Abstracts B7-B8

Authenticity can be viewed as a ‘multi-faceted concept that includes at least four parts: being genuine, showing consistency between values and actions, relating to others in such a way to encourage their authenticity, and living a critical life’ (Cranton and Carusetta 2004:7). Mongiello (2015) refers to the relational, subjective nature of transformative learning and outlines what she refers to as subjective qualities of an online authentic relationship: support, trust, friendship, empathy and intimacy. Although authentic human interactivity lies at the heart of online learning, the technology can be utilised as an enabling tool.

The online context has potential but there are challenges in developing an affective online persona. Online educators can no longer ‘rely on sensory and expressive skills to establish and maintain relationships’ with their learners (Major 2010:184). This means their online persona has to ‘change in terms of non-verbal communication, intimacy, energy and humour’ (Coppola et al 2002:178). As educators bring their authentic persona into the online classroom they may find themselves questioning personal, social and institutional norms/expectations about what it means to be a ‘good’ educator and as a result have to reconsider the educational practices they adopt as online educators. If the aim is to create conditions for fostering transformative learning, online educators may need to understand better ‘their personal and hidden inner curricular’ and in doing so acquire a deeper understanding of the ‘more intimate and ostensible beliefs and motivations’ of what it means to be an online educator (Shockley et al 2008:198).

Based on data collected as part of a recent research project funded by the Learning and Teaching Academy (LTA) this presentation will explore the following aspects: 1) The nature of authenticity as constructed by online educators and how technology acts to promote authentic practice and 2) The ‘personal and hidden inner curricular’ of online educators and how this influences their authentic practice.

Presenters: Jacky MacMillan / Scott Connor, Educational Development Unit, UHI

Expert Panel: Professor Frank Rennie, Lews Castle College UHI and Keith Smyth, University of the Highlands and Islands

eTIPS (etextbook institutional publishing service) is an educational research project funded by Jisc as part of a wider national programme (The Institution as an etextbook publisher). The project is charged with answering such questions as “Can institutions become publishers of their own etextbooks?” and, if so, “How would they do that?” and most importantly “Why would they want to?”

To date, eTIPS has authored and published two etextbooks; How to write a research dissertation and Undertaking your research project and developed a companion website for each. A simple process for authoring and publishing has been identified as well as a series of use cases, including using ebooks to disseminate research outputs such as dissertations across the university and beyond. The eTIPS project is now in the evaluation phase and there is confidence in the simplicity of the process and the usefulness of the activity to the university, it’s staff and students.

Members of the project team (Lews Castle College, UHI, Learning and Teaching and the Educational Development Unit at UHI and Edinburgh Napier University) would like to take this opportunity to share findings with colleagues at the UHI Research Conference and take suggestions for future publications as they look to establish the eTIPS service beyond the funded period of the project.

The session aims to: 1) Introduce the project and the etextbooks which are proving useful to students who are doing research 2) Show how a university ebook publishing service could be used by research students and staff 3) Provide an overview of the authoring and publishing process and the support available 4) Gather ideas for future publications!

Copepod species of the genus Calanus (Calanus hereafter) are rice grain-sized crustaceans, distant relatives of crabs and lobsters, that occur throughout the Arctic Ocean consuming enormous quantities of microscopic algae (phytoplankton). These tiny animals represent the primary food source for many Arctic fish, seabirds and whales. During early spring they gorge on extensive seasonal blooms of diatoms, fat-rich phytoplankton that proliferate both beneath the sea ice and in the open ocean. This allows Calanus to rapidly obtain sufficient fat to survive during the many months of food scarcity during the Arctic winter. Diatoms also produce one of the main marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that Calanus require to successfully survive and reproduce in the frozen Arctic waters. Calanus seasonally migrate into deeper waters to save energy and reduce their losses to predation in an overwintering process called diapause that is fuelled entirely by carbon-rich fat (lipids). This vertical 'lipid pump' transfers vast quantities of carbon into the ocean's interior and ultimately represents the draw-down of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), an important process within the global carbon cycle. Continued global warming throughout the 21st century is expected to exert a strong influence on the timing, magnitude and spatial distribution of diatom productivity in the Arctic Ocean. Little is known about how Calanus will respond to these changes, making it difficult to understand how the wider Arctic ecosystem and its biogeochemistry will be affected by climate change.

The presentation will detail ongoing research activities by a team of national and international scientists led by the UHI partner organisation, the Scottish Association for Marine Science.