Digital Learning Dispatches

It has been a hectic start for our team to the new academic year. Last Saturday during our annual Welcome Day we greeted a record number of new DCU Connected students to Dublin City University’s (DCU) Glasnevin campus.

While our DCU Connected online learners are spread throughout Ireland, and beyond, and not everyone is able to attend the Welcome Day in person, we were delighted to meet up with around 280 new students. In many cases the Welcome Day is one of the few times we get to meet our students in person, with the other formal opportunity occurring when they proudly come to DCU on completion of their study for their Graduation Ceremony. DKKGcSVW0AA3EQA.jpg-large

This year’s Welcome Day began with a formal welcome to DCU from Bill Kelly, Dean of Teaching and Learning. He noted that earlier in the week Mr Richard Bruton, Minister of Education and Skills, formally launched DCU’s new Strategic Plan, Talent, Discovery & Transformation (2017-2022) where we set ambitious goals for the future of the University across six key themes.

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In the context of these goals, Billy stressed to our new online students that widening participation in higher education has always been part of DCU’s DNA, with over 30-years experience of online distance education. He finished his brief welcome with a few words of inspiration and wisdom drawing on Seamus Heaney:

“Walk on air against your better judgement – challenge yourselves in all you do!”

Dr James Brunton, co-Head of the Open Education Unit, also welcomed everyone and emphasised how much we value our DCU Connected students.
The opening session also included a welcome to DCU from Niall Behan, Student Union President. Typically our DCU Connected students are studying part-time, off-campus and we really value the Student Union’s efforts to support all learners, wherever they study.

Dr Anne Markey, a previous online graduate of the BA in Humanities programme and Open Education tutor, learning resouces developer, and current member of the Humanities Programme Board, also shared her advice and experiences of studying by distance. In particular Anne reminded our ‘newbies’ that learning is a social process and to take full advantage of this new social network.

After the formal welcome students had the opportunity to learn more about their specific programme of study and to meet fellow classmates. While studying online from a distance isn’t easy Irish employers consistently tell us that in addition to the new knowledge students acquire (often on the job), they really value the perseverance and time management skills they develop when studying through DCU Connected.

We now look forward to engaging with all of our DCU Connected students in Loop—our online learning environment—and seeing the fruits of their work over the first semester, and beyond.

The National Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL) values the opportunity it has to actively contribute to promoting innovation in teaching and learning through Dublin City University’s membership of the European Consortium for Innovative Universities (ECIU). The ECIU has a collective mission of ‘challenging conventional thinking’ through a collective emphasis on promoting innovation, creativity and societal impact, driving the development of a knowledge-based economy.

A week or so ago members of the Steering Committee for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, chaired by Professor Mark Brown, met in Copenhagen to review a range of activities over 2017 and plan a number of new initiatives for the year ahead. This meeting took place at Aalborg University alongside the annual meeting of ECIU Rectors and Presidents and therefore brought together some of the leading and most influential innovators in European higher education.

The Steering Committee supports activities ranging from regular masterclasses, leadership initiatives, exchanges for sharing of innovative practice, awards for innovations in teaching and learning, and scholarly activities which promote a strong nexus between research and teaching. With a common focus on fostering innovation the following teaching and learning statement encapsulates the shared understanding of ECIU members:

“We believe that teaching in higher education really matters. Therefore, our members share a commitment to the development of high quality educational practices which promote innovation and the pursuit of excellence in teaching and learning. As ECIU partners, we value a strong nexus between research and teaching in order to fulfill such a vision. We strive to provide a modern, engaging and research-intensive learning environment, which builds on the diversity and collective strength of our respective institutional cultures, our approaches to teaching, and our students.

The ECIU has a specific interest in seeking out creative, learning-centred and future-focused teaching approaches that foster social entrepreneurship and smart use of technology. We aspire to create the conditions for developing critical responsible citizenship for inclusive and diverse societies. Our members foster real world competencies and make this possible by engaging our students with industry, professional bodies and community partners.

In summary, the ECIU represents a leading international cluster of technological and comprehensive universities who are committed to a bold mission of “Challenging Conventional Thinking” for tomorrow’s world, today.”

In late November 2017, the annual Team Award for Innovation in Teaching and Learning will be presented in Brussels. Importantly, this award recognises that most successful and sustainable innovations involve a team of educators working towards a common goal. In 2018, the Steering Committee also plans to host a special ECIU event once again in Brussels to explore the future of teaching and learning in the wider context of the modernisation of European universities. Accordingly, it follows that our own NIDL team looks forward to contributing to this event as supporting new models of digital learning and teaching is likely to feature prominently in the programme.