Who needs superpowers when we have SKILLS!?

Clare Hill ~ Learning Designer

Let’s face it, we’d all secretly like to have a superpower but do we really need one? We already have the capacity to learn how to do something and practise to get better, and in doing so we develop skills. We have all been developing a variety of skills to varying levels throughout our lives and we’ll go on doing it. Our capacity for developing skills is limitless – skills are our superpowers! Continue reading “Who needs superpowers when we have SKILLS!?”

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”

Out and about with Learning Design: Learning from working with others

Gerald Evans ~ Head of Learning Design; Emilou Hayden, Catriona Matthews, and Paul Astles ~ Learning Designers

 

In this post, we’re sharing some of the experiences of team members who have worked on external projects. As a team we periodically work with clients both inside and outside the OU to provide Learning Design specialist support. This has something of a virtuous circle effect as it provides benefits initially for the client and brings benefits back into the team through the learning we are able to do as part of the process and then into our day-to-day design work. And the day-to-day design work then in itself informs the offer we are able to provide to clients internally and externally to the OU. Hence completing the circle! Continue reading “Out and about with Learning Design: Learning from working with others”