Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

By Simon Launder, Deputy Chief Innovation Officer and Ian Dunn, Provost (Coventry University, UK)

The meaning of digital in education is changing.

In spite of universities often being at the bleeding edge of technological innovation in research, higher education providers have often lagged behind when it comes to digital innovation and the adoption of technology in teaching and learning.

To date there perhaps hasn’t been the competitive imperative in higher education, as seen in other industries such as finance or media, to develop technology on a continuous loop of innovation and improvement, but there are signs that the sector is waking up to the strategic advantage of adopting a digital mindset.

The ninth UCISA Survey of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) for higher education Report has been published. The Report offers a longitudinal perspective of TEL developments across the UK higher education sector, focusing on the current provision within universities and other higher education providers and the emerging and planned patterns of learning technology usage. This year’s Report draws on data going back to 2001 in its longitudinal analysis of TEL trends. In this blog post, we will explore some of the key findings from this year’s Survey, updating the picture that was reported on in 2016 (see corresponding blog post).

Across the higher education sector, aspirations to internationalise the student body, transform approaches to education, increase student recruitment and generate revenue are all on the agenda.

Once, universities might have been able to do all of this on their own. But it looks less likely as we move towards a digitally integrated future. Evidence-based pedagogical approaches for online education mean that very high quality engaged learning is now available at scale. But making the right choices of technologies and deploying them effectively requires effective partnerships and collaborations with providers.