Dear Stacie

You may also have seen the thread here on workshop participation,  
which is relevant to us.
sally


Quoting LDHEN automatic digest system <[log in to unmask]>:

> There are 8 messages totaling 3651 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
>   1. workshop participation (5)
>   2. WDHE international conference - detailed programme and early bird price
>      reduction
>   3. Concept linking
>   4. tutorial attendance and full time careers
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 10:50:07 +0100
> From:    Alison Green <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: workshop participation
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I would be very interested to hear how your academic skills   
> workshops have been progressing this year, especially since   
> Christmas. I am writing because booking and attendance at the   
> workshops I run at BU have been terrible. In particular, revision   
> strategies and exam techniques workshops are attracting no more than  
>  5 students per session despite having offered a much wider range of  
>  days and times to accommodate folk. We advertise by announcements  
> on  our VLE, by timetable to programme leaders and administrators  
> and on  continous rolling electronic screens placed in strategic  
> areas of  the uni. Generally, these workshops are heavily subscribed  
> to, but  not this year. Conversely, I have far more students asking  
> for  individual tutorials than in the past.
>
> Are we typical of other uni experiences? Is this a special cohort or  
>  have we 'succeeded' in encouraging independent learning? Do they   
> prefer online resources? Are there too many questions in this email?  
>  Seriously though, we will consider withdrawing some workshops next   
> year if this approach is now considered 'old hat'.
>
> Best
>
> BU - the UK's Number One New University
> The Guardian University Guide 2009 & 2010
>
> This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed   
> and may contain confidential information. If you have received this   
> email in error, please notify the sender and delete this email,   
> which must not be copied, distributed or disclosed to any other   
> person.
>
> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and   
> do not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its   
> subsidiary companies. Nor can any contract be formed on behalf of   
> the University or its subsidiary companies via email.
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 11:08:28 +0100
> From:    Jane Ferguson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: WDHE international conference - detailed programme and   
> early bird price reduction
>
> Dear colleagues,
>
>
>
> The detailed programme for the Writing Development in Higher Education
> conference is now available online.  For information on the exciting range
> of keynote speeches, papers, workshops and symposia on offer during the
> conference from Monday 28 to Wednesday 30 June 2010 please visit
> http://www.writenow.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/wdhe-2010-detailed-prog
> ramme.pdf
>
>
>
> For further information on the conference and booking arrangements please
> visit http://www.writenow.ac.uk/news-events/wdhe-conference-2010/
>
>
>
> And don't forget to book by 17 May 2010 to be eligible for the early bird
> reduction!
>
>
>
> Best wishes
>
> Jane
>
> ------------------
>
> Jane Ferguson
>
> Dissemination Manager, Write Now CETL
>
> London Metropolitan University
>
>
>
> 020 7302 3273
>
> www.writenow.ac.uk
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Companies Act 2006 : http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/companyinfo
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 12:09:26 +0100
> From:    Kim Shahabudin <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
> We've had very reduced attendance figures at our workshops this year  
>  - in fact, we've just been discussing this very subject.   
> Anecdotally, I've heard similar stories from LDers at other   
> institutions too. It is odd, and I don't really have an answer to   
> why it should be so radically different this year - 2 attendees at   
> our dissertations workshop when we had to run two sessions last year  
>  because it was so over-subscribed, and the year before we had over   
> 300 turn up on the day!
>
> The workshops that have been well attended are our exam workshops   
> and any workshops targeted at mature students. Given that, I do   
> wonder whether targeting to particular groups/timely issues might be  
>  the way to go. Alison's increased requests for individual advice   
> might also suggest that students want more targeted, less generic   
> advice?
>
> Will be interested to hear what other folks' experience have been...
>
> Kim
>
>
>
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
> Room 107, Carrington Building, Whiteknights, University of Reading,   
> RG6 6UA| ( 0118 378 4218|
> : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice : www.learnhigher.ac.uk
>
>
>
> From: Alison Green
> Sent: Wed 05/05/2010 10:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: workshop participation
>
>
> Hello Everyone,
> I would be very interested to hear how your academic skills   
> workshops have been progressing this year, especially since   
> Christmas. I am writing because booking and attendance at the   
> workshops I run at BU have been terrible. In particular, revision   
> strategies and exam techniques workshops are attracting no more than  
>  5 students per session despite having offered a much wider range of  
>  days and times to accommodate folk. We advertise by announcements  
> on  our VLE, by timetable to programme leaders and administrators  
> and on  continous rolling electronic screens placed in strategic  
> areas of  the uni. Generally, these workshops are heavily subscribed  
> to, but  not this year. Conversely, I have far more students asking  
> for  individual tutorials than in the past.
> Are we typical of other uni experiences? Is this a special cohort or  
>  have we 'succeeded' in encouraging independent learning? Do they   
> prefer online resources? Are there too many questions in this email?  
>  Seriously though, we will consider withdrawing some workshops next   
> year if this approach is now considered 'old hat'.
> Best
>
> BU - the UK's Number One New University
> The Guardian University Guide 2009 & 2010
> This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed   
> and may contain confidential information. If you have received this   
> email in error, please notify the sender and delete this email,   
> which must not be copied, distributed or disclosed to any other   
> person.
> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and   
> do not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its   
> subsidiary companies. Nor can any contract be formed on behalf of   
> the University or its subsidiary companies via email.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 12:30:19 +0100
> From:    Christine Pickering <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
> I've moved from a generic and centralised provision to being a   
> dedicated study skills adviser in a faculty.  The difference is   
> astonishing, mainly because I am timetabled and my sessions are   
> compulsory.  This is a double-edged sword as I'm working with   
> MASSIVE groups which makes interactivity somewhat difficult to   
> manage at times, especially when the group-think is to dis-engage!    
> However, it does mean I can give appropriate input when the students  
>  need it as it fits in with their timetable and my workshops are   
> geared towards their next assignment or topic of study.
> This semester I have started running some sessions as optional so   
> that I get the students who really want to learn and engage coming   
> along.  Funnily enough attendance is much smaller, running with   
> groups of 15-20 rather than sometimes 100+, but the quality of what   
> can be achieved is way more than when working with the whole year   
> group.
> What has proved to be more popular in semester 2 in the faculty is   
> requests for 1-2-1 advice.  I offer hour long slots for individuals,  
>  and whilst these are time-consuming and exhausting they are   
> extremely productive and I can clearly see the significant   
> difference in the grades of those students who take advantage of   
> 1-2-1 advice.
> In answer to the question do they prefer on-line resources I would   
> say that here we run a lot of e-lectures and these are very popular   
> with the students as they can (a) view them when it's convenient to   
> them and (b) they can stop and start and rewind at will, and they   
> all like this aspect immensely.
>
> Chris
> Study Skills Adviser
> Leeds Dental Institute
> University of Leeds
> Clarendon Way
> LEEDS
> LS2 9JT
> 0113 343 6271
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> From: learning development in higher education network   
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kim Shahabudin
> Sent: 05 May 2010 12:09
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
> We've had very reduced attendance figures at our workshops this year  
>  - in fact, we've just been discussing this very subject.   
> Anecdotally, I've heard similar stories from LDers at other   
> institutions too. It is odd, and I don't really have an answer to   
> why it should be so radically different this year - 2 attendees at   
> our dissertations workshop when we had to run two sessions last year  
>  because it was so over-subscribed, and the year before we had over   
> 300 turn up on the day!
>
> The workshops that have been well attended are our exam workshops   
> and any workshops targeted at mature students. Given that, I do   
> wonder whether targeting to particular groups/timely issues might be  
>  the way to go. Alison's increased requests for individual advice   
> might also suggest that students want more targeted, less generic   
> advice?
>
> Will be interested to hear what other folks' experience have been...
>
> Kim
>
> ________________________________
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
> Room 107, Carrington Building, Whiteknights, University of Reading,   
> RG6 6UA| * 0118 378 4218|
> *   
> www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice<http://www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice>   
> * www.learnhigher.ac.uk<http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Alison Green
> Sent: Wed 05/05/2010 10:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: workshop participation
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I would be very interested to hear how your academic skills   
> workshops have been progressing this year, especially since   
> Christmas. I am writing because booking and attendance at the   
> workshops I run at BU have been terrible. In particular, revision   
> strategies and exam techniques workshops are attracting no more than  
>  5 students per session despite having offered a much wider range of  
>  days and times to accommodate folk. We advertise by announcements  
> on  our VLE, by timetable to programme leaders and administrators  
> and on  continous rolling electronic screens placed in strategic  
> areas of  the uni. Generally, these workshops are heavily subscribed  
> to, but  not this year. Conversely, I have far more students asking  
> for  individual tutorials than in the past.
>
> Are we typical of other uni experiences? Is this a special cohort or  
>  have we 'succeeded' in encouraging independent learning? Do they   
> prefer online resources? Are there too many questions in this email?  
>  Seriously though, we will consider withdrawing some workshops next   
> year if this approach is now considered 'old hat'.
>
> Best
>
> BU - the UK's Number One New University
> The Guardian University Guide 2009 & 2010
> This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed   
> and may contain confidential information. If you have received this   
> email in error, please notify the sender and delete this email,   
> which must not be copied, distributed or disclosed to any other   
> person.
>
> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and   
> do not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its   
> subsidiary companies. Nor can any contract be formed on behalf of   
> the University or its subsidiary companies via email.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 12:49:05 +0100
> From:    Kerry Bellamy <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
> Hello
>
> Our Study Advice workshops also suffer from low participation regardless
> of the level of publicity (which we have significantly increased this
> year). We are currently running a student/staff study with the aim of
> learning more about how our student and staff are engaging with the
> curriculum and our Study Advice Service. The second leg of that study
> focuses on whether our service offering is meeting the needs of the
> staff and students here at Newport and if not, why not?! I have a few
> hunches but will wait to see what comes back from the study, happy to
> share findings if you think it will be beneficial in some way.
>
> We have started doing more one-to-one tutorial drop in sessions based
> within schools/faculties and they seem to be attracting students. We
> have also tried workshops based within schools (as a response to the
> number of similar one-to-one issues raised through the drop in sessions)
> but these have fallen flat despite VLE publicity, emailing individuals
> directly, lecturer notifications, linking them in with assignment dates
> etc
>
> Ideally, I think we'll see benefit from being timetabled and embedded
> further and where this has been trialled it is working really well. I
> would be really interested in hearing about what other LDers do in
> workshops, especially those that are successful and if you do anything
> quirky to raise awareness or publicise your events that would be great
> to hear about too. New ideas, tips and tricks always welcome.
>
>
>
> Kerry Bellamy
> Student Advice & Mentor Manager/Rheolydd Cynghori a Mentora Myfyrwyr
> 01633 432017
>
> University of Wales, Newport / Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd
> Caerleon Campus / Campus Caerllion
> Lodge Road / Heol y Porthdy
> Caerleon / Caerllion
> Newport / Casnewydd
> NP18 3QT
>
>
>
>
>
> From: learning development in higher education network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kim Shahabudin
> Sent: 05 May 2010 12:09
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
>
>
> We've had very reduced attendance figures at our workshops this year -
> in fact, we've just been discussing this very subject. Anecdotally, I've
> heard similar stories from LDers at other institutions too. It is odd,
> and I don't really have an answer to why it should be so radically
> different this year - 2 attendees at our dissertations workshop when we
> had to run two sessions last year because it was so over-subscribed, and
> the year before we had over 300 turn up on the day!
>
>
>
> The workshops that have been well attended are our exam workshops and
> any workshops targeted at mature students. Given that, I do wonder
> whether targeting to particular groups/timely issues might be the way to
> go. Alison's increased requests for individual advice might also suggest
> that students want more targeted, less generic advice?
>
>
>
> Will be interested to hear what other folks' experience have been...
>
>
>
> Kim
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
>
> Room 107, Carrington Building, Whiteknights, University of Reading, RG6
> 6UA| ( 0118 378 4218|
>
> : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice : www.learnhigher.ac.uk
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: Alison Green
> Sent: Wed 05/05/2010 10:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: workshop participation
>
> Hello Everyone,
>
> I would be very interested to hear how your academic skills workshops
> have been progressing this year, especially since Christmas. I am
> writing because booking and attendance at the workshops I run at BU have
> been terrible. In particular, revision strategies and exam techniques
> workshops are attracting no more than 5 students per session despite
> having offered a much wider range of days and times to accommodate folk.
> We advertise by announcements on our VLE, by timetable to programme
> leaders and administrators and on continous rolling electronic screens
> placed in strategic areas of the uni. Generally, these workshops are
> heavily subscribed to, but not this year. Conversely, I have far more
> students asking for individual tutorials than in the past.
>
> Are we typical of other uni experiences? Is this a special cohort or
> have we 'succeeded' in encouraging independent learning? Do they prefer
> online resources? Are there too many questions in this email? Seriously
> though, we will consider withdrawing some workshops next year if this
> approach is now considered 'old hat'.
>
> Best
>
>
>
> BU - the UK's Number One New University
>
> The Guardian University Guide 2009 & 2010
>
> This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and
> may contain confidential information. If you have received this email in
> error, please notify the sender and delete this email, which must not be
> copied, distributed or disclosed to any other person.
>
> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do
> not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its
> subsidiary companies. Nor can any contract be formed on behalf of the
> University or its subsidiary companies via email.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 13:12:41 +0100
> From:    Eloise Sentito <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Concept linking
>
> Peter,
>
>
>
> Firstly an apology: I signed up to your session at the conference   
> and then didn't come, and I regret it! I'm sorry.
>
>
>
> I've just had a go on C-link and it is even more exciting than I   
> imagined! Wonderful! It inspires me to go on a lifelong   
> investigation of life, the universe and everything! My colleague and  
>  I are having all sorts of interesting discussions, exploring issues  
>  such as criticality in relation to creativity and innovation, and   
> thinking about how we might share it with students in tutorials as a  
>  brainstorming and research planning tool.
>
>
>
> An example of how I used it:
>
>
>
> For some time I've been searching for a word like anachronism that   
> denotes irrelevance of categorisation rather than temporal   
> irrelevance but is more specific and descriptive than just   
> irrelevance. I typed in 'anachronism' and 'categorisation' and got   
> all sorts of interesting connections such as 'presentism',   
> 'anatopism', 'OOPArt' and 'parachronism', as well as links to   
> Kantian and pre-Socratic philosophy, ethics, literary movements,   
> astrophysics, animal intelligence and more. Masses to read and   
> learn, and I may even get my answer, if such a words exists!
>
>
>
> Would it be possible/helpful/relevant (relevant just doesn’t quite   
> say what I mean!) to have more than two keyword terms available for,  
>  say, when one has an impression of what one is looking for and  
> needs  several overlapping fields to narrow the focus? (As a  
> linguist, I am  thinking of semantic fields, and perhaps using it  
> more like a  dictionary than you intend - or more like an  
> encyclopedia... perhaps  that’s just what you intend, and perhaps   
> my distinction is  anarelevant here...though that prefix is wrong…)
>
>
>
> It would be amazing to see it linked into other databases as well as  
>  Wikipedia. I've no idea how this works, but could one perhaps  
> choose  to apply it to Swetswise, Athens etc., is that what you’re  
> thinking?
>
>
>
> I am a non-reader-of-instructions so skipped even the demo and   
> jumped straight in and found C-link basically easy to use, although   
> got a little frustrated at having to retype keywords instead of   
> having a 'back to search' option, and not being easily able to stop   
> and dwell on an item and move around the page or see the whole   
> concept map on one page, and when I typed in 'criticality' and   
> 'creativity' for some reason it couldn't relate the two, ironically!
>
>
>
> That said, this looks like a brilliant tool that could really help   
> people engage creatively, laterally and holistically (in terms of   
> interdiscplinarity) with any topic, and aid their research process   
> as well as their thinking process - and their enjoyment of the   
> process of enquiry too!
>
>
>
> I look forward to developments.
>
>
>
> Thanks and best wishes.
>
>
> Eloïse
> Eloïse Sentito     [cid:image002.png@01CAEC54.A4378370]
> Learning Development
> Tel. (01752 5)87752 (Part-time: regular days= Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
> Room 103, 21 Portland Villas, Drake Circus
> University of Plymouth   
> www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn<http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/learn>
> [cid:image003.gif@01CAEC54.3B70D9E0]
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: learning development in higher education network [mailto: On   
> Behalf Of P Hartley
> Sent: 16 April 2010 10:08
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Developments in concept linkage
>
>
>
> Some time ago, I circulated this mailing list with details of   
> C-Link, the search tool we've developed at Bradford which enables   
> you to search a database (currently Wikipedia) for two concepts and   
> produces a map of the relationship between these two search   
> concepts. If you have not had the
>
> chance to try it, please have a go at:
>
> http://www.conceptlinkage.org/
>
>
>
>
>
> We've had some excellent feedback on the tool. We're committed to   
> take it further - how far and how fast depends on getting in some   
> funding to support our software developer. So we have put together a  
>  bid for further development funding. Among the developments we'd   
> like to implement are:
>
> 1. Improvements to the interface.
>
> For example, we'd like to offer better facilities to zoom with the   
> mouse and to pan around the concept map which C-Link produces. We also
>
> want to enable the facility to click on a node to go to the database  
>  (wikipedia) page.
>
> 2. Work with a variety of databases
>
> Now we have proof-of-concept with Wikipedia, we want to apply C-Link  
>  to specific scientific and technical databases. We have tried it on a
>
> citations database and will be able to extend it in that way as well.
>
> 3. More support for different educational uses, e.g. case studies   
> and other support materials.
>
>
>
> The purposes of this email are:
>
> 1. To solicit support for our further work. We have evidence of   
> demand but if you are prepared to send us a one-line email to   
> confirm that
>
> you support this development in your subject area/institution then   
> we'd be very grateful.
>
> 2. To see if anyone who has used C-Link with students can give us   
> any further feedback and/or suggestions for specific future   
> development.
>
>
>
> Hope to hear from you.
>
>
>
> Peter
>
>
>
>
>
> Peter Hartley
>
> Professor of Education Development
>
> Room 01.60 J B Priestley Building
>
> University of Bradford
>
> BD7 1DP
>
>
>
> phone 01274 233293
>
> mobile 07909892677
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 12:58:57 +0000
> From:    Marika Preziuso <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: tutorial attendance and full time careers
>
>
> Apologies for cross-posting:
>
>
>
> Dear Colleagues,
>
>
>
> With reference to the email on the students' attendance of the Study  
>  Advice workshops, I have  been teaching 1 -2- 1 Study Skills   
> tutorials this year and have seen students' registrations increase,   
> particularly in the past few months. Looks like this formula works   
> really well for them, and it is rewarding for tutors too, as we have  
>  plenty of time to spend on each 'case' individually. I personally   
> provide tutorials on saturday mornings - from 11am to 2 or 3pm-   
> which is a time that suits many students in full-time professions as  
>  they are a lot fresher and more receptive than during our weekday's  
>  evening classes.
>
>
>
> On a more personal note, I would like to take advantage of this   
> platform also to ask to LDHEN members at Institutions in the South   
> East and Greater London, whether they are informed on current   
> vacancies for academic posts in Learning Support and Academic Skills.
>
>
>
> I hold a PhD in English and Comparative Literature at Birkbeck,   
> University of London, which is where I also teach. Despite my active  
>  search for a F/T position as a Tutor of Academic Skills (which I   
> usually combine with Research Methods in the Humanities and English   
> for Academic Purposes), since last year I have been working only   
> part-time in this area.
>
>
>
> I wonder if you could keep me in mind, should you come across   
> further position in this area, as it seems rather rare for me to   
> encounter F/T posts advertised in the press.
>
>
>
> I thank you in advance for any information you may be able to provide.
>
>
>
> Kind Regards
>
>
> Marika
>
>
>
> Dr Marika Preziuso
> Birkbeck University of London
> Research Visiting Fellow
>
> Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)
> Leuven - Belgium
>
> 'Within me an unconquerable summer'
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Wed, 5 May 2010 16:02:35 +0100
> From:    Nicholas Peter Gregson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
> Strangely we seem to be bucking the trend here (UCLAN)  - our workshops
> numbers for the first time in 3 years have gone up - 974 this year
> compared to 765 last year and the tutorials have gone up from 1,085 in
> 08/09 to 1,141 this year and we are still delivering the tutorials.
>
> We have also been delivering bespoke workshops within the schools and
> these have been extremely well attended (not finished the headcount
> yet). Our difficulty is actually meeting the demand with the small team
> that we have.
>
> We have managed to engage far more 1st years this time through
> targeting induction events. We have pages dedicated to promoting the
> provision in our student organiser/diary which all years get. We have
> bookmarks with details of all the skills workshops (S1 & S2) imprinted
> on them.
>
> We have our own web pages/e-learn pages and we have excellent contacts
> with the SU, our M&M mentors, and the other student services. We use all
> the available technolgies to promote the service - screen savers, plasma
> screens etc.
>
> More and more staff within the schools are at long last recognising the
> value of this work and do their bit to promote the service plus work
> with us to deliver study skills more effectively to their students.  It
> is at this school level where we hope to have more of an impact and that
> is where more of our energies will be focussed in 10/11.
>
>
> NP Gregson
> Senior Lecturer
> WISER / LIS
> 01772-893673
>
>
>
>>>> Kerry Bellamy <[log in to unmask]> 5/5/2010 12:49 pm >>>
>
> Hello
> Our Study Advice workshops also suffer from low participation
> regardless of the level of publicity (which we have significantly
> increased this year). We are currently running a student/staff study
> with the aim of learning more about how our student and staff are
> engaging with the curriculum and our Study Advice Service. The second
> leg of that study focuses on whether our service offering is meeting the
> needs of the staff and students here at Newport and if not, why not?! I
> have a few hunches but will wait to see what comes back from the study,
> happy to share findings if you think it will be beneficial in some way.
>
> We have started doing more one-to-one tutorial drop in sessions based
> within schools/faculties and they seem to be attracting students. We
> have also tried workshops based within schools (as a response to the
> number of similar one-to-one issues raised through the drop in sessions)
> but these have fallen flat despite VLE publicity, emailing individuals
> directly, lecturer notifications, linking them in with assignment dates
> etc
> Ideally, I think we’ll see benefit from being timetabled and embedded
> further and where this has been trialled it is working really well. I
> would be really interested in hearing about what other LDers do in
> workshops, especially those that are successful and if you do anything
> quirky to raise awareness or publicise your events that would be great
> to hear about too. New ideas, tips and tricks always welcome.
>
> Kerry Bellamy
> Student Advice & Mentor Manager/Rheolydd Cynghori a Mentora Myfyrwyr
> 01633 432017
> University of Wales, Newport /Prifysgol Cymru, Casnewydd
> Caerleon Campus / Campus Caerllion
> Lodge Road / Heol y Porthdy
> Caerleon / Caerllion
> Newport / Casnewydd
> NP18 3QT
>
>
>
> From:learning development in higher education network
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Kim Shahabudin
> Sent: 05 May 2010 12:09
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: workshop participation
>
>
>
> We've had very reduced attendance figures at our workshops this year -
> in fact, we've just been discussing this very subject. Anecdotally, I've
> heard similar stories from LDers at other institutions too. It is odd,
> and I don't really have an answer to why it should be so radically
> different this year - 2 attendees at our dissertations workshop when we
> had to run two sessions last year because it was so over-subscribed, and
> the year before we had over 300 turn up on the day!
>
>
>
> The workshops that have been well attend
> ed are our exam workshops and
> any workshops targeted at mature students. Given that, I do wonder
> whether targeting to particular groups/timely issues might be the way to
> go. Alison's increased requests for individual advice might also suggest
> that students want more targeted, less generic advice?
>
>
>
> Will be interested to hear what other folks' experience have been...
>
>
>
> Kim
>
>
>
>
> Dr Kim Shahabudin, Study Adviser & LearnHigher Research Officer
>
> Room 107, CarringtonBuilding, Whiteknights, Universityof Reading, RG6
> 6UA| (0118 378 4218|
>
> : www.reading.ac.uk/studyadvice :www.learnhigher.ac.uk (
> http://www.learnhigher.ac.uk/ )
>
>
>
> From:Alison Green
> Sent: Wed 05/05/2010 10:50
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: workshop participation
>
> Hello Everyone,
> I would be very interested to hear how your academic skills workshops
> have been progressing this year, especially since Christmas. I am
> writing because booking and attendance at the workshops I run at BU have
> been terrible. In particular, revision strategies and exam techniques
> workshops are attracting no more than 5 students per session despite
> having offered a much wider range of days and times to accommodate folk.
> We advertise by announcements on our VLE, by timetable to programme
> leaders and administrators and on continous rolling electronic screens
> placed in strategic areas of the uni. Generally, these workshops are
> heavily subscribed to, but not this year. Conversely, I have far more
> students asking for individual tutorials than in the past.
> Are we typical of other uni experiences? Is this a special cohort or
> have we 'succeeded' in encouraging independent learning? Do they prefer
> online resources? Are there too many questions in this email? Seriously
> though, we will consider withdrawing some workshops next year if this
> approach is now considered 'old hat'.
> Best
>
> BU - the UK's Number One New University
> The Guardian University Guide 2009 & 2010
> This email is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed and
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> Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do
> not necessarily represent those of Bournemouth University or its
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> University or its subsidiary companies via email.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of LDHEN Digest - 4 May 2010 to 5 May 2010 (#2010-66)
> *********************************************************
>