Staff support for e-learning: a new type of partnership

Angie Donoghue & Liz Aspden, Sheffield Hallam University

This wiki has been set up to support the delivery of a session as part of the JISC Innovating e-learning online conference 2007.

Introduction

The introduction of e-learning has resulted in the need for changes to the way staff are supported in the development of their learning, teaching, and assessment (LTA) activities. The contents of this wiki will look at Sheffield Hallam's approach to supporting e-learning at scale within a team that includes system administration, pedagogical advice, resources advice and troubleshooting support. Specifically it will focus on a co-sourced approach to Blackboard support which began in October 2006, and the implications of this for campus-based development staff.

Sheffield Hallam adopted Blackboard as its institutional virtual learning environment (VLE) in 2001 as part of a pedagogically driven project, and its underlying support model has evolved over time to ensure consistent, coherent, comprehensive and timely support (Aspden & Helm, 2004; Aspden, 2005). In 2006 we recognised the opportunity to address the needs of an increasingly diverse learning and teaching community, and to offer a clear, flexible, and accessible process for accessing Blackboard support. Staff are now able to access a comprehensive Knowledge Base of guidance and resources through a familiar interface, as well as getting phone-based and online support 24/7. Alongside this 'Tier 1' support are Sheffield Hallam staff with expertise in a range of areas who are able to pick up and address more specific problems.

This new process has brought with it a range of benefits for the configuration of our support. For example:

• It reflects and supports the multi-disciplinary good practice to which we aspire. The integration of library staff into this support mechanism has proved valuable in many ways both in terms of resource integration as well as staff support.
• It consolidates guidance into a consistent and coherent structure, offering ease-of-use for staff.
• It has enabled on-campus staff to concentrate on developing the pedagogical aspects of their work.
• Shared ownership of the guidance material and support data enables us to identify support needs, leading to a holistic and tailored development approach.

The wiki reviews and expands on the issues above from the perspective of Educational Development and Information Services staff.

To navigate your way around the resources, please use the links provided below and on each page.

Context - or why we were interested in this

Solution - or what we did

Benefits - or what we got out of it

References