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From insight to impact: The evolving role of learning design in higher education
~~ By Alice Gallagher, Interim Head of Learning Design Introduction When I stepped into the role of Interim Head of Learning Design earlier this year, I found myself looking at a familiar discipline through a new lens. Having spent much of my career in learning design before moving into curriculum and service leadership roles, returning…
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Learning through play: delving into diverse student experiences
~~ By Catriona Matthews and Clare Hill, Learning Designers When you become a student, you don’t suddenly exist in an educational bubble where the reality of life fades away and your only worry is your next assessment. It is not always possible to avoid the impact that wider life events, experiences or responsibilities can have…
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CATE 2026 awards: Reflections on what being The Open University nominee means to us
Paul Astles, Joanna Helms, Eleanor Moore, James Openshaw, Jack Orbell ~~ Learning Designers In the autumn of 2025, after a rigorous application process, the Learning Design AI group was proud to be chosen as the OU’s CATE (Advance HE’s Collaborative Awards for Teaching Excellence) nomination for 2026. Competition for the award was high and we…
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Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education: Project Outcomes and Open Resources
Paul Astles and Catriona Matthews ~ Learning Designers In our first article on this topic, Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education: Reflections from an International Collaboration, we explored the rationale for the iLED project and why learning outcomes led design matters across diverse higher education contexts. If you haven’t yet had a chance to…
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Words of Wisdom: Creating a compendium of Sustainability
Paul Astles and Catriona Matthews ~ Learning Designers You may have read our previous blog post with reflections on our experiences at the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) conference in Sheffield last year. And if you did, you may remember that at that time we gave an overview of a project called…
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Maximising student support: Equitable Outcomes Challenge Week 2025
Jannah Aljafri, Anna Judd-Yelland, Penelope Lee, and Catriona Matthews ~ Learning Designers The days may be getting colder and darker, but the Christmas season is upon us, plus we’ve just enjoyed some great virtual ‘fireside chats’ during The Open University’s Equitable Outcomes Challenge Week. 🍵🔥 Colleagues from across the University shared their projects on…
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A Faculty in Conversation: FBL Scholarship Connects Vision, Practice, and Partnership
Liz Hardie ~ Centre Director, The Scholarship Centre for innovation in online Legal and Business education (SCiLAB) What happens when a Virtual Courtroom escape room, a WhatsApp peer mentoring community, the Chartered Association of Business Schools and two learning designers meet? (I’m not sure if this sounds like a bad joke or the start…
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Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education: Reflections from an International Collaboration
Paul Astles and Catriona Matthews ~ Learning Designers Since 2022, members of The Open University’s (OU) Learning Design and Institute of Educational Technology (IET) teams have played an integral role in the Erasmus+ project Innovating Learning Design in Higher Education (iLED). The three-year iLED project was co-ordinated by the University of Zagreb and alongside…