Getting the Most Out of Moodle: A Workshop

In this guest lecture, Dara gave an overview of useful features within Moodle such as HP5 and the Progress Tracker. She also gave an overview of pertinent TEL Frameworks

Online Continuing Professional Development: An integrative approach

[EN] This paper reports on the design, development, delivery and evaluation of an online continuing professional development (CPD) course in the area of online teaching by three Irish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs). The course was developed in the context of a nationally coordinated effort to promote CPD of those that teach in Higher Education through digital badges. Survey results suggest a very high overall satisfaction rate with the course as a whole, increased levels of knowledge and confidence in relation to teaching online, and also intended transference to practice. While the external motivator of demonstrating engagement through the digital badge arose in the surveys and focus groups, it did not feature particularly strongly. Implications for CPD are discussed in relation to internal and external drivers and motivations around CPD for higher education teachers, and the need for opportunities for participants to interact and engage in the manner reminiscent of a community of practice approach.Risquez, A.; Cassidy, D.; Ó Súilleabháin, G.; Garvey, R.; Spain, S. (2019). Online Continuing Professional Development: An integrative approach. En HEAD'19. 5th International Conference on Higher Education Advances. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 641-648. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAD19.2019.9423OCS64164

Use Scenarios & Practical Examples of AI Use in Education

This report presents a set of use scenarios based on existing resources that teachers can use as inspiration to create their own, with the aim of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) at different pre-university levels, and with different goals. The Artificial Intelligence Education field (AIEd) is very active, with new resources and tools arising continuously. Those included in this document have already been tested with students and selected by experts in the field, but they must be taken just as practical examples to guide and inspire teachers creativity.Comment: Developed within the AI in Education working group of the European Digital Education Hu

The development and evaluation of a common assessment form for physiotherapy practice education in Ireland.

A sub-group of Chartered Physiotherapists in Education (CPE) was formed in 2004 to consider the adoption of a common assessment form (CAF) for assessing practice education placements for students studying physiotherapy in the Republic of Ireland. Following agreement from the four heads of departments, the needs of users (academic staff, practice tutors and practice educators) were established. As none of the existing forms met sufficient needs of the users, a new CAF was developed. The top features required by practice educators/tutors and HEIs, the positives of the existing forms and the behaviours indicated int he work of Cross \u26 Hicks1 were taken into account when developing the CAF. Following extensive revisions it was piloted on a small number of sites, revised by the committee and then validated by comparing scores to those of the existing assessment forms. Its inter-rater reliability was established bny comparing students\u27 grades between practic educators and practice tutors. Construct validity (PCC 0.906) and reliability estimates (ICC 0.84) were found to be satisfactory. As the validity and reliability fo the CAF was found to be satisfactory and greater than that of existing forms, the CAF was adopted by all for HEIs for use in summer 2007

Universal design for learning [HPEC Fast Facts]

Recent years have seen a greater focus on equity and diversity in higher and health professions' education. As part of this conversation, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has emerged as a promising and practical approach to teaching and learning which helps to provide students with equal opportunities to succeed. UDL principles can be used to create learning environments that suit a wide variety of learners, offering flexibility in the ways in which students can access and engage with resources. In this month's Fast Facts, we provide an overview of UDL, explore the organisation of the UDL framework, and consider how we might apply UDL to curriculum planning.</p

Evaluation of virtual assessment for a high stakes' clinical examination — physician assistant students' and their examiners' perspectives

Purpose: This case study emerged from the necessity to reschedule an in-person long case examination to an online platform for physician assistant students' final clinical examination during COVID-19 restrictions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the experiences of students and examiners for a high stakes' clinical examination online. Methods: This was an evaluation research study using the Context, Input, Process, Product model, which provided a framework to establish the effectiveness and/or success of an online format for a high stakes' clinical examination. All students and examiners were invited to take part in virtual interviews. Results: The results suggest that both students (n = 5) and examiners (n = 7) agree that, although the stress of a face-to-face examination was lessened for the student, this was balanced by a new stressor of potential Internet problems. All agreed that a virtual setting for a high stakes' assessment is not transferable, with both groups citing the lack of opportunities to "read the patient" and "showcase their physical examination skills" as challenging. Conclusion: Our study suggests that, in the context of balancing the risks of the pandemic with graduating health care professionals, the online clinical examination format met the required assessment criteria. Recommendations suggest that the long case could be planned so that students and patients are in the same setting to perform a physical examination, confirming the finding that questions on "how to" examine a patient are no substitute for "doing."</p

Badge of honour? An exploration of the use of digital badges to support a partnership approach to faculty development

This article describes a professional development initiative facilitated through a transformational partnership model. In this context, we discuss our experience of piloting an online continuing professional development course in the area of online teaching, which offered a digital badge for successful participants. The course was the result of a partnership between three Irish higher education institutions and a national agency that had initiated a nation-wide scheme to create and disseminate a range of open access collaborative professional development courses to promote the professionalisation of teaching and learning, with a specific digital badge being available for each course. We investigated the interplay between the digital badge issued for the course we piloted, and other potential intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Digital badges appear to be a weak motivating factor in initial enrolment and engagement, although for some participants, they did motivate continued engagement and completion. We discuss implications in relation to internal and external drivers and motivations around professional development. We also offer reflections on the larger context in which badges might be used or valued by course participants in their professional environments

Exploring Medical Students' Learning Around Uncertainty Management Using a Digital Educational Escape Room: A Design-based Research Approach

Introduction: Medical professionals meet many transitions during their careers, and must learn to adjust rapidly to unfamiliar workplaces and teams. This study investigated the use of a digital educational escape room (DEER) in facilitating medical students' learning around managing uncertainty in transitioning from classroom to clinical placement. Methods: We used design-based research to explore the design, build, and test of a DEER, as well as gain insight into how these novel learning environments work, using Community of Inquiry (CoI) as a guiding conceptual framework. This study represented a mixed methods pilot test of a prototype DEER. Twenty-two medical students agreed to participate, and data were collected through qualitative (i.e., focus groups, game-play observations) and quantitative (i.e., questionnaires) methods. Results: Eighty-two per cent of participants agreed or strongly agreed that the DEER supported their learning around uncertainty. Participants offered diverse examples of how the game had facilitated new insights on, and approaches to, uncertainty. With respect to the learning environment, multiple indicators and examples of the three domains of CoI - cognitive, teaching and social presence - were observed. Discussion: Our findings suggested that DEERs offer a valuable online learning environment for students to engage with complex and emotion-provoking challenges, such as those experienced at transitions. The study also suggested that CoI can be applied to the design, implementation, and evaluation of DEER learning environments, and we have proposed a set of design principles that may offer guidance here

Are we ever going back? Exploring the views of health professionals on postpandemic continuing professional development modalities

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly altered the ways in which health care professionals engage with continuing professional development (CPD), but the extent to which these changes are permanent remains unknown at present. This mixed-methods research aims to capture the perspectives of health professionals on their preferences for CPD formats, including the conditions that inform preferences for in-person and online CPD events and the optimum length and type of online and in-person events. Methods: A survey was used to gain a high-level perspective on health professionals' engagement with CPD, areas of interest, and capabilities and preferences in relation to online formats. A total of 340 health care professionals across 21 countries responded to the survey. Follow-up semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 respondents to gain deeper insights into their perspectives. Results: Key themes include CPD activity before and during COVID, social and networking aspects, access versus engagement, cost, and time and timing. Discussion: Recommendations regarding the design of both in-person and online events are included. Beyond merely moving in-person events online, innovative design approaches should be adopted to capitalize on the affordances of digital technologies and enhance engagement.</p