First week

It has been a week of organising base groups and applications for admission with credit for prior learning, sorting out the VLE and wiki, watching posts and comments start coming in to Activity 1. There is something exciting about the first full teaching week of the semester, but also something a little unhealthy about the … Continue reading First week

First thoughts on the final (?) draft Strategy for Enhancing the Student Experience

Oxford Brookes Academic Enhancement and Standards Committee has made its final (?) modifications to the draft Strategy for Enhancing the Student Experience (SESE). The two objectives of this strategy are to: [implement] approaches centred on critical reflection, impact evaluation and continuous enhancement of the student experience. [maximise] student involvement in the development of policies and practices for … Continue reading First thoughts on the final (?) draft Strategy for Enhancing the Student Experience

Zotero Everywhere makes me happy

Zotero Everywhere will have two main components: a standalone desktop version of Zotero with full integration into a variety of web browsers and a radically expanded application programming interface (API) to provide web and mobile access to Zotero libraries. via zotero.org This is one of the best pieces of news I have had in a … Continue reading Zotero Everywhere makes me happy

Counting and dividing: half the #pcthe cohort enter with AP(E)L

The new PCTHE cohort is significantly different to those of years previous. There are 43 on the register. Of these 22 - just more than half - are eligible to enter with AP(E)L for 20 (out of 60) credits at level seven. They arrived with QTS and/or Associate membership of the HE Academy and/or a … Continue reading Counting and dividing: half the #pcthe cohort enter with AP(E)L

The first day of the PCTHE

We must have been given the worst teaching room in the University (Gibbs 2.15). It was on the edge of a building site with fork lifts reversing all morning. The room was the only unrefurbished one on this floor of the building. The seating was really poor quality: ripped seats, gum on the floor. There … Continue reading The first day of the PCTHE

Social Media and the Harrisburg Experiment

Last week the social media networks and the printed press, too, were buzzing with news that Harrisburg University of Science and Technology was blocking access to all social media sites for the week. There were predictable reactions from all sides. But ultimately interesting questions could be asked and there is probably something worth studying about … Continue reading Social Media and the Harrisburg Experiment

Reflections on the eve of a new academic year

There is still a hard day's work ahead before the introduction to the PCTHE for 2010-11. For some reason the VLE and wiki are not developing themselves. Packs for the day do not seem to be reproducing like the little bunnies I wish they were. The to-do list of best intentions is shrinking to only … Continue reading Reflections on the eve of a new academic year

For-profit higher education – follow the monopoly money

BPP University College (http://www.bppuc.com/) has enrolled 5000 people in the UK this year. Western International University (http://www.west.edu/) is a leading for-profit in the US expanding into Europe, Asia, and South America. Both are owned by the same parent company, Apollo Global (http://bit.ly/cp0mbI). Apollo Global is also the parent of the University of Phoenix (http://www.phoenix.edu/). Apollo … Continue reading For-profit higher education – follow the monopoly money

Writing a Course Review

I recently met with a student who had been unsuccessful in achieving the criteria for one of the assignments on the PCTHE. Most of my comments are of a general nature regarding the writing of a course review, so I thought I would post them. Back up your assertions with evidence. As teachers and students … Continue reading Writing a Course Review