1. Through the looking glass: the digital lives of University of Bristol students Festival of Education, 8 June 2015 Sue Arnold, Abigail Le Fevre, Sue Timmis, Wan Ching Yee & Bernie Munoz

2. Digital diversity https://www.flickr.com/photos/slumadridcampus/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

3. Aims of the DD-lab research Funded by U of Bristol WP Research Programme How might (or might not) digital technologies support studying (esp informal), peer support and sense of belonging amongst WP students What are the effects on their progress, retention and well being? Broad interpretation of widening participation – Parents did not go to university – Attended non fee paying school – Intersections with - mature, BME, local

4. Research questions To what extent is a ‘culture of belonging’ and engagement experienced by WP students? What are the impacts of informal support and peer relationships on WP students in their learning lives? How are digital technologies being mobilised by WP students for educational, cultural and social purposes? What new forms of learning interactions are created?

5. Social justice goes beyond social inclusion – both participation and engagement (Gidley et al, 2010) Institutions can make assumptions about prior experience and cultural capital (Thomas, 2002) Social justice goes beyond social inclusion – both participation and engagement (Gidley et al, 2010) Institutions can make assumptions about prior experience and cultural capital (Thomas, 2002) Inequalities in student experience

6. Students need to integrate into culture and practices of university life to sustain their engagement and confidence and be successful A ‘culture of belonging’ is critical to the success and well-being of students at university (Thomas 2012) Students need to integrate into culture and practices of university life to sustain their engagement and confidence and be successful A ‘culture of belonging’ is critical to the success and well-being of students at university (Thomas 2012) ‘Access without support is not opportunity’ (Tinto 2008)

7. DD-lab methodology Student co-researcher group 31 second year students – 17 women, 14 men, 11 mature, 11 BME, 7 local & 5 transfer from 6 Faculties – Three data collection periods - November (+ 28 Interviews), February/March (+ 5 Focus groups) and April/May (+ 26 Interviews) – Using ipad and Evernote to collect data: 637 documentaries including text accounts, audio, video, photos, snapshots from screen or documents and annotated notes recording their learning lives including informal studying, use of technology for studying, university matters, connections to home and others ArtsEngMed&VetMed & Dentistry ScienceFSSL Female411254 Male035321 BME11 1 332 Mature1 0 2413 Local1 0 0312 Transfer0 0 0320

8. Evernote Documentaries

9. Being a co-researcher Positioning within the research Taking a critical role in data collection Contributing to the direction and focus of the research? On-going support and discussions Collaborative data analysis sessions Opportunities for writing and conference presentations Gaining experience in research and research methods Developing understandings of their own learning and studying Timmis & Williams, 2013; Brew, 2006

10. DD-lab website https://digitaldiversitylab.wordpress.com/

11. Digital lives Sue Arnold: Social policy and politics

12. DD-Lab Project Sue Arnold Co-researcher

13. Culture of Belonging I do not work very much with other students.....I live 30 miles from Bristol It mitigates against that sense of belonging It is difficult balancing study and family life

14. Informal Support and Peer Relationships I don’t work in complete isolation from other students I have a couple of friends who are traditional students No problems with working in small groups

15. Using Digital Technologies I was a Computer Programmer in the 1970s! Not so good at using screen for reading long articles but used iPad to do this and was quite surprised at ease of use Using e-books – not very successful for me! But I have moved on since DD-Lab – attached to my iPhone and Apps for everything!

16. New Forms of Learning Interactions Moved on since DD Lab (because of DD Lab?) Was using Facebook, but now expanded to WhatsApp, bus apps, reminder app etc.... Have even used Twitter! More linked in to social media than previously

17. Digital lives Abigail Le Fevre: History