Hmmm, before covid I think I would have said my iPhone, but over the last eighteen months, I think my iMac has to be my favourite piece of kit.
When you’re travelling the iPhone was really useful for quick checks, information, entertainment and acting as a WiFi hotspot.
However with Covid-19 and lockdowns the iMac has become my main computer and tool for work.
I use to post regularly every year a top ten of the technologies that helped me to do my job. The last one I did was for 2016, and my top technology was my iPhone.
In first place is my iPhone 6S Plus, A great phone, with a great screen and made really useful through the 4G connection. I like the camera. Having played with the iPhone 7 in an Apple Store I much prefer the physical home button of the 6S. I know not everyone likes the large screen of the Plus model, but I find it really easy to use, however the size can be a little cumbersome.
Then the iMac came in third.
One of the reasons I didn’t do a top ten for 2017 was that not much had changed. My job didn’t require me to use a range of technologies as previous roles had, and I wasn’t upgrading my kit as much as I use to.
The fact that five years after posting that 2016 list I am still using the same iMac and the same iPhone that I was using back then was showing posting a top ten list was no longer useful. I think I would struggle today to find ten items I use.
Though I didn’t post these posts each day in June (and to be honest I didn’t post it each day on the Twitter either) except the final day, I have decided to retrospectively post blog posts about each of the challenges and back date them accordingly. There is sometimes more I want to say on the challenge then you can fit into 140 characters (well 280 these days).
Across the many conferences I have attended one of the things I would usually take with me was a six way power gang!
Instead of fighting people for the power sockets, you can immediately make five friends! Also useful when you are back in your hotel room and need to charge the laptop, the phone, the iPod, use the hairdryer, etc…
If I am attending a one day event, I might bring a two or three way adapter instead.
I usually find that I take too much stuff to conference and as a result I am always carrying a heavy bag. Sometimes this is because I want to work on the train as well as using a device at a conference itself.
Though I didn’t post these posts each day in June (and to be honest I didn’t post it each day on the Twitter either) except the final day, I have decided to retrospectively post blog posts about each of the challenges and back date them accordingly. There is sometimes more I want to say on the challenge then you can fit into 140 characters (well 280 these days).
In education we use a lot of acronyms and I don’t always know what they stand for.
I think over time for me probably the most used acronym has to be VLE, Virtual Learning Environment.
Despite only being used for three years MoLeNET features as heavily used on my blog. I did a lot of blogging about mobile learning.
MoLeNET was an acronym for Mobile Learning Network.
Jisc despite what wikipedia and others think is no longer an acronym.
Though I didn’t post these posts each day in June (and to be honest I didn’t post it each day on the Twitter either) except the final day, I have decided to retrospectively post blog posts about each of the challenges and back date them accordingly. There is sometimes more I want to say on the challenge then you can fit into 140 characters (well 280 these days).
It was Tuesday 8th September 2009 at 13:40 at Manchester University that The VLE is Dead symposium was kicked off by Josie Frasier.
2009 was also the year that delegates at ALT-C discovered the Twitter! In 2008 there were roughly 300 tweets and about forty people tweeting, in 2009 the amount of tweeting went through the roof!
Most people though remember that year as the year I allegedly said the VLE was dead! We had certainly over the months leading up to the conference trailed the debate with blog posts, tweets and even a trailer.
The debate was huge, with hundreds of people in the room, sitting on the floor, standing by the walls and we also live streamed the debate over the internet (which was quite revolutionary at the time). Overall an amazing experience and an interesting debate that still goes on today.
If you watch the video of the debate and discussion you will see that my view was that the VLE was more of a concept a place where a learner starts their journey and other technologies could be plugged into the institutional VLE to enhance and enrich it.
I still hold that viewpoint that the VLE is a construction of different tools and services. Back in 2009 I thought the VLE would evolve into something at the heart of a student online experience.
Reality was everyone thought I said the VLE was dead…
My first experience of a VLE, well more of a Learning Management System was First Class back in the late 1990s. I remember the number of red flags that said you had unread messages in the text based discussion forums. I did think it had huge potential.
In 2001 I got a job as Director of the Western Colleges Consortium and part of the role was leading and supporting the use of a shared VLE, TekniCAL’s Virtual Campus. This was an interesting platform, though the best thing that TekniCAL did was create a SCORM authoring tool based on Word. A simple tool which used styles and then you could create interactive and engaging learning content. The challenge with the platform was that the focus of technical development was on the administrator experience and not the student experience, so there was a lot of dissatisfaction from the end users on their user experience.
I then moved jobs and moved VLEs.
In later jobs I had to use Moodle and Moodle was like a breath of fresh air in the VLE space when it was first around. I did get annoyed when people confused free (open source) software with free (as in no cost). Certain skills were required to manage and administer Moodle from a technical perspective. If you didn’t have those then there was potential for things going wrong.
Over time though Moodle became somewhat clunky and needed a redesign. I did once take an in-depth look at Canvas.
I have never used Blackboard!
In my current role I don’t use a VLE.
So for me the VLE is now dead!
Though I didn’t post these posts each day in June (and to be honest I didn’t post it each day on the Twitter either) except the final day, I have decided to retrospectively post blog posts about each of the challenges and back date them accordingly. There is sometimes more I want to say on the challenge then you can fit into 140 characters (well 280 these days).
Monday I was focusing on one of the projects we are working on with an university looking at various scope areas and how technology and digital can make a difference. I was reminded of the NSA quote of cylinders of excellence when it comes to silo working. The concept of excellent departments, but not an excellent university came to mind, but also about the inefficiencies of silos working in isolation and not thinking about the impact of their development and change on the rest of the university.
At the end of the day we were discussing assessment. What is happening with assessment in higher education now and what changes made as a result of Covid-19 are now in place, but also the wider issues of assessment as well.
Tuesday saw me back to our office in Portwall Lane for an in-person meeting with my line manager, our first meeting in-person since August last year. It was actually nice to be both in the office and in an in-person meeting.
Something that keeps coming to my attention is the future of teaching, especially the concept of dual mode or hybrid teaching. What are peoples’ experiences of “dual-mode”, “muti-mode”, hybrid teaching? What has the student feedback being like? Something I have been reflecting on this week.
Students want universities to prioritise a return to in person teaching and are missing face-to-face interaction around their wider student experience.
This is something which isn’t too surprising and is also something that has come out of our recent research into the student experience. Though digging deeper for us, it was more the in-person interaction students were missing and less the teaching.
Wednesday afternoon myself and Isabel Lucas of HEDG and the University of Cumbria hosted a share shop, facilitated by Advance HE, on how universities can support students transitioning in HE. We looked at both new students and returning students.
In September, third year students returning to HE will not have had a normal year in higher education and it is likely that their third year will not be like it was before.
We discussed a range of issues, focusing on the known knowns and the known unknowns. More difficult to discuss the unknown knowns and the unknown unknowns!
We are aiming to share the findings from the shareshop in June.
Thursday was a light day in terms of meetings, but got even lighter, as one meeting was cancelled five minutes before it was due to start, with the other meeting, two people who had accepted were in fact on leave, so in the end the meeting lasted only five minutes.
The future of the office keeps getting discussed, with those who own offices explaining why going back to the office is so important and those who don’t explaining why it isn’t. For me a lot is about the kind of work you do, I don’t do the same thing everyday, so there isn’t a single kind of space I need all the time. Before Covid, sometimes I would be working alone, sometimes I would be in meetings, sometimes we would be collaborating and sometimes I didn’t know, so it was useful to have other people around to bounce ideas off and chat over coffee.
Monday was a mix of meetings, some about our current consultancy work, some about future consultancy work and one was a formal presentation for one of our current projects. Had to keep my head straight so I could ensure that I was talking about the right stuff in the right meeting.
Cardiff University have confirmed online lectures will continue in September 2021.
Cardiff University has announced that online learning will continue in September. Despite government rules relaxing, the university has said it will be prioritising the safety of staff and students. However, in-person seminars, workshops, tutorials, and lab work are expected to go ahead.
This is a similar model to what many other universities are going to do for September 2021.
At the end of Monday I was in a meeting with the Office for Students in preparation for a meeting later in the week.
Bristol by James Clay
On Tuesday I went to the office. This was the first time I had been to the office since October. I had been a few times during August last year, but following the second lockdown in November our offices have been closed and only reopened on the 17th May.
As might be expected it was somewhat quiet, I think there were only ten staff in all together. It was nice to see people (for real). The main problem I had was the desk I booked meant I had a window behind me, so on my calls I was a dark shadow. Which was confusing for people who usually find me sitting at my desk with a virtual background.
I did enjoy going into the office and also enjoyed my walk at lunchtime, it was interesting though to see how much had changed. Even though I have been to Bristol a few times, I generally was going shopping, my lunchtime walk took in the parts of Bristol that I wouldn’t normally visit during a general shopping trip.
The view from Castle Bridge by James Clay
What I hadn’t missed was the commute. Combined with the rain as well, it was a hassle and annoying to drive to and from work.
Enjoyed watch Lawrie move through 21 locks on his boat as he had a well deserved holiday.
Had a scoping call about the Intelligent Campus and potential consultancy we could do in this space. We have been thinking about how we could work with universities on vision pieces and use cases.
I also had a useful discussion with another university later on Tuesday about blended and digital learning.
Wednesday I didn’t go to the office, as my car had its MOT (which it passed). Hardly using my car compared to pre-covid times, mainly as I am not travelling to events, universities or other Jisc offices.
In an interesting move, University of Cambridge has expanded into online learning and begins to launch its portfolio of short online courses, with 50 to come priced at around £2000 each.
The University of Cambridge has launched a series of online short courses for professionals in a major expansion of its distance learning activities.
Thursday I had to wait in for a collection, so no trip to Bristol either.
I had a meeting to plan a shareshop I am helping to run next week called Supporting Students to Transition to HE in September.
Over the last twelve months universities across the country have switched to emergency remote delivery as lockdowns caused students to stay at home (or in halls). Though we know university staff have made huge efforts to provide high quality remote teaching and learning, when we talk to students we have found that many feel isolated, separated from their cohort, missing the in-person social interaction which is so important to the student experience and for peer support and learning.
I did consider going to the office on Friday, but with all the wind and rain decided not to.
Though I am not really one for being a slave to statistics, likes, etc…. I am wondering what I have said and done to lose so many Twitter followers over the last few weeks.
EUNIS annual Congress takes place from the 9-11 June, with pre-Congress workshops 1-4 June and a (virtual) Greek island.
I am presenting about Learning and Teaching Reimagined on the 10th June and will also be a panellist in another session.
Join us to discuss digital transformation, find out how universities internationally have delivered innovative learning experiences during the pandemic and reflect on what happens next. An inspiring schedule of presentations, roundtables and workshops.
As ever, EUNIS brings a local flavour even when virtual. Relax and meet others on our own Greek island: a totally new experience in virtual networking.
Over the last twelve months universities across the country have switched to emergency remote delivery as lockdowns caused students to stay at home (or in halls). Though we know university staff have made huge efforts to provide high quality remote teaching and learning, when we talk to students we have found that many feel isolated, separated from their cohort, missing the in-person social interaction which is so important to the student experience and for peer support and learning.
Can we build social cohesion online? Can we recreate effectively the in-person social interaction which students feel is critical to their learning? What can we learn from our experiences to ensure that students
Myself and Isabel Lucas from University of Cumbria / HEDG are running a free, safe space workshop to share thoughts, ideas, good practice on ways we can support learners in September.
It would be great to see some friendly faces there who are interested in this topic and can share their thoughts, concerns and questions.
We aim to write up and share with the community afterwards so the more input we get the more we can all learn from each other.
How can we best support learners coming in to HE from a Covid Context?
26th May 13.00-15.00 (BST)
This session, hosted by James Clay from Jisc and Isabel Lucas from University of Cumbria / HEDG will provide a safe and creative space to share views on what we consider will be the needs of learners entering HE in Sept 2021, having experienced 20 months of interruption to their education and social experiences.
Please come along to share, listen and discuss with a view to creating some common understanding of how we can plan to support these learners in the new academic cycle.
Please contact Rachel Witton if you are interested to join the session.
On Monday I was reflecting with an international lens on our HE strategy. Jisc is not funded to support non-UK universities, but we do work closely with other NRENs overseas, sharing practice, advice and where we can collaborating on projects.
Tuesday I delivered a formal presentation to a university executive about a project we have done for them, they were very pleased with the final report, the presentation and the work we had done.
Later I was doing another presentation to another university with some thoughts about digital governance. My main point was that digital isn’t just a thing, nor does it just within its own silo within an university. Often the benefits that digital brings to a department or professional service won’t be within that service but will benefit the university as a whole. For example, when you bring in a digital HR system, the real benefits of such a system are not for HR, but for the efficiencies it brings managers across the university. However often those benefits are not always realised, and the affordances of such systems are also not realised.
Wednesday I was catching up with stuff and preparing for other meetings.
Universities could face fines over free speech breaches as reported by BBC News.
Universities in England could face fines under new legislation if they fail to protect free speech on campus. Visiting speakers, academics or students could seek compensation if they suffer loss from a breach of a university’s free speech obligations.
To be honest I am not sure how much of a problem and issue this is in higher education that it requires legislation. There was then a kerfuffle as the Universities Minister and Downing Street debated about what was allowed (as in free speech) and what wasn’t (as in hate speech). To be honest if the Government can’t work this out, what does this mean for universities?
On Thursday I was presenting at the QAA Conference, my presentation was entitled: How will the growth in online learning shape the future design of learning spaces and our campuses?
The physicality of online learning is an issue that will impact on university campuses as more institutions move to a blended programmes containing elements of online and digital learning and physical in-person learning. In this session James Clay from Jisc will explore the challenges that growth in online learning will bring to learning spaces and the university campus. He will explore what is required for, in terms of space for online learning, but will also consider the space and design implications of delivering online teaching as well. He will discuss what some universities are doing today to meet these challenges and requirements. He will reflect on a possible future where we are able to maximise the use of our space as students have the flexibility to learn online, in-person and across a spectrum of blended possibilities.
So next week our offices re-open, not quite a normal reopening, but we can now go into the office. I will be visiting our offices for various meetings, but also for a change of scenery.
I was presenting at the QAA Conference, my presentation was entitled: How will the growth in online learning shape the future design of learning spaces and our campuses?
The physicality of online learning is an issue that will impact on university campuses as more institutions move to a blended programmes containing elements of online and digital learning and physical in-person learning. In this session James Clay from Jisc will explore the challenges that growth in online learning will bring to learning spaces and the university campus. He will explore what is required for, in terms of space for online learning, but will also consider the space and design implications of delivering online teaching as well. He will discuss what some universities are doing today to meet these challenges and requirements. He will reflect on a possible future where we are able to maximise the use of our space as students have the flexibility to learn online, in-person and across a spectrum of blended possibilities.
Update 2nd July 2021
The video of my presentation is now available.
news and views on e-learning, TEL and learning stuff in general…
