Student Union

At work again this week because I'm scheduled for introduction to equine rotations track next week. The feedback from the others seems fairly positive. I'm not complaining one little bit; interval training my way back into using my brain suits me just fine.

Last night we had the first Hawkshead SU council meeting. There are many things discussed at these meetings, some are trivial, some are fascinating, some are dull and some controversial. Funnily enough, the latter usually centers around money. The main thing I take away from these meetings (aside from a list of action points) is a real sense of community and a love for the RVC as an institution. I often hear muttered grumbles about the SU and the decisions they make on behalf of the student body; much like national political parties, I really feel you can't complain unless you are involved and giving feedback. We can only represent you if you tell us what you think, so please do tell us what you think!

The great Moodle migration.

The college is making the move from the Blackboard learning environment to Moodle this year. The whole process is pretty arduous because resistance to change is always rife amongst the staff and students; it is easier for most people to follow the path of least resistance and a migration to Moodle doesn't fall under that category. 

The RVC is right at the forefront when it comes to developing online learning materials. Most of our lectures are recorded with Echo 360 software which allows students to review both the accompanying power point and audio lecture at home. In addition to this there are online multiple choice questions to test yourself and numerous computer aided learning (CAL) programs to accompany specific material. These are designed to encourage students to go hunting around a subject and increase their breadth of knowledge. These have evolved over my six years at the RVC and get better and better as more students feed back to the staff; the CAL materials aren't universally loved though and many students would prefer all the material to be lectured in a more spoon-fed format. Whatever course you are interested in, I can't emphasise enough the importance of considering the programme structure and methods of teaching when you are choosing your university. If the teaching methods don't suit your individual needs you're fighting an uphill battle from the start.

Anyhow, I digress. The task of migrating the material has already begun and I am joining the effort. I need to start wrangling with Respondus to get the job done; I'd rather wrangle with Dreamweaver any day and that's really saying something. 

This just about sums today up.

Say hello!

I haven't really been able to get myself into any rotations notes yet because we are still not started back. I'm trying to distract myself with work in the meantime before any hint of boredom sets in. If you happen to drop by the blog please introduce yourself and say hello; I don't bite, honest!

I currently have a student from France staying with me and she is taking a rotation in the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals over the Christmas holidays with the oncology unit. Today she had a few consults with a lymphoma patient and she has seen several dogs receiving chemotherapy for mast cell tumours. She really enjoys the research side of veterinary work and is considering pursuing a masters in her last year of the course. I think that's really nifty. In England there isn't much love amongst the students for those choosing to pursue a career in research; it seems to me that this is largely due to the fierce competition for places and that research is seen as 'taking a place from someone who really wanted to be a vet'. It's sad, but true, that most of the people who make this argument are only doing so to convince themselves that they still really want to be a vet. A large proportion of my colleagues definitely did not arrive here to be a vet; it is more that this is where they ended up and now they have to make the best of a bad situation.

I would very much like to work for some time in France and having Emilie with me has meant my out of practice French took a bit of a bashing last night. However, it is only by practice you can improve so once more into the breach I stroll... 

Does anyone ever look forward to stats?

Christmas day stroll along the front with my family.

Happy New year! I am sorry that I left things hanging a little two weeks ago. Now I have returned from deepest, darkest France and bonny Hastings I can happily report that I am not dead, I did pass and for the time being a state of normality has resumed. It has been a lovely two weeks without the constant pressure of having to revise, but it did take a few days for my brain to catch on and relax. I'm back on campus now doing some work before term starts again next week. Despite my best efforts I have spent more money than I should have and I need to try and undo the damage!

We start rotations proper on the 13th of February, but we have a few weeks of clinical problem solving and some lectures on how to go about our research projects with something resembling professionalism. I think it may be a little dull, but at least it's a nice gentle introduction. I am not looking forwards to stats. Does anyone ever look forward to stats?

Until next time.