Consultancy

Current work

JISC OER Programme Synthesis and Evaluation Project

Project which will provide a range of activities to support an ongoing evaluation and synthesis of the Open Educational Resources (OER)programmes. The project will be led by a highly experienced team known internationally for their contributions to the field and engagement with the OER movement. The team’s work for the pilot programme completed in August and links to reports and materials is included below.

Literacy in the Digital University (ESRC funded series of seminjars)

This seminar series brings together researchers and practitioners from different disciplinary backgrounds who are interested in the use of digital modes of communication in post-school education, to problematise the concept of Literacy in this context, to evaluate teaching and learning practices informed by the concept of digital literacy, and to form a research network that will stimulate further research and critical evaluation in this highly significant area of educational development.

The series addresses an educational context in which institutional policies and strategies are beginning to reflect new pedagogical and business models centred on social networking technologies and the blending of formal and informal learning (Katz 2008, Seely Brown & Adler 2008, Trinder at al 2008, Walton et al 2008). We use the term university to indicate the central focus of the research agenda which will be a key output of the series – the seminars themselves will focus on a variety of formal and informal contexts of learning in the post-school sector (FE; HE; Libraries, and other areas of public, corporate and professional education), in recognition of the converging of aspects of curriculum and practice across these domains that is shaping the development of the university in the digital age.

Previous consultancy work

Transforming curriculum delivery through technology

Sept 2008 – April 2011

Member of the JISC synthesis and support team for the Curriculum Delivery projects – in this context curriculum delivery is meant as shorthand to embrace the many ways in which learners are enabled to achieve the outcomes offered to them by a curriculum. Projects focus on processes which take place when real learners engage with a designed curriculum. Teaching, learning support, advice and guidance, coaching, mentorship, peer and collaborative learning, feedback and assessment, personal development planning and tutoring, skills development and practice, and enabling access to curriculum resources are all processes that might be involved. By the term ‘delivery’ we don’t intend that projects should focus on the delivery of information to learners, or suggest that this is an appropriate or adequate way of enabling learners to achieve curriculum goals. see this page for some early  mapping documents.  Project outcomes and outputs are incorporated into the JISC Design Studio, which I have also been working on in relation to this programme of work. The final synthesis report is entitled Curriculum Innovation: pragmatic approaches to transforming learning and teaching through technologies and was pucblished on 13th April 2011.

JISC Online Innovating e-Learning Conference November 2010

June 2010 – November 2010
Member of planning and co-ordination team. Entitled “Bringing innovation to life: From adversity comes opportunity ”  the programme aims to explore how technology-enhanced learning can help universities and colleges to continue to compete globally; support them to meet and overcome the challenges presented by the current climate of economic constraint and to develop forward-looking educational futures.

Digital Repositories Infokit

Launched September 2010

I augmented an exisiting JISC Infonet infokit to include issues affecting learning and teaching repositories.

OER Infokit

Launched June 2010

I worked on both the structure and content of the JISC Infonet infokit on Open Educational Resources. This work was done in parallel to the OER Pilot Programme work and will be regularly updated as the JISC/HE Academy programme activities continue.

JISC OER Pilot Programme Synthesis and Evaluation Project

June 2009-August 2010

Project which provided a range of activities to support evaluation and synthesis of the Open Educational Resources (OER) pilot programme. The project developed a wiki to support the programme and also used this to publish the final report. Final report of the JISC/HE Academy OER Pilot Programme Evaluation and Synthesis Team. Lou McGill, Helen Beetham, Isobel Falconer, Allison Littlejohn August 2010

JISC Online Innovating e-Learning Conference November 2009

July 2009 – November 2009
Member of planning and co-ordination team. Entitled “Thriving, not just Surviving”  the programme reflected the challenges facing further and higher education institutions in the 21st century and featured leading thinkers, broadcasters and academics, such as Charles Leadbeater, Nigel Paine, Helen Beetham, Rhona Sharpe (Oxford Brookes University), Peter Bradwell, (Demos). Papers are available on the website, including recordings of many live sessions in Elluminate.

Engaging Learning in Social Software

OCLD course (Oxford Brookes University) June-July 2009 led by Patsy Clarke

Co-tutor – Social software such as Facebook, Myspace, Flickr and Blogger as well as the collaboratively constructed and published information found on Wikipedia are widely used by learners. This course focuses on enhancing teaching and learning by harnessing the potential of social software tools for interactivity and engagement and their incorporation in authentic learning activities. With active participation and collaboration with use of the software tools you will leave the course with ideas for their integration into online and blended coursework.

Study on Learning Literacies for a Digital Age (LLiDA)

July 2008 - May 2009

A JISC funded research study which aimed to find out what literacies learners require and what UK HE and FE institutions are doing to support them. The study aimed to inform JISC and the wider UK FE and HE communities by providing a better understanding of learning literacies, how they are evolving, how requirements are changing, and how they may be supported in different contexts. Thriving in the 21st century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age (LLiDA project). Helen Beetham, Lou McGill, Prof. Allison Littlejohn. June 2009 (pdf) Thriving in the 21st century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age (LLiDA project). Executive Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations. Helen Beetham, Lou McGill, Prof. Allison Littlejohn. June 2009 (pdf)

Study on the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials

July 2008 -December 2008

A five month JISC funded study to investigate, identify and articulate the evidence for a range of business cases and models for sharing learning materials within the UK Higher Education community. McGill, L and Currier, S and Duncan, C and Douglas, P (2008) Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials. Project Report.

JISC Online Innovating e-Learning 2008 Conference 4-7 November 2008

July 2008 – November 2008
Member of planning and co-ordination teamThemes focused on the productive and energising tension between the tried and tested and the wholly innovative. e-Learning may now have established a foothold in learning and teaching, but are the demands of delivering the curriculum restricting its innovative potential? How can we plan to ensure the best possible e-enhancement of learning in the future? A very successful conference – papers available on the website, including recordings of live sessions.