#ALTC Blog

ALT ELESIG is a community of researchers and practitioners involved in investigations of learners’ experiences and uses of technology in learning across all education sectors. ELESIG, formerly the Evaluating Learners Experiences of e-learning Special Interest Group, was established in 2008 to advocate for the theory and practice of researching learners’ experience in the context of technology enhanced learning/e-learning. ELESIG became a special interest group of ALT in 2019.

To apply for any of the roles, you must live in that region.

Officer Roles Available:

• South England Lead
• New Zealand Lead
• Midlands Co-Lead
• North West Co-Lead
• London Lead

These volunteer roles have a tenure of three years and offer excellent opportunities for leadership development, supporting applications for Advance HE Fellowships and other CPD avenues. Nominees must be ALT members, either individually or through an institutional membership.

How to Apply: Expressions of interest should include a statement (up to 200 words) detailing your interest, experience, and potential contributions to the Organising Committee’s role, as outlined in our Constitution, and your ability to attend ALT ELESIG Group meetings. Please submit your expressions of interest via this form by 12:00 noon GMT on Monday 7 April 2025. 

By M25 Member Group

In 2024, the ALT M25 community engaged in dynamic discussions during the Summer and Winter Meetings, covering topics such as e-portfolios, the evolving role of social media in learning technology, AI in assessments, and the significance of empathy in UX design. These sessions emphasized the importance of adaptability and innovation in enhancing educational practices. As we look ahead, stay tuned for the Spring Meeting in 2025 scheduled at 2 – 4 pm on Monday 24 March 2025, where we will continue to explore exciting developments in digital learning.

Thinking Back, Moving Forward: ALT M25 Summer Meeting

The M25 Summer meeting was held in a hybrid format, both online and in-person at the UCL East Campus on 18 July 2024. You may want to watch the recording of the session again. Let’s review the exciting presentations and interactive activities of the day.

MyPortfolio: A Case Study Supporting the Engineering Foundation Year

The first presentation, delivered by Kat Alston-Cole from UCL Faculty of Engineering, explored the use of MyPortfolio to support students in the Engineering Foundation Year. She shared both challenges and successes in integrating this tool, noting that over time, students developed essential skills in collaging their works using MyPortfolio. She also emphasised the need to improve guidance for students and provide clearer examples of portfolio usage.

A key highlight was the improvement in student confidence, as shown in a survey conducted before and after using MyPortfolio. Students felt significantly more confident after introductory sessions, highlighting the value of hands-on support.

Looking ahead, plans include refining support based on student feedback, improving portfolio appearance, and offering more examples. Further research will assess the long-term impact and identify areas for improvement. This case study initiated a constructive discussion on the importance of adaptability, feedback, and empowerment in successfully adopting portfolio tools in higher education.

Social Media in Learning Technology: Where Did Everyone Go?

Sarah Sherman from the Bloomsbury Learning Exchange (BLE) opened a discussion on the evolving role of social media in learning technology. The presentation started by highlighting the shifts in platforms and user engagement, noting the significant changes in popular platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and the rise of new contenders such as Mastodon and Threads. A poll was conducted to gauge current platform preferences, encouraging attendees to reflect on which tools they are using and how effective they find them.

The session sparked a conversation around the advantages and disadvantages of various platforms, such as LinkedIn for professional networking versus X for rapid, real-time updates. There was a notable discussion about whether recent launches like ChatGPT could transform learning technology beyond social media and how these technologies may promote or hinder access to learning communities.

In the open discussion, participants shared what features were missing in older platforms, what they currently find useful, and what gaps remain in their digital toolkits. Sarah encouraged open dialogue on how social media can better serve learning technology in the future, with particular attention to what works and what doesn’t work for both educators and students.

Academic Alliance: Addressing AI and Assessment Adventures

The third presentation, titled “Academic Alliance: Addressing AI and Assessment Adventures,” was led by Tim Neumann from UCL’s Knowledge Lab, with contributions from Jintong Yan, Zhixin Zhang, Sophie Ho, and Jennifer Seon. This engaging session explored various projects focusing on AI and assessment within the Institute of Education (IOE).

The first project investigated AI-related questions within student dissertations, gathering insights from over 140 participants. The second project involved an AI and Assessment Hackathon, where groups of students and alumni tackled six AI-related assessment briefs over nine days. This challenge aimed to foster collaboration and creative problem-solving among participants from UG and PG.

Finally, the projects culminated in a task where participants presented their findings to senior management at IOE. These presentations were designed to inform future AI policy and assessment strategies within the institution. The co-creation ensures that students’ voice is reflected in the IOE’s institutional strategies.

Lessons learnt snowball and Future cards discussion

On top of professional sharing, there were two interactive activities sparking deeper discussions on the year’s challenges, solutions, and lessons to carry forward. During the “Lessons Learnt Snowball Exercise,” participants jotted down key insights from the 2023/24 academic year on post-it notes and shared them. Examples included reflections on the rising importance of VR in teaching, the good practices in managing the change of VLE, and the value of involving students in decision-making. Others highlighted the need to better understand AI’s role in education and acknowledged that changes, while exciting, can pose challenges.

Participants concluded the day with the “Future Card Activity,” where groups discussed trends shaping the future of UK digital learning. They explored ideas like modular, flexible learning replacing rigid degree structures and the expansion of AI-powered personalised education. Some groups reflected on strategies to bridge digital divides and ensure equal access, while others debated the balance between traditional, research-focused learning and digital innovation. This collaborative exercise encouraged creative thinking about adapting to and thriving in an evolving digital learning landscape.

Purposeful UX: From Assumptions to Solutions That Matter: ALT M25 Winter Meeting

The ALT M25 Winter Meeting took place on 18 November 2024 at Chelsea College of Arts. The event focused on UX/UI design in education and how research can improve digital learning.

KCL Integrating Empathy into UX Design

The King’s College London (KCL) UX team, led by Rachel Brown, Andrea Amato, Helena Futerman, and Juliana Matos, delivered a workshop on integrating empathy into UX design. They introduced their approach to improving digital learning applications through user research and iterative testing. The session covered key UX methodologies, including the System Usability Scale (SUS) for usability assessment and empathy mapping to understand user needs and frustrations. Participants explored how data collection, interviews, and student profiles help shape more intuitive learning experiences.

The workshop then introduced “How Might We” (HMW) questions to reframe challenges into actionable design opportunities, followed by Crazy 4s, a rapid ideation method. The team also discussed testing design assumptions to ensure solutions align with real user needs. The session concluded with reflections on practicing empathy in UX, reinforcing the idea that great design starts with deeply understanding users.

UAL’s UX Journey to a Consistent Course Template

Ben Kammerling and Rebecca Cheng from the University of the Arts London shared their approach to creating a consistent Moodle course template. They used the Triple Diamond UX process, including interviews, usability testing, and data analysis, to identify problems like inconsistent page designs and navigation challenges.

The new template, used in 120 courses, has received positive feedback for its simplicity and accessibility. However, issues like finding resources and submitting assignments still need improvement. UAL plans to address these problems through surveys and further testing.

HyFlex and Classroom Technology at Birkbeck

Adele Cushing from Birkbeck, University of London, shared how they are using HyFlex teaching to support in-person and online students equally. HyFlex classrooms include advanced touchscreens and flexible layouts to help students collaborate and participate, no matter where they are.

The HyFlex pilot has shown promising results, but challenges remain. Adele highlighted the need for better support for hybrid participation and smoother technology integration. Future work will expand the use of HyFlex while addressing these challenges.

Lesson learnt

The ALT M25 Winter Meeting provided useful insights into UX and digital education. The presentations and discussions showed how thoughtful design and research can improve learning experiences for students and educators.

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

By AmplifyFE

The Future Teacher network organises monthly webinars aimed at supporting the sharing of great ideas for accessible digital teaching across the tertiary sector. These webinars regularly attract over 100 attendees. They are recorded and captioned with all resources made available through our Xerte platform; covering topics such as using rich media, learning analytics and open educational resources. 

The original Future Teacher project was an international European project funded for two years and that funding ended in 2019. However, the UK team, all experienced educators, valued the enthusiasm of the community that evolved so much that from 2019 to present it has been run on a voluntary basis and the team of volunteers has doubled in size, making us more sustainable. 

What is unique about the community?

From the beginning, we aimed to do things differently. We’ve tried to build the project on an important and valued set of principles:

Pragmatism – prioritising practices that demonstrably work and can be replicated without big budgets or specialist skills.
Cross sector – aiming to be as relevant to both Further and Higher Education.
Openness – entirely open educational resources.  We have used Xerte toolkits (open source) to create the resources. You can even import our resources into your own Xerte installations and adapt them as needed.
Accessibility – digital accessibility is a core value. We’re on the same journey as anyone else and often limited by similar constraints but we’re always mindful of maximising accessibility within our constraints.
Community – a mailing list of over 800 members, a core of regulars and all sessions recorded (with nearly 7,500 YouTube views in total).
Humanity – for the last 5 years, Future Teacher has run as a passion project by a (growing) group of volunteers. We share the desire to humanise technology. Ethics are high on the agenda – whether accessibility, inclusion, copyright or AI – and we love to showcase unknown innovators and get the student perspective direct from student contributors..
Nurture – some of our early attendees grew into early presenters and are now respected experts in their own right. 

Our monthly webinars deal with topics relevant to accessible, inclusive teaching with digital tools. All are recorded and made available with subtitles on our You Tube account and embedded within our Xerte open access resource. Take a look and click to open the topics list – you will uncover many resources which can save you time and support your teaching. 

1. Online learning – what works?

2. The Flipped Classroom

3. Knowing what they know

4. Collaborative teaching and learning

5. Strategies to support reading

6. Strategies to support writing

7. Self assessment and mastery learning

8. Social media for teaching and learning

9. Inclusive Practice

10. Rich Media 1 – Images

11. Rich Media 2 – Audio

12. Rich Media 3 – Video

13. Getting savvy with digital tools

14. Designing appropriate assessments

15. Designing for technology enhanced programmes

16. Designing and creating online learning activities and resources

17. WWW – the wonderful world of webinars

18. OER and Open Source

19. Learning Analytics (for mere mortals.

What next? Get involved!

Everyone is welcome to join the FutureTeacher community.

We are always on the look-out for potential speakers. If any of the following apply please get in touch via the Jiscmail mailing list or fill in your offer on our call for speakers form. 

• You are a practitioner and you’ve focused on one or more of the above themes in your practice and have some reflections to share. This could be a good opportunity to gather evidence for professional portfolios.
• You support and develop teaching colleagues and one or more of them is doing excellent work in one of the above themes and deserves wider recognition. 
• You support a community of practice and you are looking for opportunities to take good practices to a wider audience.
• Your institution does great work but it’s not widely known and you’re looking for a chance to remedy that.

Additionally, our presenters are awarded a Future Teacher open badge in recognition of their contribution to the community which can be shared on your website or social media – wherever you have a professional online presence. Why not add to your portfolio of evidence of professional activity? 

Join our LinkedIn group Follow us on Bluesky

Thanks for reading this AmplifyFE post! AmplifyFE is a strategic partnership between ALT and the Ufi VocTech Trust. AmplifyFE connects over 3000 professionals in Further Education and Vocational Education, providing a strong networking community to share, collaborate and learn. We connect innovators, industry and educators, therefore, AmplifyFE posts may include contributions with a commercial focus. AmplifyFE’s posts are included on the #altc blog to support networking, collaboration and sharing. For more information, please check AmplifyFE’s dedicated submission guidelines.

The #altc blog submission guidelines detail who can post and the type of posts accepted to this blog.

We have doubled the size of our ALT CoOL SIG Communications Group. Read on to learn more about the people behind the news bulletin and social media pages.

Hannah Crago – University of Essex –
Email | LinkedIn | Bluesky

Hi, I’m Hannah, and I work as the Open Research Development Librarian at the University of Essex. I am also a member of the Alt CoOL SIG committee, and am part of two subgroups: Education and Learning, and Communications.

As part of the Communications group, we send out the monthly news bulletins and run the Alt CoOL SIG social media pages. We’re always happy to hear new ideas for content, so get in touch if you have anything to share.

In my role at the University of Essex, I manage our Research Services Team, which includes training and support for researchers, open access publishing, our institutional Repository, the Essex Student Journal, and generally advocating for Open Research across the University of Essex and beyond. I’ve worked at Essex for 8 and a half years now in various different roles, and that time has flown by!

I got into copyright in a previous role within our reading lists team, where I coordinated our digitisation service. My involvement with copyright is now more around publishing, CC licences, and Rights Retention, but I am still regularly in conversation with the reading list team about CLA licences, copyright exceptions, etc. I also created a copyright game a few years ago alongside a previous colleague Katrine Sundsbø. The game is called Copyright Dough, and you can find it on Figshare, and read more about it in our article.

Deborah Ferns – University of Strathclyde  

Hi I’m Deborah and I have been working at University of Strathclyde since 2018 where I currently work as Copyright & Licensing Compliance Manager responsible for producing copyright guidance and training for staff and students, answering copyright enquiries and managing the University’s CLA/NLA/ERA and PRS for Music licences. I also act as Data Protection/FOI and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion contact for the Information Services Directorate.

My biggest challenge is probably communicating the importance of copyright to staff and students in an accessible way and ensuring that copyright law doesn’t become a barrier to teaching, learning and research.  In have been an Officer of the ALT CoOL SIG since its inception and being able to access this community of practice and share idea helps me meet this challenge.

I developed my interest in copyright while working for JISC Legal and have previously worked as Contracts Officer for the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) hosted at Heriot-Watt University and prior to working within Higher Education spent more than a decade working in commercial contracts in the biotechnology and telecoms software industries.

Nikisha Stanton – Defence Academy of the United Kingdom

Hey there! I’m Nikisha Stanton, and I work as a Copyright Officer and Marketing Lead at the Hobson Library, Joint Services and Command Staff College. I am new to Alt CoOL SIG, and I am very excited to be involved with this community and gain further insight into this profession. With a BA (hons) in drama, my start in the information profession may seem unconventional, but my degree and subsequent training have been incredibly beneficial.

In my current role, I focus on processing and raising awareness of copyright throughout the college, while also continuously developing our library marketing. Over the past three years, my training has given me the confidence to delve into topics within copyright that truly interest me. I am eager to expand my knowledge in copyright literacy and AI. I look forward to connecting with more of you in this community!

Shazia Arif – Brunel University of London – Email LinkedIn Bluesky

Hello, I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Academic Liaison Librarian for Health Sciences and Medicine at Brunel, University of London. I have recently joined the ALT COoL SIG Communications subgroup but have been a member of the committee since it was set up and previously contributed to the Events Planning subgroup. I am looking forward to working with the Communications team members to publicise and promote the work of the committee.

In my current role at Brunel, I am the lead liaison librarian for Health Sciences and Medicine. Brunel Medical School (BMS) was established in 2022 and it provided me with a fantastic opportunity to work in partnership with academic colleagues to ensure its success. BMS is using many innovative teaching methods such as Team-based Learning (TBL) and it has been great fun to develop the materials for these sessions for my information and digital literacy sessions.

I am also the lead for doctoral researcher development and run a range of workshops and webinars ranging from the use of social media for academic purposes, AI tools for literature searching, designing academic posters and presentation skills.

 My interest in copyright matters developed over the past five years, as I became the copyright contact for BMS subject matter experts and content developers. As this became a more significant part of my role, I welcomed the opportunity to network with librarian peers and work with the committee to raise awareness of copyright issues and also my own knowledge.

Keep up-to-date with ALT CoOLSIG via our new Bluesky and LinkedIn accounts.

The first webinar on AI and Digital Assessment went well on 21 January 2025. There were 91 attendees on the day and 230 subsequent views on YouTube. Most of the participants were from UK institutions, from lecturer, learning technologists, and professional services roles. The webinar was chaired by Gemma Westwood and hosted on Class Collaborate. A recording of the webinar is available on YouTube.

To regulate or not to regulate? Finding the balance for Generative AI and digital assessments
In this talk, Alison Gibson described the challenges universities faced in 2023 when generative AI suddenly arrived, and shared their journey from taking generative AI as a scary unknown, to a business-as-usual tool in University of Birmingham from a policy making perspective. This talk outlines the process of building and refining regulations for generative AI and teaching, learning and assessment, and how keeping academic GenAI literacy as the focus allows us to meet people at their point of need. The highlight is how they have influenced University regulations to include the need for students to be able to use Generative AI in their study.

Generative AI and the Future of Digital Assessments: Shifting Focus, Leading Change
Nurun Nahar How has generative AI transformed the landscape of digital assessments, and is it catalysing a shift from focusing on the ‘product’ of assessment to emphasising the ‘process’? Moreover, is this technology nudging institutions to move away from heavily weighted summative assessments toward more frequent, formative, and feedback-rich digital solutions? This talk explored these challenging questions, shedding light on how educational institutions can embrace generative AI to innovate and align assessment practices with evolving learning demands. Nurun shared her experience of shifting the assessment paradigm from product focused summative assessments to process oriented, formative and feedback rich approaches. She emphasised collaborations and building communities to establish examples of good practice in this space. Her example of using a Custom GPT trained as a Socratic Partner to provide feedback on summative coursework drafts attracted interest during discussions.

Artificially Enhanced Assessment – Transforming Evaluation and Feedback
Dr. Lisa Bradley took a step back and looked at the current problems faced by many university staff in a big picture since the Covid 19 pandemic. She summarised it as an issue of “Trust” – trust has broken down between staff and students. The relationship without trust has negative consequences. How do we change the relationship in a world where Generative AI is changing the way we assess and evaluate student learning?
In this engaging talk, Lisa explores the conversations, practices and concerns around the transformative potential of AI technologies to determine the authenticity of assessments and the need for clearer institutional guidance. She recommends assessment reform to be adopted with staff engaging with students in co-design.

Q&A Highlights

The Vevox Word Cloud
During this webinar, we also asked the participants to use three words to describe “the single largest challenge facing digital assessment currently at your institution”, here is a Word Cloud diagram with the top three words being:

• AI & Generative AI
• Authenticity
• Consistency

“Getting to know the Antiracism & Learning Tech SIG Officers” is a blog series by scholar and former ARLT SIG Chair, Dr Teeroumanee Nadan, to provide visibility to ARLT SIG officers who undertake this role in a voluntary capacity and to highlight the importance of antiracism work in the sector. It is a celebration of how ARLT SIG officers have grown in this role! 

In this blog, we introduce Roshni Bhagotra, Events Officer of ARLT SIG and Senior Digital Learning coordinator in the teaching and learning exchange at the University of the Arts London.

Tell me a bit about your educational and work background? 

My background is primarily in the arts, which has been a big influence to my educational and work background. I’ve worked in arts education for just over 10 years and have held varied roles within the sector ranging from audio visual technician, lecturer, outreach facilitator and digital education specialist. I also have a creative practice which is mostly sound, radio, installation, performance and moving image focused, where I regularly experiment with digital and analogue technologies. Much of my research also surrounds sound, storytelling and new media processes, questioning the role of the researcher and editor as an agent for storytelling and change. 

What is your interest in ARLT SIG? 

I’m interested in the ARLT SIG as I believe the conversations surrounding inclusivity and anti racism in pedagogy and practice are often not present within digital education spaces. I’m interested in learning from others as well as sharing knowledge and experience with the ARLT SIG and the like minded team of colleagues to support a more inclusive and anti-racist experience for those working in and also experiencing digital education design.  

What motivates you to undertake your role as Events Officer in ARLT SIG? 

A key motivation for me is advocating for the importance of the message and learnings that are part of ARLT SIG events. As an educator it’s important and very motivating to be part of a team with a shared vision for an important cause in advocating for a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture. I’m interested in giving voice to the people and experiences that are often overlooked and move towards facilitating a culture of inclusion and acceptance.  

What have you learnt so far in your journey in the ARLT SIG committee? 

It’s been a great journey so far, getting to know everyone and understanding the different roles we all have alongside the workings of the ARLT SIG. A big learning for me so far has been getting to know the breadth and variety of how inclusive practices are experienced across different educational sectors. 

What are you doing to improve things within ARLT SIG, ALT and the wider community in terms of antiracism & learning technologies? 

I’ve been mostly focusing on organising events in response to our communities needs in the sector. I’ve also been connecting with other institutions and colleagues who are specialists in different areas of antiracism as well as learning technology specific areas, aiming to bring diverse and broader conversations surrounding antiracism and learning technologies to the ARLT SIG.   

Since you joined in 2024, what has your journey in ARLT SIG been like so far? 

It’s been a great journey. I’ve learnt a lot and have also been able to connect with other like minded colleagues across different educational sectors through events and catch ups and also understand how different types of education and pedagogy can exist and support learners. It’s been great to work towards an important and much needed area in the HE sector! 

Check out the ARLT SIG webpage | ARLT SIG blogs | ARLT SIG resources 

To join ARLT SIG, subscribe to our JISC mailing list 

By Digital Assessment Special Interest Group

The Digital Assessment SIG is calling for speakers for its next webinar titled “Creating Digital Assessments: planning, conceptualising and supporting”, which will be held online on 25 March 2025 from 10:00 AM until 11:30 AM GMT. 

We are particularly looking for speakers who are able share:

• Examples of how they plan, conceptualise, or support digital assessment creation
• Examples of co-creation of digital assessments with students
• Examples of planning for authentic/ innovative digital assessments (eg. use of AI, gamification etc)
• Insight into/ examples of digital tools that have impacted the support for creating digital assessments
• Action/empirical research completed under the webinar theme.
• Case studies on the use of digital tools to plan, conceptualise or support the creation of digital assessments

Please note when covering the term digital assessments, the SIG is happy to review submissions that refer to all assessment types including but not limited to; summative, formative and examination based assessments, so long as digital tools have been applied during the assessment process.

Should you be interested in speaking at this webinar please complete the google form by the 04 March 2025. 

For additional guidance please review the guidance for potential presenters document.”

At ALT we recognise the importance of developing new pathways into our profession, and in September 2023 we announced the first apprenticeship standard endorsed by ALT. This Level 5 apprenticeship is designed to equip learners with the skills and knowledge needed to become successful digital learning designers. 

We are proud to collaborate with a number of providers, who offer industry-focused training, world-class support, and apprenticeships that accelerate careers and secure futures. This month, as we celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, we invited LDN Apprenticeships Programme Growth Manager, Robert Davis, to participate in our profile series. Robert shares his experience working with the Digital Learning Designer (DLD) apprenticeships and explains how ALT members can get involved.

Robert Davis, Programme Growth Manager, LDN Apprenticeships How are you involved with ALT?

I work for LDN Apprenticeships as the Programme Growth Manager – helping to engage with employers and employees around the new DLD Level 5 apprenticeship standard. We were delighted to launch the Digital Learning Designer programme alongside our partnership with ALT, as the first apprenticeship training provider to deliver the programme in the country!

As LDN Apprenticeships is an Organisational Member of ALT, our DLD Apprentices receive free Associate membership of ALT and we also work with the association to help provide additional learning opportunities for our apprentices and ALT Members.

What do you find exciting about working with the Digital Learning Designer Apprenticeship?

It’s incredible to see so much interest and engagement from so many people, across so many different industries since launching the DLD programme in September 2023. There really is no other apprenticeship like it in terms of both the learning content and curriculum, as well as the passion from apprentices to develop and expand their online learning and e-learning knowledge. It’s been exciting to see it grow and evolve. From being a part of the initial trailblazer group to building and launching the programme, and seeing the DLD Apprenticeship become the success it is today, I have witnessed tremendous growth and achievements. Some of our apprentices on the programme are already receiving recognition for their achievements as well, with many gaining awards and taking up ambassadorial roles across the industry.

An apprenticeship within the digital learning environment has been long overdue and as the very first training provider to offer the programme, it’s something we’re excited to be involved in and proud to be the biggest provider for the programme in the country. I can’t wait to see it develop and go from strength to strength!

What can our members expect day to day, if they were to recruit an apprentice on the DLD programme? How can they get involved?  

The DLD Apprenticeship is created specifically for employees working within the area of online learning so the work they’re doing in the workplace aligns with what they’re learning and the projects they put together as part of the apprenticeship.

DLD Apprenticeships can support ALT members looking to upskill an existing member of their team or those looking to introduce and hire exciting new talent. 

Apprentices will be a part of the DLD Apprenticeship community and through LDN can receive one-to-one guidance from a dedicated Digital Learning Designer Skills Coach. This is supplemented by group Learning Sessions, Masterclasses and Development days, hosted by industry experts to further enhance and develop their understanding and knowledge within the digital learning landscape. Ultimately implementing this back into their role day-to-day and improving productivity and output overall for L&D and digital learning departments.

How do you see the role of apprenticeships evolving in the digital learning landscape?

It’s an interesting time to be working within digital learning as major changes and updates to the online learning world and its function within a business has changed so much in recent years. Since launching the programme in a post-Covid/Lockdown working environment, to the introduction and influence of AI, the Digital Learning Designer apprenticeship has helped employees grasp, understand and implement important shifts within the industry. Our apprenticeship will also need to evolve to reflect trends like this, and we review it regularly to make sure it’s keeping up to date with these changes.

Based on our recent experience and the increasing demand for online learning, I can see apprenticeships playing an increasingly important role in supporting and developing in-house digital learning teams. We’ve already seen companies enjoy huge benefits where apprentices have introduced new systems and practices, often saving the company time and resources, following their work whilst on the programme.

The need to fill skills gaps, build digital learning strategies and grow teams across every single business has made the DLD apprenticeship an integral and crucial part of developing digital learning departments already. With the programme’s immediate success, it would be fantastic to see more entry level apprenticeship standards within the e-learning and digital learning industry. Creating a path for new and diverse talent to start their careers in online learning and be part of an industry that is only going to become more integral to businesses as it continues to grow.

The Department for Education announced that the theme for National Apprenticeship Week 2025 is ‘Skills For Life’. What’s one skill you’ve always wanted to learn and why? 

I have always wanted to learn another language. I have so much appreciation and respect for anyone who can speak more than one language!

What was the last thing you read or watched?

The last thing I watched was Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. David Lynch is one of my favourite directors and have been on a big re-watch of his films and shows since he sadly passed away recently.

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

I find this question so difficult! Being sensible, I would probably take something that allows me to survive and enjoy as much of my time on a deserted island as possible but in reality, I’d probably take my Nintendo Switch that I’d forget to charge…

If Rob has sparked your interest, explore how to become an Organisational Member or discover more about the Digital Learning Designer Apprenticeship. You can find a comprehensive list of providers here. To get in touch with Rob directly, email him at rob@ldnapprenticeships.com.

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.

Co-Chair’s Welcome and Update

Welcome to the fourth annual report of the Copyright and Online Learning (CoOL) SIG of the Association of Learning Technology. The CoOL SIG was formed in November 2020 and this report covers the period January to December 2024. We are honoured to continue to act as the co-chairs for this group and the report outlines the achievements of the community over the last 12 months. While the CoOL SIG’s activities have centred on our Copyright and Online Learning webinars we have also worked on other projects and initiatives outlined in more detail below. Things were a bit more low key this year as a result of Chris taking some leave for family reasons, but when we looked back at the end of the year in fact we found quite a lot had happened.

We have continued to see an interest in copyright and online learning at many educational institutions. This year we’ve also seen a continuing interest in copyright and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ran several more webinars on this topic. We were also pleased to run Icepops in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University, this time as a shorter half day event we called a ‘Pocket Edition’. We were grateful to Liesl Rowe at Leeds Beckett for helping to make it all happen, and Anne-Lise Harding, co-chair of ILG who stepped in to co-chair this event in Chris’s absence.

We were delighted to be re-elected for a second 3-year term as co-chairs. We are also really pleased to welcome several new people onto the committee, as well as saying goodbye to some long standing friends who stepped down. The full committee list appears at the end of this report.

Chris Morrison and Jane Secker ALT CoOL SIG Co-chairs 

Overview of activities 2024

During 2024 the group committee continued to meet regularly (see Appendix 1 for members) and held 3 meetings (March, July and December), including an AGM in July at Icepops 2024 in Leeds. We highlighted several areas of activity for the group and have working groups to coordinate our activities in the following areas:

• Accessibility and copyright – the group continued to meet and keep a watching brief on this topic 
• Copyright education and training resources – In 2024 this group started work on creating a list of copyright good practice they are calling the Copyright Wheel. This work is still ongoing but was presented at Icepops 2024.
• The ALT Ethical framework which was launched in 2021. We maintain a small working group keeping a watching brief on this and feeding into the developments. We ran a webinar on this topic in early 2024 with Natalie Lafferty and Sharon Flynn to explore the overlap between copyright and wider ethical issues.

Report on events Copyright and Online Learning Webinars

• Our webinars continue to be hosted on the ALT YouTube Channel and our website. 
• Number of webinars: 73 in total since March 2020 including 7 webinars held in 2024
• Topics covered included: The ALT ethical framework and copyright, becoming a copyright specialist, third party copyright in research outputs, an introduction to LACA and Highlights of Icepops. In addition we ended the year with our popular Christmas quiz.  

Icepops 2024

The Icepops conference ran at Leeds Beckett University on 8th September 2024 with the theme of ‘Copyright and the Human Being’. The keynote was given by Kyle K Courtney from Harvard University. The presentations and further details are available on the Icepops 2024 website. Over 60 people attended the event and feedback was highly positive. A review of Icepops was written by first time attendees from the University of Dundee, Michael Duncan, Bridget McCall and Kirsty Knowles.

Icepops was supported by the CILIP Information Literacy Group. Tours of Leeds University Library were held on 9th September 2024 and we ran an AGM for the ALT CoOL SIG. Icepops raised a small profit for the CILIP Information Literacy Group who underwrite and support the event, but the costs this year were deliberately kept very low to allow as many delegates as possible to attend.

Fair Dealing week 2024

Our group did not run an event for fair dealing week in 2024 but promoted the events running elsewhere.

Other conferences 

Jane and Chris presented about Copyright and Online Learning and the work of the SIG at a number of external conferences including the following events in 2024: 

• February 2024: ABC Copyright Conference, Canada presenting on Copyright Anxiety in UK and Canadian Higher Education
• February 2024: Research Support Games Event presenting on the Publishing Trap v.2.1
• April 2024: Copyright Essentials for Learning Technologists, ALT CPD webinar
• May 2024: Bodleian Library Staff Development Conference: Ethical and Legal Considerations of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

Social Media and Communications 

Following ALT’s decision to leave Twitter, we decided to stop using our Twitter account and set up an ALT CoOL SIG BlueSky account in late 2024 which we are still exploring.

Our JISCmail list which is used to circulate our monthly newsletter on now has 226 members and is used for all group communication. 

We also continue to use LIS-Copyseek (a closed list with over 660 members) to promote our events and also the Copyrightliteracy.org website. The CoOL SIG has a logo, and t-shirts are available to purchase in the ALT Store. 

Collaboration and networking

The group recognises there are many existing groups in the copyright space and so has tried to work in collaboration with as many of these as possible. The organisations include:

• Scottish Confederation of University & Research Libraries (SCURL) – several committee members are also members of the SCURL Copyright and Legal Matters group 
• LACA (Libraries and Archives Coalition) – Chris Morrison is a member of this group and keeps them up to date with ALT CoOL SIG activities.
• Universities UK Copyright Negotiation and Advisory Committee – both Jane and Chris are members of this committee, as is Kate Vasili.
• IFLA – during 2023 an excellent working relationship developed with Matt Voigts the former IFLA Copyright Policy Specialist who runs a Copyright News newsletter. We continue to liaise with IFLA through Stephen Wyber. 

Appendix 1: Committee members

Co-Chairs: Jane Secker (City, University of London) and Chris Morrison (Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford)

Secretary: Kathryn Drumm, (City, University of London)

Marketing and communications officer: Deborah Ferns (University of Strathclyde) and Hannah Crago (University of Essex)

International networking: Kyle Courtney (Harvard University),

Other Officers: Chris Jones (University of Reading), Kate Vasili (Middlesex University), Neil Sprunt (University of Manchester), Erica Wine (Coventry University), Caroline Lloyd (University of Nottingham) Shazia Arif (Brunel, University of London), Bart Meletti (Learning on Screen / University of Glasgow). Neil McCormick (University of Edinburgh) Megan Kilvington, (York St Johns University), Liesl Rowe (Leeds Beckett University). Keziah Gibbs (University of Essex) Nikisha Stanton (Defence Academy)

Written by the Echo360 team

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Thanks for reading this AmplifyFE post! AmplifyFE is a strategic partnership between ALT and the Ufi VocTech Trust. AmplifyFE connects over 3000 professionals in Further Education and Vocational Education, providing a strong networking community to share, collaborate and learn. We connect innovators, industry and educators, therefore, AmplifyFE posts may include contributions with a commercial focus. AmplifyFE’s posts are included on the #altc blog to support networking, collaboration and sharing. For more information, please check AmplifyFE’s dedicated submission guidelines.

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