ALT

The Call for Proposals for ALTC25 is now open.

Theme: Making Digital Life Better for International Students

As international student populations continue to grow, so too does our responsibility to create more inclusive, supportive, and engaging digital learning experiences. This event explores how we can collectively improve the digital life of international students across the M25 region.

OER25 is fast approaching, and the final programme has now been confirmed.

Please join us in welcoming Dr Emily Nordmann, Laura Milne, and

In the dynamic landscape of higher education, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into learning has emerged as a transformative force, ushering in tailored, adaptive, and immersive educational experiences for undergraduate university students. This study employed a thematic analysis to scrutinize focus group discussions with 25 undergraduate participants majoring in English language at a university in Jordan to examine how these learners engage with AI-supported self-regulated learning. The findings revealed five prominent themes: accessibility and inclusivity, adaptive feedback mechanisms, impact on learning habits, technological proficiency and preparedness, and social dynamics in AI-infused learning. Within these themes, diverse student views were categorized according to Ab Rashid and Yunus’ (2016) framework of perception evaluation: the Avid Category (very positive perception), the Analytic Category (enthusiast but critical), the Anxious Category (enthusiast but with worries and fear), and the Agnostic Category (negative view). These varied views collectively reveal the profound implications of AI integration in reshaping the educational landscape. This study contributes to the discourse on AI in education by highlighting the importance of integrating AI tools with pedagogical approaches that foster independent learning and critical engagement. Recommendations include combining AI feedback with peer reviews and instructor guidance, enhancing digital literacy programs, and ensuring robust support measures. By addressing these areas, educational institutions can create more inclusive and effective AI-supported learning environments that cater to diverse student needs and promote a balanced approach to technology in education.

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OER25 will feature two compelling keynote sessions and an interactive plenary session, offering sharp critique, hopeful vision, and community-driven action for the future of open education. Explore the programme here. 

Join us online or face to face at the University of Stirling in the Jisc Interactive Classroom for our annual get-together. We'll hear updates from across the Scottish educator sector (ALT, Education Scotland, College Sector, Jisc, QAA Scotland), and there will be interactive sessions on blended learning, AI developments, and MOOCs and microcredentials. Those participating in person will get a demo of the Jisc learning lab and Stirling's approach to blended learning.

The draft programme for the OER25 Conference is now available. Join us this summer on 23 and 24 June 2025 in London. Explore the sessions, discover key speakers, and start planning your experience - view the programme here. 

Join us on Tuesday, 15 July 2025, for a half-day workshop designed specifically for education professionals with an interest in learning technology.

The ALT Awards 2025 are officially open for entries from Tuesday, 20 May 2025. Since their inception in 2007, these prestigious awards have celebrated excellence in Learning Technology. Now in their 19th year, the awards continue to set a national benchmark, attracting competitive entries from across the UK and beyond. 

Many universities implemented blended and hybrid delivery for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as such, the use of terms that relate to various manifestations and implementations of blended learning has increased significantly by all higher education stakeholders. However, the meaning ascribed to these terms is often inconsistent and can lead to confusion, making it difficult to set expectations clearly for both staff and students. This study aimed to investigate how higher education staff understand and use these terms and to identify sources of confusion and barriers to adopting standardised definitions. We surveyed 152 higher education staff and asked them to provide definitions of each term as well as completing a categorisation task. An applied thematic analysis identified two factors that were present across definitions: choice (no choice, student choice and choice not specified) and modality (mixed but separate, dual delivery and mixed not otherwise specified). Our findings reveal significant discrepancies in understanding, particularly regarding hybrid learning, which was often conflated with other modalities and involved definitions where neither choice nor modality was clearly specified. Blended learning was most consistently defined and identified as involving separate online and in-person components with no student choice as to the modality in which they could engage with each component. Hyflex learning, despite being less familiar to many participants, was accurately associated with dual delivery and the maximum student choice. Our results underscore the need for clearer terminology and for all stakeholders to provide maximally descriptive definitions. The use of any broad category term should be accompanied by a specific definition that at minimum describes choice and modality, but where best practice would be to encompass additional information based on existing frameworks.

This study aims to investigate the factors influencing teachers’ intentions to integrate Virtual Reality (VR) technology into their educational practices, utilising the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT-2) framework. The research involved adapting and validating the ‘Acceptance of Mobile Immersive Virtual Reality in Secondary Education Teachers’ scale to the Turkish context, ensuring cultural relevance and psychometric reliability. Data were collected from 213 in-service teachers with prior experience in using VR in education. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed the validity of the adapted scale. The findings indicate that effort expectancy, social influence, personal innovativeness and hedonic motivation significantly predict teachers’ behavioural intentions to adopt VR technology. However, contrary to expectations, performance expectancy and facilitating conditions did not show a significant impact. These results underscore the importance of focusing on the ease of use and social support mechanisms, as well as fostering a culture of innovation amongst educators, to successfully integrate VR into educational settings.

Join Constance Henry, a technology enhanced learning enthusiast, for a friendly and practical introduction to HeyZine flipbooks – a simple but effective way to bring your resources to life. This session will explore how flipbooks can be used across all ages and stages of education, from showcasing student work to creating interactive guides, handbooks, and learning materials. You'll see how easy it is to add videos, audio, links, and images, making your content more engaging and accessible. Whether you're supporting learners in the classroom, online, or in community settings, HeyZine offers a creative, user-friendly platform to enhance what you already do.

 

 

We are seeking case studies and example policies of using digital technology for learning, teaching and assessment that address or have implications for ethical considerations. Examples are invited from all sectors and nations.

Case studies and policies could, for example, address the ethical implications of AI, lecture capture, online assessment, blended/hybrid learning, use of student data etc.  

We are refreshing the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) East regional group, with a renewed focus is on building stronger regional connections. We are also collaborating with the East Midlands group to widen the opportunities for sharing and collaboration.

Our aim is to set up a regular series of collaborative online sessions. These sessions will provide a forum to discuss key issues, challenges, opportunities, and shared ambitions in technology-enhanced learning within our regional community.

This initial session is a crucial opportunity to gather interested individuals. We will discuss the direction and focus of the revitalised group, identify the most pressing needs and opportunities for our community, and begin building a supportive regional network. If you work (or live) in the East Midlands or East England we would be delighted if you would be involved. Please be prepared to bring any ideas for what you might like to see discussed in sessions, or how we might support each other going forward.

ALT is seeking to appoint new editors to join the existing editorial team for the Research in Learning Technology (RLT) journal.  RLT is a peer reviewed, Open Access journal published by ALT that aims to raise the profile of research in learning technology, encouraging research that informs good practice and contributes to the

To mark the relaunch of ALT Cymru we will be having a virtual 'coffee and chat'. Our first order of business is to get to know our members and what it is you would like to get from this group. Please come along and say hello and have a virtual coffee. We hope to make these a regular event with a different theme for discussion. FOr this first one as well as a hello we thought it would be great to talk about AI and the Welsh Language! So any concerns, issues or ideas you've got about how AI is working (or not) in Welsh please come and share.

The countdown to ALTC25 has begun, with Glasgow set to host this highly anticipated event on 23 and 24 October. As preparations get underway, there is an exciting opportunity for members to play a key role in shaping the conference by joining the Conference Committee.

The next meeting of the ALT-ELESIG Scotland group is an excellent opportunity to share practice, evaluation and research into learners' experiences of technology enhanced learning and assessment. We have a great afternoon planned with a variety of presentations across the theme of 'Sustainability in Tertiary Education'.

Read the full programme and presenter biographies here.

Register Here,

Delivered by ALT CoOL SIG Chairs, Chris Morrison and Jane Secker, it is aimed at learning technologists and related staff in education.  No knowledge of copyright is assumed prior to the course. This half-day workshop uses Copyright the Card Game to establish a baseline level of knowledge and to give practical examples and scenarios about how copyright relates to the work of learning technologists and those in the field of digital education.
 
Learning outcomes

By the end of the afternoon, delegates will have:

 

• The ability to apply the basics of UK copyright law to the primary activities of learning technology
• An awareness and understanding of the main licences and copyright exceptions that are relevant to those working in this field
• An understanding of issues related to copyright and digital education / online learning including: digitising content for online, using born digital resources, using digital media and lecture recording and copyright in the connected environment.