With well over 100 staff and 600 internal students identifying themselves as being of non-English speaking background, UNE’s Armidale campus is a genuinely multicultural environment.

Conversations and other forms of spoken communication between people of English-speaking and non-English speaking background (ESB and NESB) are a daily occurrence. When they go well, as they often do, these interactions are of great benefit. Not only in do they provide important opportunities for international students to improve their English, they also help domestic students and staff build competence in intercultural communication, a skill increasingly valued by employers.

On the other hand, there are various kinds of problems that can arise in intercultural spoken communication. These can not only cause frustration on both sides. Worse, since spoken communication is a key medium of learning, they can act as a significant barrier to education, as emphasised by AUQA’s Good Practice Principles.

TLC is starting a series of projects aiming to foster effective spoken communication between ESB and NESB participants. The first, starting soon, is a survey to find out what is already working well and where there is room for improvement. We hope many staff and students will take a few minutes to complete the survey - and go in the draw to WIN ONE OF FIVE $20 iTUNES VOUCHERS!! Information about how to participate in the survey will be circulated shortly.

Results from the survey will be used to develop workshops, materials and strategies to build on those aspects that are already working well, and bring about improvement where this is needed.
In the meantime, if you have comments or suggestions about intercultural speaking and listening, if you would like help with any speaking and listening problems you may have, whether from the ESB or the NESB perspective, or if you would be interested to join a Community of Practice and help foster effective spoken communication, please contact Dr Helen Fraser or x2681.

Want to put your course content online but not sure how to do it well?
No problem - let Wimba Create do it for you!

Perfect for both academic and general staff, Wimba Create lets you
compose your site in the familiar Microsoft Word environment, then
click ‘Generate’ to see Wimba Create convert your Word doc into a
fully functional website, complete with interactive navigation.

Using Wimba Create is a short video introducing the basic concept. The Wimba Create Training Manual (by Su Woodward) shows how to use Wimba
Create.  Click here to download and install Wimba Create (using the
UNE campus-wide licence).

Or go to the Open2Learning Blackboard unit to get all the information
together in one place.

Current teaching staff have been given access to one of TLC’s newest initiatives, the Open to Learning Blackboard unit. In this unit you will find learning modules linked to many of the courses and workshops run by TLC in the eLearning Commons. You’ll also find PDFs with step-by-step instructions, links to resources and information, discussion forums, screen-flow tutorials, software reviews and much more. You can also log on to post any questions you might have or ask for help with digital media creation or online teaching materials. New modules will be added and links updated frequently.

For a more in-depth look at what the Open2Learning unit offers, watch the video tour: Demonstration of Open2Learning BlackBoard unit.

The video takes you through the unit interface and gives an overview of the resources available for staff.

Currently the unit does not appear in your list of units in MyUNE - you will need to access this unit through http://olt.une.edu.au, or through My Blackboard. If you cannot see Open2Learning listed, contact Sarah Christopher to be given access. Check back regularly for new updates covering the latest software releases, new courses and more.

Hands-on tutorials, demonstrations and information sessions for groups

Friends of Wimba – Friday 6^th, 10-11am

If you’ve discovered how useful Wimba can be to create Blackboard-friendly HTML content and online learning activities, or would simply like to find out what others are doing with this application, come to our first Friends of Wimba session, see some current development using the Wimba Create software and share in the discussion with colleagues over coffee.

Copyright for educational purposes - Thursday 12^th, 10-11.30am or Friday 13^th, 11am-12.30pm

This session addresses copyright issues as they apply to learning and teaching. An overview of copyright and the provisions within the Copyright Act and educational licences that can be relied on for teaching and educational purposes will be followed by practical examples applicable in the UNE context. These include using text, images, sound and video in face-to-face teaching, examination situations, print and CD unit materials, online teaching and podcasting.

Understanding eSubmission and TurnItIn - Thursday 19^th, 10am

This session covers effective management of assignments through eSubmission and TurnItIn, and how to utilise the TurnItIn reports. Get in early and avoid technical issues with your assignments next year. To maximise your assignment workflow, attend one of the PDF markup sessions below to learn how to easily mark and return assignments electronically as well.

Comic Life (PC and Mac) - Friday 20^th, 10am

Creating engaging digital media for online teaching isn’t just about podcasting or video -expand your ability to deliver creative and engaging content to students using Comic Life. Learn how to combine images and text to create effective scenario-based learning experiences that really grab students’ attention, while having some fun at the same time.

Dealing with Video (PC and Mac) - Friday 20^th, 12pm

Many lecturers are now using video in their online teaching, but are having difficulties with student access, or want to begin using video but don’t know where to start. This session explores different upload options, compression settings and using media collections in Blackboard, which allow you to maximise the use of video in your online units, whilst still allowing students on any type of internet connection equal access.

Wimbering up: Create HTML from Word with Wimba – Wednesday 25^th, 2pm

Want to create HTML web pages easily from your Word documents? Wimba Create is an amazing application that lets you write your unit materials in Word, then convert them with a click to a set of attractive web pages with menus, navigation, and headers ready for upload to Blackboard.

See a UNE specific demo on Using Wimba Create.

Marking Up PDF Files (For Mac) Thursday 26^th, 10am (for PC) Friday 27^th 11am

Put a stop to your paper trail by learning how to easily mark PDF assignments electronically using software already on your computer, and explore third-party software options for using with graphics tablets or tablet PCs. Increase your efficiency and decrease time spent marking using simple comment functions, callouts and more. Please note this session does not cover the eMarking or ReMarks software for marking Word documents.

Preparing your Blackboard unit for re-offer – Thursday 26^th, 2 – 3.30pm

Take the opportunity to work with your own online unit to amend settings, revise files and generally prepare your unit for offer in the next teaching period. In these sessions you will be guided through:

• Compiling and managing discussions
• Group manager and selective release
• Message of the day
• Quiz management revision
• Revising and Adding content files.

Marking Up PDF Files (For PC) Friday 27^th, 11am

Put a stop to your paper trail by learning how to easily mark PDF assignments electronically using software already on your computer, and explore third-party software options for using with graphics tablets or tablet PCs. Increase your efficiency and decrease time spent marking using simple comment functions, callouts and more. Please note this session does not cover the eMarking or ReMarks software for marking Word documents.

Preparing your Blackboard unit for re-offer – Thursday 3^rd, 2 – 3.30pm

Take the opportunity to work with your own online unit to amend settings, revise files and generally prepare your unit for offer in the next teaching period. In these sessions you will be guided through:

• Compiling and managing discussions
• Group manager and selective release
• Message of the day
• Quiz management revision
• Revising and Adding content files.

Effective discussions in Blackboard CE 6 – Tuesday 8^th, 10am

In this session, we look beyond the basic operational features of online discussion forums in Blackboard CE 6 and explore further how the tool can be used for effective teaching. The session considers the principles of teaching with asynchronous forums, and covers the issues of managing class sizes, time management, structuring and staging activities for effective participation and using discussion forums for assessment.

One-on-one: Fridays 9-11am, 1-5pm

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.

All sessions are held in the Staff eLearning Commons on the top floor of the T&LC Building (C30) and, unless specified otherwise, are 1 hour long.

To enrol: Contact Kerryn Reeves, ext. 2339
For further information: Catherine Clarke, ext. 3395

Professor David Boud

Tuesday November 10, 2009

Seminar: Assessment, as if learning mattered

11am -12.30pm

How can we ensure that assessment not only contributes to the standards of graduates, but also has a beneficial influence on their learning during and beyond their university study?  The seminar will explore how we can use assessment more productively to further the goals of our courses.

Lewis Lecture Theatre (Chemistry C28)
Bookings: email Kerryn Reeves

Open Forum

3 - 4pm

As part of his ALTC Senior Fellowship, and in conjunction with a team of higher education assessment experts and institutional leaders in teaching and learning, David Boud has been developing a set of propositions for assessment changes to be implemented over the next ten years. The Open Forum is an opportunity to learn about Assessment 2020 and engage in further discussion and debate with Professor Boud about what changes in assessment might mean for you and your students. Discussion will be more fruitful if those taking part have attended the earlier seminar.

Lewis Lecture Theatre (Chemistry C28)
Bookings: email Kerryn Reeves

Further information about his work can be accessed at www.davidboud.com

Melanie Fleming

UNE’s 5 year implementation plan signifies its commitment to embedding graduate attributes across the curriculum. To assist staff with this task, a number of workshops have been held in different schools over the last month which have looked at the constructive alignment between assessment, learning outcomes and assessment. These workshops have been targeted at the particular needs of academics and their disciplines. This has involved academics in group discussions about what the particular graduate attributes mean in the context of the profession or discipline. Learning outcomes and graduate attributes have been revised during the workshop for use in 2010. It has helped staff to identify the different achievement levels expected of students by academics at different years of their studies. These workshops have been organised upon request and with the involvement of the staff from the respective schools.

Further information is available from melanie.fleming@une.edu.au

UNE recently launched a Certificate in Academic Leadership. This program is a joint initiative with TLC and HR. The program initially targeted Course Coordinators, Discipline Convenors and Academic Coordinators. The program consists of 10 modules adapted from a project completed at Curtin University of Technology and funded by the ALTC to address the need to better prepare staff at all levels in higher education for leadership positions. The modules target areas such as leading a course review, curriculum development and evaluation, building leadership capacity and developing the leadership skills of others. All of the modules are designed to draw on the participants’ current and past practice, with a view to guiding or informing future practice. The discussions held in the seminars to date indicate the complexity of addressing such issues, but have provided a forum for staff to focus on areas of interest and need in their own professional development.

Further information is available from melanie.fleming@une.edu.au or kay.hempsall@une.edu.au

Nick Reid and Sarah Christopher in the Learning Commons

Hands-on tutorials, demonstrations and information sessions for groups

iMovie: Creating Video Resources From Camera to Blackboard (Mac) - Friday 9th, 11am (2 hours)

If you’ve attended TLC’s Vodcasting sessions in the past, you’ll be familiar with basic aspects of using iMovie and how to convert existing resources into vodcasts. If you’ve ever wanted to go to the next level and create your own unit resources or promotional materials, though, this session is for you. Capture footage with a video camera, import and edit, experiment with advanced effects like Picture in Picture and green screen and learn to effectively manage your finished products in Blackboard.

Please bring a USB drive loaded with some still images appropriate to your unit.

NB: Places are limited to 4 for this session - please make sure you book ahead.

Quiz Resources Workshop – Wednesday 14^th, 10am

The ASO have developed numerous literacy quiz resources that are now being made available to all academics. This workshop will cover importing quiz resources and using the Blackboard Question Database tool to create, maintain and manage multiple quizzes.

Working with Social Media (PC and Mac) - Thursday 15th, 10am

You’ve probably heard of blogs and wikis, but many people aren’t clear on what they are, and even fewer understand how they can be used effectively in teaching and learning. This session will cover the whats and whys of social media, and how you can utilise these both within Blackboard and externally using web-based media. It’s not as hard as you think to take student collaboration to the next level.

Windows Movie Maker: Creating Video Resources From Camera to Blackboard (PC) - Friday 16th, 11am (2 hours)

If you’ve attended TLC’s Vodcasting sessions in the past, you’ll be familiar with basic aspects of using Windows Movie Maker and how to convert existing resources into vodcasts. If you’ve ever wanted to go to the next level and create your own unit resources or promotional materials, though, this session is for you. Capture footage with a video camera, import and edit, experiment with advanced effects and learn to effectively manage your finished products in Blackboard.

Please bring a USB drive loaded with some still images appropriate to your unit.

NB: Places are limited to 4 for this session - please make sure you book ahead.

Wimbering up: Create HTML from Word with Wimba - Tuesday 20th, 2pm

Want to create HTML web pages easily from your Word documents? Wimba Create is an amazing software that lets you write your unit materials in Word, then convert them with a click to a set of attractive web pages with menus, navigation, and headers ready for upload to Blackboard.

ISpring! – Wednesday 21^st, 2pm

Learn how to use this free software to easily convert PowerPoint to Flash to make Web-friendly slide shows which can link to a podcast.

The Ins and Outs of Audio Podcasting - Thursday 22nd, 10am

If you’ve come to TLC’s previous sessions on Audacity, and even if you haven’t, you’ll love this extended session that takes you through the entire recording process from start to finish. Learn to record sound with either a Microtrack recorder or an iPod, import and edit using Audacity and manage the final products in Blackboard.

Social Networking in the Classroom (PC and Mac) - Friday 23rd, 11am

If you’re the kind of person who is mystified as to how ‘Facebook’ became a verb and is clueless as to what a ‘tweet’ is, this session is for you. Not only are social networking tools easy to learn and a nice way to keep in touch with friends, they can be powerful teaching tools. Learn to navigate sites like Facebook, Ning and Twitter, and find out how they can be used effectively in your teaching. The session also points you to websites that give great examples and teaching ideas, and gives tips for teaching and modeling digital citizenship.

Quiz Resources Workshop: Wednesday 27^th, 10am

Want to give students experiences that will develop their academic literacy? Find it difficult to find the time to build online quizzes? The Academic Skills Office have developed numerous literacy quiz resources that are now being made available to all academics. This workshop will cover importing quiz resources and using the Blackboard Question Database tool to create, maintain and manage multiple quizzes.

Camtasia for Mac - Thursday 29th, 10am

Go beyond basic screencasting with Camtasia - a powerful program that lets you capture, edit and combine teaching resources, then add eye-catching advanced effects, compositing, callouts and more to create powerful, rich media teaching and learning tools.

Camtasia for Windows - Friday 30th, 11am

Go beyond basic screencasting with Camtasia - a powerful program that lets you capture, edit and combine teaching resources, and integrate interactive Flash elements like quiz questions to create powerful, rich media teaching and learning tools.

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.

This month: Fridays 9- 11 AM, 1-5 PM

All sessions are held in the Staff eLearning Commons on the top floor of the T&LC Building (C30) and, unless specified otherwise, are 1 hour long.

To enrol: Contact Kerryn Reeves, ext. 2339

For further information: Catherine Clarke, ext. 3395

Garry Edmonds

TLC is currently preparing for the submission of learning materials for first semester, 2010. We will be ready to receive submissions from Monday, 27 September.

TLC provides a set of templates that can be used to create learning materials. These contain standard UNE information. A major review of these is currently being done to ensure that this information is current. This will be ready later in September, and then the templates will be uploaded to the Production of Learning Resources website.

Your school may have specific information that also needs to be included in your school’s material so check with your admin staff to ensure that you include all required information. A new simpler Learning Materials Submission form is also being developed.

Final submission dates are still to be set. We are attempting to set progressive dates that are relevant to the type of material. These will be based on feedback that we have received from schools.

If you have any questions about the preparation of learning material, contact the Learning Material Officers on #2999.

Watch 1 minute promo for Staff eLearning Commons

Hands-on tutorials, demonstrations and information sessions for groups

Thursday 3^rd September, 2.00- 3.30

You’re probably already familiar with the standard Blackboard quiz question types, but these can be made more flexible, challenging and efficient through some simple techniques. In this workshop you’ll learn ways to extend and enrich your Blackboard quizzes using some simple ‘regular expressions’ to enhance ‘Short Answer’ type questions, and a more powerful use of ‘Fill in the Blank’ type questions. If you have found the standard question types a trifle limited, this hands-on session will give you the chance to explore the quiz tool a little further for effective teaching. Ideally, participants should be able to log into a Blackboard unit, access their question database, and build some new quiz questions during this workshop, but that is not essential.

Thursday 10th, 10am

If you use a Mac but, like many people, only know the basics, this session will help you streamline your workflow and work better, smarter and faster using the additional features of OSX 10.5 (Leopard). Streamline file management, give more effective presentations in lectures and reduce the time spent on routine tasks and inefficient habits. You’ll also learn a few tips and tricks to help keep your computer in tiptop

shape and out of the repair shop!

Friday 11th, 11am

The ultimate in creating digital content - create video podcasts from lecture footage, screenflow capture, PowerPoint and more! Learn how to capture and edit video footage, create screenflow capture tutorials, integrate multimedia and how to make your vodcast more engaging, using Windows Movie Maker.

Thursday 17th, 10am

Explore the latest software (both free and paid) that allows you to record your screen to video. Create software tutorials, demonstrate online skills and answer student questions quickly and easily. Learn how to deal with a variety of video formats and load these to Blackboard for easy student access.

Friday 18th, 10am

If you’re the kind of person who is mystified as to how ‘Facebook’ became a verb and is clueless as to what a ‘tweet’ is, this session is for you. Not only are social networking tools easy to learn and a nice way to keep in touch with friends, they can be powerful teaching tools. Learn to navigate sites like Facebook, Ning and Twitter, and find out how they can be used effectively in your teaching. The session also points you to websites that give great examples and teaching ideas, and gives tips for teaching and modeling digital citizenship.

Friday 18th, 12pm

If you’ve ever wanted to use material from a DVD in your online teaching, this session will guide you step-by-step through the process. Learn to use Handbrake, a free, cross-platform program that allows you to convert DVD to digital video, and how to upload the video to Blackboard.

NB: We recommend attending this session in conjunction with a session or consultation on copyright laws.

Thursday 24th, 10am

Many lecturers are now using video in their online teaching, but are having difficulties with student access, or want to begin using video but don’t know where to start. This session explores different upload options, linking and compression settings, which allow you to maximise the use of video in your online units, whilst still allowing students on any type of internet connection equal access.

Friday 25th, 11am

Creating engaging digital media for online teaching isn’t just about podcasting or video - expand your ability to deliver creative and engaging content to students using Comic Life. Learn how to combine images and text to create effective scenario-based learning experiences that really grab students’ attention, while having some fun at the same time.

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.

All sessions are held in the Staff eLearning Commons on the top floor of the T&LC Building (C30) and, unless specified otherwise, are 1 hour long.

To enrol: Contact Kerryn Reeves, kreeves3@une.edu.au, ext. 2339

For further information: Catherine Clarke cclarke@une.edu.au, ext. 3395