Utilizing gamification effect through Kahoot in remote teaching of immunology: Medical students’ perceptions

Introduction: Gamification of learning is a novel pedagogical approach in education, and Kahoot is one of the game-based learning platforms widely used for formative assessments in realtime. This study aimed to explore the medical students’ perception of using Kahoot in remote learning.Methods: The mixed-method study was carried out among 72 medical students (in third-year) at Eastern University, Sri Lanka, following a formative assessment on immunology conducted via zoom video conferencing and Kahoot. The students’ perception was collected through a google form, which consisted of 13 statements with a 5-point Likert scale and an open-ended question. Descriptive statistics and Mann-Whitney test were computed using SPSS ver. 25. A content analysis was employed to interpret the qualitative statements.Results: The participants’ age ranges from 23-28 years with male-female ratio of 1:1.57. The majority of the students felthappy (73.6%) while playing Kahoot remotely and recommended it (84.7%) for formative assessment in future. The participants agreed that Kahoot increased the focus, understanding of the subject, helped retain knowledge, motivated them to learn, provided fun during learning, and kept them active throughout. The majority of the participants agreed that Kahoot was an effective tool for distance learning. Internet connectivity and switching between two applications were identified as difficulties while playing remote mode Kahoot quizzes. Conclusion: The online gaming platform Kahoot has a positive impact on learning immunology. Kahoot maintains its fun and enjoyable nature and motivates students to learn during remote teaching of immunology

Manufacture and Investigation of Organic Composite Polymer Based Films for Advanced Flexible Solar Cells

Modern society has created big challenges in the area of sustainable supply of energy to satisfy the needs of growing population and to account for depleting fossil fuel resources. The Irish Government has set targets for the energy sector by 2020, with 33% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources. Organic photovoltaic devices offer several advantages over expensive silicon solar cells, including deposition of ultra-thin films by spin-coating, printing and spray-coating. This in turn provides for the exciting possibility to make lightweight, flexible solar cells for a broad range of existing and emerging applications for security, military and medicine. This research project was inspired by the current drive into finding alternative technologies and materials for the design and manufacture of advanced solar cells. The primary objective was to tailor the properties of Poly3Hexylthiophene: PhenylC60 Buturic Acid Methyl Esther composite (P3HT:PCBM) thin films for flexible organic solar cells performance. The extensive experimental work was conducted to reveal the effect of the solar irradiation and thermal annealing on the dielectric, optical and electrical properties of P3HT:PCBM thin films. A common degradation pattern was demonstrated in the films after UV exposure whereby the optical absorbance and the resistivity were shown to be inversely proportionate. These two correlating techniques showed similar patterns after exposure. It was also shown that annealing the structure after deposition increased the absorbance in the thin film and the quantum efficiency of the final prototype device was related to film morphology. The dielectric properties of these films were studied using a novel microwave spectroscopy technique and it is believed to be the first report on the application of this novel technique to photovoltaic materials characterisation. To examine the dielectric properties of the P3HT:PCBM films using microwave spectroscopy, two types of Electro Magnetic (EM) wave sensors were fabricated, one on a Rogers substrate with Cu patterns and a second on a flexible substrate with Ag patterns. Both types of EM sensors exhibited shifts in resonant peak frequencies and amplitude during exposure to solar irradiation. All other experimental parameters and environmental conditions were kept constant. Therefore it is reasonable to conclude that the proposed method of microwave spectroscopy is a reliable tool to trace the changes in the properties of the materials caused by solar irradiation. The optical properties of the P3HT:PCBM films displayed a decrease in absorbance after 40mins solar simulator irradiation and then an increase in absorbance from 40 min to 20hrs. The electrical properties of P3HT:PCBM films showed a resistance decrease as the films were illuminated by a solar simulator from 0 to 40 min, and a subsequent increase in resistance up to 20hrs. In addition, a bespoke solar cell on flexible Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was constructed and tested. It exhibited a fill factor and an efficiency of 0.3238 and 0.49% respectively. Although the performance is poor compared to reported state of the art for organic solar cells, the work demonstrates that operational devices can be manufactured under non-optimised laboratory conditions

Design of an instrument measuring P-12 teachers’ cognitive load and intent to adopt technology

For P-12 teachers to effectively learn a technology, they must manage the cognitive load inherent to this learning task. Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) can offer insight in how P-12 teachers can manage the cognitive load of learning technology. However, technology adoption research has not used CLT to investigate how P-12 teachers manage the cognitive load of learning how to use technology or the influence of cognitive load on P-12 teachers’ decisions whether to adopt technology. Hence, an instrument measuring cognitive load experienced when P-12 teachers learn about technology during professional development and their intent to adopt the technology may not be available. The purpose of this study was to design a self-report survey instrument measuring the latent constructs of P-12 teachers’ cognitive load during technology professional development and their intent to adopt technology. Access to a validated instrument measuring these latent constructs may facilitate exploration of cognitive load’s influence on technology adoption among P-12 teachers. Diffusion of Innovations and Cognitive Load Theory formed the theoretical foundation of this study and the instrument’s design. The researcher conducted an index of item-objective congruence (IIOC) to evaluate content validity. Using data collected from P-12 teachers participating in technology professional development on the creation of interactive PowerPoint lessons, the researcher conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to explore the factor model most representative of the data and to determine the instrument’s internal consistency and variance explained. Results of the IIOC indicated a lack of consensus among content judges on which forms of cognitive load are being measured. Results of EFA supported a two-factor model explaining 79.759 % of the variance in the observed data. Implications of this study for future research on cognitive load and technology adoption among P-12 teachers is discussed