≪ View Page

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revision Previous revision
Next revision 		Previous revision
foundation_course_students:whole_handbook [2024/10/30 12:41]
lisas [Quality Assurance] 		foundation_course_students:whole_handbook [2025/07/10 13:07] (current)
guyw [Foundation Course: Student Handbook]
Line 1: Line 1:
 ====Foundation Course: Student Handbook==== ====Foundation Course: Student Handbook====
- +//**<color #009bc1>Updated July 2025</color>**//
-{{ :foundation_course_students:hwfc.png?200 |}} +
-//**<color #009bc1>Updated December 2022</color>**//+
  
 =====Introduction===== =====Introduction=====
Line 86: Line 84:
 If you have difficulties using the LMS, help is available and you are strongly encouraged to use it as early and often as you like by emailing [[mailto:support@heartwoodteam.net|support@heartwoodteam.net]]. If you have difficulties using the LMS, help is available and you are strongly encouraged to use it as early and often as you like by emailing [[mailto:support@heartwoodteam.net|support@heartwoodteam.net]].
  
-====== Quality Assurance ======+======Accessibility for students with learning differences and disabilities=======
  
-Heartwood is committed to developing and maintaining quality assurance policies and procedures.\\  +As part of our ongoing commitment to improving access for all Heartwood students we would like to make you aware of assistive technologies that are available on the LMS and externally. Assistive technologies are technologies that help to ensure accessibility for students with disabilities and specific learning differences but may be helpful to all students.  
-===== 1: Internal quality assurance =====+
  
-1.1 Institutions should commit themselves explicitly to the development of a culture which recognises the importance of quality, and quality assurance, in their work. To achieve this, institutions should develop and implement a strategy for the continuous enhancement of quality. The strategy, policy and procedures should have a formal status and be publicly available. They should also include a role for learners and other stakeholders.\\ 
  
-1.2: Institutions should have formal mechanisms for the approval, periodic review and monitoring of their programmes and awards.
\\+**Assistive technology and resources available on the LMS available to all students:** 
  
-1.3 Assessment of learners: Learners should be assessed using published criteria, regulations and procedures which are applied consistently.
\\+Heartwood Accessibility Menu: available as a circular gold icon with a black figure, on the bottom left hand of your LMS screen. Please have a look at this to help customise your LMS experience. 
  
-1.4 Institutions should have ways of satisfying themselves that staff involved with the teaching of students are qualified and competent to do so. They should be available to those undertaking external reviews, and commented upon in reports.
\\+Downloadable pdf documents: most of our videos that contain technical information have a downloadable pdf document to go alongside them. We are constantly building on this process to ensure there are both written and spoken forms of this type of content.  
  
-1.5 Institutions should ensure that the resources available for the support of student learning are adequate and appropriate for the programme offered.
\\+BBB (Big Blue Button) Webinars: Please make sure you have read through the document about Big Blue Button, located on your Welcome Page, just below your Monthly Webinar dates.  If you would like us to switch on closed captions for webinars for you, this is something we can do and you would need to let us know about it before the webinar, so that the tutors are alerted to switch it on in advance. Please contact Delphine Sayre or Nikki Harrison to arrange this. 
  
-1.6 Institutions should ensure that they collect, analyse and use relevant information for the effective management of their programmes of study and other activities.\\+**Externally Sourced Assistive Technology:** 
  
-1.7: Institutions should regularly publish up to date, impartial and objective information, both quantitative and qualitative, about the programmes they are offering.\\+Many devices now have built-in accessibility support and screen readers. It is worth exploring these.  
  
-===== 2: External quality assurance procedures: =====+Text to Speech Software:  
  
-2.1 External quality assurance procedures should take into account the effectiveness of the internal quality assurance processes described in Part 1\\+Text-to-speech (TTS) is a type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud. It's sometimes called “read aloud” technology.  With a click of a button or the touch of a finger, TTS can take words on a computer or other digital device and convert them into audio. 
  
-2.2 The aims and objectives of quality assurance processes should be determined before the processes themselves are developed, by all those responsible, and should be published with a description of the procedures to be used.\\+Examples of text-to-speech software: 
  
-2.3 Any formal decisions made as a result of an external quality assurance activity should be based on explicit published criteria that are applied consistently.\\+*Speechify  https://speechify.com/ has a (chrome extension) page for ADHD students (free - various payment options).   Speechify reads aloud and is compatible with iOS, Android, Chrome and Edge with web and Mac applications in a range of languages.
  
-2.4 All external quality assurance processes should be designed specifically to ensure their fitness to achieve the aims and objectives set for them.\\+*ClaroRead for Microsoft  https://www.texthelp.com/en-gb/solutions/dsa/claroread/ (some free options).   ClaroRead is assistive software for Windows, Mac, Chromebook, and mobile, aiding reading, proofreading, editing and writing.  It reads text aloud from Word, emails and webpages in 25 languages, with visual tracking through colour and highlighting.  Features include spell check and a speaking dictionary.
  
-2.5 Reports should be published and should be written in a style, which is clear and readily accessible to its intended readership. Any decisions, commendations or recommendations contained in reports should be easy for a reader to find.\\+*Natural Reader  https://www.naturalreaders.com/webapp.html (free version).  Natural Reader has web and mobile apps and is a Chrome extension that can convert text, pdf, image, web pages and physical book pages into audio with a choice of voices and languages.
  
-2.6 Quality assurance processes which contain recommendations for action or which require a subsequent action plan, should have a predetermined follow-up procedure which is implemented consistently.\\+*Google TTS https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech  (A free service) Google Text-to-Speech is a cloud service that converts written text into spoken audio with machine learning technology.  It works with Google Assistant, Google Translate, and accessibility tools, offering natural-sounding voices in multiple languages and accents; available on Android and other platforms.
  
-2.7 External quality assurance of institutions should be undertaken on a cyclical basis. The length of the cycle and the review procedures to be used should be clearly defined and published in advance.\\+*Panopreter:   https://www.panopreter.com/en/products/pb/index.php    (the basic version is free).  This is a great text-to-speech and text-to-MP3 program that reads text aloud with natural voices, converts it to WAV and MP3, highlights text, supports multiple languages, batch conversion, and has adjustable voice settings.
  
-2.8 Quality assurance agencies should produce from time to time summary reports describing and analysing the general findings of their reviews, evaluations, assessments etc.+*Murf  https://murf.ai/ (has a range of pricing options).  Murf studio is designed to make more realistic voiceover productions.  It has over two hundred voices and over fifteen speaking styles to make a more natural sounding tone, used for training videos and corporate communications. 
 + 
 +*Lovo https://lovo.ai/ (has a free option).  Lovo is a voice generator and text to speech software, which reportedly has 100 languages and more than five hundred voices to choose from.  
 + 
 + 
 +Speech to Text Software:   
 + 
 +If you need to use speech to text software for your assessments, please let your tutors know.  
 + 
 +Online Time Management Apps: 
 + 
 +These are software tools accessible via web browsers or mobile apps designed to help individuals and teams organize their time, track tasks and projects, and improve productivity.  
 + 
 +Examples of online time management apps (most are free):  
 + 
 +*MyHomework https://myhomeworkapp.com/ (there is a free option).  This can set up a planner which then will track assignments, projects, tests etc; track webinars and other timed events and log due-date reminders. 
 + 
 +*Trello https://trello.com/ (there is a free option).  Similarly this app allows you to organise your work, create a planner and set up to-do lists and reminders. 
 + 
 +*Evernote: https://evernote.com/ With this app you can scan and securely store documents, such as assessments, and create audionotes to yourself. 
 + 
 +*Pomodoro Technique: there are a variety of free apps that enable this time management method that uses a timer to break down work into focused intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. After four "pomodoros" (the 25-minute intervals), a longer break is taken. This technique aims to improve focus, reduce distractions, and prevent burnout .  Here is a link to explain it more: https://adhdandautismclinic.co.uk/unleashing-productivity-the-pomodoro- technique-for-adhd-management/  
 + 
 +*Stayfocused https://www.stayfocusd.com/ .  An extension that helps to restrict the amount of time you spend on time-wasting websites. 
 + 
 +*Antisocial: http://antisocial.io/ .  This helps you to control your smartphone usage.  
 + 
 +*Remember the Milk: https://www.rememberthemilk.com/  .  An app that helps you set up to-do lists with reminders, synced to all devises. 
 + 
 +*2Do: https://www.2doapp.com/   Designed for Mac users there is a free version of this app which also helps you to organise your lists, set up reminders and will sync across Apple devices. 
 + 
 +Study Aids 
 + 
 +*Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/  Master whatever you’re learning with Quizlet’s interactive flashcards, practice tests, and study activities. 
 + 
 +*SimpleMind Mind Mapping: https://simplemind.eu/    Place topics anywhere you want in the free-form layout or use one of the various auto layouts - great for brainstorming.  Block out distractions with autofocus feature. 
 + 
 + 
 +Video Captions:  
 + 
 +Video captions are not currently available for our course content because it was created before the software existed. However, please consider the variety of free captioning software available. Google Chrome has recently released one. The captioning will appear when you watch a video or listen to a soundtrack in your browser. Here are some instructions (you need to download Chrome):to enable Live Caption on Google Chrome from your desktop, go to Chrome Settings:  
 + 
 +*go to the Advanced section\\ 
 +*then go to the Accessibility section\\  
 +*Then click the toggle for Live Caption\\ 
 + 
 + The feature is currently available in English and is available worldwide on the latest version of Chrome on Windows, Mac and Linux devices. It will be available on ChromeOS soon.  
 + 
 +**A note on assistive technologies for those progressing to Professional Course** 
 + 
 +Please note that many assistive technologies now use AI. Students progressing to the Professional Course who have learning differences, disabilities and/or chronic health issues that impact on their studies are encouraged to apply for reasonable adjustments at the start of their first year on the PC. This will ensure that you can continue to use assistive technology to support your studies without this being flagged as AI. 
 +====== Quality Assurance ====== 
 + 
 +**Academic Integrity** 
 + 
 +Heartwood Education has a responsibility to promote academic integrity as well as to identify and penalise academic misconduct including plagiarism. Academic integrity is a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to the values of honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility and courage. Heartwood and our tutors are committed to these values, and we ask the same of students. This is an important part of an individual’s and an institution’s reputation. Academic integrity is a positive and ethical approach to learning. It is not an offence to draw upon the work or ideas of another person where this is appropriately acknowledged. In fact, this is essential in developing good academic work.  
 + 
 +Academic misconduct is any type of cheating that occurs in relation to formal academic work and includes the following: 
 + 
 +* Plagiarism: The use, within assessments, of others’ ideas or words of another without acknowledgement\\ 
 +* Artificial Intelligence (AI): The use of generative AI in your assessments\\ 
 +* Contract cheating: the practice of students engaging a third-party individual or service to undertake their assessments\\ 
 +* Falsification: The presentation of fictitious or distorted data, evidence, references\\ 
 + 
 + 
 +The following is a list, ranked in order of severity, of unoriginal work, adapted from Turnitin (the main tool used in marking Professional Course assignments to alert tutors to possible abuse of academic integrity): 
 + 
 +1.  Submitting someone else’s work, word for word, as one’s own.\\ 
 +2. Containing significant portions of text from a single source, without alterations.\\ 
 +3. Finding and replacing key words and phrases but retaining the essential content of sources.\\ 
 +4. Mixing paraphrased material from multiple sources.\\ 
 +5. Combining perfectly cited sources with copied pages without citation.\\ 
 +6. Copied material from multiple sources, made to fit together.\\ 
 +7. Citing non-existent sources or including inaccurate information, including proper citation of sources but containing almost no original work.\\ 
 +8. Including proper citation but relying too closely on the text’s original wording and/or structure.\\ 
 + 
 + 
 +None of the above are acceptable in your assessments on the Foundation Course.  
 + 
 + 
 +**Generative AI** 
 + 
 +There is much interest in and growing use of generative AI tools, especially ChatGPT, but also Google Bard, DALLE-2 and CoPilot. Generative AI is an AI technology that automatically generates content in response to written prompts. As these tools are developing rapidly and we are in the process of understanding their implications for education and assessment, we expect that students will avoid the use of such software in generating content for any of their submitted work.   
 + 
 + 
 +**Implications of academic misconduct for progression to the Professional Course** 
 + 
 +If a student’s monograph is suspected to have involved plagiarism or any other form of academic misconduct, we reserve the right to submit the work to plagiarism software, which will store the work securely, and mark the work minus the plagiarised content, which could bring the grade below the 60% needed to progress to the Professional Course. If the results point towards academic misconduct, this may also affect the student’s progression to the Professional Course. We will discuss the results with the student, with the aim being to promote academic integrity and reflection. 
  
-====== Staff Policy====== 
  
-All Heartwood staff recognise their ethical and professional responsibility to protect the interests of learners. In situations where a conflict of interest may arise, particularly where a learner and staff member have a family or close personal relationship, then that staff member should not take part in the following in relation to that student: 
-  * Selection for any prize or bursary 
-  * Selection for any Heartwood programme 
-  * Selection/promotion for work placement opportunities 
-  * Supervision of theses/special projects 
-  * Complaints and disciplinary proceedings 
-  * Assessment or academic progress issues. 
-Staff members must declare to the Trustees of the Education Fund any personal interest with regard to a currently enrolled learner – whether the connection is through family, business or close personal relationship. 
  
 ====== Disciplinary Procedures ====== ====== Disciplinary Procedures ======
Line 156: Line 230:
 ====== Timeliness ====== ====== Timeliness ======
  
-You should engage with all learning activities which form part of your course Units subject to medical issues or other personal reasons notified to the Administrative Coordinator, [[mailto:support@heartwoodteam.net|]] +You should engage with all learning activities which form part of your course Units subject to medical issues or other personal reasons notified to the Administrative Coordinator, [[support@heartwoodteam.net|]] 
  
 You should also be aware that some Units require specific attendance at live webinars and text chat sessions. These will be clearly stated on the LMS page for each Unit.\\ You should also be aware that some Units require specific attendance at live webinars and text chat sessions. These will be clearly stated on the LMS page for each Unit.\\
  
-You are expected to become familiar with the use of the LMS as part of the course. If you have any problems in using the LMS, you should contact [[mailto:support@heartwoodteam.net|support@heartwoodteam.net]] at your earliest opportunity.+You are expected to become familiar with the use of the LMS as part of the course. If you have any problems in using the LMS, you should contact [[support@heartwoodteam.net]] at your earliest opportunity.
  
 ====== Intellectual Property ====== ====== Intellectual Property ======
Line 178: Line 252:
 In doing so they must: In doing so they must:
   * Respect others' intellectual property.   * Respect others' intellectual property.
-  * Avoid activities which may lead to criminal liability, including use of pornographic material. +  * Avoid activities which may lead to criminal liability. 
-  * Avoid keeping of others' personal data unless registered to do so.+  * Avoid keeping of others' personal data unless registered to do so or, have explicit permission from the data owner.
   * Not produce or pass on any material which could be considered defamatory.   * Not produce or pass on any material which could be considered defamatory.
   * Understand that Heartwood will impose severe penalties – up to dismissal or even referral to the police – in order to protect the safety of learners and uphold the reputation of its courses.   * Understand that Heartwood will impose severe penalties – up to dismissal or even referral to the police – in order to protect the safety of learners and uphold the reputation of its courses.
Line 199: Line 273:
 Any user who, for whatever reason, comes to know the password of any other user must not attempt to obtain access to the Learning Management System using that password nor disclose it to any other person. Use of a password by anyone other than the authorised person will be treated as serious misconduct.\\ Any user who, for whatever reason, comes to know the password of any other user must not attempt to obtain access to the Learning Management System using that password nor disclose it to any other person. Use of a password by anyone other than the authorised person will be treated as serious misconduct.\\
  
-All reasonable efforts will be employed to ensure that Learning Management System will be made accessible to all learners, regardless of disability, who have a legitimate reason for using them. Heartwood seeks to explore the potential of information technology to assist disabled students to engage in their chosen course of studies and, in particular, to carry out any associated course requirements and academic tasks, so far as resources allow.+All reasonable efforts will be employed to ensure that Learning Management System will be made accessible to all learners, regardless of disability, who have a legitimate reason for using them. 
  
 ===== Penalties ===== ===== Penalties =====
Line 214: Line 288:
  
 The course remains available in its current form to learners for 6 weeks after the initial 12 month study period. The course remains available in its current form to learners for 6 weeks after the initial 12 month study period.
-  * Some activities have deadlines, and you are advised to check submission dates in advance as most are only open during the 12 months.+  * Some activities have deadlines, and you are advised to check submission dates in advance.
   * At the close of the course, students will have access to an archived version free of charge for one year.   * At the close of the course, students will have access to an archived version free of charge for one year.
   * That version will not contain interactive features such as glossaries, webinars or forums. It will include all the videos, slides, documents, pages and e-book material you would need to use for reference.   * That version will not contain interactive features such as glossaries, webinars or forums. It will include all the videos, slides, documents, pages and e-book material you would need to use for reference.
Line 221: Line 295:
  
 By accessing the Foundation Course Welcome page you are confirming that you have read and understood this document in its entirety, and that you agree expressly to abide by all the regulations and policies it contains for the duration of your studies with us. By accessing the Foundation Course Welcome page you are confirming that you have read and understood this document in its entirety, and that you agree expressly to abide by all the regulations and policies it contains for the duration of your studies with us.
 +
 +======Using Herbs in Pregnancy and during Breast-feeding======
 +
 +As you are beginning to taste herbs on this course, some of them for the first time, we would like to say a little about the use of herbs in pregnancy.  
 +
 +There are many herbs that are completely gentle and safe to use in pregnancy in the form of teas, far too many to list here.  Google will come up with many over-cautious lists so it is better to look at some of the herbal textbooks you may be acquiring as the course develops (some of which have lists of herbs to avoid in pregnancy).  
 +
 +With the exception of one, all the herbs studied on the course are safe to use during pregnancy and whilst breast-feeding.  The one that we would suggest you refrain from (which is included in the tea samples you may have bought for the course) is **Yarrow, which is best to avoid in pregnancy.**
 +
 +Here is some extra guidance you may find helpful.  Women often respond to lower doses of herbs in pregnancy, perhaps because their organs and circulation are all enhanced to manage the extra demands of having another system to support.  We feel it’s fine to use alcohol tinctures in small doses but teas are lovely and provide the extra fluids needed. With any herb **listen to your body first**: smell the herb and roll a sip round your mouth to see if you like it and then, if so, drink in small quantities to see how your body responds.  **If you instinctively feel it is not right for you, then try something else.**
 +
 +It’s always good with herbs to start with one and develop a personal understanding of how it works for you.  For digestion you could try chamomile, fennel, lemon balm or peppermint for starters. Ginger tea is quite safe to use during the first trimester. Try boiling a piece of crushed fresh ginger.  It works well for indigestion, nausea and bloating and you can also just have ginger juice (just a teaspoonful) although it may taste quite strong.
 +
 +During the subsequent 6 months of a pregnancy, most things can be treated (eg pre-existing conditions, heartburn etc) but ideally under guidance of a herbalist. Many women opt to drink raspberry leaf tea in the last few months of a pregnancy which has a long tradition of being used safely as a uterine tonic.  For women who feel confident enough to self-medicate there are several herbals written specifically to guide you through, for example:
 +
 +The Herbal for Mother and Child by Anne McIntyre\\
 +The Natural Pregnancy Book by Aviva Jill Romm\\
 +
 +Lastly, for those of you that are interested in this topic, there is a recording of a lovely webinar delivered to FC students in 2024 on the topic of pregnancy from herbalist and midwife Rosemary Umolu.  You will find this under the link "FC Information": https://heartwood-uk.net/lms/course/view.php?id=121
  
 ===== UNIT 1: The History, Scope and Philosophy of Plant-Based Medicine ===== ===== UNIT 1: The History, Scope and Philosophy of Plant-Based Medicine =====