February 3, 2025, by Laura Nicholson
Learning Technology at UoN: Enhancing Digital Pedagogy
Who are Learning Technology?
At the University of Nottingham (UoN), all academic staff and staff based in professional services have a nominated Learning Technology Consultant (LTC) and Officer (LTO). We are fortunate to work alongside an outstanding wider team of professionals, but as UoN Learning Technology consultants, we take the lead in supporting staff in their use of digital learning tools and online pedagogy across the university.
So… you support IT queries?
Not IT as such. A lot of our day-to-day work is around Moodle, but it isn’t just about fixing things or creating new modules. As learning technologists, we are also skilled in the pedagogical application of tools. We have insight into how tools are applied across the university and can help staff and students to make the best use of technology for learning and teaching.
Great – so if I can’t do something on Moodle, I can come to you?
We’d be happy to help, but we do a whole lot more than just helping out with Moodle. If Moodle is your topic of query, we can advise on all the various activities and resources available with an innovative pedagogical approach and ideas on how to make your modules more interactive. You could think of us as your Moodle digital designers, supporting you to provide enhancements to your module layout, accessibility, formatting, and functionality to ensure everything looks good and runs smoothly.
But your LT consultants and officers do way more than just help with Moodle. There’s Turnitin and Moodle assignments; the options you have when setting up submissions for groups or individual students; and various marking and feedback options. We also advise on Mahara e-portfolios, something becoming increasingly popular as staff look to vary their assessment types.
Or maybe it’s ExamSys you want to know more about in terms of setting up formative or summative assessments, or how to make best use of the analytics available, or find out how to enable objective-based feedback; we can help with that too. And don’t forget we also know all about best practices relating to accessibility, Echo polling, and Xerte Online Toolkits. If there’s something we’ve missed, just ask, because it’s likely we can still help or point you in the right direction of someone who could.
Wait… there’s more to Learning Technology!
Lots more! Learning Technology (LT) is actually made up of several teams; there’s also the Systems Team and the Learning Content Team. This is what makes Learning Technology unique, as we have the knowledge, experience, and direct management of key platforms and software being used by everyone across the university. It’s this multi-team collaboration happening within Learning Technology that enables us to provide innovative and reliable solutions to all queries that come our way.
Learning Systems Team
The systems technical team is responsible for developing, testing, and deploying a variety of learning technologies. This includes our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Moodle, and our e-assessment system, ExamSys. They ensure everything runs smoothly and regularly implement updates to keep our systems current and secure.
If there’s an underlying issue with something not functioning as expected or when a new plugin needs to be tested and deployed, it’s the systems team who are our go-to colleagues. The Learning Technology Consultant’s close relationship with this team ensures things are reported and dealt with quickly, and it also maintains that close insight into everything happening with our key systems.
Learning Content Team
And finally, we have our LT Learning Content team, who bring digital learning to life for both staff and students. They provide a range of support for digital learning content, which includes a fully featured video production service in support of teaching and learning activities. The team offers consultancy on digital learning content and develops engaging multimedia to enhance university teaching and learning. Whether it’s the creation of video content, podcasting, or experimenting with something innovative like Augmented Reality (AR) and video, the LT learning content team are the ones you want.
Where are the Learning Technology Consultants based, and how can I get in touch?
The Learning Technology Consultants and Officers at UoN work primarily from Coates on the University Park campus but travel wherever needed. For some of us, that means basing ourselves at the Jubilee campus for staff drop-in support. Or we might visit our Sutton Bonington campus to help staff and students working in the science and veterinary faculties. Our current drop-in days and times.
Maybe a face-to-face meetup doesn’t quite work for you? No problem at all; we can arrange an online meet-up, or you could start up a Teams chat with us.
So, why not do something a bit different with your Moodle module?Or maybe experiment with Mahara for e-portfolios? Or perhaps try some alternative questioning techniques and analysis in ExamSys? If you want some inspiration with a bit of innovation thrown in, your LT consultants have the answers. Just book an appointment with us or get in touch for an informal chat; we’re a friendly bunch!
Select any of the links below to see your faculty-based UoN Learning Technology consultants (UoN staff).
- Learning Technology Consultant for Arts
- Learning Technology Consultant for Engineering
- Learning Technology Consultant for Medicine and Health Sciences
- Learning Technology Consultant for Science
- Learning Technology Consultant for Social Sciences
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