Welcome to the December issue of Teaching Matters: Contributions from online students.
This month, Teaching Matters is delighted to feature blog posts written by students who are studying (or have studied) as an online student. They will be sharing their experiences of studying as a distance leaner whilst juggling a professional life, how they manage assessments and deadlines, and how engaging with online study influenced their personal development, as well as reflecting on the challenges and benefits of this mode of teaching and learning.
Here are a couple of previous Teaching Matters blog posts that focus on students’ experiences of online learning and teaching:
- Building online academic communities, and Supporting student transitions into online learning, by Celeste McLaughlin.
- Online students’ views on lecture capture, by Dr Anna Wood and Dr Kate Symons.
- Data Science, Technology and Innovation: A collaborative online learning programme, by Teresa Ironside.
- Engaging online learners through story-telling techniques, by Simon Fitzpatrick.
Mini-series: Peer Learning and Support
We continue with the mini-series, Peer Learning and Support, which will conclude on December 18th. ‘Peer Learning and Support’ relates to peer-led student groups who focus on building academic and social communities within the University. Co-edited by Maddie Kurchik, Rohanie Campbell-Thakoordin, and Dr Robyn Pritzker, from the Edinburgh University Students’ Association Peer Learning and Support team, this mini-series has already focused on issues such as identity politics, barriers to peer learning and support, and the tensions between student empowerment and institutional co-optation. There will be two podcast episodes accompanying the mini-series, released in January 2020.
Spotlight on ELIR
Professor Tina Harrison and the ELIR support team have been working with Teaching Matters to encourage students and staff to comment on the draft Chapters that will form the basis of the Enhancement-led Institutional Review (ELIR) that will be taking place in autumn 2020. So far, they have asked for comments on Chapter 2 (enhancing the student learning experience) and Chapter 4 (academic standards and quality processes). This month, there will be two other Spotlight on ELIR posts published, which will seek comments on Chapter 3 and Chapter 5, so please do engage with these and send on any feedback to ELIRsupport@ed.ac.uk.
