#6 Reusability Cultures

Are you the sort of person who will send a colleague a website bookmark? Do you discuss and share ideas with your colleagues? Do you ask your colleagues for their help in finding useful information? Most of us like helping each other. But do we share our work and actively seek out opportunities for reuse of materials? The main feature this week discusses this. 'In Brief' flags up the question "Sould we record lectures?" and the LTA Gem considers our use of MySpace and Facebook social networking environments.
Can we do more in Higher Education to share and reuse resources? Academia tends to have a culture where we share and develop our ideas together as exemplified in the practice of joint research and educational conferences. But when it comes to making and sharing resources could we do better? The main feature this week is a discussion with Dave Binney, Susannah Diamond, Lynne Dawson, Susan Curtis and myself on this topic.
In 'In Brief' I ask, "Should we record lectures?"
The LTA Gem from Angie Donoghue of Sheffield Hallam University's Virtual Learning Centre team proposes we should take a look at MySpace and Facebook social networking sites.

• MySpace: http://www.myspace.com


• MySpace search on 'library'


• Facebook

If you're not familiar with these social bookmarking sites take a look. Registration is free. You may be puzzled about why they have become such a powerful social phenonemon - but perservere! If you're over 25 and in higher education it may give you insight to how our students increasingly like to communicate and support each other.

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Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

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#5 The International Student Experience

This week I'm taking a slightly different approach to previous programmes - we'll be focussing on just one topic: The experience of the International Student. In the first half of the programme I'll be speaking to Viv Thom the International Student Adviser in Sheffield Hallam's Student Services Centre.
We spoke shortly after the International Consortium for Educational Developers Conference that took place in Sheffield this year. At the ICED conference Viv was joined by about 10 international students who answered questions from the international audience about their experience.
Photos from the plenary session are below.

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Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

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#4 Student Placement experience, Ethics and Accessibility in podcasting

I speak with four students on placement and consider the value of the experience. Also in the new 'In Brief...' section I consider ethical and accessible podcasting. The LTA Gems features academic colleagues reflecting on the benefits of podcasting and screencasting.

Information on these can be found in Wikipedia:

• Podcasting


• Screencasting

In the 'In Brief...' section I raise questions about ethics and accessibility legislation in podcasting. If anyone has any thoughts or information that could be useful, or just opinions, please email the show at lta-podcast 'AT' shu.ac.uk

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Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

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#3 ICED, Mobile Learning, Games, International Students

In the mini feature this week I reflect on a couple of the sessions that I attended at the ICED 2006 educational development conference that took place here at Sheffield Hallam University. I look at two initiatives from Europe, one a role-play technique and the second a solution to delivering educational development materials by email:

• "Enhancement of the quality of teaching through “low-threshold” academic staff development. - the "learn-how-to-teach" emails" presented by Mrs. Dietrun Luebeck and Prof. Renate Soellner from the Free University Berlin, Germany.


• "Interactive teaching methods - drama for non-actors" presented by Dr. Katarina Winka and Dr. Tomas Grysell from Umeå University, Sweden. Reference cited: Boal, A. (1992). Games for Actors and Non-Actors, London: Routledge.

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The main feature crosses several themes of interest to me - mobile learning technologies, games for learning and cultural exchange. I talk with two post graduate students from Germany about their innovative projects. They're here studying with UK students from the MSc in Games Software Development at Sheffield Hallam University.
They mention PDA (Portable Digital Assistant) and PSP (PlayStation Portable) based projects. Try Wikipedia as a starting point for further information on these devices:

• PDAs


• PlayStationPortable


• Mobile Learning

Also see:
Kukulska-hulme, A. and Traxler, J. (2005). Mobile learning: a handbook for educators and trainers. Routledge.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital game-based learning. McGraw-Hill.

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The Big Idea - This week I suggested making a resolution to breaking down cultural resistance to reusability by 'daring to share' not just resources, but ideas and practice too.

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Calls for Participation - send me your ideas for Ice Breaker Activities, News and Info and ideas for new features. Come and take part in making the programme!

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Contact: email lta-podcast "AT" shu.ac.uk

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#2 SMS Texting for learning

The main feature is a discussion about the potential for using SMS Text Messages to enhance learning. Karl McCauley and Susannah Diamond join Andrew Middleton in discussing ideas, limitations and current opportunities at Sheffield Hallam University for this technology. The LTA Report and briefing documents on innovation and practice in LTA are also introduced.
The documents referred to in the show are available to members of SHU staff at: https://staff.shu.ac.uk/lits/lti/
For people with ideas and questions relating to the SMS Text Messaging feature contact Susannah Diamond at s.m.diamond "AT" shu.ac.uk
If you're interested in reading more about how SMS Text Messaging has been used in UK HE see the following articles:
Garner, J. Francis and K. Wales “An Evaluation of the Implementation of a Short Message System (SMS) to Support Undergraduate Student Learning”. Mlearn 2002. Proceedings of the European Workshop on Mobile and Contextual Learning. 20 and 21 June, 2002
Horstmanshof, L. (2004). Using SMS as a way of providing connection and community for first year students. In R. Atkinson, C. McBeath, D. Jonas-Dwyer & R. Phillips (Eds), Beyond the comfort zone: Proceedings of the 21st ASCILITE Conference (pp. 423-427). Perth, 5-8 December. http://www.ascilite.org.au/conferences/perth04/procs/horstmanshof.html
Kukulska-Hulme, A. & Traxler, J (Eds) (2005). Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers (F. Lockwood, Ed.). London: Routledge.
Naismith, L., Lonsdale, P., Vavoula, , G. and Sharples, M. (2004) Futurelab Report 11: Literature Review in Mobile Technologies and Learning. Futurelab. [online: http://www.futurelab.org.uk/research/lit_reviews.htm#lr11, visted 02/06/06]
Riordan, B. & Traxler, J. (2003). Supporting Computing Students at Risk Using Blended Technologies. Proceedings of LTSN Annual Conference 2003 Galway, Ireland
Stone, A. and Briggs, J.. “ITZ GD 2 TXT – How To Use SMS Effectively In M-Learning” Mlearn 2002. Proceedings of the European Workshop on Mobile and Contextual Learning. 20 and 21 June, 2002
Traxler, J., & Kukulska-Hulme, A. (2005). Mobile Learning in Developing Countries (G. Chin, Ed.). Vancouver, BC: Commonwealth of Learning.

#1c LTA Conference (continued)

The podcast presents the last three conversations from the LTA Conference at Sheffield Hallam University.
Andrew Middleton speaks to Bob Steele about the 'Developing Games for Learning' project. This initiative was a Games for Learning awareness raising initiative, where Bob's undergraduate Visualisation students had been matched with academics across the faculties at SHU. Andrew and Bob are joined by two academics, Claire and John, who had been introduced to the project during the session. Together they discuss interprofessional learning, opportunities for commercial interest, and how the principles of student learning engagement map to game play.
Graham Holden, leader of the Assessment for Learning initiative, launched at the conference, discusses how current good assesssment practice can be developed.
Finally, Andrew meets up with Anne Nortcliffe. At the beginning of the day they had co-presented a session on Audio Notes. Andrew notes the way in which the audio files are used as 'Pre-vision' files, leading to deeper discussion in the lecture sessions that follow.

#1b LTA Conference (continued)

More conversations from the Sheffield Hallam University LTA Conference 2006 which took place in Sheffield, UK on the 17th May.
Also a Call for Prticipation: Do you use ice breaker activities either in the classroom or online? Contribute your ideas for ice breakers to the Ice Breaker Pool being collated through this programme. E-mail lta-podcast.ac.uk with your techniques.
In this half hour podcast Andrew Middleton of the Learning & Teaching Institute speaks to academics, support staff and students attending the LTA Conference 2006. Andrew speaks to: Chris Glover (Assessment for Learning Initiative), Manny Madriaga (D&S), Andy and John (D&S students who took part in the European Challenge), Dave Crutchley (Head of LTA in HWB) and Peter Walder (D&S),Mike Bramhall (Head of LTA in ACES), Matt Spriggs (student on placement in the LTI),Viv Thom and Jackie Calkwell (both from the Learner Support Team in Student Services Centre), Dave Cotton (Careers, Student Support Services), Helen Bywater (HWB involved in the CIPL CETL), Richard Mather (LTI), Rob Appleyard (HWB), Lyn Clouder (from Coventry University, a partner in the CIPL CETL), Abbie Deeming (from Chesterfield College).
A third and final compilation of conversations from the conference will appear shortly.
The Big Idea selected from this episode was suggested by Abbie Deeming who was visting the conference from Chesterfield College. She was particularly impressed by a session she attended on 'mooting', a technique from Law practice that shows how research can be presented in an engaging way using thorough multi-participant approaches in arguing different perspectives. (An interesting site on mooting is Mooting Net at http://www.firstlight.demon.co.uk/law/mooting/ which includes instructions on getting started). Abbie's contribution is the last in this series of interviews.

#1 Podcast launch at the LTA Conference 2006

Andrew Middleton introduces the Podcasting for LTA initiative and meets delegates at SHU's LTA Conference. Andrew set out to speak to at least 30 different people in this first episode of the podcast in an attempt to ensure the podcast provides an opportunity for anyone to contribute and share ideas and good practice.
Regular programme features are introduced including 'The Big Idea' - an ambitious promise to offer 'a big idea for LTA' for each week of the year.
Andrew succeeded in speaking to so many people that coverage of the LTA Conference has had to be split over this week's programme and an extra programme that he will slot in next week where we will hear from other delegates, including some of the Faculty Heads for LTA as well as Graham Holden, who launched the Assessment for Learning initiative at this year's conference.

About LTA Show Notes

I've set this up so that information provided in the 'Podcasting for LTA' podcast can be posted online.
You can subscribe to the 'Podcasting for LTA' podcast from Sheffield Hallam University (UK) with the following subscription feed address:
http://teaching.shu.ac.uk/podcast/lti_pod.xml
And you can access the blog about the year long project at http://podcasting-for-lta.blogspot.com/