Day one opens

Speaker: Jason Miles-Campbell, director, Scotland and Northern Ireland
JiscJoin Jason Miles-Campbell for an overview of what you can expect from the first day of the Connect More conference.

Welcome to day one of Connect More

Speaker: Nigel Francis, senior lecturer, Cardiff UniversityImmunology Wars is a co-created project aimed at decontextualising immunology education using the characters and storylines of Star Wars. Here, the development of a novel live version of this tool, framed around an educational mega-game is described. Generative artificial intelligence was leveraged to help design the game mechanics and create scenarios and resources, highlighting the power of these new tools to help educators develop engaging gamified teaching resources. A crucial step in the development of the resource was a small pilot with student volunteers, who helped identify areas for enhancement. AI was then used to refine and adapt the scenarios and resources based on student feedback.

Immunology Wars Live! Using AI to develop an immunology mega-game

Speakers:
<ul><li>Dom Fripp, head of discovery, ed-tech and co design, Jisc</li>
<li>Dominique Walker, IT graduate, Jisc</li></ul>
If the metaverse is coming, it doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to arrive. What can we do right now with digital 3D worlds so we're ready when it does? 

Jisc would like to present the Virtual Innovation Hub: a proof of concept - built in partnership with Metaverse Hub - that offers four different zones that pose an individual take on how we could use this technology. From digital twins to imagining the future, we’ll talk you through how we did it and why.

After the tour, we’d really like to hear about your ideas, hopes, and fears for this technology, and how you think it might change education.

Introducing the virtual innovation hub: our search for the Metaverse

Speakers:
<ul><li>Steve Wileman, head of digital learning, South Staffordshire College</li>
<li>Glyn Rogers, digital teaching leader, Coleg Gwent</li>
<li>Kathryn Woodhead, subject specialist, Jisc</li></ul>
This session will explore key findings from Jisc’s ‘extended reality in learning and teaching 2023/24’ report. A panel discussion with community members sharing how they have embedded immersive learning in the curriculum and scaled up its use across the organisation. Highlighting the journey, challenges, overcoming them, and next steps.

Scaling up extended reality (XR) use in education: findings from the XR community

Speaker: Paddy Shepperd, senior AI specialist, JiscThis webinar will consider the practical use of AI in daily tasks, focusing on productivity-enhancing tools like Microsoft copilot, Google Docs and ChatGPT. We will look at AI's role in education and discuss how these can be integrated into teaching strategies to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and overall productivity.

Using AI for productivity

Break

Speakers:Constance Henry, essential skills practitioner, Gower College SwanseaAI is an incredible technology that has captured the world's attention. When employed correctly, it becomes a valuable asset in education. This session will delve into complimentary AI tools that educators can use to enhance their content creation and resource management. These tools serve to inspire, facilitate activity planning, develop lesson plans, structure schemes of work, tailor tasks to individual needs, and rephrase content for enhanced student comprehension. Additionally, we'll explore tools designed to assist learners in revising and maximising their learning potential, such as generating questions from videos, crafting flashcards from documents, and even creating personalised Chat Bots.

Free AI tools in education

Speakers:<ul><li>Emma Beatson, product lead
Jisc</li><li>Paul Bailey, head of co-design, Jisc</li></ul>Predicting the future and planning for it is tricky. Over the last year, the innovation team at Jisc have been trying to make this task more manageable through their imagined futures workshops. In these workshops, participants from across FE and HE have imagined how institutions could thrive in the face of a series of potential challenges caused by social shifts, changing access to education, environmental crisis, the demands of employers and the emergence of technologies such as generative AI, edge computing, and immersive learning platforms. In this Connect More session, you will receive first access to the innovative concepts for futureproofing that were generated in these workshops, and have a chance to share your own insights, ideas and feedback about what is needed for the future.

Imagining the future together

Speakers:
<ul><li>Sarah Knight, head of learning and teaching transformation, Jisc</li>
<li>Sheila MacNeill, managing director, How Sheila Sees IT</li></ul>
Curriculum and learning design are complex and intertwined concepts. The lockdowns of 2020 forced rapid changes in modes of participation, including widespread use of live online learning and virtual collaboration. There has been a general return to pre-pandemic practices with a focus on in-person, on-site delivery, but there is still much to be learned from the pandemic experience.
Now all learning is blended to some extent but the challenge lies in making informed choices about the different blends that are possible and that best respond to student preferences and needs. Understanding the pedagogic value of these choices demand new skills and sometimes more resources. The materials offered in our new Jisc Beyond blended guide acknowledge that learners differ in their management of time and approaches to learning and consider how digital technologies (like AI) can create new relationships to space, place and time. This session will offer delegates the opportunities of exploring this new guidance and principles for beyond blended.

Beyond blended: exploring space and place, time and pace in curriculum and learning design

Speaker: Kirsty Ingleson, teaching, learning, and digital innovation lead, Kirklees CollegeThe session will explore some practical quick wins for educators to use and adapt in order to shake up their practice. We cannot stick to “traditional education” as we don’t have “traditional” learners. Some staff feel they don’t have time to get creative, to think differently or try something new. When harnessing digital, using our creative energy and exploring AI, we can cut our workload, streamline our planning and revolutionise teaching and learning. Over the last 5 years I have been committed to improving learner experience and student outcomes using digital platforms and software. I plan to share some of my experiences and findings.

Getting cre-AI-tive to improve learning and teaching.

Speaker: Jason Miles-Campbell, director, Scotland and Northern Ireland
JiscJason returns to offer reflections from the first day at Connect More.

Day one reflections

Day one closes

Speakers:<ul><li>Carolina Barnes, community specialist, Jisc</li><li>Dan Hughes, programme lead, leadership and culture programme, Jisc</li><li>Laura Hutton, subject specialist, Jisc</li><li>Rosie Hare, community intelligence and impact lead, Jisc</li><li>Catherine Evans, subject specialist, Jisc</li></ul>Join us before the start of the second day at Connect More to network with other attendees and discuss thoughts and ideas about using technology to develop learning and teaching.Technologies could include AI, XR, sustainability, or accessibility in learning environments.<ul><li>What can you do with these technologies?</li><li>Have you faced any challenges or have any concerns over their use?</li><li>Have these technologies enabled you to make improvements?</li><li>Learn from each other, hear more about what others in the industry are doing, and be part of the Jisc community.</li></ul>

Join via the online event platform. Access information provided to all registered attendees within the event joining information email.

Community meet up

Day two opens

Speaker: Chris Thomson, programme lead (teaching, learning and assessment), Jisc
Join Chris for an overview of what you can expect from the second day of the Connect More conference.

Welcome to day two of Connect More

Speaker: Christian Lawson-Perfect, learner software developer, Newcastle University
Numbas is a free and open-source assessment system designed for mathematical subjects, used by educators around the world from high school to HE level. 
Christian will talk about how Numbas offers excellent accessibility and ease of use for both students and instructors; tools to create adaptive formative assessments as well as high-stakes exams; and a wide range of types of interaction including interactive diagrams, spreadsheets, and assessment of code written in Python or R.

Rich interactive assessment of STEM subjects with Numbas

Speakers:
<ul><li>Rebecca Feasey, subject leader in media and critical studies, Bath Spa University</li><li>James Baggott-Brown, senior lecturer, Bath Spa University</li></ul>
This session will ask you to come on a journey with Bath School of Art, Film and Media as we looked to dethrone the essay in favour of what be considered more authentic, certainly more creative assignments ... the session will outline the driving factors behind this change to our learning, teaching and assessments and the impact it has had on the learning environment.

But is it purposeful? Why we dethroned the essay …

Speaker: Dr Kate Ellis-Davies, senior lecturer, co chair student well being and outcomes research network, Swansea UniversityDuring this session, we will be discussing the difficulties involved in delivering an engaging teaching experience in large scale lecture theatres. We will explore the use of the testing effect within Feedback 5, as part of the Jisc pilot, to address this challenge. Feedback 5 is a formative in-lecture approach to feedback that is integrated into the teaching process across the School of Psychology at Swansea University. We will delve into the theory that has led to this approach, the use of in-lecture surveying software in Feedback 5, the benefits reported by both lecturers and students and how this approach has opened up new avenues for staff development in online teaching-focused wiki within online learning environments and technology-assisted assessment and feedback for online marking processes.

Feedback 5: In-lecture surveying for feedback and student engagement

Speakers:<ul><li>Dean Blewitt, senior innovation and investments manager, NCFE</li><li>Barnaby Grimble, chief product officer and co-founder, Pupil Progress</li></ul>NCFE, an educational charity committed to shaping solutions for evolving learning needs, believes technology can be a powerful tool for empowering learners to assess their knowledge, skills, and aptitudes in advance of a formal summative assessment. As part of our Assessment Innovation Fund, we have partnered with 14 organisations to deliver new, innovative approaches to assessment where this session will share the emerging findings and initial insights of one of our pilot studies.

Reimagining Assessment: NCFE’s learnings from our Assessment Innovation Fund

Speaker: Miriam Firth, academic lead for assessment (FLP), Univeristy of ManchesterAI for assessment? Student choice in assessment? Assessment for flexible learning pathways? These are some of the questions Miriam Firth has grappled with as academic lead for assessments at the University of Manchester in the last two years. In this presentation Miriam will reflect on the diverse needs and modern learning styles of learners, navigating through the challenges and opportunities presented by flexible learning environments. Discover how assessment projects can support assessment strategy to evolve assessment and feedback to embrace learner needs. Gain invaluable insights into the integration of technology, feedback mechanisms, and personalised assessment techniques, empowering educators to effectively evaluate learner progress while promoting autonomy and self-directed learning.

Evolving assessment for flexible learners : reflections from an academic lead at Manchester

Speakers:<ul><li>Dr Fumiko Prescott, faculty manager - online, Activate Learning
</li><li>Patrick Kelly-Goss, group digital advisor team leader, Activate Learning
</li><li>Noor Sabbagh, faculty manager, Activate Learning</li></ul>This session will explore the usage of AI in education for assessment and feedback. Activate Learning has implemented AI tutors in Maths and English provision in their online courses. These AI tutors are used in asynchronous learning to enhance understanding of material covered in synchronous, real-time lessons, increasing accessibility for neurodiversity learners. They also cultivate curiosity, allowing learners to ask questions without embarrassment and test their answers repeatedly. AI tutors serve as reminders of lessons while human tutors remain primary instructors. This 24/7 service positively impacts adult learners’ confidence and motivation, aligning with the Activate Learning philosophy. By fostering a supportive environment and empowering individuals to overcome challenging backgrounds and past negative experiences in these subjects, Activate Learning have found the AI tutors to be highly effective. In this session, they will also share learners’ feedback and future experiments.

Unleashing the power of AI-tutor: personalised  assessment and feedback

Speaker: Pam Birtill, associate professor, University of LeedsThis session will introduce the work currently being undertaken to redefine and transform the undergraduate and taught postgraduate provision at the University of Leeds. Curriculum Redefined is a 10-year University-wide project that seeks to adopt active and inclusive approaches to learning and teaching, to ensure our curriculum prepares our students to be global citizens, ready for their futures. A significant part of this transformation project is to reimagine how (and why) we might assess our students and how we can provide them with feedback that supports and scaffolds their learning throughout their degree. This session will give an overview of the human-centered design approach we have taken over the past two years, including our institutional priorities for assessment and feedback practice. I will describe some of the new approaches that colleagues in schools have been implementing this year, including programmatic assessment and synoptic assessment.

Re-imagining assessment at the University of Leeds

Speaker: Dr Isobel Bowditch, academic developer/teaching fellow, Strathclyde University
This session will chart the development of the Jisc resource designing assessment in an AI enabled world and outline some possible next steps for assessment in the HE sector in light of ongoing developments in AI technology. 
How do we find clarity and practical ways forward for our assessment practices amongst the uncertainties, unequal distributions and fraught ethics of an AI mediated world?

Designing assessment in an AI enabled world

Speaker: Chris Thomson, programme lead (teaching, learning and assessment), Jisc
Chris Thomson returns to offer reflections from day two.

Day two reflections

Day two closes

Day three opens

Speaker: Esther Barrett, Programme lead – digital capability and skills, advice team, JiscJoin Esther Barrett for an overview of what you can expect from the final day of the Connect More conference.

Welcome to day three of Connect More

Speaker:Lilian Joy, digital education manager, University of York Trying to make maths accessible to blind students is challenging and sometimes requires creative solutions. Find out how a blind student, her transcriber, her tutor and a learning technologist solved problems they encountered. Discover how user research with visually impaired students continues to develop our ideas and expertise. There will be ideas everyone can take away to implement.

An accessible Maths journey

Speaker: Sian Furmage, engagement librarian, University of Southampton LibrarySian will talk about how the university have used a framework to embed library research skills within programmes, across all subject areas, at the point of need and linked to module learning outcomes. She will also outline the next steps in the initial stages of this project, including how the framework was created, pilot work and approval at senior University committee level. This session will also cover the benefits of this approach, alongside current plans for carrying out an evaluation of teaching strategy. This will involve research with students, academic staff and library staff.

Library research skills framework

Speakers:
<ul><li>Jim Keane, data engineering solutions manager and senior technical consultan, Jisc</li>
<li>Carolyn Davies, head of operations (teaching and learning), Sheffield Hallam University</li><li>Dr Angela Gardiner, interim head of campus and student life, University of Salford</li>
<li>James Hodgson, head of analytics - commercial, Jisc</li></ul>Does the data we hold tell us anything about our students’ wellbeing and, if it does, what should we do with it? A round table discussion followed by a Q&A. Dr Anji Gardiner (Interim Head of Campus & Student Life, University of Salford), Carolyn Fearn, Head of Operations Teaching and Learning, Sheffield Hallam University) and Jim Keane (Senior analytics consultant – wellbeing, Jisc) discuss their experiences of using data for wellbeing and the challenges of measuring the impact of interventions. Chaired by James Hodgkin, head of analytics, Jisc.

Using data to support student wellbeing

Speakers:<ul><li>Emma Beatson, product lead, Jisc</li><li>Paul Bailey, head of co-design, Jisc</li></ul>Predicting the future and planning for it is tricky. Over the last year, the innovation team at Jisc have been trying to make this task more manageable through their imagined futures workshops. In these workshops, participants from across FE and HE have imagined how institutions could thrive in the face of a series of potential challenges caused by social shifts, changing access to education, environmental crisis, the demands of employers and the emergence of technologies such as generative AI, edge computing, and immersive learning platforms. We are offering another chance to participate in this Connect More session, you will receive first access to the innovative concepts for futureproofing that were generated in these workshops, and have a chance to share your own insights, ideas and feedback about what is needed for the future.

Speakers:<ul><li>Yaxin Bi, Professor, Ulster University</li><li>Peter Nicholl, senior lecturer in computing science, Ulster University</li></ul>This session will present the development of a digital campus for Ulster University, and how a student-led club mapped key spaces on the new campus. The student engagement created an interactive digitised view of the campus using digital twin technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI). The immersive model allows prospective overseas applicants to move around our campus to become aware of it as well helping orientate existing students and staff from our remote campuses who have yet to visit the Belfast campus.

From Google Maps to 3D Immersive Digital Twin of the Ulster University Belfast campus

Speaker: Stacy Vipas, head of digital learning, Askham Bryan CollegeThis session will demonstrate the college’s recent green gown award win. We will demonstrate the use of virtual, augmented reality and metaverse technology simulating real-world learning experiences without the environmental impact, along with the student benefit of collaboration with local and national employers.

Virtual and augmented reality use in teaching and learning

Speaker: Sue Attewell, head of AI and codesign, JiscJoin Sue as she outlines what the current AI usage trends are of students and how is it deployed across their learning experiences as well as what student’s current perceptions and concerns are over AI, how will the sector support AI literacy, equity, and manage overreliance. Alongside reviewing what student’s expectations are from an institution in formulating transparent policies around responsible and ethical use of AI.

How are students using generative AI now?

Speaker: Yusuf Ibrahim, assistant principal, Cardiff and Vale College
Join Yusuf Ibrahim as he takes you on a journey of how the Further Education Anti-Racism Curriculum in Wales has been developed. From conceptual designs to implementation, you will be given an insight into how a team built on lived experience and allyship crafted a new curriculum.

Creating an anti-racist world

Speaker: Esther Barrett, Programme lead – digital capability and skills, advice team, JiscEsther returns to offer reflections from day three and bring this year's Connect More to a close.

Connect More closes with reflections from Esther Barrett

Day three closes

Connect More 2024

About Connect More 2024

Connect More 2024 programme

This year&#x27;s exciting &#x27;pick and mix&#x27; style programme celebrated best practice and offered key insights and practical takeaways, all delivered by inspiring thought leaders, industry experts and speakers.