Jonny Bell

Digital Learning Developer (currently on secondment)

Jonny has been working at the University since 2010, starting out in the Faculty of Humanities,
primarily in the school of languages. One of the original members of the university’s expansion of
Online Course Developers, (a cohort of around 15-20), Jonny has worked with Victory (a Portsmouth
branded version of Blackboard) before moving to using Moodle in 2012. Jonny gained a skillset in
online assessment first using QMP and then latterly Moodle.

Having spent 5 years in the School of Languages, he moved across to the other side of the Faculty,
working with The Institute of Criminal Justice (ICJS, now CCJ) and The School of Education. It is here
where he developed his passion for video-based content. Interviewing various interesting figures
including John Grieve, CBE.

In 2017 he received a promotion and a move to the Science Faculty. As the largest faculty in the
university, it brought its own set of challenges but every day brought a new opportunity! With such a
plethora of different course types, Jonny was able to develop a variety of different resources for
each of the academic teams and provide bespoke support where needed. Furthermore, he honed his
online assessment skills here, particularly in online exams, including creation, development and on
the day support to site teams and academic staff.

Jonny’s passion is very much interactive video-based content and in 2020 he developed a “Choose
your own adventure” resource with the Nursing team, where students would make decisions about
the scenario put in front of them. It went on to be shortlisted for a nationally recognised award
(Student Nursing Times) in 2022.

Also in 2022, Jonny had the opportunity to travel to Sicily with the Geology course and climb an
erupting Mt Etna to film some video based resources for students who may be unable to attend field
trips, thus making the learning more accessible.

In January 2023, Jonny embarked on the 'Teach Well: Principles to Practice' module. Being part of the first cohort to go through the programme, it was designed to give Learning Technologists and Early Career Academics a pedagogical underpinning in order to promote the best practice of engaging teaching. He used this as a springboard to complete his Associate Fellowship from AdvanceHE a few months later.

In May 2023, Jonny was successful in securing a secondment as a Project Manager to work on an NHS England funded project that allowed clinical staff to dip their toes into the world of academia. Working with 14 HEIs and 23 NHS Trusts  across the South East.

He has managed to get local news coverage of the project on BBC South Today (January 2024),
presented at the Royal College of Midwives annual conference in Liverpool (May 2024) and
appeared on a Council of Deans for Health Podcast (May 2024)

Areas of interest:

• Scenario Based Learning
• Video content
• Online Assessments
• Structure of Moodle sites
• Project Management