A preliminary evaluation of using WebPA for online peer assessment of collaborative performance by groups of online distance learners

Collaborative assessment has well-recognised benefits in higher education and, in online distance learning, this type of assessment may be integral to collaborative e-learning and may have a strong influence on the student’s relationship with learning. While there are known benefits associated with collaborative assessment, the main drawback is that students perceive that their individual contribution to the assessment is not recognised. Several methods can be used to overcome this; for example, something as simple as the teacher evaluating an individual’s contribution. However, teacher assessment can be deemed as unreliable by students, since the majority of group work is not usually done in the presence of the teacher (Loddington, Pond, Wilkinson, & Wilmot, 2009). Therefore, students’ assessment of performance/contribution of themselves and their peer group in relation to the assessment task, also known as peer moderation, can be a more suitable alternative. There are a number of tools that can be used to facilitate peer moderation online, such as WebPA, which is a free, open source, online peer assessment tool developed by Loughborough University. This paper is a preliminary evaluation of online peer assessment of collaborative work undertaken by groups of students studying online at a distance at a large UK university, where WebPA was used to facilitate this process. Students’ feedback on the use of WebPA was mixed, although most of the students found the software easy to use, with few technical issues and the majority reported that they would be happy to use this again. The authors reported WebPA as a beneficial peer assessment tool

Use and perceptions of second life by distance learners: comparison with other communication media

Research has demonstrated that the use of communication media in distance education can reduce the feeling of distance and isolation from peers and tutor, and provide opportunities for collaborative learning activities (Bates, 2005). The use of virtual worlds (VW) in education has increased in recent years, with Second Life (SL) being the most commonly used VW in higher education (Wang & Burton, 2012). There is a paucity of information available on students’ use and perceptions of SL in relation to other online communication media available to the distance learner. Consequently, in the study described here, this area was explored with a group of students registered in a part-time distance education Master’s program at a large UK University open to international students. A self-completion survey was designed to assess students’ use and perceptions of using SL compared with other communication media. The majority of students rated SL lower than other forms of communications media such as email, WebCT discussion boards, Skype, and Wimba for facilitating communication, promoting the formation of social networks, fostering a sense of community, and benefiting their learning.  It is possible that the results of this study were influenced by the lower frequency of use of SL in this program compared to other work reported on this subject. Further work is required to evaluate the effect of frequency of use of SL and availability of alternative communication media on students’ use and perceptions of this virtual world

Participants' perceptions of a MOOC

There is currently limited information available on participants’ perceptions of massive open online courses (MOOCs). This article presents the findings of a study at the University of Edinburgh examining the perceptions of a group of participants registered on a MOOC in equine nutrition, which ran for a period of five weeks and attracted 24,000 students to register. A self-completion survey was designed with a series of Likert scale questions, organized to gather students’ perceptions of participating in the MOOC. Participants on this course rated the learning materials and overall MOOC experience very highly; however, further work is required to elucidate why a much lower percentage of participants held the interactions in less regard

Feeding and management practices for racehorses in Turkey

The aim of this study was to gather information on feeding practices, and to identify nutrient imbalances of racehorses in Turkey. 134 racehorses who visited the TJK (Turkish Jockey Club) Racecourse Equine Hospital in Istanbul were referred for professional nutritional advice in 2013. Each horse was examined and body weight (BW), body condition score, exercise level, feeding practices, reasons for the veterinary visit as well as feed and supplement intake were recorded. Intakes of energy, starch, crude nutrients, and minerals were calculated and compared with NRC [15] recommendations. Descriptive data were calculated using commercial statistical software (IBM SPSS Statistics 24, Chicago, IL). The median age of the population was 3 years. The mean BW of the horses was 423.7 ± 38.4 kg and BCSwas 4.4/9 ± 0.7. Nearly all (99.2 %) horses were fed grass hay and 61 % of the horses received alfalfa as well. The average forage intake was 1.08 ± 0.42 % of BW/d. The average intake of concentrate was 1.2 ± 0.46 % of BW. Forty nine percent of the horses were fed supplements and only 12 % received oil. The mean DE intake was 1.03 ± 0.26 MJ DE/kg BW0.75 for thoroughbreds and 0.97 ± 0.19 MJ DE/kg BW0.75 for Arabians. The calculated mean starch intake was 5.0 ± 2.2 g/kg BW and the sugar intake was 1.2 ± 0.4 g/kg BW. Communication between horse owners/trainers and the equine nutritionists is needed with regard to formulating a proper diet for each horse

A preliminary evaluation of using WebPA for online peer assessment of collaborative performance by groups of online distance learners

Collaborative assessment has well-recognised benefits in higher education and, in online distance learning, this type of assessment may be integral to collaborative e-learning and may have a strong influence on the student’s relationship with learning. While there are known benefits associated with collaborative assessment, the main drawback is that students perceive that their individual contribution to the assessment is not recognised. Several methods can be used to overcome this; for example, something as simple as the teacher evaluating an individual’s contribution. However, teacher assessment can be deemed as unreliable by students, since the majority of group work is not usually done in the presence of the teacher (Loddington, Pond, Wilkinson, & Wilmot, 2009). Therefore, students’ assessment of performance/contribution of themselves and their peer group in relation to the assessment task, also known as peer moderation, can be a more suitable alternative. There are a number of tools that can be used to facilitate peer moderation online, such as WebPA, which is a free, open source, online peer assessment tool developed by Loughborough University. This paper is a preliminary evaluation of online peer assessment of collaborative work undertaken by groups of students studying online at a distance at a large UK university, where WebPA was used to facilitate this process. Students’ feedback on the use of WebPA was mixed, although most of the students found the software easy to use, with few technical issues and the majority reported that they would be happy to use this again. The authors reported WebPA as a beneficial peer assessment tool

Institutional and Student Transitions Into Enhanced Blended Learning

This presentation provides an overview of the ‘Transitions into blended learning’ project, which has focused on three areas: developing an institutional transition framework, researching student experiences, and identifying interventions to support effective transitions. The framework identified external drivers for blended learning, a set of considerations for institutions, and a set of processes to facilitate change involving three stakeholder groups at the heart of the model. The work included learner experience research with students newly engaged in blended learning. This work identified support needs around access (to technology and learning materials), attitudes (towards learning online) and attributes (skills) needed to engage autonomously in blended learning. The institution-wide Enhancement themes team identified a set of interventions or ‘anchor points’ to prevent the institution ‘drifting back’ into purely traditional approaches to learning and teaching. These included the recognition and promotion of good practice through case studies, development of an institutional e-learning framework, and an event to encourage staff and students to share good practice in blended learning. This three-year project was largely led by a PhD student (JA), working with the principal investigator (VHD) and the institutional representative (KG)

Use and perception of second life by distance learners: the effects of orientation session timing

Evidence suggests that Second Life (SL) is well received by those studying at a distance; however, little has been done to evaluate how a structured orientation session may affect students’ use and perception of SL. Consequently, this study explored orientation timing and its effect on a group of students registered in a part-time distance education master’s degree program at a large UK University open to international students. An online survey was designed and administered to assess students’ use and perception of SL use and whether these variables changed based on the timing of orientation to SL and its subsequent use. A series of Likert-type scale items were organized to gather the following information: student demographics; and students’ experience with, and thoughts of, SL. Results indicated that the use of an orientation session close to subsequent use of SL for learning activities did positively affect students’ use and perception of SL. Consequently, recommendations from the current findings suggest that if educators foresee a pedagogical benefit to using SL then it is important to ensure that students are provided with a timely and structured orientation to prior to its utilization

Equine nutrition: a preliminary investigation of feeding practices in equine veterinary hospitals in the USA

Nutrition plays an important role in equine rehabilitation, with contradictory approaches existing on correct nutritional management of patients. The preponderance of information related to nutrient requirements for horses was designed for healthy horses. Very little scientific research has been undertaken to determine specific recommendations for horses with health issues. This study provides a preliminary assessment of current feeding practices within equine hospitals in the USA. A survey was distributed to equine veterinary hospitals (n=115) and the response rate was 21%. The responses provided information on the demographics of equine veterinary professionals, facilities and equine patients, and current nutritional practices. A substantial number of hospitals housed 51 to 100 patients (30%) on a short-term basis of between 1 to 3 days (38%), treating a wide variety of conditions; several of which require strict dietary management (colic, laminitis and metabolic disorders). All facilities fed hay as the forage source and 9 (38%) provided pasture turnout. Only one facility fed forage only, the rest fed supplementary feeds: including complete feeds, pelleted feeds and cereal grains. Seven facilities (30%) fed all patients the same type of feed, but none fed patients the same amount of feed. Most facilities had specific nutritional protocols in place (79%); half had conducted feed analyses and half also consulted a nutritional advisor. As the first known study to investigate the nutritional management strategies of equine hospital environments, a clear need for further research and validation of results is required

Effect of live yeast culture supplementation on fibrolytic and saccharolytic bacterial populations in the feces of horses fed a high-fiber or high-starch diet

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of live yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) supplementation on the populations of specific cellulolytic (Fibrobacter succinogenes and Ruminococcus flavefaciens) and saccharolytic (Streptococcus equinus and Streptococcus bovis) bacteria in the feces of horses fed high-starch and high-fiber diets. Four horses were each fed diets consisting of high fiber with no yeast (HF), high fiber with yeast (HFY), high starch with no yeast (HS), and high starch with yeast (HSY) in a 4 × 4 Latin-square design study. Fresh fecal samples were collected on the last 3 days of each 31-day experimental period and were then assessed, using semiquantitative real-time PCR, for total bacterial load and levels of target bacterial species, relative to the total bacterial load. The most abundant of the target species was F. succinogenes, and the HSY diet resulted in a significant (P = .045) reduction in relative levels of this bacterium. No significant effect (P = .224) of diet was observed in relation to abundance of R. flavefaciens. Results show that diet did not have a significant (P = .068) effect on relative quantities of S. equinus, although there appeared to be a trend for increased levels of this bacterium during feeding of high-starch diets. Numbers of S. bovis were higher (P < .001) when horses were fed HS and HSY diets than when fed the HF and HFY diets. Significant variation in levels of S. equinus (P = .024) and S. bovis (P = .049) was observed between individual horses

Abrupt dietary changes between grass and hay alter faecal microbiota of ponies

Abrupt dietary changes, as can be common when managing horses, may lead to compositional changes in gut microbiota, which may result in digestive or metabolic disturbances. The aim of this study was to describe and compare the faecal microbiota of ponies abruptly changed from pasture grazing ad libitum to a restricted hay-only diet and vice versa. The experiment consisted of two, 14-day periods. Faecal samples were collected on day 0 and days 1–3,7,14 after abrupt dietary change from grass to hay and from hay to grass. Microbial populations were characterised by sequencing the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene using the Illumina MiSeq platform, 4,777,315 sequences were obtained from 6 ponies. Further analyses were performed to characterise the microbiome as well as the relative abundance of microbiota present. The results of this study suggest that the faecal microbiota of mature ponies is highly diverse, and the relative abundances of individual taxa change in response to abrupt changes in diet. The faecal microbiota of ponies maintained on a restricted amount of hay-only was similar to that of the ponies fed solely grass ad libitum in terms of richness and phylogenetic diversity; however, it differed significantly in terms of the relative abundances at distinct taxonomic levels. Class Bacilli, order Lactobacillales, family Lactobacillaceae, and genus Lactobacillus were presented in increased relative abundance on day 2 after an abrupt dietary change from hay to grass compared to all other experimental days (P <0.05). Abrupt changes from grass to hay and vice versa affect the faecal microbial community structure; moreover, the order of dietary change appears to have a profound effect in the first few days following the transition. An abrupt dietary change from hay to grass may represent a higher risk for gut disturbances compared to abrupt change from grass to hay