How digitalization could be present and promoted in a national network and online publication. Presentation at EAPRIL 2016 conference in Porto.

1. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
The usability
of the online journal
of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences
www.uasjournal.fi
Mervi Friman, Häme UAS & Mauri Kantola Turku UAS & Lotta Linko, Häme UAS
EAPRIL Conference
21-25 November 2016

2. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Agenda
• UAS Journal
• Digitalization in higher education
• Action research, methods, and data
• Interventions and results
• Conclusions

3. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Aim of the study
How to develop UAS Journal to be a national and international
window to UASs´activities for public
• networking platform for UAS staff and companies
• testing and piloting platform in the digitalization process for HE
institutions as a whole

4. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
UAS Journal in a nutshell
• Online journal on education, research and development
activities in practice-oriented higher education
• Published by the Finnish UAS Rectors’ Conference
• Financed by the universities of applied sciences (24)
• Open-access, free-of-charge, four issues a year since 2011
• Mission of the journal:
– Provide information (‘general’ public)
– Provide a network (applied universities & world of work)

5. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
www.uasjournal.fi

6. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Digitalization in higher education
The main principles of EU DigCompOrg -paper
Aims and methods in Finnish higher education
policy
Vision written by rector Tapio Huttula

7. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
#DigCompOrg
• European Framework
for Digitally-Competent
Educational
Organisations
• Applied to UAS Journal
as a national network

8. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Digital competence of UAS Journal
• Leadership&governance
practices ✔
• Teaching&learning practices ✔
• Professional development ✔
• Assessment practices ✔
• Content ✔
• Collaboration and networking
• Infrastructure ✔
• Research, development and
innovation ✘

9. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Finnish National Digital Policy
in Higher Education
• Implementation of digitalization in all teaching and learning
• Utilization of digital databases
• Co-operation between universities, UASs and Research
Centres
• International co-operation (Open Science, Global data, Mooc
etc.)http://www.minedu.fi/opencms/
• opencms/handle404?exporturi=/export/sites/default/OPM/Tapahtumakalenteri/2014/05/ICT_opetus/Kosunen_12.5.201
4.pdf

10. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
A window of possibilities
Tapio Huttula´s “declaration”: digitalization is a window of possibilities when
higher education institutes
• are birth places of new knowledge and know-how
• have wide and cellular relation to society localy, regionaly and globaly
• prioritize and manager data and information to the usable form and level
• profile as key actors in responsibility of education and civilatization
Tapio Huttula 2016. Digitalisaatio ja uusi korkeakoulu. (Digitaliztion and new higher education). In Jukka Määttä & Titta Pohjanmäki & Päivi
Timonen (ed.) Kohti digikampusta. Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu, julkaisuja 22. Helsinki: Humanistinen ammattikorkeakoulu. ISBN
978-952-456-242-3 (printed), ISSN 2343-0664 (printed), ISBM 978-952-243-0 (online publication), ISSN 2343-0672 (online publication), s.
12-23

11. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
UAS Journal’s role in digitalization
• Common project amont UASs
–Instead of the local journals
• National (and international) tool for UAS
implementation
• Tool of internationalization
• Good national practice

12. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Methods and data
• Action research as framework
• Three processes: production, marketing,
networking
• Qualitative interviews
• User survey
• User statistics

13. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Action research
•Planned and documented self-evaluation
•Researchers are part of the research process
•Helps in focusing the interventions
•Strips the processes
•Forces to make planned interventions
•Enables measurable results

14. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
User survey

15. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
User statistics
2016
Page views
45,363
Visits
20,381
Unique visitors
14,957
Figures not comparable to
those of previous years as
older issues are no longer

16. EAPRIL 2016, Porto
Conclusions
Activities in research and development activities
are missing
More detailed data from the users is needed
Internationalization process is worth continuing
Data from foreign users is needed