Learning Technologies 2015 Backchannel #LT15UK

Ahead of this week’s Learning Technologies event, here are the details on how to make the most of the backchannel from near or far. This is being published a little later than usual because Don Taylor and I have been cooking up some new ideas to help share as much of the action as possible. But things will run along the same lines as in previous years to make it as easy as possible to tune into the sessions or speakers you most want to hear from.

Room of reflection
For the first time this year there will be a ‘Room of Reflection’. You might have already joined one of the Google Hangouts that Don has been hosting in the build up to LT. Now at the event itself we are using this model to provide space for reflection (as the name implies!) after some of the conference sessions. We will be bringing speakers in for a live chat that draws on the key points of their session and allows for deeper insight and analysis. This will be streamed online for people following the backchannel and not attending the conference. And conference delegates will also have the chance to be in the room if they’d like to find out more. Each of these sessions will also be covered by the backchannel so do tweet in your questions for the speakers in question, especially if you have followed or attended their main conference session.

Hashtags
Each conference session has an individual hashtag that will be used in addition to the main #LT15UK hashtag. So if you’re following using TweetChat or a similar application, you can search on the specific sessions to keep your focus on a particular topic. Below is a list of these hashtags and which of our tweeters is covering those sessions. Hopefully you can start following them in advance and really hone in on any areas of interest during the event. Note, the keynotes and opening and closing addresses won’t have individual hashtags. For the full conference programme, click here.

Day one: Keynote: A brave new world: how the cloud is revolutionising our learning, Professor Sugata Mitra

The world renowned, TED prize winning speaker – thanks to his Hole In The Wall project which you can find out more about here – will unsurprisingly be focusing on education, but should provide some fascinating insights on how the next generation is learning and the role technology will play in teaching. There are a few detractors out there so the reaction to what he has to say could be interesting!

Day one: 11.10 – 12.20

• #T1S1 – Future learning: how our learning landscape is all set to change, Gerd Leonhard (Covered by Nic Laycock and Marco Faccini)
• #T2S1 – Creating high impact blended learning, Clive Shepherd, Sarah Lindsell, Brid Nunn (Covered by Sam Taylor)
• #T3S1 – Learning strategy, Nigel Paine and Gary Bellamy (Covered by Joan Keevil)
• <#T4S1 – Creativity and learning, Tony Buzan (Covered by Susie Finch and Julie Drybrough)
• #T5S1 21st century enterprise learning, David Wilson and David Perring (Covered by Kate Graham)
• #RRS1 – The first of the new Google Hangout sessions – The future of learning is the future of work, Martin Couzins (Covered by Barbara Thompson)

Day one: 13.50 – 15.00

• #T1S2 – Does instructional design have a future? Patti Shank (Covered by Sam Taylor)
• #T2S2 – Making a success of enterprise-wide learning, Jane Daly, Velda Barnes, Jason Simeon (Covered by Susie Finch)
• #T3S2 – Storytelling and video, Mark Davies and Gemma Critchley (Covered by Barbara Thompson)
• #T4S2 – Successful working and learning across countries and cultures, Fons Trompenaars (Covered by Nic Laycock and Joan Keevill)
• #T5S2 – Transforming learning, Andrew Jacobs and Garry Hearn (Covered by Julie Drybrough)
• #RRS2 – The challenge of effective workplace learning, Nigel Paine (Covered by Ollie Gardner)

Day one: 15.30 – 16.40

• #T1S3 – Learning technologies: the hype and the happening, Donald Clark, David Kelly, Steve Wheeler, Karen Lynas (Covered by Marco Faccini)
• #T2S3 – Learning evaluation, Phillip Price and Rafe Ball (Covered by Julie Drybrough)
• #T3S3 – Knowledge sharing, Edward Gallier and Kandy Woodfield (Covered by Barbara Thompson)
• #T4S3 – Building smart scenarios for great learning, Cathy Moore (Covered by Sam Taylor)
• #T5S3 – Driving learning excellence, Garry Hearn, Laura Overton, Kathy Poole, Laura Pettit, Jane Daly, Velda Barnes (Covered by Susie Finch and Ollie Gardner)
• #RRS3 – Running learning programmes successfully internationally, Fons Trompenaars (Covered by Joan Keevill)

Day two: Keynote: The expanding mind, Professor Robert Winston
As a justly famous expert for his work in medicine and numerous television programmes on the BBC, Professor Winston will be talking about the human mind and exploring the hot topic of neuro science. It promises to be a fascinating and thought provoking session.

Day two: 11.30 – 12.30

• #T1S4 – Emerging technologies, David Kelly and Donald Clark (Covered by Ollie Gardner)
• #T2S4 – Extending learning beyond the formal, Charles Jennings, Tristan Dhalla, Pamela Malkin (Covered by Joan Keevill)
• #T3S4 – Learning tools, David Wood and Julian Stodd (Covered by Marco Faccini)
• #T4S4 – Mobile delivery: putting the device in your hands to work, Geoff Stead (Covered by Kate Graham)
• #T5S4 – Myths and facts about the brain and learning, Christian Jarrett (Covered by Nic Laycock and Susie Finch)
• #RRS4 – Video in learning, Mark Davies (Covered by Alex Watson)

Day two: 13.50 – 15.00

• #T1S5 – Mindfulness, learning and work, David Gelles (Covered by Alex Watson)
• #T2S5 – No more checkboxes, Tom Pape, Kathy Poole, Kim George (Covered by Kate Graham)
• #T3S5 – Turning your LMS from an investment into a valuable asset, Stuart Bennett, Colin Jenkins, Randall Roberts, Stephen Macdonald (Covered by Martin Belton)
• #T4S5 – Learning design for all, Chara Balasubramaniam, Asi DeGani, Sareena Randhawa (Covered by Joan Keevill)
• #T5S5 – The evolutionary power of joined up communication, Euan Semple (Covered by Julie Drybrough)
• #RRS5 – What makes great instructional design? Patti Shank and Cathy Moore (Covered by Ollie Gardner)

Day two: 15.30 – 16.40

• #T1S6 – Guided social learning, Jane Hart (Covered by Julie Drybrough)
• #T2S6 – Games and learning, Lynda Donovan and Mark Reilly (Covered by Marco Faccini)
• #T3S6 – Video for learning, Lisa McCandless and Chris Lake (Covered by Ollie Gardner)
• #T4S6 – MOOCs, are they just misunderstood? Sam Burrough and Martin Couzins (Covered by Nic Laycock)
• #T5S6 – Developing your L&D team for the future, Zoe Ferdinand and Paul Morgan (Covered by Alex Watson)
• #RRS6 – Putting 70:20:10 to work, Charles Jennings (Covered by Joan Keevill)

Meet the team
I am delighted to be joined by a fantastic team of L&D folk who will all bring their unique insights and perspectives to the backchannel. Here are all the Twitter handles of the team covering the sessions:

Me – @kategraham23
Barbara Thompson – @CaribThompson
Nic Laycock – @alc47
Alex Watson – @s0ngb1rd
Joan Keevill – @designs_joank
Susie Finch – @susiefinch
Ollie Gardner – @olliegardener
Sam Taylor – @samt_el
Marco Faccini – @marcoable
Julie Drybrough – @fuchsia_blue
Martin Belton – @martinb66

Also the official event feeds:

Learning Technologies official feed – @LT15UK
Learning and Skills official feed – @LAS15UK

I hope you’ll join in this coming week, whether it’s just reading the Twitter stream or joining in with the tweets or adding further thoughts and reflection through your own blog posts, I’m looking forward to a week of sharing and connecting. Tweet me @kategraham23 or drop me a comment below if you have any suggestions for how we can make this the best Learning Technologies yet.

Kate