@ou-ld-social
Sharing the @openuniversity.bsky.social Learning Design team’s approach to designing for student success. Using evidence and #StudentVoice to enhance the learning experience. #HigherEd #LearningDesign #EdTech #DigitalInclusion #EDIA Tag us or use #OU_LD
These discussions would be much enriched by recognising that the social sciences also exist & that 'critical thinking', while central to Humanities, is not their exclusive preserve. Also staggering is the lack of interest in undertaking systematic research on learning impacts across all subjects.
A curious lemur peeks out from behind a tree.
Curious about what expert #LearningDesign looks like? Ready to refresh or #upskill your approach?
Our team can help you build consensus, plan strategically, and strengthen your design skills.
👉 Head here to find out more: www.open.ac.uk/blogs/learni...
#StrategicPlanning #OU_LD
Celebrating 30 years of KMi with two projects that foresaw today’s digital education: Lyceum (1999) and the Virtual Degree Ceremony (2000). Both proved early how tech can create connection and belonging online.
#KMi30 #EdTech #OnlineLearning #EdInnovation
blog.stem.open.ac.uk/how-kmi-made...
Ever wondered why your child watches the same video over and over, or prefers playing on their own?
Mel Green explains what these behaviours can actually tell us and why understanding the ‘why’ changes everything.
Watch the full video: https://ow.ly/xq2s50Yq5WB
#TheOpenUniversity #neurodiversity
This #BritishScienceWeek, Computing and AI student Aya tells us what it's like to be a woman in STEM at the OU, and how her studies have helped her get on the right career path 💻✨
Learn more about our STEM courses and start your journey with us 👉 stem.open.ac.uk
#WomenInSTEM #TheOpenUniversity
A woman examines a test tube sample in a laboratory setting.
Like to break up text based learning resources with audio visual material & studying a STEM module? Check out JoVE's video journal & video textbooks! Bringing to life fundamental lab methods & science concepts alongside new research techniques & technologies.
https://ow.ly/FW0G50Yi1SJ
(OU login rqd)
Dark blue background featuring the OU logo and a series of book covers. Text reads: 'Dive into hundreds of science magazines on Libby and OverDrive for British Science Week. Free for OU students and staff.'
Celebrate British #Science Week with hundreds of science magazines available on Libby and OverDrive! 🔬🚀
Read the latest issues of New Scientist, National Geographic, Astronomy and a wide range of children’s science titles - all free with your OU login 👇 https://ow.ly/RWIQ50Yl4x8
#BSW26
I don't know about you, but I've found this week quite a slog!
If you fancy a virtual chat with sympathetic #LearningTechnology folk, @alt-iccp-sig.bsky.social have a drop-in social 2–3pm *today* (Friday 6 March). Joining details ⬇️
us02web.zoom.us/j/8374017968...
ID: 83740179680
Passcode: 939173
Random #LearningDesign #UX question for those who know about #neurodivergent student preferences!
What evidence is there around best practice for presenting longish text content online (other than "don't"), in terms of scrolling vs accordions vs tabs (within the page)?
Thanks in advance 🙂
This article outlines a collaboration between #OU_LD Learning Designers Anna and Carlos, and the Education Studies team using Listening Rooms, a qualitative data methodology. The project examines quantitative student engagement data alongside #StudentVoice data. nexus-education.com/blog-posts/t...
🔴 Starting soon: Opening Pandora’s Box: Inequality & Innovation Systems
📅 Fri 13 Feb | 12–1pm | Online
👤 Dr Thanos Fragkandreas (University of Westminster)
🔗 Join: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/opening-th...
@oupolitics.bsky.social @ou-ld-social.bsky.social @gunjans.bsky.social
A lovely surprise to see @azumahcarol.bsky.social pop up in the Knowledge Equity Network video I've been watching on Perspectives on Educational Equity.
(A video I'd recommend: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeWu...)
#HigherEd #LTHEchat #AcademicSky #EducationalEquity
Interesting thread...
A report has been launched, examining the barriers with digital accessibility across UK higher education.
The report highlights both the transformative potential of emerging technologies and the urgent need for coordinated sector leadership: zurl.co/SHR3Q
#Education #HigherEducation #Accessibility
An orange (also called ginger) cat climbs up slats on a wooden pallet.
📢 Reviving an #OU_LD blog post from a little while back:
Have a read about the importance of #scaffolding in learning and the different category types that can be utilised. Finish up by following some (or all) of the suggested #NextSteps.
www.open.ac.uk/blogs/learni...
#LearningDesign
Some #OU_LD team members have been working through the #Allyship programme, run by @openuniversity.bsky.social. Thought this resource, A Progressive’s Style Guide, shared in the unit, was really fantastic. Had to share as it could be useful to lots of folks! interactioninstitute.org/wp-content/u...
A graphic with green sustainability themed logos. In the top left corner is the Open University Learning Design Logo. In the top right corner is an illustrated owl wearing a green mortarboard, with a speech bubble saying, ‘Words of Wisdom’.
How exactly do you go about capturing and sharing examples of #sustainability in educational design? Read the latest #OU_LD blog post for reflections about the Sustainability #WordsOfWisdom project to find out.
#LearningDesign #StudentVoice #WoW
www.open.ac.uk/blogs/learni...
Grab a coffee or three. It's a bumper edition of the Digital Practice Round Up this month! The stuff we've been doing and discovering over the last few weeks. inspiringlearning.jiscinvolve.org/wp/2026/02/d...
Not only are people in the global south most impacted by climate change, their voices are also under-represented in academia and media.
Read more in our article for Race Equality Week, featuring @ayeshatandon.carbonbrief.org from @carbonbrief.org.
ncas.ac.uk/why-global-s...
#ChangeNeedsAllofUs
New Year, New HE Teaching Resource Site!
Check out the REAL Resource Bank: Race, Ethnicity and Antiracism Learning for the Social Sciences in Higher Education
blogs.brighton.ac.uk/realresource...
Text reads: Words of Wisdom Spotlight. The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Subliminal Curriculum. The subliminal curriculum refers to the underlying culture and environment that promotes sustainability-not through formal teaching or extracurricular activities, but through the everyday experiences, systems, and messages students encounter. It's about making sustainability a natural part of the learning atmosphere, even when students aren't actively looking for it. Examples. Title: Hedgehog Friendly Campus Student quote: "If students could learn about ecosystems, environments through hedgehogs, it would not only benefit the science students but students who wish to study animals, environmental laws, health, as well as the sciences." Title: Design Fairs/Student poster competition Student quote: "The student poster competition would be a fun way to take part in the sustainability values of the OU.” Find more examples in the Words of Wisdom Compendium: * To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣
Our final focus this week is the Subliminal Curriculum section.
We’d love to hear if you plan to and/or have adapted any existing course material after reflecting on examples we've shared. 📝
Full compendium here: www.open.edu/openlearncre... .
#Sustainability #HigherEd
Text reads: Words of Wisdom Spotlight. The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Sustainability Pedagogies. Sustainability pedagogies refer to educational approaches that support learners and educators in understanding and responding to climate change and sustainability in its broadest sense-encompassing environmental, societal, and economic dimensions. Rather than relying on fixed methods, sustainability pedagogy encourages the integration of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) across curricula by fostering not only knowledge, but also values, skills, and attitudes. Examples. Title: Bringing sustainability into the Art History curriculum at Level 2 and beyond Student quote: "The merging of Art and its environmental impact/sustainability is a fresh approach to this field of study" Title: Sustainability is a global challenge with global solutions Student quote: "Sustainability is a global issue and if taught to students, they would then have the tools to make an impact through what they know." Find more examples in the Words of Wisdom Compendium: To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m .
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣
To end the week, we've got a double dip of WoW for you!
For this post, we’re shifting our focus to the Sustainability Pedagogies section. To access the full compendium head to this link: www.open.edu/openlearncre...
#Sustainability #HigherEd
Don't forget - we've made a a starter pack of #OpenUniversity people and accounts (plus a few other #HigherEd accounts). We're always adding more people and feeds to it as we find them (or they find us 😉). Go on, get connected!
[cc: @openuniversity.bsky.social ]
go.bsky.app/LYgYXL2
Text reads: Words of Wisdom Spotlight. The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Competencies in the curriculum. Sustainability competencies can empower individuals to reflect on their own actions' and provide cross-cutting skills necessary for both addressing sustainability challenges and working towards the UN's 17 Sustainability Development Goals (SDGS) (UNESCO, 2017). Integrating sustainability competencies within courses can help to create authentic opportunities for learners to build sustainable knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Examples. Title: Threading Educating for Sustainable Development through thinking about educating the next generation. Student quote: "It is only by understanding the past that one can pass that knowledge on to future generations... Without that ability, and to be frank, there would be no future." Title: Embedding key sustainability competencies into core physics curriculum. Student quote: "It feels meaningful and supportive. It states that it was a pilot and that they want to implement sustainability into other courses, as well. Find more examples in the Words of Wisdom Compendium: •To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣
For the third part of our series this week, we’re showcasing the Competencies In the Curriculum section.
To access the full compendium follow this link: www.open.edu/openlearncre...
#Sustainability #HigherEd
Disabled student survey showing ableism in the UK universities. See here https://disabledstudents.co.uk/2025-access-insights-report-3/
Disappointing to see some of these attitudes from university staff in the report from @disabledstudentsuk.bsky.social ...again.
disabledstudents.co.uk/2025-access-...
Test reads: Words of Wisdom Spotlight. The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Staff development, training and resources. Lack of knowledge or expertise can be perceived as a barrier to embedding environmental sustainability in teaching, especially in discipline areas not traditionally linked to the environment (Ralph and Stubbs, 2014). Professional development programmes are essential in supporting educators to achieve a common language and understanding of the role they can play in environmental education (Reid and Petocz, 2006). Examples. Title: Developing action focused resources that connect institutional frameworks with sustainability competencies. Student quote: "The ability to relate a student's learning outcome to an international cross-compatible matrix of competencies further enhances both the student's and the institution's academic standing™ Title: Embedding sustainability within the Open University's Inclusive Curriculum Tool. Student quote: Sustainability is a must for a university. For a university to be sustainable and recognise its impact both ecologically, environmentally and globally it first must realise that not everyone has the same opportunities, resources or abilities Find more examples in the Words of Wisdom Compendium: * To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣 It’s a big, heaping helping of Words of Wisdom this week and next up, we're highlighting the staff development, training and resources section. To access the full compendium follow this link: www.open.edu/openlearncre...
Words of Wisdom Spotlight. The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Assessment. Sustainability assessments embody the transformative and innovative Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) pedagogical approaches which include being learner centred, flexible, future thinking, experiential, collaborative, interdisciplinary, authentic, affective and enquiry based (Nicholson & Vargas, 2021). Nicholson and Vargas (2021) also argue that sustainability assessment involves a shift from focusing on assessment of learning towards assessment for learning and assessment as learning. Examples. Title: Reflecting on personal environmental impact using a Carbon Calculator. Student quote: "Highlighting how each individual's/organisation's actions contribute helps to foster a more responsibility-led approach to sustainable development." Title: Supporting collaboration and active participation in sustainability debates. Student quote: "This seemed interesting and even though I don't love group projects, I feel like this would have the students gaining a lot from the learning." Find more examples in the Words of Wisdom Compendium: * To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m .
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣
Kicking us off, today’s focus is the assessment section. Access the full compendium here: www.open.edu/openlearncre...
Keep following through the week for more pearls of WoW knowledge!
📣 Words of Wisdom spotlight 📣
In December we shared our new sustainability resource, 'Words of Wisdom' (lnkd.in/eqbaSieS). Each day this week, we’ll showcase a different theme from the compendium. We hope you’ll be inspired to consider how the examples in the compendium could work for you.
Sustainability Words of Wisdom: Examples from Higher Education The Words of Wisdom compendium highlights how sustainability is embedded in curricula through brief insights from educators and practitioners. Students voted for the most impactful example in each category. This poster presents the winners, along with a student quote explaining why each stood out. Staff development, training and resources. Title: Embedding sustainability within the Open University's Inclusive Curriculum Tool. Student quote: "Students want to be able to see themselves in module materials and that EDIA and Sustainability is incorporated into the teaching and learning which starts with the module materials." Competencies in curriculum. Title: Threading Educating for Sustainable Development through thinking about educating the next generation. Student quote: "As I am looking at going into the teaching profession this resonated with me as I think it is important for children to know about sustainability." Sustainability pedagogies. Title: Creating a free sustainable pedagogies course. Student quote: "By equipping educators with sustainable pedagogical practices, it builds capacity for long-term transformation across sectors and generations." Subliminal curriculum. Title: Hedgehog Friendly Campus. Student quote: "This initiative shows how sustainability can be joyful, student-driven, and institutionally supported. It blends ecological care with creativity, community, and recognition-making it a model for inclusive environmental action." Assessment. Title: Supporting students to reflect on personal actions to support a Sustainable Development Goal Student quote: "This is something that can be personalised and people would feel that they are able to make a difference to sustainability through their own actions." How do I access the Words of Wisdom compendium? * To access the Words of Wisdom Compendium on OpenLearn Create scan the QR code or follow the URL: https://tinyurl.com/3un9m38m
Curious about what embedding sustainability looks like?
Ready to learn from expert practitioners and reflect on their ‘Words of Wisdom’? Curious about what resonates most with students?
👉 Learn more: tinyurl.com/3un9m38m
#WordsOfWisdom #Sustainability #StudentVoices
Pine branches and berries lay in festive snow. Text reads Merry Christmas.
The #OU_LD Bluesky team is off for the holidays but we wanted to be sure to wish everyone a very happy, festive, and cosy holiday season! No matter how you celebrate (or don't), we hope it's wonderful for all of you!
🎄🎅🎁 Merry Christmas! ⛄🦌🎄
See you in 2026! 🎉
