May 30th, 2007
The Faculty of Science and Engineering at MMU will be holding its annual Learning and Teaching event on the timely topic of ‘Feedback’. This one-day event takes place on Tuesday 26th June in the JD Assembly Hall (C0.14) on the All Saints Campus. A buffet lunch and refreshments will be provided to all who pre-register with Dawn Nicholson by Friday 15th June.
The event will address topics such as the role of feedback in student retention; time-saving ideas and generic feedback; peer feedback and self evaluation; automated and online feedback. In addition, a current undergraduate student group will give their perspective on feedback in their presentation: “Feedback: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. There will be opportunities to discuss questions such as ‘can we give feedback to students two weeks into the first year?’ and ‘should we develop a Faculty-wide policy on early feedback?’.
This event will be timely for all who have an interest in student retention and progression and want to innovate and develop their own academic practice. The event is presented jointly by the Faculty ‘Innovation and Good Practice’ and ‘Student Experience’ Working Groups.
Further details and a final programe are available here (Word document). If you have any questions about the event please contact Dawn Nicholson (Tel x6232) or Mark Langan (Tel x1583).
May 29th, 2007
Hosted by MMU Cheshire, the 2007 Problem-based Learning Convention,
will explore the potential of problem-based learning in physical
education. Problem-based learning (PBL) has become established as a popular teaching methodology in medical, legal and engineering contexts and reflects a trend from teacher-centred instruction to student-centred learning.
The potential of PBL for enhancing learning, particularly with respect to the development of key process skills, is now being realised in other fields of education.
This approach is designed to foster self-directed learning and thinking skills and improved communication among peers. PBL often
involves innovative teaching resources, authentic practical learning activities and structured group discussions that promote collaborative solutions.
This convention will focus on how authentic PBL problems can enhance student learning and improved overall
problem solving performance in physical education and sports settings.
The day will be constructed to allow practical demonstration from the host organisation in the morning and delegates in afternoon sessions.
Target audience: Primary and Special school Primary link teachers,
PE co-ordinators, Secondary PE teachers, School Sport co-ordinators.
For further details and an application form, please contact:
Tom Bell, t.bell@mmu.ac.uk
May 29th, 2007
My spies in the Law School pass on on this important story. A college lecturer was awarded £365,000 for the injuries she suffered after she tripped over an OHP cable which had been left in the classroom by a colleague. She suffered severe fibromyalgia after the accident and was unlikely to be able to work again.
If you’d like to read the full case, go to Lawtel and login using your Athens ID and password, then search Lawtel Personal Injury for fibromyalgia.
I’m told that as this was a County Court judgment, it does not set a precedent, but still, watch out for trailing wires, and certainly don’t leave any behind for your colleagues.
May 29th, 2007
The JISC has just published an ‘activity’ which helps academic staff to decide when they can legally use copyrighted resources which they’ve found online. According to the site, “The aim of the activity is to inform and educate practitioners in the FE and HE sectors in the UK some of the key issues about using copyrighted material in a digital online environment and the role of JISC Collections (and the JISC Model licence) in the provision of solutions to these issues.”
It is based on scenarios such as “Using an image search engine such as Google Image Search” or “Creating a resource using articles from Wikipedia” and is very easy to use.
This is an essential reference for anybody who uses material they’ve found online. Visit the ‘activity’ here.
May 24th, 2007
The CPD Project is seeking a CPD Developer to lead the delivery of the Post Graduate Certificate (Academic Practice) Programme. The post is available by internal secondment as 0.5FT at Senior Lecturer level, commencing June 2007, or as soon as possible thereafter. In the first instance, the secondment will last until 31st August 2008.
The Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice is a cornerstone of the institution’s emerging Continuing Professional Development Framework. The post will appeal to applicants with a strong interest in academic staff development: excellent practitioners themselves with experience of programme and unit development and leadership. The programme attracts staff from all over the institution, providing a platform for institutional development in learning, teaching, research and enterprise.
If you have questions regarding this post, please contact Kate Kirk, CPD Project Leader by email at k.kirk@mmu.ac.uk. Alternatively, you are welcome to discuss the post with Professor Janet Beer, PVC Learning and Teaching on 0161 247 1749.
Further details and application documents.
May 24th, 2007
Working in the newly formed Centre for Learning and Teaching you will work to support the University’s Managed Learning Environment initiative, with a current focus on establishing a new e-learning platform across the institution. You will be expected to make a major contribution to Continuing Professional Development activity in the area of Learning Technologies.
An experienced academic developer, with a strong track record in supporting the development and implementation of e-learning systems and associated blended learning pedagogies, it is essential you have substantial experience of working with WebCT (CE6 / Vista) or Blackboard.
An appointment may be made at the Lecturer grade for candidates whose qualifications and experience more closely match the person specification at this level.
You are welcome to discuss these posts with Robert Ready (Head of Learning and Teaching) by email r.j.ready@mmu.ac.uk or by phone on 0161 247 1610.
Further details and application documents.
May 24th, 2007
The BUFVC is running a useful course on Finding and Using Audio-Visual Media in Further and Higher Educationon Wednesday 13th June, 2007 from 10.30am – 4.30pm at the BUFVC, 77 Wells Street, London, W1T 3QJ. Cost is £150.
May 24th, 2007
This online conference will bring together a selection of key innovators in e-learning to present and discuss the current and future impact of e-learning. The two themes are designed to look at the impact of e-learning from an internal institutional perspective and from the more personalised view of the lifelong learner. The conference programme will be of interest to practitioners, managers and e-learning coordinators in further and higher education, researchers, staff developers, learning technologists and key stakeholders supporting lifelong learning.
The conference will be held on 11-14 June 2007 but will be open for reading and viewing of presentations from 4 June 2007
Further details on JISC website
May 21st, 2007
Two year degrees will be back in the news today as the HEA publishes a report on the pilot schemes which have been operating. According to the BBC, the report will say that there is a positive response on the whole and that two year degrees may be very important for some students and professions. It also says that the pilot schemes have “identified issues of staff workflow and of administration.”
There isn’t yet a link available to the report on the HEA page but this will be added when it’s available.
