eLearning Initiative
Vision
To support the University community to enhance the student learning experience and the campus with sustainable learning technologies that promote research-led, active and innovative approaches to learning and teaching.
Principles
The eLearning Initiative at the University of Sydney aims to assist the provision of quality student learning experiences through:
- Focusing on improving learning outcomes
- Adopting a student perspective on learning and teaching
- Using quality assurance for the purposes of improvement
- Ensuring a responsible and sustainable use of resources
- Adopting a whole-of-institution approach
- Leading and informing through policy creation
- Developing institutional knowledge and skills for use of e-learning technologies
Key aspects of the eLearning Initiative
The eLearning Initiative is located in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching). The Initiative can best be understood in terms of its key aspects:
- Governance
- Policy development
- Strategic and operational planning
- Staffing
- Quality Assurance
- Strategic support for faculty eLearning projects
- Learning Spaces
- Benchmarking
- Outcomes of the eLearning Initiative
The eLearning Governance Group reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor. It is responsible for the strategic direction of the eLearning Initiative which sits in the Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching).
A Working Party of the Governance Group deals with the operational issues of coordinating eLearning activities across the University.
The activities of the eLearning Inititative are governed by all Academic Board learning and teaching policies, and in particular by Quality Assurance and Learning Management Systems policy.
eLearning Strategic and Operational Plans have been endorsed by the eLearning Governance Group.
The Coordinator of the eLearning Initiative is Dr Rob Ellis. The Team Coordinator is Stephen Sheely. The Flexible Online Learning Team supporting the Initiative comprises three Project Managers, twelve ICT support staff and one administrative assistant. They provide support to over 30,000 student users and over 1,000 staff users.
Quality Assurance for the eLearning Initiative is provided through the WebCT Helpdesk and systematic trialling of Unit of Study websites. In addition, quality assurance for video-conferencing and other e-learning initiatives is provided through academic development activities and special projects.
A helpdesk is provided five days a week from 8.00a.m.-6.00p.m. for all enquiries related to the University Learning Management System (LMS), WebCT. It handles queries from staff related to the production of Unit of Study websites and also from students and staff once websites are in use for teaching.
University policy requires that all Unit of Study websites are trialled before they are used by students. This trial, referred to as an application to activate, checks them for technical robustness, navigability, adherence to University learning and teaching policies and other issues that may affect the ability of the Helpdesk to provide sustainable support to students and staff.
Academic development includes workshops for elearning and video-conferencing and lunchtime gatherings. Workshops and lunchtime gatherings are done in collaboration with staff from the Institute of Teaching and Learning (ITL) and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).
In 2004 a project was undertaken with the Faculty of Economics and Business - the QA for Blackboard Project. Staff from the Faculty's Centre to Advance Learning in Economics and Business (CALEB) and the Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) developed appropriate quality assurance activities for the administration of the Faculty LMS, Blackboard.
In 2005 the University commenced a review of all key technologies involved in supporting eLearning at the University of Sydney. The eLearning Review is co-sponsored by the CIO and the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching) and will involve all relevant stakeholders in the University community.
Faculties have each appointed a representative to better understand how e-learning is being used to support learning and teaching and assessment in their faculties.
The eLearning Initiatative provides an annual allocation of approximately 12,000 hours of specialist support for strategic elearning projects. This allocation is prioritised by academic structures and is operationalised by four or more staff from the Initiative.
Four members of the eLearning Governance Group (including the Chair) are members of the Teaching Venues Advisory Committee (TVAC). One of the aims of this Committee is to improve the quality of ICT and audio-visual services in learning and teaching spaces. Learning and teaching spaces include the 220 centrally bookable rooms on the Camperdown/Darlington campus, centrally bookable rooms on other campuses and the learning spaces on all campuses made up of Access Centres, libraries, and other student recreation areas.
To seek to maintain a world-class service for elearning, the Initiative engages in international and national benchmarking relationships with appropriate partners. Between 2001-2004, the University had a benchmarking relationship with the Open University, United Kingdom. Outcomes of that relationship led to the establishment of the current Initiative.
From 2004, the University has established a benchmarking relationship with the Australian National University focussing on excellence in elearning. The relationship will involve an exchange of visits, documents and ideas leading towards an extension of the benchmarking framework developed with the Open University.
The Governance Group has also recommended that the University investigate the development of a benchmarking relationship outside the research-intensive universities, with a university with expertise in learning and teaching.
- Enhancing the student learning experience through an appropriate use of ICT, active learning, extending discussions and building learning communities
- Empowering staff to develop knowledge of innovative teaching approaches and resources
- Improving faculty-level understanding about what it takes to make elearning a ubiquitous and sustainable part of professionalism in teaching
- Supporting strategic insight and direction for faculties in the use of elearning technologies leading to better alignment for planning and operationalisation
- Helping the University to develop knowledge capital of what a scholarly approach to the use of elearning encompasses; research-led teaching and scholarship of teaching
- New income streams for the University