Presentation at #ALTC 2015 The power of open cross-institutional collaboration for connected professional development in higher education Abstract: https://altc.alt.ac.uk/2015/sessions/the-power-of-open-cross-institutional-collaboration-for-connected-professional-development-in-higher-education-801/

1. Chrissi Nerantzi, Manchester Metropolitan University - Sue Beckingham, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Diogo Casanova, Kingston University - Dr Catherine Hack, Ulster University - Sheila MacNeill, Glasgow Caledonian University
The power of open cross-institutional collaboration
for connected professional development
in higher education
#ALTC 2015

2. Overview
Our understanding of open
cross-institutional development
BYOD4L: January 2015 iteration
Exploring opportunities and challenges of open cross-
institutional professional development

3. BYOD4L the open event
add existing bits
Site http://byod4learning.wordpress.com/
Related research and BYOD4L iterations, including January 2015
https://byod4learning.wordpress.com/about/research/

4. BYOD4L January 2015 (3rd iteration)
9 participating institutions + 2 further partners
Snowballing approach (Nerantzi & Beckingham, 2015b)
5C Framework (Nerantzi & Beckingham, 2015a)

5. The BYOD4L January 2015 Team
2 organisers
21 facilitators (without organisers)
9 institutions
2 additional partners (US, Germany)
7 mentors
1 peer reviewer
1 artist

6. Overview of our research project
Aims
Explore perceived benefits and challenges for participating institutions for open
cross-institutional initiatives and recommendations for sustainable professional
development solutions
Methodology
Action research
Methods
Survey instrument, web analytics

7. Findings: WordPress views and
Twitter
Data created using @mhawksey's TAGS Tool by
Peter Reed
460 twitter users across the week
Data created from wordpress statistics by
Kay Hack
1553 unique visitors across the week

8. Method
Survey: Google form
Sent to: all 23
BYOD4L facilitators
and organisers
Responses received: 9
(39 %)

9. Profiling
Initial expectations:
👤👤👤👤 Share best practices
👤👤👤👤 Enhance the use of TEL in their practice
👤👤 Evaluate new CPD opportunities
👤👤 Networking
👤 Being part of something innovative
👤 Involve colleagues in something innovative
Expectations met:
👤👤👤👤 Networking
👤👤👤 Learn about TEL and its use in Learning and
Teaching
👤👤👤 Level of openness and collegiality (sense of
community)
👤 Innovativeness
👤 Usefulness of the course
👤 Personal realisation
👤 Buzz around the course
👤 Disengagement from my institution
👤 Easiness or not of course design

10. Strengths
👤👤👤👤👤 Share practices
👤👤👤👤👤 Networking
👤👤👤👤 Activities and course design
👤👤👤👤 Flexibility
👤👤👤 Sense of community
👤 Find expertise elsewhere
👤 Diversity
👤 Safe environment
- “To create opportunities for colleagues and students to learn more about how they can use their smart devices
for learning and teaching with peers from other institutions as this would widen their horizons and could potentially
extent their network.”

11. Weaknesses
👤👤 Level of institutional support
👤👤 Too many tools/spaces
👤👤 Lack of recognition
👤👤 Monitor engagement
👤👤 Confidence
👤👤 Overwhelming
👤 Time
👤 Lack of structure
👤 Level of institutional engagement
👤 Course design (last synchronous activity)
“Because it is so flexible it’s not clear how to get the best out of it”

12. Opportunities
👤👤👤👤 new internal CPD opportunities
👤👤👤 personal development
👤👤👤 building networks and collaborations
👤👤👤 new cross-institutional CPD opportunities
👤 new approaches for professional development
👤 research opportunities
👤 extend recognition opportunities
👤 flexibility
“Create sustainable solutions through joined development and sharing of expertise with
cross-institutional teams that can experiment with new approaches to professional
development”

13. Threats
👤👤👤 recognition by institutions and management
👤👤👤 learning design paradigm
👤👤 monitoring quality and recognition
👤 alignment with professional frameworks
👤 level of commitment
👤 marketing
👤 lack of institutional support
👤 unclear
👤 data protection and intellectual property
”Some may struggle with the flexible approach to learning and seek the structured
approach a traditional course may take”

14. What was valued
“It has been a
great experience
for us and one that
will participate on
again.”
“Open CPD is the future, provided a
great opportunity to engage with
like minded and inspirational
colleagues across the UK.”
“I enjoyed developing this course with my
colleague from another institution.
Together, we created something for
others and this helped us all develop and
create new professional relationships,
push our own thinking and practice into
new directions and carry out research
together.”

15. Benefits and challenges of using
open courses for CPD
BENEFITS
Develop new shared CPD provision
through collaboration with other
institutions could provide an effective/
efficient use of time and resources for
staff development teams
Potential to develop new CPD offers in
areas where there is limited local
knowledge.
Use these resources to provide local F2F
provision
Enables colleagues to experience a
'course' in an free open and time
limited as a learner.
CHALLENGES
● Need for local support to supplement
online opportunities
● Breadth of activities can be daunting for
novice online learners
● Need a lot of confidence to take part
● Because it's is so flexible it's not clear how
to get the best out if it
● Uses many optional social media and it
can feel like you're in the wrong place or
other things are happening elsewhere
● Participation is rewarded with badges but
is this recognised?

16. BYOD4L in January 2016: What will be
different as a result of this project?
- Recruiting facilitators: more balanced representation by support staff (Ac. Dev and
TEL) and academics in the disciplines.
- Recruiting student facilitators
- Improve institutional engagement and support, work more effectively within our own
institutions, also communication and marketing of BYOD4L
- Identify opportunities within collaborating institutions to link BYOD4L with CPD
schemes, institutional teaching qualifications and informal offers to gain recognition
locally and more widely (MMU example)
- Improve engagement monitoring, consider registrations at least at institutional level.
- Identify further non-UK based collaborating institutions to enrich the learning
experience.
- Continue the research we started to further improve BYOD4L and similar activities...

17. Recommendations
start small
collaborate with colleagues and students across your institution and
elsewhere
use expertise and resources already available, including OER, repurpose
and reuse
identify effective ways to integrate cross-institutional CPD offers within your
institution, collaborate with the L & T teams, including TEL
secure buy-in and support from management
make explicit connections to UK PSF or other institutional CPD programmes
and initiatives

18. Join us for the next learning adventure
BYOD4L January 11-16 2016
We are looking for institutional partners,
staff and student facilitators
Follow @BYOD4L and https://byod4learning.wordpress.com/ for updates

19. What I will do within my institution in preparation for
BYOD4L in Jan 16
Make more explicit links to existing CPD
opportunities to gain credits and work
towards professional recognition within
MMU while participating/facilitating in
BYOD4L.
Review MMU marketing of BYOD4L.
Review MMU BYOD4L registration process.
Review face-to-face event and find a more
effective way to attract more participants.
Connect with the Student Union at MMU and
identify students who are interested in
participating and facilitating BYOD4L.
Chrissi Nerantzi
Manchester Metropolitan University, Principal Lecturer Academic CPD,
Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching

20. What I will do within my institution in preparation for
BYOD4L in Jan 16
Work with our Head of Innovation and
Professional Development on a parallel
face to face programme at SHU
Develop a communication strategy with a
wider reach to include email and social
media
Build a local team of mentors to support face
to face as well as online during #BYOD4L
Create further multimedia ‘getting started’
resources (e.g. Twitter, a blog) plus a virtual
tour of the #BYOD4L website
Sue Beckingham
Sheffield Hallam University, Educational Developer
and Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing

21. What I will do within my institution in preparation for
BYOD4L in Jan 16
expand the provision of CPD including
more social media workshops
include one hour in-house workshops to
complement the online week
work towards the accreditation from our
CPD framework
disseminate throughout the university
and inviting individually members of
staff and students
Dr Diogo Casanova, Kingston University London, Centre for Higher Education Research
and Practice

22. What I will do within my institution in preparation for
BYOD4L in Jan 16
I have identified additional facilitators
Planned a drop in session in the preceding
week
Establish a ‘local’ social space
Plan post course event to share best
practice
Work with Faculty PSF reps to promote
course and make explicit links to PSF
framework
Dr Kay Hack, University of Ulster, Partnership Manager, Faculty of Life & Health Science
add photo here

23. What I will do within my institution in preparation for
BYOD4L in Jan 16
Encourage more participation from staff.
Build into CPD workshops focussing on fully
online delivery.
Encourage more staff to lead and participate
in f2f sessions during the event.
Promote through formal CPD
networks/activities.
Make Students Association aware of event
(but it is exam week)
Sheila MacNeill,
Glasgow Caledonian University, Senior Lecturer, GCU LEAD (Learning Enhancement & Academic Development)
add photo here

24. References
Nerantzi, C. & Beckingham, S. (2015b) Scaling-up open CPD for teachers in higher education using a
snowballing approach , in: Rennie, F. (ed.) The distributed university, JPAAP Special Issue, Volume 3, Issue 1,
pp. 109-121, available athttp://jpaap.napier.ac.uk/index.php/JPAAP/article/view/148
Nerantzi, C. & Beckingham, S. (2015a) BYOD4L: Learning to use own smart devices for learning and teaching
through the 5C framework, in Middleton, A. (ed.) (2015): Smart learning: teaching and learning with
smartphones and tablets in post-compulsory education, pp. 108-126, Sheffield: MELSIG publication
Acknowledgements
BYOD4L artwork created by artist Ellie Livermore @ellielivermore
The SWOT analysis image can be found at
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/SWOT_en.svg/1000px-SWOT_en.svg.png
> available under a creative commons licence