Aidan Johnston

Aidan commenced working at Glasgow Caledonian University in 2002 as an educational technologist on a seven year JISC, National Science Foundation (NSF) and BBC information and Archives funded project “Digital libraries in the Classroom: The Spoken Word project”. This project investigated the use and application of BBC audio and video archive materials for teaching and learning purposes and explored the notion of students “writing on and for the internet”. 

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

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

As a Learning Enhancement Advisor at the University of Strathclyde, Aidan was responsible for operationally supporting the development and conversion of a range of existing courses, and the development of new courses, for online and blended learning. Aidan provided 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 and Moodle, the institutional Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Aidan has developed nine award winning MOOCs covering socially diverse topics ranging from “Introduction to Forensic Science” to “Caring for Vulnerable Children” and “Understanding Violence Against Women: Myths and Realities” with a combined enrolment of over 350,000 participants worldwide. 

He has vast experience and knowledge in Virtual Learning Environments (VLE), Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), Podcasting, Vidcasting, Mobile Learning, Blended Learning, Blogs, Wikis and utilising Web technologies to support teaching and learning. 

Aidan is a Fellow (FHEA) and an Associate Fellow (AFHEA) of the Higher Education Academy. He holds 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).