Improving Assessment Outcomes Through the Application of Innovative Digital Technologies

Assessing students’ live performances is challenging because the marker needs to make complex judgements often very quickly while at the same time recording information and viewing the performance. The challenge increases when multiple markers are involved and moderation of marks is required. It can be difficult to maintain sound assessment principles, such as fairness and validity, and to offer students quality and timely feedback. This paper describes a two phase, qualitative, action research project which trialled the use of an innovative, digital technology-supported assessment tool designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of assessment and moderation of live performances. The digital assessment tool enabled students to engage with the assessment and feedback from tutors and peers multiple times. The project was initially trialled with 170 pre-service teachers (in phase one) and then 200 pre-service teachers (in phase two) enrolled in an arts education unit in the third year of their Bachelor of Education course. Literature is abundant with references of digital technology which is used to automate scoring and marks (Clarke-Midura & Dede, 2010), however, use of digital technology in this project does not replace the marker. Instead, it provides the marker with a tool to conduct and easily record rich observations of complex learning in a paperless, highly efficient and engaging way

Using iPad2 to Assess Students\u27 Live Performances and Actively Engage Students With Tutor and Peer Feedback

Assessing student live performances can be challenging because markers need to make quick and often complex judgements about the learning while at the same time record information and watch the performance. This is further challenged where multiple markers are involved and moderation between markers is required. Maintaining fairness and validity throughout the assessment process can consequently become a significant issue. Moderation of assessment can cause a delay in the turnaround time for student feedback because markers need to meet and review. In addition, the ‘busy type of work’ associated with compiling and sorting individual marks and distributing them to students, often further delays this process. This paper describes a two phase, qualitative, action research project which trialled the use of an innovative digital tool to streamline the assessment process when assessing live performances. Phase one involved the assessment of arts performances of 170 Bachelor of Education students and phase two involved 200 students. For each phase, the students were enrolled in a 12 week Arts Education unit in the third year of their course and were assessed in groups of 5 or 6 students. The digital assessment tool enabled each marker wireless access to a customised database during marking and moderation. Markers used laptops in phase one of the study, then iPad2 in phase two, as it enabled mobility during assessment. Each group’s performance video was embedded into their marking key. This made it quick and easy to locate and view. The digital tool automatically saved and collated data. At the completion of the marking and moderation period, the marking key with markers’ feedback as well as the embedded video of performance were automatically emailed to individuals as a pdf attachment. Individuals only received the feedback pertaining to their own group’s performance. The markers reported that the digital tool significantly enhanced the way in which they were able to capture and record their observations of complex learning. They felt that the assessment was more accurate and that the paperless process was far more efficient. The students reported that they became more engaged with the assessment process and that they engaged with their feedback on multiple occasions

Improving assessment outcomes through the application of innovative digital technologies

Assessing students’ live performances is challenging because the marker needs to make complex judgements, often very quickly, while at the same time recording information and watching the performance. This is further challenged when multiple markers are involved and moderation of marks is required. It can be difficult to maintain good assessment principles, such as fairness and validity and to offer students quality and timely feedback. This paper describes a two phase, qualitative, action research project that trialled the use of an innovative, digital technology supported, assessment tool designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of assessment and moderation of live performances. The digital assessment tool enabled students to engage with the assessment and feedback from tutors and peers multiple times. The project was initially trialled with 170 pre-service teachers (in phase one) and then 200 pre-service teachers (in phase two) enrolled in an arts education unit in the third year of their Bachelor of Education course. Literature is abundant with references of digital technology which is used to automate scoring and marks (Clarke-Midura & Dede, 2010), however, use of digital technology in this project does not replace the marker. Instead, it provides the marker with a tool with which to conduct and easily record rich observations of complex learning and it does so in a paperless, highly efficient and engaging way

A pragmatic multi-centre randomised controlled trial of fluid loading and level of dependency in high-risk surgical patients undergoing major elective surgery : trial protocol

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Funding climate adaptation strategies with climate derivatives

Climate adaptation requires large capital investments that could be provided not only by traditional sources like governments and banks, but also by derivatives markets. Such markets would allow two parties with different tolerances and expectations about climate risks to transact for their mutual benefit and, in so doing, finance climate adaptation. Here we calculate the price of a derivative called a European put option, based on future sea surface temperature (SST) in Tasmania, Australia, with an 18 °C strike threshold. This price represents a quantifiable indicator of climate risk, and forms the basis for aquaculture industries exposed to the risk of higher SST to finance adaptation strategies through the sale of derivative contracts. Such contracts provide a real incentive to parties with different climate outlooks, or risk exposure to take a market assessment of climate change.Support for this research came from the CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship, Enabling Adaptation Pathways project

Pollinator restoration in Brazilian ecosystems relies on a small but phylogenetically-diverse set of plant families

The alarming rate of global pollinator decline has made habitat restoration for pollinators a conservation priority. At the same time, empirical and theoretical studies on plant-pollinator networks have demonstrated that plant species are not equally important for pollinator community persistence and restoration. However, the scarcity of comprehensive datasets on plant-pollinator networks in tropical ecosystems constrains their practical value for pollinator restoration. As closely-related species often share traits that determine ecological interactions, phylogenetic relationships could inform restoration programs in data-scarce regions. Here, we use quantitative bee-plant networks from Brazilian ecosystems to test if priority plant species for different restoration criteria (bee species richness and visitation rates) can be identified using interaction networks; if phylogenetic relationships alone can guide plant species selection; and how restoration criteria influence restored network properties and function. We found plant species that maximised the benefits of habitat restoration for bees (i.e., generalists and those with distinct flower-visitor species) were clustered in a small number of phylogenetically-diverse plant families, and that prioritising the recovery of bee visitation rates improved both stability and function of restored plant-pollinator networks. Our approach can help guide restoration of pollinator communities, even where information on local ecosystems is limited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Global patterns in the impact of marine herbivores on benthic primary producers

Despite the importance of consumers in structuring communities, and the widespread assumption that consumption is strongest at low latitudes, empirical tests for global scale patterns in the magnitude of consumer impacts are limited. In marine systems, the long tradition of experimentally excluding herbivores in their natural environments allows consumer impacts to be quantified on global scales using consistent methodology. We present a quantitative synthesis of 613 marine herbivore exclusion experiments to test the influence of consumer traits, producer traits and the environment on the strength of herbivore impacts on benthic producers. Across the globe, marine herbivores profoundly reduced producer abundance (by 68% on average), with strongest effects in rocky intertidal habitats and the weakest effects on habitats dominated by vascular plants. Unexpectedly, we found little or no influence of latitude or mean annual water temperature. Instead, herbivore impacts differed most consistently among producer taxonomic and morphological groups. Our results show that grazing impacts on plant abundance are better predicted by producer traits than by large‐scale variation in habitat or mean temperature, and that there is a previously unrecognised degree of phylogenetic conservatism in producer susceptibility to consumption

Replication and Meta-Analysis of 13,000 Cases Defines the Risk for Interleukin-23 Receptor and Autophagy-Related 16-Like 1 Variants in Crohn’s Disease

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Variants in the interleukin-23 receptor (IL23R) and the autophagy-related 16-like 1 (ATG16L1) genes have been associated with an increased risk of Crohn’s disease (CD). Both genes were identified through genome-wide association scans and subsequent studies have validated these associations. To assess the effect size of these variants, an independent case-control association study and meta-analysis were performed. METHODS: British Caucasian subjects with inflammatory bowel disease (n=500) and 877 ethnically matched controls were genotyped for the disease-associated variants in IL23R and ATG16L1. In addition, meta-analyses of 12,991 patients and 14,598 controls, and 11,909 patients and 15,798 controls, were conducted on independently published data for the associations between IL23R and ATG16L1 variants and CD, respectively. RESULTS: In the present cohort, both susceptibility variants showed highly significant associations, including IL23R (rs11209026, P=0.0006; OR 0.37; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.67) and ATG16L1 (rs2241880, P=0.0017; OR 1.36; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.66). The meta-analysis based on the random effects model showed similar combined effects for rs11209026 (n=26, OR 0.41; 95% CI 0.37 to 0.46) and rs2241880 (n=25, OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.28 to 1.39). There was no statistically significant gene-gene interaction between caspase recruitment domain (CARD15) variants and the IL23R or ATG16L1 polymorphisms (P=0.44 and P=0.24, respectively). CONCLUSION: The present cohort and meta-analysis provides strong evidence that, in addition to CARD15, polymorphisms in both IL23R and ATG16L1 alter susceptibility to CD and that these effects are consistent across all populations of European ancestry; however, only ATG16L1 is relevant to inflammatory bowel disease in the Asian population

Risk algorithm using serial biomarker measurements doubles the number of screen-detected cancers compared with a single-threshold rule in the United Kingdom collaborative trial of ovarian cancer screening

PURPOSE: Cancer screening strategies have commonly adopted single-biomarker thresholds to identify abnormality. We investigated the impact of serial biomarker change interpreted through a risk algorithm on cancer detection rates. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the United Kingdom Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening, 46,237 women, age 50 years or older underwent incidence screening by using the multimodal strategy (MMS) in which annual serum cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) was interpreted with the risk of ovarian cancer algorithm (ROCA). Women were triaged by the ROCA: normal risk, returned to annual screening; intermediate risk, repeat CA-125; and elevated risk, repeat CA-125 and transvaginal ultrasound. Women with persistently increased risk were clinically evaluated. All participants were followed through national cancer and/or death registries. Performance characteristics of a single-threshold rule and the ROCA were compared by using receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: After 296,911 women-years of annual incidence screening, 640 women underwent surgery. Of those, 133 had primary invasive epithelial ovarian or tubal cancers (iEOCs). In all, 22 interval iEOCs occurred within 1 year of screening, of which one was detected by ROCA but was managed conservatively after clinical assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of MMS for detection of iEOCs were 85.8% (95% CI, 79.3% to 90.9%) and 99.8% (95% CI, 99.8% to 99.8%), respectively, with 4.8 surgeries per iEOC. ROCA alone detected 87.1% (135 of 155) of the iEOCs. Using fixed CA-125 cutoffs at the last annual screen of more than 35, more than 30, and more than 22 U/mL would have identified 41.3% (64 of 155), 48.4% (75 of 155), and 66.5% (103 of 155), respectively. The area under the curve for ROCA (0.915) was significantly (P = .0027) higher than that for a single-threshold rule (0.869). CONCLUSION: Screening by using ROCA doubled the number of screen-detected iEOCs compared with a fixed cutoff. In the context of cancer screening, reliance on predefined single-threshold rules may result in biomarkers of value being discarded

Enhanced CCR2 expression by ACKR2-deficient NK cells enhances increases tumoricidal cell therapy efficacy

Chemokines regulate leukocyte navigation to inflamed sites and specific tissue locales and may therefore be useful for ensuring accurate homing of cell therapeutic products. We, and others, have shown that atypical chemokine receptor 2 (ACKR2)-deficient mice (ACKR2−/−) are protected from metastasis development in cell line and spontaneous mouse models. We have shown that this relates to enhanced CCR2 expression on ACKR2−/− natural killer cells, allowing them to home more effectively to CCR2 ligand-expressing metastatic deposits. Here we demonstrate that the metastatic-suppression phenotype in ACKR2−/− mice is not a direct effect of the absence of ACKR2. Instead, enhanced natural killer cell CCR2 expression is caused by passenger mutations that originate from the creation of the ACKR2−/− mouse strain in 129 embryonic stem cells. We further demonstrate that simple selection of CCR2+ natural killer cells enriches for a population of cells with enhanced antimetastatic capabilities. Given the widespread expression of CCR2 ligands by tumors, our study highlights CCR2 as a potentially important contributor to natural killer cell tumoricidal cell therapy