Innovative 3D Animations for Teaching Electromagnetic Field Theory and its Mathematics in Undergraduate Engineering

In this work, an innovative approach for the design and structuring of teaching videos systematically using 3D animations is presented. The approach focuses on the quantitative description of electromagnetic fields and the mathematical methods and competencies required for this purpose, exemplarily with regard to an undergraduate electrical engineering course during the initial phase of corresponding degree programs. An essential part of this course is the spatial and time-dependent description of electromagnetic fields. For this purpose, students have to work with multiple integrals in 3D space and in different coordinate systems. Such subjects are typically covered only later in mathematics courses and without a technical context, therefore leading to major difficulties for many students. The videos presented in this work are intended to support students and lecturers to work with these subjects in an instructive fashion. The 3D animations allow for effectively clarifying complex connections between technical and mathematical aspects. The videos and their specific design are discussed with regard to didactic and technical considerations. Additionally, their integration with existing interventions for the course is described.

Enquiry Based Learning: A Valuable Mechanism at Level 9?

This paper examines ‘Enquiry Based Learning’ (EBL) as an engagement strategy for assessment at ‘taught masters’ level 9. The master students in question are adult learners in full time employment and the empirical data was gathered from these students. First, an outline of the key features of EBL is presented and, from there, an investigation of how it is viewed when applied to a specific problem statement by the masters students. EBL creates a memorable atmosphere in the classroom and encourages deep learning (Ramsden, 1992). EBL also encourages active learning, which is more enjoyable for the students (Eison, 2010), especially adults – offering more control (Whowell, 2006). Learning should not be passive or a spectator sport; students learn most effectively by active engagement (Karmas, 2006), with an interesting project, hence, the use of EBL. It is vital that we move beyond a conceptualisation of education as the simple acquisition of knowledge to one which equally emphasises, nurtures and assesses innovation and expertise in the utilisation and application of knowledge, (Boland, 2010). The findings of this research are relevant and important as they inform practice and feed into future programme reviews when considering the inclusion of EBL for assessment.

Enhance, Extend, Empower: Understanding Faculty Use of E-Learning Technologies

There has been scant nation-wide assessment of institutional use of learning technology in Canada (Grant, 2016) and where assessment has been done of student access to e-resources, considerable variability within and across institutions has been reported (Kaznowska, Rogers, & Usher, 2011). With a broad goal of improved and increased use of learning technologies, one university wanted to explore the use of e-learning technologies across campus. The purpose of this study was to identify instructors' needs and aspirations with respect to how learning technologies at the university could be designed, implemented, and supported. The 3E framework of Enhance, Extend, Empower, proposed by Smyth, Burce, Fotheringham, & Mainka (2011), was useful in examining the underlying purposes of using e-learning technologies. For this qualitative study, the research team engaged 32 instructors in individual interviews or in focus groups to discuss how they currently use e-learning technologies, how they hope to advance their uses of these technologies, and their perceived barriers or enablers to implementation. The study has implications for practice and policy at postsecondary institutions; additionally, this study suggests possibilities for further research into the scholarship of teaching and learning in the context of e-learning technologies.

Online Students’ Expectations Differ: The advantage of assessing students’ expectations in online education

Students’ feedback on online education has become of major importance for many higher education institutions. While researchers already identified students’ success factors and analyzed students’ satisfaction in online study programs and courses, the role of expectations in students’ online educational experience has been very often neglected in previous research. Our study adds here as it captures students’ expectations at the beginning of an online study program, highlighting the differences to traditional on-campus students. Our results reveal that expectations of on-line students differ from the expectations of on-campus students and must therefore not be confused. Furthermore, the assessment of student expectations is not only a way to consider and satisfy students’ needs in order to improve online programs or courses, but also a means to track the institutions own performance.Keywords: Online Education; Student Experience; Expectations, Retention, Higher Education Management

New pedagogical configurations for traditional learning tools: a proposal

Digital technologies have changed the world dramatically and, as a consequence, higher education is undergoing significant teaching and learning transformations based on their use. The need to plan and produce disruptive innovations for traditional learning tools brings a challenge in this sense. One of these modern pedagogical perspectives is the use of transmedia storytelling in education, which has given a new configuration to instructional tools and have changed their forms and educational function. We present a proposal of specialized vocabulary in reproductive biology of plants using the principles of transmedia storytelling. The design of an educational transmedia artifact for the particular terminological entry of the term «polinizador» is shown to illustrate the proposed structure for the vocabulary. This artifact is constituted by diverse resources made with the use of different media and is based on the use of tags linked to each resource, which allow interactive navigation between them, structuring the storytelling about the selected term. Each resource adds particular information on the definition of the term, so that the student can obtain the answer he needs. Transmedia storytelling allows the students’ interaction with resources in a way consistent with their own interests, making them the center of their learning.

Researcher, PI and CEO - Managing a Large Scale Environmental Restoration Project in New York City; Creating Expectations, Establishing Structure, Protocols and Realistic Outcomes

Research consistently shows that children who have opportunities to actively investigate natural settings and engage in problem-based learning greatly benefit from the experiences? This project developed a model of curriculum and community enterprise to address that issue within the nation's largest urban school system. Middle school students will study New York Harbor and the extensive watershed that empties into it, as they conducted field research in support of restoring native oyster habitats. The project builds on the existing Billion Oyster Project, and was implemented by a broad partnership of institutions and community resources, including Pace University, the New York City Department of Education, the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, the New York Academy of Sciences, the New York Harbor Foundation, the New York Aquarium, and others. The project model includes five interrelated components: A teacher education curriculum, a digital platform for project resources, museum exhibits, and an afterschool STEM mentoring program. It targets middle-school students in low-income neighborhoods with high populations of English language learners and students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields and education pathways. This paper explores the management of this large-scale project and provides insight with regard to the governance of the various project components. Key words (project-based learning, environmental restoration, educational technology)

Graduate programs in education, exploring its meaning and significance of training

In this research, we present an analysis carried out in the city of Poza Rica, state of Veracruz, Mexico on the meaning and significance of education that students attribute to the master programs related to education. We base this work from the Theory of Social Representations of Serge Moscovici (1961) and the Method of Symbolic Interactionism of Herbert Blumer (1969), this research is consistent with the educational policies in the training of professionals, due that from an inductive study with a cualitative perspective, we can do an analysis with more relevance on the impact that the offer of postgraduate has on the training of current professionals. Two study contexts were taken: masters in education offered in the public sector and masters in education offered in the private sector. As well, the agencies that shape the policies for the evaluation of postgraduate programs in Mexico, particularly with emphasis on the CONACYT framework.

An educational software for teaching soil consolidation

The educational tool SICOMED_3D has been created to simulate problems of soil consolidation by prefabricated vertical drains. Thanks to its nice interface of windows, the introduction of data is very fast and easy for the students, while providing users with simple handling and powerful calculations. Its graphical environment allows to get representations of the excess pore pressure, local settlements and total surface settlement. SICOMED_3D can also generate an animation that recreates the evolution of the surface settlement during the consolidation process. The software presents, like commercial softwares, the most common options (e.g., save and open cases files, save animations and representations, etc.). Although the program is created to be used in several fields, among others as an engineering or research tool, the main use of interest for this work is for educational purposes. Another important application is as low-cost laboratory practices, as students can experiment by modifying the soil properties, including the depth of penetration of the vertical drain, in a quick, simple and intuitive way.

Student Auditing of University Social Responsibility - Reform through Reflective, Experiential Learning?

The emphasis on the social responsibility of higher education institutions emerged more systematically in the Post-Bologna European context. This paper presents an overview of a case study on a certificate in university social responsibility auditing, based on three European universities: Edimburgh, Kaunas and Porto. The goal is to develop an auditor training for students based on experiential learning, that is coherent and replicable in diverse contexts and that involves the various stakeholders. The project is based on a set of benchmarks of university social responsibility developed in the context of a European project, namely: Research, Teaching, Support for Learning and Public Engagement; Governance; Environmental and Societal Sustainability; and Fair Practices. We will report on the initial data generated by the ESSA Project, in respect of student recruitment, baseline attitudes and the impact of participation in the training and the first audit.

Comparison of traditional lecture and flipped classroom for teaching programming

Programming courses in undergraduate education seem to be predestined for a flipped classroom approach as learning programming requires a high personal contribution on the one hand and on the other hand, course participants typically start with a wide range of previous knowledge and skills. Within a flipped classroom students can organize their learning phases self-reliantly and put an individual amount of effort into each learning objective. Whilst in a traditional lecture it is not easy to motivate students, the flipped classroom requires students’ active involvement per se. Besides all these advantages, setting up such a course requires a high initial effort for the lecturer. Furthermore, students might prefer a lecture, as usually the work load is higher in a comparable flipped classroom course. Based on the idea of flipping a beginners programming course, we firstly explored the effects of a flipped classroom approach on an elective advanced pro­gram­ming course with a smaller student group. The paper compares the new course design and its effects on the students learning, on the teaching, as well as on the course preparation with the former traditional lecture. The com­parison is based on a survey, the students’ evaluation feedback and on the examination results.