Does anyone want any data?

Years ago (when I did a different job) I developed these plagiarism tutorials. There are now 17 of them and between them they've had tens of thousands of views. A while back I made them creative commons so that other people could make their own. Over time I've collected more than 1,000 responses to the questions that formed a survey at the end of the tutorial (the survey is currently bust and I need to fix it, but that's another story). The questions I asked were:

1. Which version of the tutorial did you do?
2. I found this tutorial interesting (1 = strongly agree, 4 = strongly disagree)
3. I found this tutorial easy to use (1 = strongly agree, 4 = strongly disagree)
4. I found this tutorial informative (1 = strongly agree, 4 = strongly disagree)
5. The best bit about the tutorial was...
6. The tutorial could be improved by...

Is this data of use to anyone? I don't have time to analyse it but there might be some interesting stuff in it. Let me know if you want it.

Plagiarism tutorials now creative commons

Nearly three months back I blogged about Making the plagiarism tutorials creative commons. Well, it took a while but they're now finally done. You can see them all here. It probably took about 30 minutes per tutorial to make all the necessary changes, and I just did them one at a time, as I had the time. Hence it taking nearly three months.

Track back to the original post if you want to access the original files.

Making the plagiarism tutorials creative commons

Since my recent Inspired by Shirky post I've decided to make the plagiarism tutorials creative commons. After some very helpful advice from Tania (who's the Copyright Administrator for BDRA's OTTER Project) I've made the following changes to the tutorials to enable me to legitimately add a creative commons license:

• removed the clock animation (that I can't remember where I sourced) and replaced it with a creative commons licensed image;
• removed the screen shots of the various book covers and replaced them with generic ones;
• referenced the definition of plagiarism appropriately (previously the source was merely implied from the screen shot of the dictionary cover).

I've only managed to update the Biological Sciences version so far but I'll be working my way through all of them over the next few weeks.

The creative commons license that I've chosen is Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales. Just to be clear, this means...

You can access the original PowerPoint file here. If you want to republish your own version you'll need Adobe Presenter. But don't forget - attribution, non-commercial, share alike! Also, it would be good to hear from you if you do make your own version.

By the way, this isn't the part 2 to the Shirky post that I promised - that will focus on the video animation format as per the critical student tutorial - and I'll try and write next week.

Playing with different formats

A colleague has just produced a rather natty little paper based resource on Revision and exams - top ten tips for students. You can see it below (imagine it double-sided and folded into eighths).
Revision and Exams - top ten tips

I was trying to thing how best to publish it on our website. The embedded PDF is a a bit unwieldy so I thought I'd try cropping the various images and turning them into a Flickr slide show (thanks to Steve Boneham for reminding me to embed a Flickr slide show in Wordpress - very easy with the Vodpod bookbarklet).


The other thing I've just experimented with is Animoto, complete with inappropriate Jazz soundtrack! Clearly I'd have to get the image size better proportioned, and I assume if I chose a slower soundtrack the images would be able to be on screen for longer so be more easily read - but could work.


Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Just experimenting really. All comments gratefully received.

Update

Having moved my site from wordpress.com to full Wordpress I've just embedded the content using standard html - so you can ignore the bits about vodpod and getting things to embed in wordpress - although I'll leave them in just in case their useful to anyone.

Using Microsoft Word for long documents

This morning I ran the Using Microsoft word for long documents. Again. I've just searched my calendar and I can see that I've run it at least 28 times since December 2007. I wrote the original workshop for Word 2003 sometime in early 2006 when I discovered that students were creating tables of contents manually for 20,000 word documents. I'm sure I've run the session at least 50 times and trained hundreds of students in the process (there can be anywhere between 10 and 45 at a time).

The workshop, and associated workbook, has clearly been helpful, explaining to students how to:

• use heading styles
• use captions
• insert tables of contents and tables of figures
• use cross-referencing
• use master and subdocuments (with the necessary cautionary notes with this feature)

I also let them know that Microsoft isn't the only software that enables them to do this kind of thing and that Open Office can do it too.

So I thought I'd put this post up to let others know that you can get Word to do some pretty useful things, especially when writing a long document like a dissertation or thesis. I would put the workbook on here but now I've put a Creative Commons license on my blog I'm not sure I should (so here's a sneaky link instead). Microsoft copyright all the images associated with their Office products so I can't make a Creative Commons version. Strictly speaking I'm not sure I should have created any version at all, but there you go.

So I hope this post means that more people will discover these useful features, and if you have any Creative Commons license advice on the issue I'd be really pleased to hear it.

Why I really like Sreenr

This is just a quick post to say how useful I've been finding screenr lately. There are lots of reasons why I like screenr, here a just a few:

• it doesn't require installation - so no need to bother IT Services;
• it's really easy to use - no specialist expertise is required (I showed it to a non-tech colleague the other day and he couldn't believe how easy it was);
• you can create basic screencasts quickly - like this one;
• you can also create more polished screencast animations when combined with PowerPoint (or similar) - like this one;
• you get options re how you want to publish it - including embedding (see image);
• if you upload to YouTube you can even add closed captions - which I blogged about a while ago.

There are of course some downsides, so just to be balanced...

• you have to have a Twitter account (but there's no reason why you can't set one up under a pseudonym and protect your updates);
• you can't edit the screencast in screenr (but there is a pause button so you can take a breath - and if you downloaded the mp4 file I think you could edit it then);
• there is a maximum time limit of 5 minutes (but this is a brilliant idea - any longer than 5 minutes is very dull!)

Adding captions to YouTube videos is as easy as (mince) pie

What better time than 4 pm on 22 December to start a blog post.

I saw via Twitter a while ago that YouTube had made it possible to add closed captions (subtitles you can turn on or off) to YouTube videos. This had been something that I'd wanted to do a while ago to our What it means to be a critical student tutorial that I'd blogged about back in September.

You can find the instructions in YouTube's help centre item called Getting Started: Adding / Editing captions, plus additional instructions on Getting Started: Preparing a Transcript File. I decided that I wanted to test out using a transcript file rather than a caption file as this would be much quicker if it worked - and this is what the help article says about it:

YouTube uses experimental speech recognition technology to provide automatic timing for your English transcript. Automatic timing creates a caption file that you can download. Short videos with good sound quality and clear spoken English synchronize best.

And I tried it and it worked a treat! We already had the script in a word document so I simply pasted it into Notepad, removed any special characters (bullets, in our case) and then uploaded it as per the instructions. The speech recognition software did it's job brilliantly and timed the captions perfectly. The only errors occurred where Steve (the narrator) had deviated from the script. It was an easy job to edit the transcript on paper whilst watching the captions. I then amended the .txt file and uploaded it again. Fantastic and well done Google on making captioning quick and easy!

Here it is - and just click on the CC icon in the bottom right hand corner menu to turn the captions on.

A new tutorial on being a critical student

Steve and I have just produced a simple tutorial to try and explain/demystify what it means to be a critical student.

The tutorial is created using a simple PowerPoint slide show which is then recorded and audio added using screenr.com. Screenr is exceptionally easy to use - especially when you discover the pause button. The 5 minute limit is a useful discipline. Files can then be uploaded to screenr or YouTube or downloaded as MP4. It's brilliant.

I had some really useful comments back via Twitter (most of them within 30 minutes)  - which are listed below. If you have any comments then please let me know. This is our first experiment of doing tutorials using PowerPoint plus screenr and I think given our first experience, we'll be doing more soon.

1. AlexM11Nice subject-indepentent overview of critical thinking for students RT @stujohnson http://screenr.com/WX7about 3 hours ago from Screenr
   
2. MoMAlearningRT @AJCannRT @stujohnson: Tutorial on what it means to be a critical student http://screenr.com/WX7about 3 hours ago from web
   
3. nosnilwar@stujohnson I'm still baffled by the Heller quotation, but I think the academic/estate agent analogy is brilliant http://screenr.com/WX7about 3 hours ago from Screenr
   
4. jon_scott@stujohnson Like the idea but it needs to move faster and could have a shorter introabout 4 hours ago from web in reply to stujohnson
   
5. dhtpTutorial on what it means to be a critical student. http://screenr.com/WX7 (via @stujohnson)about 4 hours ago from Tweetie
   
6. virtualleaderRT @adamread: @stujohnson Love the screenr presentation about being a critical student http://screenr.com/WX7 Me too:0)about 4 hours ago from TweetDeck
   
7. goze01@stujohnson screenr looks like fun! I feel a new project coming on...about 5 hours ago from TwitterFon in reply to stujohnson
   
8. adamread@stujohnson Love the screenr presentation about being a critical student http://screenr.com/WX7 , will show to our study skills dept :)about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck
   
9. alan_hookRT @stujohnson Tutorial on what it means to be a critical student from University of Leicester http://screenr.com/WX7about 5 hours ago from Screenr
   
10. jobadge@stujohnson critical tut looks good stu. Any plans to customise it for Science subjects?about 5 hours ago from TweetDeck
    
11. scottuhi@stujohnson great, I'm blogging the link so maybe your followers will increase :-)about 5 hours ago from web in reply to stujohnson
    
12. scottuhi@stujohnson Like the video on critical thinking, do you plan to change the URL or can I send it to a few people?about 5 hours ago from web in reply to stujohnson
    
13. intuteRT: @universityboy: Tutorial on what it means to be a critical student. http://screenr.com/WX7 (via @stujohnson)about 6 hours ago from TwitterFox
    
14. JottersLtdTutorial on what it means to be a critical student. http://screenr.com/WX7 (via @stujohnson)about 6 hours ago from web
    
15. universityboyTutorial on what it means to be a critical student. http://screenr.com/WX7 (via @stujohnson)about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck
    
16. universityboy@stujohnson Good to see a quick and easy to follow tutorial on being a critical student. Two thumbs fresh!about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck
    
17. sboneham@stujohnson Pop filter=http://bit.ly/46uk9d. Move the mic a bit further away/to one side. Both should reduce plosive 'pops'.about 6 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to stujohnson
    
18. muir31@stujohnson useful tutorial on 'critical thinking', i will use this for my students http://screenr.com/WX7 #mscelabout 6 hours ago from web in reply to stujohnson
    
19. pigironjoe@stujohnson This establishes the principle, but it is short on practical advice and subject specific examples - room for follow up?about 6 hours ago from twhirl in reply to stujohnson
    
20. pigironjoe@stujohnson Yes, pretty good. Rooney's dulcet tones make it for me.about 6 hours ago from twhirl in reply to stujohnson
    
21. msars@stujohnson Nice. Suggest 1. Gap in narration to allow reading of Catch 22 quote 2. Add e.g. for scientists to show it applies to them tooabout 6 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to stujohnson
    
22. pigironjoeRT @stujohnson: Tutorial on what it means to be a critical student http://screenr.com/WX7 Feedback gratefully received!about 7 hours ago from twhirl
    
23. sboneham@stujohnson Excellent - like the iconography! Critical friend bit...maybe cut bit of narration, up the tempo & get a pop filter/move mic?about 7 hours ago from TweetDeck in reply to stujohnson
    
24. AJCann@stujohnson Nice. Cut some words at the start - they can read. Please blog about the process of how to make these.about 7 hours ago from twhirl in reply to stujohnson
    
25. AJCannRT @stujohnson: Tutorial on what it means to be a critical student http://screenr.com/WX7 Feedback gratefully received!about 7 hours ago from twhirl

Using blogs in teaching

Super helpful 'video poster' from Lindsay Jordon on using blogs in teaching.

How to boil an egg

Every now and then our team shares ideas about their teaching - things that have worked and things that haven't. One of the problems I'm often faced with is wanting to make learning experiential but being limited by teaching large numbers of students (50+), in a short space of time (1 hour) in an inappropriate teaching space for experiential learning (a lecture theatre).

One of my particular frustrations was (is) trying to teach presentation skills by telling rather than by doing (because of the limitations mentioned above). This isn't anything ground breaking  but here are a couple of slides I've used recently to try and get students experiencing what it's like to present from a text heavy slide versus a visual slide. I get them to pair up and have a go and then take feedback on how they found it.

Does anyone else have any bright ideas?

Thinking about a new online tutorial

The most useful thing for me about giving my presentation at our Teaching and Assessment Network (TAN) the other week was the discussion afterwards about what should happen next. So far I've only developed two tutorials, one on plagiarism and one on posters (although the one on plagiarism does have 16 different versions). For a while I've just not had the time (what with writing a book with Jon Scott and everything) but I'm very much hoping that I'll be able to create another one over the next few months. There were a couple of suggestions from the TAN crowd; something on revision and exam skills and something on analysis or criticism. Since having had a conversation with Simon Rofe in International Relations I've decided to try and develop something on the later, with the working title What is analysis? (although I really must come up with something better than that).

So here are my (and Simon Rofe's) early thoughts on what it might include.

Key areas to cover

• An explanation of how analysis (or criticism) is different from narrative (or description)
• Suggest different ways of using evidence to analyse/critique ideas
• The importance of the relevance of evidence to the point you're trying to make
• The importance of using your own words to express your views
• How to link paragraphs to develop argument

Introduction

An activity of some kind around the following quote from Joseph Heller, Catch 22.

"...the corporal and Colonel Korn both agree that it was neither possible nor necessary to educate people who never questioned anything."

Possible structure

Scene setting – these four students all read the same books, all used the same quotes and all worked hard on their essay – but they all got different marks…

Part 1 – stepwise creation of a paragraph using two quotes (each paragraph version is one submitted by one of the four students)

• only description
• paraphrase
• analysis
• comment

Part 2 – the creation of a second paragraph to link with the first using two additional quotes.

Development

As with the plagiarism tutorials I plan to develop and refine this with one department (International Relations) and then adapt it for other disciplines if it works. These are only very early ideas, but I thought I'd put it up to get some early comments...

Developing online tutorials at Teaching and Assessment Network

There are the slides and audio of my Teaching and Assessment Network seminar that I did on 25 March at the University of Leicester. Just putting them here really to kick off this blog as it's Friday afternoon and can't summon up much more energy!

Development of online resources to help students develop their academic skills from Stuart Johnson

Careers after biological sciences

Here's a brilliant new video from Chris Willmott in Biological Sciecnes on studying medicine after biological sciences. Chris has developed a raft of resources including videos and presentations for bioscience students. He gets alumni to come and present to students on different careers. Areas covered so far are:

• Clinical Trials
• Conservation
• Cosmetics
• Forensics
• Formulation technologist
• Healthcare Science
• Journalism
• Manufacturing Scientist
• Medicine
• Microbiology
• Pharmaceutical Industry
• Recruitment
• Teaching

More info can be found at http://biosciencecareers.wordpress.com/ I've also linked it to the blog roll.