Summary of recent work/practice

At the time of writing my original portfolio, the country was just entering into lockdowns because of the Covid19 pandemic. The shift from campus-based working to online/hybrid is now fully entrenched into our working practice. At the time, the change in approach felt seismic, resulting in unanticipated levels of academic and student support. Throughout the pandemic I worked with the TEL development team at Bournemouth University to identify straightforward and robust technical solutions for facilitating various online teaching approaches and disciplines. At the time of writing my original CMALT portfolio we were adopting the use of Brightspace Virtual Classroom, an VLE integrated tool designed to enable seamless online delivery. However, within 2 months of writing my portfolio we had discontinued supporting virtual classroom and as an institution had shifted to Zoom, which, at the time had increased functionality and reach. It is fair to say my workloads through the majority of 2020 and 2021 were unprecedented. As well as providing staff support in using online tools, I was also regularly facilitating online Zoom training with 70+ attendees, this level of exposure has really helped me to develop my online presentation and delivery skills, as well as building resilience in dealing with, at times, challenging and stressed-out staff.

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Another significant project I was involved with as a result of the lockdowns was the onboarding and integration of Honorlock into Brightspace in facilitation of online proctored exams. I co-authored a book chapter which documents the project journey, I will explore this further in CPD area two.

Exploring and supporting tools for online delivery has broadened my understanding and skills in harnessing different elements of online technologies to help foster collaboration and academic community.

When reflecting my original contextual statement, I have progressed in many different areas and disciplines relating to the deployment and integration of Learning Technologies. However, due to the Covid19 lockdowns and change in institutional direction, there has been limited scope to expand on existing technology innovation projects such as immersive tech and VR. The primary focus has been on learner analytics and data driven metrics to support the development of student engagement and increase levels of attainment.

You can access my original contextual statement here:

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A significant area of my personal development since writing my original portfolio is a change of employer, I am still a higher education learning technologist, but have since moved from Bournemouth University to the Health Sciences University (formally the AECUC) in April 2023. The move has broadened my skills and afforded me exposure to new and valuable work experiences; I will explain this in more detail in CPD area one.

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One final huge leap forward in my professional development has been the opportunity to design curriculum and unit lead. As part of my new job role, I have delivered two iterations of a Technology and Digitally Enhanced Learning unit (level 7). This is one of my proudest career achievements to date, which will be explored in CDP area three.