This year we are convening three keynote sessions as part of the ALTC24 programme, fostering discussion around key issues.
Please note that the keynotes will be recorded for members.
Tuesday 3 September 2024 – Humane Education: Empathy in Policies, Places, and Platforms
Keynote Speaker: Chris Friend
Interfaces between people and their devices receive persistent attention and study. If a user cannot figure out how to interact with a device, that device is, well, useless. Changes to device interfaces occur with ever-increasing frequency, as ever more pieces of our connected world employ dynamic screens and touch interfaces, or even natural-language speech interfaces, all of which can adapt to situations and users on the fly. As we enter the era of broad generative AI adoption, our device interfaces will change even more fundamentally, blurring the boundaries between user and device, service and product, local and online. The way we interface with our technology is about to shift, fundamentally.
Yet how often do learning technologists attend to the human-human interface? What if we applied the same attention and study to the ways in which our tools and devices facilitate genuine human connection? How might attention to the emotional needs of learners reshape our ability to collaborate and highlight the importance of empathy in today’s world? By centering our design efforts around the deeply human needs of today’s students, we can create humane learning environments focused on our most valuable resource: people.
In this talk, I’ll introduce what I call “Humane Technology”—tech designed to empower people to develop their own agency. Such tools foreground and enrich people’s ability to connect, collaborate, and build community. Humane Technology encourages us to tune in, not to a screen, but to our place in society and to the people around us. Most importantly, humane technology helps us see both ourselves and others as worthy of care.
We’ll look at how empathy can help redefine the policies we employ, the spaces we occupy, and the platforms we use to do the work of education. We’ll see how centering that work around people and care can unlock deeper, more meaningful connections, both interpersonal and conceptual, that encourage personal development and lasting success.
Let’s re-imagine education built on a foundation of empathy, reflecting on ways to improve the teaching and learning experience by emphasizing humanity over technology. By learning to build, evaluate, and adopt Humane Technology, we can create learning environments that help everyone—learners, educators, and institutions alike—grow, adapt, and achieve through creative collaborations.
Wednesday 4 September 2024 – Imagining the Future of Education and Technology
Keynote Speakers:
Dragos Popa, University of Leeds,
Conor Gibson, Edge Hill University,
Weronika Targosz, Edge Hill University,
What do students of today imagine the future of education and technology will look like? How should that future be informed by reflection on current student experience? How can we ensure that technology enhances rather than hinders student engagement and wellbeing? These are some of the questions that will be explored by our panel of students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines. The panel discussion will be co-created with the students, who will share their visions, hopes, and concerns for the future of technology-enhanced learning. Join us for this interactive and insightful session that will highlight the student voice in shaping the future of education and technology.
Thursday 5 September 2024 – Inviting Improvement through Lived Experience
Keynote Speakers:
Piers Wilkinson, Senior Policy and Campaigns Lead, Diversity and Ability
Hector Minto, Lead Technology Evangelist (Director), Microsoft
Lucy Woodcock, Senior Accessibility Consultant Team Lead, AbilityNet
Fawn Hunkins-Beckford, BSc Psychology student, Neurodiversity Network ambassador, Arden University
Chaired by Alice Chapman
All roles in educational spaces are integral to addressing access and inclusion during a learner’s journey. Pressure to meet policy and legal requirements surrounding access to education can often overshadow the stories of those it impacts the most, leading to a focus on exercises to achieve compliance, without understanding the human needs.
Join the panel discussion as we hear insights from their lived experiences of navigating access and inclusion in education, sharing their views from their roles in inclusive learning spaces, social justice, and as a student studying today. The session will encourage you to reflect on your own practice and invite you to embrace individual continuous improvement alongside institutional requirements, with the aim of fostering an inclusive environment for students and colleagues.