CTImusic
News

Spring 1999

Report of the CTI/TLTSN Review Group

The Review Group of the Computers in Teaching Initiative (CTI) and the Teaching and Learning Technology Support Network (TLTSN) produced a report of its findings towards the end of last summer. The full report is available on the World Wide Web. What follows is an abbreviated copy of the summary provided by CTI Online News. The acronym ITC is used throughout for Information and Communication Technology.

The Review was established by the four UK Higher Education funding bodies in November 1997 with three aims:

to determine how far the CTI and TLTSN had fulfilled their terms of reference;
to capture some of the lessons learned during the lifetime of these two initiatives;
to make recommendations on the future of these programmes at the end of their current funding period (July 1999).

This summary concentrates on the findings which relate particularly to the CTI Centres.

Terms of reference

The Atkins Report found that:
'The CTI has fulfilled its terms of reference and in the eyes of its direct users has provided a good and valued service. There is no doubt that its subject orientation is the source of its strength and success.'

The Report breaks down the roles and objectives of the CTI Centres as follows:

being an information point;
giving advice on implementing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) in teaching and learning;
providing a link between old and new technologies;
enabling change in the teaching/learning of their subject.

The last of these was the role most frequently endorsed by end users. The Report pointed out that the balance between these roles differed depending on the maturity of ICT use in the various disciplines, but that there had been a clear historical trend 'away from rather simple awareness-raising twards the more complex issues of integration and implementation of ICT'.

Evidence collected by the Review Group showed that users of the CTI Centres were 'consistently pleased with the quality of service they had received', with over 88 per cent describing it as good or excellent. The Review concluded that users value their CTI Centres 'principally for the up-to-date information obtained, and for the opportunity [at workshops and departmental visits] to gain hands-on experience of computer-based learning materials and ICT-based approaches to teaching'. Over half of all users had made changes to their teaching as a direct result of contact with the CTI.

Looking to the future, the Review found 'there was no doubt that users wanted some form of CTI to continue'. To fulfil the same or similar terms of reference, any future programme would need to build on the strengths of the existing initiative, that is to:

be proactive;
focus pragmatically on implementation and integration;
have a subject specific identity.

Lessons learned

As a broader agenda, the Review Group were agreed that 'CAL and ICT were being seen as part of an essential set of tools to be used by all staff with responsibility for mainstream learning... [and consequently] that all academic staff now needed to be IT literate'. The majority of HEIs were found to be moving towards a teaching and learning strategy which explicitly incorporated CAL and ICT. Perceived benefits of incorporating new technologies into teaching included greater access to and flexibility of study, and the extension of opportunities for distance, collaborative and networked learning. Students with ICT skills and a familiarity with the World Wide Web were seen to be more employable and where ICT was used in the daily work of professionals in a particular field this had been a strong driver for the incorporation of CAL and ICT into teaching at tertiary level.

On the other hand 'it was also clear to the Review Group that under-utilisation of CAL and ICT remained a continuing, major problem for virtually all higher education institutions', and 'only a handful' of responding HEIs had actually implemented a teaching and learning programme of any kind. Many respondents felt the assumption that educational technology produced enhanced learning had yet to be proved, and indeed both CTI and TLTSN regarded the lack of applied research in this area as 'a barrier to the credibility of their work'. The vast majority did not expect the use of CAL or ICT to result in efficiency gains or economies. Collaborative work among institutions was seen as the only realistic way to off-set the high development costs of technology-related learning materials.

Barriers to the greater use of CAL and ICT were summarised as 'money, materials and mindset'. Specific issues identified by the Review group included:

the lack of relevant, adaptable and high quality courseware;
the need for lecturers to be trained in ICT skills specifically for teaching and learning;
research into the effectiveness of different uses of ICT;
the lack of incentives for collaboration;
the need for ICT enthusiasts and champions among senior and middle management;
the absence of rewards and incentives for innovative teaching;
the lack of recognition for CAL development and research.

Levers to fuller use of CAL and ICT were summarised as staffing, strategies and standards. Again, a number of specific issues were identified, including:

staff development targeted at 'implementation within subjects rather than limited it to basic, generic skills';
effective institutional strategies combining ICT with a commitment to the enhancement of teaching and learning;
adequate resources for staff development and support, and for the purchase of specialised software and learning materials;
networks for the sharing of good practice and up-to-date information;
demonstrator projects, case studies and consortia for the development of materials;
moves towards 'an agreed common specification for the development, use and management of an ICT learning environment'.

The vast majority of respondents in all parts of the study saw the need for a continuing, long-term resource, external to institutions and funded by top-slicing. This would offer information, advice and expertise of two distinct kinds:

subject-specific support in the implementation of new technologies and the development of new materials (as per the current CTI remit);
advice on generic new technologies (as per the current TLTSN remit).

Recommendations for the future

The first recommendation of the Review Group is the rationalisation of initiatives supporting academic staff in the use of ICT. The current situation has led to a duplication of effort, the potential for competition among rather than cooperation between initiatives with similar remits, and coordination structures which have developed according to historical exigency and so work 'on the wrong axes' to support users effectively. The Review Group therefore recommends that a standing committee of the four funding bodies be established to achieve strategic cooperation across the UK.

Criteria for rationalisation must focus on the needs of the real end-users. 'This means retention of a subject focus but one that goes beyond ICT to be comprehensive and inclusive of good practice sector wide.' The Review Group therefore recommends that CTI and TLTSN should not continue in their present form beyond the end of the current funding period (July 1999). Instead of the current network of CTI Centres, there should be established 'a new broad-based programme of subject centres as comprehensive one-stop shops and information gateways'. The exact make-up of the subject centres will not be finalised until after consultation, but the intention is that all subject areas will be covered on a UK-wide basis.

CTImusic News is © 1999 CTImusic, Lisa Whistlecroft. All rights reserved. Work on CTI Online News by Joyce Martin, Helen Beetham and Scott Weidman of CTISS gratefully acknowledged.

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