Nick is committed to the development of accessible and practical e-learning techniques for the teachers and learners of today and tomorrow. In particular, he is interested in how these technologies can support professional lifelong learning.
Biography
After qualifying from Bristol in 1982, Nick spent two years in vet practice in the UK. Then, in 1984 he went to work in Swaziland as a Government Veterinary Officer with the International Voluntary Service. He was awarded an Overseas Development Administration award to study for an MSc in Tropical Veterinary Medicine in 1987. Whilst studying for his MSc in Edinburgh, he set up VETAID with two of his course colleagues, Graeme Thirlwell and Eric Feron.
He was posted by the British Government in 1989 on a 3 year appointment in Botswana where he worked as the Senior Veterinary Officer for Francistown. He went on to work on a Finnish aid program with his wife in Nicaragua from 1992 to 1993 supporting small scale dairy producers in the country.
Nick joined the RVC in January 2000 to take over the management of the Electronic Media Unit. He became increasingly interested in the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Teaching and Learning.
Research
His main area of research and development relates to identifying and deploying new technologies to support teaching and learning. This draws on approaches developed in the JISC funded Appropriate and Practical Technologies project. A range of different projects that he has been involved in are showcased on the e-Media web site. There is also a regularly updated e-Media project blog.
He is also working with the innovative use of mobile phone applications to support health and education in the developing world. This includes:
- the use of smart phones using the Google Android platform for the collection of disease surveillance data
- building on the communication and collaborative tools available on mobile phones to support the sharing of experience
- development of dedicated media that can be accessed through a mobile phone interface to provide access to an in-field knowledge source
More information about these projects can be found on this blog: Androids
Teaching
- Tutoring and mentoring 1st and 2nd year students for the last 8 years at the RVC including pastoral and academic support.
- Supporting final year students in applying for jobs including reviewing over 150 CVs over the past 5 years.
- Employing over 50 students during the past 3 years to assist in developing e-learning resources including authoring WikiVet, writing MCQs and editing the RVC web site.
- Overseeing the biannual RVC student research expedition including advising on location, research protocols, funding and reporting.
- Teaching on undergraduates courses including topics ranging from international development to computer disease models. In total over 50 hours of lectures delivered per year.
- Module leader for the Professional Studies module taken by 250 students each year. Support for academic staff including assistance with use of new media in teaching through to creating quality educational posters.
- Training and mentoring of staff including running training courses on digital video, creating PowerPoint presentations, using web 2.0 in teaching and podcasting.
Selected Publications
Short, N. , Maddison, J., Mantis, P., and Salmon, G. (2007) Veterinary e-CPD: A New Model for Providing Online Continuing Professional Development for the Veterinary Profession. J Vet Med Educ, Winter 2007; 34: 689 - 694
Short, N. (2002) The use of information and communication technology in veterinary education. Res Vet Sci. 72(1):1-6.
Cox, B., Macharia, R., Short, N, and Whittlestone, K. (2008) Podcasts and Resources - Podcasting for Learning in Universities. Open University Press
The WikiVet Project (2008) – Poster at the International Association for Medical Education, Prague
Using “potcasting” to teach veterinary anatomy (2008) - Poster at the International Association for Medical Education, Prague
Podcasting − A student’s perspective (2007) - Poster at the International Association for Medical Education, Trondheim
Using interactive theatre in veterinary education to promote mental health awareness
(2007) - Poster at the International Association for Medical Education, Trondheim
e-CPD and Life Long Learning (2006) – Poster at Slice of Life Conference, Laussane