North East Scotland College - Developing a Digitally Capable Institution

Developing a
Digitally Capable
Institution
Robin McGregor
Director of Learning Enhancement

Get involved
Go to
www.menti.com
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Use code 72 83 59
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Leave your
comments and
questions…
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Two key NESCol priorities
To develop staff engagement
and skills in relation to digital
practice and innovative learning,
teaching and assessment
strategies.
Reform the curriculum to give
learners the cognitive and
interpersonal skills they need to
thrive in the future.

The Evolution of BYOD at
NESCol
• Launched in August 2013
• Phased implementation over 5 years
• 700 to c. 4300 full time students.
• Roughly 50/50 split FE to HE.
• Courses with specialist IT requirement
out with scope.
• Students supported to procure a device
via non-advanced bursary and student
loan.

Original
Drivers for
BYOD
• Exceed student digital expectations.
• Enable staff to be innovative and creative.
• Improve accessibility and flexibility.
• Develop staff and student digital capabilities.
• Improve learning environment.
• Reduce managed IT estate.
• Enable efficiencies in key business processes.

Many Lessons Learned Relating To…
WiFi
connectivity.
Technical
Support
Infrastructure
Device
procurement
Access to
resources
Staff training
Internal and
external
communication

Associated benefits of BYOD
High levels of staff and student satisfaction.
Improved attainment.
Improved learning environment via device reduction
Huge investment in wireless access at all campuses.
Improved access to learning materials.
C. 40% reduction in print volume (9m in 2015 to projected sub 4m in 2018) .
Introduction of student IT HelpZone – 14,000 calls during 16/17 & 700 PAT tests.

14,000 calls & 700 PAT tests delivered during 16/17

Persistent issues
Staff confidence supporting learners to use their devices.
Student digital capability at entry – myth of the “Digital Native”
Classroom management
Managing assessment on BYOD devices
Traditional pedagogies still persisting.
Teaching staff “don’t know what they don’t know”
Perceived lack of time to invest in CPD and curriculum redesign

NESCol’s
Current
Position
 We are a good but “average” college.
 Despite successful adoption of BYOD
Learning, Teaching and Assessment has not
been transformed.
 Many staff still lacking confidence,
knowledge and skills in relation to digital
practice and contemporary pedagogies.
 Pockets of excellence of innovative practice
but not College-wide.
So what is the solution?

So what is the solution?
• Three Year Project (2017 – 2020).
• Draws heavily on the Jisc Digital Capability
Framework
• Emphasis on developing digital capabilities of
teaching and support staff to:
• Embed the use of digital technologies and
21st century skills in day-to-day learning,
teaching and assessment to develop
capabilities of learners.
• Exploit the power of digital to drive
improvements in business and student
support processes.
• Engage in meaningful and supported
personal development and curriculum
planning activities.

Project
Workstreams
 NESCol Digital Skills Framework and Training Pathway
 Digital Toolkit
 Staff & Student Benchmarking
 Blackboard Baselines
 Assessment, Grading & Feedback
 Digital Learning Advisors
 Learning Materials Guidelines
 Digital Futures Mentors
 Student Engagement Activities
 Digital Futures/Enterprise Hub (name tbc)

Digital
Capability
Frame
CDN version of Jisc DC Framework

Supported
via…
 Bespoke NESCol “Role Profiles” outlining core
capabilities.
 Jisc Digital Capability Discovery tool
 Institutional Digital Skills Scan
 Jisc Digital Student Survey
 Programme of face-to-face training
 Online learning pathway
 Mandatory CPD target approved by SMT.

Digital
Futures
Blackboard
Pathway

Digital Futures
Mentors
 Secondment opportunity for
experienced teaching staff.
 Based on SERC model.
 10 to be recruited.
 ½ a day commitment per week.
 Each Mentor to recruit three
mentees per block.

The HIVE –
Innovation and
Enterprise Space
• In the style of a Google War Room.
• Managed/bookable space.
• Will be used for:
• Training
• Workshops
• Meetings
• Planning
• Seminars
• Commercial lets
• Etc.

Digital
Assessment,
Grading and
Feedback
 Use of digital tools for formative assessment is widespread
 NESCol already does a lot of digital summative assessment
and grading:
 In 2016 – 2017:
 1833 assessments delivered via SQA SOLAR
 55,264 individual submissions via Turnitin (58% increase)
 82,475 similarity reports (147% increase)
 10,5451 Turnitin Quickmarks (113% increase)
 c. 1000 assessments delivered via QMP
 70,292 individual Blackboard assignments (36% increase)
 3000+ ECDL, City & Guilds, CITB etc. assessments too.
 Not consistent across all faculty areas.
 Still too much reliance on paper-based assessment & manual
marking and feedback.

Digital
Assessment
Development
Plan
 Strategic target for all summative
assessment, grading and feedback to be
fully digital (where appropriate) by 2020.
 Use of College committee structure and
QA processes to drive development.
 Redesign of whole assessment approach
is key…more authentic
 Assessment a major focus of Digital
Futures phase 2
 Challenges, habits and misconceptions to
overcome….

Digital Futures Driven by Strong Leadership
Project approved and fully supported by the Regional Board.
Aligned with ambitions of key partner institution (RGU).
Assessment and curriculum redesign - supported via Curriculum Advisory Panel.
Embedded within iCon Performance Review process.
Integral part of Corporate Plan and key College Strategies

Digital Futures
Impact on
wider College
strategy
• New Digital Strategy
• Behavioural plan that unifies and aligns effective use
of digital technologies across all teaching, support
and business functions.
• Revised Learning & Teaching strategy that defines:
• The capabilities that learners must develop to thrive
in an ever-changing, digitally, economically and
politically disrupted world.
• The characteristics of excellent learning, teaching
and assessment and the enablers of each criteria.
• Why NESCol is a genuine first-choice destination, and
what is excellent and unique about our product.

The Next
Phase…Focus on:
 Battling barriers
 Contemporary pedagogies
 Instructional design
 Mobile learning
 Synchronous digital collaboration
 High quality teaching & Assessment
materials
 VLE Futures
 Your questions and comments

North East Scotland College - Developing a Digitally Capable Institution

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