Group Admins
Description
Session Content
- Link to shared Google Doc
- Link to Google Slides presentation
- Link to Audio Podcast – full podcast transcript at end of shared Google Doc
Session Description
This open resource describes how two national organisations, in Ireland and the UK, have worked to support digital teaching and learning in a time of significant change. We outline our respective approaches to conducting large-scale surveys to find out what makes a difference to students and staff who teach in higher education, providing links to our respective 2020 reports and other related OER. In addition, we include a short screencast describing our experiences of national and international collaboration in running digital experience surveys.
Ireland: As the national body responsible for leading and advising on the enhancement of teaching and learning in Irish higher education, the National Forum works closely with those who teach, learn and shape policy and practice across Irish higher education and is currently working towards “re-articulating a national vision for digital teaching and learning that is collaborative, responsive and adaptable to institutional contexts” (National Forum, 2019). As a foundation for this work, the National Forum sought in 2019 to survey students and staff who teach across Irish higher education to gather data about their digital engagement, experiences and expectations. After researching various options, the National Forum chose to use and adapt Jisc’s digital experience insights surveys. The Irish National Digital Experience (INDEx) survey was coordinated by the National Forum in partnership with staff and students across the Irish higher education sector (32 institutions). The survey was undertaken in autumn 2019 and the report was published in May 2020 (National Forum, 2020).
UK: The Jisc digital experience insights surveys (Jisc, 2016-20) were developed in order to better understand how students and staff use technology and their attitudes towards its use in their learning and teaching. This is different to learner analytics datasets that collect behavioural and achievement data. This GASTA presentation will describe how, in addition to work within their respective higher education sectors, the National Forum and Jisc collaborated. The approach used in the INDEx survey was to coordinate at a national rather than an individual institution level. This enabled the adaptation and use of a survey relevant to the Irish higher education context but still preserving many elements of international benchmarking experience insights data from higher education sectors in the UK, Australia and New Zealand (Jisc, 2020; Langer-Crame et al, 2020).
References
Jisc (2016-19). Student digital experience insight survey. Jisc. https://digitalinsights.jisc.ac.uk [Accessed 20 April 2020].
Jisc (2020). Jisc digital experience insights. Our reports. https://digitalinsights.jisc.ac.uk/reports-and-briefings/our-reports/ [Accessed 30 April 2020]
Langer-Crame, M., Killen, C., & Knight, S. (2020). Digital experience insights survey 2020: Findings from students in UK further and higher education. Jisc. Available at: https://digitalinsights.jisc.ac.uk/reports-and-briefings/our-reports/ [Accessed 20 April 2020].
National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2019). Building digital capacity in Irish higher education 2013–18. National Forum. https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/publication/building-digital-capacity-in-irish-higher-education-2013-18-national-developments-and-key-perspectives/ [Accessed 20 April 2020].
National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (2020). Irish National Digital Experience (INDEx) Survey: Findings from students and staff who teach in higher education. National Forum. https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/index [Accessed 20 April 2020].
