TechTober: A Celebration of Collaboration, Sharing and Digital Practice for All

By Constance (Connie) Henry, Essential Skills Practitioner, Gower College Swansea

What is TechTober?:

TechTober is a free, month-long event that brings together educators and digital practitioners from Further Education (FE), Higher Education (HE), and Work-Based Learning (WBL). They make time in their schedules to share their favourite tools, ideas, and strategies for technology enhanced learning. 

This event was created and brought to fruition by Kirsty Ingelson from Kirklees College, to really create a community of sharing with one another instead of competing or gate keeping great tools and ideas. 

As soon as she mentioned the idea to me, I was on board as it was such an amazing idea!  I got about making a digital advertising book to showcase the event. Anyone who knows me, knows how often I use these multimedia books! (Side note- I’m doing a webinar about HeyZine Multimedia books on the 17^th June with Amplify FE – click here to register and come along! If you are reading this after this after the live session you can catch up on the  Amplify FE YouTube Channel  and catch other great webinars!) It was a great way to showcase the involvement of everyone and advertise the event. I love the whole feel of TechTober, where people are genuinely happy to work together, supporting each other navigating the murky, ever-changing world of education! 

The sessions that run throughout October are a huge collective of webinars to help improve classroom engagement, streamline marking, planning, and communication, along with useful tools for educators. In this blog, we look back at last year’s TechTober, share the link to our recordings and resource book, and give a sneak peek at what’s coming up in 2025!

Looking back: What made TechTober 2024 so special

Last October, we launched TechTober as a way of highlighting, sharing, and celebrating great digital practice across the education sector. What started as a simple idea grew into a vibrant, month-long digital event that brought together contributors and attendees from FE, HE, and WBL settings across the UK.

The aim was simple: to create an open, inclusive space where colleagues could freely share tools, tips and tricks that help them not only in the classroom, but also in streamlining processes, saving time, and improving outcomes. Whether it was making lesson planning more efficient, reducing workload around marking, or simplifying how we communicate with learners, TechTober showed that digital doesn’t have to be complicated to make a big impact!

Weekdays through October, we hosted live sessions, either early morning, lunchtime or after work, giving flexibility to those who wanted to join. These webinars spotlighted examples of digital tools being used to tackle real challenges. From interactive whiteboards to collaborative documents, accessible design to automated feedback systems and from AI tips to resource creations it was a feast of practical ideas.

What really stood out was the collaborative spirit of the event. Educators were generous with their time and expertise, creating a ripple effect where attendees not only gained inspiration but also felt empowered to try new approaches in their own settings.

Bringing the sectors together

One of the most powerful aspects of TechTober was the blending of voices from across the sectors. We had sharing of creative ways to use tools like Padlet, Multimedia books and Quizziz, showing how immersive experiences can support learning with BodySwaps and Immersive rooms, and ways to utilise AI effectively in in the classroom, creating resources, using with learners and supporting accessibility. It really had a great mix of topics and something for everyone.

This mix of perspectives was intentional and important. Too often, we work in silos. TechTober broke that down. By bringing together educators with different experiences but who shared goals, we were able to spark new conversations and highlight common challenges. Whether you’re in a college classroom, delivering remotely to a workplace, or supporting learners in a university lecture hall, the threads of digital innovation, inclusion, and efficiency link us all.

Recordings, summaries and connections – All in one place

If you missed any of the live sessions, or want to revisit your favourites, you can find everything in our TechTober 2024 Webinar Recordings Book

 This digital collection includes:

• Recordings of sessions
• Resource links
• Summaries of sessions
• LinkedIn profiles from our contributors 
• Information on current projects to get in touch
• Ideas for how to take the next step in your own setting

It’s freely available and we encourage you to share it widely within your networks.

What we’ve learnt

While the sessions themselves were brilliant, we also gained valuable insight from the event overall. Here are just a few of the key takeaways:

• Digital doesn’t mean complicated – Sometimes the smallest tools make the biggest difference. Several contributors shared how a single app or shortcut had transformed a time-consuming task into something manageable.
• We all benefit from sharing – People appreciated the honesty of the presenters, many shared any struggles they had with tools and what worked. That realness helped others feel more confident to give things a try.
• Collaboration is key – Bringing people together across institutions and sectors generated ideas that simply wouldn’t have emerged in isolation.
• The appetite for this kind of space is huge – Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with many saying they’d never attended anything quite like it: informal, practical, and full of ideas they could use straight away.

Looking Ahead: TechTober 2025

The great news? TechTober will be back in 2025!

We’re already working on plans to make this year’s event even better, with more opportunities to contribute, connect, and collaborate.

We’ll be bringing in fresh themes based on last year’s feedback, including:

• Digital tools for learner engagement
• Supporting wellbeing through technology
• Using AI responsibly and effectively
• Simple solutions to reduce marking and admin overload
• Creating accessible, inclusive learning spaces

Once again, we’ll be drawing on the strengths of FE, HE, and WBL colleagues to lead the way.

We have announced our call for contributors on LinkedIn so if you have a tool, idea, or digital success story to share, we’d love to hear from you. Whether you’re confident in presenting or would prefer to submit a recorded piece, there’s a space for everyone at TechTober.

Get Involved

Please fill out the TechTober Application Form for the chance to be involved. We’re aiming to cover a broad range of topics, so while we welcome all applications, there may be some overlap in the tools or themes suggested. If that’s the case and we’re unable to offer everyone a slot, we’ll be in touch to explore whether there’s an alternative session you could lead. Deadline for contributors is the 30^th of June. 

Explore the TechTober Book and share it with your colleagues, we want to be able to share information, ideas and wins with everyone, they may not even be in education but can still benefit from the recordings!

Keep up with updates – follow us on LinkedIn:

• Kirsty Ingelson https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-ingleson-250bb3133/ 
• Constance Henry https://www.linkedin.com/in/constance-h-26277b209/  

TechTober was designed to be a space where people could come together, learn from each other, and walk away with something practical. Thanks to your energy, creativity, and willingness to share, it’s grown into something much more!

We can’t wait to see what TechTober 2025 brings!

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.

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