What is Learning Tech Labs? Co-founder David Pollard explains

David Pollard, Co-founder, explains more.

Learning Tech Labs (LTL) is a community of developers, educators and entrepreneurs who meet once a month to share their collective knowledge. It is an open forum for attendees to discuss the myriad of challenges in learning and education, with the aim to spark possible solutions using learning technologies.

Ireland’s first Startup Weekend Education took place in Dublin on the 13th-15th November. The event was held at the Bank of Ireland at Grand Canal Dock. It was a comprehensive success for learning technology in Ireland on a global stage. Not only did the #SWDub hashtag hit the heights of second in the trending chart on Twitter, the event also received one of the highest overall ratings (9.0/10.0) of any Startup Weekend event.

In the light of such positive feedback from Dublin Startup Weekend Education, LTL was formed. Three members of the Startup Weekend organising team believed there was a need for follow-up meetings with stakeholders in learning technologies. David Pollard, Ruta Danyte and Amy Keith have a vision of universal understanding and a common language for developers, educators and entrepreneurs within the learning technologies ecosystem.

LTL currently has 250 members and the inaugural event was held at the Learnovate Centre on the Trinity Technology & Enterprise Campus. This was a 2-hour introduction to learning technology companies, what they do and the challenges they face. 44 people attended this meeting, which Dr. Martin Farrows moderated on a wet and wild winter night.

Dr. Farrows introduced Learnovate and described their vision to pioneer breakthrough technology and transfer it into measurable learning innovation. The presenters included the winning pitch of Dublin Startup Weekend Education, Clodagh Connell of Hello Coder, Orla McCallion of UniTuition and 12-year-old Eric Lassard. Each told the stories of their startup journeys, explained the challenges they have faced and answered questions from other attendees. The final half hour was dedicated to an informal session for attendees and presenters to mingle and network.

The next event will be held in the Science Gallery in Dublin on January 13th from 6-8.30pm. The theme of the event is “How technology can overcome the challenges of traditional learning methods”. Brendan Flanagan, National College of Ireland lecturer and expert on blended learning, will be one of the presenters on the evening. LogicEarth are the second confirmed speakers at the event. They are a learning services company that specialises in the design and delivery of practical workplace learning solutions.

A further event is scheduled to take place in a venue in Dublin on February 10th. This will focus on the topic of digital citizenship in the wake of the Digital Citizenship Summit UK, which takes place on January 23rd at Bournemouth University. Serial entrepreneur and author of ‘Social Media Under Investigation’, Joanne Sweeney-Burke, will present at the LTL event and those interested in joining her can contact LTL organisers at the following link:

http://www.meetup.com/Learning-Tech-Labs/

Learning Tech Labs at the Science Gallery: https://dublin.sciencegallery.com/events/2015/12/learningtechlabs

Organisers.

David R. Pollard, Ruta Danyte, Amy Keith

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