Learning, Teaching and Assessment in Higher Education

Andrew Middleton reports on the e-learning 2.0 conference at Brunel University, 6-7 July 2009. In doing so, he attempts to find a new manageable way of reporting on what happened and what was significant. With reference to notes made at the time, he attempts to create a 10 minute audio report - and fails abysmally! Nevertheless, this report highlights several of the sessions from a useful and enjoyable conference.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Andrew Middleton shares outputs from the short paper presented at elearning 2.0, Brunel University, 6-7 July 2009. A pause for breath half way heralded a series of 3 minute activities that are introduced and reprooduced here. The term a-learning 2.0 is introduced, examined and quickly disposed of in the session! More information about the presentation can be found at Slideshare.net

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

This podcast episode presents a series of activities that invite you to participate in the writing of a book about innovative models for educational podcasting. The activities, which are introduced and accompanied by a downloadable work book, guide you through some simple techniques that will help you to generate about four ideas during a one hour session working with one other person. When you have finished please email your ideas to me at a.j.middleton (at) shu.ac.uk, and I will acknowledge this and invite you to become involved in the peer review system. The activity starts at 4 mins 30 seconds. Download the work book at: http://teaching.shu.ac.uk/podcast/pdf/edpod-workbook.pdf

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Recording of the session entitled Audio Feedback: timely media interventions from the Blended Learning Conference 2008, University of Hertfordshire, 19 June 2008Abstract: Audio feedback involves the use of distributed digital audio to provide formative messages to students helping them to develop knowledge and the way they learn. This paper presents several case studies by drawing upon interviews with academic staff and student focus groups. Ongoing research with these stakeholders identifies why audio feedback models, of which there are many, can be attractive and why they need to be carefully designed and integrated into the curriculum. The paper presents some early findings about the effective design of audio feedback and considers whether the interest in audio feedback may signal greater interest in designing constructivist media interventions.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

In this episode Andrew Middleton creates a commentary on the use of technologies whilst attending a two day conference - remotely. He attempts to answer the question: how does virtual attendance compare to attending a conference in person? As well as using the Adobe Acrobat Connections webinar system and communicating through the back channel, the podcast discusses many other communication channels including Twitter and several blogs and Ning spaces in order to engage with other participants and their interests and expertise.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Digital Storytelling is yet to make a large impact on Higher Education in the UK. This is about to change. A small, but growing network of academic innovators is emerging recognising the potential of DST as a way of sharing experience, of developing one's understanding through the process of making stories and thirdly by using digital technologies as tools to facilitate communication and collaboration. In this interview Julie Coleman, a Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy at Sheffield Hallam, describes her own interest in the media and he thoughts about its wider application. Julie references the Patient's Voices website where you can find some examples of stories: http://www.patientvoices.org.uk/

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cc Elmada, 2007

An exhibition of photographs to enhance learning.
Students and staff are invited to submit photographs to an exhibition of photographs and stories to be held in Sheffield Hallam University in May 2008. There is also a photo competition to encourage students to submit work.
A Picture is worth a thousand words - Prove it!
Digital cameras in one form or another are within reach of most of us everyday, wherever we are. Tools to edit and distribute the photographs we produce are also widely accessible. Your challenge is to demonstrate how can we take advantage of this in education.
Picture This! will be an exhibition featuring photographs taken by students and staff
in the course of learning and teaching.
To encourage students to contribute a photograph, and the story of why it was taken, the University is running this competition with three £150 prizes.

Your photo assignment...
Send us one photograph with between 150 and 300 words that explain why you took the photograph and how it related to your work.
5 further prizes of £10.00 each are available to students who email us the best ideas for how their course could make use of photographs. So whether your strength is in writing, photography or coming up with ideas there's a prize for you!
There are 3 categories:
*Ideas - creative ideas for the use of photographs to support learning
*Photograph - most engaging photograph
*Story - best learning story
Submission deadline: 28 March 2008
The Exhibition
An exhibition of submitted work will be hosted in the University during May 2008.

The judging panel
A panel of three judges will select the winners. They will include the Academic Affairs Officer of the Hallam Student's Union and the Head of Academic Innovation in the Learning and Teaching Institute at Sheffield Hallam University.
Organisers
This initiative is being run by Academic Innovation in the Learning and Teaching Institute at Sheffield Hallam University.
For further information contact Andrew Middleton, a.j.middleton AT shu.ac.uk
Submission rules
You can submit up to 3 entries with 3 different stories. Joint entries are permitted. You can nominate your preferred category or leave it open.

Submit digital photograph(s) in JPG format as an email attachment or through a link to a photo-sharing service like Flickr.com.
Include your name, year and course details.

All submissions may be used to inform research and promote best practice. By submitting your entry you give the University permission to reproduce it in publications and at academic events with acknowledgement, but no fee. You may only submit work that belongs to you.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Luke Bennett, a Senior Lecturer in the Built Environment subject group, shares his experience of using cameras to liven up law teaching. He has taken two approaches: the creative integration of photographs in his own teaching materials, and secondly by setting photography-based student assignments to create an engaging platform for some of the drier classess. Luke mentions that he used Flickr as a website so that his students could contribute their images - you can access flickr at www.flickr.com. Andrew Middleton also introduces the Ubiquitous Images Exhibition that will take place at Sheffield Hallam this year in which academic and student photographs will be displayed. You can contact Andrew if you have something to submit at: a.j.middleton AT shu.ac.uk.
Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

This recording captures a preliminary event for the Sheffield Hallam Change Academy Shared Futures initiative. It is being led from the Learning and Teaching Institute by Abbi Flint of the Educational Change team. I spoke to several of the groups and individuals participating in this institutional change initiative at this event which provided many of them with their first opportunity to engage with Shared Futures and, in some cases, fellow team members.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

In this episode Andrew Middleton talks with Anne Nortcliffe about the use of Audio Feedback in supporting her Software Engineering students. She discusses the specific approach she has formulated in providing formative, timely and engaging feedback by recording and distributing lab conversations.
This episode also includes the voice of a student reflecting on the approach. This interview was conducted during a Skype phone conversation. The approach is discussed in the following paper:
Nortcliffe, A. and Middleton, A. (2007) Audio Feedback for the ipod Generation. Proceedings of International Conference on Engineering Education 2007, Coimbra, Portugal, ID: 489, 2007
Abstract
Audio Feedback for the iPod Generation
It is a common to see students using their iPod or phone. Podcasting is a disruptive technology: the media are recognising the need to embrace the iPod generation in delivering their content. Should ink and paper continue to be the default media for academia? What can we do with audio? Can audio feedback be used to support the learning of the iPod generation? This paper compares the summative assessment results for a cohort using recorded audio feedback in formative and summative assignments to that of a cohort who received formative and summative feedback in an aural and/or succinctly, written form. The paper presents students’ reflections on the use of audio formative and summative assessment feedback for a module and considers whether this type of feedback had a pivotal role in the assessment process and a significant impact on their academic performance. The paper proposes a strategy for the integration of digital audio into assessment feedback to promote feed-forward student learning.

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This is the third recording that has emanated from the ALT-C workshop that set out to evaluate the fit between Web 2.0 technologies and e-portfolios led by Susannah Diamond and Andrew Middleton from Sheffield Hallam University. Reflecting on the workshop, and the outcomes of the various user-participation activities, Andrew and Susannah realised that they were arriving at some conclusions. It came as a surprise to find that matters regarding the academic adoption of Web 2.0 were beginning to fall into place. The discussion references the wiki to which the data was posted. This is publicly available at http://portfolios-2-0.pbwiki.com/ . If you would like to contribute to that wiki please email Andrew at lta-podcast@shu.ac.uk for details on accessing it.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Susannah Diamond and Andrew Middleton discuss the design and facilitation of a role play activity from a workshop they led at the ALT-C 2007 conference at Nottingham University. The role play was intended to reveal the perspectivities of various academic stakeholders with regard to the adoption og Web 2.0 technologies as e-portfolios. They discuss what worked and why and then consider whether the extensive data generated during the role play is of value in and of itself. The discussion references the wiki to which the data was posted. This is publicly available at http://portfolios-2-0.pbwiki.com/ . If you would like to contribute to that wiki please email Andrew at lta-podcast@shu.ac.uk for details on accessing it.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Susannah Diamond and Andrew Middleton led a workshop at the ALT-C 2007 conference at Nottingham University that set out to consider the opportunities and appropriateness of Web 2.0 applications as student portfolio applications. This podcast presents the discussion from the last part of the workshop. A wiki was set up to promote further discussion and engagement with the question beyond the workshop. This is publicly available at http://portfolios-2-0.pbwiki.com . If you would like to contribute to that wiki please email Andrew at lta-podcast@shu.ac.uk for details on accessing it.

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

Andrew Middleton speaks with Matt Gough about collaboration and technology. The interview followed a performance by Matt in collaboration with three other artists who between them used dance and various new and old technologies to transfer and mediate knowledge.
It is hoped that by immediately reflecting on this successful technology mediated collaboration understanding of the dynamics and potential of collaboration and technology will be found.
The performance took place in the Real-time Collaborative Art Making workshop organised by Dr Greg Sportan of the Visualisation Research unit at the University of Central England. See http://www.biad.uce.ac.uk/vru/collaborativeart/index.php for resources relating to this workshop.
Notes made during the workshop can be found at http://andrew-conf.blogspot.com/

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

This episode describes how a web-based application called MyChingo is allowing academics to invite students to leave voice notes in their Blackboard courses. We hear from Cheryl Middleton an academic in the ACES faculty, a student placement who worked with Cheryl, one of the students from her course and my colleague Helen Rodger who tested the MyChingo device for ease of use.
More information about MyChingo is available at http://www.mychingo.com/

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Participants in an educational podcasting workshop discuss the question "What makes an engaging educational podcast?"
This short episode repeats the activity carried out in episode #44, and many of the responses here echo what was suggested earlier. The podcast illustrates another aspect of educational podcasting - how the activity itself (rather than the information it carries) can be used to focus a class and provide an engaging platform to output group discussion work: the podcast as flipchart!

Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk