Looking forwards whilst glancing backwards: institutional deployment of classroom technologies

Over the last couple of years, the University of Bath has made a significant investment in a range of classroom technologies. Working in partnership with a programme to refurbish a large number of General Teaching Areas (GTAs) across the campus, the e-Learning team have emerged as the key service to provide relevant pedagogical advice on technology enhanced learning.
The introduction of an Electronic Voting System (EVS) during the 2008/2009 academic year was the first stage in the deployment of a range of technologies that now also encompass lecture capture, sympodiums, visualisers and digital writing solutions. However, with the phasing out of chalkboards from GTAs, as well as differences in the new technologies available within such spaces, a number of challenges have arisen, which, in turn, have impacted on take up - both positively and negatively.
With a title inspired by Gilly Salmon, this paper will give an overview of how a number of pilot projects have been brought together to deliver a consistent and high quality service with the intention of continuing to enhance the student experience.
It will examine the variation in techniques and processes employed to drive initiatives forward, all of which have ensured that user needs have stayed central to the successes of the specific projects, and underpinned by a range of staff development approaches.
More recently, the e-Learning team have sought to build good working relationships with other institutions, with a view to sharing good practice and identifying synergies. This paper will also examine how these relationships were established, and explore some of the positive outcomes of collaborating with external colleagues.