Graeme Prescott

What is the context/ focus of your presentation, and what is its relevance? Launched in 2017, LEAP Online is an interactive digital resource that supports the promotion of student learning development and information literacy at the University of Bolton. This workshop will focus on the value and impact of LEAP Online’s approach to: blended learning, student support, applied research and supporting staff. Specifically, it will highlight how LEAP Online has fostered collaboration to design and implement new topics to support the diverse makeup of the University of Bolton population and wider community. LEAP Online is continuing to evolve and badge data, together with student feedback, demonstrates its value and how it is embedded in the student journey and the University’s learning and teaching strategy.
What did you do? The LEAP Online team have, and continue to, foster positive relationships across the University and wider community to develop content and meet the needs of students.
What were the research or activity results / outcomes? Using both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, this workshop will share badge statistics and feedback to demonstrate how learning analytics can evidence the impact of the support available in LEAP Online to the student learning goals.
What are the main points to take forward in relation to your chosen theme and student success? LEAP Online is continuing to evolve and there are high aspirations to develop innovative and engaging content for all University students. It is firmly believed that success is measured in the provision of: consistent, inclusive, high-quality learning development content and resources, which are appropriate for the University’s multi-disciplinary boundaries. To that end, the development of LEAP Online should be collaborative and involve the whole University to help ensure student success.

Information literacy (IL) skills, the ability to search for, analyse and use information effectively, are key skills in achieving academic success as well as contributing to factors such as employability. The University’s IL framework was developed in 2008. It was to be formally embedded into the University curriculum, but this has only been achieved on a limited basis.
As responsibility for IL is included in the Library remit, a solution was to incorporate IL within an existing library service. The redevelopment of BISSTO in 2013 provided an opportunity to include interactive IL tests at appropriate points in the tutorial, covering all aspects of the framework. An IL section was also included to provide general information about IL for academics and students.
The first part of the session will outline the content changes. The second part will focus on how BISSTO can be used in the classroom to improve student competencies. The outcome of this session is that participants should know how to use BISSTO successfully in the curriculum to improve student information literacy competencies.