Monthly Archives: October 2023

Moodle Support

Moodle

DLT have created a series of short videos on how to use Moodle. These are in answer to many of the frequently asked questions (FAQs) that we get. You can find out how to manage materials, how to enrol participants and how to access reports and logs.

The Moodle Walkthroughs playlist , available on eStream also has some videos on the One Section Per Page layout and how to add summaries and pictures to this. The One Section Per Page layout is popular with staff whose courses have lots of resources and/or run for a longer period of time as it helps keep the page tidy and there is ‘no death by scrolling’.

If you would like to speak to a member of DLT on how to improve your course layout, you can put in a Help Centre Request Ticket via the Staff Portal. Remember, we are also offering training events in October and November, remember to book your place!

Education Matters: A Pertinent Podcast for Progress

Pedagogy, , ,

Written by Safiya Kheratkar – Widening Participation Project Assistant

‘Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.’ – John Dewey

As Dewey’s quote perfectly encapsulates, education manifests in everything that is within and around us. It influences our dispositions, interpersonal abilities and understandings of the past, present, and future world. With a formidable education, one’s boundaries can extend beyond visible horizons, surpassing matters we once considered insurmountable.

Fuelled to drive this understanding within the hearts of the community, the brainchild of Lancaster University Staff, Dr. Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove, was born: The Education Matters podcast. They attended a ‘Sharing Best Practice’ session, delivered by Phil Devine and Professor Newton on ‘Using Videos in Teaching’, who discussed the significance of reusable learning resources via podcasts. Through Phil and Professor Newton, they were introduced to the recording studio (B107 LUMS) and Rachel Dodd, Digital Education Co-ordinator, who created the WordPress site and updates the site with new recordings. 

Education Matters boasts rich, intellectually stimulating, and inspiring episodes with a diverse pool of guests from an array of academic, industrial, and professional working fields. The podcast regularly interviews students from ethnically minoritized backgrounds studying at Lancaster and other top universities. Interviewees are guided along discussing their journeys and their passions for their chosen fields in an endeavour to not only reflect on their experiences, but hopefully inspire audiences with their stories.

‘Unveiling the power of education through sharing inspiring stories from members of the local community who have achieved success in their field of study or chosen career path, Education Matters is hoping to bridge the gap between the local community and higher education, showcasing that education is a lifelong journey.’ – Dr. Sayjda Talib

Especially for those who may not have a vast network of contacts or people to turn to in their future respective fields, this podcast is bound to produce inspiration and support for anyone looking to start out in a certain career, change over from a particular field, or remain steadfast on their current chosen path. With this podcast, students, families, and the wider community can be aided in making more conscientious and informed decisions about university, apprenticeships, careers, changing one’s mind and much more.

The Recording Studio:

For interviewees from Lancaster University Campus, collaborating with the Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) recording studio provided a comfortable environment for both interviewers and interviewees. Martin Thornton and Andrew Copplestone, both sound engineers based in LUMS and part of the wider ISS team, lent their expertise in ensuring the recording of the podcast was nothing but smooth sailing. Rachel Dodd also worked to create the podcast content into engaging blogposts.

‘The podcast has really grown, and it’s been an incredible journey for us as presenters. We are so grateful to collaborate with Martin, Andrew, and Rachel for all their help with the technical side of recording and writing the blogposts! – Eleanor Dove

Photo of Dr Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove

Dr Sayjda Talib and Eleanor Dove

A Digital Solution

For guests not based on LU campus, or Lancaster at all, a solution was needed that would make interviewing accessible for both parties. With Ele, Dr. Sayjda and most guests coming from humble technological and media backgrounds, the saviour that is Microsoft Teams has provided an easy and accessible route for conducting interviews in manageable and equally enjoyable fashion. The number of interviewees from far and wide has increased thanks to this.

Testimonies:

‘The podcast presented by Ele and Dr. Sayjda was such an amazing experience. It was quite humbling to discuss my memories of results day and how far I’ve gotten despite the challenges I went through at the time. The work Ele and Dr. Sayjda do with the podcast I am certain will help so many students across the board with higher education and life in general.’ – Amaani Moress, Lancaster University Engineering alumna, 2023

‘It was a great experience to be able to talk about my journey through education, and to get the chance to share this with students who are currently in that position now, so they can learn from that experience and take on board advice given by someone who was in their shoes only recently. But also, I was able to share my journey with concerned parents, who no doubt are nervous about their children’s next steps. They can see that, although it is scary, their children can also travel on their journey, yes with a different destination, but they can see it through.’ – Adil Natha, Lancaster University Law alumnus, 2023

‘Having a chance to share my experiences was truly valuable. As well as making my efforts feel appreciated, it made me realise that what I was doing would inspire many young people and parents.’ – Abdullah Arshad, Lancaster University Politics, Philosophy and Economics student

Personally, I’m grateful to have been invited for an interview for the podcast and to share my own education journey. Dr. Sayjda and Ele’s prompts and support throughout the duration of the show kept my nerves at ease, and it was incredibly cathartic reflecting on my own experiences whilst knowing that I could possibly be helping a listener make a decision in their own path. The podcast will soon also be featured on the Lancaster Access Programme portal, allowing students on the widening participation programme access to student journeys in a different medium to events and webinars. 

To conclude with a quote that visualises the poetics of gaining an education: ‘Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.’ – Malcolm X

Select episodes of the ‘Education Matters’ podcast can be found on Spotify and on https://wp.lancs.ac.uk/educationmatters/

Written by Safiya Kheratkar – Widening Participation Project Assistant

Moodle Users – We Need You!

Moodle, ,
User experience is a bit of a theme in this blog and DLT would like to invite Lancaster University staff who use Moodle to complete a short survey on their experience (link to survey below!). It will not take more than 5-10 minutes of your time. We are advertising in lots of spaces to get as many responses as possible! A student survey is on the horizon but this one is just for staff at the moment.
All respondents will remain anonymous. Opinions expressed in this survey will be used to inform future decision making around Moodle developments and training at Lancaster University. The survey is open until 3rd November 2023. Some questions are optional and do not require a response. If you wish to withdraw from the survey after you have completed it, please get in touch with me, Liz Walkden. There is an invitation at the end to be involved in future focus groups if you are interested.

Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre: What is it and how can I get involved?

Pedagogy,

Written by Oliver Fitton, Lecturer in Criminology.

In October 2022, Lancaster University announced a multi-million pound investment in new teaching facilities, supported by funding from the Office for Students. This includes a new Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre, currently under construction on A floor in Charles Carter. But what is a Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre and what opportunities does it create?

The Decision Theatre concept is not new. Arizona State University developed theirs nearly 20 years ago. Since then, other universities, training centres, and corporations have built their own. All Decision Theatres are dedicated spaces in which groups of people can collaboratively work through complex problems supported by data visualisation technology. Decision Theatres could be used as command centres during genuine crises with real life data being streamed into the room live. More often, Decision Theatres are supported by educators who develop scenarios specifically designed to train decision makers in crisis management and leadership.

An example might be useful. In response to a major incident, it is important that the emergency services can work together. Police, fire and rescue, ambulance, the armed forces, search and rescue, mountain rescue, coast guard, RNLI (the list goes on…), each have their own processes, data streams, communication channels, even jargon that other organisations cannot interface with. To deal with this the UK developed a protocol (JESIP) under which major incidents could be coordinated. To be effective in applying this protocol in a disaster situation the organisations need training and exercising. This is where a Decision Theatre comes into its own. Educators can create a complex scenario that unfolds over hours or even days. Decision makers from each emergency service can sit together in the Decision Theatre, see all the data that they would have available to them, and collaborate with their opposite numbers from other services. The participants can be monitored from an adjoining control room, allowing for two-way interaction between educators and participants. Learning from this kind of scenario improves collaboration, identifies issues within the protocol, and gives decision makers experience of life like, time sensitive decision making.

Decision Theatres can be used for much smaller scale teaching too. Any situation in which learners are given a scenario and asked to make decisions could be enriched. Having the facilitator out of the way in a control room may change group dynamics. The ability to monitor the room using video and audio feeds and supply information via digital displays opens new possibilities for engaging learners. In addition to teaching, the space could be used by researchers for monitoring group dynamics or decision making.

At Lancaster University we are taking the Decision Theatre concept a step further. We want to make the experience a little more immersive. One of the unique aspects of Decision Theatres is their ability to dynamically display data. An immersive environment such as a CAVE takes immersion to an extreme, turning walls, floors and ceilings into surface on which a dynamic environment is projected. One can be transported to a forest, the top of a mountain, the bottom of the sea or anywhere else your imagination (and graphics design budget) could come up with. The problem with a CAVE is that they are difficult to do well at high resolution and applications of low-resolution CAVEs have been shown to be limited.

Lancaster University’s Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre aims to take the best elements of these applications to create a decision space that better immerses learners/research participants.

Continue reading Semi-Immersive Decision Theatre: What is it and how can I get involved? →