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I think it is enormously important that we have policies, guidelines and procedures of the sort discussed here. These are very important issues concerning the quality of education and equality of provision, and so it seems vital that we have recognised standards to meet and guidance on how to meet them. Standardised policies and guidelines will aid in ensuring that there is consistency of practice (e.g. across a module; or across a university), and help to achieve an parity of educational experience – provided they are made adequately accessible and intelligible. ‘EdTech’ is also a quickly developing scene, with new technologies – and associated opportunities and potential risks – arising all the time. People will not be automatically familiar or skilled in how best to use them, and so having clear guidance and rules is very important if they are to serve their purpose effectively.

Such guidelines can also serve, I think, an important symbolic function, in the sense that they reassure people that the relevant issues (e.g. quality, accessibility and equality of teaching) are being taken seriously and continually considered in the provision of blended learning.

I would say that where policies and procedures constitute a ‘threat to academic freedom’, this will be due to the particular content of the policy being excessively or unnecessarily prescriptive in what it requires. This can definitely happen. But I cannot see that any of the guidance discussed here , at least on the face of it, falls into that category.

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The need for policies, guidelines and procedures cannot be overemphasised. However, they need to be accessible and taught. Having them in various formats may make them more accessible to the intended audience.

Furthermore, policies for example on accessibility while needed by all learners for example the need for edited captions on recordings is useful not only to the hearing impaired but to the international students. And possibly home students if the lecturer has an unfamiliar accent.

With the workload of lecturers, planning and delivering lectures, research responsibilities, liaising with industry experts amongst others, some administrative tasks like editing captions may be delegated. In other words, all policies, guidelines and procedures that may increase workload need to be considered for requirements of support to achieve them without infringing on the creativity of those sort to support.

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My thoughts echo many of the comments already made to this padlet, such as the importance of ensuring consistent course delivery, having a reference point during times of contention, and having local and international policies to provide maximum accessibility to all students regardless of their circumstances.

However, too much policy can potentially overwhelm or restrict the freedom of teachers to design their courses as they see fit. I think there needs to be a careful analysis of the two so that policies are successfully implemented but not at the expense of teachers feeling overwhelmed or unable to design their teaching strategies how they see fit.

I am impressed by the resources available to institutions and teachers to ensure that their courses comply with all relevant policy guidelines and procedures.

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Without policy frameworks, both on an institutional and governmental level, teaching will lack consistency.  We need to be able to delivery a service/content equally to all that come in and out courses, and structured guidelines are what make this possibly.  On top of this, I think it’s important that policies are able to hold individuals accountable; they act as a reference point during times of contention.  However, I do find it imperative that these procedures do not inhibit teachers’ freedom to design their modules the way they see fit.  Doing so would defeat the point of free lesson planning and possibly play a part in subject stagnation.

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My Thoughts on Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

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My Thoughts on Policies, Guidelines and Procedures

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For me, it is essential to set local and international policies, guidelines and procedures to accommodate inclusiveness and universality in teaching and learning. This will ensure that all students, irrespective of their circumstances, will not be deprived of opportunities to learn anywhere in the world. It would also bring about the transfer of equitable knowledge from one place to another. The international policies and guidelines should be flexible to accommodate specific challenges in other parts of the world with limited teaching and learning resources. Besides, the guidelines and policies would also make the teaching and learning resources reusable and adaptable under the open and education resources policies.

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Thoughts on policies, guidelines and practices

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Thoughts on policies, guidelines and practices

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I think it is important to have these to help support structural learning. I think the movement from one type of teaching style to another is always time consuming (e.g. most of my first lectures as a student where on overhead projections and then powerpoint) but having policies and guidelines in place helps support this transition and means that it is consistent from person to person. It means that students at a University irrespective of their course should be having a similar base level of education. Obviously too much of any of the above can become overwhelming and then not intergrated as well as it should into learning, therefore making sure these documents are straight forward and contain only what they need to, is the best way ensure they are being meet. I also think it is important to have both a 'teacher' focus and 'student' focus to the policies, that there are expectations from the learner as well as the deliverer this makes it clearer what these learning platforms are available. And while I agree with a below comment that the student may want to keep the recordings for use later/revisit subjects (not something I have a problem with), it is likely a way that the University is covering its own back if someone uses the recording to do their own teaching or to put onto youtube without permission.

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I agree that policies, guidelines, and procedures such as those discussed this week are essential to the health of an organisation. They supply to be sure some standards and quality for teaching as well as learning. If they are made with a balance, not will affect academic freedom.

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Policies, guidelines, and procedures provide a framework for decision-making and help to ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. The aim of these policies and guidelines is to ensure that all modules are delivered consistently and to a high standard, and that students have access to all the information and resources they need to succeed in their studies. By using Moodle as the primary repository for teaching materials and resources, and by providing clear and comprehensive information on each module page, the University hopes to promote effective teaching and learning and support student success.

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Thought on policies, guidelines and procedures

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Thought on policies, guidelines and procedures

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(Setia Hermawati) In my opinion, policies, guidelines, and procedures are necessary. Policies, guidelines, and procedures are usually extracted from best practises. Therefore, having them will ensure that teachers meet the teaching and learning standards and quality. This also means that students will be able to learn more effectively. From my point of view, policies, guidelines, and procedures do not have much impact on academic freedom (except in a situation where teachers are only allowed to use a set of software or technologies that might not be suitable or perform best to deliver their teaching activities). However, sometimes, too many policies, guidelines and procedures can be a bit too overwhelming. Especially, if there is no easy way to assess whether they are met or not after teaching and learning materials/activities are created. So, I agree with the use of policies, guidelines, and procedures in blended learning as long as they are succinct, easy to follow with no room for misinterpretation, and provide clear direction on how to assess whether or not teachers meet them.

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My name is Ezinne Chukwu, I think that almost all the rules, procedures and guideline set out for blended learning is necessary because not having them may be detrimental to the organization. However, I have concern over students use of lecture recordings like: "Students may download Engage recordings to their personal devices but are expected to delete these once they are no longer a registered student". The purpose of recording is not limited to immediate use but for future use as well, the student may decide to keep the recorded material and revisit in future when it might be useful for him.