BILETA research into ICT provision in law schools

BILETA, the British & Irish Law, Education and Technology Association, periodically undertakes research into the provision of ICT in law schools – reports were published in 1991 and 1996, with surveys undertaken in 2001 and 2003. The chief findings of this research are given below.
h2. The 2003 pilot survey

A pilot survey of 11 law schools was undertaken by Sefton Bloxham, then UKCLE ICT Advisor, on behalf of BILETA in early 2003. The survey explored computer provision, intranets and access, staffing and training, and applications used in law schools, concluding that the full potential of ICT for interactive, student centred learning was not yet being fully realised.

Computer provision:

• only two respondents, both with a high proportion of postgraduate students, indicated any significant level of computer provision at departmental level – the remaining nine relied almost exclusively on institutional level provision
• seven respondents reported student/PC ratios of between 5:1 and 15:1, with one respondent reporting computer ownership amongst 1st year undergraduates as high as 40%

It was concluded that student/PC ratios was an issue no longer entirely within the power of law schools to address, but that they remained of significance if ICT within legal education were to continue to develop. A fresh approach might be to focus on improving the quality of student access to intranets and virtual learning environments (VLEs).

Intranets and access:

• nine respondents had intranets with varying levels of remote access
• main uses were the provision of course materials or Web-based resources from within a VLE or from dedicated webpages
• datasets subscribed to included Westlaw (11), Lexis (10), Butterworths Direct (6), Current Legal Information (5), Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals (5), Lawtel (4) and Justis (4)

The almost universal use of intranets and the level of subscriptions to datasets, together with the widespread use of VLEs, indicated a growing dependence on ICT provision, meaning that quality access capable of delivering multimedia information was crucial. Broadband access might partially alleviate this in the future, but cost would remain an obstacle for most students. Thus the quality, and equality, of student access to intranets could well become the focus of attention in the future, calling for improved security procedures and more efficient, user friendly, authentication processes. The introduction of managed learning environments (MLEs) was beginning to address this issue.

Staffing and training:

• eight respondents had dedicated law librarians and six had dedicated ICT staff
• all respondents provided training for both students and staff
• only two used external trainers for student training, while four used them for staff training (mainly for Lexis and Westlaw)
• librarians were primarily responsible for dataset training and tutors for courseware training, for both students and staff
• responsibility for other aspects of training was generally divided between tutors and ICT staff, although tutors played a more limited role in the training of staff

The patchwork provision of ICT training should be a matter of concern, given the evidence of widespread use of a range of ICT applications and the universal use of courseware and VLEs. Law schools may need to consider rationalisation in order to ensure that training needs are targeted for greater effectiveness and efficiency. ICT skills are essential learning tools as well as learning outcomes, and consequently will need to be embedded within departmental learning and teaching strategies.

Applications used:

• all respondents made use of ICT applications to support learning and teaching
• ten respondents made use of a VLE, while five used MLEs
• nine respondents make use of courseware, with six using Iolis, two the Scottish Law Courseware Consortium and one using ‘homegrown’ courseware
• courseware was viewed as an additional learning resource and revision tool, with a minority viewing it as an integral element of tutorial/seminar work (only one respondent used courseware in assessment)
• a range of further applications were identified by at least one respondent, including bulletin boards, MCQ software, survey software and SharePoint Team Resources
• only four respondents made use of e-conferencing, with uses including chat rooms, discussion forums and networked negotiations
• seven respondents made use of computer-assisted assessment (CAA), but only one made use of all the options
• two respondents used CAA for exams, and three for coursework
• four respondents used CAA for self- and formative assessment, and three for summative assessment
• only one respondent used electronic plagiarism detection software

The universal use of VLEs represented the most significant development. The survey did not fully reveal how they were being used – there was evidence that content was being uploaded, but use of discussion forums and/or chat rooms for collaborative learning tasks was limited.

The 2001 survey

An online survey was undertaken by Bruce Grant (University of Newcastle) in July 2001. The following trends were noted:

• a shift in computer provision and technical support to the faculty or institutional level
• the growth of student owned PCs
• the rise of the Web as the dominant means of providing legal information, simplifying the task of IT support and reducing the need for dedicated software on PCs
• the introduction of virtual learning environments such as Blackboard and WebCT, provided and supported at the institutional level

It was concluded that although the above developments might reduce the load on departmental IT support staff, they would increase the need for general staff development and adequate staff PCs.

The 1996 report

The second BILETA report, written by Andrew Terrett (Law Technology Centre, University of Warwick), was published in 1996. Significant developments in the methods of delivery of information were noted, especially the growth in the use of the Internet. Law schools were recommended to aim for a ratio of computers to students of 1:10.

The 1991 Jackson Report

The Jackson Report, published in 1991, was the result of a detailed survey, with additional information from interviews and written evidence from academic and professional sources.

Principal recommendations were a hardware norm of one computer to 20 students, rising to 1:15 if the law school had more intensive IT dependent educational objectives such as computer assisted learning. A need for training was idenitifed – for both students and staff. Law librarians were identified as crucial players in the field of information retrieval systems, with IT support staff declared to be “an essential part of any serious IT programme”.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010