Reviews

Brian Clegg, Mining The Internet — Information Gathering and Research on the Net, Kogan Page: London, 1999. ISBN: 0–7494–3025–7. Paperback, 147 pages, £9.99

Links between the personalities, styles and performance in computer programming

There are repetitive patterns in strategies of manipulating source code. For example, modifying source code before acquiring knowledge of how a code works is a depth-first style and reading and understanding before modifying source code is a breadth-first style. To the extent we know there is no study on the influence of personality on them. The objective of this study is to understand the influence of personality on programming styles. We did a correlational study with 65 programmers at the University of Stuttgart. Academic achievement, programming experience, attitude towards programming and five personality factors were measured via self-assessed survey. The programming styles were asked in the survey or mined from the software repositories. Performance in programming was composed of bug-proneness of programmers which was mined from software repositories, the grades they got in a software project course and their estimate of their own programming ability. We did statistical analysis and found that Openness to Experience has a positive association with breadth-first style and Conscientiousness has a positive association with depth-first style. We also found that in addition to having more programming experience and better academic achievement, the styles of working depth-first and saving coarse-grained revisions improve performance in programming.Comment: 27 pages, 6 figure

Creating a functional musician: a performance workshop model

This paper examines the innovative re-alignment of one Australian tertiary music program in response to economic imperatives and a rapidly evolving marketplace. A 'functional musician' is technically sound, versatile, adaptive, collaborative, empathetic, creative, and capable of adapting to most professional situations. Conservatoire training models designed to produce classical musicians specialising in performance or education do not necessarily meet industry needs in twenty-first century Australia. Following changes to the secondary school music curriculum, undergraduate students are arriving at University with different musical skills. Responding to these changes, the University of Southern Queensland has adapted its tertiary classical music degree programs to create a new 'workshop model' for Music Practice courses to produce employable music graduates with adaptable skills suitable for the diverse Australian musical sector. The new model had its initial implementation in semester 1 (February-June) 2012. Data was collected from two student surveys and from student reflective journals; it is intended that these form the beginning of a longitudinal survey. Analysis of the initial data indicates the workshop model is successful in many of its aims, but shows some areas needing refinement

Formative peer assessment in a CSCL environment

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalised in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course concerned a higher education case-based virtual seminar, in which students were asked to conduct research and write a report in small multidisciplinary teams. The assessment assignments contained the discussion of assessment criteria, the assessment of a group report of a fellow group, and writing an assessment report. A list of feedback rules was one of the assessment tools. A qualitative oriented study was conducted, focussing on the attitude of students towards peer assessment and practical use of peer assessment assignments and tools. Results showed that students’ attitude towards peer assessment was positive and that assessment assignments had added value. However, not all students fulfilled all assessment assignments. Recommendations for implementation of peer assessment in CSCL environments as well as suggestions for future research are discussed

Analizando los resultados académicos en la Educación Superior en España

The development of the European Higher Education Area has been a process of modernization in many universities. Teaching methodologies have undergone a process of continuous change to meet the demands for high quality leading to a need for enhancement in the learning assessment methodologies as well. The objective of this study is to analyse student´s academic performance measured through coursework vs. final exam and to ascertain the factors that could explain the difference. Regression and variance analysis are carried out over the grades and responses to a questionnaire on a sample of 298 students of different subjects in a Spanish university. The results show that there are differences between continuous assessment and the final examination marks.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad FFI2013-41235-

Chapter 1 : Learning Online

The OTiS (Online Teaching in Scotland) programme, run by the now defunct Scotcit programme, ran an International e-Workshop on Developing Online Tutoring Skills which was held between 8–12 May 2000. It was organised by Heriot–Watt University, Edinburgh and The Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK. Out of this workshop came the seminal Online Tutoring E-Book, a generic primer on e-learning pedagogy and methodology, full of practical implementation guidelines. Although the Scotcit programme ended some years ago, the E-Book has been copied to the SONET site as a series of PDF files, which are now available via the ALT Open Access Repository. The editor, Carol Higgison, is currently working in e-learning at the University of Bradford (see her staff profile) and is the Chair of the Association for Learning Technology (ALT)

Music History- Laugh and Learn

The project I have chosen aligns with my curriculum project and research. Data will be gathered on the effects of laughter in the classroom. This research will show that humor can motivate students as well as aide memory. Overall, the project should conclude that laughter aids in the learning process. This project has great importance in the field of education, especially music education. Students have come to memorize for the tests, soon forgetting what they have learned. Adding a fun twist on a class that will aide students in their first year of college may increase enrollment. This may also help teachers discover that within reason, laughter plays an important role in education