Dr Simon Ball

A series of open doors, one behind the other into the distance.

I just made a short promotional post for our 2 upcoming micro-credentials on accessible online learning and inclusive (social, race, gender) online learning, which both start again in March. It's the perfect time to study given we have such a global cohort already!

www.open.ac.uk/blogs/MAOT/i...

📢📢Registration deadline extended to 29th January📢📢
www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...

An image of a person using a laptop with a coffee mug next to them. Technology-enhanced learning: foundations and futures Develop your skills, knowledge and practice in relation to digital learning, teaching and training in this hands-on postgraduate module for everyone with a professional interest in digital or technology-enhanced learning. You'll gain experience of a range of learning technologies and explore the processes of designing, implementing and critiquing e-learning, using a range of social media and tools to work both collaboratively and through individual study. You'll examine the use of technologies in different contexts and develop your skills in using evidence to recommend specific tools. Successful completion of this 60-credit module qualifies for a Postgraduate Certificate in Online Teaching (K43). 60 postgraduate credits, 33 weeks, 100% online, £3045 More details at: https://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/modules/h880/

10 days to register for Technology-Enhanced Learning: Foundations and Futures! For educators wanting to develop their understanding of topics like Open Learning, Citizen Science, Inclusive Practice and of course incoming tech and future-proofing educational practice www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...

Home - Not in our name Not In our Name: Women in support of the trans+community

We are now at 75k signatures, with many messages of support on Instagram, Facebook and here.

This is a genuine groundswell of love over hate, and a call to focus on the real harms faced by women and girls.

Thank you all who’ve signed and shared. Let’s keep it going 💜

notinourname.org.uk

A screenshot from an example of eXtended Reality training, highlighted in CPD course HG087. It shows a trainee astronaut holding up their hands in front of their face in wonder as if using an XR headset for the first time. Their avatar is inside a lunar module with stacks of boxed equipment and technology around them.

New CPD courses produced by @ietatou.bsky.social on digital education and AI, eXtended Reality, blended learning and the climate crisis. www.open.ac.uk/blogs/MAOT/i...

Please share if you think this would be of interest to your followers.

Thank you Fi - this is helpful. Any suggestions as to *where* to big up those aspects? I push it on here, LinkedIn, my personal FB account, but I don't know how to reach more widely without a promotion budget.

Suggestions please. An excellent module that I teach on is suffering very low registration numbers this year for reasons unknown. It's a PG module on teaching with EdTech & Online, aimed at teachers, trainers, lecturers etc.
With no budget but my time, how would you promote? 6 wks to reg deadline.

Friend in Pakistan needs to leave without seeking asylum. High-achieving proactive academic and researcher in access to and accessibility of education incl for women, disabled people, mental health issues, and LGBTQ+. Would be ideal PhD candidate.
Please share widely. We must find them a way out.

Technology–enhanced learning: foundations and futures The skills and knowledge you’ll acquire through supported postgraduate study at The Open University can bring real-life benefits to you and your career. Learn about the theory and practice of online and blended learning Flexible study. Fully online. 60 postgraduate credits. www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/modules/h880

Registration now open for OU online Masters module Technology Enhanced Learning: Foundations And Futures for Feb 26 start. 60 PG credits, entirely online. Also part of Masters in Online Teaching. Ideal for new and experienced educators from all sectors & countries.
www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...

ALTC25 Guest Post: A Manifesto for Slow Digital Learning In a world that seems to be speeding up by the second, with notifications pinging, deadlines looming and AI tools promising instant answers, I’ve been thinking lately about ways of taking thi…

In a world that seems to be speeding up by the second, with notifications pinging, deadlines looming and AI tools promising instant answers, Helen Greetham has been thinking about ways of slowing down when it comes to digital learning and infrastructures in our latest #altc blog:

It's not me! A different Simon Ball I suspect!

And anyone who designs, purchases or installs a shower that has a lever that pulls out towards the bum-turning zone, resulting in inadvertent scalding / freezing on every turn or bend, should be poked until they see the error of their ways. Dials and knobs for showers please, never levers.

A postcard advertising Open University module H890 Research and Scholarship in Digital Education. Aside from the module name the text reads: The skills and knowledge you'll acquire through supported postgraduate study at the Open University can bring real-life benefits to you and your career. There is further text beneath an image of two students working together, which reads Evaluate teaching innovation through cutting-edge research. www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/modules/H890 and buttons reading 'Flexible study', 'Fully online' and '60 postgraduate credits'. There is also a QR code going to the same place as the link mentioned above.

Registration is now open for Open University postgrad module Research and Scholarship in Digital Education www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...
Aimed at those moving into postgrad study or thinking of or starting a PhD. Starts Oct 4th (until May 2026). Students can participate in April Online Conference.

The legal press - whose job it is to help lawyers advise their clients - knows this is a serious change of position. And that's why the public facing press - which understands its job to be spreading transphobic propaganda - won't cover it. www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/governance/3...

Trans campaigners descend on UK parliament to protest 'bathroom ban' Hundreds of transgender people and their supporters flocked to the UK parliament on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to oppose new guidelines that would deny them access to certain single-sex spaces.

Sacre Bleu! According to the BBC absolutely nothing happened in Westminster hall today, hundreds of Trans people definitely did not undertake a mass lobby and MPs certainly didn't hear from their constituents about why the EHRC is a liability. Meanwhile in France... www.france24.com/en/live-news...

A cartoon divided into four squares, each featuring a penguin, as if they were all in an online video conference. One wears large headphones, one is looking directly at the camera, and two are passing a cake between each other, subverting the fact that they are all in separate locations. This image is used as the main image on the H890 conference homepage.

You can now read a summary of the brilliant 2025 H890 Research And Scholarship In Digital Education Conference. Two insightful and thought-provoking keynotes (thank you @neilselwyn.bsky.social @shaileyminocha.bsky.social ) and 9 truly excellent student presentations!

www.open.ac.uk/blogs/MAOT/i...

We have been fortunate enough to be awarded some more Commonwealth Scholarship places for entry onto our Masters in Online Teaching next year. Please share this information far and wide, especially if you have contacts in the eligible Commonwealth countries.

iet.open.ac.uk/commonwealth...

One day to our Research & Scholarship in #DigitalEducation conference. Join us on:

Friday 11th April 2025, starting at 09:00 BST
Saturday 12th April 2025, starting at 13:00 BST

#studentconference

🎧new interview! We all saw reports in 2021 that Denmark was 'banning' Google from schools ... but what actually happened next? I talk to Emilie Groth about the complexities of the Chromebook case & what it tells us about public sector dependency on Big Tech ... www.buzzsprout.com/1301377/epis...

📢Confference prorgamme is confirmed!📢 All welcome 👇

2025 H890 Research & Scholarship in #DigitalEducation Online Student Conference

Friday 11th April 2025, starting at 09:00 BST
Saturday 12th April 2025, starting at 13:00 BST

Registration forms.office.com/Pages/Respon...

A cartoon featuring penguins participating in an online video conference with their webcams in a 2x2 grid, but they are 'breaking the fourth wall' by handing a cake to one another despite being supposedly in different locations.

Reminder to register for our FREE "Research & Scholarship in Digital Education Online Student Conference" to hear from our Masters in Online Teaching students and keynotes from Prof Neil Selwyn and Prof Shailey Minocha. Details and registration link here: www.open.ac.uk/blogs/H890Co...

Registration is open for our FREE 2025 H890 Research & Scholarship in Digital Education Online Student Conference! Join to hear our Masters students present their work alongside keynotes from Prof Neil Selwyn (Monash Univ,Aus) and Prof Shailey Minocha (Open Univ,UK).
www.open.ac.uk/blogs/H890Co...

The 12wk micro-credential I co-wrote & teach on "Online teaching: accessibility and inclusive learning" restarts 10March.
Learn and share with educators from around the world. Accessibility, Usability, UDL, AssistiveTech, Roles & Responsibilities.
@ietatou.bsky.social
www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...

My sister Helen Ball, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Durham, has spent most of the past year writing a book "How babies sleep: a factful guide to the first 365 days and nights".
Registration for the 10th May launch conference is now open. pay.durham.ac.uk/event-durham...

Pls share!

The free Open University MOOC "The Online Educator" has been updated, relaunching on OpenLearnCreate next week. Join international educators from all stages of edu to enhance your online teaching. 3hrs/wk, 4 wks. Bookmark link as reg not open yet.
www.open.edu/openlearncre...
@ietatou.bsky.social

IET (OU dept) is postgrad-only & we have very good 1-2-1 tutor relationships with our students.We usually have a great global mix which brings new perspectives. With 1 exception I've only ever seen positive reviews about the MAOT & its modules. Happy to call u (I'm a tutor) if u would like more info

A slide showing an image of a well dressed woman at a desk with a laptop smiling and speaking towards a large video camera. Text reads "Masters in Online Teaching - Learn the theory and practice of online, blended and technology-enhanced learning from experts at the Institute of Educational Technology. Available globally. Fully online. Flexible study pathway" There is a QR code pointing to https://www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate/qualifications/f98

Registration closes soon (23 Jan) for our 100%-online educator-oriented module 'Technology-Enhanced Learning: Foundations and Futures' (counts as 33% of Masters in Online Teaching)
www.open.ac.uk/postgraduate...
Ideal development for educators, enjoying perspectives from an global cohort. Pls share!

Well, I hadn't been involved in writing a paper for ages and now two come along at once! Read "The Importance of Offline Options for Online Learners" here doi.org/10.5334/jime... and "Collaboration and care in climate education: Brave responses to an uncertain future" here doi.org/10.1002/curj...

It really is the most awe-inspiring building. I don't think one can really appreciate its splendour from pictures - there's something about being inside that space that is incredibly special.

Brigitte Macron awarded €8,000 after false transgender claims The false allegations made in December 2021 went viral just weeks before the 2022 French election

Hey @theindependent.bsky.social - can we avoid using the phrase "accused of being transgender" please? Most definitions of 'accusation' involve words like 'wrongdoing' or 'crime', and being transgender is in itself neither of these things. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/e...