Dr Sarah Fielding
Team Manager Digital Learning
Sarah joined the university in 2010 as an Outreach Officer (and then Assistant Regional Director) of the National HE STEM Programme before moving into the field of digital learning as a Learning Designer in 2012. She has been managing the Digital Learning Team since July 2020. Her PhD is in Palaeontology: not dinosaurs, but Late Jurassic Turtles. Prior to joining the University of Southampton, she worked as a freelance science communicator and a learning support tutor for undergraduates with learning differences and mental health issues whilst completing her PhD.
As a Learning Designer from 2012-2020, Sarah was a lead designer on the long-running Exploring Our Ocean MOOC, an early adopter of interactive 360 images, virtual fieldwork resources and Virtual Reality hardware/experiences, and founded the university’s VLE Awards (which have won a Blackboard Catalyst Award). She was an expert panel member for the inaugural State of XR horizon scanning report and has published on the impact of MOOCs in developing ocean literacy.
As the manager of the Digital Learning Team, Sarah is proud to be leading an inclusive and high-performing team who create high-quality, award-winning outputs and initiatives. Her areas of focus are currently:
• developing pilot processes for education technology (including the juxtaposition of unsupported tool use and a rounded portfolio of supported tools)
• application and adoption of immersive XR experiences in HE
• enabling digital transformation in education at UoS.
You can connect with her on Twitter @shieldingafar