September 28th, 2007
From the HEA Information and Computer Sciences Subject Centre:
On 16th January 2008, the Higher Education Academy (Information and Computer Sciences Subject Centre) and Nottingham Trent University will be hosting a second workshop on Constructive Alignment. The workshop aims to bring together practitioners and researchers to share current practice and research motivated by the theory of constructive alignment. The first workshop, held on the 23rd February 2006, proved to be a big success with over 30 delegates and two keynote speakers (Dr David Hay and Prof. John Cowan). Presentations and details of this event. If you feel you would like to contribute to the day please email either of us with a short paragraph outlining a possible presentation.
Best regards,
Karen Fraser* and Jon Tepper^
(k.fraser@ulster.ac.uk / jonathan.tepper@ntu.ac.uk
* Teaching Fellow/Academic Co-ordinator, School of Computing and
Mathematics,
Higher Education Academy Centre for ICS, University of Ulster
^Principal Lecturer, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent
University
September 25th, 2007
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) has repeated last year’s survey of students in English universities on their working hours and have validated the results obtained previously. The full report is available on the HEPI website together with the 2006 and 2007 raw data. Graham Gibbs has written a commentary on the report which also makes interesting reading.
When asked to say how they would like priorities to be set ‘Better training for lecturers’ was the top non-financial priority, well above smaller groups or having more hours of teaching.
This study has many implications for programme design and should be essential reading for programme leaders.
September 21st, 2007
The 3rd International Plagiarism Conference will be held in Newcastle on Tyne on 24 and 25 June 2008. It is being organised by the JISC Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service (JISC-iPAS); to register an early interest, use this form on their website.
September 19th, 2007
 Michael Bradford and Alan Jenkins Wednesday 3rd October
16.00-18.00
CEEBL, C24 Sackville Street Building
For many of us effective links between teaching and discipline-based research are what makes Higher Education higher. Yet the research evidence is clear that such links are not automatic and need to be purposefully shaped by course teams, departments and institutions.
This workshop is aimed at staff with leadership roles at any of these levels. After putting research and teaching links in the more general context of complex change, the workshop will involve participants in drawing up a strategy for their individual contexts and will present a range of international strategies for ensuring effective links between (staff) discipline based research and the university curriculum.
Both workshop leaders have been and are involved in a range of initiatives in this area.
Michael Bradford is Professor of Geography at Manchester where he has been Pro-Vice-Chancellor for teaching and learning, Undergraduate Dean and Head of School. He is currently seconded one day a week to the Higher Education Academy where his brief is leadership and change.
Alan Jenkins is now a consultant on teaching /research links for the Higher Education Academy and Fellow of the Reinvention Centre for Undergraduate Research at Oxford Brookes (and Warwick) University. He is lead author of Reshaping Higher Education : Linking
Teaching and Research (2003) and Linking Teaching and Research in Disciplines and Departments (2007)
Kim Comer
Administrator
Centre for Excellence in Enquiry-Based Learning
University of Manchester
C24 Sackville Street Building
PO Box 88
Manchester M60 1QD
Tel: 0161 306 6443
Fax: 0161 306 6455
E-mail: kim.comer@manchester.ac.uk
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September 19th, 2007
From the Subject Centre for Information and Computer Sciences – Higher Education Academy:
The latest newsletter (September 2007) is now available
In this issue we would particularly like to draw your attention to the following articles:
* The ICS Centre is pleased to announce tranche 5 of the Subject Development Fund. £35,00 has been allocated to support small development projects within the ICS community. Deadline for submission of applications is Monday, 8th October 2007.
* Student Competition – “A week in the life…”. We are offering £250 for the best presentation (Audio and/or visual) produced by a UK student, or group of students, on any theme related to learning and studying in ICS.
* The ICS centre is pleased to announce the launch of a Pilot Question Bank. This is an interoperable web application for creating a bank of Computer Science and Informatics questions.
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September 12th, 2007
From the Bioscience Learning and Teaching Network:
We are pleased to announce the launch of our new website. Following feedback from our community via survey and through our own evaluation, we have put in place a more intuitive website for navigation with an improved design. In doing so we were particularly keen to maintain the strengths of the old website namely quality information quickly accessed from the home page. The website is not yet completed to our satisfaction as there are a very large amount of resources to transfer to the new structure and this process takes time. Therefore if you do have any difficulty finding the information you need – please get in touch.
In brief we have:
Restructured the content to better describe the broad range of Centre activity and assist navigation, under the following headings:
* Events and Themed Work
* Resources and Publication
* Funding and Recognition
* Networks and Links
* News and Information
* About Us
Further assisted navigation and searching by adding an A-Z of Resources and Frequently Asked Questions pages
Maintained the quick links on the home page
Reduced the clutter on the home page – highlighting only recent additions and news with links to further information
Added further and more obvious links to external organisations relevant to learning and teaching in the biosciences
Added pages for our English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh practitioners
Made it easier to ‘Join the Centre’ network of practitioners
Link to site
September 12th, 2007
New JISC publication explores the learner’s perspective on e-learning
A new publication from the JISC e-Learning Programme, In Their Own Words, has been launched at ALT-C in Nottingham. Synthesising outputs from Phase 1 of the Learners’ Experiences of e-Learning theme, it gives striking insights into learners’ motivations, beliefs and intentions about using technology in learning.
Designed as a flexible package to assist others in understanding the learner ‘s perspective on e-learning, In Their Own Words also provides a range of resources for internal institutional use. These include two pull-out information sheets on the social software and personal tools and technologies used by the learners participating in the studies, and a CD-ROM containing the original reports from the studies, five video case studies and a series of short guides summarising key messages for different sectors and roles.
In Their Own Words will primarily be of interest to managers, academic practitioners and technical staff in further and higher education, but is also of relevance to researchers and systems and tools developers. Potential uses of the publication and its accompanying resources include:
a. planning and debating institutional e-learning policy and provision
b. informing the development of learning environments and tools for
learning and the effective design of learning activities
c. supporting staff development activities centred on the learner’s
experience
d. guiding further research into the learner’s perspective on e-learning
Further information
The studies in the two-phase programme of research into learners’ experiences of e-learning are funded under the JISC e-Learning Programme and aim to better inform the design of learning activities and learning environments.
Further details on Phase 1 of the JISC Learner Experiences of e-Learning theme
Information about projects currently underway in Phase 2
Copies of In Their Own Words may be ordered from publications@jisc.ac.uk or
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September 12th, 2007
This international conference is dedicated to enhancing the quality of higher education in all engineering disciplines. It will serve as a forum for the sharing of innovation and good practice and will provide delegates with the opportunity to critically and creatively engage with new ideas and research that might help them develop their own approach to learning, teaching and assessment.
For more information please visit the ee2008 website
**CALL FOR PAPER ABSTRACTS & WORKSHOP PROPOSALS NOW OPEN – DEADLINE 02
NOVEMBER 2007**
September 4th, 2007
The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) has announced tranche 6 of the Subject Development Fund, £35,000 has been allocated to support small development projects within the ICS community. The maximum funding available for any single project will not exceed £3,000.
This scheme has been designed to:
- promote and disseminate effective teaching, learning and assessment
activities;
- encourage development and exchange of innovative techniques;
- develop good practice in the evaluation of teaching methods;
- raise the profile of pedagogic research within the ICS disciplines.
Projects should aim to bring into wider use exemplary techniques, methods or materials already developed and used successfully within local departments.
We particularly welcome submissions which address the Higher Education Academy’s three main themes;
- supporting new academic staff;
- assessment and feedback;
- employer engagement.
Further details can be found at this following link.
Deadline for submission of applications is Monday, 8th October 2007.
