Ethics and AI: Some ‘takeaways’ from the ALT Winter Summit 2023

On Tuesday 12th December, I attended the ALT (Association for Learning Technologists) Winter Summit. The theme of the Conference was Ethics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). We heard from the following speakers:

  • Helen Beetham, Researcher and Consultant
  • Mary Jacob, Aberystwyth University
  • Olatunde Durowoju, Liverpool Business School
  • Dr Tarsem Singh Cooner, The University of Birmingham

There was also a student panel at the end which looked at the student experience of AI and their ideas for moving forward with using AI in a higher education context.

The speakers covered topics such as ethical problems and concerns with the use of AI, accessibility and AI and there was a case study showing how AI was used in a session with social work students at the University of Birmingham. It was a really enjoyable day and I learned a lot!

I’d like to share three ‘takeaways’ that I had from the ALT Summit.

Firstly, many of us are aware of some of the issues surrounding the use of AI. For example, the use AI tools takes a huge amount of energy; there are issues around equity and student access to paid for services and tools; there is an impact on student learning; we have also heard in the news that a number of larger companies have sacked ethical advisors and much more! However, one thing I have had experience of in my own work and that was raised at the Summit, was the sheer amount of secrecy behind the training of artificial intelligence models. How are these models trained exactly? Who is training them? What impact does this have? We know about the issues around encoded bias the models and we know that some of the people involved in this training process are underpaid but I definitely want to find out more!

Dr. Olatunde Durowoju spoke on ‘Achieving Inclusive Education in AI’ and has written an article on this in 2023. His talk was really interesting and spoke about some of the positive aspects of using AI and how this can benefit students such as those with neurodiversity, who are learning English as a second language or who have a disability. Examples were given of the use of AI in higher education and how this can help students improve their English language proficiency, how it can help address a cultural gap, how it can help reduce student anxiety around the quality of the work they produce and it can assist those students who may have diminished capacity due to other responsibilities (e.g. caregivers). Some of the examples given included using AI to summarise text to help gain a better understanding of it, improving the quality of writing through prompt engineering, using Chatbots to help with out-of-hours engagement and using AI to pluralise perspectives on a specific topic.

Finally, the student panel gave a real insight into how students are using AI currently, how they perceive its future use and what they would like to see moving forward from their institutions. Students on the panel were from universities such as Sheffield Hallam University, Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Kent. The students were also at different places in their University studies so there was a good range of perspectives across the students. Two of the things that students said they wanted were:

  1. More consistent guidance on the acceptable use of AI in their studies across the departments in their institutions but also across UK institutions in general. They believed this would help students be less confused about when and how they can use it.
  2. More education on the use of AI from their institutions on the problems of using AI such as perpetuating bias and academic integrity concerns.

Thank you to ALT for another wonderful conference and to the speakers for sharing their knowledge and expertise. I will definitely be exploring some of the issues and opportunities that have been mentioned in more detail.

AI tools: A Christmassy Showcase

The 12 Days of AI is  a self-directed online course run by the University of the Arts London. Participants can learn about a new AI tool each day. I’ve signed up via Eventbrite and places are still available if you want to join  up. It is free!

Each day, participants receive an email that directs them to a ‘daily task’. You are then introduced to an AI tool and given a quick run down on how it works. You can then follow the instructions to familiarise yourself with the tool. There are other resources shared on the website too including articles, demos and more!

So far this course has introduced the following tools:

  1. Hour One – a tool to create videos. An example of this tool is showcased on the ‘What is 12 Days of AI?’ webpage.
  2. Chat GPT – the one we have probably all heard of! Participants are given some tasks to prompt this tool to generate information and there is some guidance on ‘Prompt Engineering’.
  3. Claude.Ai – a tool that can summarise text. You can create an account and test out this tool on an article or some text that you have permission to upload.

I’ll be working my way through these tools and hopefully some of you will be able to join in too!

DLT Sharing Practice Event #4

Come and join the Digital Learning Team and colleagues for our 4th Sharing Practice Event!

The theme for this event is “Collaboration”. We will hear from colleagues on how to facilitate effective groupwork and collaboration amongst students.

The event will be held on Wednesday 13th December 2023 from 2-5pm in Management School LT16 (The Robinson Lecture Theatre). You can drop in and out of the event and attend the sessions you are interested in. Refreshments and cake will be provided!

The current outline of the event is as follows:

2:00 – 2:10 – Intro from the Digital Learning team, Liz Walkden

2:10 – 2:40 – Using learning sets with students and the role of digital learning, Sandra Varey.

2:45 – 3:15 – Collaboration at a distance: asynchronous and synchronous approaches to working with research students at a distance, Steve Wright

3:15 – 3:30 – Break + Refreshments.

3:30 – 4:00 – Accessibility considerations for collaborative and group work, Alison Sharman

4:05 – 4:35 – Using peer evaluation to assess group dynamics on the MBA course, Phil Devine & Stephen Owens

4:40 – 5:00 – Collaboration suite tour, Stephen Owens

You can read more about what each session is about and sign up here.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Podcasting For Progress

In a previous post, we were introduced to Dr. Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove’s ‘Education Matters’ podcast. Given the increasing interest in podcasting at Lancaster University, I thought now would be a good time to share some information on how and why to get started and what support is available at Lancaster for this endeavour. I will also be sharing some tips for getting started based on a recent EmpowerEd webinar session (Webinar 10) where Mark Childs from Durham University was giving a session on ‘Podcasting: Performing Professional Practice Publicly’. Mark Childs has been involved in podcasts such as Pedagodzilla, a popular series discussing various aspects of pedagogic theory. More tips and support can also be found on the ASK ‘Podcasting’ page.

Why podcasting?

Podcasting is a creative way to deliver content in a series of episodes. It can be used in all sorts of ways:

  • to share content with students and introduce them to research
  • to share good practice in your field with colleagues
  • to share research and good practice with others outside of the University
  • to engage with visiting speakers 
  • to assess students on their skills and knowledge.

In short, podcasting is versatile!

Podcasts are conversational in style and tone, fairly short (more on timing later!) and straightforward to produce. To be successful they should be relaxed and have some element of fun. A decent recording can be made with some headphones, a microphone and some editing software. Although many podcast hosting websites are now being monetised there are some free ones still out there such as Spotify for Podcasters, formerly known as Anchor.

Podcasting can be used as a creative form of assessment, either formative or summative. Students could form small groups and show off their knowledge of a particular topic. There are several points that could be assessed such as the agreed format for the podcast, the range of knowledge shown, use of key terminology, teamwork, communication…quite a list! However, it is important to decide whether assessing the quality of the podcast production is necessary. While this may be appropriate for some courses, it is important to think about constructive alignment – is the quality of the podcast relevant to the learning outcomes on your course? – if not, if you can hear what is said, that is enough.

How do I start?

  1. Come up with your subject matter

A podcast series is usually set around a particular topic e.g. true crime, comedy, pedagogy, the latest developments in technology

2. Design a format for the podcast

While podcasts are discussion based and should flow freely, to avoid complete waffle they are usually still based around a framework. Prompt questions will help to keep the discussion on track. Your format might also include some additions to improve entertainment value such as a quiz, a fact of the week or a highlight of feedback/comments from listeners. These little sections split up the main segments of content to keep the discussion moving.

3. Come up with a unique name

Take some time to think up a name that stands out from the rest and gives new listeners a sense of what to expect.

4. Use some eye-catching artwork

The artwork draws in listeners too – you can create your own or use an image from online (free images can be downloaded from Unsplash, artwork can be created in Spotify for Podcasters or you could use a tool like Canva to design your own).

5. Assign each person a role

This will also help to facilitate the discussion; roles could include: a host, an improviser, a specialist and an editor.

6. Do a test run

The first podcast should be a pilot, one that you don’t share but use to practice using the technology, review the format and get comfortable with the experience.

What do I do once recording has finished?

Post-production editing is a key part of podcasting. You may edit out any errors or aspects that you think are not suitable. For example, you may have had to repeat yourself as the first time you said something you weren’t happy with the phrasing. You can add sound effects to break up the sections and smooth transition and it is also possible to improve sound quality (to an extent!). The University has free access for staff to Audacity and Adobe Audition which are available from AppsAnywhere. There is some free editing software outside the University such as descript.com. You should also make sure to upload an accurate transcript of your podcast to share with people who cannot access the audio because of an impairment.

Try to promote your podcast through any and all channels available to you. This might be on social media, on a website, via posters or in person at events. You may want to set up your own website or social media account to be able to share resources and engage with listeners.  

What resources are available at Lancaster University to start podcasting?

At Lancaster University there are several suites with recording equipment for podcasting. For example, the Digital Education Suite in Bowland North Seminar Room 19. Our Digital Media Engineers have created a video on how to use it as it is a ‘self-service’ room. This room can be booked by Lancaster staff using the following email address: des@lancaster.ac.uk. There are also other rooms available in the Health and Innovation Campus and in LICA. More podcasting studios are in development.

At Lancaster, we have Digital Media Engineers who can help with video and audio recording and editing. They help staff create content such as recorded lectures, course introductions, research material, promotional videos and podcasts, for example the ‘Education Matters’ podcast. To get in touch with them you can use the following email address: iss.digital.media@lancaster.ac.uk. This same email address can be used to express interest in using room B107 in LUMS as the Digital Media Engineers will support you in using the range of audio and video equipment in this room. Please note that this room is not ‘self-service’ like the Digital Education Suite mentioned above.

If you are thinking about starting a podcast, feel free to get in touch with myself or another Digital Learning Facilitator to discuss ideas and for more recommendations.

Other useful information

You can find more help and advice on how to plan, create and edit a podcast via this ASK page.

Short podcasts are popular, around 15 minutes in length but often they are 30-40 minutes in length. Dan Misener did some research in 2018 and 2019 on the average length. You may also want to consider the average commute length, a time when people may listen to podcasts, which in 2021 was 27 minutes.

You may also want to check out ‘Podcasting for Learning in Universities’, a book by Gilly Salmon and Palitha Edirisingha. This book includes some use case examples as well as information on how to be successful in including podcasts in a higher education context.

Don’t worry about low numbers of listeners to start with. You will begin to gain listeners as you promote the podcast and record more sessions. Remember that a listener who discovers the podcast at episode 5 will often go back and listen to the previous episodes too.

Moodle Support

DLT have created a series of short videos on how to use Moodle. These are in answer to many of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) that we get. You can find out how to manage materials, how to enrol participants and how to access reports and logs.

The Moodle Walkthroughs playlist , available on eStream also has some videos on the One Section Per Page layout and how to add summaries and pictures to this. The One Section Per Page layout is popular with staff whose courses have lots of resources and/or run for a longer period of time as it helps keep the page tidy and there is ‘no death by scrolling’.

If you would like to speak to a member of DLT on how to improve your course layout, you can put in a Help Centre Request Ticket via the Staff Portal. Remember, we are also offering training events in October and November, remember to book your place!

Education Matters: A Pertinent Podcast for Progress

Written by Safiya Kheratkar – Widening Participation Project Assistant

‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.’ – John Dewey

As Dewey’s quote perfectly encapsulates, education manifests in everything that is within and around us. It influences our dispositions, interpersonal abilities and understandings of the past, present, and future world. With a formidable education, one’s boundaries can extend beyond visible horizons, surpassing matters we once considered insurmountable.

Fuelled to drive this understanding within the hearts of the community, the brainchild of Lancaster University Staff, Dr. Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove, was born: The Education Matters podcast. They attended a ‘Sharing Best Practice’ session, delivered by Phil Devine and Professor Newton on ‘Using Videos in Teaching’, who discussed the significance of reusable learning resources via podcasts. Through Phil and Professor Newton, they were introduced to the recording studio (B107 LUMS) and Rachel Dodd, Digital Education Co-ordinator, who created the WordPress site and updates the site with new recordings. 

Education Matters boasts rich, intellectually stimulating, and inspiring episodes with a diverse pool of guests from an array of academic, industrial, and professional working fields. The podcast regularly interviews students from ethnically minoritized backgrounds studying at Lancaster and other top universities. Interviewees are guided along discussing their journeys and their passions for their chosen fields in an endeavour to not only reflect on their experiences, but hopefully inspire audiences with their stories.

Unveiling the power of education through sharing inspiring stories from members of the local community who have achieved success in their field of study or chosen career path, Education Matters is hoping to bridge the gap between the local community and higher education, showcasing that education is a lifelong journey.’ – Dr. Sayjda Talib

Especially for those who may not have a vast network of contacts or people to turn to in their future respective fields, this podcast is bound to produce inspiration and support for anyone looking to start out in a certain career, change over from a particular field, or remain steadfast on their current chosen path. With this podcast, students, families, and the wider community can be aided in making more conscientious and informed decisions about university, apprenticeships, careers, changing one’s mind and much more.

The Recording Studio:

For interviewees from Lancaster University Campus, collaborating with the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) recording studio provided a comfortable environment for both interviewers and interviewees. Martin Thornton and Andrew Copplestone, both sound engineers based in LUMS and part of the wider ISS team, lent their expertise in ensuring the recording of the podcast was nothing but smooth sailing. Rachel Dodd also worked to create the podcast content into engaging blogposts.

‘The podcast has really grown, and it’s been an incredible journey for us as presenters. We are so grateful to collaborate with Martin, Andrew, and Rachel for all their help with the technical side of recording and writing the blogposts! – Eleanor Dove

Photo of Dr Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove

Dr Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove

A Digital Solution

For guests not based on LU campus, or Lancaster at all, a solution was needed that would make interviewing accessible for both parties. With Ele, Dr. Sayjda and most guests coming from humble technological and media backgrounds, the saviour that is Microsoft Teams has provided an easy and accessible route for conducting interviews in manageable and equally enjoyable fashion. The number of interviewees from far and wide has increased thanks to this.

Testimonies:

‘The podcast presented by Ele and Dr. Sayjda was such an amazing experience. It was quite humbling to discuss my memories of results day and how far I’ve gotten despite the challenges I went through at the time. The work Ele and Dr. Sayjda do with the podcast I am certain will help so many students across the board with higher education and life in general.’ – Amaani Moress, Lancaster University Engineering alumna, 2023

‘It was a great experience to be able to talk about my journey through education, and to get the chance to share this with students who are currently in that position now, so they can learn from that experience and take on board advice given by someone who was in their shoes only recently. But also, I was able to share my journey with concerned parents, who no doubt are nervous about their children’s next steps. They can see that, although it is scary, their children can also travel on their journey, yes with a different destination, but they can see it through.’ – Adil Natha, Lancaster University Law alumnus, 2023

‘Having a chance to share my experiences was truly valuable. As well as making my efforts feel appreciated, it made me realise that what I was doing would inspire many young people and parents.’ – Abdullah Arshad, Lancaster University Politics, Philosophy and Economics student

Personally, I’m grateful to have been invited for an interview for the podcast and to share my own education journey. Dr. Sayjda and Ele’s prompts and support throughout the duration of the show kept my nerves at ease, and it was incredibly cathartic reflecting on my own experiences whilst knowing that I could possibly be helping a listener make a decision in their own path. The podcast will soon also be featured on the Lancaster Access Programme portal, allowing students on the widening participation programme access to student journeys in a different medium to events and webinars. 

To conclude with a quote that visualises the poetics of gaining an education: ‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ – Malcolm X

Select episodes of the ‘Education Matters’ podcast can be found on Spotify and on https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/educationmatters/

Written by Safiya Kheratkar – Widening Participation Project Assistant

Moodle Users – We Need You!

User experience is a bit of a theme in this blog and DLT would like to invite Lancaster University staff who use Moodle to complete a short survey on their experience (link to survey below!). It will not take more than 5-10 minutes of your time. We are advertising in lots of spaces to get as many responses as possible! A student survey is on the horizon but this one is just for staff at the moment.
All respondents will remain anonymous. Opinions expressed in this survey will be used to inform future decision making around Moodle developments and training at Lancaster University. The survey is open until 3rd November 2023. Some questions are optional and do not require a response. If you wish to withdraw from the survey after you have completed it, please get in touch with me, Liz Walkden. There is an invitation at the end to be involved in future focus groups if you are interested.

Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre: What is it and how can I get involved?

Written by Oliver Fitton, Lecturer in Criminology.

In October 2022, Lancaster University announced a multi-million pound investment in new teaching facilities, supported by funding from the Office for Students. This includes a new Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre, currently under construction on A floor in Charles Carter. But what is a Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre and what opportunities does it create?

The Decision Theatre concept is not new. Arizona State University developed theirs nearly 20 years ago. Since then, other universities, training centres, and corporations have built their own. All Decision Theatres are dedicated spaces in which groups of people can collaboratively work through complex problems supported by data visualisation technology. Decision Theatres could be used as command centres during genuine crises with real life data being streamed into the room live. More often, Decision Theatres are supported by educators who develop scenarios specifically designed to train decision makers in crisis management and leadership.

An example might be useful. In response to a major incident, it is important that the emergency services can work together. Police, fire and rescue, ambulance, the armed forces, search and rescue, mountain rescue, coast guard, RNLI (the list goes on…), each have their own processes, data streams, communication channels, even jargon that other organisations cannot interface with. To deal with this the UK developed a protocol (JESIP) under which major incidents could be coordinated. To be effective in applying this protocol in a disaster situation the organisations need training and exercising. This is where a Decision Theatre comes into its own. Educators can create a complex scenario that unfolds over hours or even days. Decision makers from each emergency service can sit together in the Decision Theatre, see all the data that they would have available to them, and collaborate with their opposite numbers from other services. The participants can be monitored from an adjoining control room, allowing for two-way interaction between educators and participants. Learning from this kind of scenario improves collaboration, identifies issues within the protocol, and gives decision makers experience of life like, time sensitive decision making.

Decision Theatres can be used for much smaller scale teaching too. Any situation in which learners are given a scenario and asked to make decisions could be enriched. Having the facilitator out of the way in a control room may change group dynamics. The ability to monitor the room using video and audio feeds and supply information via digital displays opens new possibilities for engaging learners. In addition to teaching, the space could be used by researchers for monitoring group dynamics or decision making.

At Lancaster University we are taking the Decision Theatre concept a step further. We want to make the experience a little more immersive. One of the unique aspects of Decision Theatres is their ability to dynamically display data. An immersive environment such as a CAVE takes immersion to an extreme, turning walls, floors and ceilings into surface on which a dynamic environment is projected. One can be transported to a forest, the top of a mountain, the bottom of the sea or anywhere else your imagination (and graphics design budget) could come up with. The problem with a CAVE is that they are difficult to do well at high resolution and applications of low-resolution CAVEs have been shown to be limited.

Lancaster University’s Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre aims to take the best elements of these applications to create a decision space that better immerses learners/research participants.

Continue reading Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre: What is it and how can I get involved?

Lecture Capture: Why do we have it and how is it changing?

The Panopto system has recently come onto the Digital Learning Team’s remit. We will be helping you manually schedule recordings (if needed!) and ensuring that scheduled recordings are taking place when and where they should. In addition, a new retention policy has come into effect this week regarding content on Panopto so I thought it was a good time for a Panopto blog update!

What is it and why do we have it?

If you are new to Lancaster University, you may not have used Panopto before or perhaps are familiar with a similar lecture capture system like Echo 360. Through the Panopto system, it is possible to record lectures and other teaching content for students to play back. It can record the lecturer and the resources like a PowerPoint or something shown on a visualiser.

Lecture capture is really useful for students as it helps them review material that they are not confident with, revise for exams and also helps them not feel left behind if they miss a lecture. Panopto is available in all lecture rooms in the following buildings: Biology, Bowland Main, Bowland North, Charles Carter, County Main, County South, Faraday, Furness, Fylde, George Fox, LICA and the Management School.  It is important to note that your permission needs to be given for automatic recordings to take place, recordings aren’t turned on by default. To opt-in, get in touch with your department coordinator. Lecture recordings are turned on via LUSI for regularly timetabled sessions. For one off sessions, lecture capture can be requested by completing the relevant form. Staff are required to check that captions are provided on all recordings and to make sure that the captions are accurate to ensure that resources are accessible to everyone. Once this has been done, the recordings can be shared with students, for example via Moodle. It is also possible to add quizzes into Panopto recordings to check student understanding and make the resources more engaging for revision purposes.

During the pandemic, the number of recorded lecturers increased dramatically (as expected!). This number has remained high with 60,881 Panopto videos added to Moodle via the Panopto activity in the last academic year. Students find lecture capture a particularly valuable learning tool as highlighted in JISC’s ‘Student Digital Experience Insights survey 2022/23’ from September 2023. The survey found that students thought lecture recording was “one of the most positive aspects of learning using digital technology”. The survey also showed just how widely used lecture capture is in higher education to the point where it is considered the norm. As a result, we hope this resource will continue to be widely used by staff to support students here at Lancaster.

How is Panopto changing?

A new Panopto retention policy came into effect this week. The retention policy has come into effect to ensure that there is room for more footage to be recorded in the coming years (things were getting full!). This means that 27587 videos, which equates to around 30054 hours of footage, were placed in the Panopto archive. Don’t panic! This does not mean that they have been deleted!

The videos that have been archived were identified as resources that are over 4 years old and have not been viewed in the past twelve months. These videos have been moved to a separate storage system, the ‘archive’ in Panopto. You can still search for these videos on Panopto and request to view them. They will then be extracted from the archive which will take around 20 minutes. If these videos are then regularly viewed, they will not return to the archive, but if there are no further views in 30 days, they will return to the archive. If you have recordings on Panopto that have been archived the ‘archived’ button will appear (see image below). If there are no videos in the archive made by you this button will not be shown. Students and staff can also request archived footage that has been embedded or added as an activity in Moodle as the link on the Moodle page will take you to Panopto to make this request for archived footage. If needed, Panopto has provided some instructions on how to restore content from the archive folder.

Archive icon on Panopto

For more information on Panopto and how to use it, look at the Panopto information available on ASK. There are also terms and conditions that come along with recording in Panopto that you should be aware of.

What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023

From 5th September to 7th September, Tim Ellis and I (Liz Walkden) attended the Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Conference. ‘Student Voices: Shaping the Post-Pandemic Campus’ was day two’s keynote session. The purpose of the session was to emphasise the importance of the student voice and to encourage collaboration between policy makers, educators, and learners. It gave us first-hand insights into the experiences of learners following the pandemic. The students studied at three different universities so their opinions and views may not reflect the views of all students or those studying at Lancaster. We heard from a second-year student, a third-year student and a recent graduate. They gave candid accounts into the difficulties that students faced during their time at university. I wanted to share with you three takeaways that I had from listening to the panel’s experiences which readers may find ‘food for thought’.

One of the things that most stood out was the students’ discussions around ‘digital shock’. The panel acknowledged that the technological understanding and knowledge required at university is much more advanced than what was required of them only a couple of months before when they were finishing their A-levels. One member of the panel wanted lecturers to know that most of their previous learning had been done on pen and paper and that they only received their first laptop when they went to University.  To this student, typing was hard and so they used a notebook instead of a laptop in lectures. The student felt this was isolating because everyone else was using an electronic device. The student also then said that engaging with the learning materials and the assignments was also very difficult and that there was an assumption that students would be able to use technology easily.

In addition to the lack of ‘know-how’ when it came to the technology required, students also felt isolated by the access that they had to technology. The student who had recently graduated was frustrated by the fact that she wasn’t told about the possibility of borrowing a laptop earlier and she had been struggling to work on a slow and unreliable device. Another student was frustrated that the Chromebook they had been able to afford to buy did not actually have the right processing power for the technology that they were required to use on their course. One student said, “you feel silly when you don’t have the right technology”. We want students to be digitally literate and able to use technology in their future career with confidence but how do we encourage this and help students to navigate this digital world? The students had some suggestions:

  1. Make the technological requirements of a course clear very early on. Students will be buying new devices before they join the University and should be forewarned if the software they need to use has certain device specifications or needs a certain level of technical ‘know-how’. This would help prepare students and prevent a sense of digital isolation.
  2. Signpost where students can get help. Students struggled to find the information on central websites or portals and often felt lost. The panel suggested that lecturers put up a slide at the start of a lecture while waiting for everyone to sit down which could highlight help, important opportunities, or give answers to frequently asked questions.
  3. Don’t assume that all young people are confident in their use of technology.

The second thing that students were keen for us to understand was how difficult and intimidating they find it to ask questions and get support not only from their lecturers but also from each other. They felt there was an expectation that they would be able to contact other students, work together and speak to the lecturers easily. Some students did manage to set up WhatsApp and/or Snapchat groups. However, they knew that not all the students in their cohort were in these groups and that they didn’t know all their fellow students. A variety of suggestions were made that could help students to collaborate and feel supported at university:

Continue reading What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023