This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning (view other articles in the series). We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective. In essence, an eBook is a ‘book’ which, rather than being printed on paper,…
Resource-centred Discussion (RCD) refers to a discussion in which the topic is an artefact or set of artefacts. The artefacts will vary between disciplines, but could include works of art, poems, case studies, business reports, manufactured goods, photographs, etc. The purpose of the approach is to use objects and artefacts to stimulate the students’ thinking and…
Each year in September we archive Blackboard organisation sites from the previous year (2013/14 in this case). This is to clean up the view for staff and students and ensure the correct Blackboard sites are used in the coming year. This year, Blackboard organisation sites will be archived on Tuesday 16 September 2014. This does…
Ensure that your Blackboard sites for 2014/15 are ready to use and available to students by the start of teaching. The TEL Help site contains a checklist we have created and contacts to support you with preparing your Blackboard sites before making them available to students. The checklist covers: updating staff enrolments and their contact details…
Debate refers to a discussion in which two or more people advocate opposing positions on a topic or question in an attempt to make an audience (or the other advocates) accept their position. Most people are familiar with participating in informal debates, such as trying to persuade friends why a particular film, song, book, artist, etc. is better than another; however, as…
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning (view other articles in the series). We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective. Google Docs is a word processor that forms part of the Google Drive suite of…
Simulation refers to the imitation of real-world activities and processes in a safe environment. Simulations aim to provide an experience as close to the ‘real thing’ as possible; however, a simulated activity has the advantage of allowing learners to ‘reset’ the scenario and try alternative strategies and approaches. This allows learners to develop experience of specific situations by applying their wider learning…
The Staff Enrolment Tool is currently unavailable due to issues identified during the Blackboard upgrade that took place 11-13 July 2014. Work is taking place to reinstate the tool as soon as possible. If there are any urgent staff enrolments please email ithelp@shu.ac.uk (or submit your query online using the web form available in the…
Students attempting to access Collaborate sessions from links added to content areas in Blackboard sites will receive an error. This issue is a consequence of the Blackboard upgrade that took place on 11-13 July 2014, and is being worked on as a matter of urgency. In the meantime, if you have Collaborate sessions that you wish…
Critiquing is an approach that encourages students to consider their own work by drawing comparisons with the work of their peers. Traditionally, students will submit their work to be critiqued by fellow students and perform their own critique on the work of one or more peers. Through this process the students get feedback on their work from their fellow students and,…