Discovering OIL: the role of online international learning and international field trips in enhancing student engagement and performance

Online International Learning (OIL) is an innovative teaching paradigm that facilitates intercultural competence via meaningful online discussions between higher education practitioners and students in distant locations (de Wit 2013). OIL has been elucidated as a collaborative form of pedagogy that enhances ‘virtual mobility’, collaborative learning and the student experience (ibid). Similarly, international field trips allow students the opportunity to enhance their cultural awareness by active learning and immersion in new, dynamic and exciting learning environments (Jakubowski 2003). Piggott (2012) argues higher education students revel in experiencing real situations that can often bring what is taught in the classroom ‘to life’. The case study integrated OIL and international field trips as a combined pedagogical strategy with the intention to deliver a best practice policy in assessment. This platform provided the opportunity to share ideas and views, discuss good business practices, explore cultural differences and encourage debate on current global affairs. It is contended that this practice not only fills a ‘gap’ but is in fact a unique strategy that has not been identifiable in any literature to date and is much deeper than the OIL-only strategy conducted by Villar-Onrubia and Rajpal (2015)

Flipping great or flipping useless? a review of the flipped classroom experiment at Coventry University London Campus

It is vital for teachers to keep abreast of new innovations to maintain student expectations and continuously improve performance in the classroom. A major development in recent pedagogical practice has seen the invention, development and implementation of the flipped classroom. Advantages include greater flexibility for students as they can study at their own leisure. In addition, there are opportunities for teachers to make seminars more interactive and to focus on exploring topics in greater depth after fundamental concepts have been practiced in a flipped class. This scenario has also led to greater student engagement and motivation and reduced tardiness and attendance issues. However, there are several disadvantages regarding its use. The most prominent criticism is that it is not possible to ascertain if a student has actually completed a flipped class until they attend a seminar. The whole flipped model is also wholly reliant on students having the motivation to do work in their own time. The creation, development and implementation of flipped classes can also be labour-intensive and onerous for teachers with already busy schedules. Further criticisms include the lack of instructor contact and necessity for developers to possess requisite technological skills. This study uncovered both positives and negatives regarding its efficacy with a number of students doubting its value in enhancing academic standards. Overall student performance and satisfaction levels were also lower when compared to the previous term when the same module was not flipped

Order one differential equations on nonisotrivial algebraic curves

In this paper we provide new examples of geometrically trivial strongly minimal differential algebraic varieties living on nonisotrivial curves over differentially closed fields of characteristic zero. These are systems whose solutions only have binary algebraic relations between them. Our technique involves developing a theory of $\tau$-forms, and building connections to deformation theory. This builds on previous work of Buium and Rosen. In our development, we answer several open questions posed by Rosen and Hrushovski-Itai

The impact of employability on technology acceptance in students: findings from Coventry University London

This article seeks to understand impact of employability on technology acceptance in students from a constructivist perspective. The growing significance of technology usage in academia prompted this research as well as the need to understand if the technologies that I and my colleagues use on a regular basis were successful in engaging learners. It was imperative to understand if we were meeting the expectations of our students as well as Coventry University London which has invested a great deal into their implementation. Therefore, 20 students from Coventry University London were interviewed to uncover their thoughts and experiences into their acceptance and ultimate use of learning technologies. These students were interviewed over a two‐year period (2016‐2017) in order to capture accurate data and keep pace with the ever‐evolving and arguably ephemeral nature of technology. Students also participated in focus groups after each set of interviews in order to explore relevant issues in greater depth. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was then applied to ascertain if employability was a significant variable in influencing technology acceptance. It was important to understand if the learning technologies utilised by academics were able to help students gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations. The empirical data confirmed the view that learning technologies which had a positive perceived benefit in enhancing employability outcomes play a significant role in engaging an array of international students in their studies. These findings arguably demonstrate the need for the institution to reconfigure and enhance the clarity of its technology‐enhanced learning strategy as well as its level of support to teaching staff. This proposal will allow academics to have sufficient opportunity to effectively utilise and apply learning technologies as part of their own individual pedagogical strategy and students to improve their employability skills as a result

A Digital Forensics Case Study of the DJI Mini 3 Pro and DJI RC

The consumer drone market is rapidly expanding with new drone models featuring unique variations of hardware and software. The rapid development of drone technology and variability in drone systems can make it difficult for digital forensic investigators and tools to keep pace and effectively extract and analyse digital evidence from drones. Furthermore, the growing popularity of drones and their increased use in illegal and harmful activities, such as smuggling, espionage, and even terrorism, has led to an increase in the number of drone forensic cases for authorities to manage. To assist forensic investigators, a static digital forensic case study was conducted on two drone devices recently released by Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI): the Mini 3 Pro drone, and its remote controller, the DJI RC. The study discovered the presence of several digital artefacts on both devices, including recorded media, flight logs, and other information that could help investigators trace the drone's usage and identify its operator. Additionally, this paper explored several methods for extracting and visualising the drone's flight history, and highlights some of the potential methods used to limit, obscure, or remove key types of digital evidence.Comment: 20 Pages, 23 figure

Designing EagleSat\u27s Structure

Designing EagleSat’s Structure Abstract: Over the past year the design of EagleSat’s structure has gone through three revisions. The first revision was an evolution of a senior aerospace engineering capstone design course structure that was produced. The design changes made to the capstone design course structure were focused on making the structure simpler both in terms of manufacturing and construction. The second revision was to change design flaws found in the structure to facilitate the testing of several EagleSat subsystems on the 2013 NASA HASP. The third and most current revision of the structure is focused on solving issues that were discovered while building the payload for the 2013 HASP flight to support the 2014 HASP Flight

Of Flyers and Free Speech: How Student Activism Defined the Contours of One University’s 21st-Century Hate and Bias Policy

Since 1999, The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) operated under a Student Policy on Race Relations when handling hate and bias incidents. In February 2017, an anti-Muslim flyer was posted near campus, prompting UT administration to hold a town hall for UT student activ-ists to vocalize their concerns. Through Kezar’s (2010) description of modern student protests and Barnhardt’s (2014) framework for modern student protests, this study analyzes the marginal-ized UT Austin student voices of that town hall meeting, demonstrating how modern student activism influenced presidential rhetoric and a new Hate and Bias Incidents Policy, the first in nearly two decades at UT Austin.Educatio

Undo Undue Hardship: An Objective Approach to Discharging Federal Students Loans in Bankruptcy

A debtor seeking to discharge student loans in bankruptcy must prove that paying the debt would cause an undue hardship upon him and his dependents. Undue hardship, however, is an undefined concept, flummoxing debtors, creditors and judges alike. The result of this ambiguity is rampant inconsistency in the manners in which similarly-situated debtors (and creditors) are treated by the courts. This article argues that the undue hardship standard should be replaced by a framework that uses debt service thresholds to determine the propriety of federal student loan bankruptcy discharges. Eligibility for discharge would depend on outstanding loan amounts, debtor income history, federal poverty guidelines, and the type of academic program in which the loan was incurred. The goals of the framework would be two-fold: 1) to provide an impartial, economical, and uniform means of assessing the propriety of student loan discharges, and 2) to provide debtors facing crushing student loan debt and few prospects for repaying it with a simplified avenue of relief in bankruptcy