Measuring students’ information skills through concept mapping

This paper seeks to develop a methodology that will discover, specify and measure students’ abilities and skills in creating concept maps. Because competencies are the key factor in higher education, the paper analyses the role of concept maps as a tool to diagnose and improve information analysis, synthesis, organisation and representation skills and competencies. We propose a methodology that enables these skills to be evaluated by observing, analysing and measuring the stages involved in creating a concept map: identification of the main and secondary subjects; subject codification by concepts; grading of concepts; and representation of the concepts and their relationships with labels. A case study using action-research methodology tests the usefulness of the methodology on a group of university students of Library and Information Science. The method proposed provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of the students’ skills analysed, thus enabling their training to be improved by means of specific actions

Out there and in here: design for blended scientific inquiry learning

One of the benefits of mobile technologies is to combine ‘the digital’ (e.g., data, information, photos) with ‘field’ experiences in novel ways that are contextualized by people’s current located activities. However, often cost, mobility disabilities and time exclude students from engaging in such peripatetic experiences. The Out There and In Here project, is exploring a combination of mobile and tabletop technologies in support for collaborative learning. A system is being developed for synchronous collaboration between geology students in the field and peers at an indoor location. The overarching goal of this research is to develop technologies that support people working together in a suitable manner for their locations. There are two OTIH project research threads. The first deals with disabled learner access issues: these complex issues are being reviewed in subsequent evaluations and publications. This paper will deal with issues of technology supported learning design for remote and co-located science learners. Several stakeholder evaluations and two field trials have reviewed two research questions: 1. What will enhance the learning experience for those in the field and laboratory? 2. How can learning trajectories and appropriate technologies be designed to support equitable co-located and remote learning collaboration? This paper focuses on describing the iterative linked development of technologies and scientific inquiry pedagogy. Two stages within the research project are presented. The 1st stage details several pilot studies over 3 years with 21 student participants in synchronous collaborations with traditional technology and pedagogical models. Findings revealed that this was an engaging and useful experience although issues of equity in collaboration needed further research. The 2nd stage, in this project, has been to evaluate data from over 25 stakeholders (academics, learning and technology designers) to develop pervasive ambient technological solutions supporting orchestration of mixed levels of pedagogy (i.e. abstract synthesis to specific investigation). Middleware between tabletop ‘surface’ technologies and mobile devices are being designed with Microsoft and OOKL (a mobile software company) to support these developments. Initial findings reveal issues around equity, ownership and professional identity

Mapping the emotional journey of teaching

This paper will explore the use of Novakian concept mapping as a means of visualising and tracing the range of emotions inherent within any teaching experience. It will focus in particular on its use within higher education, where the presence of emotion has traditionally been disregarded or seemingly suppressed. The example of undergraduate teaching of the law degree will be used as an area where the role of emotion is particularly under-theorised. This paper will assess the effectiveness of concept mapping as a tool to enable academics to explicitly acknowledge, and reflect upon, the existence of emotion, both in terms of their individual teaching experiences, their collective teaching journey through a course or qualification and their students’ learning journey. It will also consider how use of this technique at a collective level could identify areas of pedagogic frailty, which may arise due to the misinterpreting, mishandling or suppression of emotion. The various opportunities and challenges arising from this application of concept mapping techniques will be discussed, drawing on a small, empirical pilot study, and leading to the conclusion that it has a useful and significant role to play within an emerging field of enquiry

ImpacT2 project: preliminary study 1: establishing the relationship between networked technology and attainment

This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT use and implementation by pupils. Additional factors explored included the value of school and LEA policies and teacher competence in the use of ICT in classroom settings. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 816 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of IC

Opportunities for faculty-librarian collaboration in an expanded dentistry curriculum.

With the increased emphasis on evidence-based practice, developing information literacy (IL), as well as other literacies (e.g., oral), earlier in programs is becoming widely accepted in medicine and allied fields. However with long-standing programs integration of IL instruction is often unplanned at the programmatic level. This contributes to deficiencies in advanced students and frustrations for students and faculty. The Indiana University School of Dentistry has expanded its Dental Hygiene curriculum from a two-year program to a four-year Bachelor of Science. This expansion provided the opportunity to plan integration of information and oral health literacy instruction and evidence-based practice across the new curriculum. Library and Dental Hygiene faculty collaborated to adapt existing undergraduate and oral health pedagogies and assessments, as well as create new ones which are appropriate for integration into various courses. This expanded curriculum integrates lesson plans, assignments, and assessments that support dental hygiene and other health fields but also complement general education and provide transferrable skills for any major. Courses have heavy librarian integration, both in the classroom and the course management software, as well as asynchronous learning tools, with opportunities for team teaching and robust student assessment, including authentic assessment

Measuring measuring: Toward a theory of proficiency with the Constructing Measures framework

This paper is relevant to measurement educators who are interested in the variability of understanding and use of the four building blocks in the Constructing Measures framework (Wilson, 2005). It proposes a uni-dimensional structure for understanding Wilson’s framework, and explores the evidence for and against this conceptualization. Constructed and fixed choice response items are utilized to collect responses from 72 participants who range in experience and expertise with constructing measures. The data was scored by two raters and was analyzed with the Rasch partial credit model using ConQuest (1998). Guided by the 1999 Testing Standards, analyses of validity and reliability evidence provide support for the construct theory and limited uses of the instrument pending item design modifications

Development of the premixing injector in burner system

The alternative fuel is good attention especially for renewable and prevention energy such as biodiesel. Biodiesel fuel (BDF) has a potential for external combustion. BDF is one of the hydrocarbon fuels. Palm oil Biodiesel is free from sulfur and produced by esterification and transesterification reaction of vegetable oil with low molecular weight alcohol, such as ethanol or methanol. The objectives of this research are design the mixing injector fuel and water-fuel emulsion with air for open burner and analyze the behavior of mixture spray formation between fuel (DF and BDF) and water-fuel emulsion. Premix injector use for external combustion especially open burner system. The disadvantages of BDF are high toxic emissions such as NOx, CO and particular matter (PM) and but it can reduced the performance of burner system. High toxic emission can be solved by using a new concept injector with mixing fuel-water emulsion and air. The additional water for combustion process can reduce the NOx emissions, soot, and the flame temperature. This research focuses the Spray angle, penetration, and flame length with secondary and without secondary air. CPO biodiesel has longer penetration length and spray area than diesel, but the spray angle is smaller than diesel. The different of flame Image between pure fuel and water mix with fuel is the flame color. Water mix with fuel has brightness color and shorter flame than pure fuel