I’ve started this blog post literally minutes after ALT-C has come to and end. I have written copious notes, and fully digesting them will probably take weeks (or months!) but I wanted to write about the highlights of the conference for me.
First of all, although I’ve been (kind of) a Learning Tech for (er…*counts*) about 20 years, in all honesty, I have never been to ALT before. And now I’m sad and have realised how much I’ve missed! Where’s that time-machine….
Whistle-stop tour through my highlights for the 3 days:
- Seeing the McEwan Hall again – first time since it was renovated.
The amazing ceiling/dome in the McEwan Hall. - Being Tech Team leader for the University of EdTechfordshire and their random and pretty scary strategies.
- Being impressed at the design of an Escape Game to teach staff about the teaching & learning tools available within the institution at the University of Derby.
- The possibility of winning chocolate or a copy of Anshul Lau’s slides, at his entertaining talk about gamification.
- The ‘academic bloodsport’ that is GASTA talks. Eeek. High pressure. I’m glad I didn’t do one.
- Seeing one of our amazing interns Emma Carroll talking about all the work she’s done (with assistance from others in the team!) during her ‘Witchfinder General’ internship. See the output at witches.is.ed.ac.uk! And it was a GASTA #kudostoemma #shesbraverthanme
- A great keynote – that filled me both full of terror and joy by Jesse Stommel.
- Finding out that the name for the phenomenon when Microsoft Teams goes out of control is a ‘Teams sprawl’ (Kevan Williams)
- Finding out about fake learning analytics
- Playing with Lego… Yes really!!!! I was both a Lego castaway AND a Lego duck builder. It even had a pedagogical point! So a good excuse to play….!!
My Lego duck creation - Working with wonderful colleagues to tell others about some of the things we are doing at the University – including a workshop about using Noteable with James and Nuria, a presentation with Duncan and Paul about our Learn Foundations project and of course, a double act with Lorna about our Academic Blogging Service.
- Seeing the colleagues that worked on our Lecture Recording service winning a well deserved prize!
Lecture Recording team collecting their award.
And seeing people! Lots of people from Edinburgh I don’t normally see, people I connected with years ago and haven’t seen since and making new contacts and friends!
It’s been a blast! Now I need to go and lie down!!
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