Initial Experiences Gained and Initiatives employed in the Teaching of Java Programming in the Institute of Technology Tallaght

This paper describes recent experiences gained and initiatives employed in the teaching of Java programming to first and second year students in the Institute of Technology Tallaght from September 2000 to March 2002. It outlines some elearning, technological and pedagogical initiatives that were undertaken within the department and the resultant preliminary outcomes. The outcomes have been determined after detailed analysis of the results of a survey which was commissioned to determine the effectiveness of the initiatives and also to identify those parts of the Java language which were causing students particular difficulty. The students surveyed are currently completing their fourth and final Java programming module. The Java programming modules make up the software development stream of a 2- year National Certificate in Computing (Information Systems). The typical profile of a first year computing student in IT Tallaght is someone who has achieved a reasonable but not exceptional level of academic attainment in the Leaving Certificate and who has had little or no previous exposure to software development. The design of the Java programming modules, while geared towards novices, is ambitious in an institutional learning context

Experiences gained from the Deployment of an E-Learning Java Arrays Prototype for Novice Java Programmers in the Institute of Technology Tallaght, 2002/2003

This paper describes recent experiences gained from the deployment of an E-learning Java Arrays prototype for novice first year students within the Computing department at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght. It attempts to determine what contributions, if any, the E-Learning prototype made to novice students learning to declare, create, initialise and manipulate one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays within the Java Programming language. Tentative conclusions from this process are presented and a charter for progressing this research further is outlined

Digital Education Policies in Europe and Beyond: Key Design Principles for More Effective Policies

This report offers policy-makers in digital education evidence on how, at the national or regional level, policies can be designed and implemented to foster digital-age learning. The presented findings are the result of a mixed methodological design comprising four parts: desk-research on digital education policy, the identification of national and regional policies worldwide, six in-depth case studies, and an expert workshop. The discussion of the cases identified and studied in depth leads to the formulation of eight core-guiding principles, which can serve as a reference point for policy-makers for the design and implementation of digital education policies: 1. Follow a holistic approach targeting systemic change; 2. Establish both a long-term vision and short-term achievable goals; 3. Deploy technology as a means not an end; 4. Embrace experimentation, risk-taking and failure; 5. Consider the importance and the limits of impact assessment; 6. Involve all stakeholders in a structured dialogue; 7. Let schools and teachers have a say; 8. Build up teaching competence.JRC.B.4-Human Capital and Employmen

An illustration oriented approach in statistics education

This paper explores an illustration oriented approach to assist students in learning Statistics. The importance of providing graphical insight into statistical ideas is emphasized as it helps students in many ways in their learning process. How this approach is practised at the University of Greenwich is described and students’ views, which give very positive indications, are summarised

Proceedings of the 3rd international symposium for engineering education ISEE2010: Educating engineers for a changing world - leading transformation from an unsustainable global society

The twenty first century and beyond will present human society with a set of unprecedented challenges emanating from the unsustainable nature of the current societal model. Clearly society must find a transformative model to a sustainable future, and fast. Engineers, with their technical know-how and systems approach to problem solving, are well placed to lead this necessarily multidisciplinary and collaborative endeavour. However, engineering education must provide twenty first century engineers with the necessary tools to undertake the massive challenges ahead. The 3rd International Symposium of Engineering Education took place at University College Cork on 30th June - 2nd July 2010. This significant international conference explored a number of key issues pertaining to engineering education in the twenty first century. These include sustainability in engineering education, IT applications, pedagogical approaches & assessment for learning outcomes, Bologna and industry perspectives