In late April we had the opportunity to attend the 24th annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference, affectionately known as #durbbu, hosted in historic Durham. This year’s theme, Little Things that Make a Big Difference, was a pleasant shif…
Read moreIn January 2026, Alex Burford, a learning technologist from the School of Informatics contacted the UX Service following completion of the new Effective Digital Content online course. Alex had really enjoyed the course and was keen to explore ways to implement the content design best practice principles it teaches within Open Course – the platform […]
Read moreAs we approach the first anniversary of the launch of the new Effective Digital Content course it was timely to review our approach to marking the content design exercises completed by learners to look for ways to simplify and potentially automate aspects of the process. In May 2025 the UX Service launched a new version […]
Read moreAI tools to support content tasks are becoming more and more widespread. As part of my contributions to open-source Drupal I’ve been researching how to prepare and package content design and style rules that these tools can use effectively. Using AI to help with content design tasks (and indeed, any other type of tasks) is […]
Read moreProgressive thinking about inclusive content combined with a review of our content design tools prompted us to look at the effectiveness of our Inclusive Language Guide. Before we could think about improving the guide, however, we needed to ensure staff knew it existed. Since the relaunch of our Effective Digital Content course last year, and […]
Read moreWhen we first heard about the relocation plans to Forrest Hill, we were cautiously optimistic. Knowing there was a studio there, and given that our studio at Argyle House was modelled after Forrest Hill’s, it suggested that moving to an already familia…
Read moreWe know that many students are involved in activities alongside their studies such as volunteering, part-time work, and getting involved in the University community. To help these activities to stand out from the crowd, our University has had an Award for “Digital Volunteering with Wikipedia” to sit beside other available Edinburgh Awards for the last […]
Read moreChanging the visual design mid-way in a video project is quite unusual, but pivoting to a softer animation style with stick figures proved successful for both the client and us.
Read moreReading Time: 4 minutesChanging the visual design mid-way in a video project is quite unusual, but pivoting to a softer animation style with stick figures proved successful for both the client and us.
Read moreAfter almost 22 years working in a variety of different roles at the University, I’ve made the decision to leave. It’s been a hard decision as there is so much I love about my job but I need a chance to catch up with myself. I’d like to have a …
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