Is this going to be on the exam?

Making and Characterising Silver Nanoparticles

Michael Seery — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:15:59 +0000

Here’s a video demonstration of how to make silver nanoparticles, and change their colour easily by adding silver ion to a seed solution. Colour is monitored by UV/visible spectroscopy and some particle sizing is done by dynamic light scattering and TEM (transmission electron microscopy). This is a short overview video of a much larger interactive [...]

Using WordPress for E-Portfolios

Michael Seery — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:36:05 +0000

Overview The Resource Pack aims to show how WordPress web publishing platform (WordPress.org) can be a useful tool in creating and presenting e-portfolios. It aims to show what can be done technically to integrate various elements of an e-portfolio: the documentation of learning, conversation with peers and tutors, and presentation of the ‘product’ for assessment and/or feedback.[Jan 2012]

My experiences of teaching online: A case study

Michael Seery — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 10:26:34 +0000

My paper on taking a module that was taught in class and moved online has been published in CERP (free to access). The paper aims to share my own experiences in teaching a module online so that others considering this approach might find some information of use.

The paper is set against a [...]

Student Feedback

Michael Seery — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:19:05 +0000

One of the peculiar things about our system here is the process of student feedback. Students fill out a ridiculously long survey called a not-so-student-friendly “Q6A” for each module (and more usually for both of two lecturers in a module). This rates everything from the conditions of the room to the helpfulness of the lecturer, [...]

Class Sizes and Student Learning

Michael Seery — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:38:38 +0000

A recent discussion on an ALT email circulation raised the interesting question of whether there was a threshold for class sizes, above which student learning experience diminished. Unfortunately, what followed was lots of “in my experience” Higginbotham-esque replies (with the exception of details of an interesting internal [...]