1c) Supporting the deployment of learning technologies

Statements about your involvement in supporting the deployment of Learning Technology might relate to providing technical and/or pedagogic support to teachers or learners, advising on (or redesigning to take account of) technical and usability issues, developing strategies or policies, managing change, providing training or other forms of professional development, securing or deploying dedicated funding and so on, all within the context of the educational use of Learning Technology.

For evidence, you might include the overview section of a strategy document, meeting minutes, summaries of student feedback, testimonials or witness statements from other colleagues.

CMALT Guidance Notes 2019

While at Swansea University, my role was as a Senior Academic Developer where I worked closely with academic colleagues to use technology-enhanced learning in their practice. I got to experiment with some really cool stuff (see the feature image for this page of me with a virtual headset – this involved building a virtual skeleton 😊). I developed and delivered a number of CPD sessions for colleagues in relation to various learning technologies including Blackboard Collaborate, Adobe Spark, Moodle, Padlet, WordPress, Twitter etc over the four years that I was in post. However for this section I have focused on the use of Teams as a VLE in my current role at Jisc.

Redesigning a Teams Environment for an online digital leaders course

In my current role as a Subject Specialist at Jisc. I work on the Digital Leaders Programme which has been using a Teams environment as a platform for participants and has been designed to provide a similar environment to a VLE. (See Blog Post) , The programme runs at several points across the year and is reviewed and tweaked after each iteration. When I first came into the post I was tasked with reviewing the January 2022 iteration and seeing what changes needed to be made to improve the online experience for the next cohort of participants. I observed the January programme and made notes on a Miro Board  in relation to what I thought could be changed and met with members of the programme team to discuss.

I recommended that we streamline the channels on the teams environment and introduce more structure to the various tasks and activities that the participants were asked to undertake. I also suggested that we provide a clearer layout for the course journal and provide additional reflective practice resources and clearer signposting to assessment tasks. I suggested revising some of the joining information and pre-course activities and reviewing the existing programme of Open Digital Badges. We agreed as a team to implement some of my suggestions initially and review these on a rolling basis as future iterations of the programme are run. I have now been involved with a couple of iterations to the programme and as such, I have made significant changes to the environment and underlying processes based on my suggestions above.

Reflection

I remember feeling a bit intimated as I didn’t really like using Teams myself, I have had bad experiences before as a user so I really wanted to try and make sure that I could improve things. I think actually that having had a bad experience myself, made me more tuned in to some of the things that could be annoying or irritating for participants. I added myself as a participant so that I could access the Teams environment with a separate email account so that I could see exactly what they would see. This really helped. Adding myself in as a participant using a personal non Jisc email address really helped. Teams can definitely be tricky when used across organisations as sometimes the different instances get in the way. I found that by giving really clear instructions and explanations of how to change instances helped participants when they were trying to access it. I am still finding ways to improve things after each iteration and make tweaks to the joining information and Teams layout each time the programme is run. I think on reflection I need to try and make sure I get the joining information out even earlier for participants and I would also like to create a video to give people an overview of the changes to the Teams environment.

Evidence

Notes made on Miro Board about Possible Change to Teams Environment

Screenshots of Teams Environment Before

Screenshot of Teams Environment After Showing new channels and improved Welcome Page

Screenshot of Teams Environment After Showing Welcome Post ( with link to Welcome Page)

Screen shot showing Orientation Activities

Feedback from Learners

Some feedback from participants on the Digital Leaders Programme can be seen on my Testimonials Padlet for example this one from Clare Barley Director at PRP Training and this one from Dr Mark Torchia, Vice-Provost (Teaching and Learning) at the University of Manitoba, Canada

Evidence from my Line Manager

Deborah is not only an expert in digital transformation, but she is also an exceptional communicator and collaborator with students. Her teaching style is engaging, interactive, and tailored to each individual’s needs. Deborah’s work on the Microsoft Teams site for the Digital Leaders Programme was nothing short of outstanding. She used the platform expertly to create an interactive and engaging learning experience that was both accessible and simple to use. Her work enabled participants to collaborate and share resources in real time, giving the programme a new dimension. Connecting with peers, participating in group discussions, and receiving timely feedback from Deborah made the learning experience dynamic and impactful. Her passion for digital leadership is contagious, and she has a gift for inspiring and motivating students to achieve their full potential. Her effective communication and collaboration skills truly distinguish her as a field leader. 

John Sumpter Programme Lead – Leadership and Culture, Jisc

Shown below is an extract of my Quarterly review ( the actual review is also provided in PDF below) confirming that the changes to the Digital Leaders Programme that I have instigated have been appreciated as providing a better experience for participants.

This has been a wonderful quarter for Debbie, who has put in an excellent and extended amount of effort in what is in a sense, remaking the digital leaders program into a hybrid format working with the delivery team, enabling them to explore their sessions and discover new ways of delivery and working on the entire backbone of the program, ensuring that the quality continues to go up, providing an even better experience for her members.

John Sumpter Line Manager 2022

Copy of Nomination for Star of the Month

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Core Principles & Ethics	Key
A commitment to exploring and understanding the interplay between technology and learning	🔎CP1
A commitment to keep up to date with new technologies	💻CP2
An empathy with and willingness to learn from colleagues from different backgrounds and specialisms	💗CP3
A commitment to communicate and disseminate effective practice	📢CP4
Ethical Considerations	✅Ethics