F: Multiple presentations

Session reports by Natalia Czuba (Educational Technologist, CAPE)

'Peer mentoring for outbound exchange students to enhance student experience' by Dr. Nosheen Rachel Naseem

To read the abstract which was submitted prior to the conference please click here.



The first presentation opened by Nosheen and Athanasios explored in depth the peer mentoring project for Exchange Students. The session was heavily grounded in the theory drawing on the work of James and Bloomer (2001) and Rachel (2013) (these references are available on slide 20 of the presentation). However, the presentation also focussed on practical details of mentor training, sustaining the relationship between mentor and mentees, feedback and evaluation for this project. It was fantastic to have an insight from students taking part in the project Kaja Wisniewska and Aisha Mohamud who shared their experience and presented a unique student perspective. Both of them referred to the experience as “life changing” that helped them to develop necessary graduate skills.


'New developments in academic support: library resources' by Nick Endacott, Paul Howell and Jamie Halstead

To read the abstract which was submitted prior to the conference please click here (same as above).



 “Are we truly embedded?” Nick Endacott opened his presentation with a discussion on what is the difference between embedding and integrating information literacy and the support provided by the Learning Enhancement Team (LET) and Liaison Librarians. From this discussion we learned that embedding in this context means making the support more relevant and linked to the study materials and skills being developed whereas integration takes a more holistic approach. Nick’s presentation focused on ways in which embedding might be made more meaningful and contribute more directly to student success.

In the last presentation by Paul Howell and Jamie Halstead, two projects designed to provide seamless access to resources for students were discussed. Paul reported on the personal e-textbook project that has contributed to an increase in NSS scores for the Learning Resources category and  has also been nominated for Times Higher Eduaction Awards. In his part of the presentation he focused on the benefits of using e-textbooks and the features that can be used to enhance learning experiences and students' engagement. The analytics that can be accessed in every module can be useful source of information on when and how students engage with e-textbooks. Paul also presented a group note taking feature currently piloted on the PUB1100 module as well as new assessment methods such as quizzes and assignments available within the Revel platform.

Jamie shared his insights and good practices for using electronic reading lists that are embeddable within the My Learning system. He focused on improvements that can be made to the current processes. The most important tips shared in this presentation were for teaching teams to take ownership of reading lists to produce more engaging and interactive content that is linked to a greater extent with lecture and seminar materials. His advice was also to make the best use of resources available via the library to provide relevant and stimulating reading, viewing and listening activities that will benefit different types of learners.