Category: Community of practice

The Introverted Facilitators’ Club: How to be a quiet LD in the sometimes noisy world of module design?

Hayley Johns ~ Learning Designer

Back in September, I attended my first ever ‘real life’ or in-person conference (the ALT conference, at the University of Warwick – you can read about my and my colleague’s experiences here). It was a brilliant experience, and we learnt a huge amount.

As well as all of the fascinating sessions we attended, being in that kind of big, mingly conference space for the first time really got me thinking about the social side of our role in Learning Design (LD). When I got back to my WFH set-up (feat. tea, dressing gown and small brown cockapoo), I decided to reach out to Learning Design colleagues who consider themselves to be introverts and to hear about their experiences in the LD role in either physical or virtual spaces. Continue reading “The Introverted Facilitators’ Club: How to be a quiet LD in the sometimes noisy world of module design?”

Student Voice on GenAI: Use, Concerns and Educational Applications

Mary Simper and Eleanor Moore ~ Learning Designers

Like much of Higher Education, we in the Learning Design Team at The Open University have been both fascinated and challenged by the introduction of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT.

In this blog post, we’ll uncover what our students have told us about their use of GenAI, what concerns they have, and what ideas they have about using GenAI in an educationally valuable way.

Continue reading “Student Voice on GenAI: Use, Concerns and Educational Applications”

Reflections on ALT conference 2023: Supporting colleagues to take practical actions to embed sustainability

Hayley Johns and Paul Astles ~ Learning Designers

 

This blog post builds on our previous sustainability related post. You can read that here. If you have not had a chance to read it yet, do go back and check it out.

The work presented by Hayley and Paul on behalf of the Learning Design Sustainability Group (LDSG) at #ALTC23 in Warwick is available by scanning the QR code (below) from one of the opening slides from our workshop presentation.A QR code that can be scanned to see a copy of the slides.

We delivered a 60-minute workshop designed in part to provide an update about the journey that the LDSG has taken so far and also to challenge delegates to consider how they could take meaningful practical steps to embed sustainability within their own specific design contexts. Continue reading “Reflections on ALT conference 2023: Supporting colleagues to take practical actions to embed sustainability”

The Learning Design Cross Institutional Network: Creating a space for Learning Design discussions

Mark Williams ~ Senior Learning Designer

 Natasha Huckle and Mark Williams were excited to host the Learning Design Cross Institutional Network this year at the Open University campus in Milton Keynes. With support from Jim Harris (University of Northampton) and Simon Walker (UCL) they identified themes for exploration and called out for learning designers across the network to present keynotes and workshops. This is what happened!

Hosting the LD CIN

It was the turn of the OU to host the Learning Design Cross Institutional Network on 27th July. And it was great to bring a range of institutions onto our campus as well as welcoming our online attendees. The aim of the network is to create a less formal occasion, a gathering rather than a conference, as a way of sharing practice and resources. It seems incredibly relevant to have such a space to communicate, because our work is never carried out in isolation. As learning designers, we are constantly researching ideas and theories whilst working within our own teams to implement them most successfully.

Continue reading “The Learning Design Cross Institutional Network: Creating a space for Learning Design discussions”