{"id":329,"date":"2023-09-08T12:05:09","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T12:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/?p=329"},"modified":"2023-09-08T12:05:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T12:05:09","slug":"what-do-students-want-an-insight-from-the-alt-conference-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/09\/08\/what-do-students-want-an-insight-from-the-alt-conference-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

From 5th<\/sup> September to 7th<\/sup> September, Tim Ellis<\/a> and I (Liz Walkden<\/a>) attended the Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Conference. \u2018Student Voices: Shaping the Post-Pandemic Campus\u2019 was day two\u2019s 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\u2019s experiences which readers may find \u2018food for thought\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the things that most stood out was the students\u2019 discussions around \u2018digital shock\u2019. 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. \u00a0To 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the lack of \u2018know-how\u2019 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\u2019t 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, \u201cyou feel silly when you don\u2019t have the right technology\u201d. 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:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  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 \u2018know-how\u2019. This would help prepare students and prevent a sense of digital isolation.<\/span><\/li>\n
  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.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t assume that all young people are confident in their use of technology.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    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\u2019t know all their fellow students. A variety of suggestions were made that could help students to collaborate and feel supported at university:<\/span><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Use polling software (such as Vevox or Mentimeter) that allows students to contribute and ask questions anonymously.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Set up an online space where students can ask questions of staff and make sure it is monitored regularly.<\/span><\/li>\n
    3. Set up a space where students can ask questions of each other without the lecturer; so that they feel they can ask questions without fear of judgement.<\/span><\/li>\n
    4. Have a mixture of in-person and online support, don\u2019t rely on too much of one or the other. Highlight office hours and signpost in-person workshops\/sessions but also have similar opportunities for online support.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0The final takeaway that I would like to share with readers were the student panel\u2019s concerns around the use of generative A.I. (artificial intelligence). One student said that it would be a \u201cbig worry for me\u201d to be accused of using A.I in their assignments. The fear was that their work would be \u201cmistaken for A.I.\u201d generated content. They were concerned that an \u201ceducational gap\u201d would form between those students who used A.I, used it well and were not suspected of using it in their assignments and those students who did not use it, either by choice, by a lack of knowledge on how to use it or from not being able to afford some of the more advanced tools which require a subscription. Students were worried that this would lead to a gap in student attainment and were frustrated at the unfairness of this. There was concern over the “credibility of grades\u201d. They suggested that assessments needed to be more authentic and well thought out and what they saw as a good assessment was one that \u201cshouldn\u2019t be able to be completed by A.I\u201d. The panel appreciated the difficulties here, the pressure on staff to change and the speed at which change is now required because of this technology. They had a couple of suggestions:<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Universities need to bring about change faster and be more proactive.<\/span><\/li>\n
      2. The panel also wanted more value and emphasis to be placed on \u201cin-person discussion\u201d as discussion was a way to test knowledge and understanding.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        So, there we have it, three things to think about from the student panel at the ALT Conference. To me, some changes seem simpler than others. There are things the students mentioned that would be straightforward to implement but some of the above changes and difficulties will take time to address. The important thing, which was the purpose of the whole keynote session, is to keep listening to students and to respond if we can to their needs and concerns.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        From 5th September to 7th September, Tim Ellis and I (Liz Walkden) attended the Association of Learning Technologists (ALT) Conference. \u2018Student Voices: Shaping the Post-Pandemic Campus\u2019 was day two\u2019s 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. … Continue reading What do students want? An insight from the ALT Conference 2023<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[22,14,21,9],"class_list":["post-329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pedagogy","tag-accessibility","tag-improved-ux","tag-participation","tag-sharing-practice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":445,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/12\/15\/ethics-and-ai-some-takeaways-from-the-alt-winter-summit-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":329,"position":0},"title":"Ethics and AI: Some \u2018takeaways\u2019 from the ALT Winter Summit 2023","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"December 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogy"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogy","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/pedagogy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":130,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/06\/26\/user-experience-what-do-students-like-to-see-in-a-moodle-space\/","url_meta":{"origin":329,"position":1},"title":"User Experience: What do students like to see in a Moodle space?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"June 26, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Digital Teaching and Learning Team are currently in the process of engaging students and staff in a range of discovery activities to find out about their experience of using Moodle. Over the past couple of weeks, I\u2019ve been conducting focus groups with students to find out more about their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Moodle"","block_context":{"text":"Moodle","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/moodle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The inside of the University library showing an indoor tree and students studying.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/06\/SL_LancsUni_Jun22_SLV_2116_HR-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":485,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2024\/01\/10\/digital-training-courses-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":329,"position":2},"title":"Digital Training Courses Available!","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"January 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Digital Learning Team have a whole host of training courses available this term. These are mainly aimed at academic and professional services staff to help you make the most of our suite of digital learning tools and services.\u00a0 Below you can find the dates and sign up links to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":332,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/09\/22\/lecture-capture-why-do-we-have-it-and-how-is-it-changing\/","url_meta":{"origin":329,"position":3},"title":"Lecture Capture: Why do we have it and how is it changing?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"September 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The Panopto system has recently come onto the Digital Learning Team\u2019s 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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogy"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogy","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/pedagogy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/09\/JKP-230315-2-160.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":303,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/08\/18\/moodle-training-courses-available-in-september\/","url_meta":{"origin":329,"position":4},"title":"Moodle Training Courses Available in September!","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"August 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Time is flying by and the start of the new academic year is nearly upon us (eek!). Many of you are starting to look at your online teaching and learning provision and especially, your Moodle spaces. 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