Debbie Baff CV – Debbie Baff Portfolio

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Deborah Baff MA ODE, MSc, BSc (Hons), PG Cert Mgt, COLF, FHEA

I’m on Twitter @debbaff which is probably the easiest way to contact me.

Bio Short

Debbie Baff is a Subject Specialist (Digital Practice) in Digital Leadership at Jisc and has extensive experience of working in Higher Education & the voluntary sector. An Open Educational Practitioner and PhD Student in E Research and TEL she is a passionate advocate for the importance of online social learning and collaboration. An open digital badges enthusiast and keen sketchnoter, Debbie has a creative approach to learning , teaching and building communities both online and in person. Debbie is a Fellow of Advance HE , a Certified Online Learning Facilitator and a CMALT holder.

Link to Google Doc

Bio January 2022

Debbie Baff is a Subject Specialist in Digital Practice (Digital Leadership) at JISC. Debbie focuses on the support of leaders in their development of digital capabilities and skills to enable the successful delivery of organisational digital vision and change. Debbie is in her fifth year of a part-time PhD in Technology Enhanced Learning and E- Research at Lancaster University. Her research interests are in online social support and the impact on wellbeing for educators.

Previously the Membership and Professional Development Manager for the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) where she led a portfolio of work relating to Membership Services and held responsibility for the development and management of the CMALT Accreditation Framework. Debbie has worked in UK Higher Education since the late 1990’s working across all areas of the student and staff experience. She is an experienced Senior Academic Developer and Manager and is a fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). Debbie is also a Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology (CMALT).

She holds a Masters in Online and Distance Education, an MSc in Business Psychology and a BSc (Hons) Psychology. Prior to her career in education, Debbie was a qualified Chartered Surveyor. She was awarded a Diploma in Surveying with Merit from the College of Estate Management in July 1994 and following her Assessment of Professional Competence was elected as a Professional Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in November 1995.

Twitter: @debbafff

Linked In Profile

Background

I’m a Certified Online Learning Facilitator (COLF) of the Learning and Performance Institute (LPI) a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. and a Certified Member of ALT (CMALT) . I’m also a PhD Student at Lancaster University in E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning and an open educator. My PhD research interest relates to social support online and how educators wellbeing can be enhanced through connecting in social network sites.

Current Role

I joined JISC in December 2021 as a Subject Specialist in Digital Practice (Digital Leadership) where my role focuses on the delivery and evolving design of the Digital Leaders Programme.

Qualifications

PHd E-Research and Technology Enhanced Learning | Lancaster University | In Progress | 2017 to current
MA Online and Distance Education | Open University | PASS | 2015
MSc Business Psychology | University of South Wales | PASS | 2014
Professional Certificate in Management | Open University | PASS |2003
BSc (Hons) Business Psychology |Open University |2:1|2000
Diploma in Surveying | College of Estate Management | MERIT | 1994

Professional Accreditation

Certified Member of the Association for Learning Technology | CMALT 2023
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy |FHEA 2015
Certified Online Learning Facilitator |COLF The Learning and Performance Institute | 2019
Prince 2 Foundation Certificate in Project Management | BCS, the Chartered Instititute for IT 2016
Previously Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (ARICS) 1994

Teaching

PG Cert | Technology Enhanced Learning Module | Course Team Member |2016 – 2019
Bring Your Own Device for Learning | Community Edition | Online Course Facilitator, Organiser and Mentor 2017 to Present
Flexible, Open and Social Online Learning Course | Online Course Facilitator | 2015
TU170 Learning Online: Computing with Confidence’ | Associate Lecturer |2000

Committee Membership

OER20 Conference, London | Committee Member | 2020
SUSALT19 Conference | Swansea|Conference Lead 2019
ALTC Annual Conference | Committee Member | 2019
OER19 Conference, Galway | Committee Member | 2019
SUSALT18 Conference | Swansea|Conference Lead 2018
OER18 Conference, Bristol | Committee Member | 2018
ALTC Annual Conference | Committee Member | 2018
#SUSALT17 Conference | Swansea|Conference Lead 2017
OER17 Conference, London | Committee Member | 2017
SUSALT16 Conference | Swansea|Conference Lead 2016
Social Media in Higher Education Conference | Committee Member | 2017 to present
Open Badges in Higher Education Conference | Organising Committee | 2016
ALT Wales | Committee Member | 2016 to present
OER 16 Conference, Edinburgh | Committee Member|2016
Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Tweet Chat | Organising Team Member 2016
ELESIG – Evaluation of Learner Experiences of E-Learning Special Interest Group | 2016
OER15 Conference, Cardiff| Lead Organiser | 2015
Open Education Special Interest Group| Co-Chair and Secretary | 2014 to present

Peer Review

I have acted as peer reviewer of Conference Papers for the following Conferences :

2022 ALTC Annual Conference
2022 OER22 Conference
2021 ALTC Annual Conference
2021 OER21 Conference
2020 OER20 Conference, The Care in Openness, London
2019 OER19 Conference, Recentering Open, Galway
2019 ALTC Annual Conference, Data, Dialogue, Doing, Edinburgh
2019 Social Media for Learning and Teaching in HE Annual Conference, Ormskirk
2018 ALTC Annual Conference 25th Anniversary Conference, Manchester
2018 OER18 Conference, Open to All, Bristol
2018 Social Media for Learning and Teaching in HE Annual Conference, Ormskirk
2017 OER17 Conference, The Politics of Open, London
2016 OER16 Conference, Open Culture, Edinburgh
2016 Open Digital Badges in HE Conference, Southampton
2015 OER15 Conference, ‘Mainstreaming Open Education’ Cardiff

I have also managed abstract submissions and coordination of the peer review process for the OER15 Conference and all SUSALT Annual Conferences between 2016 and 2019.

Previous Roles

I have twenty five years experience of working within Higher Education. My experience focuses on both the student and staff experience. I have worked across several institutions including the Open University, University of Wales Newport (now University of South Wales) and Swansea University.

Prior to working for Jisc I was employed as the Membership and Professional Development Manager for ALT Association for Learning Technology between 2019 and 2021. ALT’s activities are mostly focused online, supporting the work of and providing services to over 3500 members across the UK and internationally. I was responsible for developing and managing ALT’s Membership services for individuals and organisations across all sectors. I also supported the work of Members and Special Interest Groups and governance through the ALT Assembly. I was responsible for the management and development of the CMALT Accreditation Framework. (The Framework provides pathways to peer-assessed accreditation for Learning Technology professionals in the UK and internationally. CMALT is for all professionals who are actively involved in understanding, managing, researching, supporting or enabling learning with the use of Learning Technology.)

Other previous roles have included :-

Senior Academic Developer
Project Manager
Head of Student Registry
School Registrar
Acting Head of Admissions
Deputy Head of Admissions
Deputy IT Facilitator
Student Support Administrator
Associate Lecturer
Chartered Surveyor (see below)

I am also a fully qualified Chartered Surveyor, specialising in Estate Management. I was a Junior Surveyor for a firm of International Property Advisors in Cardiff called DTZ Debenham Thorpe and undertook my Surveying qualifications over four years part time while working full time. I was admitted as a Professional Associate of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on completion of my Assessment of Professional Competence in 1995. I worked across all areas of Estate Management including commercial agency, residential land, valuation and rating, property management, receivership work, building surveying, rent reviews, and lease renewals.

I was subsequently made redundant during the property market downturn during the recession in 1996 and took this opportunity to change direction and having always loved learning, made the decision to pursue a career in education.