UCISA 2018 Report on their Technology Enhanced Learning survey

UCISA (the "member-led professional body for digital practitioners within education" in the UK) have produced their survey-based annual review of Technology Enhanced Learning in UK higher education. Although I think there is a caveat (see below) it is a useful document which presents a perspective on TEL development.
Conclusions include that the top five services are " the virtual learning environment (VLE), text matching tools, provision for the electronic management of assignments (EMA), reading list software and lecture capture provision", with over half of the respondents having their VLE externally hosted. "Despite the investment in TEL services, we are not seeing major changes in the way that technology is being used to support learning, teaching and assessment activities. Blended learning delivery focusing on the provision of lecture notes and supplementary resources to students still represents the most commonly supported activity, with active learning, open learning and fully online course delivery modes showing little change from 2016." There has been "slow progress" on fully online delivery but "institutions are exploring ways of expanding their fully online provision through the creation of dedicated distance learning units and collaboration arrangements with external/ commercial partners."
My reservations about the report are that the respondents are those in charge of, or engaged with TEL provision, and therefore this is not a fully rounded perspective on what might be happening in institutions, especially as both educators and students are increasingly using technology not provided by the institution. It says at the end of the executive summary that "Lack of academic staff knowledge re-emerges as one of the top three barriers to TEL development in this year’s Survey, in combination with lack of time and a supportive departmental/school culture." However, I think it should be emphasised that this is the opinion of people in charge of TEL, who are not necessarily unbiased in their perceptions of barriers. As was emphasised at a meeting I was at recently, academic staff (like me) may perceive the barriers rather differently: e.g. as a lack of institutional support for academic staff, and technical, policy, infrastructure and physical space constraints on what academic staff can do ;-)  The report is at https://www.ucisa.ac.uk/bestpractice/surveys/tel/TEL_survey_report_2018
Photo by Sheila webber: Kaunas, Lithuania, October 2018