Talk Is Cheap (Well, Free, Actually!)

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Steven Lake

Speech Bubble, Loughborough University Arts’ spoken word open-mic night, returns this March to the Student Union.

‘Satisfy your appetite for spoken word with Loughborough’s latest open-mic night, Speech Bubble. A horde of word-hungry students will be storming the stage before a hefty helping of open-mic is served to the ravenous audience. Pudding will be prepared by performance poets, David Parkin and Mark Gwynne Jones. Save room!’

Speech Bubble is taking place in the Cognito Bar in the Students’ Union on Monday 5th March. Admission for students is free with a valid NUS card and £2 for non-students.

For further information visit Speech Bubble on Facebook or contact Lauren Westwood on 01509 222881 or l.westwood@lboro.ac.uk.

NUS Charter on Academic Support

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Steven Lake

The National Union of Students have just released a new charter addressing the provision and function of Academic support in Higher Education facilities.

Academic support is necessary for students not only in helping them complete their courses, but also for the vital role it plays in helping students develop their academic skills. The charter based on what good practice in academic support could look like, and is drawn from research from the NSS, HEFCE and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and current good practice from around the sector.

The Library is very much committed to helping provide such support, primarily through liason with our team of Academic Librarians. The workshops, online tutorials and advice sheets they provide can help you enhance your study and information literacy skills. We call these ‘Skills to Succeed’ and they can help you with all manner of activities, like revision, time management, and literature searching. Check out the Know-How page for details of these workshops and more!

Last month we also launched a new ‘Academic Practice’ module on Learn, containing 10 tutorials on a variety of topics such as ‘Using the Library’, ‘Being Aware of Plagiarism’, ‘Referencing Right’, ‘Essay writing’ and ‘Information Online’. Each unit has been designed to be attractive and informative – providing ‘bite sized’ information on a topic – with the added advantage of allowing the user to progress at their own pace.

The new charter is available for download from the NUS site here.

Visit the Library stand at the E-learning Showcase on Wednesday 1st February – Win A Kindle!

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Steven Lake

If you would like to discover how the Library can help your students further develop their academic skills, avoid being a plagiarist or undertake more effective reading to suport their studies, then visit our stands at the annual staff E-learning Showcase, E-learning Essentials on Wednesday 1st Feb from 11.00 am – 2.00 pm in Keith Green Building.

Prior registration is NOT required and a buffet lunch including hot and cold drinks – and wine – will be provided. In addition to the Library, there will be a range of stands, poster presentations and live demonstrations on other e-laerning trends, so whether you’re interested in finding about more about the ReVIEW lecture capture system, or you have a specific query about Learn, this event is for you. As you may be aware, the University is planning to migrate Learn this summer from Moodle Version 1.9 to Version 2 which is a major upgrade, so there will be colleagues from the E-learning Systems team in IT Services on hand to answer your questions and give you a sneak preview of some of the new features.

Professor Chris Linton, Provost and DVC, will be giving a welcome at 11.30. At 1pm there will be a half-hour debate on the future of e-learning in HE in the context of rising fees and student expectations. The debate will be introduced by a short ReVIEW video presentation by Jayde Savage, VP Education of the Students’ Union.

And in case the subject of this announcement caught your eye – if you come along with your business card and have it stamped by 5 or more stands, you can enter a prize draw for a new Kindle e-book reader!

Come and Meet Pudsey!

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Steven Lake

This evening the BBC hosts its annual Children In Need appeal, with televised charity spectaculars going on all over the country. And this year, the University is entertaining one such event!

The evening will be hosted by CBBC presenters Sam and Mark, who will be joined by BBC East Midlands Today reporter Anne Davies (and Pudsey the Bear!) for a night of live music and entertainment.

This five-hour free party is being held in the Sir David Wallace Building and is open to the public, with doors opening at 6pm. There will be the opportunity to meet Pudsey, buy official Children In Need merchandise and hand over money collected at fundraising events.

Music will be supplied by Loughborough’s big band Tuxedo Swing and the Derbyshire A-cappella chorus DaleDiva. BBC East Midlands Today weather presenters Sara Blizzard, Anna Church and Sally Pepper will be also perform Walking On Sunshine. Two hundred school pupils from Leicestershire will join 12 other choirs from across the country to sing Avril Lavigne’s Keep Holding On and BBC radio presenters will take part in a general knowledge quiz for the Pudsey Trophy. BBC TV will be broadcast live from the venue too!

The first Children In Need telethon was held in 1980 and raised £1 million. By contrast, the 2010 event raised a staggering sum of over £40 million through events throughout the year.

The University does its bit too! This Children In Need event will mark the culmination of this year’s fundraising activities by Loughborough Students’ RAG. Loughborough Students’ Rag is one of the biggest and best student fundraising organisations in the country – last year it raised over £1.1 million for local, national and international charities.

The Loughborough Student Charter 2011-12

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Steven Lake

The Loughborough Student Charter, 2011-2012, was created earlier this year with the input of staff, students and student representatives from across campus. Signed by both Professor Shirley Pearce, the Vice Chancellor, and Rebecca Bridger, the Loughborough Students’ Union President, this document exemplifies the sense of partnership that exists here at Loughborough University. In addition to being available in leaflet and poster form, it is also now located at www.lboro.ac.uk/studentcharter.

As the VC and LSU President note, the University Library is one of the exceptional resources that support students in their time at Loughborough. Indeed, as the document itself says, the institution commits itself to enhancing the student experience by continuing to invest in learning resources such as this, while it also adds that the students will undertake to make full and proper use of this and similar services.

Developed with Loughborough Students’ Union, this document will be reviewed annually by the University’s Learning and Teaching Committee. It is based upon the work of the Student Charter Group, which was chaired by the National Union of Students and Universities UK, with Department of Business, Innovation & Skills support.

Currently in a dissemination phase, it will be evaluated during the course of this academic year, before being reviewed ahead of 2012-13. Feedback to either Dr Maurice FitzGerald (Quality Enhancement Officer, Teaching Centre) – email m.fitzgerald@lboro.ac.uk – or to Jayde Savage, Vice President (Education), Loughborough Students’ Union – email vpeducation@lufbra.net – is very welcome.

This resource was funded through the Loughborough University Development Trust. The trust exists to support the University in giving students an outstanding quality of educational experience. It raises funds from former students and other friends of the University. Their generosity has made this support possible.

Be Careful This Summer…

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Steven Lake

Festival Ticket Scam Warning.

Students are being advised to be wary when purchasing online – as ticket scams are expected to be on the increase over the summer.

Computer forensics experts have offered important tips so that you spot potential problems and avoid becoming a victim.

Only buy from “official” websites, which are usually listed on the festival’s website.
If you are unsure about the authenticity of a website, then look for an address and contact details – which are rarely included on fraudulent websites.
Don’t be fooled by a link being on Google Ad Words, as scammers often pay for advertising.
Be wary of comments on festival websites by someone claiming they have found a site that sells tickets – as this is another ploy by scammers.

If you attempt to buy tickets from a dodgy websites, then they will not just have the cost of the tickets – but they will also have your credit card information.

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Category Archives: Student Union