[2003]		The Learning, Teaching and Assessment Newsletter of the Faculty of Science, LJMU
Ab		stract #6.4
1849		… to be no more than 722 words.		11^th Mar 2022
Faculty of Science Teaching Awards Ceremony 2022 Academic staff gathered in the Lower James Parsons LT on Wednesday 2^nd March to celebrate our award recipients. We welcomed professional team staff, JMSU officers, SCS Faculty student reps and Phil Carey (Dean of the Teaching and Learning Academy).
^ School of Sport and Exercise Sciences L-R Dave Richardson (SPS Director), Nicola Hopkins, Ian Beattie, Katie Lane, Ian Davies, Sally Starkey, Wendy Johnston, Laura Bishop (SCS PVC), Mark Robinson
^ School of Pharmacy and biomolecular Sciences L-R Laura Bishop, Mel Russell, Francesca Giuntini, Komang Ralebitso Senior, Matt Roberts, Phil Denton (Associate Dean Education)
^ School of Biological and Environmental Sciences L-R Laura Bishop, Rodrigo De Marco, Matteo Borrini, Nicola Koyama, Jon Dick, Jason Kirby (BES Director)
	The ceremony engendered a warm, collegiate atmosphere and concluded with an uplifting address by Phil Carey. In his speech, he acknowledged the importance of teaching, celebrating teaching, and finding a comfortable cardigan. Look out for the online form when FoSTA nominations open for our 2023 awards at the end of the calendar year.
IT Services Update Julie Wynn is our IT Service Faculty Liaison and recently updated the Faculty Education Committee (FEC), four items being of particular interest: Azure Virtual Desktop is a new off campus service, due for “imminent release” as a pilot. It offers access to subject-specific software (akin to the pre-2020 Off-campus Applications).
Password policy changes: Starting this month, the minimum password minimum length will be ten characters but with no more password expiry from May.
Lecture Theatre PCs will be updated so that user profiles are retained for longer. This will mean less waiting time for OneDrive folders to load on our ‘front of house’ PCs. Until then, and if you need a file quickly, log in to office.com, browse your OneDrive to download the file you need.
Goodbye ModCat, ProdCat and HelpMe: Work on the new CourseLoop Course Information System is progressing well prior to launch next year. A replacement for the current HelpMe (helpdesk) is also being sought and promises a vastly improved experience.
	The Faculty coordinates and/or funds the purchase of teaching-related software when there are economies of scale. BioRender: Allows user to create professional science images in minutes. We recently renewed our licence until April 2023 and staff can email me to arrange access to one of our ‘seats’.
Labster: The Faculty already has a number of students licenced to use this system and the company’s website lists the simulations available. Staff have found these useful in imitating laboratory work that would otherwise present practical challenges. The simulations can also be used as preparatory resources, reducing students’ anxieties before they enter the laboratory. If you would like a free Labster trial account to explore what available then please email me. A UCL case study shows what is possible.
Seminars, training sessions and resources
Neurodiversity and hidden disability: sharing student support practices This MS Teams event takes place Tue 15th March, 1200-1300h and will provide a better understanding of the needs of these groups of students.
Student Self-Esteem in Mental Health and Wellbeing An in-person session on Wed 16th March 1530-1645h led by Dr David McIlroy, School of Psychology, and involving two former UG students who will share their insights.
The new Curriculum Design Guide is now available and is designed to help teams plan, review and design their programmes.
Referencing and EndNote A new EndNote module for Canvas (NCLIB04) has been created and is supplemented by training (search Endnote in libcal).
			The RAISE (Researching, Advancing and Inspiring Student Engagement) Partnership Special Interest Group are hosting an online session about ‘Impactful Student Partnerships’ on Wed 4th May 1600-1730h. This event is aimed at those staff who have staff:student partnership initiatives that they would like to share as good practice, as well as anyone who is curious to learn more about working with students as partners.
Peer review 2021/22 To date, over 100 Faculty staff have registered their involvement in Talking about teaching, the Faculty’s version of the LJMU peer review scheme. If you have engaged in qualifying activity then please record your participation via our online form.
Phil Denton, Faculty of Science Associate Dean (Education) Maintained by SCSADE@ljmu.ac.uk. Last Update: 11/03/2022.