Learning, Teaching And Assessment In Higher Education

Andrew Middleton returns to reinstate the LTA Podcast. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Andrew Middleton shares outputs from the short paper presented at elearning 2.0, Brunel University, 6-7 July 2009. A pause from 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 http://www.slideshare.net/amiddlet50. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

A product from a Media Frenzy. This is what it's all about! featuring the sample Ditto, Ditto by DoKashiteru, 2009 - Licensed under Creative Commons, Sampling Plus Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

This recording comes from the discussion that followed the most recent Media Frenzy event. This is the point where I, and those taking part, have the opportunity to ask, "What does this mean for academic practice?" Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Andrew Middleton shares a couple of audio activities from the most recent Media Frenzy: Media Chairs and/or Pass the Parcel - who knows?! This demonstrates how audio devices can be used to promote and facilitate conversation and prime further learning activity. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Andrew Middleton reports on the Media Frenzy, a student digital creativity challenge event he organised at Sheffield Hallam University. Mathew Love, a lecturer in Art, Design, Communications and Media, discusses why this sort of event is useful to students, including his first years. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Claire Craig, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy in Sheffield Hallam's faculty of Health and Wellbeing, talks about e-Role play, one of her innovative approaches to teaching. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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 Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Recording of the session entitled Audio Feedback: timely media interventions from the Blended Learning Conference 2008, University of Hertfordshire, 19 June 2008 Abstract: 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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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/. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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 furthe

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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Natalie Turner, a Graphic Design lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, discusses how Flickr, the Web 2.0 photo sharing website has been used to support a field trip based assignment. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

Carol Pollard and Andrew Jackson talk to Andrew Middleton about how and why they are learning to develop digital video for the clinical skills development amongst . Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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.Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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. Check the Show Notes at http://ltapodcast.blogspot.com

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, 2007AbstractAudio Feedback for the iPod GenerationIt 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 feedbac