Learning about Endnote

I am sat in a computer aided learning (CAL) session which is designed to teach RVC 4th year students how to use Endnote software. The session so far has been informative and a good refresher on just how fabulous Endnote is when you are writing academic reports or essays. However, the delivery was a little muddled and on more than one occasion I found my mind wandering to other things. To be perfectly honest, I think this is more of a failing on my part than it is on part of the instructor who has tried very hard to get the key points across.

Lots of the yeargroup haven't bothered to come to any of these self-help research sessions. When they reach their research rotations block there will be much wailing, moaning and ganshing of teeth about how little help has been provided to them with their project. Once again this will be a case of the help being there and the students failing to take advantage of it, but perhaps that is just the view of a jaded graduate student who doesn't turn down free help with anything anymore. That was a valuable lesson learned on the last degree.

Whether the failing is on the part of the student for not attending, or on the part of the college for not pitching these sessions quite right (too slow and boring or too quick and impossible to follow... it needs to be just right like baby bear's porridge) there is a tangible improvement from the first sessions of these sort I attended. Improvement is not to be sniffed at and I hope that the RVC continues to listen to student feedback and make more positive changes. I feel like this is leading me onto a fairly serious rant about increasing student numbers, class sizes and the detrimental effects this has on small group learning, but I will save that for another time.