91 research outputs found
A First Briefing on MOOCs
This memo is addressed to members of our university (and maybe others) who want to know whether they need to know about MOOCs, and what the first things they would need to know are.
MOOCS were the academic buzzword of 2012.1 But what is a MOOC. Do we care? Should we? In this short memo we begin with a list of questions, in no particular order, that we have either asked or been asked. The discussion that follows will contain the answers to these, and other, questions, although there may not be a separate section for each question
Improving transition into university life through real and virtual groups
In this talk we will present an overview of the initiatives undertaken within the Student
Learning Service in order to ease transition into the numerate disciplines at the University
of Glasgow. We will discuss how we make use of social networking tools in order to
communicate with students and support virtual PAL type activities. In particular, we will
show how we are using Facebook groups as a mechanism for students to support each
other both academically and socially and explain how we have introduced pre-entry support
and offered advice for new entrants in the College of Science & Engineering using these
groups. We will also briefly discuss plans to run maths support labs during summer school
for local students during the next academic session and show how we have successfully
introduced semi-formal events such as maths-related film afternoons and craft activities
Making connections: engaging student technology teachers with a mathematics module
Over the last three sessions, we have redeveloped a Mathematics module for student
Technology teachers to provide an experience that is more relevant to the students’
intended career. The most recent version uses Moodle forums, wikis and the “External
Tool” facility, social media, group projects and Mahara. Previously, this was essentially a
revision module, intended to ensure that students could cope with the mathematical aspects
of the rest of their course. Students were required to complete ten topic tests, and
attendance was mandatory only until they had done so, leading to a “race to finish” attitude.
Engagement was minimal and the relevance of the module to the remainder of their course
was poorly understood. We introduced a “topics wiki” in which groups of students
collaborate to provide additional explanations and resources around the course content.
The efforts so far are very worthwhile and will be of use to those with less experience of
Maths and to future students. Students are encouraged to discuss module content during
class time, and in the forums and Facebook group. We are also encouraging students to use
the wikis and group projects to build personal e-portfolios using Mahara. In this
presentation, we shall set out our reasons for redesigning the existing course, and for
selecting the additional activities. We shall report on students’ reaction to this year’s
module, present examples of student engagement with the course, and put forward ideas
for further development, which could be the basis for discussion
Using Social Media to Promote Deep Learning and Increase Student Engagement
In this paper we discuss an intervention that was introduced at the University of Glasgow in order
to address problems of scheduling face to face Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) sessions in the College
of Science and Engineering (CoSE). Using Facebook groups, the authors have successfully
implemented a Virtual Peer Assisted Learning (VPAL) model.
We begin by discussing the background to choosing VPAL as a model and Facebook groups as a
method of delivery, and then set out our model in detail. We next present some recent student
feedback and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our model. We end by also commenting on
the sustainability and transferability of this design
Scoping the future: a model for integrating learning environments
The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has become synonymous with online learning in HE.However, with the rise of Web 2.0 technologies, social networking tools and cloud computing thearchitecture of the current VLEs is increasingly anachronistic. This paper suggests an alternative tothe traditional VLE: one which allows for flexibility and adaptation to the needs of individual teachers,while remaining resilient and providing students with a seamless experience. We present a prototypeof our vision, combining our new development software and a number of existing tried and tested toolsinto a single flexible interface, and built on established pedagogical and technical standards
Massive Open Online Courses as affinity spaces for connected learning: Exploring effective learning interactions in one massive online community
This paper describes a participatory online culture – Connected Learning Massive Open Online Collaboration (CLMOOC) – and asks how its ethos of reciprocity and creative playfulness occurs. By analysing Twitter interactions over a four-week period, we conclude that this is due to the supportive nature of participants, who describe themselves as belonging to, or connected with, the community. We suggest that Gee’s concept of an affinity space is an appropriate model for CLMOOC and ask how this might be replicated in a higher education setting
Key pedagogic thinkers: Dave Cormier
An interview with Dave Cormier, the founder of Rhizomatic learnin
Module facelift: engaging student technology teachers with maths
In recent years a First Year Mathematics module for student
Technology teachers has undergone a significant redesign due to a
combination of factors. In 2010 a new tutor took over the module and
began to add more content to the existing course in order to encourage
students to engage with online resources, but a total redesign was not
possible due to the limitations of the existing Virtual Learning
Environment (VLE) (Moodle 1.9). In 2012, with support from the
Learning Technology Unit, this course was restructured on the new
Moodle 2.3 site in order that a new tool for quiz authoring and delivery
could be embedded within the course. Previous technologies available
were limited in various ways; with the arrival of this new tool
sophisticated questions can be delivered and activities can be accessed
on and off campus. In addition to this, the new version of the course
includes tools for social networking and collaborative learnin
Learners on the periphery: lurkers as invisible learners
Lurkers, who are also known as silent learners, observers, browsers, read-only participants, vicarious learners, free-riders, witness learners, or legitimate peripheral participants (our preferred term), tend to be hard to track in a course because of their near invisibility. We decided to address this issue and to examine the perceptions that lurkers have of their behaviour by looking at one specific online learning course: CLMOOC. In order to do this, we used a mixed methods approach and collected our data via social network analysis, online questionnaires, and observations, including definitions from the lurkers of what they thought lurking was. We then analysed the data by using social network and content analyses and interpreted the research findings using the concept Community of Practice, with the Pareto Principle used to delimit types of learner. Our research findings revealed that lurking is a complex behaviour, or set of behaviours, and there isn’t one sole reason why lurkers act the ways that they do in their respective communities. We concluded that for a more participatory community the more active, experienced or visible community members could develop strategies to encourage lurkers to become more active and to make the journey from the periphery to the core of the community
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