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Newsletters: January 2024

CELT Newsletter - January 2024

Welcome to the CELT newsletter for January 2024.. In this newsletter we provide you with an update on:

Our new website

Over the last few months, we have redeveloped our website to make it easier for you to find the guidance you might need to support you in enhancing your practice. All of the same material is available to you, and we have made it easier to access specific guidance, for example for PAC and the effective use if Brightspace and other learning tools by locating it in the University's CPD Hub for staff. You can find out more about our work, CPD, course design, access and participation, Brightspace and the student experience and engagement team from our homepage

Module health checks

Every year, the Learning Design team complete module health checks of Brightspace modules. This helps them to understand how Brightspace is being used, what tools seem to work best for your learning and teaching needs, and how well students interact with the different elements of a module. The team also keeps track of whether Brightspace modules meet or exceed the Brightspace standards, or exemplar module rubric as set out in the Course Design Blueprint and which module teams may need additional support to increase accessibility and layout approaches for the best student experience. 

One of the key priorities for this and next academic year is accessibility. We want every student to have the best possible learning experience, regardless of any additional needs or tools used to enable engagement and completion of students.The team has identified a number of areas where modules may typically not be compliant with WCAG Accessibility regulations. Workshops are available with bespoke support offered to review the accessibility of your modules. 

Learning and Teaching Forum

The Learning and Teaching Forum is a half day event, and this year is held on January 10th, The Forum focuses on the University's Access and Participation Agenda and this year also includes opportunities to discuss the development of the new Access and Participation Plan, which has to be submitted to Office for Students in the summer, our targets and possible interventions. You can sign up for the event in the University's Staff Development calendar.

Development pathways

We are pleased to announce more CPD workshops and development opportunities to help to enhance your academic practice. The CELT CPD programme has been strategically aligned to support and challenge staff involved in different aspects of the student learning journey and we have now added a pathway geared towards Apprenticeship delivery which complements the offer available to all staff, and via the pathways for module leaders and course leaders. 

The CPD menu and pathways detail the variety of professional learning opportunities facilitated by CELT colleagues, so please do take a moment to review the offer, and how they might support you. The CELT CPD is published as part of the University's Staff Development Calendar which we have included below. If there is anything you would like to see added, please do let us know. 

 

The University of Suffolk Staff Development Calendar