Second technician wins HEA Technician of the Year award
Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:16:00 BST
Learning Technology Advisor Paul Dagg wins Higher Education Academy Health and Social Care Technician of the Year award
A SECOND Higher Education Award has been conferred to another staff member of the University of Huddersfield within a week.
Paul Dagg has been announced the Higher Education Academy Health and Social Care Technician of the Year for 2014 and was rewarded by receiving £250 in recognition of his contribution to Health and Social Care education.
The award is presented to recognise and celebrate the significant role played by higher education technicians and was only introduced for the first time in 2014. The accolades cover three different clusters which are: STEM; Health and Social Care; and Arts and Humanities.
Paul Dagg is a Learning Technology Advisor in the University’s School of Human and Health Sciences, where he supports the students and staff on health and social care programmes, in particular the nursing degree.
“I knew I was being nominated, but it came as a complete surprise that I won,” said Paul. “It’s not a prize that you enter where you have to put forward a piece of work. It’s more about the recognition of your colleagues within the context of where you work. It’s really others appreciating your work enough to actually put you forward for a nomination, and that is what makes this award special.”
Paul initially undertook his own degree in Behavioural Sciences and then continued on to complete a Masters in Interactive Multimedia Production, which relates to his interest in interface design and usability. To further develop his knowledge, he also recently completed a Masters in Technology Enhanced Learning enabling him to engage with staff on the theoretical and pedagogical aspects of their use of learning technologies.
The projects that he has engaged in include developing a VLE-based resource that aims to support students in finding voluntary placements. He has also been involved in training in the use of technology enhanced learning tools both for his School and the University.
One of the highest profile projects that Paul participated with was collaborating with staff and students from across the University to build a Preparation for Practise Assessment Tool (PPA), an interactive tool which facilitates student preparation for undertaking placements.
“It’s an online application that we’ve been developing that helps students who are going out on placement,” said Paul. “It comprises a number of resources as well as a questionnaire that checks their ‘preparedness’ and makes sure they’ve thought about things like finance, how they’re going to travel to work, what they’re going to do when they get there. We have been invited to take it to various conferences, including one recently in Finland. It’s a truly collaborative piece of work.”
