The honest answer to this question is, ‘it depends’. A good NILE site will de different depending on your subject, mode of delivery, level of delivery, and various other factors. As you’d expect, as much as possible we like to avoid the idea that a one-size-fits-all approach is possible to learning design. However, what is sometimes useful when trying to come up with ideas for things to do in NILE is to look at what other people have been doing. To make this easier, we have collected together a few sites which we feel are quite interesting, and have made them available as self-enrol (and self-unenrol) NILE organisations.
If you’d like to have a look at any of these sites, just do the following:
1. Log in to NILE
2. Click on the ‘Sites and Organisations’ tab
3. Search in the ‘Organisation Search’ box for either, LTC, SSAS, PSAS, CRIT101
4. Enrol on the site
Currently there are four NILE sites available as self-enrol organisations. These are:
• Let’s Teach Computing (LTC)
• Study Skills for Academic Success (SSAS)
• Postgraduate Skills for Academic Success (PSAS)
• Critical Thinking – A Practical Introduction (CRIT101)
If you’ve got a good NILE site and would like to make it available as a self-enrol organisation please get in touch with us at: LD@northampton.ac.uk
And finally, if you think that you’ve got a great NILE site, you might like to enter it for a Blackboard Exemplary Course Award: http://blackboard.com/ecp
It is interesting to know that there are some examples of websites we can look at. However, i am confused as to why there is a need for a PSAS at all when, i believe, we teach research methods to our students doing a PG degree. Is this giving the students the impression that what they learn in their lessons is not as good as they should expect? Why don’t we organise a NILE sites jamboree? Each presenter has 15 minutes to show their website and explain the thinking behind it. Then those who attend have time to look at the sites and choose the one/s they think work best. We can have academics, students and members of the professional services as judges.
Thanks for your comments Cristina. The PSAS is run as a pre-enrolment MOOC for students wanting to develop skills and confidence before starting a PG degree. I really like your NILE sites jamboree idea – I think that’s something that could work well. I shall see what I can do.