Findings from the Association for Learning Technology Annual Survey

The first report from the ALT Annual Survey, launched in December 2014, has been published. The survey was primarily for ALT members but open for anyone to respond. The purpose of this survey was to:

• Help map the ALT strategy to practice within our community in order to better meet and represent our members’ needs;
• Show how Learning Technology is used across sectors;
• Understand current and future practice.

Analysis of the survey responses indicates a number of areas ALT should continue to support and develop. Priorities for the membership are ‘Intelligent use of learning technology’ and ‘Research and practice’, while ‘Online/blended delivery’ and ‘Course design’ remain to be key areas of work. The survey also reveals a number of emerging areas including ‘Data and Analytics’ and ‘Open Education’ and as such our community may benefit from development opportunities ALT can provide. The survey is also a reminder that ALT has an essential role in enabling members to develop research and practice in areas which might be considered as less of a priority by the majority of respondents.

Maren Deepwell, Chief Executive of ALT said:

The findings highlight the breadth of Learning Technology across sectors and amongst ALT’s membership. As use of technology for learning, teaching and assessment grows, so do the needs of senior managers, teachers, researchers and learners. Areas of practice that may have been niche interests in the past have become more commonplace as learner expectations and employers requirements are shaped by the rapid evolution of digital technologies.

As learning technology and its effective implementation at scale become a greater strategic priority in Higher and Further Education but also in other learning landscapes, the role of the Association bringing together the expertise and experience of its 1400+ members, becomes more important also.

The findings of this new Annual Survey will have a direct impact on the work of the Association representing and serving its members in the coming year.

Both this report and the anonymised survey data have been released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence and are available to download from http://repository.alt.ac.uk/2358

Phil