Promoting e-Learning across a small specialist HE institution –

a Journey of e-Ndurance

Promoting e-Learning across a small specialist HE institution –

a Journey of e-Ndurance

Henry KeilHarper Adams University College, Newport

The

institution

Course portfolio ‘land-based’ courses• Agriculture• Agricultural Engineering• Rural Environment, Leisure and Tourism• Business and Management, incl. Agri-food

Harper Adams UC – the main pillars

• a HE institution• a ‘working farm’• short course provision• work-based learning

• 1843 students on FT UG and PGT / PGR courses• 83% of students from rural background• 12% of students from overseas• 2282 students on accredited employer engagement programmes (367 FTEs) • 46% of students are on fully accredited courses • 1393 learners (professionals) on CPD modules• Mostly ‘traditionalist’ (academic) staff

Student Population 2009/10

The presenter

The Present role

• Promoting the use of Learning Technology across an entire institution• VLE ‘owner’• Identifying e-pedagogy for online DL

Expectations

Reality

Net result:

Some degree of inertia, negativity and

cynicism

What triggers Cynicism?

- IT infrastructure-related?

- Staff IT skills-related?

- Lack of Communication

- Lack of management support – strategic vision

- Under-resourced?

What triggers Cynicism?

- IT infrastructure-related?

- Staff IT skills-related?

- Lack of Communication

- Lack of management support – strategic vision

- Under-resourced?

How do you monitor progress?How do you monitor progress?

Conclusion:

Majority of staff are still stuck in an instructivist

mindset

Predominantly a ‘Command and Control’ approach

Predominantly a ‘Command and Control’ approach

Core of early adopters

• Building trust in academic professionalism

• ‘Selling’ e-Learning as opportunities for research

• Avoidance of extrinsic reward systems for e-Learning

• Providing targeted ‘just in time’ training

• Make staff key stakeholders in e-learning projects

• More use of media (video) as online resource

• Moodle as a starting point (‘Portal’) to access alternative learning platforms (Mahara/WordPress)

• Refining effectiveness of pure online pedagogy

• Evaluation of m-learning

• Open repository for land-based resources

• Motivating academic staff ain’t any easier than motivating students

• Don’t assume that academics are necessarily committed life-long learners (outside their own subject speciality perhaps)

• Being patient!!

End of Journey

Henry Keil hkeil@harper-adams.ac.uk