Designing Learning Experiences for Inclusivity and Diversity

Keith Heggart is the academic lead for the Graduate Certificate in Learning Design at UTS. He designed and developed this brand-new and innovative course that combines microcredentials and work-integrated learning in order to meet the needs of a diverse and busy student body. This course was recognised for its approach internationally, receiving the Learning Innovation Award from AECT in 2022. It has also received a UTS Teaching and Learning Citation. Keith’s research interests lie at the intersection of social justice and learning design. He has won numerous awards for his research, including a Best Publication for his paper on Learning Design for Social Justice from the Culture, Learning and Technology SIG in AECT, and the Early Career Researcher award from ASCILITE in 2021. In 2022, Keith won an ASCILITE/ D2L grant to investigate learning design and microcredentials. Keith has more than 20 publications to his name, including two books. Before becoming an academic, Keith worked as a learning designer and developer in three different universities, and also for not-for-profit organisations. Keith is also an Apple Distinguished Educator.

Mais Fatayer is an educational technology specialist, learning designer and early career researcher. She has been working in higher education since 2008, during which she worked in several capacities at higher educational institutions including the Open University and Western Sydney University. At the time of publishing this book, she was the Learner Experience Design Manager at University of Technology Sydney (UTS). Mais specialises in designing and co-designing engaging learning materials, implementing open learning strategies and resources, leading transformative learning projects, and creating award-winning technology-enhanced learning environments. She received UTS Vice Chancellor’s Professional Staff Excellence Awards for High Performing Professional Staff in 2023 in recognition of her achievement to the work of open education at UTS. She was also awarded Blackboard 2018 Catalyst Awards for Australia and New Zealand in the Student Success category. Mais received her PhD from the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematics in 2016 from the University of Western Sydney. Her thesis is titled ‘Towards a sustainable OER model: Tapping into the cognitive surplus of student-generated content’.