ISSUE 9 ; 10/12/08
ILT NEWS
EGG NOGGING
APPLYING FOR UNIVERSITY
Talented Blenders Will Be Sorely Missed
The Blended Learning Team are
mourning the impending loss of
Rosemary Hiron and Darren Cass. As
far as we in the Hive are concerned,
they have been absolutely brilliant,
embracing new technology, seeking
out new ways to enthuse and engage
their students and communicating
clearly with Hive staff. Rosemary’s
Moodles are exemplary, full of games,
online assessment, news feeds,
automatically updated glossaries and
activities.
Her students have been left a well
structured and rich resource with
revision activities and online support
that will last them the length of the
course, long after Rosemary has
settled in her new job at Frome
Community College.
What is on...
teachers.tv
ICT SOS: Enhancing your visuals
Short film about a PE teacher learning
how to use video to improve student
performance.
We are going to miss Darren Cass
too. Though not such a keen Moodler,
he has been open to new initiatives
and approaches, experimenting with
new software to enrich his students’
experience. He has had his Travel and
Tourism students edit their mobile
phone videos with Moviemaker,
trained them up with Photostory and
had some very successful sessions
using Turning Point, the voting
software that turns Powerpoint into
an interactive experience for the
whole class.
I am sure that as well as their students,
we are not the only department who
will miss them both. But good luck
to them in the future. We hope they
will both be very happy.
THIS WEEK IN MOODLE
Have you noticed Moodle’s festive
front page. Nice and tacky, just the
way we like it. I have enjoyed hearing
the coos of delight from students in
the Hive when they find their Moodle
decorated. It seems to put them in a
good mood.
Fun end of term activities are
appearing all over Moodle; notices
about trips, shows, fun quizzes,
seasonal crosswords and so on.
It is also deadline time for a lot of
assignments and the increase in
student Moodle activity is evident
as they refer back to materials and
resources, double check assignment
briefs and communicate with each
other in forums. You can almost
see the steam coming off Moodle as
the students work themselves into
frenzy.


RESOURCES ROUNDUP
City of Bath College Channel on youtube
http://uk.youtube.com/user/CityofBathCollege
Why not become a subscriber, choose your favourite videos by
our students, leave comments or create a playlist. The channel
has 16 short films including some excellent dance videos,
produced by and starring our students. Well worth a look.
EGG NOGGING
APPLYING FOR UNIVERSITY
EGGHEAD
Academic and provocative
theories and debates on
the subject of ILT
Mentors with a Difference
Students at the University of Hertfordshire take
a new approach to bridging the technological
generation gap. (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/digitalstudent
Keith Seed, senior lecturer in strategic
management at the University of Hertfordshire’s
business school, is in his early 50s, and, as he
freely admits, no IT nerd. Yet he has become a
confident podcaster, all thanks to the guidance
and support of his students.
This is the result of a university scheme
which makes use of the fact that students’
IT know-how is often superior to that of
their teachers. The scheme, which began in
the business school but has since expanded
to other departments, provides a 15-strong
helpdesk of student mentors, charged with
helping lecturers sort out their IT difficulties
and make better use of the university’s virtual
learning environment (VLE), StudyNet, as well
as advising staff on ways to make e-learning
more engaging for students.
“I used to video my lectures but I couldn’t
edit or upload them on to StudyNet,” says
Seed. “It was taking me hours and hours. A
student mentor worked with me as I learned
the ropes.”
His students are able to use his edited
podcasts as a study aid, and he believes that
their engagement in learning has increased as
a result.
Rachel Ramsey, one of the student technology
mentors, found the role reversal felt strange
at first. “But my experience so far has been
that lecturers have been relaxed,” she says.
“They are quite comfortable at having a
student giving them advice. “
Like many consultants she charges by the hour
and when available keeps in contact with the
help desk via e-mail. A request for assistance
ISSUE 9 ; 10/12/08
will see her arrive on the job in
under an hour. She and her fellow
technology mentors are paid above
the typical rate for student jobs and
are permitted to work a maximum
20-hour week. But in practice the
hours are a lot less. Typically, she
will work five hours a week, often
delivering pre-arranged tutorials.
There was strong competition
for the part-time jobs when they
were advertised on the campus
VLE. A mature student, Ramsey
believes she was chosen for her
experience of office work and for her
communication skills.
Student mentors receive training,
and get regular updates on the latest
modifications to the campus VLE.
Jenny Evans, lecturer in marketing,
who runs the mentor scheme, says:
“A lot of students either have the
skills in podcasting or can pick it up
very quickly. Student mentors save
staff time and have been invaluable
in assisting with online assessment
and marking by setting up self-paced
quizzes, for example.”
In return, students get valuable
experience to put on their CVs, and
an insight into the teaching and
learning process. Ramsey says: “It’s
tempting to say to a lecturer ‘I’ll do
it for you.’ But we are there to guide.
You show them better ways of doing
things.” (Stephen Hoare)
NEXT WEEK
look out for the printed digest