About Me

Who am I?

Well first and foremost I am a proud Mum of two daughters and Nana to my first Grand-daughter. We are very close and I constantly learn from them. I am an Associate Professor (Learning and Teaching) and currently work at Sheffield Hallam University as a Principal Lecturer in Digital Analytics and Technologies within the Department of Computing. I am also the LTA (Learning, Teaching and Assessment) Lead for Computing and an Educational Developer working with academic colleagues to enhance the way we as professionals learn, the way we teach and the way we assess our students. I am regularly invited to give guest lectures to staff and students across many disciplines on the use of social media to develop a professional online presence.

In 2017 I was awarded a National Teaching Fellowship. I am also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Certified Management and Business Educator. 



I hold an MA in Communication and Media Studies and an MSc in Technology Enhanced Learning Innovation and Change. Other qualifications include a PgCert in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education and the SEDA-PDF Supporting Educational Change. In 2021 I commenced a PhD in Educational Research at Lancaster University. 

My research interests include the use of social media in higher education, digital literacy, online presence/identity and the concept of collaborative learning through our individually created personal learning networks, and the use of multimedia e-portfolios. I have presented widely in these areas internationally. A list of these can be found here and on my Academia.edu and Slideshare profiles. My publications can be found in the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive


I am the co-founder of the National #LTHEchat (Learning and Teaching in Higher Education) and the cross-institutional open online course Bring Your Own Device for Learning.

I have been a co-opted member of the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA) Exec Committee, a member of the SEDA Papers Committee, co-founder of the SEDA Technology Enhanced Learning in Practice SIG and a facilitator at the SEDA Summer School. In addition I have supported the AUA as stakeholder adviser for the JISC funded Developing Digital Literacies project. I am also a Member of the Association of Learning Technologies (MALT). 

A profile can also be found on my About.me page https://about.me/suebecks

Additional Roles

  • National Teaching Fellow
  • Visiting Fellow within the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Edge Hill University
  • Past member of the Executive Committee of the Staff and Educational Development Association
  • LEAD Associate at Sheffield Hallam University

Professional Memberships

  • Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE)
  • Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
  • Certified Facilitator of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
  • Fellow of the Staff and Educational Development Association (FSEDA)
  • Certified Membership of the Association of Learning Technology (CMALT)
  • Fellow of the Association of University Administrators (FAUA)


Other Awards

Open Education Award for Excellence 2023
https://awards.oeglobal.org/awards/2023/open-collaboration/national-teaching-repository/

Best Poster. Assessment in Higher Education Conference 2023. 

Best Application of Theory Award. Practical Pedagogy Conference 2021, University of Lincoln. #PracticalPedagogy1

Nominated for the #HEGreatestHits2020 for a podcast in Unwrapping Digital Identity on the Education Burrito Podcast https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2020/12/16/he-greatest-hits-2020/

European Conference in Social Media. Best Poster of the 2014 Annual Conference

The Jisc 50 most influential UK higher education professionals on social media


Publications

My list of publications can found here, ResearchGate and SHURA the Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive. 

Co Editor for the Journal of Social Media for Learning 
https://openjournals.ljmu.ac.uk/index.php/JSML/about/editorialTeam

Prior Stream Editor for 'The Influence of Social Media on Online Education, in the International Journal on Innovations in Online Education. http://onlineinnovationsjournal.com/editorial_board/

Peer Reviewer

Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/

Journal of Interactive Media in Education https://jime.open.ac.uk/



Websites

Social Media for Learning
https://socialmediaforlearning.com/ 

The Project Based Learning Toolkit
https://project-based-learning-toolkit.com/ 




Press

Does social media have a place in formal education? (2019)
https://edtechnology.co.uk/Article/the-report-does-social-media-have-a-place-in-formal-education/

HEA announces National Teaching Fellowship Scheme Awards and Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence finalists (2017)

Hallam academics recognised for teaching excellence (2017)

University of Bolton stages its second TEDx Talks (2017)
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/15273411.Inspirational_TEDx_talks_return_to_university/

TEDxUniversityofBolton returns for a second installment (2017)
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/MediaCentre/Articles/2017/May2017-03.aspx
https://www.ted.com/tedx/events/19984


Learning and Teaching in Higher Ed Chat. ALTC Blog (2016)

Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Chat. Inside Higher Ed. (2015)

The 50 most influential UK higher education professionals on social media. Times Higher Education. (2015)

Wired-up Sheffield Hallam students become wired-up jobseekers UK Authority (2014)



Interviews/Guest Podcasts

Social Media for Learning. Talking Higher Education Podcast spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/6ABiFqucpvb

Episode 16: Treasure Island Pedagogies - the one with the knots. Centre for Innovation Liverpool University
https://anchor.fm/livunicie/episodes/Treasure-Island-Pedagogies-Episode-16---the-one-with-the-knots-e1d8nvm

Episode 2: Unwrapping digital identity with Sue Beckingham - Education Burrito Podcast
https://theeducationburrito.podbean.com/e/ep-2-unwrapping-digital-identity-with-sue-beckingham/

In Vino Fab Episode #57: Getting Social to Teach, Learn, & for CPD with @SueBecks

Gettin' Air Podcast

In conversation with Maren Deepwell
https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2019/08/maren-deepwell-marendeepwell-in-conversation-with-sue-beckingham-suebecks/


LTHEchat – The story of a Community of Practice through Twitter
https://altc.alt.ac.uk/blog/2018/02/lthechat-the-story-of-a-community-of-practice-through-twitter/


Mentions

https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/socialmedia/2016/03/30/socmedhe2015-starting-the-conversation-about-social-media-for-learning/



Groups

Social Media for Learning in Higher Education Conference Committee
#SocMedHE15, #SocMedHE16, #SocMedHE17 Sheffield Hallam University https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/socmedhe/

#SocMedHE18 Nottingham Trent University https://socmedhe18.wordpress.com/
#SocMedHE19 Edge Hill Universityhttps://www.edgehill.ac.uk/clt/conference-2014/social-media-for-learning-in-higher-education-conference-2019/
#SocMedHE20 Online Tweetposium University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/psychologicalscienceshealth/socialmediaconference/
#SocMedHE21 Online conference. University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow
#SocMedHE22 University of Northampton
#SocMedHE23 University of Stirling

Sheffield Hallam Digital Capabilities Steering Group membership (2016)

Jisc Student Experience Experts Group (ongoing)

Member of the National Teaching Fellows community