TEPL Small Grant Award Project Update- LITE BITES Mobile

[Ceridwen Coulby]

Hi All,

Nancy Davies and myself were fortunate enough to receive a small grant from TEPL earlier in 2011 to create mobile apps from our series of educational CPD resources LITE BITEs.( http://www.leeds.ac.uk/medicine/prof_dev/free.html) Thank you TEPL! We are going to create a "how to make your own short educational app" guide which will be available on the TEPL website and also host a free workshop here at the University of Leeds next year- you are all welcome to attend and further details will follow shortly!

At Leeds Institute for Medical Education we have been exploring the uses of mobile technology enhanced learning for many years now. We have seen the growth in the use of smartphones, in particular, iPhones take learning in the exciting direction of app based resources. These are nuggets of software which can enable myriad learning opportunities for both our students and our staff.

 

In developing our LITE BITE staff development app though we are creating something which is visible at a national and even international level. At this point it is key to develop resources which are integrated with existing University outputs, adhering to the identity and branding already in place. It has been a challenging few months!

 

A common experience for many is that once you approach something from an institutional level the creative process becomes a mass collaborative process, stretched across numerous ‘interested’ parties. This will be a core part of the learning we will take from this experience and share with others who wish to develop their own apps.

 

Ultimately though we will end up with a more robust app, with a high quality design and the benefit of being able to trade on the recognisable name of the University of Leeds. At times it has been frustrating but it will definitely be worth it in the end!

[Dane Lukic]

Thanks for updating us Ceri. We are looking forward to hear more about the app you are developing as well as any difficulties you may have enountered while trying to make it reality.

[Ceridwen Coulby]

Actually Dane we are now up and running- anyone who wants to can now download our app onto their iPhone!

The app is called LITE BITES (Leeds Introduction To Education- Basics In Teaching and E-learning). This is a mobile version of the current free online courses on the Leeds Institute of Medical Education Professional Development website. LITE BITES are short 10 minute introductions to core teaching concepts such as reflection, feedback and small group teaching. They include information, quizzes, suggestions for use in practice and further reading. If you would like to look at these you can access them for free via our website

If you have an iPhone you can download the LITE BITE app free by searching for the University of Leeds on the app store and clicking on LITE BITES. You will need IOS 5 to download it. This is the first of the official University of Leeds apps; and we hope to produce many more! All feedback gratefully received but be gentle- its our first go!

Dane and I will set a date for the workshop on app development soon and put it up on the TEPL website