A TOP technology journalist has encouraged staff at a local college to get involved in shaping the future development of technology in education.

BBC journalist Bill Thompson, who appears on the technology show Click on BBC World Service, was the keynote speaker at Bradford College’s annual Online Learning Conference.

The college has a large number of courses that can be studied online, and the conference looked at the future of learning over the internet and how ever changing technology is leading to changes in the way people learn.

Mr Thompson’s message to the audience of college staff and educators attending, on Wednesday May 10, was that they need to share their expertise in learning with the technology experts who are developing new products and services for the sector.

The tech specialist worked in education before moving into journalism and helped set up the Guardian newspaper’s website before joining the BBC.

He said: “I spoke about teaching in a connected world and discussed what some of the implications are for some of the more advanced technologies that are already being developed for a forward-looking college like Bradford College.

“I used to teach in a further education college and do a lot of work with BBC Learning so technology in education is a real area of interest for me.

“It is interesting to see what sorts of things are being developed now that might have an impact on how we teach in the next five to 10 years.

“I wanted to encourage Bradford College to try to influence those developments and not just accept what comes.

“The development of teaching is a contributory process and everyone can have a voice.”

As well as the respected technology reporter, the conference also heard from current college students about their experiences of online courses and the virtual classroom.

The students represented courses as diverse as vocational science, hairdressing and English for Speakers of a Foreign Language.

Richard Nelson, a lecturer in Teacher Education at the College, said: “It was great to hear students’ views of online learning, what works well for them and what might be improved. It was also good to hear from Bill about the wider context and future of technology and education.

“We looked at current practice and what is out there and where technology might take us.

“He encouraged us to engage with the debate as educators so that technology doesn’t run away with itself.

“He said we need to influence it by joining panels and discussion forums and I think that was an important message for us.

“At Bradford College we are innovative in many areas with online learning. We have people leading conferences and presenting on national bodies such as Jisc.

“Some departments have a bit of catching up to do. As a whole college we just need to spread that good practice around and that is what this conference was aimed at doing.”

The conference was held in the college’s £10 million Advanced Technology Centre on Randall Well Street, off Great Horton Road which opened in 2015 to boost the college’s technology offer.