MAXIMIZING RESOURCES IN SEARCH OF QUALITY - IDENTIFYING FACTORS TO ENABLE THE INTEGRATIVE USE OF IT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

The potential of information technology to provide teaching and learni ng opportunities in higher education has been heightened by the expans ion of the sector combined with a reduction in resources and the conse quent requirement to maximize the exploitation of expensive plant. Wit hin a Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP) institutional project, a series of workshops were delivered to identify key factors which enable university staffs to become equipped and confident in usi ng information technologies for all their activities. Progressing from group discussions to an individual action plan within the context of teaching quality assessment, participants produced a list of key issue s which together need to be addressed. The three principal factors wer e senior management support, adequate resourcing (both physical and hu man) and staff development, To achieve quality provision in teaching a nd learning this range of factors needs to be bl ought together into a n effective strategy involving a representative group of the many stak eholders with information technology as a means to the end.