1. Not future‐proofed but future‐focused:
graduate a2ributes and the digital university
Helen Beetham
Dr Neil Wi=
www.technologyenhancedlearning.net 1
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2. Rethinking graduate attributes
■ How are (personal, social, workplace, community, poliDcal,
academic, professional...) pracDces changing as a result of digital
technologies and networks?
■ What kind of graduates will thrive in these new pracDce contexts?
■ What experiences do students need to have to become fluent in
these pracDces? How do they integrate these experiences into
coherent personal, professional and learning pathways?
■ How can universiDes be=er value, support and develop these
pracDces?
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3. Sources for thinking:
LLiDA study (JISC 2009)
Ideas of employability, citizenship and
graduate identity are being re-interpreted for
a digital age, in which knowledge is
ubiquitously available and relationships are
increasingly managed online.
Institutions must position themselves to
respond quickly and flexibly to the need for
new kinds of capability, and to recognise and
represent graduate capabilities in new ways.
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4. Sources for thinking:
Plymouth TEL strategy
Technology-enhanced is the norm
('embedding of TEL and associated
pedagogies')
Institutional technologies are not the
only show in town
Multiply-located, discontinuous, multi-
media, interdisciplinary experiences
Only 'digitally literate staff and
students' can knit it all together
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5. Sources for thinking:
Graduate destinations
Loss of traditional professional jobs: more
associate professional, technical
Emerging ('modern' and 'new') professions
dominated by ICT and digital media
More graduates go on to be self-employed;
rise of the 'portfolio; career
Changing career patterns and employment
opportunities
>90% of all jobs require ICT competence
This is not real data from the University of Plymouth but an
image released by flickr user bitchcakesny under CC by-nc-sa
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6. What we did
• Review of best pracHce and sector recommendaHons
• Focus groups of insHtuHonal decision makers
• InsHtuHonal audit of all strategic documentaHon,
policies, processes etc.
• Cross faculty student focus groups
• Cross insHtuHonal survey of students’ aNtudes,
experience, confidence and needs related to the use and
ownership of technology
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7. The focus groups
• Students across faculDes (x3) plus
sixth form students (x1)
• Card sorts, open ended quesDons
• Exploring tech ownership, use,
and pracDce
• Exploring expectaDons and
ambiDons for university study
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8. Findings
• Students want 24/7 access to course info & learning materials, on the devices
they use
• They expect to use their own technologies on campus: but these are oWen less
up‐to‐date, portable or robust than we might imagine
• They have diverse preferences for social and communicaDonal media: some
like to separate personal / study spaces
• They need opportuniDes to reflect on and develop their own strategies for
using TEL: inducDon, skills sessions, e‐porZolios help
• There is a need for consistency from tutors, and clarity about digital pracDces
at course level
• Students value e‐learning experiences where these are clearly relevant to their
long‐term goals
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9. The survey
• Based on Learning Literacy in a Digital Age (LLiDA)
• expands on the LLiDA tool to include quesDons related to the
ownership and use of mobile technologies.
• The survey was made available during November and
December 2010 to all students at the University of Plymouth
and its partner colleges.
• An email inviDng their parDcipaDon was sent to each student’s
university email address. N=2053
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10. Building Capacity – the student
voice
Ask me what
I want
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11. Findings
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12. Findings
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13. Findings
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14. Findings
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15. Findings
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16. Findings
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17. Findings
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18. Findings
• View course informaDon, e.g. deadline noDces, course messages etc.
• View exam and course Dmetables.
• View library record ‐ charges summary and which books are reserved,
requested, booked and loaned.
• Receive alerts relaDng to IT services, library, course info, etc.
• Check PC availability in Open Access Labs.
• Search the University Directory ‐ call or email contacts and add them
directly to the phone's address book
• Campus Maps & LocaDons using GPS
• Access to the Virtual Learning Environment
• Subscribe to various University News & Events e.g. public lectures
• Friend Locator ‐ see where friends are on the campus and contact them
• Tag your pictures to University campus map locaDons and share them
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19. Building Capacity – the student
voice
What are you
going to do
now?
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20. The way forward?
• Mobile Plymouth
• The Plymouth Student pre‐entry social network
• Student Voice is vital
• Embed into ‘enhancing the student experience’
• Sustainable InnovaDon
• Plymouth has just been awarded £100k for a 2
year Digital Literacy Project
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21. technologyenhancedlearning.net
Thank you for listening
Any questions or comments?
For further information please contact us at…..
Helen Beetham
Dr Neil Witt
Education Consultant
Head of TEL
helen.beetham@googlemail.com
nwitt@plymouth.ac.uk
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