice-based approach to understanding the use of technology in learning environments, seeing it as culturally, discursively, and materially formed. This approach captures many levels of data from different perspectives, drawing on a view of practice being constituted from what people say they do, what they do, and how this relates to what other people do (Kemmis’ [2009] ‘sayings’, ‘doings’ and ‘relatings’).

The workshop session will be divided into a 20 minute presentation highlighting the key preliminary findings of the project, interspersed with opportunities for participants to respond to online polling questions. This will be followed by group activities that allow deeper discussion on perceptions of student technology ambassador schemes, and experiences of changing roles relating to digital skills training.

Handley, F. 2016 Panel member, Do we still need IT training teams?. UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities 2, 25-26th May 2016, Birmingham.

HEA 2016 Student Champions. York: HEA

https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/hea_warwick_fl.pdf

Kemmis, S. 2009 Understanding Professional Practice: A synoptic framework. In Green, B. (ed.) Understanding and Researching Professional Practice. Rotterdam: Sense p.19-38

Laurillard, D. 2012 Teaching as a design science: Building pedagogical patterns for learning and technology Abingdon: Routledge

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