There is an abundance of professional learning opportunities for those of us involved in (digital) education – conferences, webinars, workshops, podcasts and blogs. We often share upcoming events or items of interest in the newsletter. No-one can engage with it all though so we’re introducing a new regular series to share what we’ve heard and learned about.
Here are our conference and webinar highlights from December.
From Spark to Flame: learning design from an evidence base – Centre for Online and Distance Learning, University of London
Learning design, defined as "the practice of designing learning experiences to achieve specific educational goals" (Dalziel, 2016), is central to effective teaching, as we design content, activities, facilitation and assessment. Yet, as explored at the recent From Spark to Flame: Learning Design and the Evidence Base conference, there is a gap between learning design practice and evidence-based approaches. The conference challenged attendees to reflect: are we integrating evidence into our design practices or relying on intuition?
Why isn’t learning design more evidence-based? Presentations identified several challenges: limited buy-in from staff who co-design courses, the difficulty of applying educational research across varied contexts, and the lack of resources and power for learning design professionals to influence processes. For example, research often provides “snapshots” of specific scenarios, making it difficult to generalise for broader use.
Despite these obstacles, progress is evident. Panellists highlighted strategies such as fostering a strong professional identity for learning designers, using templates to scaffold evidence-based practice, and improving practice through iteration. Clarity in communication and collaborative relationships with subject matter experts were seen as key to embedding evidence into learning design.
Moving forward, incremental improvements and institutional strategies will be crucial to bridging this gap and ensuring learning design enhances student outcomes.
More about the webinar, including the recording, can be found here.
NET Conference: Igniting change: breaking boundaries with digital innovation and creativity in healthcare education – AdvanceHE
This was a fascinating event exploring different aspects of digital learning in healthcare education, but one of the talks that truly stood out was the keynote delivered by Eithne Hunt from University College Cork. She highlighted recent research suggesting that adolescence now begins earlier and extends until around the age of 24, meaning that many students in higher education remain in this developmental stage.
She also emphasised that young people today are growing up in an era with less external regulation during adolescence. This underscores the importance of supporting our students in developing their social and self-regulatory capacities while at university. Eithne and her colleagues from University College Cork have created an excellent resource called Brainpower for those who wish to learn more. You can find it here: Brainpower | University College Cork.
Immersive Environments: Exploring current practice and barriers in higher education – UCISA
This conference, organised by UCISA and hosted by Birkbeck, explored how institutions are embedding immersive and simulated learning practices to enhance student learning. Practice shared ranged from immersive learning using technologies like virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), and IGLOO rooms to create lifelike environments, to simulated learning that replicates real-world scenarios, providing safe, hands-on practice opportunities (Radianti et al., 2020).
Presentations showcased diverse approaches, including Cardiff University’s low-budget immersive room and activity design approach, Birkbeck’s £1.2 million and the Open University’s £5.8 million immersive studios, both funded by the Office for Students. In all cases, these institutions are scaling immersive practices for research and learning.
A central theme was the progression from consuming third-party software to producing bespoke immersive and social learning experiences. While consumption offers an entry point, it limits scalability and flexibility. In contrast, in-house production – from simple ThingLink resources to complex 360-degree videos and scenarios – supports tailored content creation and broader institutional adoption.
Key lessons included the importance of accessible design, strategic use of spaces, and effective facilitation. Participants emphasised the need to move beyond initial pilots, embedding immersive learning into teaching strategies to foster collaboration, scalability, and meaningful student engagement and go beyond the current XR hype.
References
Dalziel, J. (2016) Learning Design: Conceptualizing a Framework for Teaching and Learning Online. London: Routledge.
Radianti, J., Majchrzak, T. A., Fromm, J. and Wohlgenannt, I. (2020) ‘A systematic review of immersive virtual reality applications for higher education: Design elements, lessons learned, and research agenda’, Computers & Education, 147, p. 103778.