 Summer 2002 ISSN 1477-1241 Published by the |
Issue 2: Information TechnologyLTiA home page |
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Editorial
Rachel Forsyth
WebCT at MMU: progress and possibilities
Rachel Forsyth
Developing Links Using Online Learning
Rachel Harradine
Of Mice and Pen
John Pal and Mark Stubbs
Using online learning to disseminate disability-related materials to Learning and Teaching Staff
Mike Wray
Independent Online Learning: Enhancing the Student Experience
Mike Cole
Introducing Online Learning in the Curriculum - Ensuring an Inclusive Learning Experience
Kate Kirk
Adding an extra dimension: the experience of using WebCT for the Literature and its Readers unit
Margaret Kendall
WebCT in the Arctic - evaluating the first module for a new university
Bill Johnston
Developments in Lecture Theatre Technology
Robert Ready
MS PowerPoint for Lecture Delivery: Staff and Student Perspectives
Dawn Nicholson
The European Computer Driving Licence Pilot Scheme
Jerry Niman
Report from HSS Faculty Seminar on Online Learning
Philip Lloyd
Faculty Learning and Teaching Reports
Faculty of Art and Design
The Faculty of Art and Design has been working on a number of learning and teaching activities this year, of which the most significant has been the development of the outcomes led design, delivery and assessment of its programmes. Pioneering a new approach to achieving parity across the subject of Art & Design, a 'Learning Outcomes Tool Kit' has been produced for the use of course teams as they write up their Programme Specifications, definitive documents and unit descriptions. Stage Descriptors generic to Art & Design are now being developed that will map onto the subject's aims and outcomes. This work has formed the basis for the Faculty co-partnering a £250,000 bid for FDTL4 funding with Middlesex University and The London Institute, currently through to the second round of consideration. The Faculty's Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow, Sue Bailey, would be very interested to hear from any colleagues in other faculties working on similar developments.Sue Bailey
Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow
telephone: 0161 247 3525
e-mail: s.bailey@mmu.ac.uk
The Business School
The Business School held a Learning and Teaching Workshop on the topic of 'Online Learning' on Thursday 23rd May which attended by over 40 members of staff. Presenters came from the Business School as well as other faculties and central units. The session considered assessment, flexibility, delivery options and online resources from the library before discussing the ways in which the School could move forward in this area.Irene Harris
Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow
telephone: 0161 247 3726
e-mail: i.harris@mmu.ac.uk
Faculty of Community Studies, Law and Education
Seminars and workshops were held each term during this academic year. Some were devoted to Online Learning, including practical sessions such as 'Getting Started', while others focused on Pedagogical Issues. The Learning and Teaching Committee will shortly be advertising a programme for the coming year that will reflect the University and Faculty priorities for learning and teaching. Issues to be addressed will therefore include Flexible Learning including E-Learning and Independent Learning Strategies, Equal Opportunities and Inclusive Learning, Quality Enhancement and Learning Support for Student Retention and Success.By the time this copy of Learning & Teaching in Action has gone to press we will only just have held our first Faculty Learning and Teaching Research and Development Day (30 May) and a summary report of this will be available in the next issue. Two workshops are also planned for late June/early July on the Implementation of SENDA 2001.
Kate Kirk
Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow
telephone: 0161 247 2132
email: k.kirk@mmu.ac.uk
Crewe + Alsager Faculty
The FLTC has been working hard developing its Strategic Plan. This has now been circulated as a discussion document across the Faculty, inviting comment, observations, additions, etc. The Dean has promised a budget to facilitate the achievement of its strategic objectives. The Plan covers a large number of L+T issues - student learning support, learning and teaching strategies, assessment procedures, pedagogical research, celebration of good practice, engagement with innovation, particularly in the context of contemporary agendas such as Equal Opportunities and Widening Participation, and the expanded role of IT in teaching/learning design and delivery.The staff development agenda is taking, as its initial base, the findings of the APDN Survey, discussed through a Faculty Seminar on 5 June 2002 and facilitated by Jane Artess and Nuala Byrne. A Faculty newsletter (on-line and paper version) is being developed by Peter Cuthbert and will be circulated later this term. Meanwhile Ian Purchase and John Jordan are putting the finishing touches to a Skills Unit, to be offered as an option unit to Level 2 students. This was approved in principle at the recent review of the Faculty Undergraduate Programme. Finally, a number of us are working on the more detailed development of the L+T Strategic Plan.
Professor G Heathcote
Chair, Crewe+Alsager Faculty Learning and Teaching subcommittee
telephone: 0161 247 5571
e-mail: g.m.heathcote@mmu.ac.uk
Hollings Faculty of Food, Clothing and Hospitality Management
The Faculty established a Learning and Teaching Committee in the summer of 2000 and has subsequently managed to get two Senior Learning and Teaching Fellowships - myself and my colleague Philip Johnson.The Faculty L & T committee has been trying to encourage staff in the Faculty to work on L & T initiatives and has a small fund to pump-prime initiatives. These have included: an undergraduate dissertation support web site, a feasibility study on textile testing on a CD Rom, a support for the teaching of undergraduate HRM units, wireless digital recording of machine engineering laboratory classes etc.
The committee has also been keen to promote the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) amongst both staff and students and has worked with the library to build up Faculty resources on this. Now that the testing of ECDL within the University has been resolved it is hoped that a steady stream of candidates from the Faculty will be taking the ECDL.
A major initiative within the Faculty has been to secure within the Department of Clothing Design and Technology (CDT) a major EU 5th Initiative funded project with a diverse group of European partners - the project has the title 'e-Telestia'. The aim of the project is to create a learning platform with a wide range of e- resources for students of clothing and fashion. The team in CDT, lead by Phil Reilly, is developing a virtual clothing factory that will go on to this learning platform. Though perhaps more importantly, in these days of rising students numbers, this will be a resource available to our students showing them a wide range of clothing machinery, equipment and manufacturing processes. The virtual factory will include video clips, diagrams and technical details covering the needs of all the students within the department - fashion designers to clothing engineers.
The project has a life of two years, to be completed by 31st December 2003, but well within that time frame we hope to have at least part of the virtual factory resource available.
The Faculty has always been noted for its sandwich courses and the industrial placement element of these courses has always been highly regarded. These placement opportunities for students continue to be an important part of most courses in the Faculty. The problem that has arisen with increasing numbers of students is not finding the placements but the preparation of students for placement. The Faculty is looking at a web-based resource to assist in the preparation of students for placement. This resource is to be organised so that students can be monitored as they work through the web site. This should be up and running, at least in a pilot format, by the autumn term this year.
Also linking to industrial placements the Hospitality and Tourism Management Department (HTM) have been developing a web-based placement reporting and information service with the ability to receive, store and analyse on-line responses from tutors and employers. This project was one pump-primed by the Faculty L & T committee.
The HTM department have also been developing their 'Click'nGo' project. This is a JISC funded research project and is intended to design, develop and evaluate the use of streaming media to support lecturers and their presentations to students. It also provides a valuable resource for learners. The project is on-going though good results have achieved in extending the value of text based information (recipes in cookery) with the support of streamed video.
This is really just a 'taster' of the L & T developments in the Faculty. To enable wider dissemination of the L & T initiatives amongst colleagues in the Faculty and within the wider University it is planned to have an 'L & T Day', probably early in the autumn term.
Michael Jeffrey
Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow
Hollings Campus
telephone: 0161 247 2775
e-mail: m.jeffrey@mmu.ac.uk
Faculty of Humanities and Social Science
The Faculty has recently held a seminar on online learning, click here to read Philip Lloyd's report of the event.Faculty of Science and Engineering
The Learning and Teaching subcommittee in the Faculty of Science and Engineering has undergone a refurbishment in the last 15 months. It was re-established in January 2001 under the co-chairmanship of Brian Murphy (from Chemistry and Materials) and Maureen Dawson (from Biological Sciences) who were, then, recently appointed Senior Learning and Teaching Fellows. The committee structure has good representation from across the Faculty services and administration, and has been re-structured so that there are two members of academic staff representing each department, one of whom has departmental responsibility for Learning and Teaching. We also have representation from the Learning and Teaching unit. Apart from a minor change in title (to keep us in line with the Learning and Teaching unit), the first item tackled by the committee was our terms of reference, our overall aim being to 'enhance learning and teaching activity within the Faculty'. A number of working parties were set up with a view to establishing a programme of Learning and Teaching seminars within the Faculty, to plan an annual event for disseminating L and T activities, and to evaluate different ways of fulfilling our terms of reference. The results of these working parties, and the support of the Faculty as a whole, have been a successful series of seminars (the last being given by Phil Race from Leeds University with more than 40 attendees) a highly successful event: LT2001 which took place in June 2001, the establishment of 'Bids to Make a Difference' whereby 12 groups within the Faculty have been awarded grants of £500 to help them further their L and T activities. We all look forward to hearing the results of these projects at LT2002 (in September) and LT2003.The committee has also been involved with the development of a Faculty Learning and Teaching strategy, which has centred on 4 major areas: E-learning, Pedagogic research, Current trends in HE and the Learning Environment. Next year will be a busy year as we try to live up to our terms of reference. Alan Fielding (Biological Sciences, Learning and Teaching Fellow) takes over as Chair of the sub-committee. We all wish him well.
Maureen Dawson
Senior Learning and Teaching Fellow
telephone: 0161 247 1205
e-mail: m.m.dawson@mmu.ac.uk
July 2002
ISSN 1477-1241