Stephanie Jesper

Steph is a qualified Librarian and a Teaching and Learning Advisor in the DISC (Digital Inclusion, Skills and Creativity) team in Library, Archives and Learning Services at the University of York. She develops and delivers digital skills training for students and staff.

Our 60 seconds interview with Steph:

What do you do in the field of mental health?

In October 2018, as part of the University's commitment to grow distance and online learning provision, we launched a 'massive open online course' (MOOC) on the topic of Digital Wellbeing. At the time this was a very under-represented field and we felt that our experience as a team working with digital technologies and teaching digital skills positioned us well for coordinating such a course. In developing it we gathered contributions from across the University, with academic representatives from all three faculties as well as professional services staff.

The aims of this three-week course are to engage with current areas of research on digital identity and wellbeing, to identify the benefits and risks of engaging in online activity, to reflect on personal digital practices and the impact on wellbeing, and to enable safe and responsible collaboration in online communities. The course is now a permanent fixture which we update periodically to reflect new developments. So far we have reached over 15,000 people.

What do you find most rewarding and inspiring in this work?

Pulling together such a breadth of contributions was inspiring, and having so many people doing the course has been a definite reward!

What is the most challenging or complicated aspect of this work?

Keeping the course up-to-date is probably the most challenging thing. The pandemic necessitated more online engagement, and more people began to scrutinise their sense of digital wellbeing as a result. We really had to rewrite the course almost from scratch at that point. Since then, the situation keeps changing: hybrid working habits, more research into digital wellbeing; so the course has to constantly evolve in order to stay relevant.

What impact do you hope your work is having- or can potentially have?

We know from feedback and discussions that people are learning things from the course, and are applying and sharing that learning. Hopefully they're also having more positive online experiences as a consequence. But also, from a purely selfish perspective, it's allowed us to develop good contacts across the University, and hopefully we'll be able to collaborate on more projects to come!

Could you share with us one piece of advice that you follow for your own mental health?

In order to be happy we need to challenge ourselves. It's important therefore to ensure that we use digital technologies to sharpen our thinking rather than do all the thinking for us! I'm with the comedian Frank Skinner in not allowing myself to look something up via Google if I can work it out myself or the answer is already lurking there somewhere in my brain. In terms of technology to sharpen my thinking, I'm enjoying using a buzzer app for the quiz show 'University Challenge'. It makes me actively take part rather than just claim that I knew the answer all along. Also, on the small handful of occasions when I buzz in correctly before the contestants, I get to feel really smug!