Year: 2017

Peer Assessment Tool on Moodle

Moodle icon

This summer, the Peer Assessment Tool, created by colleagues at Cass Business School and available for all City’s academic staff to use on Moodle, was further developed to include some great new features. The Peer Assessment activity: Allows students to participate in the assessment process and encourages engagement with their own learning. Promotes fairness in…Continue Reading Peer Assessment Tool on Moodle

Learning Analytics at the Civitas Learning International Innovation Summit

Last month, I attended an event held by Civitas Learning, a provider of learning analytics software, which involved two panel sessions looking at different aspects of implementing learning analytics. The first session focussed on Learning Analytics and Policy and had representation from Jisc, Buckinghamshire New University and Universities UK. Phil Richards from Jisc opened the…Continue Reading Learning Analytics at the Civitas Learning International Innovation Summit

Actively Inducting BA Journalism Students – The Round University Challenge

The Educational Technology Team recently helped the BA Journalism Programme team to redesign a student induction session – The Round University Challenge – for their Year 1 students. The Aim of the Session For students to become familiar with the Campus, and particular locations that will become important to them To help students to get…Continue Reading Actively Inducting BA Journalism Students – The Round University Challenge

Using Learning Analytics to benefit City’s students

Learning Analytics Project (LeAP)

Learning Analytics is a hot topic across the higher education sector. If you are a regular Learning at City blog reader you may have spotted Natalia Czuba’s recent report sharing research findings presented during October’s Critical Learning Analytics Seminar, organised by the Society for Research in Higher Education (SRHE). Last week, the Learning Analytic Project…Continue Reading Using Learning Analytics to benefit City’s students

Picturing how to write essays

Front cover of the book 'Writing Essays by Pictures' by Alke Groppel-Wegener

Do your students find it difficult to develop their essays? If so, Alke Groppel-Wegener’s ‘Writing Essays by Pictures’ may provide a helpful guide. She approaches what can appear to be a dry process in a creative and imaginative way. The book uses engaging visual metaphors and analogies to highlight the important aspects of academia. The writing process…Continue Reading Picturing how to write essays

How to hook readers in with catchy blog titles

Image of an industrial hook pulling on a rope

The focus of this month’s writing group was creating blog titles to grab the attention of readers. We looked at advice from Corey Wainwright’s blog post on the subject, which outlined the following key points: Start with a working title – note down a rough title to give you a focus when you start writing a…Continue Reading How to hook readers in with catchy blog titles

Look After Your Mate: promoting student mental health and peer support at City

Look After Your Mate Logo

September saw the successful pilot of Student Minds ‘Look After Your Mate’ here at City. Lead by the Student Counselling & Mental Health Service in collaboration with Learning Success (LEaD), Student Experience and Engagement (S&AS) and the Students’ Union, the initiative encourages peer support and a more supportive, inclusive community.  It achieves this by enhancing…Continue Reading Look After Your Mate: promoting student mental health and peer support at City

Into the world of research on Learning Analytics

The growing field of learning analytics (LA) is gaining significant attention in Higher Education, reinforced by the increasing amounts of student data generated through various software. It has become a hot topic not only for practitioners but also researchers. City’s own Learning Analytics Project (LeAP) aims to maximise the potential of all our students, improving…Continue Reading Into the world of research on Learning Analytics

“Fear is at the root of most bad writing.” Stephen King

Image spelling out the word fear

October’s Writing Group was our busiest yet, with participants from different City departments and also representatives from the Students’ Union. We continued our focus on editing. This time, using advice from Stephen King, we waged war on the “Atrocity of Adverbs” (Popova, 2013). We read his advice on tightening your writing by avoiding adverbs. In…Continue Reading “Fear is at the root of most bad writing.” Stephen King