Making the most of MyPlace
MyPlace http://myplace.lancs.ac.uk is your private and social web space to record and share reflections on your learning, explore your goals and aspirations, think about future careers, and support your personal development. It is based on the increasingly familiar tool of web log or blog.
New to MyPlace 2009-2010
We have made a number of changes to MyPlace over the summer this year and here are the key features:
- Club and society areas that enable clubs/societies to post events online so that members can sign up online
- Ability to export all items posted by a club/society events into your personal calendar
- Departmental and College areas
- A ‘hit counter’ that counts how many times an article has been read and by how many people
- Tag clouds that show you the most frequently used tags in MyPlace and in your blog
- Reminders by email about the articles you have written but not published
Please contact us on learningtechnology@lancaster.ac.uk if you have any queries regarding MyPlace.
Key Benefits
The following key benefits have been identified by students & tutors, employees & employers, as arising from explicit reflection on life, work and educational experiences: it helps you to:
- identify and make explicit the academic and employment relevant skills gained whilst studying for a degree, and to recognise those relevant skills gained more widely through life and employment experiences, therefore giving a basis for a clearer sense of personal progress;
- practice reflective thinking and writing (needed in the workplace) in order to learn from experience, building self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses, and contributing to self confidence;
- increase your self-awareness of the softer skills developed while studying such as group work, communication, and time management (that future employers are looking for), and identify the evidence of how and in what situations these skills have been put into practice (through the degree programme, social or employment activities);
- gain a greater personal (and social) confidence grounded in the positive self-knowledge which is needed to compile an effective curriculum vitae or application form, and to enhance your performance in interviews;
- reflect on your strengths and weakness, learn from the feedback from others, and help to take a more pro-active role in your individual learning and career planning;
- make informed and well considered choices about study and career paths to follow; and
- value the whole university experience, appreciating the breadth and depth of your personal development over time.
The attached document provides further information on the implementation and support of Progress Files at Lancaster University.
Please email the Learning Technology Group Helpdesk on learningtechnology@lancaster.ac.uk if you have any queries regarding MyPlace.
MyPlace Survey 2008
Results from the MyPlace survey conducted in 2008.
The MyPlace guide is available here
