Learning in a Digital Age: Extending higher education opportunities for lifelong learning

Learning in a Digital Age is one in a series of Effective Practice guides. It demonstrates, through a range of case studies, how institutions are using technology to attract and retain diverse groups of learners, offer professional development opportunities for their staff, and enhance engagement and collaboration with employers and other organisations with a stake in effective lifelong learning.

Herald Higher Education Awards

Jisc is sponsoring the innovation technology excellence category in the inaugural Herald Higher Education Awards, the first awards to recognise best practice specifically in Scottish higher education. Jason Miles-Campbell, head of Jisc Scotland and Jisc Northern Ireland, tells us about the awards and how to enter.

Presenting research expertise information online: a guide for higher education institutions

Helping HEIs plan the use of online channels to communicate information about the expertise of researchers within their institution so that it meets the needs of business and community users, as well researchers themselves

On the Construction of Higher étale Regulators

We present three approaches to define the higher étale regulator maps Φ^r,n_et : H^r_et(X,Z(n)) → H^r_D(X,Z(n)) for regular arithmetic schemes. The first two approaches construct the maps on the cohomology level, while the third construction provides a morphism of complexes of sheaves on the étale site, along with a technical twist that one needs to replace the Deligne-Beilinson cohomology by the analytic Deligne cohomology inspired by the work of Kerr, Lewis, and Müller-Stach. A vanishing statement of infinite divisible torsions under Φ^r,n_et is established for r > 2n + 1.

New approaches to materials education for students of engineering

A novel approach to the teaching of materials to engineering students is outlined. It starts from the overview of the "world" of materials made possible by material property charts, and develops both an understanding of material properties and skills in selecting materials and processes to meet design specifications. It is supported by extensive computer-based methods and tools, and is well adapted both for elementary and for advanced courses.

JUSTEIS (JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services) Strand A: survey of end users of all electronic information services (HE and FE), with Action research report. Final report 2002/2003 Cycle Four.

Urquhart, C. (editor for JUSTEIS team), Spink, S., Thomas, R., Yeoman, A., Durbin, J., Turner, J., Armstrong, A., Lonsdale, R. & Fenton, R. (2003). JUSTEIS (JISC Usage Surveys: Trends in Electronic Information Services) Strand A: survey of end users of all electronic information services (HE and FE), with Action research report. Final report 2002/2003 Cycle Four. Aberystwyth: Department of Information Studies, University of Wales Aberystwyth with Information Automation Ltd (CIQM). Sponsorship: JISC

Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK

Urquhart, C. J., Cox, A. M.& Spink, S. (2007). Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK. Interlending & Document Supply, 35(3), 164-170. Sponsorship: JISC, LKDN

Best practices for competency development and assessment in higher education

The main objective of this article is to present the results of a study aimed at determining, classifying and evaluating practices of interest for general competency development and assessment in undergraduate programmes. The study encompassed the following phases: (1) focus group in order to establish a starting point regarding competency development and assessment, counting on the opinion of some of the best-rated teachers belonging to the participating universities; (2) collection of best practices; (3) design and validation of a scale for the assessment of best practices; and (4) scale administration (evaluation of good practices) and data analysis.

Covert conversations: disciplined improvisation and meaning-making in the masters (MA) supervisory relationship

This research asks the question: “What are the relational dynamics in Masters (MA) supervision?” It does so by focusing upon the supervisory relationship itself. It does this through dialoguing with the voices of both MA supervisors and supervisees in the Humanities using a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) framework. In so doing, this research argues for a re-evaluation of how MA supervision is conceptualised and proposes a new theoretical framework for conceptualising MA supervision as a relational phenomenon. The research design was derived from an Activity Theory-influenced methodology. Data collection procedures included the administration of Activity Theory Logs, individual semi-structured interviews with both supervisors and supervisees and the completion of reflective journals. Grounded Theory was used to analyse the data. The sample for the study consists of three supervisor-supervisee dyads from three disciplines in the Humanities. Data was collected over the course of one academic year, 2010-2011. This research found that both individual and shared relational dynamics play an important role in MA supervision. Individual dynamics, such as supervisors’ iterative negotiation of ambiguity/clarity and supervisees’ boundary work, revealed that both parties attempt to negotiate a separation between their professional-academic identities and personal identities. However, an inherent paradox emerged when the shared relational dynamics of MA supervision were investigated. It was found that the shared space created by the supervisory relationship did not only exist in a physical setting, but was also psychoactive in nature and held strong emotional resonances for both parties involved. This served to undermine the separation between professional-academic and personal identities. As a result, this research argues that the interaction between the individual and shared relational dynamics in MA supervision enables, for both supervisors and supervisees, a disciplined improvisation of academic identity.

Achieving continuous professional development in higher education

Traditional higher education technology emphasizes knowledge transmission. In contrast, the Community platform presented in this paper follows a social approach that interleaves knowledge delivery with social and professional skills development, engaging with others, and personal growth. In this paper, we apply learning and complex adaptive systems theory to motivate and justify a continuous professional development model that improves higher education outcomes such as placement. The paper follows action design research (ADR) as the research method to propose and evaluate design principles.

Erziehung und Bildung in Offenbach. Bericht 2015

Der Bericht "Erziehung und Bildung in Offenbach. Bericht 2015" (EBO), herausgegeben von Stadt Offenbach am Main, wird zum 9. Mal veröffentlicht. Erstmals wurden Daten der integrierten Ausbildungsberichterstattung für Hessen (iABE) einbezogen. Sie ermöglichen eine wohnortspezifische Analyse der Übergänge von der Sekundarstufe I in unterschiedliche Zielbereiche, wie z.B. Berufsabschluss oder Hochschulreife. Der EBO 2015 bietet vermehrt Zeitreihen, um langfristige Entwicklungen im Bildungsbereich darzustellen. Der Standortbestimmung dienen darüber hinaus interkommunale Vergleiche. Der EBO beinhaltet seit dem Bericht 2009 den von der Jugendhilfeplanung entwickelten „Index bildungsrelevanter sozialer Belastung“. Mit diesem können besondere pädagogischen Bedarfe in den 14 Grundschulbezirken ermittelt und faire, d.h. die unterschiedlichen Anteile bildungsbenachteiligter Schüler/-innen berücksichtigende, Schulleistungsvergleiche ermöglicht werden. Im Rahmen dieser Analyse rücken erstmals die Mädchen mit Migrationshintergrund in den Fokus: So fällt auf, dass im Übergang Grundschule/Gymnasium die Übergangsquote bei Mädchen mit Migrationshintergrund um 15 Prozentpunkte niedriger liegt als die der Mädchen ohne Migrationshintergrund. Sie liegt sogar knapp unter der Übergangsquote der Jungen mit Migrationshintergrund. Eine Erklärung dafür, dass die Mädchen mit Migrationshintergrund beim Übergang zum Gymnasium nicht zu den Bildungsgewinnern zählen, steht aber aus. Der Bericht verdeutlicht auch, dass der Bereich der Sprachförderung in allen Bildungsbereichen – „lebenslang“ – in der Kommune eine herausragende Rolle spielt. Der Bericht greift Linien des "Orientierungsrahmen für Bildungsentwicklung“ der Stadt Offenbach" auf. Der Prozess und die Erarbeitung wurden erstmals von der Fachstelle Bildungskoordinierung und Beratung federführend koordiniert. (DIPF/Autor)