The fourth international conference on E-Assessment in Mathematical Sciences (EAMS) takes place between 21st June and 2nd July 2021. The conference brings together researchers and practitioners with an interest in e-assessment for mathematics and science.
EAMS 2021 will again be an entirely online conference, following last year’s successful move to a fully virtual format. The conference will feature a mix of live sessions and web-based activities, with plenty of opportunity for discussion and collaboration.
As many of us have spent much of the last year delivering teaching and assessment online, EAMS 2021 presents an opportunity to share best practice, for experts in the field to present the latest developments, and for those new to e-assessment to get hands-on with software.
Live talks will take place over Zoom at 9am or 4pm BST (UTC +1) each day, with recordings available later. We hope that the online format and longer timescale will allow participants to engage more deeply with the material presented.
The call for talk and workshop proposals is currently open. If you have some research or an innovative technique related to mathematical e-assessment that you would like to present, then please submit an abstract at eams.ncl.ac.uk/call-for-speakers.
With over 280 delegates, 12 lightning talk videos, 9 live sessions and some creative entries to the poster competition, our first online learning and teaching conference had something for everyone. Thank you to all colleagues and students for getting involved and sharing some of their teaching and learning successes and challenges from the past year.
You can find a number of resources from the week below and we look forward to seeing you all at the next event.
Introduction from the Vice-Chancellor
Professor Chris Day introduces the conference celebrating the many collaborative, creative and impactful approaches to teaching across the University. He also highlights the achievements of Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education, who is retiring this year.
Opening Keynote Address: Education for All?
Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University
Professor Sue Rigby opened the event with her address intended to provoke, asking colleagues and students to think about some key questions:
Why doesn’t everyone thrive at University?
Attainment gap or awarding gap?
Thrive or strive: Is learning purposeful? Is it effective? Is it challenging? Is it engaging?
A diverse range of approaches to teaching and learning all covered in less then 7 minutes. With contributions from colleagues from Schools and Services across the University these are a great resource if you’re looking for some new ideas:
Closing Keynote address: Keynote Address: Powerful Learning for a Challenging World
Professor Dilly Fung, Pro-Director for Education, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
Professor Dilly Fung closed the conference with an inspiring talk which looked at the relationship between education, research and public engagement through the lens of the Connected Curriculum framework.
Meet the researcher schemes, an interdisciplinary course for all first-year students and a degree showcase portfolio are all practical examples of ways that the Connected Curriculum can be achieved.
The talk ended with some questions and examples of work already happening in these areas as well as lots of new ideas to explore.
Professor Suzanne Cholerton, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Education
Professor Cholerton thanked all speakers, delegates and organisers for making this year’s conference happen in spite of the current circumstances.
This was Professor Cholerton’s last learning and teaching conference and during her time as PVC Education the conference has gone from strength to strength with increased numbers of colleagues and students presenting and attending each year. This is down to Professor Cholerton’s vision and leadership and we hope we can continue to make future conferences equally as successful.
Next years event
Planning will be underway soon and if you’d like to get involved in the programme committee we’d love to hear from you. Please email LTDS@ncl.ac.uk
There’s still time to apply to the University Education Development Fund which supports staff to undertake projects with real benefit to students’ education at Newcastle University.
Two strands of funding are available:
Up to £2,500 for projects focused within an individual academic unit, or across multiple areas through the Responsive strand.
Up to £10,000 for projects with collaboration across academic units through the Strategic strand.
Chaired by the PVC Education this fund support projects which further the aims and key themes of the Education Strategy and applications in the areas of UN Sustainable Development Goals and decolonising the curriculum agenda would be welcome.
Application deadline for 2020-21: Deadline extended to Wednesday 28 April, 17:00
At Newcastle University we are choosing new software for students to take digital exams. The exams will include auto-marked questions like multiple choice or fill in the blank, and written exams that you can take online. Students will be able to use the software on their own laptops, or use university computers.
The software we choose must be user friendly. That’s why we’re inviting students to volunteer for usability testing. Your input will be key in determining the software that students will use in the future at Newcastle.
What’s usability testing and how can I get involved?
Complete the testing online any time that suits you, between Monday 26 April 2021 and Friday 21 May 2021
You need a computer connected to the internet
You will be given login details, and a series of tasks to do in each system
When you finish the tasks in each system, complete a survey about how user friendly it is
You may need to install some software on your computer. You can uninstall it when you’ve finished testing
You will need to test up to 4 software systems. Testing each one will take approximately 1 hour, and you can split the time up however you want, to fit your schedule
In an earlier post we showed demonstrated how to host videos on ReCap and Stream and then add them to Canvas. But how do they compare?
Let’s take a student perspective what are the differences between these two as a consumer? If you are making notes from video you’ll value things like variable playback speed, the ability to view full screen and the option of viewing or searching the caption/transcript — all of these are easy to find whether video is hosted on Stream or ReCap.
ReCap
ReCap has a handy rewind facility – if you miss something you can go back 10 seconds with one click. It also lets you make private timestamped notes on the video – so you can mark places you want to go back to. If the video is long you can help students find their way around by adding Content items.
Stream
Stream videos can be added to a watchlist, they can be liked and, if you permit it, students can add comments to the videos. These will be visible by anyone with permissions to view the video. Stream helps you find your way around content by converting any timestamps you put in comments or the video description into clickable links.
There are good reasons to turn comments for particular circumstsances – eg are providing feedback, pointing out helpful sections or taking part in peer review.
Permissions
Stream videos are only available to people with @newcastle.ac.uk email addresses, so you’ll need to sign in to view the content above. ReCap videos are normally shared with those on a particular course, but you can make them public as we have done with the first video here.
Prize for winning design: Headphones (up to the value of £100)
Newcastle University Technology Enhanced Learning Advocates (NUTELA) are a group of academic and professional services staff who are passionate about promoting technology in teaching.
We are inviting students to help us design a new logo! Something simple yet eye-catching that we can include on our website and in presentations, social media, and other printed materials.
You can find out more about NUTELA and some of the events we run at go.ncl.ac.uk/nutela
What you need to know?
This competition is open to registered students across all Newcastle University campuses
The logo must be 100% original and clearly feature the name NUTELA
The logo must look good in colour and when printed in black and white
The logo can’t contain licenced or copyright material (other than those owned by Newcastle University)
The logo must be easily reproducible and scalable for large and small formatting The logo should indicate the group is part of Newcastle University
Newcastle University Technology Enhanced Learning Advocates
NUTELA are a a group of individuals who support good practice using technology in education.
We are a group of academics, professional service staff and technicians, who care about improving learning and teaching at Newcastle University.
We have termly 3Ps sessions which are hands-on sessions learning about and trying technologies that you can use in your teaching.
Microsoft Team
Join the NUTELA Team to continue the conversation about using technology in your teaching. The Team includes resources, upcoming events and the chance to connect with colleagues across the University. NUTELA advocates are also on hand to answer any NUTELA related questions you might have.
All are welcome to join us.
Mailing list
For information about upcoming events and other related news join the NUTELA mailing list.
Share your ideas
Have you got an idea for a session, or something you’d like to share? Contact us at nutelaops@newcastle.ac.uk
Small grants fund
There is a NUTELA small grants fund to enable colleagues to explore and embed technology-enhanced practices into their learning and teaching.
Perhaps you have an idea for your teaching that uses technology, but need some funding to support it or maybe you know of interesting technology enhanced learning at another institution and would like to be able to visit to explore it further.
Applications are invited for a wide range of activities which enable you to explore, disseminate or import ideas and practices, and share these with colleagues at Newcastle through the NUTELA network.
Applications for up to £500 are welcomed, and applications will be on a rolling basis, rather than at set points in the academic year.
The 20/21 Small Grants Fund is now open for applications.
Apply for up to £500 to explore and embed technology-enhanced practices into your teaching.
Perhaps you have an idea for your teaching that uses technology, but need some funding to support it or maybe you know of interesting technology enhanced learning at another institution and would like to be able to explore it further.
Applications are invited for a wide range of activities which enable you to explore and disseminate ideas and practices, and share these with colleagues at Newcastle through the NUTELA network.
Applications for up to £500 are welcomed, and applications will be on a rolling basis, rather than at set points in the academic year so you can apply whenever you are ready.
Join us at this year’s learning and teaching conference for a fantastic series of online events. Hear from colleagues, students and external speakers, collaborate in workshops and watch some of the lightning talk videos during the conference week, 1-5 March 2021.
Everyone involved in learning and teaching at all Newcastle University campuses – students, academic colleagues, professional services colleagues technicians and external collaborators are all invited to attend.
Keynote speakers
We are delighted to be welcoming two keynote speakers, Prof Sue Rigby, Bath Spa University and Prof Dilly Fung, LSE to this year’s online event. Find out more about the keynote addresses and sign up using the links below.
Education for all? – Professor Sue Rigby, Vice-Chancellor, Bath Spa University, Monday 1 March 2021 12:00-13:15
Powerful Learning for a Challenging World – Professor Dilly Fung, Pro-Director for Education, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Friday 5 March 2021 12:00-13:15
