Digital Learning Strategy - Seneca...

Digital Learning Strategy2018 – 2021

DIGITAL LEARNING STRATEGY 2018-2021 1

Introduction

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES ARE TRANSFORMING OUR WAYS OF LEARNING, HOW WE ACCESS INFORMATION, ENGAGE WITH OTHERS AND WHAT WE EXPERIENCE.

Technology serves as a potential tool to enhance teaching and learning. Seneca has in the past responded to the new challenges and created flexible learning opportunities. We will continue to do so by building capacity and providing support in the future.

With innovative practices developed across campuses, it is expected that Seneca will continue to further encourage explorations in ways technology can improve education and success of our students. It is important to consider the purpose of technology use and technology as aligned to Seneca’s strategic priorities.

Digital Learning Strategy


Digital Learning Strategy Consultations at Seneca

STUDENTS AND FACULTY WERE SOLICITED FOR IDEAS TO SUPPORT THE FUTURE VISION OF DIGITAL LEARNING AT SENECA.

Beginning in January 2018, a consultation phase took place over four months to solicit ideas and recommendations about the future vision of digital learning at Seneca. Surveys were completed and roundtable discussions were carried out with key stakeholders including administrators, faculty, students and industry partners.

The consultations resulted in having input on learning resources, support, technology-enhanced learning for students, infrastructure and the expansion of flexible courses. We hope these consultations have sparked more conversations and reflections on how we can continue to inspire students and build confidence in our learners as we move them forward towards their destinations.

Seneca’s core mission is to provide great education for our students. With the use of

technology, Seneca can build on this with a vision to increase personalization and flexibility for students. Respondents on all levels supported the pillars identified in the Digital Learning Strategy backgrounder.

Seneca’s Digital Learning Strategy is built upon four pillars:

1 Developing the digital competencies of our students

2 Empowering educators to enhance teaching practices

3 Designing and developing an engaging and enriched curriculum

4 Creating a flexible and adaptable IT infrastructure


STUDENTS WANT RELEVANCY AND AN ASSURANCE THAT THEY WILL BE COMPETENT AND PREPARED FOR THEIR CAREER PATHWAY.

Respondents across levels discussed the importance of continual development of digital competencies of Seneca students in response to the changes in technology. It is also important to support collaboration across campuses to build a community that shares how they are using technology in their practices. Seneca faculty want to continue their support for equality of access to digital learning and teaching, and providing opportunities for all learners. Administrators and faculty thought it was important to consider the long-term sustainability of a digital learning strategy and to ensure that connectivity and accessibility can support growth in technology use at all campuses.

Borrowed from the University of South Australia’s paper, Developing a Digital Learning Strategy, Seneca’s backgrounder uses the following principles

to guide the process: designing for student engagement, designing for flexibility, designing for assessment, and designing for employability and pathways to other credentials.

Respondents across levels expressed a range of views in relation to these specific strategic principles set out in the backgrounder. Administrators and faculty respondents were very much in support of the design of curriculum that will empower all learners.

In our roundtable discussions, faculty and students both expressed a greater need for flexible ways that courses are delivered and accessed. Personalization and taking an active role in their learning were key points expressed by students in the survey.

Our consultations identified the need for more collaboration and building a community using technology to enable learning across programs, campuses and disciplines. Many conversations centered around the need to give students opportunities to think critically, explore ideas and make connections to the topic being studied, to the professor and to each other.


Digital Learning Strategy GoalsGOAL 1: ENVIRONMENT

Ensure that the technological infrastructure at Seneca is adaptive, robust, sustainable, and current.Seneca promotes continued investment in educational technology and the system infrastructure to provide flexibility and delivery of robust and sustainable digital learning experiences. It is essential to realize our goals of experience, extension and enrichment.

STRATEGIES COMMITMENTS

1.1 Continuously assess the overall user experience (student and faculty) of the centrally provisioned Learning Management System(LMS) environment. Ensure regular upgrades and enhancements support learning needs and teaching requirements.

• Ensure the appropriate analytic capabilities are in place

• Evaluate the LMS from the perspective of all user groups

1.2 Make classrooms capable of supporting technology-enabled active learning strategies, with the ability to connect seamlessly to spaces between campuses and outside Seneca. Support the concept of “classrooms without walls”.

• Increase the availability of technology-enabled classrooms in each campus/faculty

1.3 Integrate hardware and software to support all environments, programs and courses.

• Implement an easy-to-use Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) that fully supports all DLS requirements

• Install secured laptop charging facilities and mobile/tablet charging stations throughout the college

• Enhance the availability of loaner pool laptops and devices;

• Update software on and off campus

• Strive for anytime, anywhere network connectivity

• Create and implement a variety of test environments

1.4 Consider the technology life cycle, security, privacy, risk and disaster recovery.

• Identify new technologies, pilot these to understand the benefits based on criteria and retire those no longer needed or replaced by newer technologies


GOAL 2: EXPERIENCE

Create high quality technology-enabled experiences for students to actively engage them and enhance their learning.Seneca has developed, and will continue to develop, innovative practices. We will further encourage explorations in ways technology can enhance education and enable success of our students. Effective use of technology for learning and teaching builds on a strong foundation of digital literacies and skills. Students need to be prepared for their future careers or credential pathways using discipline-specific current software and tools. Faculty will be responsive to the needs of the destination of our students.


2.1 Ensure all courses use technology that is appropriate to the content and context.

• Develop a framework to guide assessment of new technology being proposed

2.2 Develop a framework for hybrid and online learning to make visible the criteria and requirements for these flexible alternatives to faculty and students.

• Develop a framework for hybrid and online courses and programs

• Develop criteria against which courses can be evaluated;

• Tag courses to clearly identify hybrid and online courses to students

2.3 Ensure faculty will have a core set of digital skills supported by professional development on the use of current technologies to enhance student learning in all program areas.

• Use digital faculty portfolios to reflect on teaching practice and support innovation

• Provide recognition of faculty’s skills and competencies through badging and microcredentials


GOAL 3: EXTENSION

Provide our students with a variety of f lexible and inclusive ways to learn.We will promote the use of digital tools to extend the connections between and among faculty and students with an awareness of the different places and contexts where they occur. The shift to using web-enhanced tools will allow for more inclusive and flexible models for learning which will be grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in course design.


3.1 Ensure our students have a variety of flexible and inclusive opportunities.

• Design new flexible programs with a variety of online, hybrid and compressed courses

• Ensure existing and developing technologies address accessibility

3.2 Support the use of current interactive technologies for teaching and implementing real-time collaboration tools.

• Each campus will have its own remote classroom, equipped with remote-teaching technologies

• Support the priority collaborations between partner colleges and Seneca

3.3 Faculty and students can access the variety of technologies and develop the expertise to implement them.

• Provide support and rapid response to inquiries for using the tools

• Support students “where they are” with the use of technology


For more information: Teaching & Learning Centre, NH, A2508 [email protected] / +1 416 491 5050 ext. 26414

GOAL 4: ENRICHMENT

Provide a variety of opportunities to enrich the experience within and outside of the classroom, program and Seneca.With the demands of quick changes in technology use and teaching and learning strategies, the building of a strong community through partnerships both within and outside Seneca becomes essential. These partnerships provide opportunities for students to expand upon their knowledge and skills, resulting in the design and delivery of high quality experiences.


4.1 Ensure policies and procedures consider and reflect the digital learning environment.

• Create a framework for the use of open educational resources (OER)

• Implement My.Seneca Minimum Requirements

• Make explicit, within the Standards of Practice for Faculty, the expectations to support the DLS

• Review all academic policies and procedures through a digital lens (Academic Integrity, Transfer Credit, etc.)

4.2 Establish communities of practice focused on sharing teaching and assessment strategies enabled by technology.

• Create guidelines for Communities of Practices;

• Support faculty teams with their Collaborative Inquiries;

• Continue to host Teaching and Learning Professional Development (PD) Days and Conferences

4.3 Build collaborative and productive partnerships with external stakeholders and other colleges/universities to build our capacity in creating and delivering high quality learning experiences.

• Develop a road map for the selection of academic partners, projects and programs

• Involve alumni, employers and applied research partners in enriching learning

4.4 Curate and adapt resources within and outside Seneca to support enrichment.

• Adapt the eCampus Ontario Extend program to our needs;

• Set up training and support for Riipen experiences

• Build a faculty playground equipped with the current technologies for facilitated exploration and creation of activities and lessons to use in their own classrooms;

• Support the use of Lynda.com (focused playlists for courses/programs)

• Build a student sandbox for learning and training

Digital Learning Strategy - Seneca...

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