Interacting with students and managing behaviour

In our team meeting slot this week we were joined by Yvonne, the College’s new Head of Student Support. Due to her previous employment we wanted to draw on her experience of interacting with students and managing behaviour. Our plan is to hold a workshop with her on our next Team Improvement Day. The purpose of this week’s meeting was to discuss issues and concerns that we would like to cover in the workshop. The meeting was split into two so that Yvonne could first meet with our Front of House team and then with the Senior Team.

In our section of the meeting Yvonne asked us to think about the types of situations in which we personally struggle and would benefit from some training. I find that I struggle in two areas – first, what to do when I’ve gone up to speak to a student and they are intentionally ignoring or blanking me. This was raised by a few colleagues as something they also struggle with. We discussed what we do at the moment in that situation. I ventured that if the student was on their own I might try sending them a message via our computer booking system. If the student was in a group, try and focus on one or two individuals who are paying attention and use them to help attract the attention of the whole group. Yvonne explained that there is really no right or wrong approach to dealing with this situation but that it is important to acknowledge how it makes us feel and to reflect on how we have managed ourselves in each approach that we take. She also suggested bringing another member of staff in and approaching the situation as a pair. This is something I haven’t tried before – we tend to ask another member of staff to ‘give it a go’ rather than going in jointly. 

The second situation in which I struggle is to develop conversations further with students and be assertive in my decisions in terms of getting them to improve their behaviour.  For example, approaching a group of students crowded around a couple of PCs I would normally explain that it isn’t appropriate for them to behave like that and ask if they have any work they can be doing. However, I fail to build on that initial interaction and find out why they’ve come in (i.e are they on a break/part of a lesson etc.) and precisely what work they’ve come in planning to do with the aim of helping them to plan individually what they want to achieve from their time in the LRC. After my initial interaction I might have to then return and chase them along but again, at this point, I fail to really get involved. 

Yvonne also briefly mentioned how we must be fully aware of how we are ourselves before we approach a student - for example, are we already wound up or irritated, a feeling that could be passed on to the student – how a lot of communication is not passed on verbally but through our manner, and how we must build the confidence to approach a student in the first place. I would like to think that this is an area in which I am quite successful. I feel confident to approach students and I always approach situations calmly addressing students as ‘ladies’ and ‘gentleman’ (in the belief that they can behave as such – if the start to prove me otherwise then they come down to ‘guys’ or ‘girls’ and ‘boys’!). I also address them quite quietly so that it is clear I am talking to them but without bringing any other students nearby into the situation. 

From the initial discussion with Yvonne I have identified areas that I need to work on: explaining more why I want a student to do something; become involved in the interaction more and develop conversations; be strong in my convictions and build maintain the interaction so that a positive result is achieved on both sides. I’m looking forward to the workshop with Yvonne to see what new techniques I can learn.

Heritage User Group Winter Meeting

On Wednesday 6th March I attended the winter meeting of the Heritage User Group. Heritage User Group (or HUG as it is known) is a group of people who use the Library Management System Heritage. It is independent from (although has strong links to) IS Oxford who develop Heritage. The aim of the group is to support users providing an environment in which to share information, discuss problems and highlight future needs. Heritage User Group also has a number of localised sub-branches. (You can find out more at their website: http://www.hugonline.co.uk/index.htm) The main group meets twice a year and this was my first attendance.

Neville Jones from IS Oxford began the day's meeting with a demonstration of the new features available in Heritage Cirqa. We are likely to upgrade our version of Heritage in the summer (either to version 4.2.10 or to Cirqa) so it was really useful to see a demo. Neville highlighted the new features along with improvements and functions that have been removed, all the while showing everything on screen. I was impressed by the developments available in Cirqa (although some functions, such as the option to renew all items in one go via the OPAC, haven't yet been made possible). I was able to gather lots of useful technical how-to info from Neville's presentation and the question and answer session at the end highlighted several useful tips that I hadn't thought of before. Furthermore, Neville was able to spend a little time advising me on an issue I am currently trying to resolve with our OPAC results display.

I think it would be more prudent to upgrade to Cirqa rather than 4.2.10 for our next upgrade although I am undecided whether we should remain hosted within our own IT department, or allow IS Oxford to host (an option with Cirqa). We don't have any other services which are outsources so it would be a new experience for us.

After a very nice lunch the afternoon kicked off with the AGM. We heard brief reports from the chairman, treasurer and secretary on the current status of the group. The rest of the afternoon then consisted of short presentations showcasing different innovate uses of Heritage within different institutions. The first was Rob Collier from Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. Rob spoke about how he uses information obtained from Heritage to send out texts to students, for example, overdue reminders. Our marketing department does order text bundles for the College. However, in the past, we have had an unfortunate experience in send out texts (unrelated to overdues) which has made us very cautious!

Following Rob were Julian Dawson from ARUP, Gill Kaye from an NHS library and Ian Cockrill from Gower College, Swansea. They each spoke about how they have applied SDI within their own institutions. SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information) runs off the subject field within catalogue records and sends an email alert to any users who have that subject allocated to them about new resources that have been added to it. I think SDI can be a very useful marketing tool to help inform tutors of new resources. We don't currently use it and, for us, it would mean setting up from scratch subject listings and planning how we market the service to staff. Having heard the three speakers I found it interesting how they each took different approaches. For example, whether subjects of interest are 'forced' onto users by the library team or whether users are invited to join, and how strictly or not they match subjects to Dewey classifications. I thought Ian suggested a very good tip regarding the design of the email alerts. He spoke of a colleague in another institution who, when they started sending SDI alerts, had several staff coming in demanding to know why they had been sent overdues for items they didn't have! They did see a lot of irate members of staff but also several who hadn't been to the centre in years! Therefore, Ian made the point that the design of the email is key in ensuring that its meaning is quickly established and not confused with other Heritage generated emails.

Next, Gill spoke again about the reality of upgrading to Cirqa. Her library had just upgraded and had been 'live' for 12 days. They opted to have IS Oxford host their server and paid for additional support during the upgrade process. It sounded fairly straightforward and Gill said that overall they were very pleased with both the upgrade process and Cirqa as a system.

Emily Armstrong gave the final presentation which looked at how Heritage can be integrated with your VLE, specifically Moodle. This was the least useful presentation for me as the subjects that she demonstrated - embedding live reading lists and inserting the Heritage 'block' - are ones that we have already implemented.

Overall I found the day extremely useful and would recommend that anyone who uses Heritage become a member of the Group. You have access to a range of helpful resources and advice and the opportunity to discuss with others their experience of Heritage. Of course, this isn't the only Heritage forum environment - there is the Marvin mailing list and the HUG sub-groups. However, for very little membership cost there are big benefits.
I next plan to attend the summer meeting of my local HUG branch in May/June.

Staff Development

At the end of last academic year we have two consecutive staff development days to round off the term. For the first time I 'led' a small group during an activity. I found this helped me to be more engaged with the task and, if I'm honest, more willing to carry out the activity (more on that below).

It all began on the morning of Thursday 20th December with the whole of the Student Services division congregating in the LRC's HE Centre. The Director of Student Services started with a presentation on recruitment and success rates. It was interesting to see how much competition the College now faces from provision across other College and Sixth Forms. He then got us thinking about self-assessment and the College's strengths and weaknesses in preparation for work on our SARs (Self-Assessment Report) - this generated some lively opinions amongst some! Following this we divided back into our divisions to work on our own SAR.

The Director of Learning Resources divided us into groups in which we focused on specific aspects of the service and thought about its strengths and areas for improvement along with what evidence could be provided to back up our statements. I led a small group looking at use of resources and e-resources. I found this activity a really good way of not only highlighting our recent successes, but also of bringing to light certain aspects for improvement which have been overlooked in the past. Here's an overview of my groups' discussion:

Strengths: significant improvement in provision of print and e-books following an increase in budget which allowed for collection project end of 2011/2012; purchased new e-resource Key Note to support business and subscribed to free e-resource Primal Pictures Anatomy & Physiology Online; upgrade of LRC PCs improved experience of accessing LRC eResources; this academic year has seen a considerable increase in the number of LRC resources embedded into Moodle courses; staff have worked to improve liaison with BTEC business tutors; LRC works hard to promote resources and can identify several publicity methods.

Weaknesses: 2011/2012 student questionnaire shows low awareness of resources; LRC awareness of reading lists and assignment details across College is patchy; analysis of usage data from Learning Resources pages in Moodle shows some areas rarely viewed; Moodle courses containing LRC content not widespread; no consistent monitoring of induction takeup, specifically e-resources/starting your research inductions; low use of DVD collection; past few years have seen a decline in the level of access provided to physical resources due to changes in opening hours.

At lunch we all headed back to the HE Centre for lunch and the annual quiz and raffle (in which I won a bottle of wine!). The afternoon began with a presentation from one of our Vice Principals on the changes to Ofsted's Common Inspection Framework after which we finished with an LRC senior team meeting tidying up loose ends from the morning's activity.

The following day was more laid back with updates and brief training. I gave an E-resources update highlighting new e-books purchased, changes to existing LRC eResources and new LRC eResources. One activity my colleague ran was based on teamwork and I thought she came up with a very ingenious idea: she had given us an activity to do first in small groups. For the second part, she gave each group a small jigsaw which we had to put together in our team and to shout out as soon as we'd completed it. Well there we were, all shouting FINISHED!, and she was going round saying that we hadn't! We soon twigged that in actual fact our individual jigsaws fitted together to complete a bigger picture, so we had to come together as a whole team to complete it - I thought this was a great idea. The College closed at 2pm that day so after we had finished we all headed off to the pub for a very well-deserved drink!

Reflections and wisdom

2012 was a good year. Highlights included: getting married; presenting at the JISC eFactor Showcase in London; being promoted to the position of Information Advisor (Resources and Content) and being involved in a collections project ordering books, books and more books (appealing to the traditionalist in me!).

I don't really have any new year's resolutions for this year. So instead, I thought I'd share with you some wisdom. Now, I have to admit that this wisdom isn't my own! My husband and I decided that, for our calendar this year, we would purchase one called The wisdom of kids created by Zavacopoulos and The London Studio. Some very insightful views follow. My personal favourites are September (no.9) and October (no.10)!

1. What's the moral of Cinderella?: 'Good things happen when you wear the right shoes' (Sophia, age 10).

2. Getting your priorities right: Love is the most important thing in the world, if you don't count football' (Andrew, age 10).

3. Who is the boss, mummy or daddy?: 'Daddy is the boss, until mummy comes home' (Chloe, age 7).

4. Why do grownups love wine?: 'It helps them live long. Cos it's grapes it's 1 of your 5 a day, so basically it's a health drink' (Alice, age 6).

5. What are the signs of ageing?: 'Old people have huge CD's that they call records' (Selina, age 6).

6. Is it better to be single or married?: 'It's better for girls to be single but not for boys cos they need someone to clean up after them' (Anita, age 9).

7. When is it okay to kiss someone?: 'When they're rich' (Pam, age 7).

8. The difference between men and women: 'Women have boobies. They have one for hot milk and one for cold milk' (Michael, age 5).

9. If you can't remember your age: 'Just look in the back of your pants. Mine say five to six' (Tina, age 5).

10. How to make someone fall in love with you: 'Shake your hips and hope for the best' (Camille, age 9).

11. The best present for a girl ...: 'Boxer chocolates' (John, age 6).

12. 'I tried to eat brussel sprouts but my mouth wouldn't let me' (Robby, age 4).

What a term!

There has been very little time to be involved in anything 'extra-curricular' since the beginning of term. It has zoomed by and I'm only now just able to start checking Twitter and the blogs I follow again. To get me back into the swing of writing for my blog I thought I'd start with an overview of what's kept me occupied for the last couple of months!

• Staffing the Enquiry Desk and other Centres and helping lots of new students with basic queries such as printing and using self-issue.
• Working out how to solve the problem of matching up returning student records on our LMS now that the College has introduced a new ID system.
• Delivering introductory inductions to groups of new students.
• Training new member of the Front of House team.
• Preparing and delivering in-depth information skills inductions in lessons.
• Training and observing colleague to deliver referencing inductions.
• Preparing and delivering training to teaching staff on how to use and utilise Moodle.
• Managing collections requests and acquisitions.
• Troubleshooting issues as part of the Moodle Support team.
• Promotion to position of Information Advisor (Resources and Content).
• Showing round interview candidates for new post.
• Training and mentoring new member of the senior team.
• Involvement in 'Study skills afternoon' for Access to Science students delivering referencing refresher and introducing guest speaker from Examstutor.
• Attending senior team meetings.
• Housekeeping tasks for our LMS.

I hope as the term starts to calm down that I'll be able to get involved again in some development opportunities. It has been mooted that I'm to sit on a new cross-College committee starting next week so looking forward to that.

New starts

It's almost the start of the new academic year which, to me, like New Year, is a time for new or fresh starts. I also got married last month so another cause for feeling like the start of something new.

When I was at school and university the start of the new year always meant sorting out my desk at home and buying new stationery. At school it also meant the start of a new system whereby whenever I was given homework, I would start it that evening. (I don't think I even managed to keep that up until the October half term!) I now work in a College and so the start of a new academic year now means new stationery (still!) and a renewed enthusiasm and motivation to make the most of each task and interaction. I have even given my blog and Twitter page a fresher look with a new background design!

At home at a time of new starts I always come up with what seems a lovely plan to fit in regular exercise around my working week - but I rarely manage to sustain it! Also to keep more on top of the housework which, week by week, has varying degrees of success! Linked back to the 'sorting out my desk at home' I have bought several new lever arch files in a pretty design to display all my family history work rather than having boring files in boxes. I also have plans to go through our filing cabinet of important documents and have a good old sort out.

Thinking about it all of my new starts revolve around being more organised in various forms. I come from a family of 'list-makers' and am always making lists of to do jobs. I think this is probably one of my biggest strengths and I know that I'm happier and calmer when I'm more organised. I'm also very critical though and, as you can see from my new starts, always thinking I can do better!

e-Factor 2012: "It's all about the learner"

On Wednesday I attended JISC RSC London's e-Factor 2012. The day brings together practitioners from a variety of organisations to share approaches and examples of best practice in e-learning and e-technologies. Last year I attended as a delegate but this year I answered the call and offered to present a showcase. Although I've delivered inductions to large groups of students before I've never presented at an event so was looking forward to the challenge.

To begin with I had to write a proposal of 200 words describing my showcase which would fit under one of the following categories:

• Enhanced teaching and learning through the use of innovative and creative technology
• CDP/staff development models that make effective use of technology
• Learner Voice - learners are involved in shaping delivery/staff development/quality systems/contribute to how technology is used
• Organisational efficiency - through the use of technology

I chose the first category and developed my proposal with the title Embedding creative e-learning technologies to enhance learning resources delivery, both in and out of the classroom. I sent in my proposal at the end of March and, a month later, received an email saying it had been accepted! Now I had to deliver! I began planning my showcase properly about a month ago, working out what I wanted to say and choosing examples of our work and, by the middle of June, felt that it was ready to go. I took the opportunity to run through it whenever I could.

The day finally arrived and, wanting to look eager, I arrived soon after 9.00am when registration opened. When I arrived though everyone had been evacuated outside whilst the fire alarm was going off - exactly the same thing happened last year, maybe it's jinxed! After we were allowed back in I met up with a couple of colleagues and we took our seats for the Welcome given by Graciano Soares, Regional Manager for RSC London. He outlined the plan for the day linking the theme It's all about the learner with the current climate and changes in OFSTED's inspection approach. My category was next....

The first showcase was presented by West Thames College who shared how they enhance teaching and learning through the use of video casts and social media. I particularly liked how their tutors had really thought about what their students actually do and came up with using Facebook to develop a web page and Twitter to provide study support. Their use of video casting in plumbing is a great way of enhancing learning in a very practical subject. As a librarian, I really liked the section in the video where the tutor explains how to use their textbook to help them study! He was quite right in saying that often, students on courses like these, either think they don't need a textbook or are frightened of using one. I was next up and for the next 15 minutes it was just me on stage, behind a lectern, with a microphone and my presentation facing 60-70 people! (My script is available here.) I began with a Prezi (available here) as a visual aid whilst I explained why I feel this area of e-learning is important. I then showcased four e-learning technologies. First was XtraNormal - a cartoon creation tool - which we have used to create a short, humorous (hopefully!) cartoon on why students should renew. Second I showed two examples of enhanced podcasts we have created using Windows MovieMaker to combine images/Powerpoint slides with audio and music. Next I briefly spoke about Jing - a screen capture tool which will capture a video of what you do on screen along with audio. The fourth technology was Xerte and I showed how we have used it to create a suite of interactive revision and study skills guides. To finish off I played a video that had been created by the College as part of the KUBE project (Kingston Uplift for Business Education). The project looked at ways of combining face to face and online modes of curriculum delivery and included Xerte units and podcasts. The video had students and staff highlighting the impact and benefits of using these technologies. My showcase went really well and I was congratulated afterwards by my colleagues, delegates and our Principal who was there to give the Plenary at the end of the day. Questions were invited after each showcase. I wasn't look forward to this as, whilst I'm confident speaking about something I'm well prepared for, I'm not very good at coming up with answers on the spot. However, I was pleased that I could answer the four questions directed at me well! Finishing our section were VITAL who demonstrated how they had been involved in projects which successfully used Kindles in class. I thought Kindles were a great idea for encouraging reading for pleasure - the anonymity of what you're reading can be a big draw - but felt that it was difficult to extend this into academic work as many textbooks aren't available on Kindle.

In the second section of the day I chose to watch the Organisational efficiency category. St Dominics Sixth Form College were first up showcasing their use of Google Docs to manage and hold the dissertation style EPQ project for A level students. All the work was uploaded and stored in Google Docs with the College's IT team having very limited involvement. I thought it was a very effective example of when cloud computing works well. Second were Stanmore College who explained their 'Plan-Do-Review' cycle of technology with regards to Moodle whereby they are currently developing their new ILP2 area in Moodle. One of the features I liked was their use of ePace tests to highlight strengths and weaknesses in skill sets to aid teachers in planning class activities. Third were Redbridge Institute who have been investigating free software to provide a timetabling programme, accessibility solutions for students with learning or physical differences and video tools. In the latter they highlighted Freemake which can edit and convert a range of different video file types -something I want to look into. Last were Newham FE College who have used Adobe Captivate to develop interactive learning packages in a similar way that we use Xerte. I thought the look of the final product was more professional than Xerte but it would be interesting to see if it had the same range of functionality.

After lunch I went to the 'Creative Lab 2' category. In this Westminster Kingsway College showed how they use screencasts to record lessons in 3D modelling for students to refer to later; Ealing Hammersmith and West London College showed how they use comic strips to liven up classes; Coulsdon College showed how they have used iPads and Apps in their art and French classes; and Newham Sixth Form College showed how their tutors are using Moodle to create an effective and interactive learning experience.

I really enjoyed the day and the chance to see what other organisations have been doing. I found that presenting helped network as several people came and spoke to me during the day and I felt that I 'was' someone rather than just a body in the crowd which gave me more confidence to go up and speak to people. I did find it was very frustrating not having a business card or something similar to hand out with my contact details! I'm really glad I took the opportunity to present at this event. Not only will it look good on my CV but it's a new experience and on a personal level I can say - yes I can do that!