Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer and Director of Teaching, Learning and Quality Assurance, has created a YouTube channel with study guides for online learning.
Specht runs the Study Skills module for all MA students at Harrow Campus and has done so for a number of years, growing it from an attendance of around 20 to 200.
Specht was asked if he could make a few videos for the pre-sessional English class, and thought that making the videos also work for the MA Study Skills module and keeping things online throughout the year would be beneficial for all. Specht uploaded the videos to YouTube to be a more widely available resource to use elsewhere outside of the University.
The Westminster School of Media and Communications also works with the University’s Outreach Team to get Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) resources out to as many schools and home schoolers as possible. The EPQ is a stand-alone qualification equivalent to half of an A-level and encourages students to undertake a research project on a topic of their choice. Specht, Ellen Roseblade and two Academic Liaison Librarians, Eleri Kyffin and Sara Hafeez, form the EPQ team, where they ensure suitability of these resources for post-16 education, including open access resources and interactive classroom activities.
The videos Specht has uploaded so far include ‘Getting the most from online learning’, ‘The art of listening’, ‘Managing your time at University’ and ‘Preparing for online lectures’.
In 2019, Specht published his book ‘The Media and Communications Study Skills Student Guide’, which gives tips, ideas, and advice to students in Media and Communications. The book is available at the University of Westminster Press website.
Specht said about the channel: “I think having the skills to learn are something that should really be available for all, through the open access book and through free videos. Working with University of Westminster Press and through setting up the YouTube channel, I am hoping that we can support many more students both in our University and beyond.”
