1. Evaluation of the SHINE Web based student wellbeing resource
You are being invited to take part in focus group to help us to obtain feedback about the SHINE website.
Self- Help Inspiring e-resources (SHINE): Plymouth University’s Self-help Website supporting students regardless of location of study
Session G
Julie Swain1
Plymouth University Academic partnerships QA Partnerships Co-ordinator
Additional Authors: Grace Anderson2, Anne Bentley3, David Sibley4, & Sebastian Stevens5
Plymouth University provides high quality education to all students regardless of location. The widening of access to a Plymouth University award for students studying off campus students in both national and international locations has created greater pedagogic possibilities and engendered a focus on enhancing digital literacy (Plymouth University Digital Strategy ( ). However this has also created questions as to how we can best support student wellbeing over a distance.
In 2015, a partnership between Academic Partnerships, Partner College students, postgraduate research students. and the Student Counselling and Wellbeing Service was formed to develop a student inspired, accessible platform of self-help resources. With over 10,000+ Plymouth students currently studying ‘off campus’, the partnership group created SHINE, a website of Self-Help Inspiring E-resources. The SHINE website categorises student friendly content. You can watch, read, listen, find apps and useful links to the best online resources and information about mental health and well-being. Students were at the heart of this project. They scripted films, co- wrote the web content and shared their experiences of mental health issues on camera as a way to support other students facing similar issues. Students are often involved in a variety of higher education research projects as either co-researchers or participants, yet we often neglect to acknowledge the potential benefits to student learning that taking part in academic research can bring. Integral to our research has been working with students from partner colleges. Winn, (1995) argues that “practical experience is essential to the learning of research methods…and this experience should be as ‘real’ as possible”. Lecturers at partner colleges invited their student groups to take part in the research to benefit the research team in gathering data for the project, alongside exposing the students to ‘real world’ research in preparation for their own student projects. However in addition to this, the focus group was embedded within a lecture on focus group methodology. Therefore instead of simply being ‘participants’ in a focus group, these students learned about focus group methodology by ‘being’ a focus group. The research and pedagogic task were aligned to offer immersive experiential learning. Students reported enormous gains from this not only in terms of feeling more engaged with research as a discipline but the consultative aspect, aim and topic of the focus group helped them to feel a greater connectedness to Plymouth University. This workshop aims to give participants a ‘hands on’ opportunity to explore the SHINE resources and explore the pedagogic possibilities of learning through doing. The workshop will take the form of a focus group and offer an immersive experience of relating with SHINE References Beard, C. & Wilson, J. (2013) Experiential Learning: A Handbook for Education, Training and Coaching London: Kogan Page. Plymouth University Digital Strategy ( ) available from: (Accessed 08th May 2016) Winn, S. (1995) 'Learning by doing: Teaching research methods through student participation in a commissioned research project'. Studies in Higher Education, 20 (2). pp
Anne Bentley, Julie Swain, David Sibley, Sebastian Stevens, & Grace Anderson

2. What is the purpose of this session?
to use the conference workshop as a focus group.
enable participants to have a structured and guided introduction to the SHINE website
respect the participants as a useful resource to help shape and develop the resource.
enhance participants’ knowledge about SHINE
enable them to navigate it and recommend this
To enable participants to experience the resource and respond to any questions arising

3. 24/7, edgeless campus, student experience
Plymouth University Digital Strategy
Academic Partnerships Digital Strategy
Teaching, Learning & Student Experience Strategy
15,000+ students studying ‘off campus’
20 partner institutions
Since 1989, Partnership at Plymouth has grown from approximately 450 to over 15,000 students across the region, nationally and internationally (Academic Partnerships Digital Strategy, 2013).
Regional national and international growth.
On campus limitations – students as partners – edgeless campus.
Many non-campus students are unable to access campus-based wellbeing initiatives. W’e’llbeing will augment Plymouth Universities digital presence and enable Partner Institution students to access e-wellbeing sessions 24/7 and regardless of study location.
Our vision is to use technology to enable and accelerate the transformation of our institution and ensure our world class reputation for teaching, learning and research can continue into the future. We will develop our agility and resilience, to become a university that extends its reputation and presence beyond its physical campus into an ‘edgeless’ digital university
support students to appropriately choose, use and personalise technologies and digital content to suit their own needs, to be skilled users of digital information, able to act ethically, responsibility and securely in a fast-moving digital environment;
develop inclusive learning and assessment opportunities that meet the needs of diverse learners through flexible module learning and assessment options;
broaden support for learning through tutoring, peer support initiatives, learning development opportunities;
to equip students to manage their own learning and develop their understanding of life-long learning;
informed by the University Digital Strategy, and aligned with national initiatives will continue to support all staff to develop their digital literacy to ensure they can confidently and appropriately use new technologies in their teaching.
(Teaching, Learning & Student Experience Strategy 2013)
enhance the student experience by embedding digital technologies into our teaching and learning approaches and the supporting communication and administrative frameworks;
provide a digital environment that is underpinned by modern joined up systems and user-friendly services which enables collaboration , efficient working and effective management of the University
Support student and staff innovation through digital technologies that enable the creation and development of new ideas for education and research;
Develop an outstanding online presence that promotes the work and reputation of our university and enable opportunities to enhance collaboration with our partners.
(Plymouth University Strategy 2020)
Approx. 62% of PU widening participation provision is within academic partnerships
AP supports and advocates 3E Framework supporting embedding of digital technologies within students learning journeys enabling a self directed empowerment to promote students self efficacy regardless of study location.
24/7, edgeless campus, student experience

4. SSTAR Award – Best Collaborative Student Work
Best Collaborative Student Work Across the University, there are great examples of students from different courses working together to achieve a joint goal. Whether this goal is to increase learning of a sector and understand the bigger picture, or create something ama
What are the UPSU SSTAR Awards?
Each year UPSU holds the prestigious SSTAR Awards. These awards recognise the many excellent university staff members and dedicated course reps we have here at the Plymouth University.
Launched in 2011, the awards have grown year on year and are now a hugely celebrated and special event for staff and students at Plymouth University. They are an opportunity for us to say thank you to lecturers, support staff and reps for all their hard work and support, whilst highlighting exactly what students think good teaching and support is.
zing, this award is for an original student project that involves cross-course collaboration.

5. Why Focus Groups?
Focus groups can engage people who feel they would have little to contribute in an interview situation (Kitzinger, 1995)
Focus groups provide ‘rewarding learning experiences’ (Breen, 2006)
Generation and sharing ‘new ideas in a social context’ (Breen, 2006)

6. Why are we doing this?
Participation will yield useful feedback about the content and its ‘user friendliness’.
Feedback will inform the development and promotion of SHINE
Challenging a ‘top down’ model of workshop delivery, recognizing that learning is organic and multi-directional
To engender a spirit of equality and participation

7. SHINE – created by students (on and off campus), counsellors and researchers
Recently at a conference Dr Ann-Marie Houghton
Teaching Fellow, Director of REAP – endorsed the tool and is writing it into an HEA publication,
Student Grace Anderson who worked with us on the project wrote her dissertation on SHINe and got a first. Also her respondents in her research noted they preferred the SHINE resources to NHS.

8. Analytics Common areas of activity: Anxiety Academic Issues Depression
Eating Issues
Suicidal Feelings
Loss
Here are the most frequented pages through the SHINE menus monitored through google analytics. We are getting around 1300 page views per month and vear the past 4 months these areas are ranking consistently. Anxiety is clearly the highest in all months and then we have some variance in order such as some months it is depression, loss and the Academic issues and some months the other way around.
What we did se was a huge spike around exam period mid jan a huge spike increase again around academic issues and anxiety.

9. Focus group Task

10. Task 30 minutes
Explore the SHINE resource by category given and then answer the following questions:
Navigation and Ease of Use
Q1) Do you find the resource easy to navigate?
Q2) Do you find the layout and presentation user friendly, logical, clear and well organised?
Q3) Do you like the variety of media resources used to portray ‘real life’ experiences?
Enhancement of knowledge
Q4) Do you feel your knowledge has been enhanced today through using these resources?
Q5) Do you feel more aware of the online support that is available to your learners?
Q6)Do you feel you can use and embed the SHINE tool within your practice?
Raising Awareness and Sharing of Resources
Q7) How will you raise awareness to your students about this resource?
Q8) How will you share this resource with your colleagues?
Q9) Is there anything from the categories that you feel is lacking?
Q10) Would you recommend this resource to others?

11. Your Feedback

12. Feedback
Sheets

13. References
Biggs, J. & Tang, C. (2007) Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does. 3rd edn. Berkshire: Open University Press.
Breen, R. (2006) A Practical Guide to Focus-Group Research. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. Vol 30. No
Healey, M. (2005) Linking research and teaching exploring disciplinary spaces and the role of inquiry-based learning. In: Barnett, R. (Ed.) Reshaping the university: new relationships between research, scholarship and teaching. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press, pp. 30–42.
Healey, M & Jenkins, A. (2008) UC Magazine October, (Magazine of University College Union)
Healey, M, Jenkins, A & Lea, J. (2014) Developing research-based curricula in college-based higher education. Higher Education Academy
Kitzinger, J. (1995) Introducing focus groups. British medical Journal, 311,
Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential learning. New York: Prentice Hall
Murray, J. (2009) The value of learning groups to the 1st year undergraduate experience for students of early childhood. Worcester Journal of Teaching and Learning, (1): pp.1-13
Schon, D. (1983) The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in practice. Aldershot, England: Ashgate
Winn, S. (1995) 'Learning by doing: Teaching research methods through student participation in a commissioned research project'. Studies in Higher Education, 20 (2). pp