Monthly Archives: April 2011

Words I don't like 1: Training

April 27, 2011research, teaching, training, Words I don't liketeaching, trainingjohn

There are quite a few words I don’t like when talking about educational development. ‘Training’ is among these words. Why do lecturers ‘teach’, but educational developers ‘train’? Why is somebody who teaches students a lecturer or a teacher, but anyone who teaches lecturers is deemed to be training rather than teaching?

The difference may seem insignificant to some but I passionately believe that higher education is a valid and legitimate field of study and there is no difference between those who teach and research about higher education and the things that go on in universities and those who teach and research about sociology, physics and nursing. This is why I like to see educational developers have job titles which indicate this (Lecturer/ Senior Lecturer. Professor etc.)

What will students get for £9,000? We all need to think about it.

April 13, 2011Uncategorizedjohn

£9,000 a year for what? Languages and area studies under the new fees regime in England, 20 May, London

Most universities have declared that they will be charging the full £9,000 p.a. fee. Quite rightly students are asking what they will get for their £9,000—the argument that this fee is merely compensating for cuts in university funding is not going to go down too well. Students often say they would expect more contact time with staff (they say this now), but what sort of contact time? And what about the year abroad—how do we sell a four year course which may or may not incur an extra year of fees? These are questions which all university staff need to think very hard about.

This discussion-based workshop will focus on the possible implications for the new fees for students and potential students of languages and area studies.

Further details online at www.llas.ac.uk/events

"Still learning" because I'm still learning

April 11, 2011Uncategorizedjohn

For some time now I have been trying to come up with an appropriate sub-heading for my website. For now I have gone with "still learning" because I am still learning.

Transition to university in modern languages

April 11, 2011languages, school, transition to HEresearchjohn

The article Angela and I wrote together has now been published in Arts and Humanities in Higher Education.

The full reference:

Angela Gallagher-Brett and John Canning, “Disciplinary disjunctures in the transition from secondary school to higher education study of modern foreign languages,” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 10, no. 2 (April 1, 2011): 171 -188.

Modifying the Discover American Studies CD

April 5, 2011American Studies, youtubejohn

It was always the intention that the Discover American Studies CD could be modified. Academics and others involved in student recuitment could add in their own slides, delete slides, add logos etc. in order to promote their own American Studies courses.

However, in practice you do need to be able to find the files in the first place to be able to modify them. Today I set up a youtube account and made a video using BB Flashback Express recorder (a screen recorder which is available for free download) in order to show how to access the powerpoint files so they can be modified.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEg3YUQrJz4&hl=en&fs=1]

Was the 2011 census piloted?

April 1, 20112011 UK Census, questionnaire design2011 censusjohn

One-year old Elijah refused to give a coherent answer to the national identity question. He was also vague about his religious beliefs. I put him down as speaking English even though he does not say very much. Noting this on my facebook page, I discovered that other parents had similar problems. To the question "Where were you living twelve months ago" one friend claimed to have written, on behalf of his six month old son, "In my mother's womb".