Learning Central How-To Video Demonstrations

Cardiff Player now hosts a range of how-to video tutorials, including administering basic tasks in Learning Central. Here is an example:

Loading Video Player....

Current titles include the following themes:

• Creating folders (Example above)
• Inserting audio
• Uploading and image
• Uploading a document
• Adding files to the content collection
• Embedding Flickr images
• Embedding YouTube videos

The list is being continually updated so check Cardiff Player (Martin Close) for new titles.

The Clinical Skills Centre

About the Clinical Skills Centre
The Clinical Skills Centre is located on the third floor of the Cochrane building, on the Heath Park Campus. The skills centre is equipped with realistic, anatomically correct models to assist in the teaching and practise of a wide range of procedural clinical skills. Teaching currently takes place in Year 2, and Year 3, with a range of practical skills being taught in a relaxed and student centred approach to learning. Small groups of students are led by experienced tutors, many from the Department of Anaesthetics and Intensive Care Medicine, and formatively assessed following the practical element of the session.

Self-directed Study
Students are required to access on line e-learning modules prior to attending timetables clinical skills teaching. These attractive, easy to follow modules provide key theoretical components of the clinical procedure, prior to the student attending the practical session. The e-learning modules are found within the ‘Clinical Skills Resources’ section of Learning Central (requires login).

Clinical Skills Modules

Revision Sessions
Revision sessions are often made available to students. These sessions are particularly useful to students approaching exams, or for those who may require a little more time to practise a skill, before attempting a supervised procedure in the Clinical setting. Access to the self booking system for revision sessions is found within the ‘Clinical Skills’ section of Learning Central. Dates will be posted nearer exam time, or when enough students request a session. We are currently in the process of setting up a Self-Directed clinical skills area in Ty Dewi Sant.

Please e-mail clinical skills manager/tutor Sian Williams if you require further information.

< About Sian Williams

Links
CETL Clinical Skills Video Tutorials
Clinical Skills Online (St. George's University)

Clinical Skills Laboratories Health and Safety Brief
Year 2 Student guide to Practical Skills Teaching 2011-2012
Year 3 Student guide to Practical Skills Teaching 2011-2012

Questionmark Perception (QMP)

Information Services provide a centrally supported Questionmark Perception service available for formative assessments. The system is available via Learning Central through the Blackboard Connector, or through the systems own web interface.

At present the undergraduate medical curriculum makes no use of this service, but it is expected that the new curriculum will make extensive use of online assessment, and QMP will likely be the system used.

At present it is necessary to contact Information Services prior to running an assessment through QMP to ensure QMP has the necessary capacity (current licensing restricts the number of concurrent users on the system) when the assessment is run.

Enhancing Content Accessibility

MEDIC e-learning are to invest in a resources upgrade enabling the access to module content from platforms such as the iPad. The increased use of non-Adobe Flash enabled devices means focus has been directed on adapting development whilst maintaining the level of interactivity previously only possible through use of the Adobe Flash Player plugin. Students using the self directed learning area in the new Cochrane building have been making extensive use of the Clinical Skills modules for OSCE revision, with many frequently using iPads to do so.

CORTEX Self-Directed Learning

CORTEX will gradually catalogue all existing self-paced and virtual patient modules. Existing modules and tutorials are currently located within Cardiff Learning Central and linked to within specific year groups and enrolled programmes of study. CORTEX intends to make these more widely available and searchable by their keywords within this site, for example, specific learning objectives or subject areas. The e-learning team welcome all comments and opinions on this activity.

Learning Central (Blackboard)

Access to Blackboard is via http://cue.cf.ac.uk. To login to Blackboard simply use your Cardiff University username and password.

Note: Being able to log into Blackboard does not mean you have been granted permission to see any of the content modules within Blackboard. Refer to the information below for advice on how to get access to the modules you think you should be able to see.

Enrollment on Blackboard Modules

Student Enrollments
Student enrollments are handled via the University’s student management system, SIMS. SIMS is used by Registry to track all student data, including the courses and modules they are enrolled on and their status on that course (including information about tuition fees). If students do not have access to their appropriate modules, the first point of contact should be Registry to check the student details within SIMS.

Staff Enrollments
Staff access to the School of Medicine’s Blackboard modules can be granted by the School’s local Blackboard administrators.

To request access to a module, please email the medic IT team with full details of the module you require access to (including the full module code and module title) along with your Cardiff University username.

Please note we cannot provide access to another School’s modules – this must be done by their local Blackboard administrator.

Access for NHS Staff

Access for External Examiners
External examiners are entitled to access Blackboard, and will need a Cardiff University user name and password to do so. Under normal circumstances Registry will arrange login details for all external examiners.

To request access to specific Blackboard modules, use the procedure outlined above Staff Enrolments, providing the IT Team with the examiner’s user name.

In the event the examiner has not been issued with a user name and password by Registry, you should email medicIT@cardiff.ac.uk and explain that you require access for an examiner who has not received a user name and password. You should provide the name and contact details for the external examiner as well as details of the Blackboard modules they will require access to. The School’s IT Team will issue a user name and password and enrol the new account on the appropriate Blackboard modules.

Note: external examiners will only be granted student-level access to Blackboard modules unless further access is expressly requested by the module leader.
Temporary Accounts

The eLearning Team have a number of temporary accounts available that can can be loaned out to other members of staff to use as test accounts. This may be particularly useful if you need to review a Blackboard module (and activities) from a student’s perspective. Similarly accounts can be loaned out to guest users on a temporary basis.

To request a temporary account please email the medic e-learning team.