This case study outlines the way in which a tutor has used PebblePad and the SHU Study Skills Toolkit to support students in developing their academic study skills. Level 4 Criminology students are required to submit a reflective assignment during their second semester; however, the students often have little experience with reflection and so fail…
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…
On the week of 14 – 18 July, SHU is running this open online blended course about using smart phones and tablet PCs to enhance and transform teaching and learning. The course is running concurrently at other universities over the 5 day period and uses social media, video scenarios, and face-to-face peer-enhanced activities . BYOD4L focuses on: Connecting Communicating Curating Collaborating…
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…
This case study outlines a tutors experience of using Blackboard Collaborate to deliver online lectures and increase student engagement. A module in ACES is delivered predominantly for one organisation who wanted to reduce the cost of their staff attending classes (travel and accommodation). The tutor identified three lectures within the module that would be suitable for online delivery. …
At its simplest, Micro-research (also known as Inquiry-based Learning) involves getting students to undertake a relatively small research project and report back to their peers. The purpose of the approach is to encourage students to develop a deeper understanding of the material they have been researching while also developing skills that will be useful for other parts of…
Sheffield Hallam University has provided Google accounts for all students for some time, but has recently introduced them for staff too. This means that staff now have access to several very useful online tools which can be used to encourage collaboration amongst students, collaborating with colleagues, and work from varied locations. The key tools that…
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. A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is an online space that is used to support learning…
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. As Pi Month [3.14] comes to a close it seems an appropriate time to write…