TLTP: the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme
Joanna Tiley describes TLTP. The teaching and Learning Technology Programme, funded by the UK Higher Education Funding Councils of the UK, is
a collection of 70+ projects aimed to "make teaching and learning more productive and efficient by harnessing modern technology".
The Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP) is, to the best of our
knowledge, the largest technology based initiative of its kind across the
world within higher education. As a centrally funded initiative it provides
us with an excellent example of the advantages of collaboration compared to
the efforts of many individuals working in isolation.
The programme is jointly funded by the four higher education funding bodies,
HEFCE, SHEFC, HEFCW and DENI, who allocated 22.5 million pounds over three years,
starting in 1992-93, for the first phase of the programme and 11.25 million pounds
for the second at a time when the sector was experiencing a period of rapid
expansion. Added to the funding bodies' own commitment of 33 million pounds is the
direct and indirect contributions made by institutions to the projects they
are hosting. The overall funding for TLTP is probably somewhere in the
region of 75 million pounds.
TLTP was launched with the aim of achieving productivity and efficiency
gains whilst maintaining and improving quality in the provision of teaching
and learning. Challenges have arisen in the form of increasing pressure on
resource and the demand for high quality teaching and learning from what is
fast becoming a large and extremely diverse student population. It seems,
therefore, inevitable that technology has an important role to play in the
future delivery of teaching and learning.
TLTP has funded 76 projects in a wide range of subject disciplines; these
are:
- business and economics;
- medical sciences;
- staff development and study skills;
- science, mathematics and computing;
- arts, humanities and social sciences;
- engineering.
The 76 projects fall into three broad categories:
- subject based consortia, principally concerned with the development of
courseware;
- single institutional projects concentrating on the issues of implementation
of learning technology and related staff development;
- institutional projects developing a range of materials of generic interest
such as study skills and computer based assessment.
Those projects developing courseware involve academic staff from different
institutions working in consortia. The size of the consortia range from two
to as many as fifty institutions.
Copies of materials are now being widely distributed by projects and
information about the materials is available through publications produced
by the TLTP Co-ordination Team.
What does TLTP offer?
The 76 projects within the programme are developing learning technology
which encompasses many of the following application areas:
- tutorials;
- revision material;
- information retrieval systems;
- simulations;
- microworlds;
- cognitive tools;
- communication tools.
These applications are considered to be ways in which teaching, learning and
assessment can be substantially enhanced. The inclusion of high levels of
interactivity, graphics, animations, sound and video can contribute greatly
to the overall student learning experience.
Academic staff involved in the
development of TLTP materials, and also those looking to integrate the
materials into mainstream teaching, are beginning to gather the evidence
needed to evaluate the role learning technology can play in the delivery of
high quality, flexible and innovative teaching provision for the future.
Other Related Initiatives
When the Universities Funding Council launched the first phase of TLTP it
was in the belief that the higher education sector as a whole would benefit
from collective activity in this area. The four successor funding bodies
have gone on to actively promote this view through the encouragement, and
support, of the dissemination of best practice and collaboration between
institutions. Other funded initiatives in the areas of teaching and
learning are:
- the Computers in Teaching Initiative;
- the Information Technology Training Initiative;
- the Effective Teaching Assessment Programme;
- JISC Technology Applications Programme;
- the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning.
The funding bodies view TLTP as a major driver for change in the higher
education sector. The high quality technology based materials have been
developed by consortia within higher education who are seeking to challenge
the "not invented here" syndrome, so common within the sector.
The content
of the materials has been provided by academics with reputations in their
own fields of expertise which gives the materials much greater validity than
many commercial software packages.
It is anticipated that through some of these teaching and learning focused
initiatives that institutions will concentrate on areas such as:
- the development of coherent teaching and learning strategies;
- consideration of IT in a wider strategic framework;
- curriculum review and redesign;
- greater investment in human resources;
- improvements in infrastructure;
- the need to seek different methods of student and staff support.
Lessons for the Future
There are, and will be, many lessons to be learned from the experiences of
this programme and the four funding bodies have undertaken an independent
evaluation study of the programme. This study considered both the
educational and cost effectiveness of the programme, its materials and the
learning process in which the institutions and their academic staff have
been involved. The first report has been submitted to the funding bodies
and will be available in the public domain shortly.
Support and Maintenance
The funding bodies have recognised the importance for ongoing support and
maintenance of the materials developed within TLTP and have allocated some
transitional funding to assist projects to move to a self-financing
position.
The funding bodies identified three key elements considered to be
important in ensuring that the original investment was protected and the
maximum value achieved, these were:
- to ensure that the materials are supported and maintained for the UK higher
education sector;
- to maintain arrangements for the continued dissemination of the materials;
- to achieve the culture change required in higher education's approach to
teaching to ensure maximum benefit is reaped through the use of the
materials.
Of the 43 Phase 1 projects, 17 of the subject based consortia have received
transitional funding. We are now witnessing the establishment of good
working partnerships between projects and publishers.
Additional funding has now been made available to the Phase 2 projects,
which are scheduled to complete between the end of 1996 and Spring 1997.
These projects are currently seeking commercial/educational partners.
Teaching and Learning Technology Support Network (TLTSN)
In order to provide the sector with additional experience and expertise in
the implementation of technology based materials eight support centres have
been established to form the Teaching and Learning Technology Support
Network (TLTSN). Advice and guidance is being offered to UK higher
education institutions through a range of activities such as workshops,
seminars and roadshows.
Further details of the TLTSN can be obtained from the TLTP Co-ordination
Team.
Further Information
Please contact Sarah Turpin, TLTP Co-ordinator, TLTP, Northavon House,
Coldharbour Lane, BRISTOL, BS16 1QD, United Kingdom
Telephone: (+44) 117 931 7454
Fax: (+44) 117 931 7173
Email: tltp@hefce.ac.uk
TLTP Home Page URL: http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/tltp
TLTP newsletters and the two TLTP catalogues can be viewed via the Home Page
Material on this page is copyright Ariadne/original authors. This page last updated on July 15th 1996