Student Learning Advisory Service (SLAS) Closure

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Joy Gould

SLAS will be CLOSED for half a day from 11.45am on Friday, 18th December.

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A new Kent Extra course: KE064 – Mentoring at University: Reflective Practice

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Alison Crump

A new Kent Extra course: KE064 – Mentoring at University: Reflective Practice run by the Student Learning Advisory Service is starting at Canterbury and Medway on 04 November:

You can sign up now for the new 12 week mentoring module which starts in week 6. It will be taught on the Canterbury campus (on Wednesdays, 1.00pm to 2.00pm in ELT2) and on the Medway campus (on Wednesdays 2.00pm – 3.00pm in DA015).

This is a Kent Extra course so it is non-credit bearing, but it will appear on your degree transcript. Follow this link to sign up:
https://www.kent.ac.uk/extra/courses/coursesSkillsEmploy.html

Why do a Kent Extra course?
It’s a great chance to build transferable skills and enhance your CV and career prospects. If you complete a Kent Extra course, you will get Employability Points and it will appear on your Higher Education Achievement Report (subject to satisfactory attendance). It’s also a chance to study something purely for pleasure, free of charge.

How do I find out more and sign up for a course?

• Visit: https://www.kent.ac.uk/extra/courses/coursesSkillsEmploy.html, where you will find KE064 listed for Canterbury and Medway.

• Follow the link to sign up in the Student Data System. Choose “Workshops”:  under “My Study” you will see a list of Workshop Skills – choose “Kent Extra” to see a list of Kent Extra workshops and choose KE064 at the Canterbury or Medway campus depending on where you are based.

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SLAS advisor Louise Frith and Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Ruben Martin, publish their book: Professional Writing for Social Workers.

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Alison Crump

book

 

 

 

SLAS (https://www.kent.ac.uk/learning/) advisor Louise Frith and Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Ruben Martin, publish their book: Professional Writing for Social Workers.

Please find an amazon link to the book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Writing-Skills-Social-Workers/dp/0335263925/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1445874533&sr=1-1&keywords=professional+writing+for+social+workers

Please find below a short summary of the book.  Please read more Continue reading →

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Refreshing Teaching for Experienced Staff at Kent

Posted on October 20, 2015 by sr259

These practical workshop sessions are intended for staff who have been teaching for some time and are interested in sharing and developing their practice. Each session will begin with a short introduction, designed to set the context, present ideas and generate discussion on how you can put these ideas into practice.

The theme for this academic year is ‘Massification: Recognising and responding to change.’

Sessions are free and take place 4.30 – 5.45pm in the UELT Seminar Room. The first session, led by Dr Edd Pitt (Academic Practice Team), is on Thursday 12th November and is a practical session on ‘Teaching with Technology: apps to engage an audience.’

Please email heprogsadmin@kent.ac.uk to confirm your place as there is limited seating.

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Developing an individual case for HEA Fellowship

Posted on October 20, 2015 by sr259

Higher Education Academy Fellowship is one way for individuals to demonstrate a commitment to teaching, promoting and leading educational change. Staff who have completed the PGCHE are eligible for Fellowship, but it is also possible for individuals to prepare a case for Fellowship based on their experience and role within Higher Education. This briefing session is intended for academic staff who would like to find out more about preparing an individual claim for Fellowship, Principal or Senior Fellowship.

The session, led by Fran Beaton (Academic Practice Team), takes place in the UELT seminar room on Thursday 29th October 3 – 4pm.

Please email heprogsadmin@kent.ac.uk to confirm your place as there is limited seating.

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UNIVERSITY TEACHING PRIZES 2015

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Caroline Peters

Excellent teaching was celebrated at the University Teaching Prizes ceremony on 7th October. These annual awards, presented by the Vice-Chancellor Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow, recognise the dedication and creativity of staff working to give their students the best possible learning experience at the University.

Faculty of Humanities Teaching Prize

1st Prize
Professor Ray Laurence Classical and Archaeological Studies)

Joint 2nd Prize
Dr Vybarr Cregan-Reid (English) and Dr Axel Stähler (SECL)

Faculty of Sciences Teaching Prize

Joint winners
Dr Barry Blight, (Physical Sciences) and Dr Tarlochan Singh Gill and Dr Maureen Mounty (Medway School of Pharmacy)

Faculty of Social Sciences Teaching Prize

Dr Mike Poltorak (Anthropology and Conservation)

Barbara Morris Prize for Learning Support

Joint winners
Laura García Rodríguez Blancas (Journalism) and A team comprising Louise Frith (Music and Fine Art/SLAS), Frank Walker (MFA), Moses Malekia (MFA), Gerard McGill and the Wellbeing Team, Sally Apokis (Medway Chaplain)

Commended
 Jane Gallagher (Special Collections and Archives) and A team comprising Dr Kirsty Horsey, Callum Borg, Katia Neofytou, Oliver Hartland (KLS), Ben Watson (Library)

Please see below photos of the prize winners.

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K-MOOCs Beacon Project event

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Caroline Peters

“Recordings of the K-MOOCs Beacon Project special event, ‘MOOCs and beyond: Exploring the opportunities for Kent’ are available for University staff on KentPlayer. See the K-MOOCs website [link: http://www.kent.ac.uk/elearning/themes/kmoocs.html] for details.

The event was held at UELT on Tuesday 10th February to explore the potential value of MOOCs for the University of Kent and the possible wider impact, drawing on the experience and expertise of leading MOOC providers.

A capacity audience enjoyed excellent and thought-provoking presentations from our external speakers – W Michael McCracken (Georgia Institute of Technology), Helena Gillespie (University of East Anglia), and Amy Woodgate (University of Edinburgh) – alongside the background and latest updates on our own K-MOOCs project from Mark O’Connor (UELT) and Simon Thompson (School of Computing). Following the presentations, we held a lively and enlightening panel discussion and Q&A session.”

KMOOCs_panel_alt

(from left: W Michael McCracken, Helena Gillespie, Amy Woodgate and Simon Thompson)

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Academic Freedom: Still relevant in today’s university?

Posted on February 11, 2015 by Caroline Peters

Friday 20th March 2015

12:30pm until 5:30pm

University of Kent, Keynes Lecture Theatre 2

 2015 marks the centenary of the American Association of University Professors’ Declaration of Principles of Academic Freedom. The signatories to this declaration demanded freedom of inquiry and research; freedom of teaching within the university or college; and freedom of extramural utterance and action. The significance of this declaration can be seen in the fact that, a century later, it continues to act as a benchmark in discussions of academic freedom. The aim of this symposium is to evaluate how understandings of academic freedom have changed over time, and whether it is still relevant in today’s university.

Programme

12:30pm            Welcome and Buffet Lunch

1:00 – 2:30pm     Academic Freedom Then and Now

Cheryl Hudson, Coventry University, History
Academic freedom in 1915: contextualising the AAUP Declaration

Joanna Williams, University of Kent, CSHE
Changing perspectives on academic freedom

Iain Mackenzie, University of Kent, POLIR
Academic freedom beyond ‘ left’ and ‘right’

2:30 – 3:00pm Coffee Break

3:00 – 5:30pm    Academic Freedom: The next one hundred years

Dave Cocozza, University of Kent
Should students have free speech on campus?

Adam Kissel, Formerly of Foundation for Individual Rights
in Education (FIRE), Philadelphia
Academic freedom and the common good

Davina Cooper, University of Kent, Law
Reflecting on the right not to speak

Philip Cunliffe, University of Kent, POLIR
Therapeutic education as a threat to academic freedom

There is no charge to attend this event but places must be reserved in advance by emailing: cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

For all enquiries please contact Dr Jo Williams at J.G.Williams@kent.ac.uk

 

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MOOCs and beyond: exploring the opportunities for Kent

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Caroline Peters

PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT IS NOW FULL.

A dissemination event will be run later in the year. For all enquiries please contact
Mark O’Connor, Distance Learning Technologist M.A.O’Connor@kent.ac.uk

___________________________________________________

Tuesday, 10th Feb 2015 in UELT Seminar Room
12:30 to 17:00

The ‘K-MOOCs’ Beacon Project aims to explore the feasibility of the University of Kent offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), with the ultimate aim to showcase and promote expertise, scholarship and research at Kent for a global audience.

A MOOC is an online course with open access and no prerequisites; prestigious institutions worldwide have developed MOOCs with providers such as Coursera, edX and FutureLearn. The original hype surrounding MOOCs has been replaced with a realisation that they are set to play key roles in continuing professional development and the student classroom experience both online and on campus.

At this event we will draw on the experience and expertise of leading MOOC providers to explore the potential value of MOOCs for the University of Kent and the possible wider impact – for example, on our teaching and learning, outreach, and professional development.

To book a place please email cpdbookings@kent.ac.uk

Lunch will be available from 12:00, please let us know if you have any dietry requirements.

All enquiries contact Mark O’Connor, Distance Learning Technologist (UELT)  01227 827478.


PROGRAMME

12.30   Buffet lunch

1.00     Welcome & introductions (Louise Naylor, Director of UELT)

1.05     The Beacon Projects initiative (David Powell, Policy Adviser to the VC)

1.15     Introduction to the MOOCs Beacon project (Mark O’Connor, UELT)

1.40     MOOCs at the Georgia Institute of Technology and report on Kent consultancy work (Mike McCracken, Georgia Tech)

2.15     Break for tea/coffee & questions to Mike McCracken

2.30     MOOCs at the University of East Anglia (Helena Gillespie, UEA)

2.50     MOOCs at the University of Edinburgh (Amy Woodgate, Edinburgh)

3.10     Break for tea/coffee & questions to Helena Gillespie & Amy Woodgate

3.30     Current developments at Kent (Simon Thompson, School of Computing)

3.50     Panel Q&A/discussion (Chair: Mark O’Connor; Panel: Helena Gillespie, Mike McCracken, Simon Thompson, Amy Woodgate)

4.30     Final thoughts, further steps, concluding remarks (open discussion led by Mark O’Connor and Jane Carne, UELT)

5.00     Drinks reception

Pre-session links

To find out more about online learning and MOOCs before the event, and particularly our external speakers, you may be interested in the following links:

 Online Masters at Georgia Institute of Technology:

http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/#np-855

 Georgia Institute of Technology & University of Edinburgh on Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/gatech

https://www.coursera.org/edinburgh

 University of East Anglia & University of Edinburgh on FutureLearn:

https://www.futurelearn.com/partners/university-of-east-anglia

https://www.futurelearn.com/partners/the-university-of-edinburgh

 To try out a course on Coursera:

https://www.coursera.org/courses, search ‘On demand’ courses

For example, the astrobiology MOOC from Edinburgh: https://www.coursera.org/learn/astrobiology/

 To try out a course on FutureLearn:

Browse all available courses at: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/categories

Or, for courses that have started recently or upcoming: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/upcoming

blue-50Kent_Beacon Projects_cmyk (2)

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Congratulations to academic and teaching staff

Posted on December 5, 2014 by sr259

A record 96 members of staff have successfully completed the ATAP/PGCHE/PGDip/MA in Higher Education this year, offered through our Centre for the Study of Higher Education. These programmes are undertaken by academics and other staff with busy and demanding working lives, and are testament to the commitment of our colleagues to excellent, research-informed teaching and academic practice.  The Academic Practice Team warmly congratulates all of our new graduates on their success.

Reception 1 Reception 2  Reception 4 Reception 5

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