Education Space Consultancy

Providing expert timetable and space management consultancy services within the education sector

Should Timetabling And Social Media Mix?

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At a conference I attended recently, one of the speakers spoke about their use of social media for timetabling at their institution and how they have explored using Facebook to not only let students know about last minute cancellations and timetable changes, but also to remind students about timetabling related news with the addition of the occasional timetabling related internet meme!

The use of social media for timetabling hadn’t been something I had properly considered before, however I use it every day to let people know about these articles as well as the different services Education Space Consultancy offers and see the use of social media as a key element of Education Space Consultancy’s marking strategy. I use social media for a variety of reasons and I believe most businesses do so to.  Hubspot recently (2014) published stats stating that 92% of marketers claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their efforts increased traffic to their websites.

If social media is now a focal point for businesses could it not similarly be beneficial for those in the timetabling world?  [Read more…]

Informal Learning Space – Make Better Use Of Your Space

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Due to the nature of the work Education Space Consultancy carries out I get to visit a lot of Universities and Colleges from around the UK and am always interested to take a look at the different types of spaces they offer their students. No one institution is the same, with each offering a different assortment of spaces each with their own unique features.

One type of student focussed space that has become more and more popular over recent years within University and College estates, is Informal Learning Space. To briefly define what “informal learning space” is, I am going to use a section taken from the very interesting report on informal learning spaces, put together by by Sheffield Hallam University; informal learning space are”non-discipline specific spaces frequented by both staff and students for self directed learning activities and can be within and outside library spaces.”  A study exploring learners’ informal learning space behaviors, attitudes, and preferences

University of South Wales

University of South Wales

I see these spaces as the type of learning environment that fills the void between quiet library spaces and busy refectory spaces, as they provide the type of space that both students and staff can drop in and use to discuss ideas, practice presentations, carry out group work etc. They are a more relaxed [Read more…]

The Top 5 Blog Posts of 2014

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I hope everyone has had a great Christmas and New Year’s break and is now looking forward to the year ahead! I just want to start with saying thank you to everyone that has supported Education Space Consultancy over the last year, 2014 was an exciting first year for the company and I am really looking forward to all the possibilities 2015 will bring.

Over the coming year, I will be continuing to post a new article onto the Education Space Consultancy blog each week looking at space and timetabling management with the education sector. Before the end of 2014, I added a free Teaching Space Utilisation Data Analysis Tool  that is available to all newsletter subscribers and will also be continuing to make further resources freely available to subscriber members over the coming months. There is also a fortnightly newsletter that includes Education Space Consultancy news and offers, recent blog posts as well some interesting sector news, links and resources. To subscribe – simply add your email address and click subscribe at the top of the web page.

With the end of 2014 now passed, this first blog post of 2015 is going to look at the top 5 blog posts of 2014, rated by popularity (visits). If you notice an article you haven’t read before and would like to have a look,  click on the title and you will be sent straight there.

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7 Ways To Improve Timetabling Communication And Understanding Within Your Institution

 

This article was the most popular article of 2014 and is a topic that I feel very passionately about as [Read more…]

6 Methods For Ensuring Classes Are Timetabled Into Suitable Teaching Spaces

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Timetabling is a complicated and occasionally (or perhaps often!) exasperating task for all timetablers, especially when other expectations are very high! One of these timetable expectations that is often taken for granted and seen as something that “should be simple”, is that each class will be timetabled into a a room that suits the class size, teaching pedagogy and equipment demands.

This article isn’t going to explain why this is more complicated that it an seem (although this is a by product!) but rather specifically look at this expectation and provide 6 methods for improving the rate at which activities are timetabled into the right size room, with the equipment the class requires, in the style that suits the classes desired teaching pedagogy.

As with every article, I welcome your input so if you have any other tips and methods, please add them to the comments field at the bottom of the article to let other know.

1) Timetable Data Collection, Ad-Hoc Bookings And Software Set-up – How Are Teaching Activities Assigned Rooms?

I have touched on this briefly already, but in order to assign the correct room the timetable data collection stage and timetabling team/person must request from every activity the information [Read more…]

Are You Timetabling Classes For More Weeks Than Required?

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The number of weeks a taught module activity is timetabled for, often fall sunder the “all semester” bracket with module activities being booked for all weeks, at the set day/time throughout the semester. There is therefore typically (and hopefully) an expectation that these timeslots will then be used for all the timeslots booked ……but how sure are you, that this is actual what is happening ? Are all the weeks booked, actually being used?

I have found that in answering this there is often an institutional belief that yes, the timetable does reflect what is actually happening. However once investigated via a space utilisation survey it quickly becomes apparent that this is certainly not the case. Why is this?

In most cases, those requesting timetable activities do have the option of requesting specific days and times but either don’t realise or if they do, still choose to select “All Semester”. This can be for a variety of reasons/misunderstandings, such as “I thought I would be more likely to get a better room, if I chose all semester”, “I didn’t realise I could choose specific weeks”, “Although I won’t teach all weeks, I like the flexibility of having all the weeks available”, “I haven’t yet decided which weeks I will be teaching” and “It’s easier to select all weeks, rather than select each individual week, what’s the difference anyway?”.

All of these can be answered through effectively communicating the impact this booking behaviour has upon teaching room availability, the timetable and consequentially student experience and available funding. There are two common [Read more…]