Maren Deepwell

Category: Conferences

  • Keynote: From Analogue to AI

    Keynote: From Analogue to AI

    Keynote invitations don’t come much more fun that the one I was excited to accept for this week: the Open University’s annual conference for its community of associate lecturers and other staff. When I first got the email, I knew I made to make it happen because these are the people I love to work with most!

    This conference, which attracts close to 500 participants and covers two days (in May and June respectively), is a rare opportunity for a very distributed workforce to come together around topic of common interest, which, inevitably, includes AI this year.

    My keynote takes a big picture approach at learning and working and everything in between, and also zooms in on deeply practical approaches to using technology, from analogue to AI. The full title of the talk is Reclaiming the Pace of Digital Productivity in the Age of AI and you can view the full slide deck .

    It gives me an opportunity to sign-post the work of some recent special guests that have featured on my podcast, starting with the Digital and AI Literacies work by Angela Gunder, which really inspired me:

    These Dimensions of AI Literacies were remixed from the work of Doug Belshaw’s Essential Elements of Digital Literacies, whom I was fortunate to speak to recently as well:

    Between these two conversations you’ll get a real flavour of what my keynote is all about. Angela and Doug are really worth listening to – and I am grateful that I was able to speak to them about their work which in turned inspired me when I was writing the keynote.

    Lastly, looking ahead into the future of education, beyond AI even, I included some of the voices I discovered earlier this year when I was in Dublin, for Education after the algorithm: Co-designing critical and creative futures. The event was a symposium for thinking otherwise about critical AI and post-AI pedagogies of higher education as part of the Erasmus+ Hacking Innovative Pedagogies: Digital Learning Rewilded (opens in a new tab) project,c haired by Eamon Costello and featured a wonderful keynote by Helen Beetham.

    I talked about walking, both literally and metaphorically, in my session Critical Cadence, and I hope to be able to share some of the hope and inspiration I gathered at this event with the audience in my keynote, offering some energy and joy at the business end of a very busy academic year.

  • Fun. In the Sun. In Dublin. OR Education after the algorithm

    Fun. In the Sun. In Dublin. OR Education after the algorithm

    Recently, I took part in Education after the algorithm: Co-designing critical and creative futures, 20-21 February 2025, in Dublin, Ireland. It was a fantastic event for for thinking otherwise about critical AI and post-AI pedagogies of higher education as part of the Erasmus+ Hacking Innovative Pedagogies: Digital Learning Rewilded (opens in a new tab) project.

    More about my talk is at the bottom of this post, but for now, I’d like to share some reflections from a fabulous few days, which left me feeling both uplifted and inspired. And that in itself is quite a tall order these days.

    I didn’t get to attend much of the online day due to still being on route to Dublin, so I doubly appreciated the opportunity to meet up with some conference participants informally in the evening and catch up on the days events. Many hugs were exchanged 🙂

    This was definitely one of those events at which the whole list of participants could have keynoted, and I found much inspiration in the GASTA, chaired by the one and only Tom Farrelly as only he can; the Invited Speaker Talks, which introduced me to new speakers and topics and offered so much new research (Rob Lowney’s thoughtful research into student digital literacies was a personal highlight); and the keynotes, which were rich and articulated some really complex thinking in new and beautiful ways.

    The most fun (for me) was had during the hours of zine making, first with Kate Molloy and Clare Thomson in Embedding Sustainability Literacies in Postdigital Learning Design and then with Bryan Mathers in Heroes & Villains Zine Workshop. It got me thinking and drawing and having fun whilst grappling with some weighty topics.

    And there was that meticulously informal touch of the conference organisation committee, represented on stage on the day by Eamon Costello, in word and song and heartfelt hugs. The conference badge design, including four activities on the back, was pure genius and I must admit that I had a lot of fun “re-wilding” my conference badge.

    The day flew by, and the next morning dawn bright and sunny over Dublin, gifting us a perfect, mild spring day for a bit of sightseeing before returning home.

    Thank you to everyone involved in making it happen. What a fabulous event that walked the walk, and gave me a taste of what can be achieved with a bit of intentionality, hard work and heart. It certainly gave me a little bit of hope for what’s ahead, and for education after the algorithm.

    My talk: Critical Cadence: Reclaiming the Pace of Digital Productivity

    I’ve created an audio resource to listen to whilst moving through a landscape, by for example walking. In this recording I expand on strategies and practical ideas to use movement in contemplative pedagogies and outdoor learning, and to notice how the pace of thinking and doing changes in motion.

    I’d love to hear from you, so get in touch and explore more of my work on walking.

  • Looking forward to: Education after the algorithm

    Looking forward to: Education after the algorithm

    Next week, I will take part in Education after the algorithm: Co-designing critical and creative futures, 20-21 February 2025. It’s a rare treat to be able to attend an event in person, and I am looking forward to travelling to Dublin, Ireland.

    The event is a symposium for thinking otherwise about critical AI and post-AI pedagogies of higher education as part of the Erasmus+ Hacking Innovative Pedagogies: Digital Learning Rewilded (opens in a new tab) project.

    Critical Cadence: Reclaiming the Pace of Digital Productivity

    Since 2020 we have seen a great acceleration in the adoption of blended learning worldwide. In parallel to these changes in Higher Education, employers have witnessed an evolution of flexible and hybrid working practices. This shift in both learning and working requires us to think beyond current strategies for digital transformation, especially in the context of a growing student population with changing needs in a fast moving, competitive job market impacted by automation and AI. It’s time to reclaim the pace of digital productivity.

    Both in education and at work the frantic pace of productivity is determined by the speed of digital tools. Notifications, comments, emails and other content arrive ever more quickly and demand instant attention. In the advent of AI powered learning and working, the pace of digital content creation is ever increasing.

    This kind of ‘digital noise’ can easily lead to digital overwhelm and as a result our senses suffer. From Zoom and listener fatigue to lack of movement, our bodies, our embodied selves and our senses are feeling the impact of our increased reliance on digital productivity.

    This session will explore strategies for changing the cadence of our digital lives to be a little more… human. To proceed at a pace of thinking, of working and learning, that is more conducive to reflection and to criticality. In essence, to find one’s own ‘Critical Cadence’.

    My talk as a walk

    I’ve created an audio resource to listen to whilst moving through a landscape, by for example walking. In this recording I expand on strategies and practical ideas to use movement in contemplative pedagogies and outdoor learning, and to notice how the pace of thinking and doing changes in motion.

    I’d love to hear from you, so get in touch and explore more of my work on walking.

  • Jolly Holidays on the Open Web

    Jolly Holidays on the Open Web

    It’s the time of year again… and as someone who works remotely with clients across different timezones, most of my ‘festive’ moments at work are unceremonious video calls that end abruptly as everyone rushes off to their next meeting. Meanwhile, across the various social media spaces I take part in, corporate messages of (apparent) goodwill mix uneasily with cheery commercial overload, making it hard to find the actual updates from actual people I care about. Jolly Holidays on the interwebs this isn’t!

    Fortunately we can breathe a little easier, as there is still real fun to be head online for those of us working in education and edtech, in the form of Reclaim’s Rewind 2024 series of free and open events on the radio, tv and social activities! I am really excited to be part of this, and to have a group of wonderful people to share the run up to the holidays with.

    Event logo

    It’s precious to me to take some time to celebrate community and have the opportunity to connect with colleagues, reflecting together on the highs (and lows!) of the year that’s been, and gather our strength and find some renewed inspiration before the new year starts.

    Kicking off the whole series was a team outing on Reclaim TV, sharing some of the best bits of 2024, the drama that shook the (edtech) world (hello, WordPress bros) and how the team have come out fighting the “good fight for indie edtech” on the other side. 

    Next up was what we called a “Case Study Bonanza”, featuring special guests from a number of schools that work closely with the team and the one and only Bryan Mathers:

    But… the best is yet to come! This week, there are the two biggest events coming up and I hope that you will join us, so here are all the details:

    Community Chat: Rewind 2024

    December 18th 
    For this final community chat of the year we are inviting ALL our special guests from 2024 to come together. You will hear updates of the exciting work happening across our community and have a chance to share your own highs and lows of 2024. This is our time to come together to say thank you and acknowledge and appreciate everyone who works in open edtech in Higher Education. 
    Event info

    Reclaim Rewind 2024: Live on DS106 Radio. It’s the HOLIDAY SPECIAL

    December 20th
    We are inviting you to join us for the one and only edtech radio holiday special, featuring guests from the legendary DS106 Radio Summer Camp. There is going to be story telling, holiday tunes and, if you are very lucky, even a bit of festive KaraOERke. The elves are working hard on that one. So listen in and play along as we ROCK the airwaves and ring in the holidays. 
    Event info

    There are also a couple of DS106 Radio hosts, myself included, who will be jumping on the airwaves to play music and chat, so follow the #ds106radio on Mastadon to find out what’s on, and tune in to DS106 Radio.

    It’s such a joy to be able to have some actual time together with folk without the clock ticking on yet another meeting, and to be able to dip in and out of the festive fun as I sit at my desk finishing off my work for the year.

    During the pandemic edtech folk became an educational emergency service, and everyone suddenly wanted to learn about how to use technology at scale, fast. Those days are fortunately behind us, and these days hype headlines about AI are more likely to pull focus. But for me, it’s definitely the human beings (not the technology) that made this year, and it’s all the unsung (edtech) heroes, grinding away at keeping the open web a possibility for future generations of students and educators, that I’ll be celebrating with this year!

    Wishing you, and yours, Jolly Holidays on the Open Web!

  • Critical Cadence.

    Critical Cadence.

    The picture heading this post is a photograph I took this morning. It’s my favourite river oak that stands tall over the River Taff along my morning run route. I love this tree and the way in changes with the seasons and I especially enjoy taking a moment to pause and watch its reflection in the the river.

    The current attempt to return to running is going quite well, thank you for asking. It’s either my third or fourth since 2020 and so far the plan is holding together. I am ‘training’ for a 5k race, which I arbitrarily set for mid December, in the hope that I would manage that distance by then and also my desire to reach a milestone before the holidays. Currently I am running 3-4 miles three times a week, gaining a bit more fitness as the weeks go by, and I have even signed up for an actual 5k Santa run for December. I am determined. And yet I have been here before and I know that there’re a lot of factors that can easily derail this effort like the others before it. So fingers crossed.

    What my morning runs have done happily, is give me lots more space to think and walking and running, moving through a landscape at my own pace, has been on my mind. You will have already gathered that from the coaching walk project I recently completed (yay!), but this week my interest is taking a new return as I have started to craft my submission for an upcoming conference I hope to take part in:

    Education after the algorithm:
    Co-designing critical and creative futures
    20th and 21st of February, 2025 – Dublin City University
    Dublin, Ireland

    The theme that I am most interested in is ‘Unplugged, low-tech and lo-fi approaches to digital education and research’ which includes outdoor learning and rewilding learning. One of the core questions the course related to the conference aims to address is “How can we be open, creative and even wild in our digital learning design and teaching work?” and I am really curious about how the metaphor and practice of moving, through walking for example, can be helpful here.

    Both in learning and at work the frantic pace of productivity is determined by the speed of digital tools. Notifications, comments, emails and other content arrive ever more quickly and demand a piece of our attention. Digital noise can easily lead to digital overwhelm and our senses suffer. I have started to explore the embodied perspective of hybrid working (and learning) in previous posts, and for my conference submission I am keen to build on that work to consider strategies of how we can change the cadence of our digital lives to be a little more… human. A pace of thinking and working and learning that is more conducive to reflection, to criticality. Hence the title ‘Critical Cadence’.

    I’ll share the finished piece when it’s done, but for now, I shall go and get writing. At my own pace.

  • Event preview: ALT CPD webinar – 25th September

    Event preview: ALT CPD webinar – 25th September

    This month I am excited to join my former home institution for a lunchtime CPD session! I was really glad to be invited back and looking forward to working with the community of learning technology professionals for this free event.

    What’s in store

    During International Week of Happiness at Work, this webinar offers a session specifically designed for Learning Technologists looking to increase wellbeing at work. We’ll explore how increased use of digital technologies for communication and collaboration, alongside learning, teaching and assessment, impacts on our physical and mental wellbeing.

    If issues such as tired eyes from long hours spent in front of screens, to digital overwhelm and lack of movement during days of meetings sound familiar to you, then this session will offer practical approaches to adopt healthier working habits for hybrid teams.

    Using practical tools and interactive activities the session will support you in reflecting on your current practice and identifying what actions to take next in your wellbeing journey for the new academic year.

    This workshop is a follow up to my first book, Leading Virtual Teams, which was published by ALT in 2022. Work is now underway in a second Open Access book, with a focus on long term hybrid working, how it impacts our senses and the relationship between human beings and technology, in the context of the radical shifts in the balance of power in the workplace (as in the classroom) with the advent of AI and surveillance technologies. This new book won’t be a solo project, but a wider collaboration with case studies and interviews with leaders and experts. If you are interested in contributing, get in touch. 

    Register for free

    • When: 25 Sep 2024 from 12:30 PM to  1:30 PM
    • Where: Online
    • Price: Free
    • Register: Via the ALT Website

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