E-Learning and the Higher Education Academy’s Research Observatory

1. E-Learning and the Higher Education Academy’s Research Observatory Martin Oliver

2. Some preamble: a work in progress • Initial proposal to HEFCE for an e-Learning Research Observatory • Landscaping study • https://mw.brookes.ac.uk/display/hearoc • Judged to have wider relevance • A Higher Education Research Observatory • e-Learning, Widening Participation, Employer Engagement • Other ‘strands’ may be added - and strands are unlikely to be explicit in the final structure

3. What is it for? • “The Research Observatory aims to support the higher education community by facilitating the collection and synthesis of research evidence, its access and its application to the development of policy and practice for different stakeholders and in varied contexts. We envisage active dialogue and engagement with the sector in the development of the research observatory and its areas of focus.” • - internal working document

4. What is it for? • Three processes supporting the Observatory: • Collection and categorisation of research evidence • Synthesis of research in relation to issues of concern to stakeholder groups • Development and application of recommendations in light of syntheses and evidence of impact

5. How will it work? • Technical specification remains a work in progress • Broad agreement on principles • Initial commissioning of content to ‘kick start’ the work • Subsequent development of content through critique, contribution and annotation • Later, contribution of new resources and topic areas by users • Implies a shared authoring model • ‘Less like the Academy main site and more like Wikipedia’

6. What the Observatory (probably) isn’t • A repository or clearing house for articles • “Adding value”, not just storing • A funding stream • A collective perspective rather than a funding council • May well complement other funding streams

7. Some personal aspirations • A shopfront (an easy one) • Somewhere to meet dissemination commitments for projects • A way of improving research writing • ‘Rolling literature reviews’ researchers can draw from • Something that provides multiple perspectives • Detail for researchers, overviews to guide policy, rich accounts for those involved in teaching…

8. Some personal aspirations • A way of making evidence more valuable • No shortage of case studies, but where are they synthesised? • Supporting ongoing debate • Controversies documented and developed within the Observatory • A one-stop shop? • At the least, a must-check resource

9. A work in (further) progress • Conceptual development • What is this thing? • Operationalising the concept • How can this be done? • Pilot • Is this approach viable? • Rollout • Can anyone else join in with this?

10. Provisional timeline • The initiative began October/November 2007 • Agreement on broad concept and structure of concept • Development of initial illustrative content (proof of concept) • Development of contracting arrangements for initial pilot content • Report due from the landscaping study • Pilot - provisional plans to launch at the Academy conference • Revision and re-structuring in light of pilot (summer) • Wider rollout (Autumn term)