21st century competencies and communities in higher education

Abstract

Early research carried out by the author (Lister, 2013) indicated that current support and training mechanisms for uptake of technology enhanced learning and teaching amongst academic staff were not working. Some key hindering factors shown by the study were lack of adequate training support as well as lack of pedagogical support for faculty to develop courses suitable for 21st century learners. Whilst there may be a variety of approaches to solving these problems, the London Met Elearning Matrix (the eMatrix) might be one possible solution to some issues. The eMatrix website has become a focal point for developing further mechanisms to help train and support academics at London Metropolitan University in their individual technical skills development as well as their knowledge of the possibilities and pedagogical approaches to technology enhanced learning. The eMatrix is a complex category driven online content management system that offers multiple authors the opportunity to create related articles in the field of e-learning, which can then be cross categorised into appropriate themes and topics. It is a practical piece of work that attempts to build an online community, both for the authors themselves as well as others who would use the material in their learning, teaching and elsewhere. Centred around one institution (London Metropolitan University), it seeks to provide content for pathways of accredited learning for the continuing professional development of its own and other academic staff, as well as offer more informal connected learning content for a variety of areas related to technology enhanced learning, teaching and research. It is a pioneering web application, seeking to blend articles from e-learning technologists, academics, admin and library staff, and even students if practicable. The process of creating articles has been made especially user friendly and straightforward, with as little technical ‘know-how’ required as possible, yet allowing for multimedia webpage content to be authored and navigated with ease. The aim is to provide a technology that ‘meets its users on equal terms’ in order to encourage use by all, not only by a few technical specialists. A strong emphasis has been placed on the social functions of the articles, to encourage as much sharing into social and professional online networks as possible, therefore promoting further discussion in the wider community.