I will do anything for change (but I won’t do that)

In 1993, Meat Loaf released I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That). That song was number one for 7 weeks. I will now use Meatloaf’s achievement to clumsily talk about organisational change and a worrying trend I see repeated at many UK HE institutions. Why not take a moment to enjoy this […]

Exam like somebody’s watching

Today, I completed my first proctored online exam. This exam was my first direct experience of online proctoring. This blog is a reflection on my experience. If you read this blog and think, what’s the big deal about proctoring, please do some reading. I won’t repeat what many of my far more learned peers say […]

New job, who dis?

It has been four months since I joined ALT as their new COO. I can no longer use ‘it’s my first day’ as an excuse. I had been a learning technologist, albeit with varying titles, for over ten years. I have worked at four different universities in that time. My last, was my longest. I […]

A little less suspicion, a little more trust

I recently attended a disabled student-led panel session, organised by Warwick Enable and Autism at Warwick, where students shared their experiences and challenges studying at Warwick. I also attended an Echo360 Webinar in which Dr Emily Nordmann shared evidence from research around student attendance when lectures were recorded. In particular, disproving the myth that students […]

Shaping the Student Learning Experience

In June, I was invited to open the final day of the Jisc Change Agents Network 2021 conference held (virtually) at Keele University. This blog post is a reflection on the experience and a summary of what I said. It was a real honour to be asked. The next question was, what to speak about? […]

It’s very well intentioned, but…

“[I]t’s all very well intentioned, but” are words that haunt me. These are the words of one of our students with accessibility needs reflecting the support they have been given by our University. The words have haunted me ever since because I am one of a few people trying to champion accessibility and I am […]

COVID-19

Since March, we’ve been living in a completely different world. This is my COVID-19 blog. I am tired. My team is tired. We are doing our best. We are expected to do more with the same. I think there’s enough noise on this subject right now so that’s all from me. The end.

Change vs. Compliance

Every so often, a new regulation comes in to being that scares the sh*t out of everyone. *GDPR flashback*. We rush around to make sure we’re compliant, when what we really want, is long term changes in practice, attitudes and behaviours. In this post, I’m going to look at the most recent tear stain on […]

#OpenBlog19 Are we the baddies?

I’ve been thinking a lot about critical digital literacies and how I, as a supplier and ‘evangelist’, balance my professional role and my personal views. It has lead me to ask “are we the baddies?”. Before you read on, watch this brilliant Mitchell and Webb sketch: Who’s we? Well, I suppose I’m talking about those […]

Impostor Syndrome is a Superpower

Impostor Syndrome (IS) is a ‘phenomena’ in which an individual doubts their abilities and lives in fear of being exposed as a fraud. Severity varies between individuals but impostor syndrome is perceived as negative. Ironically, as a shortcoming. I propose embracing your impostor syndrome. Your doubt is your strength. This is my first post in […]