Introducing a new staff member

ATT_1421254058910_2014-09-20 14.35.40-1-1-2

Suhad Aljundi, Augmented Reality Intern

I am  Suhad Aljundi

Background

My passion for new innovations and ideas, and their applications to enhance education drove me to pursue Higher Education at the University of Manchester studying Digital Technologies, Communication, and Education (MA DTCE) graduating with merit.

Throughout my learning, I studied various theoretical methodologies and research in addition to creating educational websites and multimedia resources for practical projects. I have built up a substantial knowledge about how to use, implement, test and evaluate technology in an educational setting, making sure it is firmly aligned to pedagogical principles.

Working on a project with the director of the DTCE programme to implement an e-portfolio system within one of the programme’s core units was a great opportunity for me to apply the knowledge, theories and recommendations that I researched and developed throughout my dissertation study into a real practical project.

Role

Museumandaugmentedreality.jpeg

Visitors in museums using ArtLens App on iPad to navigate throughout the museum, both physically and virtually from off site, providing far-reaching access to media-rich stories for CMA’s treasured works of art.

Since then, my enthusiasm for exploring innovative ideas and technologies in education has grown, especially employing my knowledge and expertise to develop resources focused on supporting students. The Augmented Reality and Online Resources Development internship at Jisc presented me with the perfect opportunity to put this into practice. I believe that Augmented Reality has enormous potential to impact on current teaching and learning practices, if it is implemented well. During this internship, I will be working collaboratively with my line manager on developing Augmented Reality resources and online learning materials that focus on enhancing the learner experience in FE, HE and the Skills sector. This will include working on various projects including AR-Sci, an ERASMUS+ funded European project aimed at engaging students studying STEM based subjects with AR content.

In addition, I will be involved in disseminating good practice in AR to user communities at conferences, workshops and webinars; contributing to horizon scanning for ways of exploiting future technology opportunities in education such as wearables. Therefore, I intend to make the most of every opportunity afforded to me in turning my creativity and knowledge into practice.

In recent years there has been enormous growth in the use of technology in education, impacting on how students communicate, access resources and curate information. Understanding the changing needs of learners will be a critical aspect to help investigate new ways to better engage students and provide them with a more personalised learning experience.

With this in mind, I intend to respond to these trends through developing innovative learning resources and activities using AR.

Ultimately, being able to drive innovation and support the Jisc user communities is my goal, promoting the effective use of innovative technologies such as AR.

I am looking forward to the challenge of learning new skills and contributing to the success of AR within Jisc; it is exciting to have the opportunity to show how innovation can help engage and inspire students across the UK, making their learner experience more valuable.

One thought on “Introducing a new staff member

  1. Pingback: MA: DTCE graduate at Mimas — the UK’s national data centre | MA: Digital Technologies, Communication and Education

Leave a Reply

The following information is needed for us to identify you and display your comment. We’ll use it, as described in our standard privacy notice, to provide the service you’ve requested, as well as to identify problems or ways to make the service better. We’ll keep the information until we are told that you no longer want us to hold it.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *