Notes
Present:
- Simon Booth (SiB)
- Stephen Bruce (SB)
- Joan Fisher (JF)
- Raymond Moir (RM)
- Susi Peacock (SP)
- Stephen Vickers (SV)
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Carol Walker, Steve Boulton (StB) and Theresa Duffy.
2. 6 March event
Simon and Richard thanked for their efforts to coordinate this event. Stephen Clarke confirmed as presenter for Accessibility item.
Actions:
a. Email reminder to be sent to mailing list [SiB – done]
b. Bookings to be closed on Tuesday [SiB/StB – done]
3. May/June event
Raymond still keen to host the Spring meeting in late May/mid June but not yet been able to confirm a room. A number of possible presentations were raised but were left to the next meeting. Instead a theme relevant to St Andrews was agreed: “Engaging staff to make better use of VLEs”.
Actions:
a. Date to be confirmed before the 6 March event so that it can be announced [RM]
b. Specific topic proposals to be considered for discussion at the next meeting [RM]
c. Participants at the next meeting to be invited to offer/suggest presentations for future meetings [SV]
4. Location and date of Autumn event
Early November was the preferred time. An invitation to be made at the 6 March event for anyone interested in hosting the event. Other possibilities to contact are UHI (Perth) and the West of Scotland RSC.
Actions:
a. Invitation to host Autumn event to be made at 6 March event [SV]
5. Liaison with other BUGs
Thanks for Stephen Bruce for making contact with the other BUGs in the UK. A summary of some of the responses was circulated via email. London was interested in the possibility of a live link up for an event, which we should bear in mind when planning events. Agreed to use the other BUGs to advertise our events.
Actions:
a. Suggest to the Welsh group that they circulate a note via our mailing list with regard to common interest in Gaelic [SB – done]
b. Follow-up possible meeting with Midlands group organiser when in Edinburgh in March [SB]
c. Consider live link for Spring event [SiB]
6. Funding Scot-BUG
The main aim of this discussion was to find sources of additional funding which would reduce the cost of hosting our events, particularly given the increasing numbers of participants. Cost should not be seen as a deterrent for volunteering to host an event. The target is for a contribution of £250 per event for catering (c. 50%) and any travel costs for invited external speakers (i.e. around £1,000 p.a.). It was agreed that reducing the level of catering and charging each participant (or institution) were least preferred solutions. Commercial sponsorship was possible when relevant to the event, but should not be allowed to influence the program if possible.
Actions:
a. Enquire about the availability of funds from SFC and HEA [RM/SiB – done]
b. Discuss with RSC and see if hosting events on their premises might be welcomed [SV]
7. Blackboard 9 in Scotland
No one at the meeting knew of any plans to move to Learn 9 before Summer 2010, so no particular urgency. Issue left open for suggestions on ways in which Scottish institutions may productively collaborate in preparation for this migration process; e.g. documentation and training.
8. Date of next meeting
Meeting to discuss programme for the Spring event to be arranged during the last two weeks of March.
Actions:
a. “Make a meeting” email to be circulated [SV – done]