Caledonian Academy News

The Caledonian Academy is pleased to announce another Learning Communities Forum on October 16th 2007.

The Connecting with e-Learning book series Caledonian Launch takes place at
Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, 14th November 2007. View more details.

The Caledonian Academy is pleased to announce the second international Learning Communities Forum on September 3rd 2007. This event is open to all staff with an interest in e-learning, providing an opportunity to discuss ideas with our visiting scholar, Dr Rob Phillips from Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia. View more details:  http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/professional/iws.html

Dr. Anoush Margaryan and Prof. Allison Littlejohn received an “Outstanding paper award” for their paper entitled “Cultural Issues in the Sharing and Reuse of Resources for Learning” presented at the 2007 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (ED-MEDIA).

ED-MEDIA, a premier international conference in the field of educational technology, spans all disciplines and levels of education and annually attracts more that 1500 leaders in the field from over 70 countries.  It serves as a multidisciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development and applications on all topics related to multimedia, hypermedia and telecommunications/distance education. 

The Caledonian Academy is hosting a launch event on Monday October 22^nd 2007. The Academy is leading the way in devising new forms of educational and professional development in higher education, linking learning and teaching practice with research and scholarship activities.  The launch event will begin with a welcome from the Principal of Glasgow Caledonian, Professor Pamela Gillies who will outline how university aims to develop global graduates and citizens with skills generated from international exposure to education and the world of business and public service. To achieve this goal the University requires a new flexible and effective approach to learning and teaching, making innovative use of information and communication technologies. The Academy is a key component in developing a distinctive approach to teaching and learning aligned with the University’s ambitions, working in partnership with individuals, schools and service units across the organisation to implement and evidence based, scholarship led approach to educational development. Keynotes by Academy Honorary Professor Betty Collis Professor Jef Moonen, Emeritus Professor, University of Twente, the Netherlands will showcase future directions in learning technology. Academy Director Professor Allison Littlejohn will outline how scholarship activities can support staff, students and institutions in developing innovative learning and teaching practice. 

The launch will take place from 2.30pm –approx 6pm in Rooms 15 & 16 of the
William Harley Building at Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK. For more information contact Fiona.mcbeth@gcal.ac.uk http://www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/ 

Monday June 4^th 2007 1:30pm – 4:00pm

Seminar Room 15, CPD Building, Glasgow Caledonian University

The Caledonian Academy is pleased to announce an international Learning Communities Forum event on June 4^th 2007. This event is open to all staff with an interest in e-learning, giving opportunity to discuss ideas with visiting scholar, Dr Geraldine Lefoe, from the University of Wollongong in Australia (further details below). We hope you can join in the debate on issues in supporting international learning communities in sharing and reusing learning resources.

The Caledonian Academy is hosting a forthcoming Workshop called – Views from the other side: listening to learner voices.

In its first months of operation the Academy has been: 

1.      Reviewing GCU’s strategy for learning, teaching and assessment to allow us to achieve our vision of ‘excellence and relevance in learning and teaching making appropriate use of information technologies’;  

2.      Revising the University’s continuing professional development framework to ensure we provide colleagues at GCU with professional development that will effect transformational change in learning and teaching; 

3.      Developing criteria for academic promotion on the basis of teaching and learning. We aim to launch an Academy Fellowship scheme that will support GCU teaching and learning champions and less experienced teaching staff;  

4.      Formulating and disseminating ideas in new learning methods through educational development partnerships with schools[1]. We have been supporting colleagues in Schools across GCU  in securing QE funding from external sources, mainly in learning technology initiatives. We are seeking sponsorship from ICT companies in developing and testing e-tools for learning and are conducting an e-benchmarking exercise; 

5.      Leading international research in technology supported learning, thereby making a significant contribution to GCU’s performance in the UK Research Assessment Exercise. We are planning proposals for significant levels of funding that would employ several researchers who would not only work on external projects, but could advise colleagues in Schools; 

6.      Extending GCU’s partnerships with external bodies, such as the Higher Education Academy, ensuring GCU is viewed as leading the development of new ideas in teaching and learning. The

Caledonian
Academy led the HEA’s
UK forum on Sustainable eLearning[2]; 

7.      Improving progression and retention rates in partnership with Schools. We are developing a progression framework to improve progression rates at GCU.  

Research within the Academy is shaping future learning. Over the past 9 months the three staff in the Academy have led externally funded research projects generating over £300k. Information on some of these projects is online at www.academy.gcal.ac.uk/projects : 

·         Community Dimensions of Learning Object repositories. Funded by the
UK JISC (£200k). This project is generating guidelines that will support the implementation of collections of learning resources in libraries in different countries, including GCU; 

·         Mod4L. A UK JISC funded initiative (£60K)  investigating how lecturers document and disseminate new ideas in teaching and learning practice. This project is guiding lecturers at GCU and beyond on future development of ways of sharing and reusing effective practice. The guidelines were published last week – attracting 140 downloads in the first three days; 

·         Learning from Digital Natives. An HEA funded project (£30k) exploring GCU students’ use of electronic tools and mobile devices to integrate their learning in formal and informal settings. The project will develop policy from which strategies for encouraging student independence in formal settings can be implemented, bridging the formal-informal nexus. 

·         EMERGE – a major JISC initiative to support the development of a community of practice across
UK higher education, involving all the projects within a £2M ‘Users and Innovations Programme’. (£400k of which GCU will receive £37k). 

New ideas in learning innovation are being developed through these initiatives with a range of international collaborators. Visiting scholars have been hosted from
Australia,
New Zealand, the
Netherlands,
Sweden and
Saudi Arabia as well as from several institutions across the
UK.  

Our new colleagues are building upon our initial successes by a) identifying strategic directions for learning innovation, b) implementing mechanisms for transformational change, c) developing imaginative forms of e-learning   d) implementing creative teaching methods and e) leading international research and scholarship.  

Over the summer we will launch a new Taylor and Francis/ Routledge book series devised specifically for to teachers, lecturers and trainers who are involved in e-learning, but do not necessarily have a detailed knowledge of education technology. Initial two books include Preparing for Blended eLearning and ePortfolios, www.connecting-with-elearning.com/ .

[1] Currently  supporting staff in HSC, LS, CMS and Learning Services to secure funds from national organisations for enhancement projects

[2] Sponsored by the Higher Education Academy http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/SSeLF.htm