Presentation given at ALDinHE (Association of Learning Developers in Higher Education) Conference, University of Huddersfield, April 2014. It outlines the Digital Dates programme at the University of Leeds in which a range of staff and students provide short presentations on their use of different digital tools and technologies.

1. Digital Dates
a collaborative approach to developing digital skills in
both students and staff
Helen Howard
Skills@Library Team Leader

2. Today’s session
What Digital Dates is
and why we started it
Our future plans
An honest account of what
has worked and what hasn’t
A chance to discuss
the approach in your
context

3. What’s in it for you?
Replicate
Set up your own
version of
Digital Dates
Adapt
Adapt the
concept by
topic or format
Inspire
Working
collaboratively
with staff/
students
Delivering
content in
different ways

4. What is Digital Dates?
o Started in January 2013 and runs roughly once a month
o Focus on digital literacy, technology and tools
o Collaboration between Staff and Departmental
Development Unit and Skills@Library
o Short presentations by and for staff and students: 20 + 10
A programme of short, informal workshops that help staff and
students develop their digital skills and build an awareness of the
tools available to support various aspects of their working lives.
Students and staff share their experiences and/or find out about
other people’s experience of using technology to enhance their
learning and teaching.
Rebecca Dearden (SDDU)
Responsibility:
Coordinate speakers
Jane O’Neil (SDDU)
Responsibility:
Coordinate speakers
Claire Perry (SDDU)
Responsibility:
Administrator
Helen Howard
(Skills@Library)
Responsibility:
Coordinate speakers
Michelle Schneider
(Skills@Library)
Responsibility:
Coordinate speakers
Pete Sycamore (Skills@Library)
Responsibility:
Administrator

5. Why did we start Digital Dates?
Staff picture:
o Blended learning strategy
o Lecture capture
o MOOCs
o iTunes U
o OERs

6. Why did we start Digital Dates?
Student picture:
“Many learners enter further and higher education lacking
the required skills to apply digital technologies to education.
As 90% of new jobs will require excellent digital
skills, improving digital literacy is an essential
component of developing employable graduates”.
JISC, 2013 http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning/developingdigitalliteracies.aspx

7. What kind of dates do we offer?
Teaching in an
online classroom
Using social
media platforms
in learning and
teaching
Saving Face(book):
the ethics of social
network sites
4Ts (trying tablet
technology in
teaching)
Digital technologies
for collaborative
research & public
engagement
Thinking about
your online
presence

8. The benefits of speed dating
Attendees only had to give up 30 minutes of their time
Organised over a lunchtime so people could bring their lunch
Presenters more focused on benefits rather than step-by-step guide to
using the technology
If it wasn’t relevant, people had only given up 30 minutes of their time
If it was useful, people could follow up with other courses or information
provided after the session
Gives people an awareness of a broad variety of topics
People more likely to be able to attend multiple short sessions

9. Who attends Digital Dates?
427
attendees
Average of 28
per session
75% Staff
15% RPG
6% TPG
4% UG
o Most popular: Making the most of Twitter (61 attendees)
o Least popular: Using technology to win campaigns (15 attendees)

10. What do attendees say?
“Nicely brief, didn’t drag and
covered relevant topics”
(Why Blog?)
“Maybe more in depth for
starting a blog for complete
beginners” (Why Blog?)
“Very accessible and a lot of
content in a short space of
time” (4Ts: trying tablet
technology in teaching)
“It was reassuring to see
and hear other’s thoughts
and experiences... I felt a lot
happier about my use of
Twitter” (Making the most
of Twitter)
97% very or
mostly useful

11. How does collaboration help?
Digital Dates Team
o Extend reach: staff
and students
o Different networks &
ideas
o Shared workload
o Builds understanding
of each other’s work
Students & Staff
o Variety of sessions
o Sharing knowledge
across institution
o Showcasing expertise
o Partnership
o Shared workload

12. Collaboration
Would it work for you?
o Other University
teams offering staff /
student support?
o Students and staff
supporting each
other?
Programme
o Short session format?
o Other ways of
supporting digital
literacy?
o Using this idea for
other topics /
activities?

13. What’s the future for Digital Dates?
Deliver programme again next year with topics including “Developing the Digital
Scholar” and “Going viral”
Adopt a more strategic marketing campaign
Ensure titles are both clear and catchy
Encourage more students to attend and to deliver sessions themselves
http://www.sddu.leeds.ac.uk/sddu-digital-dates.html