A roundup of what the Jisc Digital Practice team have been doing and discovering over the last few weeks. This edition has been edited by Chris (CT) and Cat (CB), with additional input from Scott (SH).
Digital Tools and Spaces
Reality check: XR industry report This thorough report by the Ada Lovelace Institute on the state of the immersive tech industry is aimed at people with an interest in regulation, there are some important messages about adoption of XR and the state of investment which have implications for education. It’s a long document but the Exec Summary is a good reflection of the whole. (CT)
Saying Goodbye to Moodle: A heartfelt farewell to Moodle from University of Edinburgh’s Digital Learning Team. This blog blends data and emotion, reminding us that VLE changes are about people as much as platforms. Farewell Edinburgh Moodle!
An update from Tech Crunch on the microblogging scene, including a useful summary of BlueSky and its key features. (SH)
And more..
Marques Brownlee’s analysis of the new Meta Ray Ban Display.
UK government has signed an AI deal worth billions with Microsoft, OpenAI and Nvidia.
Telling insights into the design choices of how and why #ChatGPT responds the way it does to our prompts.
Skills and Capabilities
Chris’s interview with Dr Teti Dragas from Durham Uni and Richard Beggs from Ulster Uni about the uses of Digital Storytelling for assessment. For me the most interesting parts were about the pedagogies of human connection that it helps facilitate and how it’s not something limited to humanities. Storytelling has a strong role in STEM too!
The role of storytelling in research is a really fascinating area. This podcast series by Anna Ploszajski in partnership with UKRN and StoryArcs has been looking at the way research narratives shape understanding. It’s a fascinating listen. (CT)
Wellbeing and online Safety
Concerns being voiced about the impact of AI powered chat bots on mental wellbeing. From The Guardian
Teens’ tech free zones, from the BBC. A bit of a stunt but an interesting insight nonetheless into the pervasiveness of tech in young people’s lives. The issues of social isolation and spatial privacy stood out for me, painting quite a complex picture. On this theme, chatgpt also revealed plans for age verification checks.
Useful for academics trying to raise learner awareness around issues such as fake news. Do you know the difference between misinformation and disinformation? (SH)
Collaboration and cooperation
Chris reports on the latest work the Advice Team have been doing to support cooperation and collaboration between teams in education. The team proposes a framework for classifying issues and opportunities that we are using as the basis for future work in this area. Watch this space!
Crossing and dismantling boundaries: recognising the value of professional staff within higher education A 2024 UCL Press journal article by Kelly Vere (University of Nottingham), Charlotte Verney (University of Bristol), and Tara Webster-Deakin (University of Nottingham), exploring the value of professional services staff in HE and arguing for an approach of “third space working” to improve collaboration and innovation. (CT)
Sustainability
A useful bit of context about the strengthening position of China in green manufacturing industries. (CT)
I enjoyed reading this summary of a session on Open Educational Resources at Digital Learning Week 2025 and particularly this quote from Anne-Marie Scott “If we can work out how to source tea ethically, we can certainly learn to procure technology ethically” (CB)
For more on sustainability check out the Jisc Digital Sustainability Newsletter.
Expanding our horizons
Neil Selwyn’s podcast on techno-solutionism was a thought-provoking find this month and seems so relevant in this time of financial constraints and sustainability concerns
What Ifá, an Indigenous binary knowledge system can teach us about AI. “Western systems of thought are often positioned as universal and scientific, while Indigenous knowledge is framed as cultural or spiritual, and therefore unscientific. This binary framing reinforces epistemic injustice.” I have a poor understanding of this system but it feels like an interesting example of how Bruners’ 2 modes of thought come together in one system – paradigmatic and narrative. Makes me wonder what other systems of thought are available but ignored by mainstream western science and culture. (CT)
