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Two edtech trends that educators should watch for

The growth of edtech has sparked fresh approaches to teaching. Here, Vikas Nand Kumar Batheja shares two teaching trends worthy of educators’ attention

Capital University College

Tempting back adults who left college early without a degree could be key to higher education's recovery

Equity, diversity

Accessibility

Re-engaging adult learners is key to a sustainable HE recovery

Winning back those who left college without a degree will be key in reversing the declines of the past year, say Kai Drekmeier and Amanda Winters

InsideTrack, National Governors Association

Advice on how to effectively bring co-creation with students into your teaching practices

Co-creating with students: Practical considerations and approaches

Stacy Katz explains how to develop meaningful learning experiences by collaborating with students, rather than determining for them

Lehman College CUNY

Mindfulness education at university goes beyond pedagogy

Mental health

It’s past time for a serious appraisal of mindfulness education

True mindfulness education goes beyond pedagogy and improving learning outcomes – it is a holistic approach for developing students and staff, says Christine Rivers

University of Surrey

Sustainability modules can be crucial for universities

Curricula development

The dos and don’ts of creating a large-scale sustainability module

Rachel Lander, Sylvia Snijders and Gustavo Espinoza Ramos discuss lessons learned from creating a sustainability module that’s taken by 600-plus students per year

University of Westminster

Advice on creating short online courses that help drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals

Three steps to designing online learning that supports a sustainable future

Lizzy Garner-Foy offers practical guidance on how to plan, design and develop open, accessible online learning materials that support work towards the SDGs

University of Edinburgh

Students are demanding action from higher education universities on climate change now

Students demand action on the climate crisis now – not later

COP26 is the world’s best – and perhaps last – chance to get runaway climate change under control, and to reach net zero HE needs to act swiftly, says Manveer Gill

Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education

Views

Students demand action on the climate crisis now – not later

COP26 is the world’s best – and perhaps last – chance to get runaway climate change under control, and to reach net zero HE needs to act swiftly, says Manveer Gill

Manveer Gill

Climate Commission for UK Higher and Further Education

Race tends to come behind gender when it comes to university work on equality

Equity, diversity

Competing hierarchies of oppression: why is race a lower priority?

Gender is often given priority in HE because it’s seen as a universal concern that affects all women, but this ignores racism within gender equality work, says Kalwant Bhopal

Kalwant Bhopal

University of Birmingham

Universities should offer master's-level students the opportunity to gain research experience

Research management

Early career

So you want a novel way to support untapped research talent?

There’s great scope for the sector to offer research development opportunities to taught postgraduate students, says John McKendrick

John McKendrick

Glasgow Caledonian University

Peer to peer feedback, as used by the Bronte Sisters, is a crucial tool for improving writing skills in university students

Writing tips

If peer feedback was good enough for the Brontë sisters, it’s good enough for us

The shift online provides new ways to harness the power of peer feedback to improve writing skills, say Sherry Wynn Perdue, Pam Bromley, Mark Limbach and Jonathan Olshock

Sherry Wynn Perdue, Pam Bromley, Mark Limbach, Jonathan Olshock

Oakland University, Scripps College, Peerceptiv

Series

THE clinic

Research

Research management

Eight ways your university can make research culture more open

Parveen Yaqoob and Robert Darby share eight actions institutions can take to foster a culture of research that is more accessible, transparent and reproducible

Parveen Yaqoob, Robert Darby

University of Reading

Advice on how LEGO can facilitate learning across many disciplines in higher education

Serious play: building knowledge with LEGO bricks

Using LEGO blocks to aid brainstorming has migrated from boardrooms into university classrooms. This guide explores how to get the most out of it in your teaching – whether virtual or on campus

Caitlin Kight, Holly Henderson

University of Exeter

Using films to encourage reflection and critical thinking in your teaching

Noam Schimmel shares advice on how to leverage the pedagogical and emotive power of films to support your teaching

Noam Schimmel

University of California, Berkeley

Advice on how institutions should ensure digital inclusion for all students

Accessibility

There’s no room for complacency: act now to improve digital inclusion

Sue Bennett outlines a call to action for academics and institutions to recognise inequalities in access to, and proficiency with, technology among students and to help extend digital inclusion to all

Sue Bennett

University of Wollongong

Research distilled

Advice on using productive failure to activate deeper learning

Using productive failure to activate deeper learning

Manu Kapur explains how using a flipped-classroom approach, setting students problems that they are unable to tackle properly until they have been taught the associated concepts, deepens their learning through ‘productive failure’

Manu Kapur

ETH Zurich

Research backed advice on managing different national cultures to encourage engagement with learning technology

Internationalisation

Student engagement

How does national culture affect the adoption of learning technology?

Na Li, Xiaojun Zhang and Maria Limniou offer tips to counter the hidden cultural and social factors that reduce acceptance of virtual learning environments, based on their research

Na Li, Xiaojun Zhang, Maria Limniou

Xi'an Jiaotong - Liverpool University

Three benefits of moving final year assignments online

Virtual classroom connections: enhancing three presence elements via online tools

Nguyen Hoang Thuan and Pham Cong Hiep provide practical tips for enhancing three types of presence – teaching, social and cognitive – in online learning and teaching, based on their research

Nguyen Hoang Thuan, Pham Cong Hiep

RMIT University Vietnam

Advice on fostering fruitful relationships between students from all over the world

Internationalisation

Relationship building among globally diverse students in a borderless university

Monika Foster offers insights into why and how to encourage relationship-building between global learners by celebrating diversity and encouraging collaboration in teaching, learning and assessment

Monika Foster

University of Sunderland

Case studies

Engaging students in applied research to tackle Sustainable Development Goals

Jen O’Brien describes a pedagogical project that engages students in applied research carried out in partnership with external organisations, related to the Sustainable Development Goals

Jen O'Brien

University of Manchester

Advice on delivering far reaching faculty development training in blended learning

A model for developing global expertise in blended learning

Daniella Bo Ya Hu outlines a framework for building expertise in blended learning using lessons in capacity development, staff incentivisation and leadership learned from an international pilot training programme

Daniella Bo Ya Hu

The Association of Commonwealth Universities

Advice on developing communities of practice to foster virtual collaboration between universities

Internationalisation

How a community of practice can foster virtual collaboration

Eugene Schulz and Dagmar Willems share insights and takeaway lessons from creating a community of practice for higher education instructors to develop virtual exchanges with international partners

Eugene Schulz, Dagmar Willems

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Advice for designing and building immersive, large-scale teaching experiences in video games

Europe

Generating immersive, large-scale teaching experiences in video games

Richard Fitzpatrick and Thomas Little offer insights for designing and developing immersive learning experiences using video games, based on their experience using Minecraft in their teaching

Richard Fitzpatrick, Thomas Little

University of Edinburgh

Collections

Advice for universities on delivering quality hybrid teaching

Higher education goes hybrid

While many universities have now returned in part to campus, online teaching remains a core component of educational programmes. There are still many students unable to attend their institutions in person for whom remote learning is the only option. So academics face the challenge of delivering effective hybrid teaching which engages those with them in the classroom, as well as those learning via a screen. This collection offers advice on how to successfully manage hybrid instruction.

Advice on taking a compassionate approach to higher education

Teaching with compassion

The well-being of students and faculty has been severely tested throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, sparking calls for a more compassionate approach to higher education. This collection of resources offers advice on embedding care into your teaching practices, whether online or in person.

Five pillars to offering an effective multifaceted education online

Making online learning fun

Students are more likely to be actively engaged in their learning if they are enjoying it and, happily, online teaching offers plenty of opportunity to play around and get creative with your course design and delivery styles. So browse these resources to get some ideas and inspiration for injecting some fun into your online classes.

Advice on reshaping lectures for better digital pedagogy

Rethinking lectures for a digital age

As the debate rages on about the future of the lecture, academics teaching online are developing effective and innovative ways to adapt this traditional style of instruction for a digital age. Here we have bought together advice from faculty all over the world on how to design and deliver "lectures" online for the best possible learning outcomes.

Topics

Course design

Student experience

Inclusion

Leadership & management

Internationalisation

Webinars and podcasts

Webinar discussion how to reduce student drop out rates in the context of the pandemic and online learning

Curricula development

Place-based learning in digital universities

A discussion of how the exploration and understanding of a place can be the backbone of higher education teaching and learning, whether delivered online or in-person

Elizabeth Langran, Reneta Lansiquot , Robbie Nicol, Abbey Willis

Marymount University, New York City College of Technology, University of Edinburgh, Siena College

Podcast discussing building resilience and protecting well-being among university staff and students

Ed-tech

THE Podcast: Bridging higher education’s new digital divide

Lauren Herckis from Carnegie Mellon University discusses her research into the new digital divide in ed-tech knowledge and pedagogical training among faculty and how universities can work to fill it

Lauren Herckis

Carnegie Mellon University

Curricula development

Cultivating creativity in higher education

Academics from the UK and the US discuss the role of creativity in higher education, its many forms and how to foster it through teaching and research

Bashir Makhoul, Giovanni Moneta, Linda Watts, Yong Zhao

University for the Creative Arts, London Metropolitan University, University of Washington, Bothell, University of Kansas, University of Melbourne