ALT

Creating Digital Assessments: planning conceptualising and supporting

#ALTC Blog - 27/05/25

By the Digital Assessment SIG

 A summary of the Digital Assessment SIG Webinar that was held online on 25 March 2025.
  1. Dr. Seda Battiliani from University of Edinburgh discussing “Designing Inclusive Digital Assessments with Scenario-Based Learning.” 
  1. Professor Samantha Pugh from University of Leeds – Enabling Competency-based and Programmatic Assessment using Digital Platforms 
  1. Ben Atkinson from University of Nottingham speaking on “Facilitating Student Choice in Assessment Task in Moodle with the School of Psychology” 

Dr. Seda Battiliani: Designing inclusive digital Assessments with Scenario-Based Learning

Dr Seda Battiliani from the University of Edinburgh presented about how they revamped a course which was expected to grow from 45 students to 400 students. The course initially had an essay based assessment but the growing number of students and the need for the course to promote collaboration, needed changes in the assessment methods. From an initial assessment idea that was to get students to interact with AI chat bots, they developed it to include particular AI personas that students needed to interact with, to come up with solution(s) to set problem tasks.

The personas were created in Storyline and designed by Seda using the Edinburgh Language Model (ELM). Seda explains how she came up with and improved on the prompts to create various specific and expert personas and how she used the constraints of the learning activities and the help of AI to hone them. She also notes how interacting with AI in the persona creation helped her, including, encouraging her to consider aspects she previously didn’t think about and also the speed in which she could test out various scenarios in a practical and reasonable pace.

She explains practical steps taken to develop a prototype for this assessment.

She concluded that she used AIs ability to help analyze large amounts of information, run tests, troubleshoot, and compare scenarios but stressed that the starting point for using AI in assessments should be grounded in pedagogical expertise.

Enabling Competency-based and Programmatic Assessment using Digital Platforms

Professor Samantha Pugh from Leeds university spoke of how they completely revamped their physics programme during an institution wide curriculum refinement. Her session describes how they successfully transformed their method of assessment as part of this initiative.

The previous assessment included low stakes coursework and high stakes exams.  With these, students who appeared to be doing well throughout the year would do very poorly in the final exam. She pointed out also that students could still pass the course having serious gaps in their knowledge because of the set pass mark of 40%.

The new approach focuses on threshold-based assessment, which they called “vitals” (Verifiable Indicators of Threshold Abilities and Learning). They made it possible for each vital to be assessed multiple times throughout the course. This made it possible for students to achieve all vitals at least once to pass. Students who meet all vitals are guaranteed the set pass mark of 40%. Grading assessments at the end of the year allow for differentiation after the pass mark.

They implemented the quizzes using Mobius, an assessment platform that supports mathematical expressions and variable-based questions, creating a large number of question variants. They also used an in house-built vitals website to track student progress. Throughout the course, as the students take their quizzes in Mobius, the vitals website shows which vitals have been passed and provides a comprehensive overview for students as well as tutors.

Samantha touched on some of the challenges they had with the new method which were related to module size not being compatible with program-level design, also redefining how resitting this method of assessment works with the student record systems. But they were able to overcome these with clever workarounds and very supportive colleagues.

In conclusion she mentioned that the changes ensured that all students can meet all learning outcomes, it removed high stakes assessments and provided more opportunities for success. She said the technology enabled students to pace their learning and continue attempting assessments until they succeed.

Facilitating Student Choice in Assessment Task in Moodle with the School of Psychology

Ben Atkinson described how he worked with colleagues to introduce a new activity type to Moodle at the University of Nottingham called Group Choice. This activity facilitates student engagement in their choice of assessment topic. It was used in pilot form in the School of Psychology in Autumn 2024-25. In the pilot, some flexibility was already available with a range of questions which allowed students to align the assessment with their personal individual learning style. 

However, the problem was how to deliver choice effectively inside Moodle whilst minimising manual intervention.

The solution developed not only addressed this problem through a streamlined combination of group choice and release conditions, but reduced the administrative burden on staff, and at the same time improved their ability to monitor extenuating circumstances. 

An additional benefit of the process is that automated marking groups are created to aid academic colleagues in their marking and feedback for large cohorts in Moodle and Turnitin assignments. 

Ben outlined how the activity has many versatile applications within teaching and learning, but essentially at its core, it provides the ability for students to enrol themselves into a group or groups which have previously been set up on the module. 

Ben described how, through the combined use of group choice and release conditions, powerful automated processes were achieved, dramatically improving the student experience while at the same time reducing the administrative overhead for the teaching team. 

Finally, he outlined how the method could be used in other contexts, for example by creating groups for sub-topics within the module, so that students could opt-in to a specific pathway.  Moodle’s conditional release functionality combined with the Group Choice activity could be used to ensure that certain topics within a Moodle module are only visible to relevant groups. In this way, whole sections of content could be made available only to students who had opted-in to the relevant topic via the Group Choice activity, a level of personalisation that could benefit students without staff needing to manually intervene.

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

From Vision to Victory: Zoe Tierney s ALT Awards Journey

#ALTC Blog - 22/05/25

For this month’s blog profile, we’re excited to feature Zoe Tierney, winner of the ALT Award for Use of Technology in Vocational Education, in partnership with Ufi VocTech Trust in 2024. Zoe shares her inspiring journey, highlighting her achievements and insights that led to her winning an ALT Award. By sharing her experiences, Zoe sheds light on the significance of the ALT Awards in adopting progress and acknowledging the visionaries driving change.

What do you find exciting about working with learning technology?

What excites me most about working with learning technology is how it can create meaningful, even emotional, learning experiences, particularly when the technology goes beyond screens and software. The CRDL (pronounced ‘cradle’) is a perfect example of this. It brings together innovation, human connection, and therapeutic engagement in a way I hadn’t seen before. Technology like this allows us to reimagine what learning looks and feels like, especially in areas like healthcare, where empathy and communication are just as important as knowledge and technical skill.

What inspired you to enter the ALT Awards 2024? 

We entered the ALT Awards to share our journey with the CRDL and celebrate how something so unique was having a significant impact in the classroom—and more importantly, in real-life care environments. The CRDL allowed learners in healthcare to experience and understand dementia care in a deeply human way, enhancing their empathy, confidence, and emotional intelligence. But it also sparked curiosity across other curriculum areas—sparking interest in creative arts, SEND provision, and pastoral support. We felt this cross-disciplinary potential, combined with its emotional and educational impact, made the story worth sharing.

What would be your best advice for someone considering entering the ALT Awards 2025, particularly from within further education like yourself? 

My advice would be: don’t underestimate the value of what you’re doing just because it’s different or specific to FE. The ALT Awards aren’t just about large-scale systems; they celebrate innovation that makes a difference. If you’re using technology in a way that connects with learners, improves practice, or starts new conversations—write it up. Let your context be your strength and don’t wait for perfection—impact happens in many forms.

Can you share any tips on how to effectively communicate and evidence the impact of your work in an ALT Award submission?

Tell a clear story. Start with the ‘why’—what gap were you trying to fill or what challenge were you addressing? With the CRDL, we focused on the lack of emotionally immersive learning in dementia education. We then demonstrated the difference it made, not just through anecdotal feedback, but also by showing how it influenced learner confidence, tutor delivery, and wider curriculum development. Use quotes, pictures, lesson observations, or reflections from learners—they bring the story to life and demonstrate real-world outcomes.

How has winning the ALT Award impacted your career or professional journey?

Winning the ALT Award has brought wider recognition to the work we’re doing—not just for me personally, but for the team and college as a whole. It’s validated our belief that digital innovation isn’t just about devices or platforms—it’s about thoughtful implementation. The award has opened doors for new partnerships and encouraged others across the college to think creatively about how specialist tools like the CRDL could be adapted into their own teaching practice. For me, it’s reinforced the importance of continuing to lead and advocate for purposeful digital change.

What’s the best prize or award you’ve ever won, whether in your personal life or professional career?

Professionally, the ALT Award definitely tops the list, it was a moment that acknowledged not just a single project but the demonstration of commitment to improving digital learning in FE. Personally, I’d say any moment where a learner or colleague has thanked me for helping them see things differently – that’s always been the most meaningful reward.

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

A solar-powered journal and audio recorder. I’d want a way to reflect, create, and record stories, because even on a deserted island, learning and connection still matter.

We hope you enjoyed hearing from the chair of the ALT Award winners from 2024, Zoe Tierney. You can learn more about her journey to winning the prestigious award in her blog post: My Journey with the CRDL and Winning the Ufi VocTech Award. If she has inspired you to enter this year’s Awards, make sure to submit by 14 July 2025. Learn more about the Awards and how to enter here. Future profiles will feature colleagues involved with Special Interest and Members Groups, CMALT holders, ALT Members, Trustees, 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.

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

Explore the OER25 programme: Your guide to must-attend sessions

ALT News - 22/05/25

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

Categories: ALT, News

Register Now: The Fundamentals of Copyright in Learning Technology Workshop

ALT News - 21/05/25

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

Categories: ALT, News

Launching the ALT Awards 2025

ALT News - 20/05/25

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. 

Categories: ALT, News

Four years of the CoOL SIG

#ALTC Blog - 19/05/25

By Jane Secker, Associate Professor in Educational Development and co-chair of the ALT Copyright and Online Learning SIG

This post is written by Jane Secker, Associate Professor in Educational Development and co-chair of the ALT Copyright and Online Learning SIG. Jane reflects on the work of the CoOL SIG over the past 4 years and how their group aims to help build more confidence in copyright matters in the learning technology community.

The ALT CoOL SIG was created around 4 years ago, largely on the back of the Copyright and Online Learning webinar series that Chris Morrison and I started during the Covid-19 pandemic. The webinars were an attempt to support the community during a difficult time where institutions had pivoted to online learning and were grappling with many challenges. As copyright was our area of expertise, we hoped that we might share our knowledge to at least help reassure people that with all the scary stuff going on, copyright shouldn’t be a barrier to education continuing. After nearly a year of running the webinars, ALT suggested we set up a special interest group and the CoOL SIG was born.

Our group acts as a community of practice to share knowledge about copyright. Much of the copyright expertise lies in the library community, so we are an open group and delighted to have learning technologists and librarians as members, as well as copyright specialists. we have been really pleased to see the ongoing interest in attending our webinars – last Friday we ran our 77th webinar! And this was the 5th edition of a series of webinars we’ve done called ‘Becoming a Copyright Specialist’ where people in our field share their stories about why they got interested in copyright and insights from their work. It was great to be joined by Christine Daoutis, UCL, Irene Barranco-Gracia (Imperial) and my colleague Kathryn Drumm (City St George’s) who is an educational technologist and also Secretary of the CoOL SIG. Kathryn’s talk may be of particular interest to learning technologists as she explained how she doesn’t view herself as a copyright specialist, but has enough knowledge to support academic colleagues and also embed some copyright literacy into the training she offers.  We record all our webinars, so if you’ve ever missed one you can catch up on the ALT YouTube channel and last Friday’s was no exception and is available online.

Beyond the webinars, the CoOL SIG committee meet 4 times a year online and have a wide range of interests, with sub-groups looking at topics such as Copyright and Accessibility and also copyright education. However, the other event the group supports, is the Icepops conference. While this conference was founded by Chris and I in 2017, we do try and make our work sustainable and we now have support from the CILIP Information Literacy Group and ALT to enable this one day event to take place at as low a cost as possible. We find online meetings and webinars are fine, but copyright folks love to get together and share their passion, and also have a bit of a party too! This year Icepops 2025 will be taking place at the University of Manchester John Rylands Research Institute and Library from 9-10 September in what we call a ‘Pocket Edition’ format. This means, it’s a half day event, but if you want to extend your stay we have an evening social and tours.

Our keynote speaker will be Monica Westin, Associate Director, Content and Discovery, Library and Cultural Services at Manchester Metropolitan University. Monica has held roles at Google and the Internet Archive and we know she will provide some fascinating insights into the interesting times we are living through. We will also be joined by Mat Bancroft, Curator at the British Pop Archive, John Rylands Research Institute and Library.

The call for papers is now open until Monday 9th June and the conference theme is “Copyright, safe spaces and sanctuary” with the following sub-themes:

·         Reflection, empathy and emotion

·         Long term thinking and planning for the future

·         Building and supporting communities

·         Supporting and nurturing others

·         Finding joy in your work

We are always keen to have new members involved in the CoOL SIG, and you can sign up for mailing list and receive our the regular newsletter that our Comms team put together. We share topical ‘copyright news’ and it ensures you never miss a webinar! I really enjoy being the co-chair of this group and over the past 5 years I’ve really enjoyed seeing how a copyright community of practice works in practice. There is always more to do, and I’m looking forward to presenting some findings from recent research that Chris and I conducted with Amanda Wakaruk, on ‘Copyright Anxiety’ and how it impacts on higher education. That’s the topic of our next webinar scheduled for the 13th June at 3pm. I hope to see you there.

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

How do higher education staff understand the terms hybrid, hyflex and blended learning? Choice, modality and uncertainty

RLT Journal - 16/05/25

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.

Categories: ALT, Publication

Predicting teachers’ intentions to use virtual reality in education: a study based on the UTAUT-2 framework

RLT Journal - 16/05/25

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.

Categories: ALT, Publication

AmplifyFE Community Space Workshop - Practical Intro to HeyZine Flipbooks: Bring Your Resources to Life

ALT Events - 16/05/25

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.

 

 

Categories: ALT, Events

Call for case studies and policies that address the ethical implications of learning technologies

ALT News - 15/05/25
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.  

Categories: ALT, News

Think before you prompt: Reduce your AI carbon footprint with ROCKS

#ALTC Blog - 15/05/25

By Maria Toro-Troconis, University of Cambridge

Every time you ask ChatGPT a question or generate an AI image, you’re tapping into powerful servers that burn energy, consume water, and leave a real-world carbon footprint. While Generative AI tools can feel instant, seamless and free, they come at a hidden environmental cost. In this post, I’ll discuss how we can use these tools more responsibly, without trading convenience for climate damage.

Climate change and digital transformation are among the most influential forces shaping our era. How we navigate and integrate these evolving trends will be critical in determining the course of humanity’s future throughout the 21st century and beyond (GPAI, 2021; Masterson, 2024).

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has rapidly transformed how we interact with machines, particularly through natural language processing (NLP). From chatbots and automated writing assistants to creative tools and research companions, GenAI is increasingly embedded in our daily digital lives. These tools, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and DeepSeek, are powered by large language models (LLMs) that generate human-like responses based on prompts we give them. 

How these systems understand us depends on their ability to process natural language, breaking down our words into manageable, computationally understandable pieces called tokens. The ease with which we can now generate responses using GenAI contradicts the immense computational and environmental power behind each interaction.

How do AI models process our prompts?

The way AI models process our prompts has an impact on the environment.  When you type a question into a LLM like ChatGPT, it does not read your message word-for-word in the way humans do. Instead, it breaks down your input into tokens: small fragments of text, typically chunks of 3 – 4 characters or individual words. For instance, the sentence “Think before you prompt” may be split into six tokens. Each token processed consumes computational resources, requiring both energy and water for the massive data centres that power these models. 

It’s not just a technical detail, it’s a sustainability concern.

The environmental footprint of a prompt

According to the World Economic Forum (2024), AI can help us tackle climate change: it can predict the weather, track icebergs and identify pollution. It can also improve agricultural output and reduce its environmental impact. However, engaging with LLMs carries an environmental footprint that needs ethical regulation and greener tech to prevent risks and inequalities (UNU EHS, 2024).  

Let’s break down the environmental cost of an interaction with a GenAI LLM:

  • According to the research conducted by Luccioni, et al., (2024), a single generated AI image can use as much energy as half a smartphone charge.
  • Charging the average smartphone phone requires 0.022 kWh of energy (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2024), which means that the most efficient text generation model uses as much energy as 9% of a full smartphone charge for 1,000 inferences (prompts and answers). 
  • Training a single large AI model can generate a carbon footprint comparable to the total emissions produced by five cars throughout their entire lifespan (Walther, 2024). 
  • The energy used to train OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model could directly evaporate 700,000 litres of clean water (Luccioni, et al., 2024).
  • AI demand is projected to account for 4.2-6.6 billion cubic meters of water withdrawal in 2027 which accounts for half of the total annual water withdrawal of the United Kingdom (Li, et al., 2023).
  • AI depends on continuously operating large data centres which consume vast amounts of energy around the clock. These facilities are estimated to account for between 2.5% and 3.7% of global annual carbon emissions (Cho, 2023).

GenAI also increases the need for resource-heavy hardware like Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) or Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). Producing these components requires rare-earth metals, whose extraction often causes environmental harm and high emissions, adding to AI’s overall ecological impact (Walther, 2024).

It’s not just about AI efficiency anymore—it’s about digital sustainability. And the more iterative or unclear your prompts, the more resources are used (CoDesignS AI Framework, 2024).

Comparing Leading LLMs: Environmental impact

Let’s have a closer look at the environmental impact of some of the leading LLMs.

As presented in Table 1 below, environmental impact is strongly influenced by the LLM’s token input capacities and efficiency. Models with large token limits, such as Gemini 1.5 Pro and GPT-4o, require significant computational power, leading to higher energy consumption. In contrast, DeepSeek V3 claims to be more environmentally sustainable, using only about one-tenth of the computational resources compared to similar models, although this is yet to be independently verified (Calma, 2025). Claude 3.7’s environmental performance remains unclear due to limited transparency. Overall, while handling larger contexts improves capabilities, it also increases environmental costs unless offset by greater model efficiency.

Table 1: Environmental impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) (CoDesignS ESD AI Coach, 2024)

Every additional prompt adds more tokens to the pile—more energy, more water, more emissions. It’s tempting to view interactions with LLMs as “free,” but behind the scenes, there is a high cost.

Less is more: Why every prompt matters

This brings us to a pivotal mindset shift: less is more. Instead of multiple iterations and retries, the goal should be to get the best response in fewer interactions. Every refined, thoughtful prompt saves resources and time.

Prompt engineering is the skill of crafting clear, effective inputs to get the desired outputs from GenAI models. It’s like learning to ask the right question in the right way. The better the prompt, the better (and faster) the answer.

Prompt engineering is an essential tool in reducing GenAI’s environmental footprint (CoDesignS AI Framework, 2024). It reduces trial and error, minimises redundant queries, and shortens conversation length. Not only does this save money and computing time, but it directly reduces electricity and water usage.

But how do we create better prompts? This is where a framework like ROCKS comes into play.

Optimise your interactions: Introducing the ROCKS method

Developed as part of the open access CoDesignS AI Framework (2024), ROCKS is a practical, easy-to-remember method to help us optimise our interactions with GenAI systems. 

Figure 2

As presented in Figure 2, ROCKS stands for:

Role: Identify your role.
Objective: State your objective.
Community: Specify your audience
Key: Describe the tone or style, and any related parameters.
Shape: Note the desired format of the output.

An example of a prompt using the ROCKS method

For example, instead of writing:

“Can you help me make my lecture more interactive?”

Use the ROCKS structure for greater clarity and focus, leading to fewer follow-up questions and lower energy consumption:

Role: I am a lecturer in Pathology teaching Year 2 MBBS students.  

Objective: I aim to make my lecture on the Pathology of the Head more interactive, dynamic, and enjoyable to better engage students during the session.  

Community: The lecture will be delivered in-person to around 300 Year 2 MBBS students in a large lecture theatre setting. 

Key/Tone: The tone should be engaging, energetic, and inclusive, encouraging active participation and maintaining attention across a large group.  

Shape: I would like suggestions for practical, easy-to-implement methods using PowerPoint and Kahoot, focusing on live interaction, quizzes, and gamified learning elements that are scalable for a large cohort.

Using the ROCKS method, you can craft more precise and purposeful prompts that not only improve the quality of AI responses but also contribute to more efficient and sustainable GenAI use.

Conclusion: Prompt with Purpose

GenAI is transforming how we think and work, but every interaction draws on the planet’s finite resources. By learning to prompt carefully and with purpose, we can reduce wasteful iterations, improve response quality and minimise the environmental impact of our digital habits. Tools like the ROCKS method empower us to be not just efficient, but ethical. As educators, learners and professionals, we have a responsibility to pair innovation with sustainability. The next time you engage with an AI, pause to refine your prompt; not just for a better answer, but for a better future.

Think before you prompt—because better inputs create better outputs for us and a better future for the planet (CoDesignS ESD AI Coach, 2024).

REFERENCES

Calma, J. (2025) ‘AI is ‘an energy hog,’ but DeepSeek could change that’. The Verge. January. Available at:

https://www.theverge.com/climate-change/603622/deepseek-ai-environment-energy-climate?utm_source=chatgpt.com last accessed: 7 March 2025

CoDesignS ESD AI Coach (2025). Available at: https://codesignsesd.org/codesigns-ai-coach/ last accessed: 7 March 2025

CoDesignS AI Framework (2024). Available at: https://aldesd.org/7574-2/ last accessed: 7 March 2025

Cho, R. (2023). AI’s Growing Carbon Footprint. June. Columbia Climate School Newsletter. Available at:

https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2023/06/09/ais-growing-carbon-footprint/ last accessed: 7 March 2025

GPAI – The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (2021). ‘Climate Change and AI – Recommendations for Government action’. Available at: https://www.gpai.ai/projects/climate-change-and-ai.pdf last accessed: 7 March 2025

Li, P., Yang, I., M., Ren, S. (2023) ‘Making AI Less “Thirsty”: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models’ https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2304.03271 

Luccioni, S., Jernite, Y., Strubell, E. (2024). Power Hungry Processing: Watts Driving the Cost of AI Deployment? In Proceedings of the 2024 ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT ’24). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1145/3630106.3658542

Masterson, V. (2024). ‘9 ways AI is helping tackle climate change’. Blog post. February. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/02/ai-combat-climate-change/ last accessed: 7 March 2025

UNU EHS (2024). ‘5 Insights into AI as a Double-Edged Sword in Climate Action’. Blog post. June. Available at: https://unu.edu/ehs/series/5-insights-ai-double-edged-sword-climate-action last accessed: 7 March 2025

US Environmental Protection Agency. 2024. Greenhouse Gases Equivalencies Calculator – Calculations and References. https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references last accessed: 7 March 2025

Walther, C. (2024). ‘Generative AI’s Impact On Climate Change: Benefits And Costs’. Blog post. November. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/corneliawalther/2024/11/12/generative-ais-impact-on-climate-change-benefits-and-costs/ last accessed: 7 March 2025

Maria Toro-Troconis, PhD (she/her) is a Blended Learning Specialist at the University of Cambridge. Maria is also the Founder and Director of the Association for Learning Design and Education for Sustainable Development (ALDESD). She has led digital education transformation programmes for UNICEF, UNESCO, and UNDP and was recognised as one of the top international education influencers of 2021 (Edruptors). Her interests lie in the field of education for sustainable development and digital learning innovations.

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

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

ALT East England: Refresh and renewed focus for ALT's Eastern Regional groups

ALT Events - 14/05/25

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.

Categories: ALT, Events

Call for RLT Editors

ALT News - 13/05/25

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

Categories: ALT, News

Developing tools to support online learning insights from education in the charity sector

#ALTC Blog - 12/05/25

By Daisy Ward, Virtual Learning Coordinator, Parkinson’s UK

Education in the charity sector was brand new to me when I took up my role at Parkinson’s UK last year. It’s an area that may also be unfamiliar to many readers of this blog. 

Starting a new role often means hitting the ground running—especially during a period of change. That was certainly true when I became the newest member of the charity’s Education team.

Context

A blend of long-standing team members as well as newcomers like myself, the team had been energised by new leadership articulating a clear vision to revamp our education offer and grow our reputation within the sector. This made it the perfect moment—not just for me, but for the whole team—to pause, reflect, and take stock of what our curriculum comprises, identify the key professional roles within health and social care that we cater to, and extract insights that could inform our curriculum planning and future development. 

With that in mind, I developed three practical tools designed to support both individual courses and the broader curriculum. These tools have already proven useful, and we expect they’ll continue to guide our work well into the future. 

The Tools #1: Curriculum chart

One of my early initiatives was to create a visual representation of our online courses, which came to be known as the ‘curriculum chart’ or ‘curriculum diagram’. Each block within the diagram represents a piece of learning: examples being training videos publicly available on the charity’s website, a 1-hour introductory webinar on Parkinson’s for health and social care staff, and a number of self-directed e-learning courses hosted on our Moodle platform. 

Parkinson’s UK curriculum chart, 2024

You’ll notice that the blocks are colour-coded, with colours representing specific roles within our broader audience of health and social care professionals. Meanwhile each row on the chart corresponds to a level of learning, from Level 0 (‘taster’ level) through Level 3 (advanced). 

Why this chart matters

Creating this chart has already delivered several key benefits:

  • It brings together the complexity of our diverse education offer into a single, visually engaging page.
  • It provides a shared reference point, enabling more focused and meaningful conversations within our team.
  • It supports clearer communication with colleagues across the organisation about what we offer.
  • It highlights gaps in our current curriculum, helping us make more informed decisions about future development.

One possible next step is to create an alternative version of this chart which, rather than capturing what we already have, depicts what we would like our curriculum to look like in the future. 

#2: Topic index

While the curriculum chart is a useful visual overview of our education provision, it does not indicate what topics are covered within each piece of learning. For that purpose, I set about compiling an index of course topics. 

The index is organised by alphabetised topics related to the overarching theme of Parkinson’s, and further broken down by levels of learning. As an example, the section on Medication types includes a short summary of how this topic is covered in courses at Introductory, Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels (where applicable). 

A preview of the index of course topics created for and by the Parkinson’s UK education team.

At the time of writing, the index has grown to a substantial 60 pages—which may sound like a lot (and it is!). However, thanks to clear formatting and extensive use of hyperlinks, the document remains easy to navigate and user-friendly 

We’ve already seen—and anticipate continuing to see—several key benefits from using this index:

  • It allows us to track how topics are addressed across different learning levels, helping us build on existing content and maintain continuity.
  • It supports consistency of provision across our diverse audiences.
  • It identifies gaps in topic coverage.
#3: Student workload estimator

In the e-learning space, I have noticed an apparent lack of rigour when it comes to estimating course duration. I expected that there would be more tools available for working out an approximate duration of a piece of e-learning, or at least a stronger consensus around how to do that, besides relying on user testing. 

Seeking a more reliable method on which to base our course duration estimates, and in the absence of any readily available tools that fit our purposes, I set out to create what has become known as the ‘student workload estimator’. Built using formulas and data validation in Google Sheets, this tool can be applied to any e-learning course that primarily includes text and videos—just like ours.

The tool relies on three key inputs to estimate course duration:

  • Total course word count
  • Total video playback time 
  • Course level – each one of three levels is linked to a value representing words per minute, based on available data about average reading speeds. 

Student Workload Estimator: Front End

Student workload estimator tool in Google Sheets.

At the back end (on a sheet labelled Formula), there are optional modifiers to account for additional time spent: e.g. video replay (setting this number to 2 would allow for learners watching videos twice).

Using this tool offers several key benefits:

  • A solid basis for informing learners of anticipated engagement (important for our audience of time-poor healthcare professionals).
  • Common language for curriculum planning: It establishes a consistent vocabulary for discussing curriculum and planning within our team.
  • Improved course design.
Conclusion

In summary, the three tools outlined in this article have brought significant benefits in two key areas:

  • Improved communication: They’ve enhanced how we discuss our curriculum—within the team, across the wider organisation, and with our target audience.
  • Streamlined curriculum management: They’ve supported more effective planning, development, and management of our curriculum. 

Organisations in comparable situations to ourselves may find value in drawing inspiration from these tools.

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

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

ALT Wales/Cymru Relaunch - Coffee and chat

ALT Events - 08/05/25

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.

Categories: ALT, Events

ALTC25: Call for Committee

ALT News - 08/05/25

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.

Categories: ALT, News

ALT-ELESIG Scotland Event: Sustainability in Tertiary Education

ALT Events - 07/05/25

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,

Categories: ALT, Events

The fundamentals of copyright in learning technology

ALT Events - 07/05/25

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.
     
Categories: ALT, Events

Explore the voices and resources of CMALT Week 2025

#ALTC Blog - 06/05/25

By the Association for Learning Technology

Last week, we were pleased to host our first CMALT Week, from 28 April to 2 May 2025. A week packed with interactive sessions, webinars, and activities to help you along your CMALT journey. As we reflect on the week’s events, we invite you to explore the voices and resources from CMALT Week 2025 and share your feedback. 

A look back at CMALT Week 2025 You may also find the following CMALT resources helpful:  Don’t forget to use your discount

Anyone who attended a CMALT Week event qualifies for a 20% discount on CMALT registration. Delegates must use their discount code to register via the ALT website by Thursday, 31 July 2025. The discount code will be emailed to all delegates who completed the contact form and entitles users to 20% off of new CMALT registrations (all pathways), or 20% off of the cost of upgrading to Senior CMALT for current CMALT holders. Full T&C’s can be found here. 

Share your feedback 

We hope you enjoyed CMALT Week 2025 and found it valuable. Your feedback is essential in shaping future events, helping us refine and improve the experience. Please take a moment to share your thoughts using this form: go.alt.ac.uk/CMALT-Week-Feedback. Every response helps us understand what worked well and what we can enhance next time.

Thank you to those who have already taken the time to share feedback on this week’s activities.  

Stay connected and engaged by following the conversation on social media using #CMALT. Be the first to know about CMALT updates, new events, and additional resources to support your journey. Register for future CMALT events here.

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

Categories: #ALTC Blog, ALT

OER25 Keynotes Announced: Helen Beetham and Joe Wilson Lead the Conversation

ALT News - 02/05/25

Building on the momentum of CMALT Week, which shines a light on professional development in learning technology, we turn our attention to ALT’s upcoming event on open education: the OER25 Conference.

Categories: ALT, News

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