learning - Academic Conferences Limited

Mark de Groot et al.
to use web conferencing within their courses and reported positive outcomes. Many participants
stressed the need for an ongoing network of Elluminate users and their experiences have in turn been
fed in to and shared across the University by their involvement in the wider user group.
Figure 3: Student feedback
5.2.2 Let’s talk – Faculty of Arts, Environment and Technology
A member of the group from the Faculty of Arts, environment and Technology secured external
funding to research different ways in which web conferencing might support the work of his
colleagues in the School of the Built Environment. The resource was adopted on 6 courses within the
school with results reported in July 2011 at an online conference, Let’s Talk. Speakers again reported
positive outcomes for both staff and students in using web conferencing to:
Communicate and provide individual support for placement students and students writing
dissertations.
Conduct meetings and exam boards with overseas partners
Deliver inductions, online tutorials and seminars to distance learners
5.2.3 Show and Tell events
Two face to face ‘Show and Tell’ events have been run by members of the group. These have been
as part of our annual Assessment Learning and Teaching conference and at the user group’s
anniversary party. In addition to those outlined in section 5 above, themes covered at these events
included:
Interviewing prospective international postgraduate students
Feedback and assessment of student presentations
The academic coaching of students
Running taster sessions for first timers.
6. Recommendations from the group
Insights from the experiences of those involved in the activities of this Leeds Met user group will be of
interest to all responsible for shaping or supporting their institutional web conferencing policies. The
high payback areas, or quick wins, are here identified along with challenges and suggested strategies
with which these challenges can be addressed.
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