Royal Agricultural University – Guest Blog

We love finding out what our customers are up to and how they are using myday to best benefit their forward thinking strategies. One of our most iconic and beautifully designed institutions The Royal Agricultural University have given us some inside knowledge on how they are promoting myday to their students, and what they expect to see from the platform in the coming months.

We had the pleasure of speaking to the Learning Technologist for RAU, Marieke Guy. Who spoke more about improved communication, the future of education and the changing demographic of students.

Q – What has myday done for not just your students and staff, but the university as a whole?

A – We have only just rolled out myday (or myRAU as we call it) to students so we have yet to see how it changes things. Our biggest hope is that it 1) Improves communication between the university and students and 2) Allows students quicker access to the systems and resources they need for their university day.

Q – What are some of the ways you are promoting myRAU app to students?

A – We’ve been fairly heavy on promotion including:

• Blog posts on the Digital Transformation at RAU blog: https://digitalrau.wordpress.com/category/myday/
• Blog post on the SU blog: https://www.rausu.co.uk/articles/myrau-is-coming-to-the-rescue
• Digital screens
• Flyers
• Inclusion in the fresher treasure hunt
• Email to all students
• Meeting with RAU stars (students who support other students)
• Video for all academic staff to use to let them see what students see
• myRAU box on Gateway (VLE)
• Poster in the IT service entrance area
• Stands at both fresher and returners induction sessions
• Mention of myRAU in all Library and IT induction sessions

Q – Do you believe that a Digital Campus is the future of education?

A – A Digital Campus is one where the IT infrastructure and tools integrate seamlessly with the rest of the campus so that they are no longer apparent. The students won’t notice changes between on-campus and off-campus connections, they will have uninterrupted access to all the services they need, the resources they want and the people they want to connect to. At the moment there is still a lot of work behind the scenes to make this happen but if we want to offer a more flexible education that suits our increasingly diverse body of students then it’s what we need to offer.

Q – We believe that all students are different, and the stereotypical 18-year old who has just moved away from home might not be who we need to connect with. What are your thoughts?

A – Students do have different needs and these needs don’t fall neatly into clear ‘student-type’ baskets. Young people who have just left home may require just as much technical support as more mature students. International students may require language support, but then so too may some UK-domiciled students who have special needs requirements or have English as a second language. Any student can find it difficult to talk to new people, or be slow at writing essays, or bad at mathematics, or have family responsibilities, or be lonely, or have poor mental health. Good digital practice should be designed to benefit all, not just certain groups.

Q – In what other ways do you believe students can use technology to further their learning experience?

A – Students can use technology in a multitude of ways to further their learning experience: from using it as a collaborative and communication tool, to supporting reflection, feedback and revision.  In our future world, digital skills will be needed in the vast majority of work areas. Being familiar with, and making the most of, technology is a great way for students to make themselves more productive, connected and employable.

Would you like to hear more about how myday can transform your Digital Campus?