How are Universities using ICT?

The report ‘Web 2.0 for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education’ by Tom Franklin and Mark van Harmelen on behalf of the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education looks at case studies from the universities of Warwick, Leeds, Brighton, Edinburgh and Klagenfurt.

University of Warwick – own blogging system, largely used by students (15% of them) for social contact and interaction.

University of Leeds – Elgg for blogging, pushed mainly at staff for trying new ways of teaching and disseminating information.

University of Brighton – Elgg plus separate VLE, students and staff are using for online socializing and sharing academic interest. Interesting that the tools are being used formally and informally (contrast this with the OU VLE, which our tutor group has not used much for informal interaction). Students are starting to use Elgg for personal development planning and the creation of e-portfolios. Elgg is also providing new forms of student support – e.g. one student blogged about wanting to quit his studies, and was offered direct support from the university – slightly scary I think! Big Brother is watching you. Note that although the write-up suggests good take-up, in practice the numbers are low – only 4.5% of students in May 2007.

University of Edinburgh – the only UK university to have a formal Web 2.0 strategy. Uses blogs and RSS feeds instead of newsletters, uses Google Maps for campus maps, uses social bookmarking technologies to manage reading lists, provides podcasts of public lectures.

University of Klagenfurt (Austria) – hosts Elgg for social networking, file sharing and e-portfolios, and Moodle as VLE. There are no indications of any strong effect on teaching or learning yet, although there are emerging signs that Web 2.0 facilities may be helping to make learning more student-centred. Students are taking greater control of managing, documenting and reflecting on their own learning.

Most of these case studies support Weller’s view that universities are creating a centralized and top-down version of technology in current applications to teaching and learning.

Klagenfurt feels like it is most advanced in the changing of traditional roles, giving more control of learning to the students.

[H800 Week 18]