Accounting Nuggets — Learning Support for Leaving Cert Accountancy

An NUI Galway accountancy student will give online tutorials on Leaving Certificate level accountancy while also giving an insight into the day in the life of an accountancy student at university. The video should aid Leaving Certificate students while also promoting NUI Galway.

Students: Michael Loftus, Kelley Hession, Sarah Kelly, Owen Wyer, Natasha Caulfield, Rita Breen, Patric Evason

Staff: Mary Barrett, Riona Lyons

Project Update – 10 April 2014

We launched the online tutorials at the Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 5th of April. Members of our team met with leaving cert students to demonstrate the tutorials and advise on accounting as a study and career choice. The promotional video was shown at all Business presentations that day. Flyers and posters were posted to accounting teachers in schools across the country. Emails were sent for the attention of accounting teachers across the country – linking to website.

Revision Schools running over Easter for Leaving Cert students were also emailed and sent posters and flyers. A FaceBook campaign has started to share and like the site. NUI Galway Accounting students were emailed links and advised of relevance to their studies. In less than a week, we have had 160 hits on promotional video – and growing by the day….

See attached link: https://www.nuigalway.ie/cairnes/leavingcert/
Like and Share Accounting Nuggets posting on Cairnes FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/JECairnes

Project Update – 26 March 2014:

• Student team members have now finished recording the online tutorials after having some difficulties with sound issues.
• We have also undertaken a promotional video on campus and are awaiting the editing to be completed.
• The video features a number of students giving interviews and also an interview with a member of staff from the Career Development Centre.
• The webpage is being prepared to house both the tutorials and also the promotional material which will be launched soon in time for the Leaving Cert students to get the best use from them. 
• We plan to launch the tutorials at Undergraduate Open Day on April 5th where the materials will be promoted at presentations along with the showing of promotional video and flyers will be distributed at presentations and B Comm and B Comm Accounting stands.

Project Update – 31 January 2014:

 Expanding the team: following earlier meetings, new team members have joined.  The team now consists of:

• Mary Barrett, Lecturer, Discipline of Accounting and Finance
• Riona Lyons, Lecturer, Discipline of Accounting and Finance
• Michael Loftus, Student, 4^th year of B Comm Accounting (International Experience)
• Kelley Hession, Student, 3^rd year of B Comm Accounting
• Natasha Caulfield, Student, 2^nd year of B Comm Accounting
• Patric Evason, Student, 1^st year of B Comm Accounting
• Owen Wyer, Student, Masters of Accounting
• Rita Breen, Student, 3^rd year of B Comm
• Sarah Kelly, Student, 4^th year of B Comm (International Experience)

Defining the paramaters:

• Riona, Mary and Patric met to review Leaving Cert Syllabus (19^th Nov 2013)
• Riona and Patric contacted teachers at 2^nd level to discuss topics of difficulty for students suitable for online tutorials (Dec 2013)
• Riona and Mary finalise topics (Jan 2013)
• Patric reviewed past leaving cert papers for suitable exam questions (Jan 2013)

Choosing software:

• Mary researched types of software available and liased with Paul Gormely of CELT and Margaret Forde in ISS (Jan 2013)
• Kaltura agreed as software to be used
• Blackboard page set up for recordings to be housed

Preparing for recordings:

• Mary and Riona prepared powerpoints and chose questions to be covered in online tutorials (Week of 13^th to 17^th Jan 2014)
• Mary and Riona prepared schedule for recordings
• Meetings and training in Kaltura held in 3 sessions over one day (Tuesday 21^st Jan 2014) – team discussions over the best approach to be taken

Recordings:

• Student team members begin recordings at home (week ending 24^th Jan 2014)

Promotional Video:

• Mary seeking quotations
• Potential dates for recording agreed for either 7^th Feb or 14^th Feb

Next steps:

• Promotional filming on campus to be undertaken
• Webpage to be created and filmings housed there along with promotional material
• Promotion begins….

Minutes of Explore Meeting with Riona Lyons, Michael Loftus and Mary Barrett on Wednesday 13th November 2013 at 10:30am.

Agenda:

1. Set Parameters
2. Discuss possibility of inclusion of additional members to team
3. Set Responsibilities
4. Set Schedule

Parameters:

• Challenge acknowledged by trying to use material for both Leaving Certs and 1st year students (different terminologies)
• Want to make sure that we don’t try to do too much but cover 3-4 topics quite well
• Following a general overview of Leaving Cert syllabus – Double Entry Book-keeping, Ratio Analysis and CVP were identified
• Team to meet with Leaving Cert Teacher and 1BC1 or 1BCA1 student to discuss areas of difficulty
• Topics to be agree by 10th December

Additional Members of team:

• Agreed to offer other students opportunity to participate in filming
• CV enhancing for students and cuts workload for Michael

Responsibilities:

• Michael will be involved in recording and preparation for this but Mary and Riona will co-ordinate with regard to sourcing material, scheduling etc. as December is exam time for Michael
• Riona to source Leaving Cert Syllabus guidance and agree with Mary topics to be covered
• Mary and Riona to source material to use for filming
• Mary to review software
• Mary to book CELT facilities
• Mary to contact additional students to participate
• Mary to contact Filming Production to get quotes
• Mary to co-ordinate editing of completed recordings and dissemination to target market

Schedule:

• Week beginning 18th November – Mary to contact additional students and source quotes for filming
• Tuesday 10th December – agree on topics for filming
• Software decision by Friday 13th December
• Source material for recording and finalise by Friday 20th December
• Team to meet early in 1st week of semester 1 to review material. Trial run in CELT lab on 16th or 17th of January.
• Filming in 2nd week of Semester 2 – either Wednesday 22nd Jan, Thursday 23rd Jan or Friday 24th Jan.