Tweeting the Second World War

Follow 'ukwarcabinet' on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ukwarcabinet) to watch WWII unfold day by day through original Cabinet Papers from 1940 held at The National Archives.

Website here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/

Plagiarism Games

Have a play with this interesting online approach to plagiarism from University of Leicester: Don't Cheat Yourself

They say: 'Don’t cheat yourself’ is an interactive online tutorial designed by the Student Learning Centre to help you to understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. There are different versions of the tutorial available tailored to the needs of different subjects.

I like it - it does seem user-friendly and I like that there is a usable strategy for avoiding plagiarism, based on planning, recording, note-taking and referencing.

And in the spirit of acknowledging sources, the creators reference their inspiration by tutorials from Vaughan Memorial Library, Acadia University, Canada - which is also very nice and a little shorter, at 10 minutes: You Quote it, You note it

Call for Proposals - SOLSTICE 2010 Conference

Proposals for papers, workshops, presentations and posters are invited which consider:

• knowledge that has been applied and integrated to inform
• practices
• how we know and predict that practices  may work  through using
• evidence?
• what has been learned  that may positively influence the student
• experience in the future?
• insights gained into existing challenges and into new research
• agendas that are unfolding

The deadline for receipt of proposals (up to 300 words) is 5pm on Tuesday 26th January 2010 and should be submitted via the electronic proposal form at: www.edgehill.ac.uk/solstice/Conference2010/call.htm

Full details of the call for proposals are available from the SOLSTICE Conference website www.edgehill.ac.uk/solstice/Conference2010/call.htm


I went to the Solstice conference a few years ago and thought it was brilliant! 

JISC publishes funding roadmap for 2009/2010

The tagline is 'UK education is to benefit from over £7 million in grants and funding opportunities'. They say: 

Over the next nine months JISC will be investing in a range of projects across universities and colleges to support innovation in research, teaching and learning to aid the management of institutions. Projects will range from 12 months to three years in duration.

Among the areas JISC will be funding are:

• Cloud computing for research
• Learning and teaching innovation grants
• Business modelling and sustainability for online content and collections to develop best practice
• A ‘digipedia’ prototype to bring together resources, standards, best practise and expertise on the digital content lifecycle
• Shared best practice for university researchers working with business and community groups
• Access and identity management

More info here: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/Home/news/stories/2009/11/funding.aspx

A one day conference about the use of audio feedback in higher education

They say: The practice of using digital audio to provide feedback is an important area of emerging academic practice. The diversity of approaches and associated issues evident in higher education will be demonstrated and discussed through 16 short papers, 14 posters, and 3 workshops. There will also be a series of 'Challenge Circles' during the day in which participants will be invited to post and respond to key challenges. [Listen to Andrew Middleton introduce the theme of diversity that will be evident in the event on the conference podcast

Conference Date: Friday 18 December 2009

Timings: Registration opens at 8.30 am with the Welcome address starting at 9.30. The final session will conclude by 4.45.

Cost: £70.00
Venue: Sheffield Hallam University, City Campus, Howard Street, Sheffield S1 1WB. [Map] [Directions]
Website: http://research.shu.ac.uk/lti/awordinyourear2009/

Podcasting for Teaching and Learning

A really fabulous list of practical podcast uses for teaching and learning, courtesy @DuncanGreenhill:

Tutors as authors

• Preparation material

  This can be used to prepare students for face-to-face sessions such as lectures or tutorials so that the session time can be used for something other than the transfer of information. The rationale behind a particular practical could also be explored in a podcast.

• Recap of lecture material

• Expansion of lecture material

  This could include discussion of content demonstrating particular perspectives, formation of academic arguments, sharing enthusiasm and providing a basis for further academic discussion.

• Expert witness

  An interview or discussion with a prominent subject expert to explore a topic in depth, or describe current and future research directions. The expert could also talk about having a career in their particular academic area.

• Student Reflection

  A tutor could pose questions to promote student reflection on a topic. This could include questions of ethics, uncertainties or exploring differing academic theories.

• Group feedback

  A tutor can comment on a particular assessment to the whole group to identify common strengths, weaknesses, and improvments for future work.

• Individual Feedback

  This has the advantage that tone of voice can also be used to give encouragement and feedback on a particular piece of work.

• Audio 'tours'

  These could be instructions on how to perform a particular practical, or how to use a specific piece of equipment.

• Revision Summaries

  Particular topics could be summarised, or more general revision tips could be given.

Students as authors

• Audio introductions

  For example as an icebreaker on a new course. This also has the advantage of letting students create a podcast without the pressure of assessment.

• Audio Glossary

  Students research and record definitions of particular terms.

• Student Explanations

  Students research and record their explanations of particular topics.

• Student Presentations

  This could be done either as an individual or as a group.

• Expert Witness

  Students could interview a subject expert on a particular topic. The advantage of this technique is that students will need to research and determine their questions in some detail beforehand.

• Student Reflection

  This would be like an audio diary - students describing their approach to a particular topic or assessment, and reflecting on the outcomes afterward.

• Found audio

  Students share audio resources found elsewhere.

WebCT Downtime

WebCT will be unavailable from 12:30am on Saturday, 21 November 2009 for a period of up to two hours. This downtime is required to amend the SSL settings and resolve a number of issues.

Just before the start of the Autumn Term there was an attempt to remove SSL encryption from all WebCT traffic. As Blackboard were not able to complete the process within one hour as planned, the attempt was abandoned and the original settings were restored. Since then, Blackboard have been investigating the reasons for the failed attempt and we have reached the point where we are ready to try again. The planned downtime has been extended to a maximum of two hours and scheduled for the early hours of Saturday morning to minimise disruption. Please let the Central elearning team know if you are aware of any significant reason why this work should not go ahead as planned: elearnteam@lists.bham.ac.uk