Amplifying your network at ALTC24

Written by Lynne Taylerson for the AmplifyFE Team

I really value attending ALTC – I’ve actually lost count of the times that I’ve been over the last decade or so! I think I particularly value visiting for 2 reasons, meeting up with the practitioner research community and promoting the work of everything we do in FE and Skills.

As a practitioner researcher myself with a focus on digital skills and pedagogy, and now AI for education, it’s always fascinating for me to engage with the latest research. The thing I most like about ALTC is that at the research sharing sessions, there is always a dialogue, rather than a formal ‘paper presentation’ which is sometimes the format at other conferences. There are real opportunities to discuss emerging research with other delegates and I’ve learned so much about such a wide range of areas relevant to my practice.

The other research focused reason that I value the conference is the opportunities it has given me to share and discuss my own research and I’ve done this for several projects I’ve been involved with over the last decade. For the last couple of years I’ve been sharing and discussing the ‘Insights’ research I’ve been conducting for ALT/Ufi as part of the #AmplifyFE project. The research is focused on how we best design and deploy learning technology to have positive impacts on learners most affected by the digital divide. As well as having opportunities to disseminate and discuss completed research it’s been brilliant to share interim findings and get the perspectives of delegates at the conference on them. After ALTC22, I recorded a podcast with Chloë Hynes reflecting on attending the conference and that was the very first AmplifyFE podcast.

The reason that I’ve been particularly enthusiastic to come along to ALTC in the past few years is again related to the #AmplifyFE project which has put a strong focus on the work of the FE and Skills sector. I (and the rest of the team!) work in such a vibrant and important sector which goes beyond large colleges and includes Adult and Community Learning, prison learning, work-based learning, third sector organisations and many more scenarios. 

Despite its importance, FE is not called the ‘Cinderella sector’ for no reason and is often overlooked with schools and universities having more of the educational spotlight. It’s been fantastic that ALT and Ufi VocTech Trust have worked together to create AmplifyFE. I particularly enjoy being with the team in the exhibitors’ hall on our stand where we promote the value and work of the sector and meet up with the many and growing number of FE friends who attend the conference. I’d encourage anyone from FE and Skills (and beyond!) who has a focus on digital learning to take a look at the ALTC programme, to join us in Manchester this year so that together we can AmplifyFE and all the wonderful work that we do in the sector.

Thanks for reading this AmplifyFE post! AmplifyFE is a strategic partnership between ALT and the Ufi VocTech Trust. AmplifyFE connects over 3000 professionals in Further Education and Vocational Education, providing a strong networking community to share, collaborate and learn. We connect innovators, industry and educators, therefore, AmplifyFE posts may include contributions with a commercial focus. AmplifyFE’s posts are included on the #altc blog to support networking, collaboration and sharing. For more information, please check AmplifyFE’s dedicated submission guidelines.

The #altc blog submission guidelines detail who can post and the type of posts accepted to this blog.