JISC Digifest

Image by +JD Hancock 

Earlier last month (9-10 March 15) I attended JISC's Annual Digital Festival in Birmingham. This 2 day conference, organised by JISC, brought together a wide audience that included librarians, IT professionals and Learning Technologists. The purpose of the event was to explore the power of technologies and explore ways to harness it for teaching and research. Sessions focused on the activity that has been undertaken by JISC, both by their employees and with external partners. There were also a number of suppliers around to speak to and a Technology Hub, that showcased a variety of innovations, from cableless chargers through to JISC also used the conference as an opportunity to share with delegates some of the changes to their organisation. Prof Martyn Harrow (JISC Chief Executive) explained that every partner will now have a dedicated support officer, to ensure that we make the most of services.

The full agenda, as well as links to slides and recordings can be found below:

Day 1 Agenda/PowerPoint | Recordings

Day 2 Agenda/PowerPoint | Recordings

Some of the sessions I enjoyed and would recommend looking out for:

• FutureLearn, Simon Nelson. Described his model for embedding digital.  The University of Sheffield are currently a FutureLearn partner, see our latest MOOCs.
• Good Practice in Learning Analytics This panel discussion JISC reports. See our latest addition to the TEL Hub
• Electronic management of assessment 
• Student expectations of entering higher education Students were invited to this session and we learnt about the findings from  Key findings from research undertaken highlighted 
• 3D Modelling - The session focused on ways in which 3D models can be created (see JISC infokit for more details). There is a growing interest in this field particularly in disciplines such as medicine and archaeology. In order to help people develop 3D models for learning purposes JISC have developed a one day course. 

Richard Watson ended Digifest by advising us to take some time away from technology, in order to be more productive. "We're bombarded with too much information" and" we're not working at our best" were some of his key messages. Richard's top tips included: cutting off entirely from your mobile for a day (e.g. on a Sunday), making sure that you have a good night's sleep (at least 7 hours) and selecting the right technology for the job (bearing in mind that a Pen is technology - goodbye gimmicks).

Overall I really enjoyed the variety of sessions on offer, the different ways in which they were delivered and the opportunity to connect with new colleagues from different institutions. The conference highlighted how diverse the range of JISC activities are (covering policy through to smaller scale innovation) as well the variety of resources that they have developed for institutions to re-purpose.