• Graduating this summer? Why not become an Alumni member!

    Are you leaving us for pastures new this year?  If so, don’t be a stranger…why not sign up for free Alumni membership of the University Library after you graduate!

    Alumni Membership entitles you to:

    • Access the study facilities at any of our libraries (Ormskirk, Aintree, Manchester and Chorley) and borrow up to 5 books
    • Browse our book, print journal and newspaper collections
    • Use a number of educational and academic electronic resources as a day visitor under the terms of the walk in user licence
    • Staff assistance from help desks, use of guides and support documentation
    • Self-service photocopying and binding and laminating facilities
    • Access to some fantastic electronic resource packages which can be accessed off site

    For more information go to: www.edgehill.ac.uk/ls/library/alumni/

    Finally, good luck and best wishes from all of us at Learning Service in your future careers!

     

    Mark

    ,

  • Campus Pack – improved user interface.

    Campus Pack, the system that is used to support things such as the trainee teachers ‘standards eportfolio, is getting a new user interface on 2nd August*. The new user interface looks ‘cleaner’ with more white space.  Here are some of the things you can expect to see, with a link to a detailed posting from Learning Objects for further details:

    • Laura Page's PortfolioThe side bar has been moved to the left – which will eliminate any ‘panic’ moments – because the menu will no longer disappear off the page;
    • Improved navigation – using buttons for settings (the Gear icon), hierarchy and adding a new page;
    • Moving the Description to the left – creating even more vertical space;
    • A new ‘Gear’ menu is where the Permissions, Export and Settings have been moved to.
    • Update to the Campus Pack editor that presents a faster user interface; has HTML5 support; easier table creation; and better support for Microsoft Word.

    For more details, click on ‘Learning Object’s ‘What’s New for July 2014’.

    Please be assured that all your content won’t be affected – the only difference is what the user interface looks like – all data and settings remain the same – there is nothing that you need to do.  However, if you are leaving us this year you may want to follow our screen casts on how to Export your portfolio and Import it to another service.

    David Callaghan
    Learning Technologist and Associate Tutor

    *Note – the upgrade was originally planned for 5th July but has been rescheduled to 2nd August.

  • Still here? Get ahead with academic writing!

    So, it’s summer again. The World Cup is only one day away and many of the Edge Hill students have gone home for a well-earned break. However, if you are a Nursing student, then it’s very much business as usual! Especially for our new April intake, who are getting ready to submit their first assignment on the 11th July.

    Or you may be a new Fastrack student, keen to develop your academic writing skills ready for that September start. So where do you start? Read on for our top five tips…

    1. Analyse your question – break it down into the key concepts and for each of those concepts, develop a range of keywords to search on. This stage is vital to you being able to find good, academic material. Don’t skimp on this part!

    Click here for our guide to starting a search strategy.

    2. Plan, plan, plan. Someone once said – fail to plan, plan to fail and this is very true when it comes to academic writing.

    An essay plan makes you decide what’s going to be in your essay before you write it, so your essay will have perfect structure and read in a logical order. You need an introduction and a conclusion and each argument should have its own paragraph.

    3. Research your topic. Check out the library catalogue and Discovermore to get started. Check out your librarian’s subject pages for more database to try and for some useful websites.

    For the Health students try here: http://www.edgehill.ac.uk/ls/subject/health/

    4. Incorporate critical analysis into your writing. Not sure what that is? Look here for more information. This  guide gives a great explanation, which incorporates football – just in time for the World Cup again…

    5. Reference all your sources. Don’t write an amazing essay, only to throw away marks with poor referencing. Our Harvard guide is available to download and we also have help for other referencing styles. If in doubt, ask a Librarian or an Academic Skills Advisor. We are happy to look over your references and point out any problems, or give you a hand with that one tricky reference that is flummoxing you!

    If all else fails, check out the LS essay checklist – if you can tick most of these off, then you’re on the right lines:

    And if you are still struggling, come to the 1st floor of the library and book a 1-2-1 with an academic skills advisor. In a short 30 minute session, they can evaluate your work and give you some excellent tips for improving it. Remember to give yourself plenty of time to make that appointment, as our skills advisors can get very busy at times.

    P.S. If you are on placement at Aintree, or maybe based in Manchester, then Iain Gannon can meet with you on site to save you the journey to Ormskirk too!

     

     

    Lisa

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