Cisco networking: using Skype and Netlab+ for distance practical learning

Delivering a 'hands on' ICT practical lesson online offers vocationally based courses an increased presence in a learning sphere otherwise dominated by remote learning, exercise and material based courses. This paper explores work within the UK Open University to deliver collaborative learning with Cisco Systems, the technological pitfalls and how these are being overcome by the use of Skype', Messenger and Netlab+�

Can agents without concepts think? an investigation using a knowledge based system

Grid-World is a working computer model which has been used to investigate the search capabilities of artificial agents that understand the world in terms of non-conceptual content. The results from this model show that the non-conceptual agent outperformed the stimulus response agent, and both were outperformed by the conceptual agent. This result provides quantitative evidence to support the theoretical argument that animals and pre-linguistic children may use non-conceptual content to understand the world. Modelling these ideas in an artificial environment provides an opportunity for a new approach to artificial intelligence

E-learning for Networked Living

Networked Living is a Level 1 course in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) offered by the UK Open University. The first two presentation of the course, in 2005 and 2006, attracted over 3000 students between them. Networked Living introduces students to ICT concepts and issues in a range of contexts. The course adopts a blended learning approach, using printed texts, web resources, DVD and computer conferencing. All the above media are used where appropriate to support students' learning. About 60% of the material is print-based – teaching texts, together with selected third-party articles. About 20% is web-based – using a comprehensive course web site, but also requiring students to find and use third-party sites. The remaining 20% is based on offline computer resources (e.g. spreadsheets) and collaborative activities using computer conferencing. The course web site contains short animations, quizzes and several interactive activities where students contribute information and commentaries, and can then see the collated contributions of other students. The DVD contains longer animations, simulations and software. Computer conferencing is used for tutor-group and whole-cohort conferences, and for online tutorials, with both asynchronous and synchronous discussion. The course web site provides a new, shareable 'online journal' facility, where students can record their work for the course. This paper discusses the various e-learning elements of Networked Living, based on the first two presentations of the course. The paper considers how e-learning can be combined with printed resources to create a successful blended learning experience for students

Large scale delivery of Cisco Networking Academy Program by blended distance learning

This paper reports upon the success that The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU) has had in delivering the Cisco Exploration Curriculum, as an undergraduate course (T216), using a Blended Distance Learning Model (BDL). It discusses the importance of Supported Open Learning as a method of supporting students, and the key role of simulators, remote access tools and day schools. It is argued that a constructivist learning approach was taken when designing T216, which is demonstrated by this BDL model. BDL has proven to be an excellent way of delivering Cisco courses to adult learners, as supported by student feedback and attainment. BDL offers the Cisco Networking Academy program an opportunity to extend reach in both existing and new markets

Development of a vendor practice-based distance based learning programme

The case study describes the methods used to provide laboratory activities, or their equivalents, to students pursuing Open University (OU) modules delivered by distance learning at undergraduate and postgraduate level in networking. The modules incorporate the study of Cisco Academy materials and prepare students for Cisco professional qualification exams as well as OU assessment for HE credit. Three modes of experimental activity are described: 1. Attendance at physical laboratories 2. Remote online access to equipment 3. Use of online simulation software. The merits of each mode of operation are presented and discussed

Open Networking Lab: online practical learning of computer networking

Learning to configure computer networks is a topic requiring a substantial practical component and suggesting a pedagogic approach that foregrounds experiential learning. However, providing appropriate computer networking hardware is expensive for classroom labs, and is not viable for individual distance learners. Simulation offers an alternative basis for practical learning and supports a range of modes, from individual distance learning to in-class blended learning. Sophisticated network simulation packages, such as Cisco’s Packet Tracer, have high fidelity to networking devices and can simulate complex network scenarios. Unfortunately their complex interfaces make it difficult for a novice student to engage productively. The Open Networking Lab (ONL) will provide online resources for students of introductory computer networking. It will take an activity-centred approach, supported with video and screencasts, in preference to lengthy text. Practical activity is based on PT Anywhere, a network simulator that provides students with an easy-to-use, browser-based interface over Cisco’s Packet Tracer. PT Anywhere thus provides fully authentic simulation but, by only revealing a subset of features, supports a carefully scaffolded approach to teaching and learning. We report at an early stage in the development of the ONL. Material is being piloted with students at UK Further Education colleges. Evaluation will include observation, surveys and interviews with students and staff; PT Anywhere also provides learning analytics. A further stage of development will culminate in a badged open course on the Open University’s OpenLearn platform. The ONL will provide vocational learning at scale in educational institutions, employment contexts and for individual learners

An Open Networking Lab for practical open education

The Cisco Networking Academy programme (NetAcad) supports education and training in network engineering worldwide. NetAcad works with diverse educational institutions to offer an educational ‘vertical’ from beginner to advanced network engineer. However, as recognised by employment stakeholders, skills shortages in networking remain (Tech Partnership, 2016), particularly at the entry point (vocational levels two/three). NetAcad has been seen as a closed community based on the use of proprietary (Cisco) technology, but since 2013 it has moved towards openness through the release of APIs, free-to-use software/content, and the adoption of open standards. This has been, in part, enabled via scalable engagement projects with diverse stakeholders, including the UK Open University (OU). The OU is an Academy Support Centre (ASC) within NetAcad, supporting the growth and academic development of network engineering. In collaboration with Cisco and funded by the Ufi Charitable Trust, the OU is developing an online Badged Open Course (BOC), as part of the Open Networking Lab project (onl.kmi.open.ac.uk). Using the OU’s OpenLearn Create educational platform (www.open.edu/openlearncreate) under a CC-BY-SA-NC licence, material from the course can be taken and reused. The BOC will provide what is colloquially described as ‘zero to hero’ learning in network engineering and represents approximately 24 hours of study over 8 weeks. The course, which is free and open to all, is aimed at post-16 learners and is intended for use both by individuals engaged in independent study and classroom-based learners. Early versions of the course have been used by a number of UK further education colleges over the past 12 months. These institutions have been using the course with students who are studying towards a vocational qualification but currently have little previous experience of networking. Drawing on Sfard (1998), who argued that acquisition and participation are both necessary for learning, the course is primarily a combination of screencasts (acquisition) followed by experience/practice (participation) with a web-based computer network simulator. With the use of an Open API, integration between Cisco’s freely available and powerful ‘Packet Tracer’ network simulator and any compatible browser is enabled. The web-based network simulator, known as ‘PT Anywhere’ (Mikroyannidis et al., 2017) offers an authentic experience of networking, while developing learners’ confidence. Students can put into immediate practice technological skills learned via the screencasts. Each new practical activity delivers a network with configurable components. Students can follow the instructions, as well as freely exploring the network – adding, removing or modifying components. We will present findings from two large-scale evaluations of different stages of the course development. These evaluations took place with FE colleges using the course, and include student surveys, observations, learning analytics and interviews with staff. We will consider how these findings have shaped the development of the course as it moves towards becoming a BOC, hosted on the OU’s OpenLearn platform (www.open.edu/openlearn) and also accessible via the OU’s OpenSTEM Labs (stem.open.ac.uk/study/openstem-labs). We will discuss with participants the implications of being open to a range of learners with different learning preferences, learning needs and prior experience. References Kolb, D.A. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey. Mikroyannidis, A., Gomez-Goiri, A., Smith, A. & Domingue, J. (2017) Online Experimentation and Interactive Learning Resources for Teaching Network Engineering. IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON). Athens, Greece http://oro.open.ac.uk/49733/, IEEE Education Society Publications. Sfard, A. (1998). On Two Metaphors for Learning and the Dangers of Choosing just One. Educational Researcher, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp.4-13 Tech Partnership (2016). Factsheet: Demand for Digital specialists [online]. Available at:https://www.tpdegrees.com/globalassets/pdfs/research-2016/factsheet_demandfordigitalspecialists_july16.pdf. [Accessed 30 November 2018]

Circular economy inspired imaginaries for sustainable innovations

In this chapter, Narayan and Tidström draw on the concept of imaginaries to show how Circular Economy (CE) can facilitate values that enable sustainable innovation. Innovation is key for sustainability, however, understanding and implementing sustainable innovation is challenging, and identifying the kind of actions that could direct sustainable innovations is important. The findings of this study indicate that CE-inspired imaginaries enable collaboration and by relating such imaginaries to common and shared social and cultural values, intermediaries could motivate actors into taking actions that contribute to sustainable innovation.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Education for sustainability in higher education; Early Childhood Studies as a site for provocation, collaboration and inquiry

Fifteen years after they were created, the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have reached their expiration date. The United Nations asserts that surveys conducted in September 2015 suggested that only 4% of the UK public had heard of the MDG’s. The renewed focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer opportunities for higher education institutions (HEIs) to work alongside students to create a shared and contextualised awareness of sustainable development within Early Childhood Education. This aim is pertinent for those students studying Early Childhood Studies (ECS) degrees with the potential goal of working with babies, young children and their families. The research was situated within a paradigm of critical educational research to establish a shared understanding of sustainable development within a newly validated BA (Hons) ECS programme at a HEI in the Northwest of England. Visual provocations were used as a pedagogical intervention to present a disorientating dilemma, critical reflection on personal perspective and an examination of world views. Findings suggested that visual methodologies supported students to appreciate the ambiguity and contested limits of knowledge, and to draw upon wider sources related to moral and ethical principles and to established rights and responsibilities

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population