The delivery of our the 50th Vision for Change workshop prompted us to reflect on the insights from colleagues across the post-16 sector where the workshop served as a vehicle for educators to explore how the current digital landscape must evolve if they are to progress their digital adoption plans.
The Workshop Experience
Once a member organisation commits to taking part in the workshop, selected participants collaborate by sharing and discussing two drawings they have created. The first drawing portrays the current digital experience, while the second envisions the ideal digital landscape a decade from now. Through these visual representations, participants vividly depict the present state and articulate their aspirations for the future.
During our workshops, facilitators were consistently impressed by the diverse and imaginative drawings produced by participants. These drawings served as powerful tools to convey how they perceived their organization’s current digital experience and the transformative journey they envisioned. Whether participants hailed from colleges, universities, sixth forms, or specialist institutions, they regularly highlighted common obstacles that influenced their path toward digital transformation.
Let’s delve into these themes.
Common Barriers
Silos:
Effective digital practices often remained confined to specific pockets within institutions. Valuable internal ‘how to’ approaches to digital practices like flipped learning or using digital devices to enhancing learning remained hidden from view and thus couldn’t pique curiosity across departments.
Mixed Digital Capabilities:
Both students and staff faced digital skill gaps. While students excelled in using digital devices for communication, they often overlooked software that could improve their assignment writing. Conversely, teachers navigated virtual learning environments adeptly, but technical glitches occasionally deflated their confidence in pursuing digital learning.
Leadership Challenges:
Despite leaders’ keen support for digital initiatives, competing demands such as dealing with shrinking budgets, resource constraints, and other non-digital issues made it hard to keep a consistent focus on dealing with digital challenges.
Digital Infrastructure Insights:
Many workshops benefited from the participation of IT and infrastructure staff. Discussions underscored the need for a deeper understanding what network upgrades involve. Additionally, curriculum staff recognised the need to collaborate more closely with IT professionals when planning to introduce new digital platforms and technologies.
A Glimpse into the Future (10 Years Ahead)
When we peered into the digital horizon, participants consistently saw a landscape where,
Collaboration Unleashed:
Digital technology fosters seamless collaboration across teams and departments, dismantling silos.
Comfort with Technology:
Students and staff navigate digital tools effortlessly, embracing hybrid learning anytime, anywhere. The curriculum offer enables students to learn and acquire the digital skills they we need to secure and succeed in employment.
Guided Transformation:
A well-articulated digital strategy, shaped by stakeholders, guides the transformation journey.
Data-Informed Decision-Making:
Leaders and staff at all levels are able to harness data to inform decisions such as where to invest more resource in digital infrastructure and development.
These aspirations are challenging, but our experience from the workshops shows they are within reach. To bring this vision to life, a strategic plan is essential. At the conclusion of the workshop, participants were encouraged to pinpoint 4 or 5 digital goals and to begin mapping out the way forward.
Have you participated in the workshop? If so please feel welcome to share your experience following the workshop. What problems did you encounter while pursuing your digital goals. Let us know what what additional support you’d like us to consider providing post workshop. Your insights are valuable!
If you would like to know more about the workshop you can do so here Vision for Change
Dan Hughes – dan.hughes@jisc.ac.uk
Allen Crawford Thomas – a.crawford-thomas@jisc.ac.uk