KOSR — Reviewing the Future
We’ve begun to get queries about what is happening with Blackboard for next academic year. We haven’t yet put any information out because as yet we haven’t really got any! This is not to say that we aren’t making any plans, but we are slightly tentative at the moment whilst we await the outcome of a Key Operational Systems Review currently being carried out on Blackboard by ICT Systems.
Some of you have noticed slight glitches with performance across the year, and ICT staff are engaging with Blackboard consultants to try and iron out any areas where gain can be made. Until this is complete we are holding off the installation or testing of new features or tools.
We are still looking to undertake some of the projects outlined last summer, and we will probably concentrate over the next few months on achieving these and on consolidating our use of the Community part of Blackboard.
This is not to say that there will be no new functionality—we have plenty of things to tempt you in the pipeline. Amongst these are an upgraded sign-up tool that Malcolm Murray from Durham has extended along the lines of some of the feedback you were giving us. We hope also to be providing drag and drop functionality (this is the main reason for a delay on rollover instructions, as we hope to simplify things massively for you). This will not only make it easier to upload new content, but also to re-arrange and edit existing content, as well as prepare materials offline and then sync them later (for those of you who work on the train!). In addition, the software we are looking at will also give you a realtime check on what has changed in a module, including which students have completed a quiz or uploaded an assignment…
We will though be saying goodbye to other functionality—those of you still using the Digital Drop Box, please be warned—it will be deleted this summer!
New Workshop Programme
The new workshop programme is now available, and can be found on page 5 of this document. Please book by emailing clqe-workshops @tees.ac.uk
Look out for updated information on the upcoming workshops under ‘Design and Develop’ under the Staff Tab on Blackboard. Schools who may wish to run these, or customised workshops for all staff, or for specific programme teams please email us at and we will sort out times and dates to suit you.
is also the address to request a desk session if you have already attended training and now want to develop individual ideas and projects.
The “struggle to juggle” - new podcast available
Have you enjoyed an E@T Takeaway yet? We have just uploaded the latest in our series of podcasts. The new episode is a brief interview with Steve Scott-Marshall about the kind of support offered generally by the Counselling Service, and how CLQE are helping Steve and his colleagues bring information such as weblinks, stress quizzes and breathing exercises to an organisation in Blackboard which will be a 24/7 addition to their existing face to face provision.
Hopefully over the next few weeks Steve will be making his own podcasts for the students, with tips and tricks on getting through the challenging time ahead as they face final assessments and exams. This series will hopefully remind students of their achievements to date and build their confidence in preparation. The short breathing exercises would probably be useful for all of us for a 5 minute time out in our normally hectic lifestyles!
You can listen to Steve’s interview on the E@T tab in Blackboard, where you can also subscribe to the podcast feed.
NELE—North East Learning Environments
Last month Paul P travelled to NorthumbriaUniversity for the relaunch of the North East Learning Environments group. The day was attended by a host of E-learning professionals from North East H.E. institutions such as Northumbria Uni, Sunderland Uni and Durham Uni, as well as a number of F.E.Colleges, and Middlesbrough CLC.
During the course of the day there was lots of opportunity for discussion about the current challenges we face. Future meetings will he held at two-monthly intervals at participating institutions and the group is hoping to explore both technological and educational themes. It was also decided that a web forum would be created for members to post discussions, ideas, problems and solutions. Some topics were also proposed for discussion / presentation topics at future meetings, including: Web 2.0 Philosophies, e-Portfolios, Digital Repositories, Research and Collaboration and Staff Development issues and techniques.
Academic Skills organisation—the end of plagiarism?!
Under the aegis of the University Plagiarism Working Group, Emma Bradburn from E@T has been working with colleagues in LIS and Schools on a Blackboard site to support effective practice in understanding good research and referencing skills to help avoid plagiarism. As many Schools are planning to use the Turnitin Plagiarism Detection software through Blackboard the Academic Skills organisation (available to all staff and students) also contains School-specific guidance and the opportunity for students to practise uploading their essays in a safe setting prior to their formal submission. First feedback is excellent...
Ready Steady E@T!!!
We can’t promise Ainsley Harriott, but we can certainly promise you a good lunch, a good laugh and some good ideas. For our E@T Lunch sessions this term, we’ve booked both sides of the Centre for Enterprise conference room as usual, but we’ll be using both screens. Two willing volunteers will offer up a mixed bag—one or two modules they think could use a makeover.
Two even more willing volunteers from E@T will have a look, make a few suggestions and then help you carry them out in twenty minutes flat.
Now you can’t say fairer than that, can you? So who will you vote for ? Yellow Tomatoes, or Yellow Peppers….?! And if you’re feeling really, brave, really daft, really pressed for time in re-vamping your modules or just really in need of some ideas for an instant lift for your modules, why not volunteer to be one of our first ’contestants’?
If so, sign up as normal for E@T Lunch via , but drop a line to E@T too saying you’d like to take part. We promise we won’t cheat by looking at your module in advance!
Pathfinder
CLQE has recently been awarded funding for a new E-learning research project. After successfully participating in the JISC/Higher Education Academy Benchmarking of eLearning Programming, Teesside is one of 27 UK HEIs to be awarded funding to participate in Phase 1 of the follow-up Pathfinder Programme.
The University has been awarded £150,000 which will be used to help us to develop systems and strategies to ensure that e-learning opportunities at Teesside are of the highest quality and that such opportunities are available to all our students irrespective of discipline or mode of study.
Teesside’s Project is entitled E-Quality, and has 3 principal foci: an Institutional focus, covering quality structures processes and guidance; the quality of provision of support to staff and the e-learning materials produced and finally the quality and equality of the student experience on and off– campus.
European First Year Experience Conference
Not strictly E@T, but we’d like to draw your attention to more kudos for all the people who work with student support and retention around the university. On Tuesday 8th, Dr Diane Nutt will lead a team of Teesside staff to Gothenburg, to take part in the second European First Year Experience Conference, which Teesside has helped organise after the runaway success of the first conference, this time last year at the Thistle hotel.
Amongst other topics to be presented by Teesside staff are a look at the plans for incorporating regular series of podcasts to students as part of the Blackboard presence for ‘Your Needs @ Tees’ (more on that in the next edition) and also a glimpse at how radically redesigning a computer classroom can provide an excellent base for improved staff-student and student-student interaction to make the most of the potential for e-learning in general, no b(B)lackboard necessary!
Workshop Programme
E-Learning and Blackboard Workshops Summer Term 2007.
Friday May-11 / Getting Started with Images Online / 10:00—12:00Monday May-14 / Podcasting and RSS / 10:00—12:00
Friday May-18 / Moving Images (Video) Online / 10:00—12:00
Wednesday May-23 / TBS Blackboard Drop-in Session / 1:00-2:00
Friday May-25 / Podcasting and RSS / 10:00—12:00
You will see that there is a very short list of centrally-run sessions in CLQE for this term. This is for two reasons: firstly, we would prefer (and we’re sure you would) to run our introductory workshops such as Preparing to go Online and Building Your Module in a School environment so that you don’t have to go far and you’re more likely to have programme or subject colleagues in the session to discuss your ideas and plans with. We are hoping to arrange dates and times with School E-learning and L&T Coordinators in the near future, at times and dates to suit you.
So far the Business School has been quickest off the mark—they have the highest number of desk sessions that we’ve given in the last few months, as well as inviting us in to subject group meetings and organising, as you see in the list, School-based drop in sessions. These sessions can cover whatever you feel you need at the time, so if you’re TBS staff, pop in and see us, if you are in another School, do let us know if you and your colleagues would like a School-based session, and we’ll come and sort it out.
Secondly, we shall be doing lots of rollover sessions when we finalise the rollover info. These will also be School-based, but we’re likely to ask you to move even less far, because we’ll come direct to your desk!
...don't forget to Ready, Steady, E@T!
This term we have several dates arranged for our popular E@T Lunch events. We’ll be providing you with some great ideas for preparing and improving your Blackboard modules for the new academic year by ‘making over’ the modules of some lucky(!) volunteers.
We’re also upgrading to an even better buffet lunch. See you there!
Wed 16th May – 12:30—2:00 Centre for Enterprise
Mon 4th June – 12:30—2:00 Centre for Enterprise
Fri 6th July – 12:30—2:00 Centre for Enterprise
To book a place on any of these workshops, please email:
To request a desk session, please email: