Effective Assessment in a Digital Age

What contribution can technology make to ensuring that assessment and feedback processes are agile, streamlined and capable of promoting high-quality learning? Effective Assessment in a Digital Age, one in a series of Effective Practice guides, draws on recent JISC reports and case studies depicting different contexts and modes of learning to explore the relationship between technology enabled assessment and feedback practices and meaningful, well-supported learning experiences.

Effective Practice with e-Portfolios

Effective Practice with e-Portfolios, one in a series of Effective Practice guides, uses the outcomes of recent significant projects and examples from current practice to explore how e-portfolios can add value to personalised and reflective models of learning. Drawing on the work of key national agencies and organisations and on excellent practice and recent initiatives by institutions and professional bodies, the guide illustrates a wide variety of e-portfolio use across further, higher and continuing education.

Designing Spaces for Effective Learning: A guide to 21st century learning space design

Increasing investment in estate and learning technologies, combined with the need for more cost-effective space utilisation, is making it increasingly important for senior managers to keep abreast of new thinking about the design of technology-rich learning spaces. Designing Spaces for Effective Learning, one of a series of guides, was launched at the JISC Conference 2006 which helped to meet this need. A visually-rich publication, it was designed to promote better understanding of what makes an effective design for the 21 century and to summarise the key points to consider when approaching a refurbishment or new-build project. The publication takes the reader on a ’walk through’ an educational institution, exploring the relationship between learning technologies and innovative examples of physical space design at each stage of the journey. Discussion of the key points is illustrated by ten case studies from further and higher education, and floor plans from AMA Alexi Marmot Associates, architects and space planners, which provide up-to-date guidelines on the integration of technologies into teaching and learning accommodation.

Effective Practice in a Digital Age

Effective Practice in a Digital Age is designed for those in further and higher education who aim to enhance the student learning experience through apt and imaginative uses of technology. A visually rich publication, Effective Practice in a Digital Age outlines key aspects of designing learning in a technology-rich context and is structured to address the needs of experienced practitioners as well as those new to technology-based learning and teaching – the ten newly researched case studies offer a choice of pathways reflecting the diversity of approaches taken by practitioners in current UK practice.

The Value of Research Data

Scientific research revolves around the production, analysis, storage, management, and re-use of data. Data sharing offers important benefits for scientific progress and advancement of knowledge. However, several limitations and barriers in the general adoption of data sharing are still in place. Probably the most important challenge is that data sharing is not yet very common among scholars and is not yet seen as a regular activity among scientists, although important efforts are being invested in promoting data sharing. In addition, there is a relatively low commitment of scholars to cite data. The most important problems and challenges regarding data metrics are closely tied to the more general problems related to data sharing. The development of data metrics is dependent on the growth of data sharing practices, after all it is nothing more than the registration of researchers’ behaviour. At the same time, the availability of proper metrics can help researchers to make their data work more visible. This may subsequently act as an incentive for more data sharing and in this way a virtuous circle may be set in motion. This report seeks to further explore the possibilities of metrics for datasets (i.e. the creation of reliable data metrics) and an effective reward system that aligns the main interests of the main stakeholders involved in the process. The report reviews the current literature on data sharing and data metrics. It presents interviews with the main stakeholders on data sharing and data metrics. It also analyses the existing repositories and tools in the field of data sharing that have special relevance for the promotion and development of data metrics. On the basis of these three pillars, the report presents a number of solutions and necessary developments, as well as a set of recommendations regarding data metrics. The most important recommendations include the general adoption of data sharing and data publication among scholars; the development of a reward system for scientists that includes data metrics; reducing the costs of data publication; reducing existing negative cultural perceptions of researchers regarding data publication; developing standards for preservation, publication, identification and citation of datasets; more coordination of data repository initiatives; and further development of interoperability protocols across different actors.

Building digital capability: Being an effective digital leader

This is a version of the Jisc ‘Six Elements of Digital Capabilities’ model, specifically to support Jisc’s members in the area of Digital Leadership. It is one example of the base model being used in a particular context and is not meant to be definitive.

Building digital capability: Leading and managing an effective digital organisation (team, service, department)

This is a version of the Jisc ‘Six Elements of Digital Capabilities’ model, specifically to support Jisc’s members in the area of Digital Leadership. It is one example of the base model being used in a particular context and is not meant to be definitive.

Open Citations and Responsible Metrics

Briefing Note for Jisc – Cameron Neylon – March 2016