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

Interested in getting further into using AI tools for online courses but not sure where to start? In this session, Leonard Houx, Director of Learning Design at Cambridge Education Group, will show ideas for using free AI tools to conceive, strategise, and deliver and analyse your online courses.

Speaker: Leonard Houx is the Director of Learning Design at Cambridge Education Group. He is a fellow of the Centre for Online and Distance Education, a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Association and a former Director of the Learning Network. He has written about online learning for the Financial Times, Times Higher Ed, and Guardian.

Green Changemakers: A Paradigm Shift in FE

Join Lou Mycroft to find out more about what Green Changemakers are and how they are shaking things up in the West Midlands. Expect plenty of potentia, three mindset-changing pivots and maybe the occasional Golden Unicorn.

Lou Mycroft is an FE Changemaker, currently drawing on all the learning of FE’s community landscape to facilitate the Green Changemakers Programme in the West Midlands and Warwickshire.

Please use this form to register if you'd like to attend the AGM online.

You do not need to register for the AGM if you are attending our Annual Conference, as this is included in your registration. 

>>> Please note the time may change while the conference programme is finalised <<<

Our 2024 Annual General Meeting will be held in person and online at ALT's Annual Conference, 4 September 2024, Manchester, UK.

All Members are encouraged to attend and the AGM is also open to guests and observers. The Calling Notice for the AGM was issued in July, and in accordance with the ALT Constitution adopted in 2019, the business of the Annual General Meeting will include: the election of Trustees; approval of accounts and report and decisions on any resolutions. 

All papers for the AGM and related information will be published online.

This year there are no vacancies for elected Trustees and no Trustee elections will take place. 

• Explore our aims and values and our work on equality and diversity.
• Learn about our work as a charity
• Meet the current Board of Trustees
• Find out about what we do and our impact

Presenter: Dr Lou Mycroft

During International Week of Happiness at Work, this webinar offers a session specifically designed for Learning Technologists looking to increase wellbeing at work. We'll explore how increased use of digital technologies for communication and collaboration, alongside learning, teaching and assessment, impacts on our physical and mental wellbeing. If issues such as tired eyes from long hours spent in front of screens, to digital overwhelm and lack of movement during days of meetings sound familiar to you, then this session will offer practical approaches to adopt healthier working habits for hybrid teams. Using practical tools and interactive activities the session will support you in reflecting on your current practice and identifying what actions to take next in your wellbeing journey for the new academic year.

Speaker: Dr Maren Deepwell is a professional coach and works as a consultant with organisations to improve hybrid working and wellbeing at work. Her first book, Leading Virtual Teams, was published by ALT in 2022 and work is now underway in a second Open Access book, with a focus on long term hybrid working, how it impacts our senses and the relationship between human beings and technology, in the context of the radical shifts in the balance of power in the workplace (as in the classroom) with the advent of AI and surveillance technologies. This new book won’t be a solo project, but a wider collaboration with case studies and interviews with leaders and experts. If you are interested in contributing, get in touch. 

Date: Thursday 18 July 2024
Time: 2-5pm (with pre-lunch 1-2pm)
Venue: UCL East Marshgate building (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-east/find-us)
Format: In person and online.

Come and join the M25 Learning Technology group for a day of reflection, sharing stories, and discussing ideas and strategies from the past academic year. Together, we can prepare and plan for the upcoming academic year and beyond.

You're not alone in this journey. Whether it is that new platform launching in 2025, the threats and opportunities of AI, or a long-standing challenge that’s always helpful to talk about, this is the place to share, think creatively with others, and blow off some steam too.

Call out for talks, workshops, or activities

Do you have reflections or experiences to share? Maybe it's a successful project from this year, an upcoming challenge you've been pondering, or an activity you'd like to run with the group to help others reflect on the past year and/or prepare for the next. We want to hear from you!

Email: Geraldine.Foley@ucl.ac.uk by 12 noon on Monday June 24 with your session suggestions. Make sure to include your details the format of your session e.g. presentation or workshop activity, what it will be about and how long you would like to have.
 

Join Robert Treharne to learn more about enhancing student engagement.

Many institutions are seeking new methods to acknowledge and reward valuable contributions from staff and students. This can include achievements in academics (curricular), extracurricular activities, or co-curricular programs. Examples include information literacy workshops, employability skills development, internships, community service projects, or volunteer work.

This session will explore how digital badges and certifications can be used as a recognition tool for these contributions and accomplishments. Digital badges are verifiable online tokens that represent a skill learned, an accomplishment achieved, or a completed program. Compared to traditional paper certificates, they offer greater accessibility and shareability.

The online session will feature experiences from three institutions that have been piloting the use of digital badges. Following this, there will include a general discussion about digital badges and certification, with the presenters and audience.

Presenter bio/description:

Peter Harrison (Head of Academic Practice and Education Excellence, Cranfield University)

Peter’s session, The backroom to our badging strategy will describe what Cranfield wanted to achieve with their badging initiative, why they went with a commercial registrar, how to give badges value and managing growth and change in badge portfolio.

Bernadette Martin (Learning and Teaching Librarian, Library and Learning Services, Open University)

The Open University is creating a badged online course on Digital & Information Literacy. Tailored to different degree levels, it will teach information research, critical thinking, and other digital skills. The course repurposes existing resources and offers easy access for students and staff and is aligned to the Digital and Information Literacy Framework. The course will be offered to all OU students through our VLE from September 2024.

Cory Saarinen (Assistant Director - Technology Enhanced Learning, Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge)

The Institute of Continuing Education (ICE) has been working on a pilot project around the implementation of Digital Certificates and Badges in partnership with Accredible. Since January Digital Certificates and Badges have been implemented across ICE’s non-award bearing Online Course portfolio, with progress being made on bringing onboard all non-accredited courses in time for the 2024 Academic Year.
 

Testing

Ben Ferris, Head of Law School Training & Development at BPP Law School will be joining the ALT South #TechThursday event on Thursday 25 April. The session will explore how we prepare online students for the challenges they face and how tutors can enjoy themselves in the online classroom! The talk is open to everyone.

Following on from their recent blog post Creating Momentum Around Transformative Active Learning, Dr Theresa Nicholson and Dr Carmen Herrero will share their aspirations and strategy for developing an institution-wide Active Learning Community of Practice (ALCoP) at Manchester Metropolitan University. We will provide a contextual overview of the strategic background to ALCoP, and progress so far.

The interactive part of the webinar will then focus on exploring:

1. Different perspectives on the scope of 'active learning', and

2. Strategies for building communities that (a) foster creativity and innovation, (b) offer support, mentoring and professional development for practitioners, and (c) provide practical routes for resource development, dissemination, scholarship and publication.

There will be lots of opportunities for participants to share their experiences, ask questions, and learn from each other.