IHAP Digital Learning Strategy

Following on from my early 'digital strategy/operational plan' that I first mentioned in my blog post 'Learning technology manager - a celebration'.  Which later contributed to a successful promotion and formation of a small team.  I have now been able to complete writing my digital learning strategy and five-year operational plan for our institute.  Which I independently created despite my job specification stating to work alongside Principal Lecturers and the Head to develop.  However, this was welcomed and approved.  It provides a clear vision and direction, to enable and progress our staff and students' digital literacies, practices and learning experience outcomes, and pedagogically sound application of curriculum-specific learning technologies.  According to my Head of Department, at the time of publishing this, I have produced the first strategy in the department!  A side benefit of this strategy is that I also plan to use it to incrementally develop my role, such as the academic and scholarship aspects, and refine my leadership and management abilities.

As my Head once said; I am good had holding my long-term visions of what is to be achieved and how I can bring people with me to get there.  I'm really glad and proud that I stuck with my gut on taking the initiative and leadership to make this come to fruition and have the staff resource to begin to deliver it.  It was a big challenge starting off writing this from nothing and building it up over time.  There was no use of Artificial Intelligence, just me and my own ambitions an insights.  It is a good balance of my ambitions, growth, current ideas/needs and informed by data collected from students; addressing issues and priorities as identified in the Digital Curriculum Questionnaire.  It includes other ideas that I had to park due to timeliness' and resource; there was only me at the time.  Technology is often the easiest bit, now the big challenges will be around establishing the relationships, partnerships and infrastructures to support and fulfil the strategy - communicating, supporting and developing change and culture.

Revisiting my original attention when I first started in our institute in 2021, I seem to be well on my way to achieving this overall goal.

Me - "My overall goal in the role is not to make a seismic change, but making sure that everything is about enabling and improving the most effective digital and online learning, teaching and assessment offer, in the healthcare context.  However, I have wider ambitions to make a difference specifically at an institute, subject and course level."

Below are the first five pages of my strategy to show that it is real and to outline it's purpose.  I'm not sharing the full thing here in the effort to protect the integrity of its contents.  I'm proud and excited to start progressing towards the objectives in this and taking our institute further.  I reviewed and adjusted this in December 2024.

I sent the strategy for review to my team colleague, my Head and Deputy Head before discussing it further in a March Senior Leadership Team meeting.  Besides the following feedback from my Head, I received minor textual changes and mentions, meaning that I am on the right track.

Dr Anne Felton, Head of Department – “Thank you for the significant work that has gone into this document.   It sets out an ambitious strategy for the department that really drives forward our digital focus.  I like the key areas that are reflected in the focus of the strategy signified by the diagram and can see how it scaffolds each year. 

There is opportunity to emphasise upskilling staff at an earlier point as Nikki [Deputy Head of Department] has identified.  I think this would be achieved through a goal in the strategic objectives as it comes across well in the operational plan.

I’d also suggest that these strategic objectives include the achievement of all of our NOW rooms meeting NTU minimum standards – ambitious in a different way. 

The operational plan for 2023/24 is quite ambitious and I wonder whether some of the timelines might need extending to keep this achievable? 

Finally it needs to be approached as to what will be achievable within current resources...(which may also need some consideration as to whether anything needs scaling back if its focused on existing resources)...With this in mind I’d also consider whether there are any commercial or income generation opportunities that would fund the VR simulation headsets?

Thank you for the time and effort that’s gone into this.  It’s an ambitious and exciting vision that will help you/us communicate the focus for digital and give us a path to follow moving forwards.”

On 28th March, on the last day before Easter break, I presented my strategy to the Senior Leadership Team.  Organised well in advance last year with a 30-minute slot for us to discuss the draft.  Ahead of this and to prepare for the discussion, I asked SLT to review the strategy and answer the questions on a Padlet, that will provide us with a discussion base on the morning.  I was a bit nervous. But it went as well as I thought it would in terms of conversation and SLT being happy with it.  There was discussion around staff buy-in which I confirmed would be a result of working collaboratively with Principal Lecturers to understand needs and opportunities.  Where and when the ongoing reviewing of the strategy will take place, and the visibility and promotion of it to the wider department.  It was recommended by SLT to review frequently if any problems and issues are foreseen, we can adapt and pivot.  I asked about wider consultation with staff and students, but my Head is satisfied with it being formally approved here.  I guess this depends how big we want it to be and what more information we require - which is not a lot at this stage.  I also asked if is it realistic in terms of staffing resource and where IHAP department growth is?  E.g. not going big too soon.  However, prior to this I already planned on pacing out some of objectives from years 2 and 3 to years 4 and 5.  On reflection, I designated years 4 and 5 as contingency capacity for naturally unfolding objectives and depending on staff resource and unforeseen issues.  Overall, this now formally starts the process of conversations on what changes SLT will need to put in place to accommodate my strategy.

A reason I think it has been so well received is that it is ambitions, realistic, accessible and speaks to issues as much as it does innovation.  It is workable and doable is reflective of my pragmatic nature.  The Padlet responses below further indicate this.

On 22nd April, I communicated this publicly across the department.

Me:

"Hello,

I have the pleasure of sharing with you the IHAP Digital Learning Strategy. This was agreed by the Senior Leadership Team on 28th March following their review and discussion of it.  It is now available for you to view the vision and direction of travel we are taking in this space.  The strategy is a working document and will therefore be subject to minor changes as we progress through it.  If you would like to be a key collaborator on any objectives, please get in touch. You can expect possible updates on progress via the department and relevant course team meetings.  I welcome any anonymous feedback you have via this Padlet.  As always, any queries please don’t hesitate to reach out to me."

Claire Wilson, Senior Lecturer, Adult Nursing – "Brilliant news Dan!  Happy to help where I can."

July 2024.  Farai Pfende, Senior Lecturer in Learning Disabilities Nursing – "What the (IHAP) Digital Learning Strategy and Operational Plan means to me is – we have guaranteed strategic support to digitally elevate our teaching and more importantly the vision and how we get there is transparent and inclusive."