-
Getting Digital Ready
For staff interested in developing their digital skills or looking for some staff development opportunities, the new ‘Getting Digital Ready’ Wiki pages have launched.
Since working from home it is fundamental that staff are still provided with the opportunity to develop their digital skills and get involved in staff development. Developed as part of the ‘My Staff Development‘ offer, ‘Getting Digital Ready’ has launched, aiming to provide staff with high quality interactive booklets, guides and videos to support them whilst working from home.
These newly developed Wiki pages by Library & Learning Services aim to support staff working from home with digital staff development opportunities. These pages include a variety of materials for staff to engage with, including bespoke interactive guides, support materials, videos and recommended LinkedIn Learning courses.
The interactive guides have been designed to support staff, enhance their digital skills and provide them with the opportunity to engage in staff development.
The guides have received much praise and success, with staff across the university accessing the guides over 500 times and spending on average 33 minutes engaging with the materials. Within these guides (divided into parts) staff will be able to develop their skills in focused areas, with videos to watch, links to webpages, guides and more.
The guides are being developed weekly in response to staff training needs and digital advancements. Content has included: Top tips for working from home; Microsoft Teams; Making documents accessible; PowerPoint: Recording and adding voiceovers; Microsoft Sway: Creating interactive presentations.
Above is a screen recording of Part 1 of the Getting Digital Ready guides. Feedback
Staff have praised the guides, commenting:
“Really great bite size sessions you can explore”
“I have really enjoyed the opportunity to enhance my digital skills. I hope to learn lots more.”
“Very clear and accessible. Thanks!”
“These have been great!”
To access the ‘Getting Digital Ready’ Wiki pages, visit the following webpage for more information: https://go.edgehill.ac.uk/display/staffdevelopment/Getting+Digital+Ready
Written by: Laura Riella
Digital Capabilities Coordinator
-
UniSkills Webinars – join us in June!
UniSkills provides a wide range of support designed to help you develop your academic skills and confidence at University and beyond. Since the University closed in the middle of March we have continued to provide academic skills support, albeit in a slightly different way.
Our 1-2-1 appointments and UniSkills workshops (now webinars!) are being offered virtually using Blackboard Collaborate. Our webinar programme in May was really popular with a range of students from across all years of study, so we are delighted that our June programme, which includes all our popular webinar topics, is now open for booking!
Booking on a UniSkills webinar couldn’t be easier. There are no limits to how many webinars you can attend, so book your place today via ehu.ac.uk/workshops. You will receive a booking confirmation email immediately to confirm your place and, closer to the event, you will receive another email with more details on how to join your online session. Please note bookings close 24 hours before the webinar start time.
Don’t forget there is a wide range of online support and information available 24/7 on the UniSkills webpages, and your ‘My Library’ tab in Blackboard Learning Edge, and you can still access individualised 1-2-1 UniSkills support online with one of our Academic Skills Advisors.
If you have any questions or queries about how we can support you with your academic skills during this period contact us via email at [email protected] or use our Ask Us service.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our June webinars soon!
-
Help and Support For You…
As we’ve mentioned before Library and Learning Services are no stranger to supporting students online and already offer a well-established digital library service…but we wanted to make sure you have a quick and easy list of just how (and who) to contact for more help and support!
Online Assessments
For a lot of students, the online assessment period started on Monday 18th May and will run until Friday 5th June, so it’s important to know how to access support should you need it…
- Subject Specific Support: if you need any help with your subject specific content, the first person you should contact is your tutor or academic department. This includes if you are struggling with any deadline dates or understanding what you have been asked to do. Your tutors will be able to offer further guidance on these types of queries.
- Technical Problems: the Catalyst Helpdesk team are offering extended opening hours, and will be open from 7am on all assessment submission days, to support you as you complete and submit your assessment. You can contact the Catalyst Helpdesk virtually, via email or live chat, if you have any technical issues such as accessing Blackboard or your university email account, opening documents, downloading/installing the FREE EHU Microsoft Office 365 software or any problems when you come to submit your work in TurnItIn. Don’t forget we have also produced a number of Online Assessment guides to help you successfully submit your work but if you do need to talk to someone you can get in touch…
- Getting online assessment ready: there is lots of great assessment preparation advice available on the UniSkills webpages, including guides on setting goals, advice on how to stay motivated and helpful tools and techniques you can use for successful revision. We even have an interactive online learning package for your Online Assessments, which includes an online assessment checklist!
- Additional support needs: We understand that working towards assessments at this time can be challenging, and if you have a specific learning difficulties (SpLD) such as Dyslexia our SpLD team are keen to support you towards feeling positive about this way of working and any upcoming assessments. If you need any additional support get in touch with the SpLD team to arrange an appointment or ask any questions you may have about the services and support available.
Academic Skills Support
- UniSkills: you can continue to access all your academic skills support online for help with everything from academic writing, being critical, paraphrasing, referencing, finding and navigating your online resources to creating effective search strategies. There are several ways you can access our support including:
- Guidance, videos and toolkits are available 24/7 via the UniSkills webpages
- Book a virtual 1-2-1 appointments for support with Academic Writing / Referencing and/or Information Skills (Search Skills and Finding Resources)
- SpLD and Learning Support Service: are committed to supporting students at the university who have or may have an SpLD, such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia, to develop study skills strategies and navigate your academic journey. There are many ways these teams can help you with exam preparation and assignment writing and our team of specialist study skills advisors are happy to meet with you through a virtual appointment to develop your study skills techniques. Contact the SpLD team to arrange an appointment or ask any questions you may have about the services and support available.
All of us in Library & Learning Services would like to wish you the very best of luck in your online assessments and remainder of your academic year!
