Developing a technology enhanced learning framework to gain a snapshot of institutional successes and challenges

Abstract

Across higher education, institutions continue to invest in technology enhanced learning (TEL) as it has the potential to transform and improve the quality of learning, teaching and the student experience. Despite the investment, many still struggle to identify and address the elements that are essential to enabling institutional success. This paper focuses on the iterative development of a TEL Framework that aims to provide a fast and efficient snapshot of institutional challenges and successes in TEL, alongside a set of actionable recommendations to move the institution forward. The Framework is based on a set of 8 themes the authors have identified as critical to the success of TEL. The themes are used as part of dialogic process, designed to gather perspectives on how TEL is being used across an institution. By June 2017, the TEL Framework was trialled in 6 institutions. Using a workshop format, participants engaged in a three-step guided process known as DIP – Discover, Interpret and Pitch. At the core of this process were cards that represented the 8 TEL theme. These were used to surface participant’s perceptions. Overall, most participants agreed, that the TEL Framework was a valuable process to use to uncover institutional successes and challenges in TEL and that the theme cards were useful in stimulating these insights. The TEL Framework is still a work in progress and so its effectiveness is still being determined. However, early indications are that it is a useful instrument for gathering perceptions, and in identifying TEL challenges and successes.