Category: Online and Digital Learning
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Openness in education – a new hope
There is hope yet. Higher education is going through a turbulent time, so it’s important to recognise the leadership provided through educational research, with a global impact from educational projects and innovation. At OER26, the quiet army of global educational professionals and academics with a shared vision of education for all found their collective voice…
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Institutional appetite for change – Leadership learning for higher education (HEPN)
At the start of the month I attended the Higher Education Partners Network (HEPN) North event and represented the experiences of the online learning operational teams who implemented new technology and processes in a people-centred way. Here are some of the leadership points from the day I attended. Entrepreneurial universities One of the ironies of…
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Assessment, feedback and AI in online and distance education
Contrary to popular belief, contemporary discussion of assessment in higher education is not exclusively the domain of artificial intelligence (AI) evangelists, nay-sayers and everyone else in between trying to make sense of it. No, assessment as a fundamental pillar of teaching and learning has many facets, so it is refreshing to have a little bit…
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Institutional readiness for the future of education
There is an increase in demand for skills-based education, largely arising from the perceived impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on a wide range of professions, industries and job sectors. Formal education providers need to consider how this demand will influence and inform the future provision of educational programmes and the broader, lifelong learning offer. Impacts…
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Learning Engineering: Collaboration, Context and Challenge
There are many approaches to improve what we do in education, with a sometimes overwhelming number of internal and external factors that bring opportunities and challenges. Learning Engineering (an engineering-inspired approach to educational design, as opposed to the study of engineering) provides a method to tackle these opportunities and challenges in a collaborative, data-informed and…
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Skills-first: responding to the threat to higher education
Short post. Open thinking. Here’s an angle on where we are at this moment in time: Higher education is in an existential crisis. The concept of higher education as a public good is eroded with anti-education politics and populism, costs outpacing funding, and value propositions being dismantled. Institutions are chasing both revenue and relevance to…
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The journeys taken: Research in Distance Education and E-learning Conference 2025 – Day 2
This is the second post writing up my experience at RIDE 2025, the Research in Distance Education and E-learning conference at the University of London (see Day 1 where I discuss themes of Context and Culture). Linda Amrane-Cooper, Director of the Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE), introduced Day 2 with the rationale for…
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Context and culture: Research in Distance Education and E-learning Conference 2025 – Day 1
Online education brings together many people as educators, students and professionals. It’s a highly collaborative sector and it’s underpinned in many ways by a desire to do good. This year’s Research in Distance Education and E-learning conference at the University of London has the title ‘Empowering and Sustaining Change’ and in any change process the…
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Joyful online learning: reflections on a Lego Serious Play session
Bringing people together and learning from a range of perspectives is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job. In all my professional roles, working with others and bringing a range of expertise together has been key in achieving successful outcomes. This article is a reflection of a LEGO Serious Play (LSP) session which…