Peer Assisted Learning in Fleximode: Developing an Online Learning Community

Evidence suggests that peer-assisted learning schemes on campus help students establish social networks which can have a positive influence on their learning achievements. At the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), the majority of students are off campus, which raises the urgent question: how to harness the advantages of Meet-Up (formerly PALS: Peer Assisted Learning Strategy) in an online environment? Given that the potential problem of social isolation is even more acute in distance education, how do we develop a peer assisted learning program online which creates a sense of community for its participants? Since 2006, MSN Messenger has been used on a relatively small scale to facilitate this at USQ, with largely positive initial results. Based on evaluations of this initiative, this paper explores the potential of Wimba software, within an institution-wide Moodle learning management system, to extend peer assisted learning programs in a Web 2.0 context

Exploring the views of students on the use of Facebook in university teaching and learning

Facebook use among students is almost ubiquitous; however, its use for formal academic purposes remains contested. Through an online survey monitoring student use of module Facebook pages and focus groups, this study explores students’ current academic uses of Facebook and their views on using Facebook within university modules. Students reported using Facebook for academic purposes, notably peer–peer communication around group work and assessment – a use not always conceptualised by students as learning. Focus groups revealed that students are not ready or equipped for the collaborative style of learning envisaged by the tutor and see Facebook as their personal domain, within which they will discuss academic topics where they see a strong relevance and purpose, notably in connection with assessment. Students use Facebook for their own mutually defined purposes and a change in student mind- and skill-sets is required to appropriate the collaborative learning benefits of Facebook in formal educational contexts

Evaluation of wildlife Guards at Access Roads

The reconstruction of 90.6 km of U.S. Highway 93 from Evaro to Polson, MT on the Flathead Indian Reservation includes 41 fish and wildlife crossing structures and 13.4 km of road with wildlife fencing. These measures are aimed at reducing wildlife–vehicle collisions, while allowing wildlife to cross the road. In fenced road sections, gaps for side roads are mitigated by wildlife guards (similar to cattle guards). We focused on a 1-km fenced section where animals can either cross the road using five crossing structures (4 culverts, 1 bridge), or they can access the road through two guards on the east side and cross using jump-outs, i.e., earthen ramps that allow animals in fenced areas to jump down to safety, on the west side. We monitored wildlife movements with cameras at the two guards and in one large crossing structure adjacent to a guard. We investigated how effective these guards are in keeping deer (Odocoileus spp.) from accessing the road. We also compared movements across a guard to those through a crossing structure. The guards were 85 percent or more effective in keeping deer from accessing the road, and 93.5 percent of deer used the crossing structure instead of an adjacent guard when crossing the road. Though the guards were not an absolute barrier to deer, the results indicated that deer were substantially discouraged from crossing the guards, and the vast majority crossed the road using the crossing structure rather than the guard, indicating that guards are an effective means of mitigation

Use Of Wildlife Crossing Structures On Us Highway 93 On The Flathead Indian Reservation

In the 1990s, Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) proposed an expansion of U.S. Highway 93, in an area entirely within the Flathead Indian Reservation (FIR), home to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). In December 2000, the CSKT, MDT, and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) signed a memorandum of agreement that enabled its expansion. It included wildlife mitigation measures to both mitigate impacts to wildlife and natural processes associated with the widening of US93 as well as to address the safety of the traveling public. Mitigation measures include 41 fish and wildlife-crossing structures, including 40 underpasses and one overpass, wildlife fencing, jumpouts, and wildlife crossing guards across 56 mi of highway. Crossing structures were placed in areas that have a history of wildlife crossings and wildlife mortality, and/or locations where the surrounding landscape and land use was best suited for the crossing structures. Research is underway to determine the effectiveness of the mitigation (see www.mdt.mt.gov/research/ projects/env/wildlife_crossing.shtml). Between May 2008 and December 2009, eleven underpasses were monitored for wildlife use. Wildlife use of the structures was substantial with 3,000 deer crossings, 1500 coyote crossings, 300 bobcat crossings, 200 raccoon crossings, and 200 black bear crossings. Other species that used the crossings include mountain lion, elk, grizzly bear, moose, badger, river otter, muskrat, beaver, skunk, rabbit, and various bird species. For the wildlife mitigation measures to be considered successful, goals have been set by the CSKT, MDT, and FHWA, and more data need to be collected and analyzed before the researchers can conclude whether the mitigation measures have indeed reached those goals