Teaching Matters Edinburgh

In this final uncovering UNCOVER podcast episode, Ruth McQuillan and Marshall Dozier both core members of UNCOVER, describe key features of a good evidence review, and provide tips to novice reviewers on how to create a good evidence review. Madhurima Nundy, an UNCOVER Reviewer, shares her experience collaborating with staff in a review team, and what challenges she faced.

Music in this episode is provided by hooksounds. 

In this episode, Neneh Rowa-Dewar UNCOVER’s student-staff liaison, and Thulani Ashcroft and Udani DE Silva both UNCOVER Reviewers, each discuss their roles in UNCOVER. Neneh highlights how students are supported in UNCOVER and how this support benefits students. Thulani and Udani describe how UNCOVER’s resources has benefited them.

Music for this episode is provided by hooksounds.

In this introduction episode, Nadege Atkins an UNCOVER Reviewer and also co-producer of the  uncovering UNCOVER podcast series, shares her experience as a member of UNCOVER. She discusses what UNCOVER is and how she became involved in UNCOVER.  Nadege also speaks of the benefits and challenges she has faced, and what skills she has developed being a part of UNCOVER.

Music for this episode is provided by hooksounds.

In this episode, Filip Taneski, a PhD student within the School of Engineering, and Brittany Blankinship, a PhD student in the School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, share good practice by discussing their nominations for the 2022 Student Tutor of the Year. They discuss the relationship between their research and teaching, how their role as tutor has changed over the last two years, the difficult task of facilitating engagement while teaching in online classrooms, how they’ve adapted their practices in teaching and research the past few years, and much more.

Timestamps:

1:20 - Filip and Brittany introduce themselves and their research topics

3:10 - The two discuss: how have they found this academic year compared to previous academic years?

9:10 - Filip and Brittany discuss how they've balanced research and teaching during their PhDs

22:20 - The two finish off by reflecting on some experiences they remember fondly from their time teaching

Transcript

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds.

In this episode, Michael Merlin, a lecturer within the School of Engineering, and Richard Blythe, a professor of Complex Systems in the School of Physics and Astronomy, share good practice by discussing their nominations for the 2022 Personal Tutor of the Year. They begin by discussing: what actually is the role of a personal tutor? Michael mentions it being both “everything and nothing”, while Richard touches on how he views the supportive role.

Their conversation then expands to cover various aspects of the role.  How has it changed during the pandemic/online learning? How does it interact with teaching and research? What's the relationship between personal tutoring and mentorship? And how did they each respond to their nominations? Throughout the episode, the thought and intentionality Michael and Richard bring to their roles are apparent, making this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in hearing about supportive roles, particularly within academia.

Timestamps:

1:15 – Michael and Richard discuss what they consider the role of a personal tutor to be

2:50 – The two discuss: how has the scope of personal tutoring changed with the advent of virtual learning?

12:20 – Michael and Richard discuss connecting with students on a personal level, how personal tutoring interacts with their research and teaching, and their responses to their nominations

Transcript

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds. 

In this episode, Charlie Farley, the Open Educational Resources advisor at the University's Information Services, and Ewan McAndrew, the University of Edinburgh’s Wikipedian in Residence, discuss the benefits of Media Hopper Create, particularly in regard to the service's ability to create Open Educational Resources (OERs). They discuss how they each use media hopper create, the benefits of open educational resources, why they’re so important (especially in wake of the pandemic), and how media hopper create can benefit potential users.

Timestamps:

1:05 - Charlie and Ewan introduce themselves and how they use Media Hopper Create in their work

4:35 - The duo discusses the benefits of OERs more generally, and how Media Hopper Create is used to create them

16:10 - Ewan and Charlie conclude by discussing the importance of having a tool like Media Hopper Create during the pandemic, and give their pitches for those considering using the service

Transcript

Lego replica of the University of Edinburgh Main Library

Music for today's episode was provided by Hooksounds.

In this episode, four University of Edinburgh staff members, Jo Merrifield, Education Programme Manager at the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Michael Gallagher, Programme Director of the MSc in Digital Education, Velda McCune, Deputy Director of the Institute for Academic Development and Brian Mather, Senior E-Learning Developer at the Veterinary school, reconnect to discuss anecdotes from using Media Hopper Create, along with their pitch for prospective users of the service. 

The episode begins with the participants' stories. Jo discusses a piece of positive feedback she received on a webinar series she cocreated, Michael shares about teaching his next-door neighbor how to use Media Hopper Create, and Velda and Brian touch on the benefits of using it as a collaborative tool. After, they share their pitches for prospective users of Media Hopper Create, touching on its accessibility and the benefits that come from being able to share academic content

Timestamps:

0:58 - Participants share their stories from using Media Hopper Create

8:57 - The group gives their 'pitches' for encouraging people to give Media Hopper Create a try

Transcript

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds. 

In this episode, four University of Edinburgh staff members, Jo Merrifield, Education Programme Manager at the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Michael Gallagher, Programme Director of the MSc in Digital Education, Velda McCune, Deputy Director of the Institute for Academic Development and Brian Mather, Senior E-Learning Developer at the Veterinary school, reconnect to discuss the tips, tricks and challenges they've found in using Media Hopper Create.

The conversation begins with the group discussing tips. They discuss keeping your content short and succinct, taking advantage of a dialogic approach, thinking about what you want to create across before you record and finally involving fellow students and staff in a co-creative model. Their conversation then shifts to the challenges of using Media Hopper Create. How do we ensure the intended audience finds their way to the content? What about those who are uncomfortable recording videos? How does one bring intentionality to whose voices are being heard when editing content? While entertaining these challenges, the group manages to find quite a few silver linings.

Timestamps:

1:00 - Participants discuss the greatest 'tips and tricks' they've found in using Media Hopper Create

9:40 - The group entertains the challenges they've found when using the service, and finds a few silver linings

Transcript

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds. 

In the premiere of our Media Hopper series, four University of Edinburgh staff members, Jo Merrifield, Education Programme Manager at the Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Michael Gallagher, Programme Director of the MSc in Digital Education, Velda McCune, Deputy Director of the Institute for Academic Development and Brian Mather, Senior E-Learning Developer at the Veterinary school, connect to discuss how they use Media Hopper in their work.

Media Hopper Create is the University's Media Asset Management system, which puts video at the heart of teaching, learning, research and public engagement. The quartet's conversation begins with each participant detailing how they use Media Hopper Create in their work, also touching on its usefulness during the pandemic. Among the variety of uses mentioned are lecture recordings, student assessment, student-staff co-creation, creating learning resources, podcasts and research dissemination. The conversation also covers the aspects of Media Hopper Create that the participants particularly appreciate, including its captioning and capacity for inclusivity, accessibility and interoperability.

Timestamps:

1:18 - Each participant introduces themself and discusses the ways in which they use Media Hopper Create in their work

14:15 - The participants discuss which features they find particularly useful, including Media Hopper Create's accessibility and usability

Transcript: 

'Media Hopper Create and its many uses' Transcript

Music provided by Hooksounds. 

In this episode, Ewan McAndrew, the University of Edinburgh's Wikimedian in Residence, is joined by Diana Paton, lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and the William Robertson Chair of History, Lucy Crompton-Reid, Chief Executive of Wikimedia UK, Lucy Parfitt, former President of the University History Society, two history students, Grace King and Siân Davies, and Hannah Rothmann, a former Wikimedia intern and Classics student, to discuss Wikimedia, History how the two topics are interconnected. Particularly, they discuss the Scotland Slavery and Black History Project. This episode is the fifth and final of our Wikimedia Series, which aims to recontextualize Wikimedia's role in academia on its 21st birthday.

The conversation begins with each participant detailing what drew them to the project and its formulation. They also consider Edward Gibbon's quote, "History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind." While the group's conversation revolves around the Scotland Slavery and Black History Project, it often diverges into fascinating territory regarding Wikipedia and History. Is Wikipedia a source, a source aggregator, or both? What role can Wikipedia play in documenting history's ever-changing nature? What kind of conversations follow a project such as this one, and what conversations does it necessitate?

This link leads to more information about the Scotland Slavery and Black History Project. 

Timestamps:

2:00 - Introduction of participants, entertainment of Edward Gibbon's quote, and discussion about the inception of the Scotland Slavery and Black History Project

13:40 - The participants discuss the 'othering' of Wikipedia, more about the conversations the project necessitated, and whether Wikipedia is a source or a source aggregator

33:00 - Each participant reflects on the project, detailing what they got out of it and their final thoughts

Transcript

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds.