Social media is a constantly evolving field that presents challenges and opportunities for those in higher education. For the less confident it can feel overwhelming – as though there’s too much to know, and it’s hard to know where to start. The more experienced may struggle to fine examples of practice that can relate or easily…
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…
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…
Lynda.com, recently made available to all staff and students at SHU, is a site containing high-quality video training on common and specialist software packages. There are videos on a wide range of software, from general tools, such as Microsoft Word and Google Drive, to specialist tools, such as Final Cut Pro and SPSS. In addition…
At the end of last year, the White House ran a student film contest for videos on the theme of ‘Technology in Education’. The final selection has just been announced and they are available to watch on YouTube. The films mainly show how technology is already been used in some (school) classrooms, with some showing how…
The Technology Enhanced Learning team has been working with staff across the university to develop resources to assist academic staff in identifying alternative teaching approaches and technologies suitable to their discipline. One of these resources is a framework or ‘menu’ designed to assist colleagues in identifying different teaching approaches and the technologies that can support…
The Technology Enhanced Learning team has been working with staff across the university to develop resources to assist academic staff in identifying alternative teaching approaches and technologies suitable to their discipline. Along with the various materials, we have also designed a workshop to support this process. The workshops – aimed at department or subject groups…
Uses for Images Images can be used in many different ways, ranging from documenting a process through to providing an interesting ‘resting point’ within a dense page of text. The most effective way to use images will depend on the intended effect, for example advertisers and magazine/newspaper editors use striking images to grab our attention…
This case study explores the use of screencasts and supplemental exercises to support students in developing their competence with a particular piece of software. The software requires a significant amount of time to master but the amount of other material that needed to be covered meant that the this was not possible during the timetabled sessions. Instead, the…