The application of technology to learning, as part of a blending of learning styles and opportunities, can deliver improved access to richer resources while contributing to more effective use of staff and student time. Technology permits learning to take place in more flexible ways, accommodating students who need to study at times and places outside the traditional model. Technology can also provide the means of personalising learning, giving students more and better opportunities to identify and engage with learning that maps onto their personal learning styles and supports their personal development. The considered application of technology has been shown to improve student attainment, retention, inclusion, employability and engagement. It is a vital aspect too, for developing graduates who are IT-literate and equipped to cope with a world of increasingly rapid technological change.
The University has in place through BREO (BlackboardTM) a range of technologies which support curriculum delivery. When effectively deployed, these can enhance student learning. Systematic high quality teaching is dependent on the effective use of technology to develop students’ skills, support different learning styles, enable flexibility of access, provide formative feedback, capture student learning and assess it, encourage reflective processes and enable the effective deployment of staff resources. The effective use of technology is fundamental to our approach to personalising learning and thus our ambition is to deliver increasing use of engaging activity online (Mode 2) - because it supports better learning and ways of evidencing the outcomes of it.
The University supports a number of tools designed to support students' learning online in a range of ways: Blackboard is the overarching virtual learning environment that provides a shared learning space for units. Integrated into Blackboard are: Campus Pack tools for creating blogs and wikis; WIMBA classroom, a live shared whiteboard with voice; Pronto, an instant messaging tool; and Turnitin, a tool used to test submitted text for poor academic practice together with providing fast feedback directly to students online. Alongside Blackboard, we provide all members of the University community with access to PebblePad, a personal learning space where students (and staff) can collect evidence of learning, reflect on it and share it as needed.
The Learning Technology Team within the Centre for Learning Excellence, supports these tools,
provides training in their use, and can assist course teams in developing
materials that will encourage engaging learning activities online.
