Laura Giles
I work with academics to translate their ideas and knowledge into innovative online learning content. Over the past 6 years, I've helped to develop 17 FutureLearn courses that have run over 180 times!
Location University of Sheffield
Activity
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Laura Giles replied to Numa N
Hi everyone, many thanks for bringing this to our attention. It is interesting how much cultural norms around language can change over a relatively short amount of time. When we first developed the course in 2016, this line would not have stood out to me as offensive but reading it back now I am acutely aware that there are much better terms we could have...
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This blog has some good ideas about how to increase student participation during a webinar: https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2020/03/20/increasing-student-participation-during-zoom-synchronous-teaching-meetings/
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Laura Giles replied to John Lynskey
It is indeed @JohnLynskey, it's Tonearm Vinyl formerly in Walkley in Sheffield but now moved to Kelham Island. https://tonearmvinyl.wixsite.com/tonearmvinyl
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You could create a shared online space where you can share resources and ideas and ask eachother for help - a virtual teacher's office!
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Hi Maliha, whenever you find a resource you can't access please do comment and say which resource it is so the course team can fix it - with so many resources being shared there's bound to be one or two links that get broken!
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Great advice Jane
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I think synchronous can be quite effective, particularly in a group context. One of my colleagues does this in a distance learning course. She reviews each student’s assignment in a webinar, annotating and highlighting the document as she goes along. Students are also invited to offer their feedback. In this way individual feedback for one student benefits...
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Hi @StephenBeddows is there anything that you have learned from interacting on this course that you might try?
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You could also set up an FAQ page on whatever platform you are using (or share on a google document). Whenever you get asked a question that you think other students would benefit from knowing - add it to the FAQ. This way, you won't spend your precious time answering similar queries!
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You could use a rubric. Rubrics are scoring guidelines that provide consistency for assessing work. This webpage has some sample rubrics for various subjects and grade levels: https://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-rubrics
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You could try giving your learners a choice of activities to engage with. This way they can work on the same concepts and ideas, but at different levels of proficiency. Also links to additional readings or materials can help those learners that want to take their interest further.
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The editing features built into Google docs are really useful for giving feedback and the Google support pages are a good place to head to if you get stuck. This page explains how to add comments to google documents: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/65129?hl=en-GB&ref_topic=9045930 and this page explains how to add comments to Google forms:...
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Setting clear guidelines for participation can help - if your students know exactly what is expected of them they will be more likely to participate. This might be a percentage of their grade/mark attributed to participation in online activities. Be sure to praise those students that are active.
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If you are having technical difficulties - just be honest about it, I think students appreciate a down to earth approach. What age group are you teaching Yesha?
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Hi Maria, I think effective online learning makes sure to include moments of interaction. Discussion tools (like whatsapp, facebook or a discussion board) can help you to keep in touch with your students and well designed discussion prompts allow you to monitor their progress and engagement. Do you have any social/discussion tools available to you?
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Hi Karen, do you mean a live class like a webinar?
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How are your students accessing these slides? Often your VLE can give you statistics about who is accessing the resources. But another way you can ensure a student has understood a topic is to set a quiz afterwards. If you tell your students on the first slide that there will be a quiz to check their understanding - it may encourage them to pay attention!
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Hi Cristina, there are some great apps out there for language learning. HelloTalk (https://www.hellotalk.com) is like whatsapp but for language learners - you put in the language you're learning and you can search and start chats with people. Memrise (https://www.memrise.com) is a platform that uses spaced repetition of flashcards to increase the rate of...
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Hi Andreas. It can be tempting to turn your existing lecture into a live online class to try to imitate the experience of a classroom. However, as you pointed out, it is much harder to keep your students engaged for this length of time.
One of the positives of teaching online is we can think differently about how we 'chunk' up our teaching - we no longer...
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Laura Giles replied to Norma M
Hi Norma, thanks for your comment. I agree that the ‘Global South/Global North' division is not helpful. We are refering to societies that are technologically advanced and those that are underdeveloped - so I have edited the text accordingly. I am sorry that it caused you offence.
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Laura Giles replied to Sandra Clark
Hi Sandra, thanks for your comment. I would agree with you that ‘Global South’ is inaccurate and misleading. What we are talking about here is societies that are technologically advanced and those that are underdeveloped. I am sorry that it caused you offence and I have edited the text to remove these terms.
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Laura Giles replied to Grace Terry
Hi Grace, If you add the course to your wishlist you can be notified when new dates are announced. Just go to the course description page: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/domestic-violence and you'll find the 'Add to wishlist' under 'Start Dates' - Merry Christmas!
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Hi @SherryNRN(non-practicing) and @NanaAdjoaKonaduAttiah, have you purchased an upgrade or an unlimited membership? If you have and you still can't see the certificate make sure you have you marked over 90% of course steps as complete. You can see how many steps you have marked as complete by clicking on the 'Progress' tab.
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Hi Nana, sorry to hear you cannot access your certificate. If you click on the 'support' button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen you can let FutureLearn know about your issue and they should be able to help :)
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Laura Giles replied to Leslie S
Hi Leslie, the only difference is that the video ends with the musicians playing the song in full. We should perhaps add [SONG PLAYED IN FULL] which might make that a bit more obvious. Sorry for any confusion.
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Laura Giles replied to Ambrose Partington
Hi Ambrose, the course is not facilitated. Unfortunately, Adam has moved on from the university, however, we felt it a shame not to continue to offer the course. Hopefully, you can seek guidance and support from your peers in these discussions.
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Hi @EvaKruell The video is working at our end. Could you check the link again? If it still isn't working we can troubleshoot with you what the problem might be. Sorry for the inconvenience. :)
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Oh yes @MaryMac - my misinformation comment was not directed at Mark but rather at myself and the course team for not removing that final line at the end of the video. I'm glad you find the hangout recordings useful. You'll find links to all previous hangouts at the end of weeks 3 and 5. :)
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Hi @MarkJackson I thought Adam telling you to expect a live google hangout next week might count as misinformation!
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Hey everybody, I'm sorry to report that there are no live events planned for this run of the course. Sorry for the misinformation. This video was recorded during a previous run of the course. I'll try and get the line removed so as not to further mislead anyone.
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Laura Giles made a comment
If you live near Sheffield and would like to experience what it feels like to be detained in a police cell and go through the ‘booking-in’ process, you may like to join Dr Layla Skinns and representatives from the South Yorkshire Police on an immersive tour of a simulated police custody facility. The tour is free and will take place in Rotherham on Wednesday 7...
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Laura Giles replied to carole ludford
Hey Carole, we have refreshed the page and uploaded a new link - I hope it works for you now!
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@JackieMajor You are quite right - when we edited the image, our graphic designer mixed up some of the numbers. All fixed now!
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@JonathanCasey Thanks for your feedback Jonathan - we have updated the funnel image to reflect some of the points you raised.
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Thanks for the feedback @JamesReid. It's quite a challenge trying to source images for a course of this size but I'll certainly try to find one of the Old Bailey or the Crown Courts for next time!
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Laura Giles replied to john wakenshaw
Hi John, you can't attach files to comments I'm afraid but you could share a link? What is it you are trying to share?
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Laura Giles replied to Patric Fawcett
Hi Patric, I'm afraid I have no control over the group size - this functionality is built into the platform. I would suggest that if you're interested in collaboration, try posting a comment in your study group to find out if anyone is interested in working with you. Let me know how it goes!
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Laura Giles replied to Patric Fawcett
Hi everybody, the study groups can have a maximum of 80 learners so yes I would agree with you @PatricFawcett more of an orchestra than a band! I imagine not all members of a study group would wish to collaborate but I hope that the study group functionality will make it easier for those that do. Feel free to ask me any questions you have about study groups!
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Laura Giles replied to Joy Davis
Hi @JoyDavis and @sharonfreedman.
Whilst I can totally understand your frustration at not having access to the test I just wanted to explain the rationale behind 'Upgrading'.
This model has been introduced by FutureLearn as a way to make their business financially stable so that they can continue to provide a platform for these courses. Their research...
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Hi @BarbaravanSanten . Thanks for bringing this to our attention - we're on it!
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Laura Giles made a comment
I recently came across this TED talk and thought it would be relevant to this discussion. In this video, Jared Diamond examines the vast differences in how societies across the globe view and treat their senior citizens. https://blog.ted.com/what-its-like-to-grow-old-in-different-parts-of-the-world/
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Laura Giles replied to Philip Paulden
Hi @PhilipPaulden, @HJC and @SandraBartolomeu. I can totally understand your frustration at not having access to the tests. As Clara hinted, Upgrading has been introduced by FutureLearn as a way to make their business financially stable so that they can continue to provide a platform for these courses. Their research showed that a certificate on its own...
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Thanks Ana! The third link was a duplicate so I've deleted this now.
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Laura Giles replied to Irene Selbmann
@IreneSelbmann There is no time limit on upgrading - you can upgrade at any point before, during or after the course. To be eligible for a certificate you will need to mark 90% of the steps as complete and score an average of 70% in the end of course test.
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Thanks @HelenMaryJones and @ValDerbyshire - well spotted! I have now corrected this typo.
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Hi Celia and Mike, you raise an interesting question - should Jacky be wearing gloves to handle the materials? This is actually something that Adam and Jim will be discussing next week when they look at manuscripts. But to offer some clarity on the debate, Dr Amber Regis, Co-Director of the Sheffield Centre for Archival Practices and our guest educator in Week...
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This is really useful feedback - thanks Sandy :)
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Hi Matthew, your access will expire at midnight so you will still have Sunday 10/12/2017 to make use of the materials.
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Hi Sandy, out of interest - which steps do you think could have been combined? We try to break steps up into manageable 'chunks' of content but at the same time, we understand that steps that seem superfluous can have a negative effect on engagement with a course. I would be interested to hear what you thought could be streamlined. Many thanks, Laura.
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Laura Giles replied to Doreen Mavis Kargbo
Hi Doreen, We don't deal with the certificates here at Sheffield but the guys at FutureLearn should be able to help you. You can get in touch with them using the support tab at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
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Laura Giles replied to Arielle Silice
Hi Arielle - don't worry - your data isn't going anywhere! This is for your benefit and you do not have to share it with us. Hopefully, by monitoring your activity over the week you'll be able to see whether you meet the recommended levels of physical activity and identify times of the day where you could introduce more movement. We would love for you to share...
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Laura Giles replied to Joel Abunda
Hi Joel - thanks for bringing this to my attention - now added! Many thanks
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Laura Giles replied to Nigel J
Hi Nigel, Yes you can download the video - if you look to the bottom right hand corner beneath the video screen there are two options for downloading the video - 'standard' or 'HD' - just select the option you'd prefer and the video will download.
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Laura Giles replied to Don Key
Do feel to recommend this course to younger members of your friends and family!
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Laura Giles replied to Kathleen Anne B
Thanks Kathleen - I've amended the text - a fresh pair of eyes is always useful!
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Laura Giles replied to Sandy Kinninmonth
Hi everyone -thanks for bringing this to my attention - I have amended this now so hopefully this will avoid any further confusion.
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Laura Giles replied to Keith Etherington
Hi Keith, the course is presented in a linear format with each step building on the last but there is no reason why you cannot skip ahead to the sections that interest you most. You can use the 'to-do' list for each week to look at what's coming up - the step titles should give a good indication of what is in each step. We would encourage you to move through...
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Hi Gordon, Can you see the purple skeleton image labelled with bone, cartilage, ligaments, tendons and joints? If you click on the play icon (the white arrow in a white circle) in the centre of this image the video will start playing.
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Laura Giles replied to Don Key
It's funny that you say that Don as working on this course actually inspired us in the Online Learning Team to start using standing desks! Or rather varidesks which let you move between sitting and standing. My colleague wrote about the positive impact that this course had on him in our blog:...
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Hi Janice, I'm working on a glossary as we speak - just bear with me! I'll upload it to this step when it's done and will let you know when it's ready.
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Hi Dorothy, we have removed the music from the video. Hopefully, this is now less distracting. Thanks for your feedback.
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Laura Giles replied to Winifred ADEBOYE
Hi Winifred. You should be able to find some answers on this webpage:
But if you still have questions you can always contact the school of law.
Tel: +44 (0)114 222 6771
Email: law@sheffield.ac.ukHope this helps,
Laura
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Hi Trevor. This is really useful feedback on the course design. Unfortunately, we don't have any control over how the page is laid out but I would encourage you to feed this back to FutureLearn using the 'Support' tab at the bottom right of this page. Kind regards, Laura.
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Laura Giles replied to Kerry Richardson
Hi Kerry, unfortunately, we are unable to move the subtitles. You can turn them off by hovering your mouse over the speech bubble icon and clicking 'subtitles off'. The accompanying transcripts which appear under DOWNLOADS will also always tell you who is speaking. If you think this is an issue you could let FutureLearn know using the support tab at the bottom...
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Laura Giles replied to John G
No trouble at all John :)
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Laura Giles replied to John G
Hi John G, I have uploaded a transcript of the video for you. You'll find it under 'DOWNLOADS' below the article text.
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Good spot Cynthia! I will edit that now. We welcome pedantry round here :)
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Laura Giles replied to Daniel Ravenscroft
Yes photoshop error! I have corrected the image and reuploaded - sorry for any confusion! :)
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Laura Giles replied to Anthony Moulder
Hi Anthony - good spot - I have fixed this now. Thanks for pointing it out :)
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Hi Gillian, yes the certificate will show your average test score if the course you have taken includes tests.
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Hi Colin, you might find this website from the BBC interesting. It traces the investigation of the body on the moor. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-e8c6cbab-da44-4a3c-8f9b-c4fccd53dd24
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Hi Vivienne, yes you are right - forensic experts will be called in to help determine the identity of a victim. The CSI will assess which areas of a case should be focused on in order to determine the identity of a victim, why and how a murder happened, and who the perpetrator was. Once they have decided which areas of the case to focus on they can call in the...
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Hi Zhi Xiong Chong, there is no final assessment to this course. If you have completed the course you can buy a certificate. You'll find more information about how to do this here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/forensic-facial-reconstruction/1/certificate-of-achievement
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Hi Sheila, our mentors and educators have been responding to questions throughout the course, but with so many comments in each step these can sometimes be overlooked! We do recommend that you follow the course team so that you can easily see their comments. Each week's educators and mentors are named in the first step of the week - just click on their names...
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Hi Jacqueline, if the ability to download articles is a feature you'd be interested in - you can always suggest this to FutureLearn using the 'Support' button in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. In the mean time, you could copy the text into a word processor like Word or Google docs or right click on the screen, select print and 'save as PDF' to...
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Laura Giles replied to Suresh Vasnani
Hi Suresh, I've just uploaded the diagram. Thanks for drawing our attention to this.
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Laura Giles replied to Jeremy Singer
Hi Jeremy, good spot - thanks for bringing this to our attention. The diagram has now been uploaded.
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Laura Giles replied to Harry Cather
Hi Harry,
Thanks for the feedback. If downloads of the articles is a feature you'd be interested in, you can always let FutureLearn know by clicking 'support' in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.
You can always copy out the information into your own document, click print and 'save as PDF' or bookmark this page to return to later - you will be...
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Hi Patrick, you may be interested in this free short course ‘The Literature of the Eighteenth Century' written and presented by our very own Dr Adam Smith. The course offers an accessible introduction to the literature of the long eighteenth century and is available to download from iTunesU, a dedicated section of Apple's Music Store that features free...
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Laura Giles made a comment
We are live! Do come and join us! https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/csio1qprikua3fv3bvoptop6f18
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Hi Vasant, the hangout will be recorded so you can watch it back using the same Youtube or Hangout links above whenever is most convenient for you.
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Hi Nosifundo (and all!)
Thank-you for bringing this to our attention. Question 5 was a single answer question which had been mistakenly marked as a multiple answer question. This meant that even if you did get the answer right - you would have been told you were only partially correct. We have now voided this question so it won't be taken into account in...
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Laura Giles replied to Anthony James Murphy
Hi Anthony,
Thank-you for bringing this to our attention. Question 5 was a single answer question which had been mistakenly marked as a multiple answer question. This meant that even if you did get the answer right - you would have been told you were only partially correct. We have now voided this question so it won't be taken into account in your final...
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Hi Joan, Educator Dr Amber Regis wrote a post on this very subject over on our companion blog http://soeblog.group.shef.ac.uk/literature-of-the-english-country-house-gloves-and-the-archive/
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Hi Kenneth, I wasn't sure if you knew that the TV series is based on the memoir "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison" which documents the author's real-life experiences of imprisonment.
http://piperkerman.com/orange/bio/ -
Hi everybody, I just wanted to explain that the voices for this animation are all members of our course team here at the University. Our production assistant Chris (who has a Northern Irish accent) chose the part of the aggressor in the bar and it didn't occur to us at the time that this might be problematic. There was certainly no intention to stereotype or...
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Laura Giles replied to Helen Pearse
It was an exhibit at the National Emergency Services Museum here in Sheffield - they kindly permitted us to film some videos there :)
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Hi Michael, I just wanted to assure you that you are not expected to read any of the referenced materials - It's just good academic practice on our behalf to reference other people's ideas and research. You certainly don't need to access any of the referenced resources to fully participate in this course - everything you need is included within the course...
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The 'Price of Life' provides a fascinating overview of the healthcare decision-making process, following a decision about whether to fund the cancer drug Lenalidomide (also known as Revlimid®). We recommend this documentary to learners on our course 'Measuring and Valuing Health'. Here's a link to the film if anyone here would also like to watch it:...
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Laura Giles replied to Julie Washington
Hi Julie,
The 'upload' button is at the top of the screen, on the black bar that runs along the top of each page. When you're logged into SoundCloud, you should be able to see an 'Upload' button between the search bar and your profile image. Hope this helps.
Laura -
Laura Giles made a comment
Hi everybody, we are editing the video as we speak and will upload this as soon as we can. Thank-you for your patience! :)
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We're live now! Do join us with your songwriting questions: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/c3vka3pnrnld93cjtn5liq78geo
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Hi everybody - sorry about the misinformation. We had originally planned to film a video at the end of last week but decided to push this back so we could include reflections on the final week. I completely overlooked updating this step - please accept my apologies!
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Laura Giles replied to David Steadman
Hi David,
Here are the lyrics for Karelia with an English translation:
Virta vierii, ranta pysyy
(The flow will go on, the shores will stand)
Me menemme, te pysytte
(We will go, but you are staying)Sisariksi synnyttiiin, niinkuin muurahaiset
(We were born to be sisters, like ants)
Veljeksiksi synnyttin, niinkuin muurahaiset
(We were born to... -
Laura Giles replied to Dan Padbury
I recently came across fullfact.org through a podcast I listen to by spoken word artist Scroobius Pip, very interesting listen if anyone has an hour to fill http://tinyurl.com/hrsc6p2
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Laura Giles replied to Toby Seton
Hi Toby, we've now added a downloadable version to the page - select the link under the chart above, right-click on the chart and click 'save as...' to download. Happy noodling!
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Laura Giles replied to Lloyd Kaseke
Hi Lloyd, I will look into making these downloadable for you but just wanted to let you know that the course will remain open once it has officially "finished" so you will always be able to return to this step to refresh your memory.
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Laura Giles replied to Ian Packman
Good questions Ian. Hope I can help: 1. It goes from Walkley to the town centre (via the University of Sheffield) 2. Because we're nihilists :p
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Laura Giles replied to Louis Belasco
Absolutely Jo, the course will remain open once it has officially "finished" so you can keep returning to the materials as often as you like. :)
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You could also indicate the stressed words using capital letters. Looking forward to hearing what you come up with :)
