Have a wonderful break when it comes, everybody

Hello to the 'Dynamic Dozen'...

Incredibly, we are now entering the final week of this year, and I am not quite sure how we got here so quickly, but we did, wow. Education may be many things, but slow paced it is not. This much we know!

So, just a final post of the year to wish you all a fantastic holiday, and a short musical offering from yours truly, which I recorded last December for a bit of fun. In fact, a year ago to the very day looking at the date stamp. Serendipity strikes again...

I wish you all a restful, well deserved and peaceful break and of course, a prosperous Ne'er.

I shall see you all again for the final push for the Communication unit, on the first day back (on campus) on Monday 9th January 2023.

Take care, everybody.

Mark

Academic Phrasebank - one to bookmark!

Hello all,

Here is the link to the resource that I discussed in the class on Monday 12th December - Academic Phrasebank | The University of Manchester

I would bookmark this, if I was you, for the future!

All the best,

Mark

Reflecting on your learning to date

Hello everybody,

I would be grateful if you could add something to the blog below, in the comments section, using the following prompts if possible. This will help tie into your own learning and the self-reflection exercise that we will be doing next week.

In what ways have you developed as a learner / individual since you started the SWAP course in August?

What have been your highlights on the Programme so far? All subjects by the way, not just Communication, but feel free to comment on my unit as well should you so wish, ha ha.

What will you do better in 2023 moving forward?

To what extent is your time management improving since you started the course? What techniques do you use, which you can share with your peers?

What do you particularly like about the SWAP STEM course you are on? 

If there is anything else you would like to write about regarding your learning journey so far, please feel free to note them. You can be critical too if you wish, but not too critical! 

Everybody is doing really well for me, and it is a real pleasure to work with you all. Performance levels and focused learning is at an all time high with this class and you should all be very proud of your endeavours so far. When we are all engaged, we can take learning (and assessment) to the next level. And that’s something we (you) sure are doing. 

See you all on Zoom next Monday at 13.30 - details to be sent on around Friday.

Take care, and I look forward to reading your comments. 

Mark

Listening assessment - TED talk

Morning all.

Here’s the link to the second assessment for the FA1W 12 Unit, Listening.

I’d respectfully ask that you don’t provide any feedback in the comments section this time please, given that it’s an assessment.

All the information has been noted in the e mail of 14/11/22 and I’ve also popped the info on Moodle for you. 

The final date for this to be passed, by e mail to me, is 12:00 on Thursday 1st December 2022. I suggest you get your draft completed answers to me by around Thursday 24th November in case there is any remediation to attend to. 

I will mark the answers in good time (around my other commitments) to provide feedback to you. All submissions will be acknowledged with a rough marking turnaround time. 

Please use the PP slides I showed you in class in my teaching and any sample answers for the practise talks we looked at together. That will help you with how you might want to formulate your answers.

Only questions 1 and 5 have word counts attached to them. 

Ofer Levy: The new science of personalized vaccines
https://www.ted.com/talks/ofer_levy_the_new_science_of_personalized_vaccines

Good luck as always, of course you must work independently and once you have finished the assessment after any remediation, I will ask you to upload to Turnitin, but that isn't for some weeks yet. You’ll be advised of that date in due course.

All the very best,

Mark 🤞

Any questions about the Listening assessment?

Afternoon, troops.

If there are any questions that you would like me to clarify for the Listening assessment starting on Monday 14th November, just let me know and I will answer them in the comments section for you.

I will send you the assessment questions by e mail and via Moodle.

The link to the TED talk will be on the blog and within the assessment paper.

You are encouraged to use my PP notes, the sample answers to the two talks we analysed in class and to watch / listen to the presentation as many times as you like, how you like.

When I am putting sample answers together this is my strategy; it might work for you?

Watch the talk, no notes.

Listen again taking notes, observing the questions which are the same generic ones that we used in class.

Think about how helpful the transcript can be for you.

Take notes, stop the talk, make comments. Scribbles, whatever.

We all process things differently, and I have been fascinated and enthused with the way you have approached the two exemplar TED talks we looked at in class. Pretty good responses I would say.

But as Fleetwood Mac might say, go your own way on this one!

Cheers,

Mark

 

So far away...

Since we made reference to this amazing song at the end of the class with our witty badinage, here is one of my favourite songs, aptly named, 'So far away...' a genuine classic!

Cheers,

Mark

TED talk two to listen to and critique for next week's class

Hello all,

Thank you for your keen attention this afternoon, another great class.

I really enjoyed your approaches to the task at hand today.

Here is the second talk (a little shorter) I would like you all to analyse before next Monday's class.

The link is seen here: Why thinking you're ugly is bad for you Meaghan Ramsey - YouTube

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this one.

See you next Monday, and well done again.

Mark

Happy Halloween!

Hello all,

See you at 1. I thought you’d like to see my themed golf trews from yesterday. I always wear flashy and colourful breeks when I’m golfing, but these ones are always reserved for the nearest game I play to Halloween! 🦇🏌🏻‍♂️🎃😂

Cheers,

Mark

Jamie Oliver TED talk

Hello all,

Further to today's class, here is the link to Jamie Oliver's TED talk.

Please use the question sheet I e mailed you (also on Moodle).

Bring your answers to class next week and we can discuss.

All the best,

Mark

Next few sessions until December break

Hello all,

As per the PP I will go over on 24/10, this is how we will roll out the next couple of assessments.

24/10 - reflect on the two assessed presentation sessions and look at Listening analysis. TED talk to look at (probably in your own time, dependent on how the session goes timewise).

31/10 - discuss answers from previous week’s TED talk and compare answers and how you can approach this assessment. Second TED talk given out with answers to be done at home.

7/11 - discuss answers from previous week’s TED talk. Thinking ahead to next week’s assessment and how we will do it (e mail then Moodle).

14/11, 21/11, 28/11 - second assessment (Listening) - this is done at home; there won’t be a Communication class running on these dates. You should manage your time as you see fit. You need to have this assessment passed by Thursday 1st December latest. 

5/12 - reflecting on Listening assessment, formal writing and research / lab report discussion / lab report assessment / any final Listening remediation as necessary.

12/12 - final class to catch up before we break for the December vacation and short updated self reflective writing exercise.

19/12 - no Communication class, lab report submission. 

Congratulations - assessment one success, part two!

Hello all,

Well done to all the presenters who were successful this afternoon with their oral presentations.

Six talks, six passes - very well done to Abbygail, Abbey, Illia, Maegan, Renee and Chris

The subjects were varied and interesting - Artemis - the next moon landing, How reading affects our brains, Climate change, Renewable energy, Adie Syndrome and Artificial Intelligence - how it is changing the world. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the talks again, just like last week for pretty much the same reasons; your input, your research, your enthusiasm and more, excellent. We even had a cheeky wee 'kahoot quiz' to consolidate our learning. Nice one, Abbey. 

For those of you who were at the session today, I would like you to comment on how you felt the session went this afternoon:

• did it go as well as you had planned?
• what did you do well?
• could you have done better?
• did you learn something about yourself and your peers?
• what did you think about the feedback etc.?

These are just pointers for you to consider. Please feel free to namecheck anybody in particular whose talk you enjoyed.

This post assessment reflection will be our starting point when we return from the October holidays.

Well done everybody and I look forward to your thoughts.

Mark

Congratulations - assessment one success, part one!

Hello all,

Well done to all the presenters who were successful this afternoon with their oral presentations.

Six talks, six passes - very well done to Scott, David, Connor, Sam, Selma and Hollie.

The subjects were varied and interesting - Optic Pathology, Physics of Sport, Evolution of Technological Displays, Eye Prosthetics, Dental Radiography (my current area of expertise!) and Black Holes.

Illia, thank you so much for coming in to get a flavour of the talks and for your positive input too.

I thoroughly enjoyed the talks, your input, your research, your enthusiasm and more, excellent. 

For those of you who were at the session today, I would like you to comment on how you felt the session went this afternoon:

• did it go as well as you had planned?
• what did you do well?
• could you have done better?
• did you learn something about yourself and your peers?
• what did you think about the feedback etc.?

These are just pointers for you to consider. Please feel free to namecheck anybody in particular whose talk you enjoyed.

Your comments will help next week's presenters. 

How I ran the session was as follows: 

Welcome to the session and the assessment, I had all the presenter's slides ready to go, the class decided on the running order (please see Connor's observations in the comments section), the presenters all delivered, with questions from me and their peers.

I advised when the 8 minutes was up as a guide to come to conclusion (5 mins is the minimum needed as per the unit descriptor, and 8 mins is the guideline for the upper limit). 

Each presenter was given two feedback sheets at the start - one was to self-reflect and the other to provide objective feedback to one presentation of their choosing. I felt this worked really well. 

I then provided my detailed feedback which today resulted in a full house of passes. It really was a very enriching session indeed. 

Thanks in advance and well done again.

Mark

Clarifying the physics of walking: For multi-legged creatures, it's a lot like slithering

 Clarifying the physics of walking: For multi-legged creatures, it's a lot like slithering (techxplore.com)

Above is a cracking wee article. What do you think?

Great video too!

https://youtu.be/KmV_idFBRaE

All the best,

Mark

Agreed presentation times

Hello all,

Below are the presentation slots for the first assessment for the Communication Unit.

You only need to come to the session where you are presenting. You will be authorised for the date where you are not presenting.

In no particular order, you will choose on the day...

Monday 3rd October at 13:00 - Sam, Selma, David, Connor, Scott and Hollie

Monday 10th October at 13:00 - Illia, Abdulfetah, Abbey, Maegan, Renee, Abbygail and Chris

Please remember to e mail me your slides in good time and it is always a good idea to print your slides off too!

All the best,

Mark

A list of possible presentation topics for you to consider

Here is a list of topics that students researched and presented on in the last SWAP STEM class I taught.

Remember, it is 5 minutes minimum, and likely to be no more than 8 minutes.

You should all have an idea what you would like to present on, by the time we meet on Monday, after your SWAP session with Kenny.

Possible subjects, merely a guide to give you some inspiration!

star formation

quantum singularity

deforestation

nuclear power

space exploration

Black Hole

Chernobyl

plastic pollution

importance of eye testing

refraction of light in lenses

quantum mechanics

evolution of prosthetics

eye anatomy and function

Human Physics

radiotherapy

climate change

renewable energy

macular degeneration

fertilisation

I would like you all to post (in the comments section below) the topic you have chosen to research and deliver your 5 minute talk on by the end of today's class (12/9/22).

Do schools kill creativity? TED talk worth watching

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity? | TED Talk

Scott mentioned the wonderful TED talk from the late, great Sir Ken Robinson in class yesterday.

Please click on the link above and if you have any comments about the content, delivery etc., please note them in the comments at the bottom of this post. 

I think we might tackle Listening after you have done your presentation assessments, as there is a neat link to analysing and structure evaluating.

Let me know what you think!

All the best,

Mark

Footnote - this is worth a read, as per my comments below: 

https://www.bigissue.com/culture/books/ken-robinson-a-masterclass-in-how-to-live/?fbclid=IwAR1_L71z_HLVOPJZB0YrtTQhF862GseFcNEGhMq44lW9ZfuFfvFaEz-_mRU

Moral Dilemmas Session

Hello all,

Today we looked at three moral dilemmas that I gave to you, defined what they are, and then you broke them all down offering possible answers to the scenarios posed to you.

I thought this part of the lesson was particularly effective personally, for lots of reasons. 

So, a few questions.

1. How did you enjoy the moral dilemmas part of the class?

2. Listening to other groups were you persuaded to think differently?

3. What academic / communication skills were you using / developing today?

I look forward to your thoughts. As always, just be honest in your appraisal and anything goes!

Mark

Reminder of new room for Communication - F16

All the best,

Mark

Researchers crack an enduring physics enigma

Researchers crack an enduring physics enigma

Morning everybody, 

I came across this link, above, and wondered what you scientists thought about this? I am no physicist, so on this occasion I am unable to bring any sensible chat to the debate, but some of you might, so here is your chance to flex on the blog!

I AM however, always interested in how research can help develop solutions or solve age old puzzles, so that side of things I can gladly get on board with.

Please note any comments below, using Google Chrome.

See you all at 1pm, in room F16.

Best,

Mark

Moodle page for this Unit

Hello everybody,

I have started to add a few things onto our Moodle page. If you click on the photo at the bottom of this post, it is actually pretty clear.

You will see we are right at the bottom, so keep scrolling down and you will see the info there - with a handy and easy to follow header for you (and me!)

I will add files from each teaching class we have, pop some exemplar pieces of work there, and the dropboxes as and when we need them.

It all takes a bit of time to get used to, so please don't feel overwhelmed. I assure you, it all fits into place sooner rather than later, honest!

Mark

Two interesting articles worthy of some comment

Morning all,

I am feeling better each day and thought I would pop a few articles on our blog for you to read. Please do, when you have a moment to do so.

One is about dogs and the other is about space travel. Diverse, well written, short, both could be of interest to you.

Article one - 'Dogs can cry...home' - Dogs can cry when owners come home, study suggests - BBC News

Article two - 'NASA ready to...Moon exploration' - Artemis: Nasa ready to launch new era of Moon exploration - BBC News

Please make some comment about either or both articles in the comments section below. What do you think? Do you agree with article one? Do you like the idea of Moon travel in article two? Whatever you think, just write away.

Remember, please use Google Chrome to do so, as that seems to yield the best results.

If you are commenting as 'anonymous', please get into the habit of saying who you are, so I can respond to you by name wherever possible.

See you next Monday at 1pm, in our new room - F16. 

All the best,

Mark

Man down - Covid!

Hello all,

It’s only Thursday and I’ve got Covid, can’t believe it!

Thank you for those of you who have already sent me your unassessed reflective writing in, really good stuff too it is. I’ve replied to some and when I’m feeling better I’ll provide feedback to all.

If you could please e mail me the writing I’d be grateful. I won’t be in on Monday, so it’s likely the class will be cancelled, but either Sinead or Derek will clarify that. That was my recommendation. Cancel and pick up the following Monday.

I tested negative on Monday, just for clarity. 

See you in two weeks,

Mark

Are we falling in love with robots?

Who doesn't love robots?

Here is an interesting article I sourced. What do you think about this? The link is below.

Are we falling in love with robots? - BBC News

All the best,

Mark

Thank you for your contribution - some feedback please by Monday 29th August

Hello all,

I thoroughly enjoyed the first session yesterday, a really rewarding experience I thought.

The information I discussed (what the unit is and the weekly plans until early November) are on the Moodle for you, at the bottom of the page, please scroll down!

I have a good feeling about the group and as I said in the session, working together and supporting each other is so important.

Don't be freaked out about the assessments either, we have plenty time. 

See you all next week at 1 (new venue to be advised).

Please note down any comments about the first session here, any thoughts about the unit, questions etc., it's all good communication for sure, good, bad or indifferent! Getting used to being confident and working WITH the blog is key. But use Google Chrome and sign into the blog might help too. 

All the best,

Mark

Teaching schedule - first part of the unit

 

SWAP Access Radiography / Optometry / Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

Communication (NC) FA1W 12

Teaching timetable for early part of the Unit (2022-23 session)

22/8 - What the Unit entails, getting to know each other, showcasing our class blog.

 

29/8 – Moral dilemmas, what is communication? Communication and ‘Sciences’. short reflective writing exercise given out (unassessed).

 

5/9 – Effective and ineffective presentation delivery, sharing experiences / Effective PowerPoint use.

 

12/9 – Looking at assessment brief, possible subject areas (related to the subject of Radiography, Optometry and Science). Looking at PP examples from a former class.

 

19/9 – using research tools effectively, firming up presentation titles and agreeing when everybody will deliver their individual talks. The class will be split up into two groups as agreed by you so that there is an ‘audience’ as well as me, but the assessment is individual delivery (minimum 5 minutes). Work on PP slides and research.

 

26/9 - HOLIDAY

 

3/10 and 10/10 – research for presentation. Everybody should send me their PP slides at least two days before delivery.

17/10 – HOLIDAY

 

24/10, 31/10  - presentation assessments – the dates and times will be posted on the blog and e mailed to everybody too.

 

7/11 – reflection on the presentation assessment and a look at writing skills – report writing. Anybody who has not delivered / passed the presentation by this date will be given an opportunity to delivery their vocationally relevant talk.

Self-care - what is it really?

This is a great TED talk. Have a look at this please and make a comment in the section below.

What do you think of this advice?

Try and use Google Chrome to note your feedback. There is no right or wrong response.

Go on, have a go!

Mark