Case Study: Microsoft Sway

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Laura Riella

What is Microsoft Sway?

Sway is part of the Microsoft Office 365 package and can be used to create presentations, newsletters, portfolios and many more. A story-telling app that allows you to combine text and media, Sway is a powerful and versatile product that can be used in many different ways.

The below case study, will look at how a member of staff at Edge Hill University used Microsoft Sway to create a Faculty Newsletter.

Name:

Louise Habberfield

Department:

Education

Role:

Faculty Partnership Officer

Why did you decide to use Microsoft Sway?:

We wanted to introduce a faculty newsletter as a way of improving communication across the Faculty. I was looking for a way in which I could present key information in an appealing way but as well monitor readership and engagement rates.

What have you created as a result?:

The end result was a faculty newsletter distributed to all staff. Since it was distributed I have had other colleagues from across the institution approach me to ask what software I used, would I recommend it etc and that it was impressive.

What have you liked about Microsoft Sway?:

I really value the analytics I find that helpful to report on to the management team. I also like the way the text is displayed and appears interactive.

Would you receive further training on Digital Workplace Technologies?:

Yes, absolutely. There are always new things to learn, I consider myself quite computer literate and thought I was ok, but there is always new software and little tips to make working life easier!

Upcoming Sessions

If you are interested in using Sway to create a presentation or newsletter, then please take a look at the upcoming sessions. The session aims to guide staff through how to navigate the application, how to add, edit and embed material, and how to publish their finished presentations.

The next session takes place:Thursday 25th July – 11am-12pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Stay up-to-date with our latest developments on our blog and WIKI.

Written by: Laura Riella

Digital Capabilities Coordinator

Achieve a digital badge

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Laura Riella

As part of the Digital Workplace Technologies offer, staff have the opportunity to achieve a digital badge for each pathway that they complete. These pathways have been specifically designed to allow staff to enhance their knowledge in that area in more depth. Alongside face-to-face sessions, there will also be online guides, videos and links to useful LinkedIn Learning courses that will allow staff to be independent learners.

After attending the sessions as part of the pathway and engaging in discussion, you will receive a digital badge and personalised certificate that recognises that you have completed this pathway.

Case Studies

Please see below some case studies from members of staff who have successfully completed one of the pathways and achieved a digital badge.

Kate Munday

Student Journey Project Officer, Student Experience Team

Laura has been a passionate advocate of the digital workplace technologies and is able to tailor sessions to individuals needs. You are given the basic tools to explore the software, in a practical, hands on manner.

The digital collaboration pathway explores functionality of different programmes that have a focus on project management. As part of the Students Systems workstream I support internal teams through management and implementation of change projects. This pathway has given me a broader range of knowledge on software which encourages collaborative, project work. In completing the training sessions I have been able to approach projects from a different angle using new, digital workplace technologies.

Emma Walker

HR MI & Systems Development Advisor, Human Resources

I attended both the Microsoft Teams and Project Management courses hosted by Laura Riella w/c 20th May 2019. This was my first week at my new job, and these sessions were recommended by my manager.

HR uses Microsoft Teams for the majority of communication methods and project work, so it was vital I learnt how to use this quickly and effectively. The session was laid out really well, with a clear explanation of how/ why this is used, handy hints and tips provided, and a chance to ‘have a go’ yourselves at the end. I found it tailored well to both new users (like myself) and several colleagues who were there to learn how to get the most out of this technology.

The Project Management session was particularly useful for me, as part of my role requires the organisation and ongoing maintenance of various HR System projects. Understanding how to use both Microsoft Project and Trello gave delegates the option to choose which one suited their working style best. Advantages (and potential disadvantages) to both were highlighted – and Laura was really helpful in discussing how this could relate to our specific departments/ goals throughout the session.

Personally, I found that MyTeams and Trello compliment each other really well – and have already created several project groups and assigned tasks via this technology. I’ve found that this has helped me organise my work efficiently, encouraged collaboration across the HR team and inspired other team members to do the same! The Digital Collaboration Pathway was an invaluable part of my introduction – though I’d highly recommend to all staff members.

Stay up-to-date with our latest developments on our blog and WIKI.

Written by: Laura Riella

Digital Capabilities Coordinator

Academic Staff Development Fortnight

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Laura Riella

Library & Learning Services are hosting an Academic Staff Development Fortnight in Catalyst from 17^th to 28^th June. Come and join us to learn more about the support we can offer and update your skills!

The schedule for the fortnight can be found here and the full timetable is available below.

All sessions can be booked using MyView. For further information, including a description of all the sessions, please see the Learning Services Wiki.

If you have any questions or encounter any problems, please contact your Academic Engagement Specialist.

We look forward to seeing you in Catalyst in June.

Stay up-to-date with our latest developments on our blog and WIKI.

Written by: Laura Riella

Digital Capabilities Coordinator

Pure: new guides available

Posted on May 17, 2019 by Liam Bullingham

Pure is the University’s new research information repository, replacing EHRA (Edge Hill Research Archive) last month.

The new repository looks great and showcases the excellent research being done at Edge Hill, and you can now add your research outputs to Pure. There are a wide range of options, and some you might not be very familiar with – terminology like ‘author accepted manuscript’ and ‘ISSN’!

To help, we’ve created a range of initial guides to help you through the process of depositing your research, including complying with the REF requirements:

Hope they prove useful!

As always, please contact REFCompliance@edgehill.ac.uk with any questions about the process, or if something doesn’t make sense.

UniSkills Support at Manchester St. James’

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Kat Molesworth

Edge Hill’s St. James’ campus is situated on bustling Oxford Road, the hub of student-life in vibrant central Manchester – and (allegedly!) one of the busiest bus routes in Europe.

It’s home to students on Paramedic, Operating Department Practitioner and Surgical First Assistant courses. It also houses specialist resources and innovative equipment tailored to their becoming professionals, including a clinical skills lab (complete with its own ambulance), and an immersive simulation suite.

At busy and challenging times, it can be easy to get distracted, even if it’s by the world going by outside the windows of the cosy library, so if you would like some further support with getting your work back on track UniSkills is here to help! From academic skills queries, to writing an assignment, putting presentations together, literature-searching, or learning how to use citation tools and get your referencing spot on.

You can check out our UniSkills toolkits on our webpages (or your My Library tab) any time but we also offer lots of friendly help and advice in person. Manchester St. James’ students can self-book one-to-one appointments with our Academic Skills Advisor based on campus. These 45-minute appointments are tailored to you and cover a wide range of academic and information skills: just pick a time and come along with your questions, assignment information, and any work you want to discuss. Don’t worry about what stage your work is at – something is always better than nothing as a starting point.

If you have a quick question, you are more than welcome to call into the Manchester UniSkills Drop-In every Wednesday afternoon between 2-4pm for a chat. If you’re working off campus, don’t forget about Ask Us: an online knowledge base for finding answers to your questions, getting in touch, and accessing the support you need.

We’re also designing some new UniSkills workshops especially for St. James’ students – so if there is anything you’d like to see academic skills-wise please get in touch – we are here to support you in your learning, so you can achieve your goals!

Are you graduating this summer?

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Christine Anderton

If so, Learning Services would like to take this opportunity to wish you all the best in your future accomplishments, be that further study or starting out on your chosen career path.

We would also like to remind you that all library stock needs to be returned to us by 5pm on Friday 31st May

*exceptions apply to Faculty of Education students out on placement!

Did you know that you can still access library resources after graduation? Apply for an Alumni membership of the University Library after graduation to access our learning spaces, selected electronic resources and to borrow library stock from any of our sites.

If you have any books of your own taking up space on your bedroom floor don’t forget we are collecting for another #PassTheBook textbook giveaway in October 2019! Drop in any unwanted books at Ormskirk, Aintree or Manchester and we will ensure they go to a good home come the new term!

You can also find important information about your network account after graduation here

If you have any queries please contact us via Ask Us.

Congratulations to you all and enjoy your graduation! 🎓

Learning Services

Twitter @EHULearnService
Instagram @EHUlibrary
Facebook EHULearnService

Pure Research Information Repository now launched

Posted on April 25, 2019 by Rachel Bury

You may have heard about the new research information and management system – Pure. Pure now contains all the outputs previously available in EHRA (Edge Hill Research Archive).

The previous online form you may have used to submit your research outputs has now been retired and is no longer available.

Pure is entirely browser-based so you can access it on any device, smartphone, PC or Mac, using your Edge Hill log-in details. The Research Support Team will be available to help you navigate the deposit process and any open access queries. Find out more and access via the Pure – Research Information Repository service gateway page

There will also be several training sessions open to all. If you would like to contact us to arrange training or work with you to deposit items, please email REFCompliance@edgehill.ac.uk.

Library and Learning Services are responsible for the management of the repository within Pure and can be contacted via REFCompliance@edgehill.ac.uk.

All Aboard Revision Central 🚇

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Shannen Dabson

Spring is in the air and it is beginning to get warmer and lighter throughout the day. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing. It’s enough to fill anyone with joy and happiness. Until you remember that you’re a university student and you have a network of deadlines and exams (full steam) ahead!

Never fear, because UniSkills are here to help you on your revision journey!

We are offering a range of support throughout Revision Central (29th April – 17th May) including workshops to help you prepare for exams, practice those all-important presentation skills and help you arrive at your destination with assignments. Don’t delay, reserve your seat at one of these workshops today!

The full summer 2019 UniSkills workshops timetable is available now – printed copies will be arriving on campus shortly!

And don’t forget, Catalyst is open 24/7 so whether you are a sleeper train, or a morning express we can accommodate your study style. With dedicated silent study areas, individual and group rooms and our unique study pods available to book.

In addition to the workshops, from 7^th to 17^th May we will be hosting Revision Central Station on the ground floor of Catalyst. This is your platform where you can receive revision support to facilitate your assessment journey.

Take a study break and pay us a visit during these weeks and you will be able to pick up a Revision Survival Pack. These nifty little guides are full of top tips and strategies to help you reach your full potential and (if you catch the express!) you may also be in time to collect a FREE Catalyst goody bag! We will also be offering free healthy snacks and drinks, to provide your body with the ‘brain food’ it needs for an effective study session.

Throughout Revision Central you will still be able to access all our usual support services including;

Drop in (weekdays 11am-2pm) to the Catalyst Helpdesk for any quick queries
Book a peer to peer appointment with one of our knowledgeable Student Advisors
Book a 1-2-1 appointment with one of the UniSkills team for academic writing or information skills support
Ask Us a question anytime…and if you are studying away from campus there is lots of support available online 24/7 including advice and guidance around exam preparation on our UniSkills webpages and your My Library tab.

So, best of luck with your exams and next time you’re in Catalyst be sure to spot our inspiring quote of the day to help motivate and fast track your way to exam success!

Keep in touch with Library & Learning Services throughout your journey via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Digital Communication

Posted on April 5, 2019 by Laura Riella

The internet, social media and the media have now become an essential part of our everyday lives. Digital Communication is forever changing and evolving, with the sector becoming more dynamic and diverse in the way it creates and publishes digital content.

The Digital Communication pathway aims to provide staff with an understanding of how to communicate across various platforms, such as social media platforms and internet technologies, using new and exciting technologies to stay connected with others. It is important that staff are able to deliver quality content and information to a range of digital audiences in a way that is accessible and easy to navigate.

Upcoming Sessions

Presenting Yourself Online: Digital Footprint

It is important to be aware of your presence online, and to create a positive image of yourself for current and future employers to see. This session will help you to consider how to communicate effectively through a variety of digital tools to achieve this, as well as looking at the importance of online etiquette and online security.

Thursday 23rd May – 11am-12pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Twitter: Promotional Marketing

This session will introduce staff to online tools and strategies for creating engaging promotional material for Twitter. Social media is a key way to communicate with different audiences and it is important to know how to successfully create engaging promotional marketing material that will impact visual communications.

Wednesday 10th April – 3pm-4pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Digital Newsletters: Adobe Spark

This practical session will enable staff to create an eye-catching digital newsletter which can be shared online using Adobe Spark. Adobe Spark allows you to create your own unique and custom newsletter for your department or team in minutes, with a variety of templates, images, text and interactive features.

Tuesday 4th June – 2pm-3pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Digital Newsletters: MailChimp

This session aims to introduce staff to email marketing and how to make it exciting and eye-catching using MailChimp. By the end of the session staff will be able to create an email campaign using a variety of features (including text, images, links to websites and social media), send an email campaign to subscribers and track the success of the campaign.

Monday 3rd June – 3pm-4pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Whether you are an academic member of staff and want to use social media to connect with other academics and professionals in your field or you are a support member of staff looking to inform colleagues about new developments, then these sessions will give you an advantageous starting point to further improve your digital communication skills.

Don’t forget that you can now achieve a digital badge – so why not attend these sessions as part of this pathway?

Stay up-to-date with our latest developments on our blog and WIKI.

Written by: Laura Riella

Digital Capabilities Coordinator

Session Focus – Word: Formatting Long Documents

Posted on April 1, 2019 by Laura Riella

This blog post will focus on a recently delivered session – Word: Formatting Long Documents, which is part of the new Digital Workplace Technologies offer.

What were the objectives of the session?

This session focused on using the features of Microsoft Word to put together long documents or formal reports, including using styles, creating tables of contents, applying section footers and working collaboratively with master documents.

Formatting long documents can be tricky, particularly when working with multiple pages of text, figures and tables. This session aimed to navigate staff through the features of Microsoft Word that will successfully enable them to create a professional document that is clearly organised, structured and accessible. Page numbering can also make many people apprehensive, especially when you need the first few pages to be in Roman numerals and the rest of your document in Arabic numbers. Again, this session aimed to guide staff through this process, with lots of opportunities to practice and ask questions.

The session

This type of session lasts 60 minutes and enables staff to cover many areas of Microsoft Word and put their new knowledge into practice.

At the end of the session staff should be able to do the following in Microsoft Word:

Use styles to apply headings to a document
Create a table of contents for a document
Add captions and create a table of figures
Use section breaks and apply section formatting
Add custom headers and footers
Work collaboratively on a document
Work with master documents and subdocuments

The session took place in Oak room, Catalyst and provided staff with the opportunity to use computers to have a go themselves at formatting long documents. Modelling examples on the board, staff could then follow steps to format several long documents.

Personal Reflection Activity

At the start of the session I asked staff to write down on a post-it note how they currently felt about formatting long documents.

Staff responded with a variety of feelings towards the prospect of formatting long documents, with many using this session as an opportunity to develop their skills and refresh their current knowledge.

After the session I asked staff to complete the same activity, instead now writing down how they feel after the session about the prospect of formatting long documents. The responses were dramatically different, with many staff feeling more confident, happier and sorted!

Members of staff said:

“A very clear and informative delivery while maintaining a friendly approachable setting.”

“It was brill and really informative! I found it really helpful.”

Upcoming Sessions

If you are a member of staff and are interested in improving your knowledge of formatting long documents on Microsoft Word, then take a look below at the upcoming sessions.

Tuesday 9th April 2019 2pm-3pm

Tuesday 16th April 2019 11am-12pm

Book your session on MyView here.

Stay up-to-date with our latest developments on our blog and WIKI.

Written by: Laura Riella

Digital Capabilities Coordinator