Devising Strategies for Enhancing Quality Staff Development in Embedding ICT in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) have huge potential and can add value to the quality of university teaching and learning. However, to fully exploit the potential of these innovative technologies, it is imperative that teaching staff are well informed about how to embed ICT in the curriculum in a way that is underpinned by sound pedagogy. Professional development programmes can enable staff to acquire appropriate skills to effectively facilitate technology-supported learning.The teaching staff from The Robert Gordon University and Edith Cowan University, are facing similar staff development challenges. Both universities provide online and distance education courses to their local and remotely located students. Staff involved in designing and teaching these courses require knowledge about and skills related to the appropriate use of ICT within teaching and learning contexts. Both universities face dual challenges: how to construct staff development programmes which develop their teachers’ ICT knowledge and skills; and how to include full time, part time and remotely located staff in such programmes. The authors of this paper are involved in assisting staff within their universities to develop ICT skills and have adopted a collaborative approach to designing a staff development programme in this area. This strategic alliancing between two institutions with similar profiles, staff needs and ICT experiences is proposed as a viable technique for implementing effective staff development in ICT.This paper reports on the initial stage of an ongoing collaborative project which aims to devise strategies to enable staff to use and embed ICT in their teaching.