We heard a mixed, bittersweet perspective on group work, so explored whether we could contribute something to help with group formation. Background In late 2021 we began to explore experiences and challenges around student group work, having noted what seemed to be a trend in their rising use. We conducted a literature review, drawing on […]
“Incredibly helpful, stressful, time saving, time consuming” are just some of the ways that digital assessment marking has been described. We have spent the last month exploring digital assessment with some of our members. We wanted to understand their experiences, listen to the challenges, and learn about the different ways institutions are using digital assessments […]
It is hard to be certain of what assessment will be like in the future. However, if we can create some scenarios of what might happen, it can help us to plan what we might be able to do. To make more desirable futures happen or to reduce the chances of a less desirable one. […]
We have been hearing a lot in our conversations with institutions about their challenges around creating effective learning spaces. Even before the pandemic we had seen a move by some institutions towards more active or blended learning models. These rely less on large lecture spaces and more on flexible open learning spaces, group work or […]
Assessment Feedback Assistant has at its core the idea that students want to be able to use their feedback to develop their skills. The concept Our concept is for a tool that gathers feedback from digital systems so the student can see it in one place. The tool could notify the student when they have […]
The R&D team at Jisc is working on a potential new product that we’re currently calling Peer Connect. Peer Connect will be an app for learners who are predominantly studying online to connect with others on their course. Aimed at all students, national and international, Peer Connect will adopt a “privacy first” approach allowing students […]
In December 2021 I contributed some of our team’s recent research to the ALT Winter Conference. The session was in the Well-being and Learning Technology category in the form of a video poster titled: On Campus and Off Campus: Places, People, and Possibilities during the Pandemic. The poster was a pre-recorded presentation focused around qualitative […]
In June I wrote a blog post on the proliferation and growing popularity of virtual study spaces. This blog post is a follow up, focusing on Discord. There are two use cases of Discord in particular that I will discuss – as a virtual study space, and as an educational tool for peer support. What […]
Ideation for us is the process of generating possible solutions to problems and challenges. We find the most innovative and transformation ideas come when we work as a team. There are lots of tools and activities we use for ideation, but the challenge is bringing the process together. I am using a recipe analogy […]
To say that the coronavirus pandemic has caused significant disruption would be an understatement, with the entire education sector affected in one way or another. With any luck things will creep back to something approaching normality. However, the past months have highlighted the need to be prepared for disruptive events in the future, in whatever […]