A presentation from Dr Moira Helm and Su Westerman of Canterbury Christchurch University on the challenges of managing a library newbuild project and the new challenges this presents for staff in meeting the needs of the net generation

1. New build, new challenges, new skills
Experience at Canterbury Christ Church University
Moira Helm, Joint Project Director
Su Westerman - Learning Technology Coordinator
October 2007

2. View from the floor..
Question:
“What made you choose this session?”

3. Contents
New build
•How our philosophy developed
•Progress – building, technology, people
•Practical concerns
Contents
•Pitfalls and lessons learnt
New challenges
•Digital literacy
•The “net gen”
New skills
•DEBUT project (Digital Experience Building in
University Teaching)

4. Who are We?
• Established as a teacher
training college some
forty years ago
• Retain emphasis on
professional education
• Over 10,000 students
• Four campuses in Kent
• 6 libraries

5. View from the floor..
Question:
“What is your experience of new builds?”
Contents
Question:
“Have any of you been involved in converting
existing buildings?”
Question:
“What do you think the drivers for change in
learning environments are in the HE sector?”

6. Why Change?
Major Drivers
• Massification
• Widening participation
• Globalisation
• Technology
– Social networking
• Changes in learning & teaching
• Changes in assessment
• Community engagement and
access

7. Why Change?
External Benchmarks
Sector guidelines:
• League tables
• National Students Survey
• Sodexho Universities Lifestyle
• SCONUL sector means
• JISC
• UCISA HEITS, etc.

8. New Build
Learning From the Sector
“Good quality higher education
requires good quality environments”
(CABE, 2005):
– “Creative
– Innovative
– Flexible
– Future-proof
– Bold
– Creative
– Supportive
– Enterprising”
(HEFCE/JISC, 2006)
– Sustainable
– Supportive of equality & diversity

9. View from the floor..
Question:
“What do students want from a
Contents library/learning centre?”
Question:
“What do academic staff expect of a
library/learning centre?”
Question:
“What kind of learning environment is needed
for the future?”

10. New Build
Underpinning Principles
• Values
– Importance of messages
which “broadcast by
architectural imagery” the
value of the institution and the
people who work in them”
(Duffy, 1997)
• Educational philosophy
– “Built pedagogy” =
“architectural embodiments of
educational philosophies”
(Monahan, 2000)
• Student Experience
– “Well designed learning
spaces and enabling
technologies encourage
students to spend more time
on campus, increasing
engagement and improving
retention” (Lomas and
Oblinger, 2006)

11. New Build
Philosophy of “Students First”
• Students “want an
environment more like the
one-stop shopping of the
malls they frequent, more
convenience, more
interaction, and better
amenities (Coffey and
Wood-Stead, 2001)
• “All of the resources of
the campus must be
brought to bear on the
student's learning
process and learning
must be reconsidered”
(ACPA & NASPA, 2004)

12. New Build – Augustine House
Requirements
• Takes cognisance of the
Information Rich Society
• Flexible to meet the
needs of current and
future generations of staff
and students
• Recognised need to
leverage our resources to
support student learning
in the broadest sense

13. Deliverables
Facilities
• Space per FTE from 0.34 m2 to
0.73 m2
• Learning Centre space =7500 m2
– 3X current library
• Study spaces tripled to 900
• Open Access IT spaces per
student FTE from 128:1 to 26:1
• Significant increase in provision
of social space
• Increase in capital and revenue
spends for Library and
Computing

14. Deliverables
Technology
• All learning spaces (furniture) IT
enabled – power and data to desktop
• Full wireless cover
• Mix of fixed and mobile IT provision
• Unified virtualised desktops provided
through fixed, mobile and user
provided hardware
• Touchdown and short use provision
across all floors
• Group rooms and spaces with mobile
AV provision
• Larger meeting rooms for tutorials,
video conferencing, training, meeting,
etc.
• Self issue & return

15. Deliverables
Accessibility
• Fully accessible building
with induction loops at all
interaction points and in all
consulting and support
locations
• Access controlled building
supporting extended hours
of use

16. Progress
The Time Challenge
• Planning approval granted
March 2007
• Demolition commences
November 2007
• Build commences February
2008
• Open September 2009

17. View from the floor..
Question:
“What do you think the pitfalls in a
Contents development of this type may be”?
Question:
“Advice from anyone on how to avoid pitfalls?”

18. Progress
Practical Concerns
• Archaeology
• Tender for building contract
• Space
• Interior design
• Migration of 200,000 books &
learning resources
• Migration and co-location of
180 staff

19. Pitfalls and lessons learnt
• Visit
• Research
• Market

20. Pitfalls and lessons learnt
• Communicate
– Governors
– Students
– Staff
– External stakeholders
– Planners
– Disabled staff & students
• Expect
– some excitement
– some resistance
– some cynicism
– some realism

21. Pitfalls and lessons learnt
A vision which is future
proof implies being
before your time
– some initial
redundancy
– staff training &
development

22. New challenges – Digital Literacy
What do we mean by literacy?
•Traditionally “literacy” meant the ability to read
and write, and to understand.
•Towards end of 20th century – there was a shift
towards:
•Not just focusing on text
•Looking at the wider social context
•Seeing literacy not as a universal skill, as it
can only have meaning within the social
context of the individual

23. New challenges – Digital Literacy
What is digital literacy?
•Alan Martin suggests “it is about knowing what
information is available and where to find it. It is
about understanding what is right for you. It is
about using it (responsibly) in your daily life”.
•Martin identifies five elements of e-literacy:
1.awareness of the ICT and information environment
2.confidence in using generic ICT and information tools
3.evaluation of information-handling operations and products
4.reflection on one’s own e-literacy development
5.adaptability and willingness to meet e-literacy challenges

24. New challenges – Digital Literacy
Characteristics of the digital World
The digital world is….
•Full of information
•A place where anyone can
publish
•A visual world
•A multi-media multi-medium
•Non-linear
•A highly social place
•Interactive and instant
•Constantly changing

25. New challenges – Digital Literacy
Characteristics of the digital inhabitants
•The digitally literate individual has been given a number
of names, most common is the digital native (Prensky,
2001). Born post 1982 and have grown up with the web.
•Many commentators have implied that growing up with
the Internet = confident and competent users – digital
natives.
•Experience in HE is however showing that many of the
net-gen are not experienced users of many of the latest
social tools and require much support to use them.
•So who is going to provide this support – us - Baby
Boomers (1946-64) and Generation X (1965-81) at best –
digital immigrants, at worst digital aliens!

26. View from the floor..
Question:
“Where do people think students in their
institution are at in terms of digital literacy?”
Question:
“Where do people think academic staff in their
institution are at in terms of digital literacy?”
Question:
“What approaches are people taking in terms
of staff development for digital literacy?”

27. New skills – DEBUT
Digital Experience Building in University Teaching
DEBUT drivers DEBUT project DEBUT evaluation
•HEA benchmarking Exploring and Macro level – the
•Staff development evaluating alternative DEBUT approach
•Web2 & the “net-gen” approaches to staff Micro level – what
•Augustine House development for staff development
•Digital literacy: building digital best supports digital
capacity through: literacy development
Participant digital
Offering wide range ranking before and
Awareness
of digital tools to after
confidence
criticality participant group
Participant evaluation
reflection
Contextualised, of digital experiences
Adaptability
(Martin, A) situated staff
development Thoughts on impact of
practice inc. CBAM