About CITSCAPES Phase II

C&IT Skills Training: Current Position and Future Plans: Phase II

Main Partners:

• University of Glasgow (lead institution)
• University of Gloucestershire
• The Learning Skills Development Agency
• Lauder College, Dunfermline
• Gloucestershire College of Arts & Technology

Associate Partners:

• University of Stirling
• Glasgow Caledonian University

1. Introduction

In its Circular 4/99 (November 1999) the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) invited proposals for a project which would:

a) 'produce case studies on what training is currently available in C&IT for students in HEIs;'

b) 'find out what plans HEIs have for coping with the changing nature of C&IT skills training requirements for both students and staff.'

'The study will find out how students' C&IT skills development will affect HE and whether, in light of these different skills, HEIs will need to change the nature of their training provision. It will also involve assessing the way in which the HE community thinks things are changing and how they are planning in the medium and long term to cope with these changes. ... The final outcome will help JISC, HE providers and the Funding Councils assess the level and nature of support that students might need in the future in order to enhance their already acquired C&IT skills.'

The CITSCAPES Project was a response to this call, and has been running since May 2000. In March 2001 the CITSCAPES Project Management Board was invited by JISC to propose an extension to the project which would carry its remit into the Further Education sector in a manner appropriate to that sector. In this proposal document we have therefore termed the CITSCAPES Project running from May 2000 to May 2001 as "CITSCAPES Phase I" and the proposed extension as "CITSCAPES Phase II".

2. CITSCAPES Phase II

The aims of CITSCAPES Phase II will be to:

1. Extend the activities of the CITSCAPES Project appropriately into the further education sector.
2. Compare the experience in HE and FE with regard to student IT induction, and identify areas of synergy, complementarity or mutual learning.
3. Continue the process of conceptual development and practical application of understandings of issues begun in the first phase of the project.

In fulfilling all of these aims it is important that the different nature of the Further Education sector is acknowledged, and that the particular areas in which C&IT induction is significant are identified.

Further Education differs from Higher Education in a number of significant ways:

1. Curriculum provision is wide and varied in FE Colleges and needs to be in order to support the diverse learning demands placed upon the Sector by the lifelong learning market. As Colleges have a focus on employability and enterprise, the courses offered tend to be vocationally orientated and range from academic subjects at FE and HE levels to programmes aimed at the socially excluded market.
2. To address the widening access agenda, Colleges are de-centralising and many now operate from a number of community and work-based locations activities where ICT is relied upon to provide learning support services to off-campus learners.
3. There is a more complex mixture of mode of delivery, both in patterns of attendance by students, and in the adoption of non-classroom learning modes such as flexible modes of delivery, work-based, community-based, open/distance learning and online learning.
4. There is greater variation in the student population, in respect of their cultural background, motivation for and expectation of learning, and skill level on entry.
5. There is greater variation in the student population, in respect of their cultural background, motivation for and expectation of learning, and skill level on entry.
6. There is generally a closer relation with the local community and with local industry than is the case with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
7. Research and consultancy plays a lesser part in the core activity of Further Education Colleges (FECs) than it does in most Higher Education Institutions.

However, the sectors are far from being mutually exclusive, and there is considerable and increasing overlap between the activities of some members of each sector. Many FECs are now involved in higher education; higher education is following further education towards more flexible modes of attendance and delivery, and towards recruitment of a wider range of students; and many HEIs are actively developing relations with community and industry, at regional or local level. There is also for many students a transition from FE to HE, and in achieving successful passage through this boundary area, effective development of appropriate skills will play an important part. In these contexts each sector may have much to learn from the other.

There are some issues which are particularly relevant to addressing student C&IT induction in the further education sector, and to which particular attention should be paid in the Project activities. The most important of these are:

1. Provision of core/key skills is accepted as a central and essential role of the sector, and these are built in as compulsory elements in most courses. In higher education this is still an area of debate.
2. Political agendas for social inclusion impact very highly upon further education, and C&IT skills are regarded as a crucial factor in drawing hitherto socio-economically excluded groups into educational activity, and in empowering them for entry into employment.
3. The rapid increase in demand for variety of modes of attendance and delivery, plus the highly modular nature of most FE courses, has made eLearning a factor which the whole sector must take into account in considering the learning experiences it can offer.

Again, these are areas which are also relevant to a growing number of HEIs. In many, particularly the post-1992 universities, comprehensive skills programmes have been established. Increased access to higher education for students from a wider range of backgrounds is also high on the higher education agenda; and, as in further education, the problem is not only one of recruitment but of retention and support. Similarly, eLearning is also important for higher education, partly because of the local demands which face FECs, but also because of the increasing globalisation of the distance learning market in higher education, with HEIs finding themselves presented with competition not only from other UK HEIs but also from Europe, the US and Australia.

It is important that CITSCAPES II is not planned as "CITSCAPES I for FE". Firstly, areas of concern to FE need to be addressed. But secondly, since a study will have been carried out involving both FE and HE, the results and implications for each sector should be compared, and the interrelationship of the sectors be considered. In particular, areas where one sector might learn from the other and areas where intersectoral collaboration might be valuable should be identified.

3. Proposed Activity Strands

The activity strands proposed for CITSCAPES Phase II are set out below. Each activity strand will include consideration of the three key issues indicated above, viz. core/key skills, inclusion, and eLearning.

Strand 1. Overview of Current Developments in FE

A study will be carried out gain a picture of overall relevant developments in the FE area. We will build on existing contacts supplemented by a literature search and consultation of relevant persons and external bodies and agencies. This would be carried out by LSDA , for England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the European/global picture, with input from Lauder College on developments in Scotland. Output from this activity would include identification of publications, projects, events and links which would be added to the Resource Database, maintained at Glasgow University.

Strand 2. Survey of FECs

A survey will be carried out involving questionnaires addressed to all UK FE colleges, based on the indicators developed from the first phase of the project with appropriate modifications to take into account different circumstances in the FE sector. The survey will be carried out by LSDA.

Strand 3. Case Studies of Practice in FE

Case studies will be drawn from a cross-section of types of FEC. Three types of case study will be developed:

1. Detailed study by a project research assistant and other members of the project team; three or four such case studies will be developed.
2. Auxiliary case studies written by members of the project team, based on limited observation and secondary sources; five or six such studies will be prepared, including non-UK institutions.
3. Self-written case studies using a detailed template prepared by the project team; up to ten such studies will be commissioned, with a payment made to each college to cover inconvenience and resource used in completion of the study.

This large number of examples will enable a wide range of situations to be portrayed, including an indication of the approaches adopted outwith the UK. Case studies will be selected to demonstrate successful implementation of a particular C&IT induction model, or a successful response to a problematic situation. Colleges to be approached as case study possibilities will be selected at three stages in the project's lifetime:

1. Lauder College, Dunfermline and Gloucestershire College of Arts & Technology have been identified as two of the detailed case studies; this will enable case study work to commence at a reasonable early stage. Some members of the Glasgow Telecolleges Network may also be among those approached as self-written case studies at an early stage.
2. Further case studies will be identified on consideration of the Overview (Strand 1);
3. The rest will be identified on considering the survey results.

Co-ordination of the case study work will be based at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education.

Strand 4. Extension of the Resource Database to FE

The existing resource database has already been prepared so that entries relevant to FE can be entered. Steps will be taken to populate this part of the resource database, on the basis of work done for activity strand 1. Whilst the majority of entries currently represent published material, this will be extended to include pointers to examples of current practice. Work on the Resource Database will take place at Glasgow University.

Strand 5. Modification of Conceptual Framework to FE

The conceptual framework developed in Phase I of the project will be adapted to cover issues relating to the FE area. Versions of the reflective tools will be developed, which may be used in a straightforward manner by FECs. The intention is to produce flexible models which can be applied designed to the needs of different types of institution and client groups. This activity will be based in awaydays in which all partners will be involved.

Strand 6. Comparison of Results from HE and FE

Results from the HE and FE studies will be compared, in order to identify areas of similarity and difference, overlap, complementarity and convergence, to draw out the lessons which each sector may learn from the other and to suggest ways in which inter-sectoral collaboration may be taken forward. This activity will be based in awaydays in which all partners will be involved.

Strand 7. Developing a Contact Network

A contact network will be developed of persons, projects and institutions in both further and higher education with a committed interest to developing student C&IT induction activities and addressing the developmental and theoretical issues that pertain to it. This may lead ultimately to a possible bid for EU support of an international network. This work will take place at Glasgow University.

Strand 8. Identification of Future Trends and Possibilities

Part of the awayday programme will consider the results of the research and identify current trends and future possibilities, as well as drawing together the conceptual framework, considering the implications for staff development, and discussing the implications for HE and FE. All partners will be involved.

Strand 9. Co-operation with 9/00 project

Throughout the project, close co-operation will be maintained with the JISC 9/00 project "The Big Blue", based at Manchester Metropolitan University. Since there is a trend for convergence of IT Literacy and Information Literacy, at least in HE and FE, and there will be to some extent a parallelism of activity, this linkage will be of benefit to both projects, and will lead to enhancement of the value of each. Thus, the 9/00 project could input to the resource database, which has already been set up to include items related to Information Literacy. Co-ordination of this co-operation will take place at Glasgow University. Contact has already been established between the 9/00 project leader (Prof. Colin Harris) and project manager (Alison McKenzie) with a view to feeding CITSCAPES Phase I experience into the 9/00 project.

Strand 10. Dissemination Activities

The following dissemination activities will be carried out:

1. Dissemination workshops for CITSCAPES Phase I will be held in September 2001; these events will be adjusted to take into account, and to feed into the work of CITSCAPES Phase II. Further workshops will be held later in the project lifetime; these will have the function of gathering information and feedback on draft tools, as well as disseminating information and results. All partners will be involved in the delivery of workshops.
2. Continued development of the website will take place (based at Glasgow University).
3. Project publications: (hard copy and on the web) to include overview, survey and case study reports, examples of good practice and support documents for HEIs and FECs. Co-ordination of publications will be at Glasgow University with design input from CGCHE.
4. Reports to JISC: Interim Report and Final Report (co-ordination of at Glasgow University with design input from CGCHE).
5. The IT&ILit mailing list will be used to promote discussion of issues and to disseminate information regarding project activities and events (co-ordinated at Glasgow University).
6. A presentation and workshop will be contributed to the ITIL 2002 conference in March 2002; presentations will be made to other conferences. The finished work of the project will be presented to the IT&ILit 2003 conference.

4. Products

Publications:

1. Overview/State of Play Report
2. Survey Report
3. Case Study Reports
4. Interim Report to JISC
5. Final Report to JISC
6. Reflective Tools and Recommendations for FECs
7. Reflective Tools and Recommendations for HEIs
8. Observations for Funding Bodies
9. Workshop materials

Web-based Facilities:

1. Resource Database
2. Discussion Group
3. Links and News Updates
4. Downloadable project publications

A further product will be a proposal for extension of the project into a third stage, in order to carry out study over time of the impact of the project's work, and to enable re-presentation of findings or products in order to ensure a maximisation and continuance of impact. In the long run, this will be a worthwhile and value-for-money exercise, since all too often the effects of short-term projects disappear shortly after the end of the project. It is important to consider the ways in which the project can produce significant and lasting benefit to the HE and FE sectors.

5. Timetable and Milestones

CITSCAPES Phase II will run from 1 June 2001 until 30 September 2002.

The Activity Strands are timetabled in PDF format.

The Project Milestones are also shown in PDF format.

Allan Martin, for the project partners
11 May 2001