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The Presentation I gave at the ADSHE Conference 2010. Outlining the design, production and impact of the Access to Study Skills presentations
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www.le.ac.uk/accessability
AccessAbility Centre
Access to Study SkillsOnline Study Guides
Claire Graham and Matthew Mobbs
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
BackgroundAccessAbility Centre offers:
• Face-to-face study support for students with Specific Learning Difficulties
• 4 Study Advisers offering 6 hour long appointments per day
• 591 students with splds registered with Centre
University of Leicester
• 22,048 students in total
• 8,651 (39%) distance learners
• Only 27 distance learners with splds registered with Centre
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
New ApproachTo engage and support DL students and a new approach for campus based
• 10 Online Study Guides
• Designed based on most frequently requested study support sessions
• Multisensory approach was essential. – Visuals – colour, images and subtitles
– Audio – Voice over
– Kinaesthetic – Interactivity
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
The GuidesWriting an Essay 376 hits
Active Reading 280
Exam Skills 212
Improving Concentration 208
Writing a Dissertation 188
Time Management and Organisation 181
Spelling Strategies 174
Note Taking Skills 162
Improving Memory 144
Making Notes 98
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
How they were made
PowerPoint
Adobe Presenter
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
How they were made
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
How they were made
Adobe Presenter• PowerPoint Plugin• Combine Audio and visuals• Published to the Web
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Alternative Free Tools
www.screenr.com
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Alternative Free Tools
www.slideshare.net
http://www.slideshare.net/uolssds/writing-an-essay
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Raising Awareness• Cards - posters
• Web
• Bb
• YouTube
• Podcasts
• Course Handbooks
• Direct mailing to distance learners
• Email to all dyslexic students
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Feedback• Feedback gathered in a variety of ways
• Students have been positive about the resources:
• appreciating different elements of the delivery depending on learning styles;
• using the guides in a variety of ways, ie.
1) when it was difficult to get a face to face session,
2) to prepare for a meeting with a Study Adviser,
3) as consolidation after a study advice session.
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Feedback• Some students viewed the guides a number of times.
• They appreciated being able to access the support 24/7.
Comments included:
‘I liked the ‘Improving Memory’ one in particular: they had a sort of practical memory test right there and then. You can see that it actually works; and it stayed in my memory for longer…’
‘…it’s nice to have this preliminary stuff done and out of the way so you can really concentrate on a specific area…You’ve built on something so when you get to the study adviser she can push you further’.
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Feedback – Points for improvement• Students didn’t like the fact that the text that mirrored the
audio input was very small and in Times New Roman. There is no ability to change this on Adobe Connect.
• Some students wanted to be able to skip whole sections of the presentation.
• Students wanted more control over the pacing of the material.
• Some students wanted more examples.
• It was suggested that more in-depth presentations follow on from these ‘short intro’ guides
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Future Developments• Study guides to be signposted to every student booking
a study advice session
• iTunes U
• One to one study advice sessions to be offered remotely using adobe connect.
www.le.ac.uk/accessability
Examples of study guides• Improving Memory
http://connect.le.ac.uk/memory
• Essay Writing
http://connect.le.ac.uk/essaywriting