Thinking Outside the Box’ was held in the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, on 18 March 2005. The event, jointly sponsored by the English Subject Centre and the university’s Centre for Learning Development (CLD), was organised by Brett Lucas, the Subject Centre’s Learning Technologist, and Dr Lesley Coote, of the Department of Humanities at Hull. Besides being a lecturer in English and Film Studies, Lesley is also an Associate of the CLD, and a University Teaching Fellow. The subject of the day, using ‘new media’ and film in the teaching of English literature, forms part of the remit of her teaching fellowship.
One of the main objectives of the day was to bring together a variety of practitioners, drawn from higher, further and secondary education, with an interest in using the opportunities presented by technological innovation to develop the learning and teaching experience in their subject. This was, in fact, what happened; the attendance was almost equally split between local teachers, lecturers from Hull, and higher education staff from around the country. It is extremely important that links are built between different sectors of post-16 education, as practitioners in all of these areas have much to give to one another, so time was allowed for ‘networking’. The interstices between the organised parts of the event proved both valuable and enjoyable.
The other main objective was inspiration.To this end, speakers from Hull were joined by others from around the country, in order to demonstrate the ways in which they are using ‘new media’, such as digitised materials, and technologies such as virtual learning environments (VLEs) and film, to enhance the learning experience for English literature students. After a filmed introduction and welcome by Ben Knights, Subject Centre Director, the speakers informed, inspired, and entertained their audience as follows:
- • Stuart Lee (University of Oxford) introduced ideas and methodologies for teaching the structure of poetry using film, using film for discussion and the challenging of perceptions, and as a way of deploying students’ tacit knowledge to help them understand the unfamiliar.
- • Kevin Burden and Theo Keuchel (University of Hull) spoke about the motivational aspects of digitised material, the production of scripts and storyboards in the making of films, and making interactive presentations using concept maps.
- • Gweno Williams (College of St John, York and Ripon) introduced a new DVD compiled by her students, partly funded by her National Teaching Fellowship award. Gweno discussed the issues involved in students and/or teachers producing their own media, and the formats used.
- • Beth Swan (University College, Chester) demonstrated her Dracula course, which is centred on the creative use of a VLE. She introduced some of the issues involved in the compilation and delivery of such a course, along with the benefits accruing to students, copyright and licensing issues.
- • Duco van Oostrum (University of Sheffield) also uses a VLE, in the teaching of contemporary American literature. Duco introduced several aspects of his VLE, including his innovative use of discussion boards, and his co-operative links to the university library.
- • Mary McNally (University of Derby) demonstrated different aspects of the VLE with her Shakespeare course, featuring the selection and presentation of resource materials, and their uses in making Shakespearean texts accessible to a variety of students.
- • John Regan (BBC Hull), demonstrated ways in which the BBC in the Hull area is working with teachers and groups of older students, in the production of digitised film, both moving and still. The films illustrated texts and concepts, as well as short pieces of music, and were creative tools in the understanding, as well as the illustrating, of their subjects. The local BBC wants to encourage more students to make and submit such work, as part of its community ‘remit’.
Finally, as a short codicil to the day, Lesley Coote and Brian Hoyle (University of Hull) introduced and explained their innovative use of digitised material in a VLE, and suggested ways in which these might be deployed with or without specialist equipment, in making the written text more accessible to a widening student base.
The afternoon refreshment break featured a visit to the Hull Immersive Visualisation Environment (HIVE), where Emma Smith-Howe gave a demonstration of the possibilities of three-dimensional imaging.
There were many smiling faces on leaving, and early feedback from the event reveals that the objectives were successfully met, with many of the participants being inspired to adopt or adapt the ideas they had seen. A film has been made of the proceedings,which Brett and Lesley hope to digitise and edit, both as a record of the event, and as an educational resource.
