One of the benefits of the University of Northampton’s membership of ALT is that any member of staff is entitled to sign up to free Associate Membership. This will entitle you to find out about news and opportunities in the wider world of Learning Technology.

All you will need to do is complete the sign up form.

For those wanting to take the membership to the next stage then Certified Membership of ALT is also possible. This involves completing a reflective portfolio which is then assessed.

Feel free to chat to Rob Howe (Rob.Howe@northampton.ac.uk) if you want more information.

To help support staff in the creation of videos, E-learning/Multimedia Developer Anne Misselbrook and Learning Technologist Richard Byles have launched a new training session which covers the tools available for recording and editing videos.

The virtual webinar session, which lasts 1 and a half hours, covers demonstrations of the ‘Camera App’ and ‘Video Editing App’ tools, and provides information on good practice for creating videos. Staff have opportunities to experiment with these tools and to share their screens with the group.

Anne saw an opportunity for staff to film and edit using tools available, and teamed up with Richard where they developed the course to help staff understand the processes of making films with the tools that are available to hand.

The challenge in developing a session like this before the move to Waterside, was that staff had so many different devices and platforms, but as most staff now have PC laptops with Windows 10 installed they felt the time was right to share their skills.

Feedback has been positive …

“This morning’s session was excellent, easy to follow. Inspired to use the video function, and how to use it effectively. Just need to practice. Thank you. Best Wishes. Krishna Gohil”.

“Thanks. You’re totally right about needing to really think through how to storyboard it in advance, I think that’s much the hardest part. I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to doing it for a training session. Deborah Forbes”.

“Hello both, I just wanted to say another massive ‘thank you’ for yesterday. Your delivery made what has been a bit of a headache for me so much clearer and very straightforward. Please thank Daisy for her part too! All best, Michelle Pyer”.

“Thanks Anne, really appreciated this session that was conducted by you and Richard. The collaboration and co-teaching were seamless and the content crystal clear. It was great to have an opportunity to attempt an edit during the workshop. This was fun, entertaining and educational – Daisy now has a new fan based on her starring role. Best, Marcella Daye”.

“Thanks for the session I hope it is going to be helpful for the next academic year. Cheers. Noel Harris”.

“Thank you for the video training yesterday – it was a good introduction to the Win10 apps. Thank you, Chris Withers Green”.

Richard said “I think the session works really well. Anne and I can see that the technology has improved so much that it’s now possible for anyone with a mobile device and laptop do go out and make a film. We can share our knowledge of both the practicalities of film-making and the importance of planning, copyright, permissions and accessibility”.

What some people don’t realise is that a lot of work needs to happen before you even turn on the camera. In the session we reveal the process – once you know how it’s done, it all becomes clear.

The sessions began on 29 April and will run until 1 July. More may be planned in the future.

To book a place visit the link here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/recording-and-editing-video-using-tools-available-tickets-102179561820

Reflecting on being ‘Tech Savvy’

It has come as a really pleasant surprise to be awarded Tech Savvy Lecturer of the Year, especially on the back of my Advancing Equality and Diversity Award last year. More than anything, it means a lot because this is voted for my students, and it is their recognition that really makes the difference for me.

So I’ve been thinking about what it means to be ‘tech savvy’, and I’ve considered the different kinds of tools and systems that have worked for me over the last year. And that brings me to my first reflection – finding a tool that works for you. As we are an ABL-informed campus, I want to use technology in a way that supports and enhances learning, rather than using technology just for the novelty. I’ve tried a lot of different tools over the years, but at the moment, my favourites are:

• Padlet – I really love Padlet as a tool for learning. It acts as a digital corkboard, essentially, and is great for visually capturing thoughts that can inform both in-class and online discussion. Here is an example of one of my favourites, one that I use year-on-year for in-class discussions on gender: https://en-gb.padlet.com/charlotte_dann/gender
• Google Docs – I like collaborative activities, but I appreciate that students like to collaborate in different ways. I have just a couple of examples dotted across my modules where I’ve used Google Docs to capture in-class group work, that we can discuss in live time. As the document is accessible to students, they can come back to this and reflect on it as needed after the discussion too. This is key for me in the use of technology – learning happens outside of the classroom environment, so those activities should still be available to draw on. A favourite example of an effective Google Doc is from my level 6 module Lifespan Development, but was actually based on their assignment rubric – students added their ideas as to what they needed to do to achieve each learning outcome, as organised by grade: http://bit.ly/36f4WYk
• Twitter – I am a lover of social media, though I appreciate it is not everyone’s cup of tea. On top of that, there are so many different platforms now, it’s difficult to decide which would be best to use. I favour Twitter for academic-related content (alongside dog memes), because it provides a short and sharp way of communicating, sharing, and engaging students outside of the classroom. I can share fellow academics papers, start a ‘hashtag’ discussion, or introduce students to other academics they might want to follow for updates. Though not all students use the platform, my profile is not private, so can be viewed without an account. Personally, I benefit from engaging with other academics and sharing best practice on there too. My tip, I guess, would be to find and learn about a platform that would be best for you. https://twitter.com/CharlotteJD

To wrap up, I have to acknowledge how tools are only part of the story in terms of using technology. Any time I want to try something new, or consider use in the classroom (or indeed, online learning) I ask:

• What does engagement look like?
• What is the purpose?

I like to use technology in an interactive way, so I have to consider what engagement looks like, not just for the students, but also for me. If I have a Padlet-related activity for a week, I’ll schedule out time in my diary to check it and give feedback, rather than leave it static. For the social media platforms I use (TikTok has recently taken over my life!) I plan to record and release videos daily, for consistency. And then coming to purpose – if the people that engage with the tools do not understand how it relates to the content, or see a value in it, they won’t use it. I like to make the purpose explicit, linking it to discussions we will have, or to assignments, rather than not revisiting them again.

Overall, technology, and the way we use it, is ever-evolving (even more so, taking our current worldwide situation into account). The more we share and learn from each other – students included!- the better our understanding of what works will be.