You can find more about Gilly’s work here: http://www.gillysalmon.com/
The event will take place in the Doctoral Training Centre, Fifth Floor, Daysh Building 8.30-11am.
NUTELA – Gilly Salmon and the Future of e-Learning
You can find more about Gilly’s work on her website.
The event will take place in the Doctoral Training Centre, Fifth Floor, Daysh Building 8.30-11am.
STAR CASE STUDY: Using Facebook to Facilitate International Debate
Dr Bronwen Jones uses Facebook to allow Newcastle University Law School students to debate legal issues with students at Helwan University in Eygpt.
The debate functions as part of Bronwen’s teaching on intellectual property law for undergraduate students.
The collaboration came about after Bronwen met with Professor Yasser Gadallah whilst at a series of workshops in Cairo. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when Dr Shaimaa Lazem moved to Newcastle to begin working with Culture Lab.
Shaimaa set up a closed Facebook group which would bring together one group of student from each institution to discuss intellectual property law.
Bronwen said: ‘In part I wanted to do something to show that you could have international collaboration without winning a big grant or spending money.
‘But I also wanted to facilitate a cultural exchange. I wanted my students to think more critically about the ways in which intellectual property law can advantage or disadvantage people from certain countries or cultures.’
Each group was given one week to prepare material, write an argument and post it on Facebook.
This written response helped to ensure that the Eygptian students were not disadvantaged by conducting a verbal debate in English.
Bronwen said: ‘Some students who were initially worried about participating joined in later and it became more and more popular over the semester.
‘Some actually joined when the debate was over because the materials posted – videos, articles etc. were useful. And the page is still up and running now.’
Each argument was then evaluated by academic staff.
In fact, the debate has been a tremendous success with both groups of students. Helwan won the debate and Newcastle students attained higher marks in their assessments around this topic, informed in no small part, Bronwen is certain, by their experience of the debate.
Both groups enjoyed their experience and the teaching staff are currently in the process of analysing data from questionnaires they filled out about their experiences.
Bronwen has presented on the Helwan/Newcastle Facebook project in Cape Town in September 2015 and will present on the results of the questionnaire at the European Intellectual Property Teachers Network (EIPTN) meeting in Sophia, Bulgaria in July.
You can read more about how Bronwen did it and see more examples from across the University on the Case Studies database.
Do you have an example of great teaching from your school? Tell us about it!
VLE Feedback Sessions April 2016
In April, the Learning and Teaching Development Service and the Student Union ran some pop up feedback sessions in the Business School, the Robinson Library, the Student Union and the Medical School asking students one question, ‘What one thing would improve your experience of Blackboard or the LSE?’ The same question was also added to the Blackboard My Institution page to which students could give an online response.
In total, 434 students gave feedback, 402 about Blackboard and 32 about the LSE. The student responses were collated and categorised into main themes. Some students covered more than one theme in their answer.
Few students had issues with the functionality of Blackboard and 20.65% of comments were very positive where they felt staff engaged with it. From the small sample of students who commented about the LSE, 43.75% of comments were positive and found it very clear and easy to use.
The main Blackboard issue students raised was regarding organisation and consistency of module content with 22.64% of the students who responded recognising this as a problem. In answer to the question, student comments included, ‘All lecturers using the same way of organising. Everything in the same place!’ and ‘Same layout for every module. It would make it so much easier if all modules had the same layout.’
Other key themes included the mobile application, Blackboard Learn and the availability of lecture materials and ReCap recordings.
This feedback gave us a very useful snapshot of student opinion on the VLE. You can read the full report that was shared at the HaSS and SAgE FLTSEC meetings this month and view the student comments by Faculty, School and Stage.
If you would like any tailored Blackboard training or would like us to work with you to reorganise your modules or come along to your school meeting to discuss creating a school, or discipline, specific template , please contact LTDS.
NUTELA Peer Recognition Awards 2017
Nominations are now open for the NUTELA Peer Recognition Awards 2017.
Has someone helped you? Has another member of University staff gone out of their way to help you use technology? Would you like her/him to be recognised? If so, let us know!
NUTELA is once again offering two peer recognition awards this year. We are looking for nominations of staff members who have contributed to peer support or the mentoring of others learning about and/or working with technology. It might be someone who has helped you understand the purpose of a specific learning technology, or someone who has been instrumental in progressing TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) initiatives in your unit. You are welcome to nominate any member of staff at Newcastle University.
The nomination process is simple. In 500 words or less, just answer these two questions and send your response to nutelaops@ncl.ac.uk.
- How has this staff member contributed to your learning, working or development with TEL?
2. How has this contributed to the Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Strategy
The deadline is November 30, 2016. NUTELA will review the applications and make a decision. All nominees will be told they have been nominated, and will be invited to present their work at the year-end NUTELA conference.
The award will be presented at the 4Ps event in January 2017 and the winners will be invited to the Vice-Chancellor’s Celebrating Success event.
You can see examples of nominations in the NUTELA Peer Recognition Awards Programme and read about last year’s winners on our blog.
Videos of Wenger-Trayner Keynotes Available Online
Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU) in China recently welcomed social and community learning experts Etienne and Beverley Wenger-Trayner and have made videos of their talks and workshops available online.
The videos – recorded over a three day visit during which the pair were keynote speakers at the University’s International Colloquium – are all available online.
Each offers a short insight into the sessions delivered around social learning and communities of practice as approaches to teaching.
Both are global leaders in the field. Etienne has authored and co-authored seminal articles and books on learning, including Situated Learning (1991) where the term ‘community of practice’ was coined.
A ‘community of practice’, as Wenger describes on the pair’s website is a group of people ‘who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.’
He has also published Communities of Practice (1998), Cultivating Communities of Practice (2002), and Digital Habitats (2009).
Beverly is a learning consultant who specialises in social learning systems.
She has worked with international organizations such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the International Labor Organization, and The World Bank.
The videos include their keynote address, interviews and a CPS/CPD workshop. They are quick to view and very informative, offering a range of tips and insights from two experts in the field.
EDUBITES – Flipping the Curriculum
In a neat follow-on from Nutela’s latest event on flipped classrooms, Edubites will be running a flipped curriculum event next week.
Edubites is an educator-led network based at Newcastle, encouraging collaboration and cooperation between peers to share ideas and good practice in teaching. You can find out more by reading founding member Katie Wray’s guest blog about the inaugral EDUBITES.
The event, drawing on the flipped classroom model, will look at how to put students in control of what they study, allowing them to design or influence curriculum design.
The session will question whether this approach is feasible or even desirable in the academy, allowing teaching staff to compare notes and ideas.
The event will take place next Wednesday 8th June 12-1pm in Bedson 1.19 and lunch will be provided.
You can register for the event online.
Lunch will be provided.
Higher Education Academy – Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) Call for applications
The Higher Education Academy is very pleased to establish a new award scheme for 2016: the Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE). These awards aim to celebrate collaborative learning and teaching initiatives that positively impact on the student experience in creative and innovative ways. Each award will recognise a team who have enabled a change in practice for colleagues or students at an institutional or discipline level.
Only one bid can go forward from each institution. To become the Newcastle University bid you are invited to put forward a draft Stage 1 application using the HEA’s documents and a draft of the impact and dissemination plan that would be submitted if your application makes it to Stage 2 of the HEA’s process. Please note you do not need to submit a draft of the Institutional statement of support.
All the documents can be found here https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/recognition-accreditation/collaborative-awards-teaching-excellence-cate
The completed papers should be emailed to ltds@ncl.ac.uk no later than 9am Friday 1st July, please title your email “CATE Application”.
Applications will be considered by a panel comprising the PVC(L&T) Chair, the Head of LTDS, the FLTSEC chairs and the NUSU Education Officer. The panel will meet on 6th July and you will notified of the outcome as soon as possible after the meeting.
If you have questions or queries, please contact ltds@ncl.ac.uk.
New Blackboard Pages on the LTDS website
You may have noticed some new Blackboard pages that have been added to the LTDS website recently. These provide you with information about Blackboard at Newcastle University, the VLE Threshold Standard and the Module Overview Page on your Blackboard sites. You will also find links to the Case Studies database highlighting innovative use of Blackboard and details of any workshops delivered by LTDS.
Please note this information replaces the pages that were originally found at teaching.ncl.ac.uk/blackboard. The new pages are also linked to directly on the Overview Page of your module sites.
If you have any Blackboard queries or would like to arrange a training session, please contact LTDS.
Maintaining meaningful connections
A recent study found that two-thirds of people living with dementia feel isolated. Our free online course “Dementia Care: Staying Connected and Living Well” starting on 23 May has been written to to help people stay connected and to communicate well.
In the first week of the course we explore dementia’s effect upon the person, on our personal relationships and on daily life.
Here is a sneak preview of one of the videos featuring Dr Lynne Corner:
The course has been written with family carers in mind. In it we hear from carers and experts as we explore practical strategies that can improve communication. Lynne draws on Newcastle University’s great expertise in ageing and dementia research and together with colleagues shares knowledge on dementia, language and practical strategies that can improve communication.
To find out more about the course and to sign up please visit https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/dementia-care/