Effective use of communication and information technology: bridging the skills gap

There is a revolutionary culture change taking place within higher education in the United Kingdom. Part of this change is the adoption of new communication and information technologies (C&IT), such as the World Wide Web (WWW), for teaching, learning and assessment. Many academics have limited experience of the WWW for teaching and learning and perceive that the use of new technologies involves transferring traditional teaching methods into an electronic format, with no regard for the underlying pedagogical implications. Our current research with teaching staff has given insight into essential skills and competencies required to empower the use of C&IT bearing in mind the importance of the underlying pedagogy. In this paper we present an analysis of research carried out with academic staff members to determine the nature of staff and student skills needs regarding the use of C&IT in teaching and learning. This analysis is followed by a case study of how these findings were incorporated into the development and implementation of a staff development programme aimed at encouraging innovative teaching at the University of Strathclyde. The importance of the effective use of C&IT in teaching and learning In the context of academic induction courses, exploring conceptions of teaching and learning with new staff members confirms the notion that many academic staff want to teach as they have been taught. To encourage the adoption of new instructional strategies requires raising awareness of how students learn and supporting efforts to teach differently. Creative and flexible teaching requires an awareness of different methodologies, developing new skills with these methodologies and knowing when to apply these methods to optimize students ' learning. The process of managing teaching for effective learning is further complicated when staff are expected to use new technologies. Some staff members show an added level of reluctance to engage in constructive dialogue about changes in frameworks for learning and teaching when the potential of communications and information technology (C&IT) is discussed