Research has shown that critical data literacies development for educators is seldom a core component of most campus conversations about datafication, even as extractive, datafied systems become pervasive throughout the higher education sector. This article outlines findings from an international, qualitative, Comparative Case Study (CCS) of university professionals teaching online during the COVID-19 pandemic. It overviews beliefs and barriers shaping educators’ responses to datafication and focuses specifically on their perceptions of faculty development opportunities related to digital classroom tools and to datafication more broadly. The article presents insights into how faculty understands higher education’s contemporary datafied infrastructure and highlights participants’ voices about faculty professional development and critical data literacies. Based on our findings, we recommend formal faculty development and broader professional learning conversations as a means of enhancing faculty awareness and agency within the higher education sector.

 

Unsubscribe [1]

View in your browser [2]

[How The Use of Multimedia Enhances Teaching, Learning, and Research]
[3]

HOW THE USE OF MULTIMEDIA ENHANCES TEACHING, LEARNING, AND RESEARCH

 

We are excited to be partnering with Learning on Screen [4] to bring you an
enlightening free webinar titled “How The Use of Multimedia Enhances
Teaching, Learning, and Research [3]”. This webinar aims to explore the
transformative impact of multimedia in today’s educational landscape. [...]

The webinar will be presented by Dr. Helen Crompton is the Executive Director of the Research Institute for Digital Innovation in Learning at ODUGlobal, Professor of Instructional Technology, and Director of the Virtual Reality Lab at Old Dominion University, USA. Dr. Crompton has achieved a place on Stanford's esteemed list of the top 2% of scientists worldwide. This presentation addresses the escalating concern of student cheating facilitated by artificial intelligence, in particular tools, such as ChatGPT. Strategic measures are presented to mitigate these challenges. Furthermore, we will explore the use of AI for new approaches to gauge student understanding by creating assessments that are resistant to manipulation and foster genuine understanding.

Join us on Thursday 11th April for an enlightening webinar hosted by
Learning on Screen, on how the use of multimedia enhances today’s
educational landscape.

Learning on Screen, a charity and membership organisation, firmly believe that
multimedia (including moving image and sound) is a cornerstone of engaging,
dynamic learning, and teaching. With a focus on ensuring post-16 students excel
and thrive in their educational journey, they are on a mission to help shape the
future of education.
They are doing this in part with their revolutionary platform, Box of Broadcasts
(BoB), a resource with access to over 3 million on-demand broadcasts across
various channels, including TV programmes, documentaries, and news. BoB goes
beyond traditional resources, providing educators with the tools to access and
curate content and seamlessly integrate it into their teaching, fostering a
dynamic and inclusive learning experience for all students.
In this webinar, you'll discover:

• How multimedia enriches your teaching and learning experiences.
• Practical strategies for integrating BoB into your research and
teaching to support learning outcomes.
• Exclusive insights on the benefits of multimedia learning.
• Real-world examples of how BoB is transforming education across
various disciplines.

Join us for a captivating webinar and discover how BoB can revolutionise your
teaching and unlock the full potential of multimedia learning for your post-16
students.

 

Unsubscribe [1]

View in your browser [2]

[ALT Events Survey, Your Input Matters!] [3]

LAST CHANCE TO SHARE YOUR PREFERENCES: ALT EVENTS SURVEY

 

Our Events Survey is closing tomorrow, Wednesday 23 March 2024 at 16:00
GMT. Complete the ALT Events Survey [3] and share your insights as we chart
the course for our Annual Events Programme.  [...]

https://go.alt.ac.uk/445Iq1R

 

View in your browser [1]

[Association for Learning Technology: improving practice, promoting
research and influencing policy.] [2]

WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST - ISSUE 740, 11 MARCH 2024

WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE FROM THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY IN THE UK. We support a collaborative community for
individuals and organisations from all sectors and provide professional
recognition and development. Each week we will update you on the latest
news and publications, events, jobs, and calls for proposals from across
the learning technology community. [...]

Facilitation strategies play a critical role in helping instructors teach effectively in an online environment. However, there is a lack of research on how different facilitation strategies impact the online learning experience. To address this gap, our study surveyed 5980 college students from two universities in China and analysed the associations between facilitation strategies and student satisfaction using multivariate and logistic regression analyses. Our findings reveal that facilitation strategies aimed at managerial and technical purposes have different effects on student satisfaction with instructors compared to their satisfaction with their own achievement and engagement. Additionally, we found that student group discussion had a negative association with student satisfaction, potentially due to a preference for hierarchical learning in Confucian-heritage culture. In contrast, after-class learning materials were positively associated with student satisfaction. These findings offer important implications for pedagogical practices that aim to enhance the online learning experience for Chinese students on a large scale.

This study aimed to explore the design and development of verbal prompts in virtual reality (VR)-based social skills training for autistic children. Autism indicates a category with neurodiversity that influences individuals’ capability to engage in social and cognitive tasks. This complex neurodevelopmental condition manifests in a wide array of patterns, featuring unique experiences of each individual. This study explored both advantages and challenges encountered when autistic children interact with verbal prompts in multi-user, desktop VR-based social skills training. Our explanatory case study involved VR-based learning experiences of four autistic children. We used a qualitative thematic analysis to analyse the study participants’ interaction patterns with verbal prompts in the VR-based training. Our research can contribute to both theoretical knowledge and practical design guidelines for the creation of verbal prompts in desktop VR-based training programmes tailored for autistic children.

The impact of digitalisation on everyday life has necessitated the need for learners to acquire digital competence as part of their education. In order to prepare students to become digital citizens, it has become necessary for teachers to acquire and implement digital competence in the classroom. This study applied the DigCompEdu framework to Lebanese schools and teachers to examine the digital competences of teachers and their alignment with Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MEHE) standards. This study followed a cross-sectional descriptive design and involved 170 in-service teachers in Lebanese schools. This study found that whilst schoolteachers’ practice meets all MEHE indicators, there is a significant need for training to schoolteachers in using digital tools and resources to promote collaboration in the learning process. The findings highlighted the importance of digital competences in schools and the need for ongoing training and support for teachers in this area.

This week sees the launch of the final conference programme for the 15th annual conference for Open Education Research, practice and policy organised by ALT, the Association for Learning Technology, in partnership with

https://go.alt.ac.uk/445Iq1R

 

View in your browser [1]

[Association for Learning Technology: improving practice, promoting
research and influencing policy.] [2]

WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST - ISSUE 739, 04 MARCH 2024

WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE FROM THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY IN THE UK. We support a collaborative community for
individuals and organisations from all sectors and provide professional
recognition and development. Each week we will update you on the latest
news and publications, events, jobs, and calls for proposals from across
the learning technology community. [...]

In its twelfth consecutive year, Open Education Week (OE Week) is gearing up to captivate audiences worldwide from March 4-8, 2024.

This CPD webinar will be led by Leigh-Anne Perryman from the Open University. 

A new free course from The Open University is supporting educators from multiple sectors and subjects around the world in addressing the climate crisis in their teaching, responding to teachers’ widespread calls for training that will help meet their students’ demands for relevant and effective climate education.

The 16-hour, OpenLearn-based course - Supporting climate action through digital education - is unique in focusing on multiple subject areas – including science, visual art, literature, geography and health. There’s an emphasis on supporting young people in participating in climate action, and in engaging with local communities to tackle climate crisis-related problems. The course aims to support educators in schools, colleges and universities in designing and delivering online, blended and technology-enhanced teaching and learning through a pedagogy of hope and care that supports students of all ages in understanding the causes and impacts of environmental collapse and addressing them through global citizenship, individual and collective direct action, and democratic participation. Completing the course gains participants a digital badge.

In this webinar, course leader Dr Leigh-Anne Perryman, Associate Director (Curriculum) at The Open University’s Institute of Educational Technology, will give an overview of the course and share how it was created by a team of passionate educators working across disciplinary boundaries.

A discussion will follow, exploring how teaching in different subject areas can help support students in climate change mitigation and adaptation, and how collaboration across disciplines and across generations is essential. 

 

Unsubscribe [1]

View in your browser [2]

[ALT Events Survey, Your Input Matters!] [3]

ALT EVENTS SURVEY

 

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) invites you, our vibrant
community of educators, technologists, and learning enthusiasts, to share
your insights as we chart the course for our Annual Events Programme.
Whether you’re a seasoned ALT member or a newcomer, your voice matters! [...]

This 1-day standalone workshop is designed to help CMALT candidates fast-track work on their portfolio in order to submit it to peer review. The workshop will provide tailored support for individuals as well as peer support in a group of CMALT candidates all working towards CMALT accreditation. 

The workshop will be delivered by experienced CMALT Assessors.

Pre-workshop activities

When you register for the workshop, you will be asked to complete a short profile including what accreditation pathway you are on (CMALT, Senior or Associate), which sections of the portfolio you would like specific help with and how far you have progressed overall. 

In the week before the workshop, you will receive pre-workshop activities to complete to start progressing your portfolio. 

Workshop day

The workshop day has both live sessions and asynchronous activities scheduled from 9.30am to 4.00pm and concludes with networking opportunities with other candidates. The first half of the day will be focused on strategies for writing specific portfolio sections, including practical examples from accredited portfolios. The afternoon session will provide time for individual support and a peer review exercise. 

Post-workshop support

Following on from the workshop day, you will receive the workshop materials to support you as you complete your portfolio. 

Who should attend?

Anyone registered for CMALT who is keen to complete their portfolio more quickly, candidates who are working towards CMALT looking for more support and anyone looking to revise a referred portfolio. 

If you are not already on a CMALT pathway, you can find out more information, including details on how to register for the accreditation process, here.

Registration will close on Thursday 18 April at 16:00 BST.

Feedback from our workshop participants

• CMALT Accelerator Workshop: My Reflections…by Dr Jin Tan
• Flipgrid showcasing feedback and experiences of CMALT Accelerator Workshop Participants 

 

Costs

Registered CMALT candidates discounted rate: £149

Everyone else: £166

For block bookings please contact cmalt@alt.ac.uk.

Cancellations

If the minimum number of registrations has not been met by Thursday 25 April, this workshop will be cancelled. Registered delegates will be notified and refunded in full.

Cancellations made in writing, to cmalt@alt.ac.uk, on or before Thursday 18 April will be refunded in full. Cancellations made in writing, to cmalt@alt.ac.uk, after Thursday 18 April will be refunded in full minus a £25 cancellation fee. 

https://go.alt.ac.uk/445Iq1R

 

View in your browser [1]

[Association for Learning Technology: improving practice, promoting
research and influencing policy.] [2]

WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST - ISSUE 738, 26 FEB 2024

WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE FROM THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY IN THE UK. We support a collaborative community for
individuals and organisations from all sectors and provide professional
recognition and development. Each week we will update you on the latest
news and publications, events, jobs, and calls for proposals from across
the learning technology community. [...]

Put the kettle on and join us for 45 minutes of lovely learning-techy chatter to start your day. This informal online meeting of ALT WM is a chance for you to come together with other Learning Technology professionals in the region (and beyond) to network, share ideas, get advice, debate hot topics and more. There's no agenda, so the topics for discussion are very much in your hands! However, we'd really love to hear from you if you are attending JISC DigiFest or other learning tech focussed events in the coming weeks to share your key takeaways with colleagues who couldn't get out of the office to attend.

[Complete ALT's Annual Survey today by 16:00] [1]

ALT'S ANNUAL SURVEY CLOSES TODAY!

 

ALT’s Annual Survey has been running since 2014, helping shape the future
of ALT by providing a unique insight into how Learning Technology is used
across sectors as well as identifying emerging trends in current and future
practice. The survey provides an important insight into how professional
practice within the field of Learning Technology is developing. [...]

https://go.alt.ac.uk/445Iq1R

 

View in your browser [1]

[Association for Learning Technology: improving practice, promoting
research and influencing policy.] [2]

WEEKLY NEWS DIGEST - ISSUE 737, 19 JANUARY 2024

WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE FROM THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL BODY FOR
LEARNING TECHNOLOGY IN THE UK. We support a collaborative community for
individuals and organisations from all sectors and provide professional
recognition and development. Each week we will update you on the latest
news and publications, events, jobs, and calls for proposals from across
the learning technology community. [...]

By Tony Murphy, South East Technological University

Aaron Sorkin was planning to watch episode one from series five of The West Wing, the famed and successful TV series he had created, but which he had left after producing series four. On hearing of Sorkin’s plans, Larry David, who had co-created the Seinfeld Show and left the series before it had finished its run, cautioned him not to turn on series five reportedly saying “It’s like watching someone make out with your girlfriend” (Parker, 2021).   I have always felt that this remark succinctly, if not misogynistically, sums up watching something you care about deeply because of a huge personal investment be handled, or mishandled, by someone else.  Contrast that with Bob Dylan’s reaction to being asked how he felt about Jimmy Hendrix’s now much more successful and famed version of the Dylan penned “All Around the Watchtower.  Dylan replied “It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn’t think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using” (Dolan, 1995).

Please believe me that I know that putting my name in the same space as such creative geniuses as Larry David, Aaron Sorkin, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan is the equivalent of breaking the world record for self-flattery, however, many years ago, long before Open Education Resources (OER) was a commonly known term, I created a little reusable learning object.  The object detailed a model to help researchers and academics approach desk research.  It wasn’t particularly special. It was just a series of pre-existing tools and tasks that I put together in a slightly more systematic way than I believe they had been previously presented. But I was a bit proud of it because what I had done that I didn’t think anybody else had done, is that I had placed ignorance at the centre of the model.  I made the ignorant, unknowing person absolutely key to the process and to the model and, in doing so, I wallowed, a little more than I should have, in the delightful irony of celebrating ignorance in a room full of “all-knowing” academics.  

My comfortable smugness was beautifully pulled from beneath me one afternoon, when I was sitting in the back row of a lecture theatre watching and listening to a colleague discuss desk research with a room of academics.  My colleague proceeded to discuss my model. Using a slide deck I had created, he presented my approach to preparing for desk research.  In the back row, I started to squirm. My colleague was sufficiently gracious to acknowledge my presence to the room and the work that I had done, but it did little to deflate my uncomfortable and increasingly angry feelings.  Externally, I knew that it was not my content he was using. As an employee of a college, I was fully aware that the college was free to distribute any teaching content I created. Moreover, I worked for a publicly funded college, so the content was publicly financed and, therefore, publicly owned; anyone could and should use it.   Internally, however, I was livid.  This was my content, this was my model, this was my work that I had laboured and struggled to put together, that only I could do justice to, and he hadn’t even the courtesy to ask my permission or even give me a heads up.   

What made matters even worse was that he was presenting it better.  It wasn’t just that he was a more polished performer who lectured with grace and panache, but he had found insights in the model that I had missed.  He highlighted benefits and value in the approach that I had not seen.  By now, I was beyond livid; livid was in the rear-view mirror.  But the worst was yet to come.  He failed to make any reference to the value of ignorance.  He simply brushed over this aspect of the model.  Maybe he did not want to offend the academics in the room, maybe he thought it was not that important or maybe he simply forgot about it. I don’t know, all I did know was that, sitting in the back row, steam was bursting from my ears and my nostrils were flaring with rage.  

That uncomfortable episode occurred several years ago. Since then, I have created numerous OERs that, hopefully, have been reused by numerous people numerous times.  But I haven’t forgotten how I felt that first time I witnessed someone reuse content I had created.  Reflecting on my reaction, I note that there were a couple of things going on.   First, the misplaced sense of ownership.  We do not own anything regardless of which CC license it is published under.  Academic content, knowledge and ideas are there to be shared, which is the basis of how we progress.  Academia is not the TV or music business; academia is not about protecting and monetising ideas, it is about sharing them and freeing them from behind paywalls, no matter how much effort and personal investment has gone into their creation. 

Second is the misplaced jealousy.  Amid my resentfulness, I was blind to the second point of academic ideas; that they are there to be built on and reinterpreted, or misinterpreted, which again is how we progress.  The value and the reward comes from you and others knowing that you have played a small part in putting in place the next link in the chain that will go on long after you have stopped thinking about it.  This is why authorship and acknowledging authorship continues to be important.  We need to be able to take pride in what we do in order to put in the effort and that effort needs to be acknowledged, even as it is reused and reinterpreted.  

It would be great to think that, when it comes to OERs, we could always be as gracious with our creations as Bob, however, there is no harm in acknowledging our effort and allowing ourselves to feel a little bit like Larry from time to time.  

References

Parker, D. (2021). “Why Larry David Told Aaron Sorkin To Never Watch ‘The West Wing.’” The Things. Available at: https://www.thethings.com/why-larry-david-told-aaron-sorkin-to-never-watch-the-west-wing/

Dolan, J. (1995).  “A midnight chat with Bob Dylan”.  Sun Sentinel.  Available at: Fort-Lauderdale, Sun Sentinel today 29/9/95 (interferenza.net)

Registration is still open for the 15th annual conference for Open Education research, practice and policy will be organised by ALT, in partnership with Munster Technological University (MTU).