Category: Conferences & Events

Internal, external, upcoming and past…

New ALT Special Interest Group for Digital Accessibility – call for officers!

ALT C

We are excited to announce the formation of a new Special Interest Group (SIG) for Digital Accessibility under the Association for Learning Technology (ALT). This initiative has been proposed by Sandra Partington and Sylwia Frankowska-Takhari from our Digital Accessibility team at LEaD, in collaboration with the Learning Technologies team at The University of Nottingham. Together, we…Continue Reading New ALT Special Interest Group for Digital Accessibility – call for officers!

Ten years, ten highlights

Yesterday marked a full decade since I started working at this university. The Learning Enhancement and Development (LEaD) department was officially launched on my second day in the job, at an on-campus event with LEaD cupcakes, leaderships speeches and aspirations of where things had come from and what we were to become. The annual Learning…Continue Reading Ten years, ten highlights

Jisc’s Accessible Digital Futures project: Growth of AI in and as assistive technology

Attendees at the JISC workshop discussing accessibility

In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) held on the 16th of May this year, Sylwia Frankowska-Takhari and I were invited to participate in the second session of a series of workshops that are part of a project called ‘Accessible Digital Futures’, a joint effort between Jisc’s National Centre for AI in Tertiary Education…Continue Reading Jisc’s Accessible Digital Futures project: Growth of AI in and as assistive technology

Reflections on the MA in Academic Practice Symposium

Main themes of the symposium One central theme that emerged from the event was the importance of reflective practice and continuous professional development. The presenters emphasised how the MAAP has encouraged them to pause, reflect on their teaching approaches, and engage with educational theories and literature to shape and refine their practices. Several presenters discussed…Continue Reading Reflections on the MA in Academic Practice Symposium

The Media Production & Technology Show 2024

Media Production & Technology Show

Previously named The British Video Expo, this annual event showcases the latest innovations in video and audio production. This year’s show was hosted at the Olympia Conference Centre near Hammersmith, and I was thrilled to attend for a few hours and try out some of the exciting new tech. Despite running over 2 full-days, the…Continue Reading The Media Production & Technology Show 2024

Using poetry to reflect on practices in Higher Education

WHAT WAS THE AIM OF THE SESSION? On the 26th April, 2024 I attended a session led by Sam Illingsworth, a poet and Associate Professor in Academic Practice at Edinburgh Napier who has written and published over 2000 poems. Much of Sam’s work has used poetry to explore staff belonging in HE, particularly amongst teaching…Continue Reading Using poetry to reflect on practices in Higher Education

City Learning and Teaching community calling!

paper drawn figures

The City learning and teaching community was set up on the Microsoft Teams platform, and was part of a broader offering aimed at providing support during the emergency online teaching in 2020. This presented a key opportunity to foster a collaborative approach and build a community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1998). Professional staff and…Continue Reading City Learning and Teaching community calling!

Getting The Next Ten Years Right

Sketched image contains seven panels representing individual sessions attended as well as a selection of scattered photographs, handwriting, and placements of CogX logos.

tldr: CogX gave me the cognitive dissonance of trying to balance retaining a critical mindset on AI and the now familiar feelings of paradigm shift fatigue with being wide-eyed with wonder about what lies ahead and intrigued about all the ways that AI seems likely to reach into most aspects of human life. Shortly before…Continue Reading Getting The Next Ten Years Right

Insights from Jisc’s Accessible Digital Futures Opening Event

Yesterday, Jessica Wykes (City’s Accessibility Librarian) and I attended the opening event for a project called “Accessible Digital Futures,” a joint effort between Jisc’s National Centre for AI in Tertiary Education and the Glenlead Centre, led by Dr. Ann Kristin Glenster. This two-year initiative aims to significantly boost the responsible adoption of artificial intelligence within…Continue Reading Insights from Jisc’s Accessible Digital Futures Opening Event

The Great Student AI Debate

In December, City’s Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Task and Finish Group and City Students’ Union (SU) held the first inter-society debate to explore what place AI has in education. The debate was hosted by the City Debating Society and included representatives from four student societies: UX.City, IEEE City Robotics Society, Computer Science Society and Data…Continue Reading The Great Student AI Debate