Special Interest Groups
Our Special Interest Groups (SIGs), bring together individuals around common themes.
SIGs are established for a limited period of time and are active as long as members continue to pursue the special interest on which they are focused.
Special Interest Groups - SIGs
The CODE Learning Analytics SIG is firmly focused on the use of data insights to enhance student success, progression and wellbeing. The aim is to provide awareness and resources as well as facilitate networks and scholarship within this broad domain of activity.
Of interest to this group is the potential redefinition of Learning Analytics to reflect contemporary use cases and the role of LA in online and distance education settings.
Five key areas of exploration have been identified for this SIG:
- The application and implications for learning related analytics in a distance and online Higher Education context, including ethical considerations.
- Sharing exemplars of good practice, including the evaluation and impact of initiatives that are in flight across those institutions represented within the SIG membership.
- What the future for learning analytics looks like with the increasing sophistication of analytics engines and the integration of AI.
- Design considerations for effective Learning Analytics deployment including the use of intervention strategies, for example, to triage early drop-out.
- Broad considerations of the institutional strategy, capacity, capability and maturity required to create an impactful and scalable learning analytics infrastructure.
Membership of this SIG is open to all and welcomes engagement from both theoretical and applied perspectives.
The online assessment and feedback SIG offers expertise in assessment, bridging the gap between theory and practice in distance and online assessment. The group covers diverse areas of assessment, including emerging theories of assessment for online and distance learning, academic integrity and academic conduct, closing the feedback loop and disciplinary perspectives of assessment. The group organises events around CODE activities: round table discussions, webinars, workshops and conference presentations. In addition, it generates/provides input in assessment projects.
The climate change SIG is interested in a range of questions:
- How can the curriculum address climate change?
- What is the challenge for higher education?
- How can we get discussion from students from different international backgrounds?
- What is the role of HE in developing skills for climate affected employment?
- Are we preparing future leaders? 
- Climate inequity
- The role of OER and OEP in this context
The SIG is working closely with the CODE funded project on a Curriculum for Climate Change.
This SIG considers a wide range of aspects and issues with respect to decolonisation of online and distance education curriculum and pedagogies. We work to ensure that CODE inspires, leads and supports collective and individual work towards the decolonisation of àËÅöÊÓƵ curriculum and pedagogy.
This SIG considers aspects of inclusion and accessibility with respect to online and distance education. We work to ensure that CODE events and resources are inclusive and accessible and promote the importance of inclusive practice through relevant events.
The focus of the SIG is to build learning and instructional designer’s confidence; highlight core themes, surface challenges and gaps and create a network of practitioners to tackle key issues.
The SIG’s work will create a ‘Hub’ for practitioners and develop a Community of Practice (CoP), which will raise the profile and kudos of instructional/learning design by showcasing and sharing practice aligned to career development.
The SIG will take a practitioner and pragmatic lens and establish CODE as a leader in this field.
This SIG considers a wide range of aspects and issues with respect to student engagement, including engagement with learning materials and with student community (versus and impact on each other), ‘active’ and ‘passive’ engagement, belonging, compulsory engagement (e.g. marks for participation), and different types of wants and needs. The group is closely aligned to the CODE Project on ‘Designing dialogic spaces in online distance education courses- Resetting the discussion forum.’
Special Interest Group Convenor role
CODE SIGs offer members an opportunity to work collaboratively, sharing ideas, news, and opinions related to a particular area of interest and building connections within the HE community. SIGs are encouraged to hold meetings for the exchange of ideas, either face-to-face during CODE events or online or via social media. SIGs can have either one or two conveners so that the activities listed below can be shared.
The SIG convener ensures that key functions of the SIG are supported, also instigating participatory activities, with member shared responsibilities.
To support the SIG a convener:
- Chairs the SIG meetings.
- Shares announcements, disseminates ideas, issues and meeting notes to the SIGmembership.
- Communicates SIG activities with the broader CODE community (by using the CODE email address).
- Solicits SIG for ideas for events, e.g., presentation at RIDE or Supporting Student Success event, etc.
- Appoints one member of the SIG to act as recorder for the meeting (if applicable).
- Finds a substitute chair if unable to attend a meeting.
- Maintains the SIG web space (Microsoft Teams or Google Drive etc) and/or social media accounts in order to communicate with SIG members.
At the request of the convener and SIG membership agreement, a SIG can combine with another SIG, or change its name, or recommend that the group be dissolved. The convener role expires upon the Fellowship renewal, or when the convener wishes to relinquish the role.