Simon Thomson

National Teaching Fellow 2014 Simon Thomson is currently the Head of e-Learning, an academic post with responsibility for the development and implementation of the University strategy to embed e-learning in all modes of delivery. Simon works in the Centre for Learning and Teaching and liaises closely with academic colleagues and learning technologists from across the University to ensure that technology is used effectively to enhance the staff and student learning and teaching experiences. He has locally developed the 4E Framework through which his approach is to encourage more conversations around technology use. This framework is currently in development but is already available with an open license. In 2009, Simon was Project Director on a JISC Phase1 project for institutional open educational resources (OER). The aim of the Unicycle project was to establish an OER repository at Leeds Metropolitan University and release 3,600 hours of learning materials. This project has had significant impact in shaping the learning strategy at the University. Through their sustainable model, staff and students continue to benefit from the use of OER in learning and teaching. As part of this activity he developed and openly published the 'Staff guide to OER', which is a short practical guide for staff new to OER. He has recently led on a University-wide tablet implementation project exploring the benefits and challenges of single device technology and embedding the use of such devices as part of learning and teaching activity. He will be publishing results on this study in the near future. Simon is an Apple Distinguished Educator, SEDA-accredited in Embedding Learning Technologies, and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2014 he co-chaired the national OER14 conference held in Newcastle.