WEBSITE MAINTENANCE 17:00 THURSDAY 28 NOVEMBER

 

Between 17:00 and 23:59 on Thursday 28 November, we will be applying
essential updates to our website infrastructure. We expect to experience
5-15 minutes of downtime during the maintenance window.

Thank you for your patience during this essential work.

 

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Join Jane Secker, Chris Morrison and Kathryn Drumm for the final Copyright and Online Learning webinar of 2024. This webinar is a quiz to test your knowledge of the year's happening in the world of copyright. We also throw in some current affairs as well. It's fun, educational and a chance to catch up with the CoOL SIG in our final live session of the year. Prizes may be available, singing and fun and games are a certainty!

In anticipation of the ALT Winter Summit, our next profile series post delves into ‘Future Leadership in Learning Technology’ through an interview with an Honorary Life Member of the Association.

Dr. Julie Voce (PFHEA SCMALT) was awarded Honorary Life Membership at the ALT Annual Conference in Manchester on 4 September 2024, in recognition of her leadership and contributions to the sector. With over 20 years of experience, she has become a highly respected leader with a reputation for advancing learning technology.

Join us in the latest edition of the #altc blog profile series as we explore Julie’s journey, and gather her insights and advice for future leaders in the learning technology sector.

What aspects of your career do you think contributed to you being awarded Honorary Life Membership of ALT?

I have been in the sector for over 20 years now, which makes me sound very old, but it seems I have had an impact! I started as one of the two first Learning Technologists at UCL, and have worked at Imperial College London and City St George’s so I have a lot of experience across a range of areas and have worked with a lot of people during that time. I think a key aspect of the nomination was my contribution to the community, including ALT and other organisations such as UCISA, Heads of E-Learning Forum and the University of London Centre for Online and Distance Education. Being an active member of the community has enabled me to develop a core network of peers, many of whom I would count as good friends, and I have taken on leadership roles that have enabled me to positively influence things both within my institution and beyond.

How has ALT been important to your career?

ALT has always been an important part of my career, providing connections with others through the mailing lists and events that have helped to shape my own work and experiences. I first became involved with ALT when I took on the role of Deputy Editor for the ALT newsletter and this opened up a range of experiences for me, leading to sitting on ALT committees, co-chairing the annual conference and becoming a CMALT assessor. ALT has enabled me to develop skills and experience that feed back into my day job and this has contributed to being successful in my applications for both Senior CMALT and Principal Fellow.

What do you find exciting about working with learning technology?

I like the variety of the work, the ability to try new things and to see the impact of what we do not only on the staff we support, but also the students. On a typical day, I could go from talking about digital accessibility to delivering a session on generative AI and then contributing to a paper on learning spaces. Having a broad remit keeps things interesting, but I do sometimes feel like a “jack of all trades”. What helps is having an amazing (and award-winning!) team whose knowledge, innovative ideas and passion help to keep the job interesting.

Can you share how emerging and established leaders will benefit from the Winter Summit?

I am looking forward to participating in this year’s Winter Summit and having conversations with others about leadership. The sessions will provide both emerging and established leaders the opportunity to reflect on their own leadership in terms of authenticity, building your personal brand and considering strategies for leading digital transformation. I’m particularly looking forward to the panel session that I am participating in, facilitated by Puiyin Wong (University of Birmingham and ALT Trustee), that is aimed at emerging leaders. It will help participants identify with being a leader and provide some useful tips on how to develop your leadership.

What advice would you give to leaders who aspire to make a significant impact in learning technology?

Anyone can be a leader. You don’t have to be in a senior or management role to make an impact, and impact doesn’t need to be on a large scale. For every person you train or support, you are leading them on a journey and making an impact; that impact is helping staff and students to succeed. It’s often tricky for us to see the real impact of what we do, so it’s important to try and gather evidence when you can, even if it’s informal feedback.

I would also recommend getting involved with the community through associations like ALT, as it can enable you to take on leadership roles that you might not have the opportunity to do within your own institution. This experience can then feedback into your day job and build that confidence to take on more leadership responsibility. ALT issues an annual call to get involved and they are always looking for people to write blog posts. Leadership takes many forms, so writing a blog post can have just as much impact as chairing a committee.

What trends in learning technology do you think will most influence future leadership roles?

With digital transformation beyond learning technology becoming a key focus, I think we will see more roles across educational institutions and other organisations with a more direct remit for digital transformation, for example the new Director of Digital Transformation role at City St George’s who will be leading a new Digital Innovation and Transformation Office.

Generative AI, and AI more broadly, will of course have a role to play in influencing future leadership roles and leaders will need to understand how to take advantage of these tools to support the core activities of their organisation. At City St George’s we are realising the importance of having key academic staff in Schools with digital leadership as part of their portfolio, for example an Associate Dean (Digital) within our Law School, and this has really helped to support the awareness-raising and roll out of guidance around AI within our institution.

I think we will also see more roles focussed on digital accessibility and digital literacies as core areas that underpin digital transformation. At City St George’s we introduced a new Principal Educational Technologist role leading on digital accessibility and we are seeing similar Head of Digital Accessibility roles in other institutions. Likewise we introduced a Digital Skills Co-ordinator role to focus on supporting student digital skills. With both of these areas, it has taken time to build up, but we are now having real impact across the institution.

What was the last thing you read or watched?

I am mid-way through two epic journeys. For the past couple of years I have been working my way through the Agatha Christie novels in order, and this year alone I have listened to around 30 Agatha Christie audiobooks. I’m currently on the Hercule Poirot story ‘After the Funeral’.

In parallel, since October last year, my family have been working our way through the Star Trek series in release order. We started with Star Trek: the original series and are currently approaching the end of Voyager, which was always one of my favourite series. In some respects, working in learning technology is a little like Star Trek. We regularly have to make first contact with alien species (new academics), we explore new technologies (including holograms!), we often have to push technology further or fix things when they go wrong (“the VLE cannae take it, Captain!”), collaboration is core to what we do, and there’s always an ethical conundrum to resolve (how can students use AI in assessment?). Now, how do I convince my institution we need a holodeck and some transporters?

If you were on a deserted island, what is the one thing you would take?

It would depend on the island and why I was there! If I’m stranded on an island in an equatorial region, then probably suncream as I’m a redhead and burn very easily, but having a fully charged mobile phone with signal would also be handy so I can call for rescue.

If I have chosen a trip to a deserted island then probably a good book. I’m still to read the latest Richard Osman novel.

We hope you enjoyed hearing from one of our Honorary Life Members. If Julie has inspired you to take your leadership journey to the next level, come along to the ALT Winter Summit and be part of the conversation shaping future leadership in learning technology.

If you are a current member of ALT and would be interested in featuring in an upcoming post or want to recommend someone members would be interested in hearing from, please contact us at blog@alt.ac.uk.

We are excited to present the programme for the ALT Winter Summit 2024, which is centred around the theme of “Future Leaders

Featured: 0Topic: 

• Winter Summit
• Winter Summit 2024
• #altc
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• Leadership
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[altc24] [3]

DISCOVER THE ALT WINTER SUMMIT 2024 PROGRAMME

 

We are excited to present the programme for the ALT WINTER SUMMIT 2024 [4],
which is centred around the theme of “FUTURE LEADERSHIP IN LEARNING
TECHNOLOGY”. This year, we've shaken up the format of our Winter Summit
to create an interactive, collaborative event with plenty of opportunities
for knowledge sharing and networking.  Join us online for a full day of
engaging sessions on TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER 2024, from 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM GMT. [...]

We are excited to present the programme for the ALT Winter Summit 2024, which is centred around the theme of “Future Leadership in Learning Technolog

Are you a newly certified CMALT holder looking to become an assessor? This webinar is mandatory for all new CMALT assessors and is your first step into the world of CMALT assessment. Existing CMALT assessors who are looking for a refresher are also welcome.

 

This webinar will cover the CMALT framework, the assessment process, and the CMALT assessment system. 

Join us for this webinar to learn about ALT's CMALT accreditation framework. Whether you are curious about what CMALT is, know a little about CMALT but are interested in finding out more or are a registered candidate looking to start writing your portfolio, this webinar is for you.

Registration will close on 15 October 2025 16:00 BST.

Are you a newly certified CMALT holder looking to become an assessor? This webinar is mandatory for all new CMALT assessors and is your first step into the world of CMALT assessment. Existing CMALT assessors who are looking for a refresher are also welcome.

 

This webinar will cover the CMALT framework, the assessment process, and the CMALT assessment system. 

Come along to our Unconference where you set the agenda!

This is your chance to bring along the topics - big or small - you would like to discuss with the group This will be an informal event but will be roughly along these lines

10.30 - 11 Coffee and Add your topics

11-11.30 Welcome and Scheduling

11.30 - 12.30 2 Attendee lead/chosen Sessions

12.30- 1.30 Lunch

1.30 - 2.30 2 Attendee lead/chosen Sessions

2.30 - 3 Summary 3 pm Drinks and/or shopping!

 

Oliver Cakebread-Andrews, doctoral researcher in Computational Linguistics at the University of Wolverhampton, will be joining the ALT South #TechThursday event on Thursday 28 November. Sarcasm can be difficult to understand, even for native speakers – anyone who has spent any time in the UK will attest to this ;-). It is unsurprising that non-native speakers (NNS) struggle to understand sarcasm. AI-based natural language processing (NLP) models have shown impressive results in handling multimodal data. Are these models able to better understand sarcasm than NNS? We present a comparison study between NLP and NNS and suggest how to improve the sarcasm detection abilities of NNS. The talk is open to everyone.

 

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[ALT Winter Summit] [3]

DEAR ALT,

We are delighted to announce that Professor Damien Page will be headlining
next month's Winter Summit on Future Leadership in Learning Technology [3].
Damien will be exploring the theme of “Authentic Leadership", sharing
invaluable insights from his extensive experience in leadership and
organisational behaviour.
 
Professor Page's research has significantly shaped perspectives on
leadership and organisational behaviour within education, making him the
ideal speaker to kick off the event with his insights on the values and
practices of authentic leadership. [...]

The ALT Anti-racism and Learning Technology Special Interest Group was established in Nov 2021.  ARLT SIG will provide a platform for tackling sectorial racism. Outside ALT, members have been active as a group since Nov 2020. Anti-Racism and Learning Technology (ARLT) Special Interest Group (SIG) seeks to be the voice of antiracism within the learning technology space. We seek to promote the design and deployment of learning technology through anti-racism lenses and to provide equitable ‘access’ and ‘use’ of learning technologies to all student and staff groups within the education sector. As a SIG, we are a community of practice, whose activities are members-led.

We are looking for nominations for co-chair, internal engagement officer, events officer and project officer roles for the ARLT SIG.

Remit

We aim to build our capacity by:

• The group operates as a community of practice to empower and connect all members to be allies in creating an anti-racist community by sharing best practices, testing new ways of influencing learning technology and sharing lived experiences within a safe space.
• The group advocates for anti-racism within the wider learning technology community by recognising the diversity of voices and experiences in learning technology, building a sense of belonging within the community, and influencing anti-racist teaching practice with a variety of activities.
• The group provides a forum for members to discuss and progress anti-racist activities. This includes work focused on recruitment, developing staff, research, creating guidance for the community, and raising the learning technology community’s awareness of issues such as bias in technologies.

Expectations

• Attend and actively participate in committee meetings, whether in-person or virtual.
• Contribute to discussions, initiatives, and projects that further the SIG’s anti-racism objectives.
• Contribute to the development and execution of SIG initiatives and events.
• Timely complete assigned tasks, projects, and responsibilities.
• Collaborate with fellow committee members, promoting a culture of teamwork and inclusion.
• Promote anti-racist principles and values in all SIG activities.
• Uphold the goals and objectives of the Anti-Racism and Learning Technology SIG.
• The committee will record decisions and provide members with regular updates.
• Familiarise themselves with the Members and Special Interest Groups policies.
• Officers should review their ability to contribute to the Group annually using this Review Template

In common with ALT Members Groups and SIGs this group will also:

• Support activities in line with ALT’s strategic aims
• Share ALT’s values of being participative, open, collaborative, innovative, inclusive and transparent

All our webinars are recorded and made available via the ALT YouTube channel. The new members can help us shape ALT ARLT SIG activities going forward. 

Nominations for Officer roles

Nominations are invited for the following Officers of the Organising Committee:

• Co-Chair
• Internal Engagement Officer
• Events Officer
• Project Officer

We encourage representation from across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.

As per its Constitution, Committee Officers of ALT ARLT SIG are unpaid posts and will be appointed for 3 years.

Individuals may nominate for more than one role and should submit separate nominations for each. Committee Officers need to hold a membership within ALT (either individual or work at an organisation with an institutional ALT membership). These roles provide great opportunity for developing and evidencing leadership for Advance HE Fellowships and other CPD avenues. 

Expressions of interest

Expressions of interest should include:

• A statement of interest, experience and envisaged contribution in relation to the Role of the Organising Committee as outlined in the Constitution, and willingness/ability to attend ALT ARLT SIG meetings. Maximum 200 words.
• Proof of ALT membership (individual or institutional).
• Submit expressions of interest to the form by 12:00 noon GMT 06 January 2025

Accessibility is so important and can't be ignored, yet so often we see inaccessible documents and presentations being used. Integrating accessibility tools not only benefits those students and staff who really need it, but make the experience of navigating and using documents take up less cognitive load for everyone! In this session Stephen Taylor will introduce you to some quick accessibility fixers you can start applying, why you should apply them, and how they will benefit everyone. 

 

By Dr Ioannis Glinavos, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster Law School

In a first for the #altc blog, Dr Ioannis Glinavos, Senior Lecturer at the Westminster Law School has created a short video using the HeyGen AI Video Generator.  ‘Ioannis’ (the reason for the speech marks will become apparent if you watch the video) talks about how he believes that artificial intelligence is reshaping education and learning technology. 

We’ve structured this blog a bit like an interview.  Ioannis gives a brief written introduction to the topic before the video and then we asked Ioannis to answer some of the questions that the post editor had when watching the video to start the Q&A process.  We would encourage readers to continue the Q&A in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Introduction

Universities should not be afraid of AI. We have been handed a wonderful new tool. Think of it as a mechanical digger. Instead of a group of people with shovels trying to dig a hole, we now have a fast and efficient way to achieve the end product. I do not think of AI as a scythe that will ravage jobs and eliminate creativity. Innovations lead to opportunities (the automation paradox). Should universities be resistant to innovation?

Q&A

Q: You mentioned using Notebook LM to create an audio overview based on your YouTube videos, LinkedIn articles and an AI justice paper – how long did this take initially?  And then how much subsequent editing did you have to do?

A: Using tools like Notebook LM and ChatGPT Canvas is intuitive and takes no time at all. Feeding in one’s own content and working on the results requires very little editing.

Q: You say that AI is making research information more accessible – do you have any examples of this that you can share?

A: ChatGPT, Gemini, Co-pilot and other AI tools make research much more efficient than searches on Google Scholar or looking at publisher curated databases. AI Assistants, like Notebook LM can then work through the results quickly and efficiently at zero cost.

Q: How do you know that your students have found your lectures more engaging since the introduction of AI generated voices?  Do you have examples of student feedback you could share, perhaps before and after?

A: Students in real-time experiments with AI tools (like streaming avatars) do not seem very enthusiastic. However asynchronous content produced with AI (voices, visuals, content) is getting superior usage to wholly human generated content.

Q: Did you provide AI with the data to develop the practice questions and scenarios?  If not, how are you managing the accuracy of these outputs?  This is a concern within the wider sector.

A: All AI output needs to be checked for accuracy. However, checking by experts takes a lot less time than generating the content manually.

Q: Do you have examples of the types of interactive practice questions you are using, that you could share?

A: I have been running a successful newsletter for more than a year with MCQs generated by ChatGPT. See https://glintiss.co.uk/sqe-newsletter/

Q: Have you any thoughts on how AI might be used ethically? Again, this is a concern withing the wider sector.

A: Transparency is the key to ethical AI use. For example, here is the methodology I share which explains how I generate my MCQs https://youtu.be/b71oeaKoDZE?si=wsgHZgx7ZxJTuFf4

Did you enjoy reading this? To become a member of our community, see Membership details here https://www.alt.ac.uk/membership

 

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[Winter Summit 2024] [3]

YOU'RE INVITED!

 

We’re thrilled to invite you to our Winter Summit on TUESDAY 10 DECEMBER
2024 FROM 9:00 AM TO 5:30 PM GMT. Whether you are early in your career,
about to step into a new leadership role, or already making waves as a
senior leader, the day will be packed with insights to help you develop
your skills as a Future Leader. [...]

We are thrilled to announce that registration is now open for the ALT Winter Summit 2024. This year's theme is ‘Future Leadership in Learning Technology’.

Want to learn more about the Digital Learning Design Apprenticeship? This webinar is for anyone who wants to find out more whether you are an employer, learner, or would just like to learn more!

We will welcome Hazel Cray and Matt Bishop from Crosby Training, and Sarah Harris and Frazer Worthington from LDN Apprenticeships, just two of the providers who are currently offering this programme. They will delve into what the DLD apprenticeship is, how it benefits learners and employers, and how you can get involved. We will also hear from some current DLD learners and find out more about their experience so far. 

What is the Digital Learning Design Apprenticeship?

Launched in September 2023, this Level 5 apprenticeship is designed to equip learners with the skills and knowledge needed to become successful digital learning designers. Digital learning design is a rapidly evolving field, with new trends and technologies emerging all the time. ACMALT is mapped to the standard and all apprentices who successfully complete the endpoint assessment will automatically be eligible to become an Associate Certified Member.  

To celebrate Trustee’s Week, 4-8 November, we are kicking off our new profile series by interviewing one of our trustees, Puiyin Wong. ALT’s Board of Trustees are responsible for ALT’s strategy, governance, and overall performance of the Association. The Trustees are an integral part of ALT. 

Puiyin Wong has been an ALT Trustee since 2022. She is currently Head of Digital Education at the University of Birmingham, as well as a PhD candidate with the Educational Research Department at Lancaster University.

Puiyin and Patch

Puiyin, you have been a trustee for over two years now. How did you decide to become a trustee and what have you learned that you have taken into your day to day job?

It was actually a happy coincidence! I had encountered an issue with my session proposal for the ALT Annual Conference 2022, so I asked Maren Deepwell (ALT’s previous CEO) if we could have a quick chat about it. At the end of our conversation, Maren asked if I was aware of an upcoming Trustee election and whether I might be interested in standing. I replied with a surprised “No”, I didn’t even know Trustees existed! Maren and I then had an open discussion about the commitment and responsibilities involved, and I was convinced in a heartbeat. That same afternoon, I wrote my election statement, ran a shameless campaign in the following weeks, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since becoming a Trustee, I have valued every opportunity that has come my way. Each Board meeting offers a chance to learn, especially during strategic decision-making discussions. My first few meetings were truly eye-opening; at the time, I was still a learning technologist, so being in the same room with fellow Trustees, many of whom are senior leaders in higher education, felt like a master class in leadership and management. Watching them in action has been an incredible learning experience.

How has ALT been important to your career?

Massively! I have only worked directly in learning technology for about 5 years. Before that, I didn’t even know ALT existed! Over the past five years, I have progressed from a junior learning technologist to Head of Digital Education at a Russell Group university; something I would never have dared to dream of. Before discovering ALT, my goal was simply a mid-level, full-time role in education. ALT and its incredible community of people have taught me to dream big, to pursue my ambitions without holding back. All you need is the willingness to try, to persevere, to ask for help, and sometimes to take a leap of faith. The generosity I have received from so many ALT members and the friendships we have built along the way has been the most important thing for me.

In addition, the opportunities I have gained through ALT have directly contributed to my career progression. Attending and presenting at its conferences and events, earning my CMALT and now SCMALT accreditation, serving as an assessor, participating in Special Interest Groups (SIGs), and contributing to various committees have all been invaluable CPD experiences. These opportunities have exposed me to new insights and experiences that I wouldn’t have encountered in my day-to-day role.

A strong presence in the ALT community is also something that employers value, as standing in front of peers represents not only yourself but also your employer. After all, who wouldn’t want their organisation represented in a positive light? Whilst I cannot quantify exactly how much this has boosted my career, I know that as my reach and visibility have grown, so has my confidence. This is particularly true in how I conduct myself publicly and presentation skills, which are essential for most roles in learning technology, especially at senior levels. 

What do you find exciting about working with learning technology?

The most exciting part is seeing people who are genuinely enthusiastic about using learning technology in their teaching. Their eagerness to innovate and their drive to make learning more engaging for students through technology is truly inspiring.

Many people resist using learning technology, viewing it as too technical and a hindrance to their teaching. I understand this perspective; many colleagues are under pressure to work more, teach larger cohorts, and manage increasing responsibilities. Why would they want to learn yet another piece of technology? That’s why I find it most exciting when I can convince them that learning technology is not about the technology itself. Instead, it is in response to their existing pedagogical practices, enhancing their teaching to make it more effective, innovative, and engaging.

What was the last thing you read or watched?

Some trashy Chinese TV drama. I go through phases of wanting to watch a lot of Chinese movies and TV shows. I guess they remind me of home in Hong Kong, which has not really been my home for over 20 years now, but a root is a root. It will never change.

If you were on a deserted island, what is the one thing you would take?

PATCH!  I think anyone who knows anything about me would know the answer to this! I cannot imagine life without her now, she is the most important, loving and loyal companion in my life. I adopted Patch from Battersea Dogs and Cats home in summer 2013. Not long before that, she’d become a young mother of 3 kittens. It has been a regret of mine that I never got a chance to meet her babies, otherwise, I would have taken the whole family home with me! Fast forward to 11 years later, Patch is now enjoying her well-earned retirement in our new home away from busy London. Some fortunate people have had the pleasure of befriending her through our online meetings, including some fellow ALT Trustees.

We hope you enjoyed hearing from one of our trustees. If Puiyin has inspired you to investigate becoming a trustee, there will be vacancies coming up in 2025. We’ll be in touch with information about trustee roles and how to get involved next year.

Future profiles will feature colleagues involved with Special Interest and Members Groups, CMALT holders and assessors, apprentices and ALT staff. 

If you are a current member of ALT and would be interested in featuring in an upcoming post or want to recommend someone members would be interested in hearing from, please contact us at blog@alt.ac.uk.

Join AmplifyFE on 13 December from 12.00 - 12.30 for their next webinar: Alternatives to Twitter - BlueSky, LinkedIn, Threads find out how to make the most of these platforms. More details to be announced shortly.