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The report includes a ‘baseline’ of the challenges, practices and new developments during the pandemic, examples of research and innovation in online assessment, and the supportive (or non-supportive) national policies and frameworks that define the context of assessment for the institutions. It also includes practical examples (‘Good practices’) from SIG members that can help, if not inspire developing better practice and new thinking in other member institutions.
The use of AI systems can potentially enhance teaching, learning and assessment, provide better learning outcomes and help schools to operate more efficiently. However, if those same AI applications are not properly designed or used carelessly, this could lead to harmful consequences. Educators need to be aware and ask questions whether AI systems they are using are reliable, fair, safe and trustworthy and that the management of educational data is secure, protects the privacy of individuals and is used for the common good. “Ethical AI” is used to indicate the development, deployment and use of AI that ensures compliance with ethical norms, ethical principles and related core values.
Throughout this workbook students are asked to engage with the PCs Graduate Attribute & Mindsets Framework via a suite of activities or exercises. This engagement will provide students with the language of skills and attributes best suited to job application and success.
This Facilitator Checklist has been compiled from our experience as facilitators delivering the PACT Open Course with the National Forum. From our reflection, we created this resource to aid fellow facilitators save time and outlined key pre-Course, during-Course, and post-Course activities essential to the smooth running of all Open Courses.
The aim of this report is to explore how stronger relationships between higher education and business can address barriers to mainstream adoption and development of innovative and sustainable models and policies for Open Educational Practices (OEP). In this report, we explore how educational institutions and business interests can work together to better leverage the potential of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the service of OEPs. The report provides an overview of existing literature and research in the field of OER and presents a series of business models and approaches to supporting the development of OER, as well as their policies and practices. The issue of sustainability and longevity of OER materials, content and communities is discussed and three case studies are presented to illustrate different business models for supporting capability development, knowledge exchange and Communities of Practice. The report concludes with recommendations and provides some points to consider for organisations interested in developing business models, policies and practices to support the development of sustainable OER and in promoting OEP. The term OEP is used in this report as an umbrella concept reflecting the wider goals of creating more open educational and organisational cultures that support more diverse, equitable and inclusive approaches to teaching, learning and assessment (Cronin, 2017, p.1). Seminal and commonly accepted definitions of key concepts are provided as part of the report.
This National Forum Insight examines the concept of ‘Agile Curriculum’, emerging in tandem with changing modes of engagement with higher education.
This Forum Insight focuses on the national Open Courses initiative, established by the National Forum and sectoral colleagues in 2017.
This new interdisciplinary 10 ECTS module for PhD students responds to an identified need for careers and employability support and was developed with industry partners. It supports PhD students with career planning, critical reflection and decision-making, enabling them to establish networks and build readiness for future careers in academia and/or industry. The module is in three streams (Careers, Skills and Work-based Learning) and features many innovative aspects:
– a blended learning design and 5 ECTS module option to give a flexible learning experience
– 5 interactive online sessions which build student employability skills
– 4 face-to-face sessions to enhance collaboration and engagement
– An online Skills Audit which helps students to critically reflect on, develop and articulate the skillset developed during their PhD and an Interview Practice Exercise to apply their interview skills to a role-play scenario
– a work-based learning experience that creates real value for industry partners and offers students valuable learning experiences that are not readily available elsewhere
A range of supporting activities enhance the student experience by encouraging shared and self-directed learning: online journaling and discussion boards; podcasts; videos; skills webinars and industry events. A new Industry Mentoring Programme (IMPART) was designed to complement the module.
The aim of TEACH CoLab is to increase staff competency to engage in collaborative online learning across disciplines and beyond institutional and national boundaries to address societal challenges. The time has never been more opportune to examine the place of health in the lives of humanity and examine it from multiple perspectives, enabled by online technologies. Perhaps for the first time, health and people are at the heart of politics and at the centre of global debate in our COVID19 world and the landscape has changed forever, particularly in relation to the power of online learning. TEACH CoLab builds the capacity of staff in digital pedagogies to examine themes related to health, community, determinants of health, and human rights. It enables sharing within the School of Health Sciences, across the Institute and with community and academic partners in Ireland and the US.
In this special publication, colleagues from across the Connacht Ulster Alliance (CUA), including GMIT, IT Sligo and LYIT, share insights and innovations on their teaching and learning practice over the last 18 months. Many will touch on their experiences of adapting to remote learning and teaching during COVID, and also reflect on lessons learnt and plans for the future. The DigitalEd.ie Knowledge Platform forms part of the iNOTE project, funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Ireland.
This report arises from the #Openteach: Professional Development for Open Online Educators project, which is funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.The #Openteach project team are based in the Open Education Unit (OEU) at Dublin City University (DCU).
The main aim of the #Openteach project was to produce, and evaluate, evidence-based open professional development for part-time online educators. In anearlier phase of the project a literature review called Teaching Online is Different: Critical perspectives from the literaturewas completed in order to identify online educator roles and the associated competencies for effective online teaching (Ní Shé, Farrell, Brunton, Costello, Donlon, Trevaskis, Eccles, 2019). Concurrently, we conducted a needs analysisreport of the target population, online students and their online educators (Farrell, Brunton, Costello, Donlon, Trevaskis, Eccles, Ní Shé, 2019). These reports were used to guide the development of the professional development resources for the #Openteach open online course.
Teaching online is different. In this report we attempt to explain why. This report arises from the #Openteach: Professional Development for Open Online Educators project, which is funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. In this project we plan to uncover and promote the keys to effective online teaching practice, while recognising that effective teaching is an art, craft and science. We aim to harness this knowledge to support the professional learning of online educators. Ultimately we want to support online students to learn online by helping and inspiring their educators. This report was developed to help lay a foundation for the project through a critical analysis of relevant literature
This work arises from the #Openteach: Professional Development for Open Online Educators project, which is funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. The #Openteach project team are based in the Open Education Unit (OEU) at Dublin City University (DCU). Formally known as the National Distance Education Centre and subsequently Oscail, the OEU is a provider of online, off-campus programmes through the DCU Connected platform. Throughout the years the mode of delivery moved gradually from that of a traditional distance education provider to incorporate more elements of online learning. A significant step in this process came in 2011, with the introduction of synchronous live online tutorials and the electronic delivery of modules in a virtual learning environment (Delaney & Farren, 2016; Farrell & Seery, 2019). Following an open and online learning philosophy, the OEU aims to afford educational opportunities to students who have not managed to access more traditional entry routes into higher education.
The Higher Education Language Educator Competences (HELECs) Framework has been developed by
an inter-institutional team of language teachers and applied linguists in Ireland. The project was
funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education
and supported by the four partner institutions, University College Cork (lead), Dublin City University,
Maynooth University and Waterford Institute of Technology. The aims of the HELECs framework are:
• To work toward the goals of the national languages strategy, Languages Connect: Ireland’s
Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education (2017), with particular reference to increasing
capacity and enhancing the learning environment.
• To provide a tool for language educators and their managers with which they can self-assess
and articulate their competences.
• To work toward a professionalisation of the field of language teaching and learning in higher
education in Ireland.
In the following sections we outline our target audience for this framework, describe the
development process, and provide the details of the framework including the competence
identifiers, the competence domains and the competence descriptors.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
This report is a resource developed from the SATLE 2018 Initiative: Professional Development Capacity Building in Higher Education: Extending provision for national impact through a flexible pathways approach.
The Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice recognises that each participant has a preferred mode of professional development (PD), consequently, the programme aims to combine a variety of methods of PD to provide an optimum flexible professional development pathway for all those who teach. This guide provides an overview of the mentoring model adopted as part of the Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice and guidelines based on best practice to help to maximise the mentor-mentee relationship. We realise that every mentoring relationship is unique and so they can be adapted as required to meet the individual needs of both mentor and mentee. It is recommended that mentors and mentees discuss the models below and decide what approach will best suit their context and objectives. Mentoring is a supportive process in which a mentor and a mentee engage in semi-structured dialogue over a period of time with the objective of assisting a mentee achieve a specific set of goals. Rather than providing advice, mentoring is concerned with empowering mentees to
critically consider and identify their own goals in a mutually respectful manner (Cambridge University 2020).
