Learning through construction in IT courses

In the Norwegian Center for Excellence in IT education (Excited), there are 19 IT study programs across two universities with six campuses. One of the goals of Excited is to gain more knowledge about “learning through construction”(LtC) in IT studies. The paper presents preliminary findings on characteristics of courses with “learning through construction” in bachelor and master courses with project-based learning in the spring semester of 2017. The LtC courses are characterized through a number of variables from a categorization model of project courses: teaching context, range of implementation, learning context, institutional context, personnel composition, grading, project variety, degrees of freedom of the process and in the deliverables. Our findings show that “learning through construction” is often used as a learning method in higher IT education because constructive skills are a highly valued learning outcome, and to develop such skills, it is necessary to practice. At the same time, the teachers conclude that the learning method is motivating for students and is stimulating creative thinking, and that project work is useful because the students will be better prepared for project work also after their studies. Our findings also shows that there are “learning through construction” courses on all study years of the bachelor and master study programs, and that some study programs have a maker focus in each semester. Some projects are individual work, but the majority of the projects are group work, often in small (2-4) or medium-sized (5-10) teams. Most of the time, the students organize the teams themselves, but in some cases the teams are set up by the faculty. When it comes to student autonomy, the students experience more freedom further into their education, as there are more flexible project processes in the later study years. The products of the student projects are typically software prototypes and product documentation/software design, more specifically the main product types are games and web applications. Some courses with learning through construction use external stakeholders in the student projects. The study also shows that the implementation of learning through construction projects varies across study years and study programs.publishedVersio

Bruk av nye medier i markedsføring av Kystriksveien

Kystriksveien Reiseliv er et markedsføringsselskap for strekningen Steinkjer – Bodø. Selskapet jobber med 170 reiselivsbedrifter, 25 kommuner fordelt på to fylkeskommuner. Markedsføring av opplevelser og aktiviteter langs veien er et strategisk satsningsområde. Kystriksveien Reiseliv opplever at det kreves større kompetanse for å markedsføre deres produkt gjennom nye medier og på nye plattformer og ønsket derfor å gjennomføre et kompetansehevningsprosjekt i samarbeid med Høgskolen i Nord- Trøndelag. Prosjektet har tatt utgangspunkt i et praktisk case hvor Trygve Pløhn over en periode på 17 dager fra 8. juni til 24. juni 2010 syklet Kystriksveien fra Bodø til Steinkjer. Med på turen fulgte Kindergarten Media. I løpet av turen ble det produsert en rikholdig turdagbok / blogg med bilder, tekst og daglige Web-TV sendinger. Det ble også benyttes sosiale medier som Twitter og Facebook for å formidle opplevelsen det var å sykle Kystriksveien.Prosjektet var et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom Høgskolen i Nord-Trøndelag, VRITrøndelag, Kystriksveien Reiseliv og Kindergarten Media. Prosjektet ble finansiert av Kystriksveien Reiseliv og VRI-Trøndela

Role of the Neutral Amino Acid Transporter SLC7A10 in Adipocyte Lipid Storage, Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Elucidation of mechanisms that govern lipid storage, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance may lead to improved therapeutic options for type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. Here, we find that adipose expression of the small neutral amino acid transporter SLC7A10, also known as alanine-serine-cysteine transporter-1 (ASC-1), shows strong inverse correlates with visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, and adipocyte hypertrophy across multiple cohorts. Concordantly, loss of Slc7a10 function in zebrafish in vivo accelerates diet-induced body weight gain and adipocyte enlargement. Mechanistically, SLC7A10 inhibition in human and murine adipocytes decreases adipocyte serine uptake and total glutathione levels and promotes reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Conversely, SLC7A10 overexpression decreases ROS generation and increases mitochondrial respiratory capacity. RNA sequencing revealed consistent changes in gene expression between human adipocytes and zebrafish visceral adipose tissue following loss of SLC7A10, e.g., upregulation of SCD (lipid storage) and downregulation of CPT1A (lipid oxidation). Interestingly, ROS scavenger reduced lipid accumulation and attenuated the lipid-storing effect of SLC7A10 inhibition. These data uncover adipocyte SLC7A10 as a novel important regulator of adipocyte resilience to nutrient and oxidative stress, in part by enhancing glutathione levels and mitochondrial respiration, conducive to decreased ROS generation, lipid accumulation, adipocyte hypertrophy, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes.acceptedVersio

Bruk av nye medier i markedsføring av Kystriksveien

Kystriksveien Reiseliv er et markedsføringsselskap for strekningen Steinkjer – Bodø. Selskapet jobber med 170 reiselivsbedrifter, 25 kommuner fordelt på to fylkeskommuner. Markedsføring av opplevelser og aktiviteter langs veien er et strategisk satsningsområde. Kystriksveien Reiseliv opplever at det kreves større kompetanse for å markedsføre deres produkt gjennom nye medier og på nye plattformer og ønsket derfor å gjennomføre et kompetansehevningsprosjekt i samarbeid med Høgskolen i Nord- Trøndelag. Prosjektet har tatt utgangspunkt i et praktisk case hvor Trygve Pløhn over en periode på 17 dager fra 8. juni til 24. juni 2010 syklet Kystriksveien fra Bodø til Steinkjer. Med på turen fulgte Kindergarten Media. I løpet av turen ble det produsert en rikholdig turdagbok / blogg med bilder, tekst og daglige Web-TV sendinger. Det ble også benyttes sosiale medier som Twitter og Facebook for å formidle opplevelsen det var å sykle Kystriksveien.Prosjektet var et samarbeidsprosjekt mellom Høgskolen i Nord-Trøndelag, VRITrøndelag, Kystriksveien Reiseliv og Kindergarten Media. Prosjektet ble finansiert av Kystriksveien Reiseliv og VRI-Trøndela

Role of the Neutral Amino Acid Transporter SLC7A10 in Adipocyte Lipid Storage, Obesity and Insulin Resistance

Elucidation of mechanisms that govern lipid storage, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance may lead to improved therapeutic options for type 2 diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. Here, we find that adipose expression of the small neutral amino acid transporter SLC7A10, also known as alanine-serine-cysteine transporter-1 (ASC-1), shows strong inverse correlates with visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, and adipocyte hypertrophy across multiple cohorts. Concordantly, loss of Slc7a10 function in zebrafish in vivo accelerates diet-induced body weight gain and adipocyte enlargement. Mechanistically, SLC7A10 inhibition in human and murine adipocytes decreases adipocyte serine uptake and total glutathione levels and promotes reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. Conversely, SLC7A10 overexpression decreases ROS generation and increases mitochondrial respiratory capacity. RNA sequencing revealed consistent changes in gene expression between human adipocytes and zebrafish visceral adipose tissue following loss of SLC7A10, e.g., upregulation of SCD (lipid storage) and downregulation of CPT1A (lipid oxidation). Interestingly, ROS scavenger reduced lipid accumulation and attenuated the lipid-storing effect of SLC7A10 inhibition. These data uncover adipocyte SLC7A10 as a novel important regulator of adipocyte resilience to nutrient and oxidative stress, in part by enhancing glutathione levels and mitochondrial respiration, conducive to decreased ROS generation, lipid accumulation, adipocyte hypertrophy, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes