Our next event…

MELSIG will be changing focus slightly for an event focused on ‘Social Media for Learning’ to be hosted by Liverpool John Moores University on 3 June 2014. Registration is not open yet but will be announced here and on twitter (#melsig, #LJMU) by @melsiguk.

The programme is emerging and will follow a similar pattern to other special focus events: host presenter case studies, presenters from the region, creativity and hands-on workshops, and Thunderstorm sharing practice sessions.
We will be running a social media survey beforehand (that is: on the topic and using social media).
Sue Beckingham (@suebecks) will provide a keynote addressing the range of social media that are being used and being media literate.
More details will follow soon.

Other events being planned

We have identified a need for the following events and invite hosts and presenters from UK post compulsory education (I.e. universities and colleges). (I will create a page of information for those who want to know about hosting and update this post – AM):

• Creative Capture and the Flipped Classroom – this one has intrigued some of us in MELSIG for a while. Some universities have made a considerable investment in lecture capture technology and in iTunesU. Some academics are using screencasting and podcasting to populate Flipped Classrooms. In some universities the same technologies and media are being used to record student presentations. We would like to hear from colleagues who are pushing the boundaries to promote student-centred learning environments with such technologies. We need a host, and presenters – we have a network!
• Media-enhanced Feedback #2 – how are audio, video, screencasting, social, and smart media being used to provide formative and summative feedback on activities and tasks? Are we Flipping Assessment yet? Is social media helping us to make assessment authentic? Does it have a role in course-wide assessment design. Again, we need a host, and presenters – we have a network!
• Being Inclusive with Digital & Social Media – MELSIG has been approached by several people who would like to explore inclusivity – especially dyslexia – and media-enhanced learning. Again we are looking for a host for this. We have some presenters in mind and believe MELSIG will find a good connection here with another networks, as we have done with other foci from time to time.

MELSIG Webinar Series

We invite you to take part in our Media Enhanced Learning webinar series to share your ideas, practice and experience.
We aim to run the webinars as 50 minute lunchtime sessions made up of two 20 minute innovation case studies. That leaves some room for discussion and making connections across presentations.
We are looking for case study presentations from academics, learning technology advisers, educational developers and students in post compulsory education, especially where media has been user-generated or has a social dimension.
Likely cases include variants of,
audio feedback

• screencasting
• social media
• digital storytelling
• developing academic digital literacy
• podcasting
• innovative assessment tasks and formative activities using digital media

Presenters: please express your interest on Twitter to @melsiguk using the hashtag #melsigwebinar or by email to Andrew Middleton a.j.middleton ‘at’ shu.ac.uk

Smart Learning book

The call for contributions to the Smart Learning book closes on 20th April! Please take a look! It could be easier than you think to share your ideas and experience.