A comparative analysis of student usage of the Virtual Learning Environment Moodle in AIT in 2009 and 2011

This presentation describes the changing patterns of AIT students' usage of the Moodle VLE from 2009 to 2011. Data were gathered from two online surveys in 2009 and 2011 and analyzed just descriptively to see the shift in VLE use

The Perkins INfrared Exosatellite Survey (PINES) I. survey overview, reduction pipeline, and early results

We describe the Perkins INfrared Exosatellite Survey (PINES), a near-infrared photometric search for short-period transiting planets and moons around a sample of 393 spectroscopically confirmed L- and T-type dwarfs. PINES is performed with Boston University’s 1.8 m Perkins Telescope Observatory, located on Anderson Mesa, Arizona. We discuss the observational strategy of the survey, which was designed to optimize the number of expected transit detections, and describe custom automated observing procedures for performing PINES observations. We detail the steps of the PINES Analysis Toolkit (PAT), software that is used to create light curves from PINES images. We assess the impact of second-order extinction due to changing precipitable water vapor on our observations and find that the magnitude of this effect is minimized in Mauna Kea Observatories J band. We demonstrate the validity of PAT through the recovery of a transit of WASP-2 b and known variable brown dwarfs, and use it to identify a new variable L/T transition object: the T2 dwarf WISE J045746.08-020719.2. We report on the measured photometric precision of the survey and use it to estimate our transit-detection sensitivity. We find that for our median brightness targets, assuming contributions from white noise only, we are sensitive to the detection of 2.5 R ⊕ planets and larger. PINES will test whether the increase in sub-Neptune-sized planet occurrence with decreasing host mass continues into the L- and T-dwarf regime.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac64aa/pdfPublished versio

A Comparative Analysis of Conventional and Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES)-Mediated Strategies for the Extraction of Chitin from Marine Crustacean Shells

Chitin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, is utilised in a wide range of applications including wastewater treatment, drug delivery, wound healing, tissue engineering, and stem cell technology among others. This review compares the most prevalent strategies for the extraction of chitin from crustacean sources including chemical methods that involve the use of harsh solvents and emerging methods using deep eutectic solvents (DES). In recent years, a significant amount of research has been carried out to identify and develop environmentally friendly processes which might facilitate the replacement of problematic chemicals utilised in conventional chemical extraction strategies with DES. This article provides an overview of different experimental parameters used in the DES-mediated extraction of chitin while also comparing the purity and yields of associated extracts with conventional methods. As part of this review, we compare the relative proportions of chitin and extraneous materials in different marine crustaceans. We show the importance of the species of crustacean shell in relation to chitin purity and discuss the significance of varying process parameters associated with different extraction strategies. The review also describes some recent applications associated with chitin. Following on from this review, we suggest recommendations for further investigation into chitin extraction, especially for experimental research pertaining to the enhancement of the “environmentally friendly” nature of the process. It is hoped that this article will provide researchers with a platform to better understand the benefits and limitations of DES-mediated extractions thereby further promoting knowledge in this area

How instructor-developed screencasts benefit college students’ learning of maths: insights from an Irish case study

This qualitative case study explored how students learning Maths at an Irish institute of higher education benefited from their instructor’s use of self-developed screencasts. The screencasts (47 in total) were posted on the institute’s Maths Moodle site for students to access. One hundred and thirty-eight (n = 138) students participated in an online open-response survey. Students’ commentary was analyzed using thematic content analysis (TCA). Themes that represented different types of screencast benefit to students were generated from the data. Consistent with previous studies, the findings show that a vast majority of students (88.4%) used the screencasts for many different purposes and viewed the videos as an extremely useful tool that enhanced their Maths learning experience. Ten primary benefits of screencasts emerged, namely allowing flexible and personalized learning, supplementing lectures and enhancing understanding of Maths keyskills, facilitating exam revision and material review, providing multimodal support for Maths learning, helping students to keep track with the Maths modules, providing a tighter match with course content, delivering a vicarious learning experience, serving as a memory aid, filling in gaps in class notes, and making Maths more enjoyable. The findings support the use of screencasts in facilitating and enhancing students’ learning of Maths in higher education

The benefits of using instructor-developed screencasts to support college students’ learning of maths: insights from an Irish case study

This article reports on a case study undertaken to explore college students’ views of the benefits of screencasts in enhancing their Maths learning experience at an Irish institute of technology. A total of 47 screencasts – developed for 14 topics for Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 mandatory Algebra and Calculus courses taught by one instructor – were uploaded onto the college’s Moodle site for students to access. An open-response survey asking about the benefits of the screencasts and how they helped students to learn the course content was administered online. Out of the total population of 266 students taking the courses, 138 responded to the survey constituting a response rate of about 52%. The data were analysed using an inductive thematic content analysis, in which student feedback was scrutinized and categorized according to the central ideas they shared. Themes that represented different types of screencast use and benefits were generated from this clustering of feedback. Consistent with previous studies, the findings show that a vast majority of students (88.4%) used the screencasts to fulfill myriad learning needs, and viewed the videos as an extremely useful tool that enhanced their Maths learning experience, stating that they were “very helpful,” “very informative,” “easy to follow,” “very practical,” and “a brilliant asset to have.” The narrative data pointed to ten primary benefits of screencasts, which included supporting flexible and personalized learning, supplementing lectures and enhancing understanding of keyskills, delivering a vicarious learning experience, facilitating exam revision and material review, providing multimodal support for Maths learning, helping students to keep track with Maths modules, filling up gaps in notes, serving as a memory aid, providing a tighter match with course content, and making Maths learning more enjoyable. The findings have positive implications for screencasts as a promising tool for Maths learning in future decades

Ten benefits of using instructor-developed screencasts to help students learn maths: an AIT case study

In January 2013, we undertook a case study to look at how first, second and third year AIT students taking Algebra and Calculus courses under Mr Frank Doheny (N=266) used screencasts to help them learn Maths. The screencasts, ranging between 1:49 and 11:20 minutes in length, were developed to demonstrate specific Maths keyskills that students had difficulty with. To explore students’ views and uses of the screencasts, we administered an open-response survey on the relevant Maths Moodle pages. A total of 138 students from Mechanical & Renewable Engineering(MRE), Computer Network Management (CNM), Electronic & Computer Engineering (ECE), and Sports & Nutrition Science (SNS) responded to the survey, constituting a response rate of 52%. Using an inductive Thematic Content Analysis (TCA), we generated ten themes from their responses that represented ten benefits of using the screencasts. These are what students had to say about their screencast use and how the videos had aided their Maths learning

Rapid Effects of Dexamethasone on Intracellular pH and Na + /H + Exchanger Activity in Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

International audienc