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The purpose of this reflection on practice is to consider and attempt made by the present author to re-imagine online distance learning (ODL) environments to provide a greater opportunity for learner engagement.

ODL environments were augmented by video-conferencing to increase dialogue, instructor presence and a sense of instructor care, concern and guidance. The video-conference component was limited time-wise (40 min per weekly module) and aimed at explaining and integrating learning content and activities. The resulting courses were thus augmented and enhanced and not transformed into blended learning courses.

Preliminary feedback from video-conference discussions and learner reflective journals indicates that the innovation was well received by students and contributed significantly to their appreciation, satisfaction and overall engagement.

The augmentation is simple and effective. It may be an approach that is particularly relevant in designing and facilitating ODL environments in an era of uncertainty, disruption and far-reaching educational changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The author argues that the introduction of an active learning component has significant implications for learner performance, satisfaction and persistence with distance learning programs.

Attempts to increase social presence and engagement are not uncommon in ODL. This particular approach is simple, easily enacted and has a perceived element of originality and innovation that appeals to learners. It is argued that it contributes significant value to the quality and outcomes of the distance learning experience.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2013.

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how instructional support is a critical tool to promote the use of technology in research and teaching. A Campus-Wide Collaborative Model of Technological Instructional Support (CCMTIS) is presented that incorporates: integration of technology across campus; technical assistance; allocation of funding for technical assistance; support of faculty teaching style; and teaching that enhances learning through the use of technology.

The approach presents two case studies, one a large state research university, and the other a small liberal arts college.

Four overlapping themes emerge across the two case studies that demonstrate how: technology can connect classroom learning to career considerations and opportunities; develop writing and communication skills; promote career development through access to job search skills; and encourage professional development among faculty and staff.

The limitations are that only two specific campus environments are examined. That these are differing environments, however, have implications for the model’s application to diverse campus settings.

A practical application is that the study demonstrates how the CCMTIS model can be applied to both classroom and campus. This has implications for other universities that may seek to replicate the model on their own campuses.

The social implications indicate how learning occurs through an instructional support model that promotes collaboration. At the same time, ethical considerations related to instructional support are presented.

The manuscript reflects original work based on case studies that reflect the authors’ experiences.

The world of work and education is changing at a rapid pace, driven by continued technological disruption and automation. The future is uncertain and difficult to envisage. A futures thinking scenario planning approach is used in exploring and guiding education policy makers on how best to respond to the range of possible futures. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

This study utilizes elements of prior scenario planning methodologies to devise a practical model of preferred and plausible likely scenarios in the context of rapid and continuing technology disruption. Based on the notion of “impact and uncertainty,” two possible future alternatives of work and learning were developed. Incorporating elements of the possibility space scenario framework and a vignette approach of current emergent technologies, this paper assessed the usefulness of the preferred and likely outcomes.

While preferred future scenarios entailing collaborative styles such as human–machine cooperation, smart virtual active learning campuses and living knowledge learning environments may produce more desirable benefits for education stakeholders, the more likely plausible scenario is one based on continued disruptive technologies. Automation, artificial intelligence and the advent of 5G network technologies will drive customization and personalization in higher education delivery and revolutionize the work landscape in the immediate future. Universities will need to embrace and respond to these changes.

The paper gives insights into how universities can prepare their students for future of work and improve their employability. In addition, this author recommends ways in which HEIs can leverage these newer technologies to drive educational services and commercial value.

“I can't do online learning”. This is a surprisingly common response from professional postgraduate students who have a narrow view of what online learning might comprise. Images of screen‐gazing at mega‐bytes of text or childish multi‐choice quizzes on CD‐ROMs have encouraged strange reactionary responses from many otherwise engaged learners. This paper aims to address these issues.

This paper reports a qualitative study which, among other things, aimed to explore the views of higher education (HE) teachers experienced in the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) about the variation and value of specific learning styles and approaches in relation to effective learning in those online environments. University teachers speak readily about learning style preferences, cognitive strategies and andragogical principles (based on Knowles) of self‐directed or self‐managed learning, but often in terms which suggest that VLEs favour certain individual styles.

The findings from a detailed grounded analysis of interview data from ten enthusiasts for online learning suggest a potential plasticity of online learning environments which can accommodate any style or strategy. There was a sense in the transcripts of a different kind of learning space, which could mould itself to these differences in a way which could not be achieved in a traditional classroom. Some authors, including Palloff and Pratt, identify the importance of differing learning styles and approaches to learning in HE and tackle the issue of how to accommodate such differences online.

This research suggested that the plasticity of the online learning environment compensated for such variety of style, without the need for engineering learning activities online to cater for specific styles. Online, the time flexibility and potential for learner control can support multiple styles and strategies, provided the teacher has designed the environment to allow this, and of course that the relevant technologies are available to the teacher.

So, rather than the environment dictating design, within the limits of available technologies, the teacher's approach to design may dictate the degree to which the plastic potential of the online environment is available to the learner.

The concept of plasticity is borrowed from other scientific disciplines. Applying this to the virtual learning space opens up the pedagogical perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce an evidence-based, transferable framework of graduate attributes and associated university toolkit to support the writing of level-appropriate learning outcomes that enable the university to achieve its mission to Transform Lives + Inspire Change.

An iterative process of co-design and co-development was employed to produce both the framework and the associated learning outcomes toolkit.

There is tangible benefit in adopting an integrated framework that enables students to develop personal literacy and graduate identity. The toolkit enables staff to write assessable learning outcomes that support student progression and enable achievement of the framework objective.

While the framework has been in use for two years, institutional use of the toolkit is still in its early stages. Phase 2 of the project will explore how effectively the toolkit achieves the framework objective.

The introduction of a consistent, integrated framework enables students to develop and actively increase personal literacy through the deliberate construction of their unique graduate identity.

Embedding the institutional Changemaker attributes alongside the agreed employability skills enables students to develop and articulate specifically what it means to be a “Northampton graduate”.

The uniqueness of this project is the student-centred framework and the combination of curricular, extra- and co-curricular initiatives that provide a consistent language around employability across disciplines. This is achieved through use of the learning outcomes toolkit to scaffold student progression.

Undertaking research as part of a business degree qualification undoubtedly enables students to develop practical and life-long skills. Nevertheless, students seem to find it challenging undertaking a research project. This study set out to explore the experiences of a group of MBA students who recently undertook their business and management research projects as part of their MBA degree program.

The study was carried out in a UK higher education institution and is based on an MBA business and management research module. The purpose of the module is to enable learners to develop advanced-level independent research and critical problem-solving skills within a business context. The study adopted a qualitative approach to capture a broad mix of students' experiences and perceptions on the module. The sample includes previous MBA students on different cohorts and different nationalities.

Outcomes of the study show that though students are stretched in the business and management project process they develop a diversity of skills required in the workplace while conducting their projects. The study findings also show that the practical implications of the students' projects and progressive support from their project supervisors contribute to the successful completion of their projects and subsequent attainment of their MBA degree.

Outcomes of this study further reveal that undertaking business and management projects creates a rewarding learning experience for learners/students, develops confident graduates as well as enables effective applications of theory into practice.

In the last five years, there has been an increased interest across the globe, and in the United Kingdom in particular, to define, conceptualise and measure learning gains. The concept of learning gains, briefly summarised as the improvement in knowledge, skills, work-readiness and personal development made by students during their time spent in higher education, has been hailed by some as an opportunity to measure ‘excellence’ in teaching. This chapter will review some of the common definitions and the methods employed in research on learning gains. Secondly, we will provide a critical evaluation of the computational aspects of learning gains (e.g., raw gain, normalised gain). Finally, we will critically reflect upon the lessons learnt and what is not yet known in terms of learning gains.

Much debate in the library literature has focused on the effectiveness of web‐based or online instruction versus traditional face‐to‐face library instruction. While both forms of library instruction have their strengths and weaknesses, the authors contend that a hybrid approach to information literacy instruction, by bringing the web into the classroom, offers students and instructors the greatest benefit. The authors' experience with the evolution of instruction sessions for 1,100 first‐year biology students from PowerPoint presentations to web‐based courseware (WebCT) to its current web‐based format illustrates the improvements to instruction that have accrued as the program has developed. These include the ability to address diverse learning styles, encourage active participation, provide 24/7 access, and foster increased student contact with librarians.