Month: June 2022

Digital Insights Assistant – Joseph

WordPress User [jow111] Uncategorised Leave a comment

Hi! I’m Joseph and I will be working with the LTEU team on analysing and disseminating the results from the Students Digital Experience Insights Survey 2022. As the digital experience has become integral to the continuation and development of student learning this survey allows us to understand how the implementation of digital systems has affected students. As a student who went through the introduction of these newer systems, I have experience and a firm grasp of the student perspective. This will allow me to better analyse and place these results.

When I first was deciding upon universities, I had three I wanted to apply for and was able to make it to the open days of two of these. However, due to travel issues I couldn’t attend the Aberystwyth open day. When finally deciding which one to choose I realised both my sisters were attending those other two universities, so in order to have a lot more freedom I chose to apply for Aberystwyth and only saw it for the first time just before my first lecture.

Despite me not knowing anything about Aberystwyth I fell in love with it throughout my degree and thoroughly enjoyed my joint course. I’ve learned to not only create rigid and complex essays on English literature but also how to plan and setup a filming area entirely on my own (Camera Included). I also became the president for an academic society for a department I’m not a part of. This gave me a lot more insight into other degree schemes and student opinions as I found each department has very distinct and varying perspectives to their learning.

Throughout filming escapades and society committees I’ve learned great cooperative skills and filled in various positions in group dynamics in order to be more effective. I’m hoping to carry these skills over when working with the LTEU team in order to facilitate the detailed analysis of the Students Digital Experience Insights Survey 2022 as well as aiding the team with suggesting ideas and helping in the planning of projects.

XOXO

Weekly Resource Roundup – 29/6/2022

WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery.   

Online events and webinars

Resources and publications

Other

  • Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.
  • Call for proposals 30/6/2022 Transformative Teaching international online conference.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. You may also wish to follow my Twitter feed, Mary Jacob L&T.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 20/6/2022

WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery.   

Online events and webinars

Resources and publications

Other

  • Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.
  • Call for proposals 30/6/2022 Transformative Teaching international online conference.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. You may also wish to follow my Twitter feed, Mary Jacob L&T.  

Your Fellowship Records

WordPress User [kaw] Advance HE Leave a comment

Do you hold any category of HEA Fellowship (awarded by Advance HE)?

This may be Associate Fellow (AFHEA), Fellow (FHEA), Senior Fellow (SFHEA) or Principal Fellow (PFHEA).

If so, many congratulations! Your fellowship “demonstrates a personal and institutional commitment to professionalism in learning and teaching in higher education.” (Advance HE, Fellowship) 

As part of our annual data returns, we need to make sure that we have records of all categories of fellowship holders. You can do this yourself by updating your ABW record. If you gained fellowship in another institution, you should also update your records with Advance HE to reflect your current post at Aberystwyth University.

Update your ABW record

Make sure that your ABW correctly records the category you currently hold. Remember to update your record if you are awarded a new category of fellowship.

  1. Login to Aber Business World (Aber People) using your normal AU login details.
  • Make sure you are on the Your employment tab from the menu on the left.
Screenshot of ABW with Your employment highlighted

  • Go to Personnel Information in the Your Employment column.
Screenshot of ABW with Personnel information highlighted

  • Go to the HESA tab.
Screenshot of ABW with HESA tab highlighted

  • Once there, scroll down until you reach a series of fields labelled as Teaching Qualification.
Screenshot of ABW with Teaching Qualification boxes highlighted

  • Click on the downward arrow on one of the Teaching Qualification fields.

A dropdown list will open that includes several options that begin with Recognised by Advance HE as a….

Select the appropriate fellowship category.

Screenshot of ABW with fellowship category listing highlighted

  • Do not forget to click the Save button at the bottom of the screen.
Screenshot of ABW with Save button highlighted

My Advance HE

If you gained fellowship at another institution and have moved to AU, update your My Advance HE record to show your new Employer Relationship with Aberystwyth University.

  1. Login to My Advance HE with your Advance HE username and password. If you don’t know your password, you use the link on the login page to reset it
  2. Click on My Profile
  3. Click on Update Profile
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Create new employer relationship
  5. Add the details of your new job at Aberystwyth University
  6. You can also edit the details of any previous posts (eg to add an end date) by clicking on the downwards arrow next to that post and selecting Edit.
  7. Click on Submit

And of course, if you are interested in applying for another fellowship category, you can apply for AFHEA, FHEA and SFHEA through the ARCHE scheme.

Annual Learning and Teaching Conference Keynote Announcement

WordPress User [jbw] Annual Learning and Teaching Conference 2022, Conference Leave a comment

We are pleased to announce this year’s annual learning and teaching conference keynote (12-14 September 2022).

Kyra Araneta, Jennifer Fraser, and Moonisah Usman from the University of Westminster will be joining us virtually for their keynote speech, Navigating power lines: Developing principles and practices to support socially just student : staff partnerships.

In this keynote Kyra, Jennifer, and Moonisah will be discussing their successful staff-student partnership projects.

Session Abstract

For many of us universities and classrooms are sites of possibility (hooks, 1994) that we invest with hopes for different futures for students and ourselves. They are also sites of tension as we navigate complex relationships and power dynamics. How we live education for liberation has become even more pressing in recent years with mobilisations for Black Lives Matter and calls to decolonise universities. In Power Lines: On the Subject of Feminist Alliances Aimee Carrillo Rowe asks ‘How do we build power lines that connect us to others in, through, and for justice?’ (2008, p. 2). Our keynote engages with this question to explore how we develop principles and practices to support socially just student : staff partnership relationships. We argue that, if designed for social justice, partnerships can create anti-racist and decolonial atmospheres (Bell, 2018) that become sites of possibility. Using examples from our work at the University of Westminster we engage with the intersections of power, allyship, social justice and partnership to consider strategies for building programmes that centre transformative relationships. We share examples of how we have built relationships, co-created programme values and enacted these in partnership projects. To illustrate how we can build partnerships with power lines that connect us for social justice we will use the example of the Pedagogies for Social Justice Project  (https://blog.westminster.ac.uk/psj/). This project is committed to centring student voices in its values, beliefs and experiences and in using these to dismantle contemporary forms of coloniality in curricula, relationships and research. We argue that partnerships are pivotal to this work as they co-produce knowledge; develop new and critical ways of understanding disciplines; and undertake sustained collaboration, experimentation and dialogue. Understanding that these are challenging and complex processes, we offer this keynote as a step in your University’s and your own journeys toward creating socially just pedagogical spaces for students and staff.

Read More

Weekly Resource Roundup – 10/6/2022

WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery.   

Online events and webinars

Resources and publications

Other

  • Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.
  • Call for proposals 30/6/2022 Transformative Teaching international online conference.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. You may also wish to follow my Twitter feed, Mary Jacob L&T.  

LTEU 2022 Summer Update

WordPress User [ksg2] Uncategorised Leave a comment

Update to Turnitin

For the academic year 2022/23 we will be using a new version of Turnitin.
On Tuesday 5 July 2022 Information Services will be enabling the new version of Turnitin on Blackboard. Whilst most of Turnitin’s current functionality will remain the same, there will be some changes. To help staff with this change, we have arranged the following FAQs.
Further information can be found on our Changes to Turnitin: Information for Staff blogpost.

Updated E-Learning Policies

Updated versions of all e-learning policies are available from the Information Services Regulations and Policies site.
Blackboard RMP and E-submission policies remain unchanged from last years. There have been some updates to the lecture capture policy. These include clarification on the retention period for recordings and guidance on using Panopto for assessment.

10th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference

We will be hosting our 10th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference between 12-14 September 2022.
Conference Registration is now open. Further information, including the conference programme will be available on our Annual Learning and Teaching Conference webpage.

Digital Insight Survey

The student Digital Insights Survey has recently closed, with over 660 responses. Overseen by JISC, the survey asks students about their use of technology in learning and teaching, and provides a benchmark for comparisons with other institutions.
The results of the survey can be used to inform strategic decisions to enhance the digital experience and enable digital transformation.
Last year’s key findings can be found in the Student Digital Insights Survey Results blog post. Key findings of the 2022 survey will be published soon. Subscribe to the LTEU blog for notifications.

ARCHE

The ARCHE programme is a means by which Aberystwyth University (AU) staff can apply for Fellowship in the Higher Education Academy (now part of Advance HE). See the ARCHE scheme handbook for full details.
The next deadline for applications is 07/09/2022. To express an interest in applying, please email felstaff@aber.ac.uk.

PGCTHE

The PGCTHE is open to staff teaching on Aberystwyth University courses. Participants should have at least 40 hours contact teaching time at higher education level over the duration of each module, but there is scope to consider staff with other scenarios on a case-by-case basis. Please email the course team for more information.
The next intake for both module 1 and module 2 will be in January 2023. The deadline for applications is 1 November. Attendance at induction is required for all students.

TPAU 2022-23 Competition Opens in May

We will start recruiting for the next cohort of the Teaching for Postgraduates at Aberystwyth University programme this month. Any interested PGRs who are teaching can apply for a place on the programme up until 24th June. The compulsory Induction for the programme will take place on 20th and 21st September. Further information.

Subscribe to the LTEU Blog

Subscribe to the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Blog so that you receive an email notification whenever a new post is written. Keep up-to-date with software developments, new initiatives, training sessions and events that help support teaching activities and technology-enhanced learning.

Weekly Resource Roundup

The Weekly Resource Roundup includes resources to help staff teach effectively, such as external webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more.

CPD

Attend sessions in our annual CPD programme.
The programme includes sessions on e-learning, as well as lots of sessions on learning and teaching topics such as assessment and feedback, presentation skills, accessibility, and more.
We deliver some sessions ourselves, while others are delivered by university staff whose teaching features good practice in those areas. Look for (L&T) in the session title.

Blackboard Course Creation 2022-23

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Technical Updates Leave a comment
Distance Learner Banner

Towards the end of July we will start to create Blackboard modules for 2022-23.

Unlike previous years, there will be no existing courses created blank. This decision was made at the recent Academic Board.

Course content and files will be copied over from the version of the module in the previous academic year. Turnitin submission points, Panopto recordings, and interactive Blackboard activities are not included in the copy; these will need to be rebuilt. We’ve got lots of FAQs to assist staff with this.

If you are running a new module then these will be created using your pre-agreed Departmental Templates. Similarly, if you are running a module that hasn’t run in the past couple of years then these will also be created blank.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact us (elearning@aber.ac.uk). Once the modules have been created, we will let you know.

Weekly Resource Roundup – 6/6/2022

WordPress User [mhj] Resources and Webinars, Weekly Resource Roundup Leave a comment

As leader of our PGCTHE programme, I keep an eye out for resources to help staff teach effectively. These include webinars, podcasts, online toolkits, publications and more. Topics include active learning, online/blended teaching, accessibility/inclusion, and effective learning design based on cognitive science. Below I’ve listed items that came to my attention in the past week. In the interest of clarity, our policy is to show the titles and descriptions in the language of delivery.   

Online events and webinars

Resources and publications

Other

  • Subscribe to SEDA’s mailing list for email discussions about educational development and emerging teaching practices. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Follow University of Birmingham’s Higher Education Futures institute HEFi on Twitter for daily posts with links to pedagogical literature and more. This is one of the sources I use when identifying useful material for the Roundup.
  • Join the #LTHEchat on Twitter Wednesday nights for one hour of lively discussion about learning and teaching in HE.
  • Call for proposals 30/6/2022 Transformative Teaching international online conference.

Please see the Staff Training booking page for training offered by the LTEU and other Aberystwyth University staff. I hope you find this weekly resource roundup useful. If you have questions or suggestions, please contact our team at lteu@aber.ac.uk. You may also wish to follow my Twitter feed, Mary Jacob L&T.