Thursday 11 April 2013

CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning (CDEL) team are nominated for prestigious award (again!).

The CDEL team were thrilled to recieve a nomination for the University of Wales, Newport's Vice Chancellor's Enterprising Educators award for the second year in a row.

The nomination came from university staff which the CDEL team has been supporting since the team's inception in August 2011.

The CDEL team's remit is to educate and support individuals and organisations in the effective use of digital technology, enabling them to develop the confidence and competence to seamlessly integrate it into academic and working practices, allowing them to work smarter, not harder.

We'd just like to say a massive Thank You!! to everyone who nominated us! :)



CDEL Presents: Electric Sheep Episode 15 - Using Technology to create online, distance learning courses.


Friday 15 March 2013

CDEL Shines the Spotlight on Men's Health

Student Services in collaboration with the Center for Digitally Enhanced Learning (CDEL) at the University of Wales, Newport have developed and launched a website to provide advice and support on men’s health issues http://bit.ly/NewUMEN

Research indicates that many men choose to try and sort out problems themselves before speaking to others, either formally or informally, frequently using online resources to access information.


The site is intended to be a useful starting point for information in the three keys areas of physical health, psychological health and general lifestyle issues.

Designed for male staff members at the University, the site has been developed by Counsellor Jenny England, Senior Nurse Jan Griffiths and with technical support from The CDEL Curriculum Developer, Lyndsey Muir.

The development of the site follows on from the success of a similar website which was launched some months ago at the University, this one aimed at providing students with advice and support on men’s health issues:  http://bit.ly/NewUStudent


Jan Griffiths, Senior Nurse at the University of Wales, Newport, said:

“Research indicated that men are commonly likely to use the internet to access information about problems, before meeting with services such as a Counsellor, GP or Nurse.

We felt it may reduce stigma if information about crisis, suicide and mental health issues were embedded within a more general support website. A key benefit of a website of this kind is that a person feeling desperate and alone could access support and information at any time.”

The website covers a range of subjects which can then signpost people to established websites for more detailed information.  We have used humour and video clips to make it more engaging".

Jenny England, a Counsellor at the University, added:

“We hope that this site will prove to be a useful resource to male staff of all ages, whether they are just looking for some general information on an issue or if they need to reach out for help when they feel there is nowhere else to turn.

The website means that men can access information privately at any time, day or night.

We are very keen to hear how people find the website and welcome comments, we have put a feedback form within the website so would be thrilled if people could let us know their thoughts.”

The websites have also started to rouse international interest with The Georgetown University in Washington DC contacting us asking us if we would like to collaborate with them in some way on a similar project they are doing http://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/spotlight-on-mens-health/

Erica Moss, Community Manager, Nursing@Georgetown contacted us saying 

"I stumbled upon your Men's Wellbeing site recently, and find it to be a great resource for those seeking more information about this important issue. Education will be key to improving the state of men's health."



Friday 1 March 2013

Webinar: Free Android & Apple Apps for education.

The CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team (CDEL) are pleased to present a webinar on free mobile & tablet apps, which it delivered in conjunction with RSC Wales as part of their Lunchtime Bytes series.

You can watch the webinar below.



St Mary's Church in Wales Primary School Website Goes Live




The CELT Digitally Enhanced Learning Team (CDEL) at The University of Wales, Newport has been working in collaboration with The Welsh Assembly Government and Blaenau Gwent County Council to digitize 12 Primary Schools in the Blaenau Gwent area and we are proud to announce that the first website of the project has gone live today - The St Mary's Church in Wales Primary Schools.

Staff, pupils and parents are thrilled to finally have a vehicle through which they can communicate.  

The website has a wealth of features, resources and tools for staff, pupils and parents, features include:-

  • School Dinner Menus - so mums and dads know in advance whether their children will like the day's food.
  • Useful forms - such as uniform ordering forms, sickness and holiday forms - one parent said "I do not drive so being able to print these forms out at home and email them in will be a god send!"
  • Gallery of pupils work - so mums and dads can see the fabulous work their children are doing in school.
  • Educational Games - so parents can direct their children to games at home which will as well as allowing them to have fun enhance their learning.
  • School Blog - Where the school can keep parents informed and up to date with anything from snow closure days to items in the local news about the schools excellent performance.
The acting Head Mrs Alison Chaplin today said "We cannot thank you enough, we really are thrilled to bits and are delighted to now have such a useful resource at our fingertips".

Wednesday 20 February 2013

CDEL works with the sports team to broadcast another live YouTube webinar

The CELT's Digitally enhanced Learning team is pleased to report on the success of the second live YouTube webinar for prospective students wishing to study sport at the University of Wales, Newport.

The Webinar was run by Andy Thomas (Programme Leader for BSc (Hon) Sports Coaching) and Charlotte Wathan (Programme Leader, BSc. (Hons) Sports Studies) and enabled prospective students to watch on any internet enabled device and pose questions via a dedicated Facebook page, Twitter hashtag and email address.  Questions which came in during the live broadcast were answered on air, and those which came after transmission were answered via the medium on which they were posed.

Both webinars thus far have been a huge success, with significantly more prospective students watching and interacting online than normally attend face to face open days.

You can watch a recording of the webinar below, or click here for more information.


Tuesday 12 February 2013

CDEL Presents: Using technology for effective training

Yesterday (11th Feb 2013) the CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team were invited to give a talk to the Cardiff & South East Wales Safety group showcasing how free and open source technologies can be used by Health and Safety trainers to further enhance and support their face to face provision.

The talk was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and was very well received, if you'd like to listen to the talk itself and watch the presentation which was given, then you can do so via the video below.








Monday 11 February 2013

CDEL gets invited back to Lincoln University

Last summer, the  head of the CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team was invited to Lincoln university to deliver a keynote on Open Educational Resources (OER). 

The talk so well received that last week, CDEL were invited back to Lincoln to deliver the same presentation to a different faculty within the same university.

Rather than just deliver the same talk though, the team decided to update it for 2013, reflecting developments and research undertaken within the University of Wales, Newport.

As was the case last year, staff at Lincoln University and the Higher Education Academy were in attendance and both groups praised the talk, both in terms of its content and delivery:
“@HEA_Sociology: Excellent presentation @unilincoln by @Pauls_elearning on constructing OERs. His website is well worth a look https://t.co/E2GlAbeI” 
“@suewatling: Watching @Pauls_elearning present on using free online tools for t&l fabulous stuff #oldsmooc #diymultimedia”
The presentation used can be viewed below:

 

We'd like to thank the staff of Lincoln University for inviting us back & making us feel so welcome. :)

Thursday 24 January 2013

CDEL works in partnership with RSC Wales to deliver a free webinar on Mobile learning

The CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team (CDEL) is pleased to announce that booking for a free webinar, "Free Android and Apple apps for education" is now open.

Taking place on Thursday, 28 February between 12:30 - 13:15, the free webinar will be delivered via RSC Wales Blackboard Collaborate system.

The workshop will serve as an introduction to free apps which educators can integrate into their teaching practice in a pedagogically sound way. It will showcase how and where users can find free apps and also try apps on their existing computer hardware, without the need to purchase dedicated tablet-based equipment.

All apps showcased will also have a website equivalent, ensuring that educators and their students are able to make use of the services they provide, even if they do not have iOS or Android based equipment.

If you'd like more information, or wish to book a place, then please do so via the link below:


Bluestacks is one of the free pieces of software that will be showcased - it allows educators to try Android apps on their normal computers, without the need to purchase Android tablets beforehand.

Monday 21 January 2013

The 21st Century Schools Project

The St Mary's Church in Wales Primary School's
website has been developed
 as a direct result of working with CDEL
.
The 21st Century Schools Project is a collaborative project between The Welsh Assembly Government, Blaenau Gwent County Council and The CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning Team (CDEL) at The University of Wales, Newport. 

The Rose report has placed technology centre stage in the primary curriculum where Information and communication technology (ICT) will sit alongside literacy, numeracy and personal development as a keystone of the curriculum for future generations.  

The aim of this innovative project is to encourage twelve Primary Schools in the South Wales area to embrace technology, they are:
  • Glanhowy Primary School
  • Thomas Richards Center 
  • Rhos Y Fedwen Primary School
  • Peny Cwm Special School
  • St Mary's RC Primary School
  • Coed Y Garn Primary School
  • YSGOL Bro Helyg  
  • Georgetown Primary School
  • Abertillery Primary School
  • Soffrydd Primary School
  • Ebbw Fawr Community School
By working in partnership with these schools our goal is to close the gap between those schools embracing technology and those who are not.  

The CDEL team has undertaken a Scenario Based Design process with each of the 12 schools, resulting in a bespoke training plan for each, the goal of which is to provide their staff with the skills and confidence to integrate technology into their teaching practices in a pedagogically sound way.


The schools are receiving a wide range of support in many different areas including the development of new websites and web based learning platforms as well as continual professional development (CPD) sessions which focus on collaborating and communicating online with peers, colleagues, parents and pupils.

Tuesday 15 January 2013

CDEL supports Newport's Sports team in delivering online seminar

The CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team is pleased to announce the successful launch of the University of Wales, Newport's Sports Department web based seminar programme.

Launched on January 15th, the programme consists of four live webinars which prospective sports students can view on any internet enabled device, giving them the ability to ask questions via Email, Twitter and Facebook which can then be answered live during the webinar or later, should they come in once the webinar has ended.

Much like the BBC iPlayer, the webnars can be watched again after they have finished, so that all prospective students can access them at times and places which suit them best.



The first seminar was run by Andy Thomas & Charley Walthan on January 15th 2013You can watch it above or by clicking here.

Friday 11 January 2013

CDEL successful in bid for grant

Elizabeth Jones from the CELT's Digitally enhanced Learning team has been successful in securing a Teaching Information Grant for a research project into ePortfolios: 'Creating a professional online identity: educating staff & students to create and maintain their own ePortfolios.'

The focus of this project is a feedback exercise for those students who will have undertaken ePortfolio workshops with CDEL in 2012. The results of the feedback is being used to inform a new model of best practice for teaching ePortfolios at University of Wales, Newport. Improoving students’ awareness of employability and the value of their academic career.

A student project assisstant has already been hired and feedback exercises are expected to begin later this month. We'll be giving further updates as the project progresses.


CDEL invited to contribute to ALDinHE Communication planning meeting

A CDEL representative was invited to the recent ALDinHE (Association for Learning Development in Higher Education) Communication planning meeting. The meeting, which took place in the Oxford YHA, was arranged to review the Associations digital footprint and decide which tools could be improved to allow for better communication between its members.

Representatives from the University of Wales, Newport, as well as other institutions from the UK, were in attendance and a number of tools, including PB Works, Word Press, Dropbox and Google Docs (amongst others) were discussed and, by the end of the meeting, a plan to allow the Association to move forward was drafted to be taken back to the wider planning teams for further discussion and development.

CDEL's 23(ish) things


Image cc licensed ( BY NC SA )
Flickr photo by
fraumrau
CDEL has been working with the librarians at University of Wales, Newport to provide a training course that would allow the library staff to explore all kinds of online tools and services. The course needed to cater for a wide range of knowledge levels - from the IT whizz to the technophobic - as well as letting staff learn where and when they had time.

In response to these needs CDEL have created their own version of the '23 things' course that has been reworked by libraries and other institutions all over the world.  The original 23 things programme, Learning 2.0 was designed by Helene Blowers, technology director at the public library of Charlotte Mecklenburg County in North Caroline. The aim of the programme was to introduce library staff to emerging technologies through the completion of 23 'things' or tasks.  The content of the programme was delivered through a blog, which allowed learners to work through it at their own pace.

CDEL have adapted the programme to suit the library staff at UWN and created '23(ish) things' on the university's Moodle-based virtual learning environment (VLE). The course was launched with a face to face session to explain the course and give staff a chance to get some help with how to navigate the VLE. Since then the 23ish things have been delivered entirely online with staff disussing their progress and thoughts via a dedicated course forum. They are currently working their way through 27 things to teach them about all kinds of digital tools including facebook, twitter, mobile technology, blogging, RSS, podcasts, apps & more.

It is hoped that upon completion, the project can be extended and made available to all staff at the university who would like to know more about some of those mysterious online thingyamebobs.

Thursday 10 January 2013

CDEL launches new technology and e-learning podcast.

The CELT's Digitally Enhanced Learning team are very pleased to announce the launch of their new weekly podcast.

Called Electric Sheep, the podcast focusses on free and open source technologies and tools which individuals and organisations can use to work smarter, not harder.

To learn more about the podcast, listen to the first six episodes and subscribe to future ones via iTunes or RSS feed, please visit the Podcast's main home page:



Tuesday 8 January 2013

CDEL to offer weekly student drop-in sessions to all UWN students

As of Wednesday 9th January 2013, CDEL will be running weekly (term-time only) student drop-in sessions at both the City and Caerleon Campuses. These sessions will run from 2-4pm at the City Campus in room C30 and 1-4 at the Caerleon Campus in room G10/Rathmell Building.

The weekly drop in workshops/surgerys are for all students studying at the University of Wales, Newport who want help, support and advice using technology to work smarter and to support them in their studies.

A full list of how CDEL can help students can be found via the following link.

http://bit.ly/CDEL4Students