Speaker: Stephen Kennedy, technology enhanced learning manager, Belfast Metropolitan College.

2. Laying the foundations for
college-wide blended learning
Stephen Kennedy,TEL Manager, Belfast Metropolitan College

3. If at first you don’t succeed…
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4. VLE Project Plan - Research (Aug 12)
‘The scope of this project will be to implement the newVLE up to a point
where the oldVLE can be decommissioned and the newVLE is the primary
e-learning delivery tool of the College’.
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5. Digital Strategy Steering Group - Research (Feb16)
‘Students indicated that they felt the college could be staged at First Steps
in the majority of all [benchmark] principles’.
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6. A Strategic approach
» ‘Student Engagement with
Technology’
» Jisc inspired research ‘perception of
BMC’s journey on the ‘digital pathway’
› Face-to-face student focus groups
› Online survey
› Positive and negative experiences
captured
» ‘…a rich source of information from the
student perspective that can be used to
establish where we are on our journey’
Digital Strategy Steering Group -
Research (Feb16)
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7. TEL Strategy - Reboot
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8. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
Step 1) Establish the Business Need
» The LMS Example
› What do Learners want?
› What doTeachers want from LMS?
› What do Employers want?
› What does 'Assessment of Provision' require?
› What does Management require?
› What does ETI and QAA Inspectorates require?
› What does BMC Student Services require?
› What do BMC IT Support Services require?
Identification of
the College’s
need forTel
including a
review of the
competitive
landscape and
engagement
with College
staff, learners
and wider
stakeholder
groups
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9. Evidence how things currently stand
» From the students perspective
› Research: ‘Student Engagement with DigitalTechnology’ (Feb16)
» From theTeaching and Support Staff perspective
› InterimTel Manager’s benchmarking per school (Feb16-July16)
› SelfAssessment Reports and Whole College Quality Improvement Plans
» From 3rd party perspectives
› ETI Reports (Jan 2010, follow-up May 2011), QAA Reports (Mar 2014)
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10. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
Step 1) Establish the Business Need
Identification of
the College’s
need forTel
including a
review of the
competitive
landscape and
engagement
with College
staff, learners
and wider
stakeholder
groups
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11. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
Step 2) Assess Resources and Capabilities
Assessment (audit) of
the College’s capabilities
and resources, including:
» Equipment
» Processes
» Environment
» Management
» People
» Material
(Note: Involves
benchmarking the
current use / application
of existingVLE)
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12. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
Step 3) Develop aVision forTEL
College’s vision forTEL
based on:
» Meeting stakeholder needs
» Addressing “Root-Cause”
issues
» Realising best practice
» Utilising our resources and
capabilities
» Acquiring additional
resources only when doing
so drives one of three
benefits:
» Efficiency, enhancement or
transformation
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13. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
Step 3) Develop aVision forTEL
College’s vision forTEL
based on:
» Meeting stakeholder needs
» Addressing “Root-Cause”
issues
» Realising best practice
» Utilising our resources and
capabilities
» Acquiring additional
resources only when doing
so drives one of three
benefits:
» Efficiency, enhancement or
transformation
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14. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Evaluation of Staff and Student DigitalCapabilities
› Resource BasedView (RBV) Analysis: mapping digital
expertise across different staff roles within a team,
department, or the organisation as a whole, identifying
gaps and
› Recognising where digital expertise adds value and
recommending alignment of resources and capabilities
to exploit apparent opportunities and address existing
weaknesses
» Evaluation of ‘Blended Learning’ Courses
› Exemplary Course Rubric to embedTEL best practice in:
– Course Design / Interaction and Collaboration
/Assessment /Learner Support
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities
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15. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Evaluation of ‘Blended Learning’ Courses
› Based on an established framework of ‘How to do Blend Leaning’
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
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Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities

16. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Evaluation of ‘Blended Learning’ Courses
› Exemplary Course Rubric to embedTEL best practice in:
– Course Design / Interaction and Collaboration /Assessment
/Learner Support
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
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Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities

17. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Evaluation of ‘Blended Learning’ Courses
› Exemplary Course Rubric to embedTEL best practice in:
– Course Design / Interaction and Collabration /Assessment
/Learner Support
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
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Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities

18. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Evaluation of ‘Blended Learning’ Courses
› ‘Blended Learning’ – Applying course unit(s) analysis
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
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Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities

19. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» TELTraining - Capabilities
Step 4) Exploit Resources and Capabilities
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Explore the potential to
exploit particular College
resources and capabilities;
thus:
» Building on identified
internal strengths and
capabilities
» Aligning resources and
capabilities to exploit
apparent opportunities
within the market place
» Addressing evident gaps in
existing resources and/or
capabilities

20. TEL Strategy – A New Approach
» Procure and onboard a new LMS
» Work with Curriculum colleagues, across all schools, to
embedTEL best practice
» Establish processes and controls for the production of
Blended Learning course content
Step 5) Implementation Plan and Road Map
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Implementation plan based
on utilising evident strengths
within BMC’s resources and
capabilities.
Delivery managed via Project
Management methods.
Road Map detailing
programme of activity.
Strategic integration –
ensuring the plan is
implemented through
appropriate strategic HR
management policies and
practices

21. What needs to be in place to ensure ‘Blended Learning’ success?
» Project managed using a recognised project management method (eg Agile; Scrum;
Prince 2; PMI; PMBOK; Kanban)
» Project managed by an experience, qualified, Project Manager capable of managing
variables such as: Costs;Timescales;Quality; Scope; Risk and Benefits
» Subject to BMC internal audit ‘controls ‘ testing:
› Testing whether the solution is, over time, being applied as envisaged
(or is remedial action required?)
» An agreed [framework] approach to doing ‘Blended Learning’ (with exemplar rubric)
» Linking BMC resources and capabilities
› Addressing evident gaps in existing resources and/or capabilities (eg CfETEL Hub training)
» Adopt Process Improvement methods
› Such as Six Sigma DMAIC steps; applying Kaizen techniques (Plan, Do, Check, Act)
» Success judged on TEL Framework principals – eg Efficiency; Enhancement and
Transformation
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22. Questions?
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23. Laying the foundations for college-wide blended learning
Connect More workshop
15th June 17
Stephen Kennedy
Technology Enhanced Learning Manager
Belfast Metropolitan College
skennedy@belfastmet.ac.uk
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