Student engagement in virtual space

In this paper, a university course (subject or unit of study) that currently enjoys positive formal student reviews is used as a case study to demonstrate how theoretical knowledge about student engagement is effectively put into practice. This investigation identifies key aspects that have contributed to the positive student feedback with particular emphasis on student engagement online, or in virtual space. The investigation involves identifying what is considered good practice with respect to student engagement and then benchmarking the case study course against this. A key contribution of this paper is the presentation of practical examples demonstrating how the current theory is effectively realised in practice. The conclusion was that the course complied with key elements of what is considered good practice and successfully engaged students. Other practitioners may use the examples in their own context to help inform the practice of engaging students when teaching in virtual space

Impact of online training in a first year undergraduate course

Students studying university courses in the off-campus (distance education or external) mode may be at a disadvantage to on-campus students since they don’t have the benefit of face-to-face instructions. Furthermore, they don’t have the opportunity to participate in formative assessments that are often delivered informally in lectures. This may lead to feelings of remoteness and isolation leading to poorer learning, lower results in assessments, and may also contribute to drop out rates, particularly in first year courses. To overcome this inequity, the usual training materials presented for a first year course in 2005 were supplemented with PowerPoint lectures, enhanced with synchronous audio, and a series of quizzes to be used as formative assessments. The lectures and quizzes were presented online via a course web site and were designed to become an integral part of the learning experience. The effectiveness of these enhanced materials was evaluated by surveying the users. Outcomes of the survey indicate that the enhancements to materials facilitated improved students’ learning, contributed positively to the learning experience, increased enjoyment of the course, and were a strong motivator. Off-campus students reported feeling less disenfranchised with the university and having a greater affinity with the lecturer, both of which should help increase first year retention rates. The information presented in this paper will be of benefit to others designing online teaching and learning activities

An assessment strategy for a first year engineering problem solving course

This paper describes an assessment strategy for an Engineering problem-based learning course offered to first year students at the University of Southern Queensland. The assessment involves initial auditing of existing skills and competence of each student to facilitate the effective allocation of students with different levels of expertise in various discipline areas, into well balanced teams. This balance in combination with the formal assessments in the course, have been shown to encourage effective mentoring within and between teams. The formal assessment strategy includes a mix of both summative and formative assessment. The summative assessment of objectives combines team and individual assessment and is tailored to individual students’ existing skill levels. The emphasis is on advancement of skills and competence rather than simply achieving a minimum standard. This strategy provides the flexibility for equitable assessment of students with different initial skill and competence levels. This is particularly relevant to students studying in the distance mode who may have considerable professional experience and advanced skills and competence. By tracking progress towards the achievement of objectives, students develop an individual portfolio of achievements that can be continued throughout the remainder of their programs and professional lives

Learning flexibility: the environment and a case study

This paper outlines the flexible student learning environment in the Faculty of Engineering and Surveying, before concentrating on evaluating one online learning option. This Faculty provides a variety of high quality on-campus, distance education and on-line academic programmes and various learning strategies for the heterogeneous student cohort (national and international). By accessing appropriate flexible learning and different learning experiences, students are empowered to determine learning opportunities and methodologies to suit their personal needs. The off-campus mode study may disadvantage students since they don’t have the benefit of face-to-face instructions or to participate in formative assessments delivered informally in lectures. This may lead to feelings of remoteness and isolation leading to poorer learning, lower results in assessments, and may also contribute to drop-out rates, particularly in first year courses. To overcome this inequity, the usual training materials presented for a first year course in 2005 were supplemented with PowerPoint lectures, enhanced with synchronous audio, and a series of quizzes to be used as formative assessments. The lectures and quizzes were presented online via a course web site and were designed to become an integral part of the learning experience. An evaluation of the effectiveness of these strategy demonstrated improved students' learning, a positive contribution to the learning experience, increased enjoyment of the course, and a strong learning motivator. Students reported feeling less disenfranchised with the university and having a greater affinity with the lecturer

Evaluation of a hydrographic technique to measure on-farm water storage volumes

Digital terrain models of on-farm water storages are required to assist in accurately measuring the on-farm water balance and water use efficiency components including storage capacity, inflow, seepage, evaporation and discharge volumes. A hydrographic surveying system combining a high-precision global positioning system (GPS) and a low-cost depth sounder was developed to facilitate the creation of a digital terrain model. The system was validated by comparing the hydrographic terrain model and volume measurements against both a traditional real time kinematic (RTK) land based survey and independent lead line depth measurements. Flat bottomed storage volumes were measured with errors of less than 1 percent using the hydrographic survey technique. A major proportion of the error in small storages was found to be associated with the ability to accurately identify the inflection point between the banks and floor of the storage. However, for larger storages, errors were primarily related to density of sampling points within the storage floor area. Recommendations are provided regarding the appropriate measurement procedures, including sampling point density, for a range of storage sizes

Qualitatively different ways students experience remote access laboratories

This paper reports variations in students' experience of using remote access laboratories (RAL). Outcomes describe what students are actually attending to when engaged in RAL activities. The research was informed by the well-accepted and documented qualitative research method of phenomenography. Four qualitatively different conceptions are described, each revealing characteristics of increasingly complex student experiences. These conceptions reveal increasing awareness of certain aspects of RAL, the most notable of which is how the realness of the activity affects student engagement from simple experimentation to an appreciation that linking theory with practice provides a rich learning experience and can prepare them for professional work. The research outcomes inform pedagogy by providing a platform for improving RAL development and facilitation practices and thereby improving student learning outcomes

A comparison of methods for mapping golf greens

Several golf greens were mapped using a RTK GPS, Riegl 3D-Laser Mirror Scanner and Trimble S6 Robotic Total Station systems to determine the most appropriate method for this task. The RTK GPS was the easiest methods for data capture but was insufficiently accurate for mapping at a contour interval of 0.05 m or less in this situation. The laser scanner level data accuracy was slightly more accurate than the robotic total station but both produces results that were suitable for golf green mapping. However, the ease of use of the robotic total station determined this as the preferred methodology for golf green mapping with a 0.05m contour interval

Using RTK GNSS to measure cadastral distances

This paper reports findings of an empirical study into the accuracy and precision of 'measuring' (more correctly calculating or deriving) lines on a cadastral survey from RTK GNSS observations at each end of the line. Unlike earlier publications on this topic that relied on zero-baselines for data analysis, this research uses a range of physical baselines selected to represent typical conditions that may be encountered on a cadastral survey. The research also privileges observations at each end of the line that are taken in quick succession rather than the more generalizable notion of observations taken at any particular time. Results indicate that, provided appropriate corrections are applied, RTK GNSS can provide accurate distances and the accuracy is not expected to degenerate substantially as a function of the length of the line being measured (derived). Preliminary analysis indicates that if observations are taken in quick succession, the distance above which distances may adequately be derived by RTK, and below which distances ought to be measured with a conventional total station could be shortened, but a cautious approach to this is recommended with great emphasises on the need to build redundancy and independent checks into surveys. Further focussed research will be undertaken to test this hypothesis and results will be published in the near future

Vegetation obstruction effects on Auspos and RTX

This paper reports an investigation into the horizontal accuracy of various static GNSS logging durations from two to 24 hours, at five sites with sky obstructions from 0% to 90%, using two online GNSS processing systems. It was found that in almost all situations, 12 hours of data would provide reliable results, and no appreciable difference was found between AUSPOS and Trimble RTX. Further refinement of the outcomes are presented in the form of a graph of suggested logging durations versus percentage of sky obstructions. These may be useful to the surveying profession, provided they are used as suggestions only and further redundancies are built into surveys based on normal good practice and relevant control survey requirements

Engineering phenomenography

This chapter extends the phenomenographical research method by arguing the merits of engineering the outcome space from these investigations to effectively communicate the outcomes to an audience in technology-based discipline areas. Variations discovered from the phenomenographical study are blended with pre- and post-tests and a frequency distribution. Outcomes are then represented in a visual statistical manner to suit the specific target audience. This chapter provides useful insights that will be of interest to researchers wishing to present findings from qualitative research methods, and particularly the outcomes of phenomenographic investigations, to an audience in technology-based discipline areas