Teaching & Learning Connection

Want to learn about technologies and techniques for online teaching? The new Staff eLearning Commons is open for business in the Teaching and Learning Centre. Work with either Mac or PC, as a group or one-on-one with specialist assistance, to explore a variety of information technologies and create a wide range of online teaching features.

Hands-on tutorials, demonstrations and information sessions for groups

• Audacity
  Learn to use Audacity, an open source cross-platform audio editing tool to make your own presentations for podcast.
• Blackboard essentials
  A single three-hour session to help you prepare your Blackboard online teaching site. Learn the ‘bare essentials’ for logging on, home page set up and management, using discussion forums and adding a file.
• Effective discussions
  Focus on creating, editing and managing Blackboard discussions: Create topics and categories, edit messages, set up groups and generally explore the benefits of online discussions for students.
• Free from the web
  Be guided through the types and sources of resources available from the Web for your teaching. Learn how to find material that is out-of-copyright, free for educational use or available under Creative Commons licences to use in online units.
• Podcasting 101: Mac
  Ever wondered what that little guitar-shaped icon was all about? Learn how to capture lecture audio and sync it with PowerPoint slides to create easy and effective podcasts using GarageBand.
• Social Networking in the Classroom (suitable for both PC and Mac)
  Mystified as to how ‘Facebook’ became a verb? Clueless as to what a ‘tweet’ is? Learn to navigate sites like Facebook, Ning and Twitter, and explore how they can be used effectively in your teaching.
• Using images in your online units
  Take the opportunity to find out how to make use of images appropriately and legally in their online units.
• Using video, DVD and sound in your online units
  Find out about the copyright issues and licence requirements that need to be managed before sound, moving images and music can be used.
• Underpinning computer literacy skills for educators
  Learn to master a handful of basic HTML concepts and practical skills that will empower you with a skill set that has broad application, including producing and publishing HTML based content for your Blackboard unit.
• Vodcasting 101 for PC
  The ultimate in creating digital content - create video podcasts from lecture footage, screenflow capture, PowerPoint and more using Windows Movie Maker!
• Vodcasting 101 for Mac
  The ultimate in creating digital content - create video podcasts from lecture footage, screenflow capture, PowerPoint and more using iMovie!
• Wimba 1 (PC only)
  An overview of this amazing software that lets you write your unit materials in Word, then convert them with a click to a set of web pages for upload to Blackboard.
• Wimba 2 (PC only)
  A ‘clinic’ session for those working with Wimba Create.
• Your Mac: Better, Smarter, Faster
  Using the additional features of OSX 10.5 (Leopard) to streamline your workflow, give more effective presentations and reduce the time spent on routine tasks and inefficient habits.

One-on-one

Arrange a time to work with specialist assistance on an aspect of teaching with technology, or book a space in the Commons to pursue your own interest in developing online teaching features.

For further information: Catherine Clarke, ext. 3395

For a full program and to make a booking: Kerryn Reeves, ext. 2339.

Berenice Scott, Copyright Officer

When preparing unit materials that use resources such as:

• book chapters
• journal articles
• library database resources
• images
• TV or radio broadcasts
• music

and the copyright does not belong to UNE, you are responsible for ensuring that you observe the requirements of the Copyright Act and apply University policies, practices and procedures for using them.

The compliance considerations for copyright materials online are particularly onerous. Most importantly, readings such as book chapters and journal articles must not be in your online unit. eReserve has been set up to manage readings and these can be accessed within your unit as direct links to online eReserve documents.

Some resources are available to assist you, including:

• http://www.une.edu.au/library/resources/ereservestaff.php
• http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/via-uneonline.php
• http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/cd-rom.php

Copyright can be complicated, but it is important that the University uphold the rights of copyright owners and users by demonstrating a high level of copyright compliance. Questions relating to the use of copyright works in unit materials can be directed to the University Copyright Officer, Berenice Scott or ext. 3227.

Ingrid Wijeyewardene, Academic Skills Office

Students just starting out at university are often not aware of what producing a written assignment actually entails. Students may be very familiar with writing styles found in fiction, newspaper articles and editorials for example, but the style and structure of an academic essay may be a total mystery.

For this reason, the Academic Skills Office offers a series of writing workshops to help students demystify the essay writing process, stress the importance of academic integrity and highlight appropriate academic style and conventions. The “Writing for Success” workshops begin with the first steps in the essay writing process such as question analysis, reading and taking comprehensive notes, and essential recording of bibliographic details. The second workshop focuses on writing up the research, on essay and paragraph structure, using evidence appropriately and in-text referencing. The final workshop covers proofreading, redrafting and compiling a reference list. In all sessions, students are encouraged to bring along their own essay questions and writing samples so the sessions can be tailored to meet the needs of the students themselves.

All workshops draw on the extensive Academic Skills Office online resources, so students become familiar with what is available and where to find them. These workshops are also offered to external students through videoconference to the UNE Access Centres, and on campus during intensive schools. In the future, the ASO, in conjunction with the Student Support Team, will develop a series of vodcasts to be available for students who cannot access the face to face workshops or videoconferences.

Workshops for internal students begin on 12 August at 1pm in the Dixon Library. The videoconference to the Access Centres will be held on 6 August at 6.30 pm. For more information or to register for a workshop, students should be directed to the ASO website.