DigiMentors: Providing Peer Support and the Student Voice

Authors

  • Ruth Clark Leeds College of Music
  • Adam Harding Leeds College of Music

Keywords:

digital literacy, peer mentoring, staff-student partnership, student-led social media

Abstract

At Leeds College of Music an initiative was developed in 2017 to employ students as digital mentors (DigiMentors) to work in partnership with the Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team to providing peer support on using conservatoire systems as well as developing digital skills. This initiative was developed as a response to two research studies into student digital literacy and the usability of conservatoire systems. It was found that students relied on peer support for using digital technology, often through social media channels, and lacked confidence in their academic digital literacies. The DigiMentors scheme was developed to ensure that there were representatives amongst the student community who would be able to signpost their peers to appropriate help resources and provide basic support. Additionally, these students take part in and consult on digital initiatives as well as contributing to staff development sessions. DigiMentors also collaborate with the Marketing department to produce content for the student led social media channels (Instagram). This case study evaluates the effectiveness of the scheme from the perspective of the students who take part in the programme and the impact on the wider student body over the two years it has been running.

Author Biographies

Ruth Clark, Leeds College of Music

Senior Learning Technologist

Ruth Clark (BA (Hons), MSc, PGCAP, FHEA) is the Senior Learning Technologist at Leeds College of Music and is responsible for the implementation and development of technology enhanced learning throughout the curriculum. Ruth collaborates with academic staff to develop models and initiatives that enrich the educational experience; including research on the use of blended learning, online collaborative behaviours, staff-student partnerships and augmented reality. Another area of her research is the development of digital literacies within music education, and the role of such skills in underpinning a practice led curriculum. Ruth has delivered papers on her research at national and international conferences.

Adam Harding, Leeds College of Music

Adam Harding (BA (Hons)), is the Learning Technologist at Leeds College of Music. Adam collaborates across the institution to evolve, enhance and support learning and teaching with a particular emphasis on technology-based pedagogical strategies and multimodal interactive methodologies. Adam is an active researcher and practitioner in personal, flexible digital learning, asynchronous networking and collaboration and experiential learning. Additional areas of his research include artificial intelligence, machine learning and data in education alongside cognitive psychology and the role of holistic wellbeing in educational performance.

Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change cover

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Published

05/15/2020

How to Cite

Clark, R., & Harding, A. (2020). DigiMentors: Providing Peer Support and the Student Voice. The Journal of Educational Innovation, Partnership and Change, 6(1). Retrieved from https://journals.studentengagement.org.uk/index.php/studentchangeagents/article/view/1009

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2020): The Evolving Landscape of Staff-Student Partnership

Section

Case Study

License

Copyright is held by the journal. The author has full permission to publish to their institutional repository. Articles are published under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence.