Hello and a massive welcome to all our PGCE students, we look forward to meeting you and getting to know you all. We are the Student Engagement team and we are here to provide support with all aspects of academic skills. Although this year may feel a little different please be reassured that we are here to support you!
The best place to find out more about how we can support you is to head over to the UniSkills web pages where there’s a vast wealth of information around academic writing and research skills. Here you’ll find our interactive online UniSkills Toolkits which contain loads of tips and tricks to help you with assignment planning, critical thinking, punctuation, proofreading and much more. There’s also some handy guides and videos too!
You can also check out what Uniskills Webinars we have on offer throughout the year or if you require more specific support you can also book a 1-2-1 virtual appointment with an Academic Skills Advisor who can work with you on a piece of work or research.
Finding Your Resources
Once you start your tutor will provide with your reading listand I’m sure many of you will be keen to get started! To find your resources the Library Catalogue is a great place to start. From here you can access your Reading List online and, by clicking on the book titles, you can jump straight through to the catalogue where you will find details on the items location and availability.
You can collect items directly from the shelves and check them out on the self-issue machines located around the building or you can currently reserve items straight from the shelves using our temporary Click and Collect’ service. All you need to do to use this service is place a reservation on the book you want, we’ll grab if from the shelves for you and let you know when it’s ready to collect.
As well as the academic textbooks, which you’ll need for writing your assignments, there’s also a dedicated Education Resource Collection which has lots of resources that you can borrow. There are Key Stage 1 and 2 children’s books, larger picture booksfor whole class reading sessions, phonics resources, subject packs and interactive kits which are available on longer loan, so ideal for using in the classroom while you’re on placement.
As an Edge Hill student you also have access to thousands of high quality academic e-resources which are particularly useful whilst on placement as they can all be accessed off campus. The Subject Resource web pages contain all the relevant journals and databases for your course or you can browse the e-resource collections using the Discover More search tool.
On the Subject Resource web pages you will also find links to newspaper collections, classroom resources, useful websites and the Times Higher Education, so you can keep up to date with current affairs and recent developments in the education sector. If you need any help finding your academic information or navigating your online resources don’t forget we have lots of handy UniSkills Toolkits, videos and guides on the UniSkills web pages – all available 24/7!
And, if there is ever a book or journal article that we don’t have in our collection you can ask us add a copy by using the You Want It, We Get it service. Just fill in the details on the form and we’ll do our best to get it in for you – how cool is that?
Further Help & Support
If you have any general enquiries about resources for your study, IT related enquiries or academic skills support you can contact the Catalyst Helpdesk Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 6pm.
We wish you all the best for this coming academic year and look forward to supporting you soon!
For some students the academic year hasn’t ended yet, so we just wanted to let you know that we are still here to support you throughout your reassessment period in August.
You can find all the usual support on our UniSkills web pages and you might want to check out the exam preparation tab in particular. Here you’ll find information on goal setting, staying motivated, how to avoid common mistakes and links to some helpful online guides & tutorials.
Assessment periods can be a stressful
time and you may be feeling anxious about completing your online assessment or
resubmission. To help manage your worries it’s a great idea to start planning
ahead now, so you are as prepared as possible for any unexpected problems on
the day.
Take a look at our Online Learning and Assessments web pages where you will find lots of useful information which will should help tackle those fears head on. Here you will find online assessment guides and toolkit, a pre-assessment checklist and IT troubleshooting tips. Preparation is the key to exam success so here are our top tips to ensure that everything goes smoothly on the day:
Install Google
Chrome or Mozilla Firefox onto your PC or laptop as the University systems work
best on these web browsers. We don’t recommend trying to complete assessments
using a tablet or phone. If you don’t have access to a PC or laptop contact
the Catalyst Helpdesk.
Read and digest any
information provided by your tutors for the assessments you will be taking. It
is a good idea to have the information about how the assessment will work clear
in your head prior to the assessment date itself.
Make sure you have
access to the software you will need, including Microsoft Word or another text
editor. Remember that you have access to Office 365 and can download the software to your device for free.
Log into Blackboard
on the device you will be using to check your access.
Update your alternative email. This is so you can easily reset your password should you need
to.
Access our Help and Support guides which provide lots of step by step technical information
on how to access and submit your assessment.
If you experience any technical issues, or would like advice and
guidance on how to set up your technology in an optimum way for your assessment,
then help is available by contacting the Catalyst Helpdesk virtually via email or live chat.
The Helpdesk is available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm at
weekends.
Last but not least good luck from everyone at Library &
Learning Services. We know you can do it!
We are already looking forward to welcoming all the new students who will be joining us this September, and if you are a one of them and fancy a taste of what support UniSkills can offer you during your time at the University check out our Getting Started With UniSkills offer.
Getting Started With UniSkills is a series of webinars and toolkits to specifically support new students who will be enrolling at Edge Hill University this coming autumn, and there is a choice of three topics you can choose from:
Prepare Your Academic Resilience – will help equip new students with practical tools to nurture your academic resilience, help them recognise the qualities of a ‘growth’ as opposed to ‘fixed’ mindset, and help prepare them to feel confident in dealing constructively with feedback.
Introduction to Academic Writing at University – introduces new students to what academic writing is, and what it involves at university level. We will look at what to expect as a new student at Edge Hill University, how to get the most out of your learning and how to maintain your study motivation.
Research Skills at University– discover more about developing your research skills in preparation for studying at Edge Hill University. We will introduce new students to the concept of academic information, the importance of using dedicated search tools to find information and discuss good note-taking techniques for carrying out your research.
New students are welcome to join our live webinars throughout August and September and can access the accompanying interactive toolkits at a date/time that suits you. Please note the toolkits will be live from mid-August, as they are being specially developed in conjunction with the live sessions.
For more information, and to book your place on a Getting Started With UniSkills webinar please visit our Getting Started With UniSkills web pages. And don’t forget to visit the university’s Getting Started web pages for further advice and support for all new students at Edge Hill University.
So, enjoy the rest of your summer and we will see you (hopefully in a webinar) soon!
We know being away from campus over the last few
months has been difficult for many people and you may feel out of touch with
the university. If you want to reconnect, avoid that ‘summer slide’ and get a
head start for the new term in September, then our Summer UniSkills offer may be
just what you need.
Here in the Student Engagement team we provide 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 support
students virtually and there are a number of ways you can access our services.
UniSkills Webinars
We have a series of online workshops on offer over
the summer which are an opportunity to dive
deeper into a specific skill that will support you on your academic journey.
Sessions include:
Finding Academic
Information
Develop Your
Academic Writing
Being Critical
Harvard
Referencing
Grow Your
Academic Resilience (new addition for the summer)
As well as our UniSkills webinars you can also book a 1-2-1 appointment throughout the summer months with an Academic Skills Advisor. If you have a specific assignment, or piece of research you would like support with, they can help you develop your academic writing & referencing skills and show you how to find resources.
UniSkills Webpages
If you’d prefer to study in your own time and at your own pace then feel free to browse the UniSkills web pages, available 24/7! Here you’ll find our interactive online toolkits which contain loads of handy tips and tricks to help you to brush up on assignment planning, critical thinking, punctuation, proofreading and much more. There’s also some really handy guides and videos too!
LinkedIn Learning
If you are interested in expanding your skills in other areas, such as IT or your personal and professional development, then LinkedIn Learning is the place for you! It’s free for EHU students to use and has over 10,000 online courses for you to choose from, covering everything from Arithmetic to Zoom. We have even created some LinkedIn Learning playlists to get you started on topics such as public speaking and employability skills. Click here to find out more and for details on how to access LinkedIn Learning
Further Help & Support
For any general enquiries about resources for your study, IT related enquiries or academic skills support you can contact the Catalyst Helpdesk Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10am – 6pm.
As we navigate the new challenges Covid-19 has presented, it has been remarkable to see our students (many of who are key workers, parents, and carers) stepping up and continuing to build their academic skills. Inspired by your unwavering motivation in our 1:1s and webinars, we began to think how UniSkills could expand on our usual writing, presenting and information skills offering, to support you too with overcoming any setbacks you might encounter during your studies.
From receiving a mark lower than you had hoped, to receiving overwhelming feedback, the new ‘Grow your academic resilience’ toolkit delves into the fascinating theory behind adopting a ‘growth’ or ‘gritty’ mindset, and how this can help you thrive at university. Discover how to set meaningful goals, create an action plan, and even reflect on your progress so far. There’s also the chance to take an interactive quiz to find out your current mindset – although be warned, the result might surprise you!
So if you’re feeling like you could do with an extra boost of confidence over the summer, or are simply determined to shift your mindset from “I can’t” to “I can” or “I can’t yet”, then mark 30 minutes in your diary to dedicate to a new, resilient you.
Alternatively, book your place and join us for a live ‘Grow your academic resilience’ webinar on June 30th at 3pm, where Academic Skills Advisors Claire, Helen and Maisie can guide you through the activities and answer any questions you have in real-time. Don’t forget to let us know how you get on by sharing your thoughts or activity results with @EHULearnService, using the hashtag #GrowYourResilience.
One of our main services to you, as the University Library, is providing access to high-quality academic resources and we do this in abundance – although at present you cannot access the physical book stock, you do have access to nearly 250,000 online resources!
Accessing
Online Resources
The best place to start accessing your online resources is your Online Reading List, as your tutors will have compiled a list of great materials to begin your research journey. But really great research doesn’t limit itself to just one place, so be sure to make the most of all your resources via the Library Catalogue, Discover More and your online specialist subject databases.
Lots of eBooks remain multi-user, where available, with many extended to unlimited access until 30th June. We are also continuing to prioritise eBook purchases, looking into further electronic provisions and have a handy eBooks Guide to help you read online, or download, at your leisure.
If you come across any materials, such as books or journal articles, that are not currently accessible online then don’t despair – this isn’t the end of the line! Simply place a request via our You Want It, We Get It service, select the electronic option and we will do our best* to source a copy for you.
*Please note not all requests can be fulfilled electronically, but we will always try out best
Additional
Resources
Many publishers around the world are still making additional content temporarily available to support teaching and learning where access to physical books and resources may be limited. Keep up to date with all of these extra resources, and how to access them, on the additional access to eResources webpage.
UniSkills
So, all these resources, and lots of ways to access them, may feel a little overwhelming but don’t worry because that’s another great service we provide – helping you find, navigate and make the most of all your online resources!
A great
place to start is our Digital
Library Induction and UniSkills
Finding Academic Information webpages. On here we have created a package of
online tutorials to guide you through how to access, and make the most of, your
key learning resources. And don’t forget you can also book
a UniSkills virtual 1-2-1 appointment for support with library search
skills, finding resources and improving your search strategy, including:
Finding resources for your assignment
Searching the Library Catalogue for books and eBooks
Using Discover More to find online journal articles and other online resources
Discuss and develop search strategies
Further
Help & Support
If you need any further help or support with your online resources, or any other library related queries, get in touch with us via email or live chat.
All the team in Library and Learning Services want to say a big virtual HELLO to all the new Fastrack students who are joining us from 15th June. We know that it is an usual time to be starting a new course but we would like to reassure you that even though the University Library is currently closed, there is still lots of help available. All our staff are working virtually to provide all the support that you would normally receive on campus.
The University Library, based in Catalyst, is currently closed but we do have an extensive range of online resources including thousands of eJournals and eBooks that you can access online at a time that suits you. Search for online resources via our Library Catalogue and Discover More. There are lots of guides, toolkits and videos available to help you access and make the most of these resources on our Finding Academic Information webpages.
Your DASS module will give you lots of information about how to develop your study skills at University. The UniSkills service is also available to provide extra help, support and guidance should you need it. We have webinars running all over the summer and we are also running a special webinar for Fastrack students called Grow Your Academic Resilience on 18th June at 11am and 2pm – put the date in your diary!
If you have, or think you have, a Specific Learning Difficulty (SpLD) such as dyslexia or dyspraxia then you can contact the SpLD team via email for more information about what support is available.
For general enquiries about resources for your study, IT related enquiries or academic skills support you can contact the Catalyst Helpdesk Monday to Friday between 08am and 8pm and Saturday and Sunday between 10am – 6pm.
Studying and learning online can seem challenging at first so why not check out our top tips for studying off campus. We would like to wish you all the very best of luck with your Fastrack course and we look forward to supporting you very soon.
With so many of us now working – and studying – from home, we thought you might be missing our friendly faces. With that in mind, our team wanted to reintroduce ourselves and give you a little reminder about who we are and what we do…
LS Student Engagement Team on Weekly ‘Coffee Break’ Meeting
The Student Engagement team is part of Learning Services and can normally be found in Catalyst. You may well have met some of us (prior to lockdown) at one of our UniSkills workshops or 1-2-1 appointments, but if you haven’t, now might be the time to get to know us. Most of our team are Academic Skills Advisors, who meet with students to discuss any concerns they may have about their academic writing, referencing, searching for books and journals, making presentations etc. – the list goes on. This can be during a 1-2-1 appointment where we can focus solely on your work, or during a UniSkills workshop where we meet with you in small groups and tackle academic skills together.
Whilst we might not be able to meet with you face to face at the moment, we can still support you online via virtual appointmentsand webinars – we are only a couple of mouse clicks away. Why not check out the full list of UniSkills webinars we currently run, to see if there is something we can help you with. Webinars are great, as you can sit back, take the information in and ask any questions through the chat function – no video/audio is required. For 1-2-1 appointments we can use video/audio, but if you prefer not to, we don’t mind, as there is always the chat function available and you can type what you would like to say instead. All our support is self-bookable online through the links included above.
We hope that your academic writing is going well, but if you are
finding it difficult, please do get in touch and don’t struggle alone. Our team
is here to help.
Now over to
my colleagues, so you can see who makes up the team and find out a little bit
more about us all. I’ll go first…
Claire Olson – Academic Skills Advisor
Hello, I’m Claire, I’ve worked at Edge Hill for over 3 years and have enjoyed every moment. I love that I get to meet so many students and hopefully help them when they are struggling with their writing or referencing. Sometimes it’s just the opportunity to talk an essay through which helps and that to me is the best bit of my role.
Outside of work, I’m juggling homeschooling my 7-year-old daughter (like so many others) with completing my final Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education assignment. Hats off to those of you writing essays whilst keeping little ones amused, I know it’s not easy!
To try and relax I’m enjoying lots of reading in the sun and playing too much online scrabble! More reasons why my assignment still isn’t finished, now what do we say about procrastination…
Maisie Prior – Academic Skills Advisor
I’m passionate about helping students navigate through the minefield of university assessment and reflect on their own learning.
There’s nothing like the lightbulb moment when criticality “clicks”, or seeing students support one another in our UniSkills workshops and learning communities.
Originally from Anglesey, in beautiful North Wales, I’ve been a librarian for over 20 years and I still provide support in finding, evaluating and deploying information.
However, within my role here at Edge Hill, I get to support students in developing their academic writing practice too. It’s great to see students develop and improve as a result of your intervention, be that through one-to-one appointments, workshops or embedded sessions. During these challenging times, I’ve been trying to make the most of the lovely weather by getting out on my bike.
Andy Tomkins – Academic Skills Advisor
I am a qualified librarian and have worked at Edge Hill for 13 years. My role involves helping students with referencing, finding academic information and developing their academic writing. This can involve one to one support, a UniSkills workshop or an embedded session arranged by your tutor.
I find it very rewarding to help someone with something that they may have struggled with and to see their understanding develop. I’ve been really impressed with the students I’ve helped during the current pandemic, that so many people are working hard under very challenging circumstances.
My main hobby is hillwalking and for much of the lockdown I wasn’t able to do this, something that was very difficult for me. Instead, I’ve been on lots of local walks and have noted the wildlife I’ve seen. As a result, my appreciation and knowledge of the area I live in, has really increased. That has been a big positive for me.
Helen Briscoe – Academic Skills Advisor
My name is Helen and I have worked in the Student Engagement Team for 18 months, but have been at Edge Hill University for almost 18 years! I love that my role enables me to meet so many students and support them with academic skills development, and couldn’t ask for a more friendly and encouraging team to work in 😊
Since starting in this post I have really enjoyed being involved in developing new initiatives such as UniSpeaks and Returning to Learning that enables students to come together in learning communities to support each other.
Currently, I am working from home with two teenagers in the house, so I always try to carve out some time to relax when I can. I am an avid reader and love cryptic crosswords which are a great way to become totally absorbed in something other than work or study. I also really enjoy jigsaws and am now onto my 3rd since the start of lockdown.
Sharon Pieroni – Academic Skills Advisor
I work with students to help them to develop new skills and to enhance existing skills, particularly in relation to academic writing.
During the lockdown, like many staff, I’ve been working from home. When I’m not working, I enjoy sewing and making clothes. To put this to use, I’ve joined the local For the Love of Scrubs group and we’ve made lots of scrubs for those working at Ormskirk and Southport hospitals, as well as for many Health Care Professionals from Edge Hill University. I’m happy that what I consider to be my ‘therapeutic pastime’ can help in a small way during this time!
Louise Speakman – Academic Skills Advisor
My name is Louise, the one with the lovely Wigan accent where you may need subtitles in a session or appointment to understand it, the accent that is not the work. I am usually based in the Catalyst but right now can be found in a workspace at home. I genuinely enjoy the total diverse range of students I see on a daily basis; I am selfishly thrilled when I see the recognition or light bulb moment on your face when something works, and I learn so much from you guys.
Lockdown has been tough for many of us, I invested in a second-hand treadmill, I did not want to splurge too much, I am hoping to leave the house at some point in the future. As well as discovering my friends can use online meeting software, this to me has been a very special piece of equipment physically and psychologically. #staysafe
Kat Molesworth – Academic Skills Advisor
I am usually based at the Manchester St. James’ campus but with the opportunity to work in Catalyst too – best of both worlds! Amongst other things, I really like meeting the range of students we have here at Edge Hill through UniSkills workshops and 1-2-1 support, talking about writing and thinking together with them, learning about what they are working on, and most of all seeing it when their hard work pays off.
During lockdown, my office has been in the kitchen, so I’ve tried to relax by growing some healthy vegetables with the help of my cat to cut the snacking (not sure it’s working yet!).
Whilst our Academic Skills Advisors spend a lot of time front of house, meeting with students face to face, we also have key members of the team backstage who keep us all on track and have the big responsibility of managing the team and academic skills provision…
Helen Jamieson – Head of Student Engagement
I’m Helen and I am responsible for the delivery of academic skills support – what we call UniSkills at Edge Hill. I manage the Academic Skills Advisors who deliver the support and manage the quality of the provision we provide.
I particularly enjoy using quantitative and qualitative data to improve service provision and plan new student-centred academic skills interventions. I have recently moved house so lockdown has been challenging on many levels! To relax I like to do yoga (currently via Zoom) and go for long walks while listening to a podcast.
Julie Nolan – Student Engagement Manager
Hi, I am Julie and I do a lot of the ‘behind the scenes’ operational and organisational work to ensure the UniSkills offer runs as effectively (and smoothly) as possible for students. Amongst many tasks, this includes working with your academic tutors to coordinate our embedded UniSkills classroom sessions, writing informational and supportive online content for web and blogs, curating our student facing social media campaigns across all our LS platforms and responding to student support enquiries. I really enjoy all aspects of my job, but possibly my favourite part of the role is working closely with our fabulous Student Advisors who in turn offer you peer to peer support.
During lockdown, I have been able to spend more time in my garden and have been working hard to renovate the bottom third to reintroduced a (very overgrown!) greenhouse and vegetable patch…fingers crossed it isn’t all eaten by snails or, my English Bull Terrier, Dobby!
Alice Murphy – Student Engagement Officer
Hi,
I’m Alice. My role is to co-ordinate a range of campaigns and initiatives
and support the delivery of academic skills support for students. I
particularly enjoy the interaction with students and team spirit. During
lockdown besides home schooling and working I have started running to ease
stress and relax.
Student Advisors
Last but by no means least, we also have a fabulous team of Student Advisors who offer peer to peer support. They have written lots of blog posts about who they are and what they get up to, so do check out some of their previous posts to find out more about them and the support they provide.
We hope you have enjoyed hearing a bit more about the Student Engagement team. We miss seeing your lovely faces in Catalyst and hope we will see you all back on campus soon. In the meantime, you know where we are if you need academic skills support, so get in touch.
Take care and stay safe, The Student Engagement Team
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.
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 CatalystEnquiries@edgehill.ac.uk or use our Ask Us service.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our June webinars soon!
We know that, along with many other University activities at the moment, this round of assessments will be different but Library and Learning Services are here to help and support you to complete your Online Assessments.
Our new Online Learning and Assessments web pages have been designed with you in mind. They will help guide you through the process of preparing for and completing your Online Assessment whether that be a video submission, online test or a time limited assessment (TLA). The pages contain lots of useful information including technical guides to the different types of assessments, Internet/WiFi troubleshooting information and recommended web browsers.
To get Online Assessment ready we recommend following this pre-assessment checklist the week before your first assessment to avoid any pesky technical problems on the day:
Install Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox onto your PC or laptop as the University systems work best on these web browsers. We don’t recommend trying to complete assessments using a tablet or phone. If you don’t have access to a PC or laptop contact the Catalyst Helpdesk.
Read and digest any information provided by your tutors for the assessments you will be taking. It is a good idea to have the information about how the assessment will work clear in your head prior to the assessment date itself.
Make sure you have access to the software you will need, including Microsoft Word or another text editor. Remember that you have access to Office 365 and can download the software to your device for free.
Log into Blackboard on the device you will be using to check your access.
Update your alternative email. This is so you can easily reset your password should you need to.
Access our Help and Support guides which provide lots of step by step technical information on how to access and submit your assessment.
If you experience any technical issues or would like advice and guidance on how to set up your technology in an optimum way for your assessment then help is available by contacting the Catalyst Helpdesk virtually via email or live chat. The Helpdesk is available from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10am to 6pm at weekends.
Remember that being prepared is one way to help you feel more organised and minimise any assessment nerves – so why not make a start and complete your pre-assessment checklist today.
