Nic Whitton

Staff involved in teaching and learning: share your experience with #playfullearning!

Whether you use these methods, are curious about them, or sceptical – we want to hear from YOU.

Help shape the future of university #HigherEd teaching 👇
nupsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

#HCI #Design

Delighted to welcome 32 RE:PLAY Fellows to the RE:PLAY project. research.northumbria.ac.uk/replay/repla... They will be working with our learning design fellows over the next year to redevelop their modules and evidence the impacts. Watch this space.

“We can’t prove it”

State of Play: A history of Playful Learning in 10 Video Games State of Play: A history of Playful Learning in 10 Video Games

My inaugural lecture for Northumbria University, State of Play: A History of Playful Learning in Ten Video Games, will be on 15 October 2025 online and in-person. All welcome.

Guest appearance by everyone's favourite badger and drinks somewhere afterwards.

www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/new...

We did some stuff years ago looking at different motivations people have for ARG game play - but didn’t related it to personality types. Personally I’m an antisocial puzzle-solver who also hates badges.

The case for playful leadership Openness, creativity, honesty, humility - Nic Whitton and Alex Moseley make the counterintuitive case for playfulness in higher education leadership

Mine and @nicwhitton.bsky.social 's 'unconventional' case for playfulness in HE leadership: wonkhe.com/blogs/the-ca...

Really excited to have been awarded a significant grant from the ESRC to investigate playful learning in higher education.

Three years to explore play with amazing people. Happy days 😀

New research could enhance the future of teaching in higher education Academics from universities across the UK are about to launch a research project which could lead to changes in how higher education is taught – with a move away from traditional lectures in favour of...

Northumbria’s Professor @nicwhitton.bsky.social is working with universities across the UK to lead an ESRC-funded research project exploring the benefits of more interactive and playful approaches to learning in higher education.
Full story here: www.northumbria.ac.uk/about-us/new...

They really missed a trick with the placement of sweet treats on that advert

Absolutely loved this game - not often you come across something so original and clever

Are these your cats or All The Cats?

Today I managed to co-ordinate the diaries of senior colleagues at six different universities to schedule a two-day workshop less than six months in the future.

I think I might just have reached the pinnacle of academic achievement.

Number of bits of paper containing random notes = 412

Excellent work

Llama and man contemplating existence

I just found this image in my ChatGPT image creation history. I have no memory of creating it, and no idea what I asked for, or more crucially why.

We have a programme and two awesome keynotes 😀🎈.

The Research in Digital Learning in Higher Education Conference is open for bookings.

hosting2.northumbria.ac.uk/ridlhe/

Come and join us in Newcastle 3-4 September 2025.

Early bird closes 1 May 2025. Please share.

Journal of Play in Adulthood is now on Bluesky, follow to (mainly) see our lovely articles!

According to the smaller person, any preparation more than 10 minutes in advance is unnecessary and sad

Only five days to go before the paper submission deadline for the first Research in Digital Learning in Higher Education Conference on 9 Feb 2025.

lnkd.in/eGd7yPFW

Want to submit something but can't meet the deadline? We can be flexible - please talk to me before Sunday.

Brilliant. If you DM me you email address I will put you on this list.

Me and @playbrarian.uk are looking to expand our existing pool of amazing reviewers for the Journal of Play in Adulthood. Please drop us a line if you're interested or want to know more. We offer support, infinite gratitude, and AI-generated haikus on request.

www.journalofplayinadulthood.org.uk

Less than a month to go until the deadline for submissions for our new conference exploring critical perspectives on Research in Digital Learning. The submissions system is now open.

Please share 😀

hosting2.northumbria.ac.uk/ridlhe/

Nicola Whitton being god-like

God-like 😂

Come an join us to start some critical conversations about education and technology in universities in the North East. All welcome but places limited.

Copy of The Playful University book

Ooooooh look at the exciting thing that arrived this morning

Welcome to the party. Help yourself to prosecco.

There’s snur up north.

Wishing you would stop painting your frescos

I think it's impossible to have too many lists of playful people

Hah I just made a similar - but overlapping - one 😂