Matt Cornock

Openness in education – a new hope

Matt Cornock — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 23:14:13 +0000

There is hope yet. Higher education is going through a turbulent time, so it’s important to recognise the leadership provided through educational research, with a global impact from educational projects and innovation. At OER26, the quiet army of global educational professionals and academics with a shared vision of education for all found their collective voice […]

Institutional appetite for change – Leadership learning for higher education (HEPN)

Matt Cornock — Wed, 20 May 2026 12:34:12 +0000

At the start of the month I attended the Higher Education Partners Network (HEPN) North event and represented the experiences of the online learning operational teams who implemented new technology and processes in a people-centred way. Here are some of the leadership points from the day I attended. Entrepreneurial universities One of the ironies of […]

Assessment, feedback and AI in online and distance education

Matt Cornock — Sat, 14 Mar 2026 14:22:25 +0000

Contrary to popular belief, contemporary discussion of assessment in higher education is not exclusively the domain of artificial intelligence (AI) evangelists, nay-sayers and everyone else in between trying to make sense of it. No, assessment as a fundamental pillar of teaching and learning has many facets, so it is refreshing to have a little bit […]

Institutional readiness for the future of education

Matt Cornock — Sat, 03 Jan 2026 21:10:02 +0000

There is an increase in demand for skills-based education, largely arising from the perceived impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on a wide range of professions, industries and job sectors. Formal education providers need to consider how this demand will influence and inform the future provision of educational programmes and the broader, lifelong learning offer. Impacts […]

Expanding the role of higher education: professional learning

Matt Cornock — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 11:44:00 +0000

Short post. Open thinking. UK higher education is going through a period of significant change and it looks like it will continue for some time to come. Office for Students (OfS) financial sustainability forecasts in May 2025 were grim reading and six months later their update did not hold back with language of “tough decisions”, […]

Why professional educational technologists matter: ALT Annual Conference 2025 – Day 2

Matt Cornock — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 07:35:14 +0000

I’ve seen a shift in how our community of professionals working in educational technology, learning design and educational leadership has become more attuned in its use of contemporary pedagogy and student-focused practice. There’s a maturity of thought, informed by both established and emerging theory, and design methodology, that is complemented with a renewed enthusiasm for […]

Make the magic happen: ALT Annual Conference 2025 – Day 1

Matt Cornock — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 23:31:17 +0000

Motivational and a celebration of our professional community. That’s my initial reaction to Day 1 of the Association for Learning Technology Annual Conference 2025 in Glasgow. With all the uncertainty in our sector, I am thankful that we have come together to acknowledge the value of our profession and our collective desire to be responsive […]

Look beyond the edge of the plate

Matt Cornock — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 23:49:32 +0000

Short post. Open thinking. Bear with me on this one. I don’t normally share encounters on public transport, but I think you will find this resonates. What does a quality manager in the central European automotive industry have in common with a delegate to an education conference in the UK? This rather unpredictable question was […]

Learning Engineering: Collaboration, Context and Challenge

Matt Cornock — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 21:26:43 +0000

There are many approaches to improve what we do in education, with a sometimes overwhelming number of internal and external factors that bring opportunities and challenges. Learning Engineering (an engineering-inspired approach to educational design, as opposed to the study of engineering) provides a method to tackle these opportunities and challenges in a collaborative, data-informed and […]

Skills-first: responding to the threat to higher education

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 17:53:39 +0000

Short post. Open thinking. Here’s an angle on where we are at this moment in time: Higher education is in an existential crisis. The concept of higher education as a public good is eroded with anti-education politics and populism, costs outpacing funding, and value propositions being dismantled. Institutions are chasing both revenue and relevance to […]

The journeys taken: Research in Distance Education and E-learning Conference 2025 – Day 2

Matt Cornock — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 22:04:17 +0000

This is the second post writing up my experience at RIDE 2025, the Research in Distance Education and E-learning conference at the University of London (see Day 1 where I discuss themes of Context and Culture). Linda Amrane-Cooper, Director of the Centre for Online and Distance Education (CODE), introduced Day 2 with the rationale for […]

Context and culture: Research in Distance Education and E-learning Conference 2025 – Day 1

Matt Cornock — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 21:36:44 +0000

Online education brings together many people as educators, students and professionals. It’s a highly collaborative sector and it’s underpinned in many ways by a desire to do good. This year’s Research in Distance Education and E-learning conference at the University of London has the title ‘Empowering and Sustaining Change’ and in any change process the […]

Joyful online learning: reflections on a Lego Serious Play session

Matt Cornock — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 21:08:25 +0000

Bringing people together and learning from a range of perspectives is one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job. In all my professional roles, working with others and bringing a range of expertise together has been key in achieving successful outcomes. This article is a reflection of a LEGO Serious Play (LSP) session which […]

Strategy, marketing, student insights: triad of online education success

Matt Cornock — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 22:25:35 +0000

Short post, open thinking. It’s always good to hear Neil Mosley speak and even better when as an audience member, he asks the questions that need to be asked! At an event today hosted by Boundless Learning, Mosley explored three aspects of what makes for successful online education: strategy, marketing and student insights and development. […]

2024 retrospective and a view to 2025: can we make an opportunity out of higher education’s challenges?

Matt Cornock — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 04:31:00 +0000

As 2024 draws to a close, I’ve taken the liberty of consuming a few minutes of your time to capture some highlights of my work from the last 12 months and also to ponder what role online education may have in 2025. Looking back I’ve learnt a lot from the wider educational sector both in […]

Recognition and microcredentials: have competing agendas limited adoption?

Matt Cornock — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 23:19:07 +0000

This article explores the challenges and debates around the place, adoption and realisation of microcredentials, drawing on presentations and discussions from the ePIC 2024 Open Recognition conference in Paris (6-8 November 2024). Throughout the conference there were multiple perspectives presented on how recognition, including open recognition which enables devolved and distributed ways for individuals, peers […]

Recognition: Opening doors to new learning journeys – Reflections on ePIC 2024

Matt Cornock — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 22:30:24 +0000

A key aspect of inclusivity is to establish the ways in which learners are supported to bring their knowledge and understanding into an educational environment. At the ePIC 2024 Open Recognition conference in Paris (6-8 November 2024), the ideas of recognition, qualifications and learning journeys were debated and discussed. For me there are three concepts […]

Humanising digital education: ALT Annual Conference 2024 – Day 3

Matt Cornock — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 16:49:25 +0000

Initial reflections and summary of sessions from Day 3 of the ALT Annual Conference, Manchester, 3-5 September 2024. Humanising the approach to learning technology has come through as a theme this year. Starting with Chris Friend’s keynote, followed by discussions about learners’ personalisation and spaces of learning in breakout sessions, and on the final day […]

Connected conversations: ALT Annual Conference 2024 – Day 2

Matt Cornock — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 07:29:57 +0000

Initial reflections and summary of sessions from Day 2 of the ALT Annual Conference, Manchester, 3-5 September 2024. The common theme I extracted from the day is about purposefully connected digital education. This is not just about connecting learners and connecting spaces, but also connecting the curriculum to professional skills through the use of technology. Student […]

Visions of the future: ALT Annual Conference 2024 – Day 1

Matt Cornock — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 21:19:53 +0000

Initial reflections and summary of sessions from Day 1 of the ALT Annual Conference, Manchester, 3-5 September 2024. Humanising digital education Opening keynote, Chris Friend’s three aspects of humane education (policies, places and platforms) offer lenses on the challenges and opportunities the arise from decision-making over how, when and why educational technology is used. For […]

Getting the most out of education conferences: top five tips

Matt Cornock — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 08:09:38 +0000

Opinion piece. As I am on the train again, this time to the annual conference of the Association for Learning Technology, I thought it was time I updated my advice for those attending and also to remind myself of what I want to get out of the experience. Here are my top five tips: Everyone […]

AI and higher education: skills, humans and educational experiences

Matt Cornock — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 12:47:23 +0000

Opinion piece. When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on education, it’s fair to say we’re currently in the murky waters of the unknown, trying to make sense of change and any level of certainty is ill-founded. The current context and rapid pace of change doesn’t offer much in terms of evidence […]

Metaphors of learning design: learning paths

Matt Cornock — Sun, 12 May 2024 16:38:55 +0000

Short post, open thinking. How often do you widen your view when learning? It can be very easy to focus on where you are on a particular path, in a specific moment in time knowing what is right in front of you. As a learner, this is the immediate learning need you’re trying to address […]

Defining quality in online education: engagement and outcomes

Matt Cornock — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 20:19:23 +0000

This article presents a model for quality in online education to support decision-making by learning designers, digital media specialists and academic colleagues in the design and development of online courses. Whilst there are many standards and, in the case of formal education, regulatory frameworks that provide criteria against which online courses may be measured, these […]

Metaphors of learning design: coffee shop

Matt Cornock — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 11:59:57 +0000

Short post, open thinking. How long is the queue for a hot beverage in your local coffee shop? Sometimes it may seem as if you’re waiting for the coffee beans to be grown, harvested, shipped and roasted, before you get your hands on a tasty drink. Yet, along with millions of people around the world, […]

Universities as transformative communities

Matt Cornock — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 21:18:35 +0000

Opinion piece. One of the great advantages of working at a university is the collective passion for learning and teaching. This comes through a community of practice centred on students’ educational experience and the long term impact of higher education. Institutional conferences that bring together students, academics and professional services focus attention in the university […]

Renewing my Senior CMALT portfolio

Matt Cornock — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 13:19:15 +0000

A little behind the three-year cycle, I have renewed my Senior CMALT portfolio, which (thankfully) passed and captures my commitment to the Association for Learning Technology core principles. Senior Certified Membership of the Association for Learning Technology (SCMALT) is for experienced learning technology professionals or those with leadership responsibilities who are able to demonstrate influence […]

A leadership framework for online and digital education: adapting ALT Framework for Ethical Learning Technology

Matt Cornock — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 19:31:23 +0000

In a leadership role I adopt reflective practice to explore ways to improve my approach and ultimately enable me to support my team to achieve our team and organisational objectives. Collaboration is one of my underlying principles and I have shared my thoughts on this previously as particularly important in educational settings. Recently, I have […]

Thinkingful design: finding more to learning design through the Online Learning Summit

Matt Cornock — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 23:13:25 +0000

It’s been a couple of weeks now since I attended and contributed to the Online Learning Summit at the University of Leeds. Like many, I am still processing the many ideas, methods and challenges discussed and using these perspectives to critically appraise my own work and more broadly that in the online education sector. I […]

Thoughts on education, art and finding connection

Matt Cornock — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 20:08:04 +0000

Opinion piece. When I visited the Hepworth Wakefield in April, the exhibition of drafts, prototypes and completed works triggered a somewhat surprising emotional response in me. In an age where knowledge is on tap, much working time is spent in a digital ecosystem and creative endeavours have the potential to be reduced to the algorithms […]

Thoughts on AI and education: the quest for productive education and the need for human context

Matt Cornock — Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:10 +0000

Opinion piece. This post is definitely outside my comfort zone with reference to artificial intelligence (AI) and certainly beyond my qualifications in this area. I am writing as an educationalist and as a human being trying to make sense of my own values of education and my feelings about the potential of AI. There is […]

Metaphors of learning design: LEGO

Matt Cornock — Thu, 04 May 2023 21:18:46 +0000

Metaphor and analogy are both powerful ways to convey complex concepts, representing ideas in different ways that better relate to individuals prior knowledge or contexts. Though sometimes metaphors and analogies can be just plain confusing. In this post, I’m having a little fun for a change and will attempt to convey curriculum and learning design […]

Online education portfolio strategy and learning design

Matt Cornock — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 12:18:28 +0000

This article explores the relationship between online education portfolio strategy and learning design within higher education. It suggests four groups of learning experience aligned to addressing professional learning needs and the relationship between different learning experiences as part of a portfolio or product mix. Online education portfolio strategy An online course portfolio represents the combination […]

Reflection on 2022 and a view to 2023

Matt Cornock — Sat, 31 Dec 2022 21:15:20 +0000

As 2022 closes, I realise that I have had a busy year and not necessarily kept my reflections posted in a timely manner on my blog. I share a few thoughts on the year that’s been and include a reflection I hope will resonate with colleagues in the online and digital education sector to take […]

Desire lines in online education: learning design

Matt Cornock — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 19:43:58 +0000

This is the second of two posts that look at the metaphor of ‘desire lines’ as applied to programme design and learning design. In the first post Desire Lines in Programme Design, the unnecessary barriers of formal programme architectures were reconsidered through ideas of flexible programmes, unbundling and microcredentials. In this post, the metaphor is […]

Desire lines in online education: programme design

Matt Cornock — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 20:54:15 +0000

This is the first of two posts exploring the metaphor of ‘desire lines’ and its applicability to programme design and learning design. In a recent webinar, Quentin McAndrew (2022) drew parallels between the stackability of online learning and the way that people will organically form new routes that may deviate from planned and paved paths, […]

The evolving role of open online courses in lifelong learning journeys: the MOOC isn’t dead

Matt Cornock — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 13:30:51 +0000

This article summarises the evolving role of massive, open, online courses (MOOCs) in the context of lifelong learning and professional learning. As a form of self-paced, and in some ways self-directed, online short course, the MOOC format lends itself to a variety of pedagogical approaches. Some focus on content delivery, others on activity and learner […]

Sustaining the digital transformation momentum through collaboration: why I have a problem with hero rhetoric

Matt Cornock — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:03:24 +0000

Opinion piece. Whatever the job title, whether it’s learning technologist, educational developer, learning designer, in my roles I’ve always seen myself as an enabler. The work I do has meaning only through the collaboration and partnerships with others. This work with others has a common goal, usually around enhancing the student learning experience as an […]

ALT Trustee Elections 2022 – My statement

Matt Cornock — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 09:57:26 +0000

The Association for Learning Technology is electing two trustees to its Board this year and I’ve put my name forward. ALT is an important organisation for those working in a range of educational sectors and professions, and for me has been a vital network in my career. I am most grateful for the support of […]

Microcredentials gain status and find their value for lifelong learners

Matt Cornock — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 21:59:55 +0000

The institutional barriers to microcredentials are coming down as UK regulatory recognition kicks in and creative thinking begins to support populations of lifelong learners. For those new to the concept, in this simplest of definitions, microcredentials are equivalent to taught higher education modules. Whilst the concept of taking individual modules rather than a full programme […]

Enabling learners to continue learning beyond programmes of study

Matt Cornock — Sat, 09 Oct 2021 20:11:24 +0000

Following on from a Twitter chat on the role of learning design that took place in 2020, I was invited back to follow up on one of the questions which focused on how educators can support learners to learn, both during and beyond programmes of study. Co-leading again with Sandra Huskinson, the six questions we […]

Early-career learning technologists professional development: What is the role of a learning technologist?

Matt Cornock — Sun, 04 Jul 2021 22:10:07 +0000

This month, for the Early-Career Learning Technologist professional development group on LinkedIn, which I coordinate with Daniel Scott and Sandra Huskinson, our starter posts are on the theme of ‘the role of the learning technologist’. What is already apparent is that the role definition of a learning technologist can be very broad, and has been […]

Between the trend lines: the digital university in 2021

Matt Cornock — Sat, 22 May 2021 07:53:26 +0000

The Association for Learning Technology (ALT) conducts an annual survey of professionals and researchers working in learning technology, supporting and delivering services in educational institutions and other organisations. The most recent data was collected between December 2020 – January 2021, and the report published in February 2021. This post captures my thoughts as I looked […]

Accessibility, balance and confidence: three areas of development for higher education

Matt Cornock — Tue, 18 May 2021 20:08:57 +0000

I’ve been looking at various surveys, analyses and reports recently to understand trends and the ongoing development in the higher education sector as online learning becomes established as embedded, rather than emergency provision, for campus-based programmes. In this post I explore Jisc’s Student digital experience insights survey (Jisc, 2021), which provides a useful snapshot of […]

Reading: Becoming digitally literate (Eynon 2021)

Matt Cornock — Mon, 17 May 2021 16:27:51 +0000

Reading notes. How we support learners from all backgrounds to be able to engage with online learning is of particular interest to me. Online learning can be transformative, it offers the possibility of open access, wide reach, international learning communities and learning for all levels of prior knowledge. In order for online learning to be […]

Reflections on SRHE seminar on mature students and adult learning in higher education

Matt Cornock — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 09:40:47 +0000

I have previously written in an opinion piece about my view of the role of education, and specifically online learning, to enable and empower all people as lifelong learners. This is a fundamental need in an age where careers change, technology advances and unpredictability reigns. To realise the advantage of online learning, learners need the […]

Learning technologists as learning designers: towards sustainable online education

Matt Cornock — Mon, 28 Dec 2020 20:32:44 +0000

This post explores some of the themes from a short workshop Sandra Huskinson and I ran for the ALT Winter Conference on 15 December 2020 (Huskinson and Cornock, 2020a). At the end of the session we invited participants to reflect and set a professional development goal. After you’ve read this post, I’d encourage you to […]

Does learning need to be designed and what roles are involved in learning design? Initial reflections of #LTHEchat

Matt Cornock — Sun, 11 Oct 2020 10:11:06 +0000

I was delighted to be asked to work with Sandra Huskinson to pose the questions for a #LTHEchat on Twitter on 8 October 2020 exploring learning design. Particularly when many educators are shifting to online learning, by choice or necessity, the role of critical discussions about what works, and what doesn’t, in different modes of […]

Blended hybrid online digital dual delivery learning and teaching – will students get lost in the design?

Matt Cornock — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 14:24:17 +0000

The approaches taken by higher education institutions to continue teaching and learning during the Covid-19 pandemic have shown the imagination and creativity of the sector. New ways of thinking about the purpose of higher education, how learners can achieve the same objectives through different learning media and be more responsive to external factors is certainly […]

Enabling professional development by letting go of the pedagogical paradigms: considering the role of learning design, data and research in my practice (part 4 – learning rhythms)

Matt Cornock — Sun, 05 Jul 2020 19:42:38 +0000

This is the final post of four capturing my paper presented at the ALT Conference, 3-5 September 2019, Edinburgh (abstract, annotated slides, video recording). This section looks at the contradictions prevalent in designing MOOCs (massive open online courses) and expands upon the presentation with exploration of personalised learning. Previous posts explored: professional learning perspectives, contradictions in open […]

Enabling professional development by letting go of the pedagogical paradigms: considering the role of learning design, data and research in my practice (part 3 – data)

Matt Cornock — Wed, 13 May 2020 09:15:45 +0000

This is the third post of four capturing my paper presented at the ALT Conference, 3-5 September 2019, Edinburgh (abstract, annotated slides, video recording). The first post explored learning design perspectives that influence online professional development for teachers. The second post looked at the contradictions prevalent in designing MOOCs (massive open online courses) and explored personalised learning. This section […]

Working from home: changes to my use of tech

Matt Cornock — Sun, 10 May 2020 07:27:36 +0000

How we are all working has changed rather a lot for most people. There’s a statement of the obvious! Having been working in an office shared with twenty other people to now working in a 2×1 metre cupboard, it is most definitely a different experience. At least I now have a window seat. Aside from […]

The role of a learning technologist during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic

Matt Cornock — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 13:45:34 +0000

Personal reflection. The last three weeks have been, how shall I describe it, unique. Before I start, although those in the learning technology profession have, most likely, been put under a lot of pressure recently, I hope we can all agree that we are not under the same demands as those in health, care and front-line […]

Scaling up online learning during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic

Matt Cornock — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 23:36:27 +0000

As universities begin to mitigate against risks posed by coronavirus (Covid-19), with some such as Durham and LSE indicating a complete shut-down of face-to-face teaching, online learning is coming to the foreground as a route for continuing business as usual. In this post, I’ll look back briefly at a similar situation ten years ago with […]

BETT 2020 Review – A learning technologist’s perspective

Matt Cornock — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 20:22:05 +0000

I managed to get to #BETT2020 for the Friday afternoon. It’s only my second time going to BETT, the massive expo for educational technologies and the like, even though I’ve been a learning technologist for quite some time now. I go in knowing that BETT is geared up for schools, and FE/HE/professional education providers are […]

Enabling professional development by letting go of the pedagogical paradigms: considering the role of learning design, data and research in my practice (part 2 – contradictions)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 20:15:31 +0000

This is the second post of four capturing my paper presented at the ALT Conference, 3-5 September 2019, Edinburgh (abstract, annotated slides, video recording). This section looks at the contradictions prevalent in designing MOOCs (massive open online courses) and expands upon the presentation with exploration of personalised learning. The first post explored learning design perspectives that influence […]

Enabling professional development by letting go of the pedagogical paradigms: considering the role of learning design, data and research in my practice (part 1 – dilemma and direction)

Matt Cornock — Fri, 20 Sep 2019 17:00:25 +0000

This reflective article is a version of my paper presented at the ALT Conference, 3-5 September 2019, Edinburgh (abstract, annotated slides, video recording), exploring the ideas that have influenced how I view online learning design for open online courses. It draws upon my experience as programme lead for online CPD at the National STEM Learning […]

Learning harder, for longer

Matt Cornock — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 07:53:55 +0000

Opinion piece. Open online learning has a huge part to play in addressing the skills and education needs of a growing population, a workforce requiring re-skilling and economies shifting as a result of technological developments. It is no surprise then that one of the topics of discussion at the FutureLearn Partners’ Forum, kicked off by […]

Revisiting my position statement

Matt Cornock — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 18:01:26 +0000

In May 2016 I submitted my application for Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy. I did this through the University of York’s professional and academic development ‘YPAD‘ accreditation programme and was successfully awarded FHEA in June 2016. Three years on, now working outside higher education, I am of course ineligible to renew. However, through an […]

Reflections on image hotspot activities for retention and e-training packages

Matt Cornock — Tue, 14 May 2019 21:27:51 +0000

I gratefully received feedback from the learning technology community, via the ALT Members mailing list, on my previous post on the learning that takes place through image hotspot activities. As is typical, broader issues with online learning were touched upon that are worthy of follow up and reflection. What follows draws out further discussion on […]

Learning through image hotspot activities

Matt Cornock — Sat, 04 May 2019 16:04:09 +0000

This article aims to explore the learning that takes place through image hotspot activities. The rationale for this is to assess the learning value of such activities, and considering their often inherent inaccessibility to disabled learners, what equivalent tasks may be provided. An image hotspot task comprises of an image where parts are clickable to […]

Guidance for processing data from FutureLearn

Matt Cornock — Tue, 06 Nov 2018 08:06:27 +0000

This document outlines the method for data processing learning participation data in the form of .csv files available to course developers and educators running MOOCs on the FutureLearn platform. Guidance for processing learner participation data from the FutureLearn MOOC platform [PDF] This method was used to create the data set for analysing learner engagement as presented […]

GDPR: is this the end of innovation in technology-enhanced learning?

Matt Cornock — Wed, 23 May 2018 16:59:03 +0000

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. The following article reflects my current, personal, understanding, which may change as more guidance becomes available. Working draft. GDPR. These innocuous four letters have spawned many unanswered questions within educational institutions and other organisations. I’m lucky in that I work for an organisation that is ISO 27001 accredited, which […]

Final grades do not prepare for the workplace

Matt Cornock — Thu, 17 May 2018 16:32:56 +0000

Opinion piece, my views may change over time. I have often wondered whether a good grade equates to good employability. I’m currently participating in an online course, with one of the topics addressing recruitment. Often, recruitment is based on attitudes and experience, as much as the qualifications of an individual. Whilst specific knowledge and technical […]

What does it mean to be ‘open’? Reflections on #OER18

Matt Cornock — Sun, 22 Apr 2018 22:57:48 +0000

If there is one definition of openness that can be agreed on, it is that openness is ill-defined. Each keynote speaker, and likely most conference delegates, came to the conclusion that open educational practice is complex. This, we would hope, is not a surprising assertion, as education itself is complex, influenced by a raft of […]

Conversational thinking for online learning

Matt Cornock — Sun, 10 Dec 2017 20:54:49 +0000

In this article I propose that conversational thinking is an important skill to develop in online learners, to enable richer social learning experiences that move beyond contribution and consumption. Conversational thinking “Learning through discussion has value because it provides the motivation for each participant to articulate their concepts and ideas, defend them, reconsider them in […]

Don’t be an authority on meta-meta-learning

Matt Cornock — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 21:07:56 +0000

I’ve seen yet another tweet extolling the benefits of adhering to an educational developer’s perspective of what should happen in a classroom. This concerns me. As a learning technologist, course developer and online coordinator, my knowledge is only as useful as the willingness of subject experts to collaborate with me. If I were to decree […]

Online CPD forum

Matt Cornock — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 22:02:18 +0000

My role involves course development and course management of CPD delivered online. I’m always interested in learning from others and sharing perspectives, so that the experience of participants can be enhanced through appropriate learning design and use of learning technologies. I’m looking for like-minded folk to come together, share ideas for designs and activities, raise questions […]

MOOC design and retention impact factors

Matt Cornock — Wed, 24 May 2017 11:05:48 +0000

It is widely cited that MOOCs have poor retention rates, anywhere down to 5% of those who start the course may complete it to the end (Allione and Stein, 2016). On any other form of online or distance learning course, those figures would be a sign that the course was ineffective and not meeting the […]

Success measures in technology-enhanced learning

Matt Cornock — Wed, 10 May 2017 13:47:10 +0000

What does success look like for technology-enhanced learning? This was the opening substantive question from the #LTHEchat on 3 May 2017 and as an unofficial follow up, I’m cribbing here from the Twitter community and expanding on some of the ideas that were discussed. TEL or just L? Should success in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) be […]

Videos to support learning in MOOCs

Matt Cornock — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:26:26 +0000

In this article I consider why videos and other multimedia that enable narrative and storytelling are prevalent in the learning design of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). During the last #LTHEchat on hybrid learning spaces, there was a side-discussion on the significance of the internet and how it allows for new types of learning to occur within it […]

MOOC design thoughts: individual openness

Matt Cornock — Sun, 02 Apr 2017 21:16:27 +0000

As you might imagine, if I’m designing MOOCs I really should be learning on some. So I have! A few months ago, I joined my first MOOC and went through the whole process as a proper learner (that’s right, actually allocating time to do the activities). If you don’t attempt the activities, you don’t actually […]

Beyond the higher education bubble – a new role

Matt Cornock — Thu, 02 Mar 2017 21:58:25 +0000

Last month I took up a new role as Online CPD Coordinator for STEM Learning Ltd. at the National STEM Learning Centre. For the first time in my career I will be working outside of higher education. There are obvious similarities, in particular the opportunity to work closely with subject experts to create valuable learning […]

A bad worker blames their tools – does the same apply to learning technology?

Matt Cornock — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 18:17:04 +0000

The old proverb ‘a bad workman blames his tools’ refers to an individual who, in doing something poorly, decides to blame the tool they have used rather than accept their own failings (OED definition). How many times have we (learning technologists) heard grumblings from colleagues and students (and indeed grumbled ourselves) at the inadequacies of […]

Student activity for deep learning and engagement – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 6)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 14:21:39 +0000

Continuing my series of blog posts exploring ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’, this post looks at a case study from Mark W Teale which puts students’ independent study of case examples at the centre of the learning experience. Reconsidering the role of face-to-face teaching The aspect of this case study I wish […]

Motivation through collaboration with ownership, challenge and reflection – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 5b)

Matt Cornock — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 13:48:34 +0000

I’m continuing my reference to a case study by John R Savery (1999) in ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’ (see previous blog post in this series), as there were three aspects to engaging and motivating learners that I wanted to explore further. As part of a suggested approach to lead students to […]

Creative ways to present work digitally

Matt Cornock — Sun, 27 Nov 2016 18:34:43 +0000

A few weeks ago now I asked the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) community for their suggestions for how students (and lecturers too) could present work digitally in a creative medium. In essence, I wanted to know what approaches had been used to present work beyond simply endless paragraphs of text. I harvested these case […]

Motivation through collaboration by reducing technical barriers – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 5a)

Matt Cornock — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 10:28:50 +0000

Continuing my look at some of the learning and teaching themes posed over a decade ago in ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’, in this post I pick one aspect of a case study presented by John R Savery (1999). My overall point is that educators must be sensitive to the range of digital […]

Problem-based learning – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 4)

Matt Cornock — Sun, 13 Nov 2016 18:50:41 +0000

Problem-based learning (PBL) shifts the responsibility for learning firmly onto the student. Whilst the educator acts as a facilitator, providing an initial brief, stimulus materials and devising problems to solve, the students must decide what materials to use, what to learn, and how to approach the problem. As Peter Ommundsen describes in the fourth chapter […]

Learning through writing – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 3)

Matt Cornock — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 21:35:28 +0000

In this revisit of ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’, I take the ideas presented by Calvin S. Kalman in a case study exploring collaborative group work and writing-to-learn approaches. As with the other posts in this series, I will try to avoid repeating the detail of the case study but instead look […]

Curiosity of context – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 2)

Matt Cornock — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 17:55:53 +0000

Continuing my reading of ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’, in this post I look at the case study presented by Stephen Fallows and Kemal Ahmet where architecture and design students undertook ‘experiential practicals’. Fallows and Ahmet argued that there can be a challenge to motivate students to engage with scientific concepts in […]

Factors of student motivation – Revisiting Case Studies in Motivating the Learner (Part 1)

Matt Cornock — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 12:13:19 +0000

In this series of blog posts I take a look back at case studies presented in ‘Inspiring Students: Case Studies in Motivating the Learner’ edited by Stephen Fallows and Kemal Ahmet, published by Kogan Page in 1999 as part of the SEDA series of books. The reason for looking at these case studies is to […]

September 2016 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 22:22:31 +0000

Start of term is on the horizon and for support staff the preparation is in full swing to ensure we’re ready to handle the questions and calls when colleagues begin using the services and start teaching again. September always seems to have time available when the diary is reviewed in July and August, but quickly […]

Digital capability in the curriculum: UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities

Matt Cornock — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 11:37:55 +0000

I recently attended the UCISA Spotlight on Digital Capabilities conference, bringing together academic developers, learning technologists, IT trainers and information literacy specialists together to explore approaches to developing staff digital capabilities. In this post I look at the JISC Digital Capabilities framework and how it applies to learning and teaching. For a full summary of […]

Does provision of lecture capture affect student satisfaction?

Matt Cornock — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 19:46:12 +0000

I was asked recently whether there was any evidence to show that provision of lecture captures affects student satisfaction. Whilst many journal articles on lecture capture will affirm that use of captures does positively affect satisfaction, I explore here why simply providing captures (i.e. providing the tool) does not automatically lead to student satisfaction. It’s […]

Lecture capture study advice

Matt Cornock — Wed, 17 Feb 2016 14:45:11 +0000

While most use of lecture captures by students occurs during revision windows prior to summative assessment, institutions have an opportunity to encourage students to think about how lecture recordings can support learning during term time, as an integrated enhancement to their study practice. The study advice that follows aims to achieve that. Building into student […]

Blended learning with webinars and web conferencing software

Matt Cornock — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 22:50:24 +0000

Web conferencing may be seen as just for distance learning or business, but there are many opportunities to exploit synchronous online communication for campus-based courses. With the overhead, and often cost, attached to enterprise-level systems, surely we should be exploring ways technologies such as Adobe Connect, Blackboard Collaborate and others can be used, where appropriate, […]

Durbbu 2016: Creating failure opportunities

Matt Cornock — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 22:33:36 +0000

The Durham Blackboard User Conference (#durbbu) this year encouraged learning from failure and through this theme enabled a more critical discussion of what works and what doesn’t when using learning technologies in higher education. From the sessions I attended, skills development and the role of learning technologies for this stood out the most. My tweeting […]

Durbbu 2016 – Solution to Perennial Presentation Problems

Matt Cornock — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:17:18 +0000

This is a quick summary of a case study at Durham University presented by Elaine Tan at #durbbu 2016, utilising the institutional video platform to support formative feedback on student presentations. There is a common problem on degree programmes: the student presentation. It’s a problem because too often students are expected to undertake presentations without […]

Durbbu 2016 – Blackboard’s Journey

Matt Cornock — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 21:11:02 +0000

Comment on VLE provider Blackboard’s keynote at #durbbu 2016 presented by Alan Masson and ponderings over whether the ‘journey’ is about technology or about ourselves. Masson outlined Blackboard’s view of a journey shared by both institutions and the company to increase adoption and increase innovation. Whilst this is certainly a view that echoes with learning technologists, both objectives […]

Durbbu 2016 – Transition to HE and student partnerships

Matt Cornock — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 20:44:45 +0000

Using VLE sites to support student transition to higher education presented by Regent’s University London and Durham University at #durbbu 2016. Ideas around student partnership in site development and possible opportunities for adaptive inductions. At York we have a number of well-established pre-arrival sites across most departments on our institutional VLE. Recently, with the updating of […]

Durbbu 2016 – Digital literacy and social networks

Matt Cornock — Thu, 21 Jan 2016 19:49:52 +0000

Thoughts on Eric Stoller’s keynote from #durbbu 2016, considering the place for digital literacy and localisation of global expertise via online social networks. Digital literacy, to me, is the fluency of an individual to adapt to new forms of computer-based technologies, treating technology as an embedded part of daily life, but also to recognise the […]

November 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 16:55:05 +0000

This month it’s flipping classrooms with a webinar on flipped learning pedagogy. I promoted the use of in-class technology to capture handwritten learning materials and create video learning resources. I also wrote up my top tips for creating videos for the flipped classroom teaching model. Flipping webinars I delivered the first of a two-part webinar […]

Three insights into student use of lecture capture supporting independent learning

Matt Cornock — Fri, 13 Nov 2015 13:38:11 +0000

This post summarises three conclusions arising from a mixed methods study of students’ use of lecture capture, drawing upon the detailed experiences of 12 students from the Department of Biology and the Department of Psychology. Participants provided diaries of how lecture capture was used to support private study, records of their use of the system […]

October 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 14:41:52 +0000

October is a traditionally busy time for me as the start of term kicks in. A lot of the project work gets put on hold as the support tickets fly in. This year was no exception and with a person down in the team, things were busier than usual. What was really pleasing to see […]

September 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 16:07:21 +0000

September’s highlight was the ALT-C conference where I presented an extended paper intended to challenge the uncritical acceptance of lecture capture. The rest of September involved preparation for the start of the new academic year. Cornock, M. (2015). Justifying lecture capture: the importance of student experiences in understanding the value of learning technologies. Extended paper, #867, ALT-C […]

August 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 16:04:56 +0000

August’s work review is a little late as the end of August and start of September has been busy. This month the York TEL Handbook launched, I’ve been getting my head round data tables and have been roaming the campus. And finally… I’e written and submitted my last piece of work for my MA. York TEL […]

Justifying lecture capture (ALT-C Paper)

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 09:33:05 +0000

I presented ‘Justifying lecture capture: the importance of student experiences in understanding the value of learning technologies’ at ALT-C on 9 September. My main argument was that we need to challenge superficial arguments that support lecture capture, such as ‘it is nice to have’ or ‘aids revision’ by exploring how and why students are incorporating the […]

July 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Sat, 15 Aug 2015 21:10:10 +0000

This month I have been mostly writing a handbook for technology-enhanced learning practice, exploring use cases for Collaborate and meeting up with a range of people across campus. Learning design for synchronous online activities I’m pushing the use case for Collaborate, our supported webinar (online seminar) tool, at the moment as there is potential to […]

Learning designs with synchronous web conferencing

Matt Cornock — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 15:10:36 +0000

In this post we explore three ways Collaborate could form part of the learning design for a module and the way different learning experiences are offered by using synchronous online activity. Collaborate is an online seminar tool, and as such allows participants to use video, voice or text chat to communicate without needing to be in […]

June 2015 – Work Review

Matt Cornock — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 07:01:07 +0000

This month I have been mostly making videos and talking to people. With a bit of feedback collecting too. In-class technology Following up on interest from teaching staff in being able to capture hand-written content using Replay, I spent a little time this month putting together some videos on how to use visualisers (document cameras) […]

Learning Technologist – Oldest job around?

Matt Cornock — Sat, 04 Jul 2015 14:12:16 +0000

I don’t write many ‘musing’ posts, but in this one I’ve flung together a few thoughts on the way we all learn to adapt to use technology in our own specific contexts. Defining the learning technologist role There are many definitions of the role, all painting slightly different pictures of what a learning technologist does […]

May 2015 – Work Review

Matt Cornock — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 21:14:40 +0000

Lecture capture features highly on my agenda again, but this month I’ve also had time to co-deliver a PGCAP session on technology-enhanced learning, provide some advice for students revising and complete my penultimate MA assignment. The impact of lecture capture at York With a lot of data now to hand, I am keen to share […]

April 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Tue, 12 May 2015 21:15:05 +0000

Online seminars, web-conferences, webinars, call them what you will… this month I started off with a comparison of the big three apps. This is April 2015’s work review. Web-conferencing recommendations At the start of the month I posted a review of Google Hangouts, Skype and Blackboard Collaborate as web-conferencing tools for the higher education sector. […]

March 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 09:32:55 +0000

As more of my work gets written up on the E-Learning Development Team blog these days, I thought it would be worth providing a monthly summary of my activities here. Screen-casting comparison Prompted by a number of requests, I wrote a comparison between Screencast-o-matic (online screen recorder), Echo360 Personal Capture (our supported program) and Camtasia 8 […]

February 2015 – Work review

Matt Cornock — Sat, 28 Feb 2015 13:16:49 +0000

Back-filling, this is February’s work review summarising some of my key activities from this month. Advising Departments on Programme Sites Before I joined the E-Learning Development Team I revamped the Programme Sites within SPSW, working with the programme leaders to introduce more content that supports students’ progression through their degree programme. I also included a […]

CMALT advice: Core Area 3 – The Wider Context

Matt Cornock — Sun, 22 Feb 2015 15:35:20 +0000

I recently offered some insights as a CMALT assessor to learning technologists at the University of Sheffield who were writing their CMALT portfolio. One of my interests is in the role of policy and legal frameworks applied to supporting learning using technology, for example copyright, accessibility, intellectual property rights, institutional learning and teaching strategies and VLE […]

Researching lecture capture impact – going beyond change in grade

Matt Cornock — Sun, 04 Jan 2015 11:04:07 +0000

Following on from my posts on the E-learning Development Team blog, I wanted to share my thoughts on my approach to researching the impact of lecture capture provision amongst our students. There are a number of papers and research projects out there which are looking for experimental evidence to support, or not, the use of […]

Lecture Capture and Webinars

Matt Cornock — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 17:12:01 +0000

It’s been a busy term… which is a poor excuse for a lack of updates to this site. However, over the next few weeks I’ll try to back fill my blog with all the exciting things that have gone through my head, buzzed around in there for a bit, and flown out through the other […]

The paperless student: reading on screen

Matt Cornock — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 21:18:29 +0000

Digital capabilities, specifically those for effective use of digital devices for reading documents, are incorrectly assumed to be part of students’ skills set. Whilst digital devices are prevalent, this does not mean that all their features are known or that the most appropriate software is installed on them. Students may be familiar with what they […]

Capture things visually and they’ll have an impact

Matt Cornock — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 10:38:59 +0000

Two lessons: the most important page of your VLE site is the first one; never underestimate the usefulness of a camera. Pretty much common sense, right? Here’s how these lessons worked in practice for me. The most basic in-class technology The blackboard or whiteboard is a fundamental in most teaching spaces. Standing the test of […]

Onwards with a new role

Matt Cornock — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 16:05:42 +0000

On Monday I start a new role in the Elearning Development Team at the University of York as Lecture Capture Coordinator and Elearning Advisor. As such, my last day within the Department of Social Policy and Social Work as their Web & VLE Coordinator was yesterday and by happy coincidence this was the same day […]

Headings are important in Word and PDFs

Matt Cornock — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 10:22:27 +0000

The use of headings in documents in commonplace, but it is essential that heading styles are used rather than just increasing the font size using the font tools. Using headings styles in Word adds extra functionality for navigation and accessibility. Word heading styles also offer a quick way to create a table of contents that […]

Book recommendations: recommended reading – elearning, web usability and development

Matt Cornock — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 23:00:00 +0000

There are many books out there on elearning, higher education teaching, web usability, accessibility (and all the other things I'm interested in). Though the list below is by no means comprehensive, it will provide you with a good starting point for your office library.

Accessibility essentials mini-lecture

Matt Cornock — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 16:50:11 +0000

This post presents a 15-minute mini-lecture on accessibility, designed to be useful for anyone creating websites or online resources, including virtual learning environments. The lecture is not exhaustive, but introduces some of the considerations about disabled users’ experiences of the web and how you can create accessible web resources. Full accessibility guidance, including further advice […]

How to make sure your PDFs are accessible

Matt Cornock — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 16:21:46 +0000

Making your documents accessible to all students regardless of impairment is an essential skill for all educators to learn. We frequently make PDF documents available to our students, but we have a responsibility to make sure these are accessible to disabled students. There is an added advantage to this, in that making a PDF document […]

Using technology for learning: an innovation or an expectation?

Matt Cornock — Thu, 08 May 2014 22:00:37 +0000

For the Spring edition of the University of York’s Forum Magazine I wrote about why we should encourage innovation in technology-enhanced learning and what approaches could be taken. Drawing upon data I collected from our first year students, it is clear that more of our students are contributing to the internet through participation of social […]

Google Docs with tablets and BYOD for seminar tasks

Matt Cornock — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0000

My recent investigations into tablet and laptop ownership amongst our students have suggested that we might be able to take advantage of these devices in-class. Dr Antonios Roumpakis, one of our lecturers in Social Policy, proposed where this might be useful.

Student Technology Survey Results – Desktops, laptops and tablets

Matt Cornock — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is the second of a series of posts which look at data collected from the surveys of Year 1 students who attend my induction sessions. In this post I look at the way students' desktop, laptop and tablet ownership have changed over three years.

Student Technology Survey Results – Mobile Devices

Matt Cornock — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first of a series of posts which look at data collected from the surveys of Year 1 students who attend my induction sessions. In this post I look at the trends in mobile phone ownership and we discover which phones students actually use in 2013.

Restoring Apps page in Google Chrome for home and new tabs

Matt Cornock — Wed, 25 Sep 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Google Chrome has updated and you've lost your big buttons to GoogleMail (GMail), Google Drive and YouTube. Fear not, there is a quick solution to restore your Apps buttons as your home page and an extension to sort out your new tab.

Copyright training with clickers – evaluation

Matt Cornock — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 23:00:00 +0000

As part of the Social Media for Social Policy short course I run for students at the University of York, one of the key introductory sessions is on copyright. This session aims to inform students about digital copyright and ensure they do not infringe copyright using third-party works when creating their social media projects.

Recording videos for incoming students and the transition to higher education

Matt Cornock — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 23:00:00 +0000

As part of an institutional-wide project on the Transition to Higher Education, I presented a few months back on an approach to create videos to help students understand what a subject entails at university-level. One of the biggest challenges that some subjects have is that they are not taught at A Level, which means for the vast majority of their students they are starting from scratch. Simply getting a basic understanding of what the subject is, and more importantly why it is relevant for today's society (and careers), is a key part of both the recruitment and transition experience.

Coloured photographic lens filter test for digital cameras

Matt Cornock — Sun, 01 Sep 2013 23:00:00 +0000

If you've ever wondered what the effect of coloured filters has on photos taken by digital cameras, well wonder no more. I recently purchased a cheap set of colour solid and graduated filters and decided it was time to run a little experiment. See the results here:

Lens filter comparison page

eBay down for August scheduled maintenance – lessons learnt on Twitter

Matt Cornock — Sun, 25 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

In a previous post I mentioned how Twitter is being used by people to monitor the availability of web services, and for web services themselves to communicate with its users when their primary channels (website, mobile app, etc) are unavailable. See: BBC website goes offline - Twitter community all a flapper.

Today was another example of such a need for Twitter, however in this instance, the web service got it a little wrong.

Reading On Screen: Background and research

Matt Cornock — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 23:00:00 +0000

We presented the Reading On Screen site at the Higher York eLearning Conference on 4 June and it seemed to be well-received by the delegates.

Four stages of competence marketing model: Unconscious incompetence / conscious competence

Matt Cornock — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The 'Four Stages of Competence', 'Conscious Competence' or 'Competency' model traditionally applies to learning, training, self-development, organisational learning and change management. It is a skills model (see here for details), designed to move people around the matrix from unconscious incompetence, anticlockwise to unconscious competence.

Facebook now 100% irrelevant to me – The impact of advertising vs user engagement

Matt Cornock — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Facebook's approach to advertising is one of those topics that has its fans (the marketers) and its foes (the average user). With the desire to make money in order to facilitate the service, advertising is a key revenue stream for Facebook. However, yesterday (probably not for the first time), advertising took up 100% of my Facebook screen space. The problem with this is that as advertising space goes up, my willingness to engage with the site goes down. There should never be a situation where 100% of the screen holds meaningless content.

MOOCs – Enough of the sensationalism, will they really affect Higher Education?

Matt Cornock — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 23:00:00 +0000

I have avoided writing a post on MOOCs (massive open online courses) for far too long. Partly because many other people have written about them already, and partly because I fear I might just write a diatribe. I'm not against the concept of MOOCs I hasten to add (I'd love to develop one), but against the way that MOOCs are being proclaimed by those who don't know better as the game-changer of higher education. So, be prepared, this could get messy!

Google Apps for Education: Challenging students and engaging them with non-institutional online learning tools

Matt Cornock — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

This brief post is a reflection of some of the concepts which emerged from the Higher York eLearning Network Conference Keynote by Professor Matthew Collins (University of York), titled 'Low cost, low maintenance solution to collaboration in education and research', delivered on 4 June 2013.

Four types of student posts in introductory online discussion activities

Matt Cornock — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

In introductory or ice-breaker activities, there are four types of posts that are made by students/participants on discussion boards or community blogs. These four types I have drawn up after looking at a selection of 'Welcome Sites' for new students. These Welcome Sites are used for new students to make contact with each other and the Department before they arrive at University. In these sites there is a blog in which students are instructed to make a 'hello' post which will be replied to by second year student facilitators or staff.

Social media for social policy: working together for creative employability skills development

Matt Cornock — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:34 +0000

Session presented at the University of York Learning and Teaching Conference, 8 May 2013. See: Conference website. Matt Cornock, Simon Davis, Heather Stout, Lidiya Cherneva, Megan O’Kane. Overview This workshop presents the Social Media for Social Policy project. This is an optional, extra-curricular activity for social science students organised by the Department of Social Policy […]

Project Launch: Reading On Screen

Matt Cornock — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In direct response to student feedback on the way that we are making extensive use of digital resources for teaching, we have developed a special guide and supporting website addressing 'reading on screen'.

Summary PDF Guide [PDF]
Supporting website - feedback and user experiences warmly invited via the site

The site covers such topics as:

Guide: Resizing photos on a Mac

Matt Cornock — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

This may sound like an obvious guide, but not being a regular Mac user it took me a fair while to work out how to do batch resizing (or even single resize) of photos. So here are the steps:

What makes a 21st Century teacher? (Durham Blackboard Conference 2013)

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Summary of Panel Discussion: What makes a 21st Century teacher?

Durham Blackboard Users Conference, Durham University, 8-9 January 2013.

Panelists: Ray Land, Richard Pears (Durham University); Jeremy Knox (Edinburgh University); Peter Felton (Elon University, USA); Mike Cameron and Iain Wheeldon (Newcastle University).

Chair: Malcolm Murray

Creating rich resources with free tools: Customised Google Maps for Learning & Teaching

Matt Cornock — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:35:46 +0000

Workshop at the Durham Blackboard Users Conference, Durham University, 9 January 2013. See: Conference Website. Presentation This was my workshop at DurBbU with the general aim was to showcase the way that Google Maps has been used by academics in my Department and to invite workshop participants to try out the Google Maps interface on […]

Reflections: The scientific approach to teaching, Eric Mazur (ALT-C 2012)

Matt Cornock — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 23:00:00 +0000

For fear of not being able to understand my scribbled, hand-written notes a few months down the line, I have decided to write up my ALT-C experience on the blog again. This is my 'processing' method... read on, it'll all make sense. This post is a brief summary of just a handful of the key points expressed by Eric Mazur, Professor of Physics at Harvard University, for the opening keynote at ALT-C 2012 in Manchester.

The scientific approach to teaching: Research as a basis for course design

Eric Mazur

Keynote, ALT-C 2012, 11 September 2012, Manchester, UK.

Unravelling student expectations (ALT-C 2012 Conference Short Paper)

Matt Cornock — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:31:37 +0000

Unravelling student expectations: the use of early student data and module feedback to inform implementation (in the context of learning technologies). Short paper for the ALT-C Conference, Manchester, 11 September 2012. Matt Cornock (Social Policy and Social Work, University of York) Downloads Unravelling student expectations – Abstract [PDF] Unravelling student expectations – Slides with notes [PDF] Abstract Managing student expectations has become a […]

Facebook slash – is this the end for web addresses?

Matt Cornock — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:00:00 +0000

In this blog post I discuss the rise of third-party branded URLs and the possible future of web addresses leading towards registration-plate domain names. Are branded URLs becoming redundant?

Facebook dot com slash…

With a number of big brands now using Facebook (facebook.com/brandname) instead of their own web addresses (brandname.com), the question has to be asked: Which brand is more important to the intended audience?

BBC website goes offline – Twitter community all a flapper

Matt Cornock — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Arguably the worlds largest and most visited website (ignoring search engines and other major internet portals), bbc.co.uk, went offline tonight around 10.44pm (BST). At the time of writing it is still unavailable. Shockingly 30 minutes has gone by...

Laws of the Web – Bandwidth

Matt Cornock — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I've borrowed a book from the University Library. Published in 2001, Bernado A. Huberman's 'The Laws of the Web: Patterns in the Ecology of Information', offers a window back a decade to when the internet boom started and mass-access in the developed world became a reality. I'm probably the only person to borrow this book in quite some time, but thought it would be a great way to see if commentary on the internet in 'olden times' still holds merit to today's use of the technology - in particular here the context of content creation for students.

Email and why it’ll never disappear

Matt Cornock — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Like an old faithful dog, email still persists as one of the fundamental communication methods online. But is it's time limited? The attempts to create what is effectively a microcosm of the internet with Facebook (as one blog depicted rather well in 2011), would suggest that Facebook messaging should have surpassed the need for email by now. However, the reality is that internet users are still using a variety of communication methods.

Guide: Controlling your online identity

Matt Cornock — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 23:00:00 +0000

This Prezi presentation formed part of my workshop on Controlling Your Online Identity. It complements my Guide on Facebook Privacy. If the presentation does not appear below, view on Prezi.com. There is a little scaremongering in this guide! Deliberately, I might add, to provoke your thoughts and the overall privacy debate.

Website effectiveness (part 3) – users, social networks and tracking

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

This is the final of three posts on the subject of how I go about judging website effectiveness. I decided to write these posts after preparing for a meeting with a colleague on these matters and thought how it might be useful to post such ideas (see introduction). In these posts I've established how I look at effectiveness in two ways: content and navigation.

Website effectiveness (part 1) – defining success of a website

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

I had an interesting discussion with a colleague recently about how we judge the effectiveness of a website. I thought I'd share my pre-meeting notes here and the approaches and considerations I have to judging the effectiveness of non-ecommerce sites.

Website effectiveness (part 2) – using stats and analytical tools

Matt Cornock — Thu, 10 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

This is the second part of a three-part series looking at approaches to judging website effectiveness, based upon my approaches and prep notes for a meeting I had with a colleague on this matter. See introduction post.

ALT-C 2011: Conference report

Matt Cornock — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

From this page I will link all the blog posts and anything else of interest that relate to my attendance at the 18th Association for Learning Technology Conference, held at the University of Leeds in 6-8 September 2011.

Reflections on Open Learning and its Role in the 21st Century (Durham Blackboard Conference 2012)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Part of a series of posts reporting back on the Durham Blackboard Users' Conference 2012.

Reflections: US National Education Technology Plan (ALT-C 2011)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the third of a series of blog posts in which I write up my reaction and reflections on some of the sessions at the ALT-C 2011 learning technology conference. This keynote looks at US policy for elearning.

Reflections: Online resource personalisation; Work based learning (ALT-C 2011)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This is the second of a series of blog posts covering my reaction to the ALT-C 2011 conference sessions.

See my main ALT-C 2011 overview page
Crowdvine reference for this session: http://altc2011.alt.ac.uk/talks/22287

Effectiveness of technology to support work based learning: the stakeholders' perspective

Rebecca Strachan, Lalith Liyanage, Biddy Casselden, Roger Penlington

Northumbria University

Reflections on YouTube in Higher Education (Durham Blackboard Conference 2012)

Matt Cornock — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Part of a series of posts reporting back on the Durham Blackboard Users' Conference 2012.

Reflections on Supporting a Postgraduate Virtual Open Week (Durham Blackboard Conference 2012)

Matt Cornock — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Part of a series of posts reporting back on the Durham Blackboard Users' Conference 2012.

Parallel session: Postgraduate Virtual Open Week at the University of Edinburgh
Presenter: Josephine Kinsley, University of Edinburgh

In this post I wish to focus mainly on the way Kinsley managed the training approach, but first here is an outline of Edinburgh's virtual open day project.

Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 2012

Matt Cornock — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:03:14 +0000

I will be writing up summaries and reflections on the sessions I attended at the Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference 2012. Blog posts I will link through to the posts here when I publish them. You can follow me on Twitter too to get post updates. Using the VLE as a Trojan horse – transforming practice […]

Reflections on VLEs, design tools, the Cloud and more: Grainne Conole’s keynote (Durham Blackboard Conference 2012)

Matt Cornock — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Part of a series of posts on the Durham Blackboard Users' Conference 2012.

Reflections on panel session: Institutional minimum standards for VLE use (Durham Blackboard Conference 2012)

Matt Cornock — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Part of a series of posts on the Durham Blackboard Users' Conference 2012.

This post is a summary of the discussion that took place in the panel session on the topic 'The Implications and Practicalities of Agreeing and Enforcing a Threshold Standard of use of a VLE in an Education Institution' chaired by Mike Cameron of Newcastle University. The session took place at 4.30pm on 5 January 2012. Throughout I have added my own take on the issues raised.

Keywords:

Why multiple channels of communication are here to stay… and why it’s a good thing

Matt Cornock — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

A short post about the value of mulitple communication channels. Normally, duplication of information is a bad thing and poor use of multiple communication channels sometimes does that. If you have well defined audiences for each channel however, that's not a problem. But, this post isn't about that, it's about how useful they are when things go wrong!

Be careful what you like on Facebook

Matt Cornock — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This post is about some very public privacy loopholes on Facebook, the knock-on effect for people searching on Google, and the question over accepted norms. There's a rant, a helpful tip, and then I go all philosophical on you.

Guide: Facebook profile privacy – controlling your online presence

Matt Cornock — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

One of our lecturers is trialling the use of Facebook with our undergraduates this year. The rationale is to provide a space where student from other institutions can interact, something that cannot be achieved with our VLE due to the locked-down nature of it. In preparation for this, we wanted to ensure that students were prepared and aware of how to restrict information that is on their Facebook profile. Hence, a 10 minute video guide pointing out the locations of Facebook privacy settings.

Google+ is to Facebook what Facebook was to MySpace

Matt Cornock — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This series of posts will preview Google+ (Google Plus) and compare it to Facebook as a social networking platform. It primarily focuses on the differences in interface and functionality, but touches upon the user-aspect of whether Google+ will be adopted by the masses. Part 1 looks at what makes a social network. Part 2 will look at the idea of 'circles', with Part 3 on other functional improvements.

Reflections: Making Open Educational Resources happen (ALT-C 2011)

Matt Cornock — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This is the first of a series of blog posts covering my reaction to the ALT-C 2011 conference sessions.

See my main ALT-C 2011 overview page (includes disclaimer about my writing approach!)
Crowdvine reference for this session: http://altc2011.alt.ac.uk/talks/22225

Google+ not just circles

Matt Cornock — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0000

This is the final part of a three-part series on Google+. The first part covered what makes a social network, the second looked at how Google+ Circles offer a user-friendly contact management systems, and this third part will highlight some of the other features and deliberate addressing of flaws with Facebook.

Planning a resource-based learning website for students

Matt Cornock — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0000

Video

This video is a presentation of how a Social Work Service User Participation website was planned. The site aim is to enable service users and students to interact and to provide a repository of information for students. It was developed by Pat Walton and Sue Lansley of the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York with my advice in planning for the student learning experience.

Circles not lists – Google+ people management

Matt Cornock — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 23:00:00 +0000

In this second post of three covering Google+ (Google Plus), I'll be looking at the way Google's use of the 'circle of friends' metaphor is more appropriate than existing contact management options in other social networking sites. See previous post for an overview of what makes a social network and how Google+ fits into that concept.

Time to ditch the reading list? (HYeLN Conference Workshop)

Matt Cornock — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 13:04:44 +0000

Workshop for the Higher York eLearning Network Conference, 6 June 2011 Matt Cornock (SPSW, University of York) Resources Workshop slides [PDF] Cloudworks discussion site, related links and references Twitter search Delicious social bookmarking website Diigo social bookmarking and notes website Trying different reading lists Delegates, readers of this site and cloud participants are invited to […]

Addressing information literacy collaboratively (FELT Conference Poster)

Matt Cornock — Wed, 25 May 2011 13:06:44 +0000

Innovations and Collaborations in Information Literacy and Academic Skills. Poster for University of York Forum for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching Conference, 25 May 2011 Matt Cornock (SPSW) with Sue Cumberpatch (University Library and Archives), Robert Gunn (Social Work) and Katy Mann (ASO) Download Poster [PDF] Sumbitted abstract This poster presentation will summarise how close collaboration between […]

Moodle 2.0: File management and repository – file picker vs course files

Matt Cornock — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0000

I must admit, straight away, that writing this post has left me in tears. As I sob over my keyboard, my head is spinning in conflict about the way file management has been implemented in the brand new version of Moodle: Moodle 2.0. I'm hoping one day I'll be able to write a post called 'Dr. Strangemoodle. Or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the file picker.' That day is not today.

TV advertising campaigns: best and worst adverts

Matt Cornock — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Some advertising campaigns have been around for a while now which I think deserve a mention and review here. These adverts can either be classified as very clever or absolutely diabolical. Here we will look at: Specsavers, Compare the Market, Go Compare and Halifax.

Top 10: Pros and cons of Google Street View Maps

Matt Cornock — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

In addition to this post, you will be also interested in the more recent follow-up blog post 'Trust or Privacy?', which also looks at the role of Google and Google Streetview.

Durham Blackboard Users Conference 2011

Matt Cornock — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 00:00:00 +0000

I've written up some thoughts from the sessions I attended at the 2011 Durham Blackboard Users Conference. Rather than providing detailed accounts, I've drawn out one or two key ideas and added my own take on them:

Reflections on parallel sessions: Student-centred induction (Durham Blackboard Users Conference 2011)