Weekly Resource Roundup – 29/7/2022

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.

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.

Annual Learning and Teaching Conference

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

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the 10th Annual Learning and Teaching Conference, which is just over a month away, 12-14 September.

 This year’s conference theme, Designing the Teaching of Tomorrow: Innovation, Enhancement, and Excellence: Celebrating 10 years of Aberystwyth University’s Learning and Teaching Conferences, aims to reflect the commitment that AU staff have to enhance the student learning experience and recognise a decade of conferences. 

We’re pleased to confirm our full programme.  We will have 2 online days (Monday 12 and Wednesday 14 September) and 1 in person day (Tuesday 13 September).

 You can register for the conference by completing this online form.  

 We’re very excited to welcome three external speakers this year: 

  • This year’s keynote speaker is presented by Kyra Araneta, Jennifer Fraser, and Moonisah Usman from the University of Westminster. They will be looking specifically at socially just staff and student partnership work.
  • Our second external speaker, Alex Hope, will be looking at meaningful ways in which we can embed sustainability across our curricula.
  • We’re delighted to welcome back our colleague, Ania Udalowska, to run a session on the Digital Learning Champions project they are running at the University of Arts London.

We have an exciting and varied programme this year with representatives from all faculties. In addition to our external speakers, we’ve got some great topics being presented by colleagues:

  • Round table on developing students’ digital capabilities with colleagues from Business, Psychology and Education
  • Academic integrity in a post-Covid landscape
  • Student engagement strategies
  • Authentic assessments
  • Translanguaging within a bilingual context

We look forward to seeing you at the conference, and please remember to register for the conference by completing this online form. 

Parent-child modules 2022-23

WordPress User [jbw] Blackboard, Technical Updates Leave a comment
Image of Blackboard logo and parent-child

Now that the 2022-23 modules are available to staff, we can link them together at the module co-ordinator’s request. This process is known as parent-childing. Linking modules together is an effective way of dealing with separate modules with the same content so you don’t have to upload materials to two or more different modules.

This process makes one module the parent, whilst the other module(s) become a child. There’s no limit on how many modules you make a child but there can only be one parent.

If you’d like to parent-child your modules, and you’re the module co-coordinator, contact elearning@aber.ac.uk with the module codes for the parent and child modules.

Examples from Aberystwyth

Many members of staff are currently using parent-child modules across the institution. Some examples are:

  1. Modules are taught the same content but there’s a module available for different years
  2. Modules that bring together different degree schemes and have different module IDs, for example dissertation modules

Essentially, any module that shares the same content is ideal for parent-childing.

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Annual Learning and Teaching Conference: Celebrating 10 years

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

This year marks the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit’s 10th year of organising the annual learning and teaching conference. To celebrate, we’ve made all of our materials from our previous conferences available on our conference webpage.

We’ve also been looking over our stats and brought together a number of facts for you.

Since the first conference in 2013, we have had:

  • Over 400 different members of staff and students from Aberystwyth University present at the conference
  • Over 1000 attendees

Most sessions by Department:

Our top 10 academic departments presenting at the conference are:

  1. IBERS with 41 sessions
  2. Education with 28 sessions
  3. Lifelong Learning with 26 sessions
  4. Psychology with 21 sessions
  5. Computer Science with 18 sessions
  6. Aberystwyth Business School with 17 sessions
  7. International Politics with 14 sessions
  8. Physics with 13 sessions
  9. Geography and Earth Sciences with 12 sessions
  10. Law and Criminology with 11 sessions

Most sessions by a presenter

We’ve got a tie for first place with the greatest number of sessions run by an academic member of staff. With a total of 8 sessions, we have Education’s Steve Atherton, Psychology’s Antonia Ivaldi and Gareth Norris. Tied in fourth place, with 7 sessions, we have IBERS’ Basil Wolf and Physics and the Graduate School’s Maire Gorman. Big well done to them.

We’re really looking forward to the next 10 years of conferences. We hope you can make the conference between 12 and 14 September with a mixture of online and in-person sessions. Book your place online.

2022-2023 Modules now available to Staff

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

Modules for the academic year 2022-2023 are now available for staff teaching on modules. This is in order to assist staff in preparing for the new academic year.

You may have noticed that a new tab has appeared on the top menu of your Blackboard screen:

2022-23 Modules

If you’re enrolled as a staff member on the module in Astra then you should be able to view your modules for next academic year. If you’re not able to see a module that you are enrolled on then contact your Departmental Administrator. Students won’t be enrolled on the module until registration is complete.  

If you have any queries regarding Course Copy, or need further assistance, please email elearning@aber.ac.uk. 

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

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.

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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.