Aidan Johnston

I am responsible for supporting the development and conversion of a range of existing courses, and the development of new courses, for online and blended learning.

I provide expert advice to enhance teaching, learning and assessment through the utilisation of learning technologies including online platforms such as FutureLearn, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform which is a private company funded by The Open University (OU) and Moodle, the institutional Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

Key responsibilities:

• Working collaboratively with, and providing specialist advice to, teaching and professional staff to develop high-quality online activities and classes.

•  Providing specialist learning technology support and advice to teaching staff engaged in blended, online and distance teaching.

• Tutor on the Teaching & Learning Online (TALON) course which forms part of Strathclyde's Programme for Academic practice, Researcher development and Knowledge exchange (SPARK).

• Developing and disseminating good practice and enhancing different styles of learning to contribute towards the implementation of the University's strategic aspirations for the use of technologies in teaching and learning.

• The co-ordination and delivery of a wide range of Strathclyde Teaching Excellence Programme (STEP) training sessions pertaining to the institutional VLE (Myplace). The STEP programme is designed to directly support and align with the strategic ambitions of the University by promoting and encouraging innovation and excellence in teaching and to act as a catalyst to grow networks and collaborative working across the institution. STEP endeavours to provide an on-going suite of relevant and practical opportunities for staff to enhance their skills in teaching, learning, assessment and feedback, and in the use of innovate techniques and technologies to grow and support Strathclyde’s current and future teaching talent.

I am a Fellow (FHEA) and an Associate Fellow (AFHEA) of the Higher Education Academy. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Quantity Surveying, a Postgraduate Diploma in eCommerce Technology, a Postgraduate Certificate in Supporting Student Learning and a Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Academic Studies (Academic Practice).

My research interests centre around the enhancement of online courses to support learning and teaching, in particular:

1. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)
2. Vidcasting to support student learning
3. Designing and delivering online and blended learning courses at scale
4. Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs)