In December 2021 I contributed some of our team’s recent research to the ALT Winter Conference. The session was in the Well-being and Learning Technology category in the form of a video poster titled: On Campus and Off Campus: Places, People, and Possibilities during the Pandemic.
The poster was a pre-recorded presentation focused around qualitative research conducted earlier on in the year – where we developed insights around the student experience during the pandemic emergency. From this research, I divided the poster into four discussion categories:
- focused on campus,
- focused off campus,
- interactive on campus,
- and interactive off campus.
During the presentation, I highlighted the key components of each space, activity type and how it had influenced the way students completed their assessments, exams and coursework by referencing real experiences.
I have attached the video and transcript.
Attendees of the conference were able to ask any further questions on the information shared in the video, which was all done via a Discord text channel set up by ALT. Each video poster submission was played alongside each other which allowed fellow participants to engage with each other’s posters and strike conversation with other conference attendees – creating a strong network between the participants. Interesting discussions came out of the poster and I received positive feedback and interesting questions to do with the digital divide.
In addition, the conference was a great opportunity for me to ask questions and explore other participants work. For example, the event also included 30 minute talks and Tom Farrelly hosted an amazing set of time limited presentations in a “GASTA” – which was a new and engaging experience for me. Digital Lockdown Learning and Post-Pandemic Practice: Where are we Pivoting to? by Kirstie Coolin I found particularly insightful towards some of the projects we are currently working on.
Conferences like this are new to me, and ALT was a welcoming and supportive first experience, I hope I get the chance to attend in the future and talk more about the projects and research that we are doing.
If you have any insights, questions or are just interested in getting involved in this work, please email us at innovation@jisc.ac.uk.