Postgraduateled solutions: DPhil in the Virtual Environment

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Postgraduate-led solutions DPhil in the Virtual
Environment

• Lucy Robinson
• Rebecca Searle

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What is histsyd?

• Research on VLEs looks at elearning as a
  replacement for face-to-face. (undergrad and
  taught programmes). They have to have a point.
• Space to introduce yourself.
• Noticeboards
• Collaborative writing
• Follow ups to workshops and training
• Responses to research seminars.
• History Dphil Rep
• Blogs training, research seminars.
• Outsiders CDEC, Library, Inqbate

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QAA Codes of Practice

• 5 Appropriate environments for post graduate
  research
• Opportunities for students to develop peer
  support networks where issues or problems can be
  discussed informally
• An emphasis on the desirability of developing
  research-related skills that contribute to the
  student's ability to complete the programme
  successfully
• 18 Institutions will provide research students
  with appropriate opportunities for personal and
  professional development.

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Use and development

• Goals
• To build a stronger sense of community between
  history Dphils across fields and geographical
  locations
• To particularly help part time, collaborative,
  and distance Dphils engage with their peers and
  immediate academic community
• To ensure that the post-graduate events are
  embedded in the structures of the History Dphil
  experience, and sustainable.
• To facilitate Dphils developing the necessary
  skills to move beyond their own research
  experience.
• To collectivise what is essentially an individual
  experience
• Evaluation
• Initial use viewing and down loading (trend)
• Rapid change (wikis, new topics)

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Numbers - 24/32 Dphil students
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Building a community distance learning, part
time study, CDAs

• Retention isolation.
• Part-time study patterns.
• Used by Dphil students currently working/living
  in Germany, Japan and the United States
• this forum has been useful for me to keep tabs
  on what's going on in the history department,
  even though I am not wholly based there. (Joint
  Media and History Part-time Dphil)
• Collaborative Dphil Awards Doing a Dphil can be
  incredibly isolating, particularly during times
  when you are not coming on to campus. Hist-syd is
  a great way to keep in touch with everyone and
  keep up to date with whats happening in the
  department.

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Virtually permanent structures

• University of Sussex Journal of Contemporary
  History
• Grant applications (War, Representation and
  Documentary)
• Accessing the postgrad community (CDEC, Library
  research provision)
• Skills and Training, at Sussex and elsewhere.
  Elearning and Nettiquette

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Flexible responses to changing needs

• The Viva.
• Post-doc
• The Future Instant messaging, reviews

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Discussion

• How would a Dphil VLE work in your department?
• Come up with a syd topic that you would have
  benefited from in your own post-grad experience.
• What subject specific issues might there be in
  a Dphil VLE in your field?