The Blended Learning Unit, University of Hertfordshire: A Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Evaluation Report for HEFCE

The University of Hertfordshire’s Blended Learning Unit (BLU) was one of the 74 Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETLs) funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) between 2005 and 2010. This evaluation report follows HEFCE’s template. The first section provides statistical information about the BLU’s activity. The second section is an evaluative reflection responding to 13 questions. As well as articulating some of our achievements and the challenges we have faced, it also sets out how the BLU’s activity will continue and make a significant contribution to delivery of the University of Hertfordshire’s 2010-2015 strategic plan and its aspirations for a more sustainable future. At the University of Hertfordshire, we view Blended Learning as the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance the learning and learning experience of campus-based students. The University has an excellent learning technology infrastructure that includes its VLE, StudyNet. StudyNet gives students access to a range of tools, resources and support 24/7 from anywhere in the world and its robustness, flexibility and ease of use have been fundamental to the success of the Blended Learning agenda at Hertfordshire. The BLU has comprised a management team, expert teachers seconded from around the University, professional support and a Student Consultant. The secondment staffing model was essential to the success of the BLU. As well as enabling the BLU to become fully staffed within the first five months of the CETL initiative, it has facilitated access to an invaluable spectrum of Blended Learning, research and Change Management expertise to inform pedagogically sound developments and enable change to be embedded across the institution. The BLU used much of its capital funding to reduce barriers to the use of technology by, for example, providing laptop computers for all academic staff in the institution, enhancing classroom technology provision and wirelessly enabling all teaching accommodation. Its recurrent funding has supported development opportunities for its own staff and staff around the institution; supported evaluation activities relating to individual projects and of the BLU’s own impact; and supported a wide range of communication and dissemination activities internally and externally. The BLU has led the embedding a cultural change in relation to Blended Learning at the University of Hertfordshire and its impact will be sustained. The BLU has produced a rich legacy of resources for our own staff and for others in the sector. The University’s increased capacity in Blended Learning benefits all our students and provides a learning experience that is expected by the new generation of learners in the 21st century. The BLU’s staffing model and partnership ways of working have directly informed the structure and modus operandi of the University’s Learning and Teaching Institute (LTI). Indeed a BLU team will continue to operate within the LTI and help drive and support the implementation of the University’s 2010-2015 Strategic plan. The plan includes ambitions in relation to Distance Learning and Flexible learning and BLU will be working to enable greater engagement with students with less or no need to travel to the university. As well as opening new markets within the UK and overseas, even greater flexibility for students will also enable the University to reduce its carbon footprint and provide a multifaceted contribution to our sustainability agenda. We conclude this executive summary with a short paragraph, written by Eeva Leinonen, our former Deputy Vice-Chancellor, which reflects our aspiration to transform Learning and Teaching at the University of Hertfordshire and more widely in the sector. ‘As Deputy Vice Chancellor at Hertfordshire I had the privilege to experience closely the excellent work of the Blended Learning Unit, and was very proud of the enormous impact the CETL had not only across the University but also nationally and internationally. However, perhaps true impact is hard to judge at such close range, but now as Vice Principal (Education) at King's College London, I can unequivocally say that Hertfordshire is indeed considered as the leading Blended Learning university in the sector. My new colleagues at King's and other Russell Group Universities frequently seek my views on the 'Hertfordshire Blended Learning' experience and are keen to emulate the successes achieved at an institutional wide scale. The Hertfordshire CETL undoubtedly achieved not only what it set out to achieve, but much more in terms of scale and impact. All those involved in this success can be justifiably proud of their achievements.’ Professor Eeva Leinonen, Vice Principal (Education), King's College, Londo

A case study of the institution-wide implementation of a managed learning environment.

Recent years have seen a marked increase in the use of Virtual Learning Environments and Managed Learning Environments (MLEs) across the UK Higher Education sector. The university at the centre of this research took an institutional approach to the implementation of its MLE. This case study examines that implementation against the backdrop of the increasing use of technolqgy to support learning, the impact of technology upon pedagogy in a range of academic disciplines and the strategic approach to managing change. The case study draws upon a range of quantitative and qualitative data sources, the most significant of which were semi-structured interview~ with 23 teachers from the university's six academic faculties. The framework for analysis was an adaptation of Bronfenbrenner's ecological model (Bronfenbrenner1979) in which the implementation was examined in different, interconnected settings - the microsetting (the individual teacher's practice), the mesosetting (the institution) and the macrosetting (the sector). At the level of the individual participant, the majority were enhancing the student learning experience by using the MLE to 'extend the classroom'. This did not, however, involve a substantive change to the underlying pedagogical approach. A small minority were, however, using the technology specifically to enhance the face-to-face learning experience of their students - either by 'doing things differently' or 'doing different things'. These ideas open up the way for future thinking on pedagogic approaches. At the institutional level, there had been a transformative, second order change in the use of technology by staff and students. This had been achieved through a multifaceted approach to change involving institutionally steered but locally set usage targets, local champions, staff development and an MLE that had been developed with ease-of-use as a high priority. The implementation also drew on the experience of innovators to inform the development and roll out of the MLE. The use of the MLE was more concerned with enhancement of the student learning experience than increasing flexibility in when and where students learn - this has been identified as an important future challenge. At sector level, the implementation was judged against five of the measures of success outlined in HEFCE's e-Iearning strategy (HEFCE 2005). In general, it was argued that the institution had performed well in relation to these measures, although the reuse of resources remains a challenge. The issue of increasing flexibility is another sector challenge, particularly with reports such as Leitch (2006) identifying the need for an increase in work-based learning. New pedagogies and new technologies, such as virtual classrooms, can provide some solutions to the challenges facing the sector. Further work is needed to determine how best to exploit synergies between online and face-to-face learning opportunities

Rehabilitation of Muscle Dysfunction in Hemophilia

Musculoskeletal dysfunction is a common manifestation of haemophilia due to bleeding episodes. The effective management of acute haemarthoses and haematomas in particular, is essential to prevent the major complications that can arise. In the longer term, the sequelae of joint and muscle bleeds, postural problems and faulty movement patterns may be associated with imbalances between muscle groups. Evidence emerging from the literature suggests that the rehabilitation of this dysfunction is very relevant for the patient with haemophilia and musculoskeletal problems. Treatment of muscle imbalances may be linked with a reduction in recurrence of symptoms. Further research is needed to establish the relevance of this area in patients with haemophilia but clinical experience supports the developing work in this field