April’s round up contains some of the things the Digital Practice team at Jisc have been reading, writing, recording, watching and pondering this month. Cat Bailey edited this edition with suggested contributions from Chris Thomson (CT), Scott Hibberson (SH), Kathryn Woodhead (KW) and Catherine Evans (CE). As ever, do let us know what’s been getting you thinking and talking too.
Digital tools and spaces
Shall I compare thee to a… stochastic parrot?
A revealing look by John Naughton at some of the metaphors that are used on a daily basis about AI, often without any sort of interrogation. Metaphors are one of the tools we use to help us to understand complex or new things so they are well suited to looking at how humans interact with technology. And for me they can be as instructive when they break down as they are when they “work”; understanding what something is NOT like, is as helpful as understanding what it IS. (CT)
The life-changing magic of wearing smart glasses
After concerns were expressed around the privacy of Meta’s smart glasses from a recent Guardian article, they have published letters from people with hearing impairments/ vision impairments and how the use of smart glasses has changed their everyday lives. Examples include live speech captions, reading local newspapers and accessing information such as plaques in museums and galleries. A valuable reminder of the accessibility benefits alongside the risks and trade‑offs. (KW)
Our colleague, John Kelly, has also provided some good practice suggestions for the use of smart glasses within education particularly around privacy and security.
Using documentary film to decolonise forced migration teaching
A useful reflection on documentaries being used to decolonise forced migration teaching from Dr Sayed Mahdi Mosawi in the University of Edinburgh Teaching Matters blog. It explores how the visual, lived aspect of the documentaries can help bring to live tricky threshold concepts. Great to read. (CB)
Learning technology piloting is a rollercoaster ride?
Back in March, in collaboration with University of Exeter, Dr Steph Comley and I (Cat) held the first meeting of our Learning Technology Piloting consultation group. We brought together educators, digital learning specialists and senior leaders from across UK tertiary education to reflect together on piloting learning technology. This blog post reflects on the conversation so far and details next steps. Get involved if you can! (CB)
An Atomic Frankenstein?
Scott and Chris both spotted this news explained in this article from Inside Higher Ed and explored further in a blog by code acts in education.
It’s cautionary tale in using GenAI to repackage faculty-created teaching materials into new subscription-based micro-courses (without their knowledge or consent), raising accusations of exploitation and loss of control over scholarly work. The article highlights a broader trend in higher education toward “assetization,” where universities treat academic content as monetizable digital assets, often supported by intellectual property policies that grant institutions ownership over staff materials. (SH)
Skills and capabilities
Accurate citation or hallucination?
Tens of thousands of publications from 2025 might include invalid references generated by AI, a Nature analysis suggests. (SH)
The Great Decoupling: Why the “Click” is a Legacy Metric in 2026
This is a useful demonstration of how some things about information and interaction on the web that we take for granted are undergoing significant upheaval. “Clicks” are losing their place as the marker of good web content. It’s questionable whether they deserved that status in the first place, but the arrival of AI summaries in search has massive implications for this. (CT)
AI says you passed…
We had some interesting discussions in the team about this article from TimesHE around the London School of Innovation getting degree-awarding powers for AI-taught courses. I have so many questions about how this will work and I’ll be keen to hear more as students start learning. (CB)
How can digital learning can help close awarding gaps?
A thoughtful article by Marieke Guy at UWE discussing how digital learning and learning design could help with closing awarding gaps. It explores how assessment, scaffolding and belonging can be assisted by digital to move towards better outcomes for all students. (CB)
Beyond the Technology podcast: powered by people – building digital together
In this episode of Beyond the Technology, recorded live at Digifest 2026, Digital Practice’s Catherine Evans speaks with Chris Melia and Phil Whitehead about community‑led approaches to developing digital skills. Chris and Phil share practical insights on peer support, recognition and collaboration, and how putting people at the centre can drive meaningful digital change across education. (CE)
Wellbeing and online safety
Digifest 2026 highlights: Exploring our relationship with technology and wellbeing – Inspiring learning
In this podcast, Scott explores our complex relationship with technology and discusses how technology impacts our wellbeing with Dan Owens, Digital Wellbeing Officer at Coleg y Cymoedd. (SH)
Expanding our horizons
The myth of STEM only growth holds back the UK – LSE Impact
As a humanities graduate, this piece from LSE really appealed to me. In a way, the field of Ed Tech is a parallel to this; it’s as much about people and culture as it is about technology. And chef’s kiss to the irony of the final paragraph…
“In short, the STEM-only myth appears pretty resilient against facts, evidence and critical thought.” (CT)
Happy Birthday University of Northampton Learning Technology Blog!
I stumbled across this wonderful reflection from the University of Northampton’s Robert Farmer ruminating on the experiences of the learning technology team and it’s blog over 15 years since its inception. Happy 15th birthday University of Northampton Learning Technology blog – what a tenure! This prompted me to look back at our first post in 2016 from our very own, Chris Thomson. Fancy doing a ten-year anniversary reflection post, Chris? (CB)