Every picture tells a story: using selfie-inspired activities to enhance social relations and encourage self-reflexivity.

This chapter explores the results of a study in Thailand that capitalised on the popularity of the selfie, providing second-year English language students with an opportunity to practise their oral presentation and speaking skills. The selfie was used not in the usual sense of online picture-sharing, but as a visual aid in a face-to-face interaction, thus serving as a “currency for social interaction” (van Dijck 2008, p.62) and communication device (Saltz, 2014). Mining the rich insights gained from the Thai study, this chapter presents another selfie-inspired activity adapted for a different context and purpose at a UK university. Initially designed to facilitate recall of students’ names linked with faces, the initiative evolved into an effective conversation starter. It is suggested that both selfie-inspired initiatives have led to serendipitous results, such as encouraging self-reflexivity among the students and promoting the development of “rapid intimacy” in the classroom (Victoria 2011, p.72). Indeed, creating a space for students to share their personal stories and enact different identities can help enrich the learning and teaching experience. This chapter also demonstrates how aspects of visual methodologies can be employed as a resource for theorising visual data, such as the selfie, for classroom application.

Workplace learning and the employment relationship in the public sector.

Training that is relevant to employers is not necessarily enriching for employees, especially those on the lower salary scales. The authors argue that the analysis of training and development needs to be understood in the context of the employment relationship. Drawing on reasearch evidence from six case studies in the public sector, the article examines the impact of changes in work organisation on workplace learning, managers' and employees' own strategies towards it and the limitations of tools such as appraisal. Since employees' existing qualifications are poorly utilised and their development needs often frustrated, issues concerning job design, occupational progression routes and employee entitlements need to be addressed

Traversing digital learning landscapes: an Institutional and faculty case study.

Within the UK, there is a growing awareness to better understand what online educational technologies can offer in relation to learning and teaching, and how social technologies are changing communication and collaboration out with formal education. The concept of the ‘digital university’ is being widely debated within the UK Higher education sector (McCluskey and Winter, 2012), becoming embedded in educational policy, and beginning to be explored within many institutions. This session will report on one such institutional initiative, undertaken at Edinburgh Napier University in Scotland. A Digital Futures Working Group was established to: benchmark best practice in key areas including digitally enhanced education and digital literacies development; identify areas for short term action; and to produce a robust ‘digital agenda’ to inform the future direction of the university. Pivotal to this was the recognition to evolve staff digital pedagogical practices and to harness emerging digital opportunities, meet learner expectations, and meet wider expectations for contemporary able citizens. This session will be delivered in two parts. Firstly we will provide an insight into the focus of the project and the rich picture methodology used to consult with staff and students. Secondly we will specify the outcomes produced, and provide a case study of how the Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences engaged with the process and the progression of their digitally enabled educational practices.