Using technology to enhance learning, progression and achievement in higher education

The efficiency of the use of technology in higher education teaching and learning has seen limited research which has been mainly theoretical in nature. The research aims to identify the effects of using technology to enhance learning, progression and achievement in Higher Education. The literature review identified a gap, and this study is situated here to provide a proposed solution to the identified problem. The approach taken is iterative, as it seeks to find a solution to a perceived problem. The research reviews the effect of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) on student case studies and establishes whether technology enhancement can be personalised for learners. The research comprises of three individual studies which form the research design and the construction of the pedagogical model is the result of three studies data. The first study investigates the strategic element of TEL implementation from a programme perspective. The second study gains the student voice on the implementation of TEL. The final study measures the effectiveness of TEL implementation at a module level with a focus on personalisation of learning resources. The methodology adopted is viewed through a pragmatist lens, which enables relevant research instruments to be used to find the solution through the use of mixed methods. The results from this research are used to produce a pedagogical model for the implementation of technology into teaching and learning for modules in HE programmes. The model production process identifies the impact of the major findings from the three studies and to assess the effectiveness of the proposed model before testing it statistically for acceptance. The proposed pedagogical model adds to the established research and gives guidance on the implementation of technology in taught modules in a strategic and consistent manner, offering a level of self-personalisation to support learning in the most effective way. The model and accompanying guidance add knowledge to the area, build on published research and will develop practice. The research will contribute knowledge to the area through a new way of looking at TEL pedagogy, manifested in the proposed implementation model

Do mobile learning devices enhance learning in higher education anatomy classrooms?

Recently there has been an increased volume of research and practice of mobile Learning (mLearning) and in particular of the tablet device. The question of how, when and where to best incorporate the tablet device into the learning environment in Higher Education remains largely unanswered. The article presents the findings of an empirical study that examined the effect of integrating mobile learning tablet devices into first year University anatomy seminars in a group of Sport and Exercise students. Data on student achievement, attendance and feedback was collected over two academic years and two cohorts, comparing seminar groups taught with tablet devices (iPads) integrated with traditionally taught anatomy seminars. The results indicate that the iPads had a positive effect on attendance, achievement and progression, highlighting the need for a framework as to how the tablet should be incorporated to maximise the learner experience. This article offers insight into the implications of successful mLearning using tablets and into how we, as educators might use the tablet device as a tool to provide a more engaging, successful learning environment which positively impacts on student achievement and independent truly mobile learning outside of the classroom

Using a student mentorship scheme to develop and raise academic attainment

This practice paper describes and evaluates a mentorship scheme used with undergraduate students on the sports rehabilitation programme at Middlesex University. The scheme commonly called MUSCLE (Middlesex University Sport- Student Centred Learning Experience) was developed to engage students across all levels of the programme in assuming responsibility for, and ownership of, their own learning and grade attainment profiles. In the context of this paper, student mentoring comprised graduate, third, and second year undergraduate students mentoring first, second and third year students respectively. MUSCLE mentoring groups addressed issues such as induction, examination and academic writing skills, and study techniques. The scheme was implemented in October 2007, following consultation with the academic staff and student engagement task force groups at the University. An integrated qualitative (using focus groups to gather experiences of mentors and mentees) and quantitative (using pre and post mentoring academic grade profiles) approach employing multi variant ANOVA analyses of preliminary data revealed that students achieved, on average, two grade bands higher in their final summative assessments when compared with students not enrolled on the scheme. The greatest impact on student grade attainment was evident in year one of study with a diminished but significant impact in years two and three. Male mentees achieve higher grades compared with their female counterparts. There were no significant differences between male and female non mentored students. Mentors and mentees reported feelings of self-empowerment and support, as a result of the scheme

Beyond access and skills: from Moodle evaluation to digital literacies in situated practices

The paper considers the ‘frame of reference’ for the discussion and evaluation of technologies for learning and teaching in Higher Education. As gaining access to existing and emerging technologies become easier to achieve, there is a need to upskill staff and consider ‘digital literacies’ as inherently interdisciplinary and situated practices

Digital literacies in situated practices

As gaining access to existing and emerging technologies become easier to achieve, there is a need to upskill staff and consider ‘digital literacies’ as inherently interdisciplinary and situated practices. This poster outlines the digital literacy project at Middlesex University

Cold atom gravimetry with a Bose-Einstein Condensate

We present a cold atom gravimeter operating with a sample of Bose-condensed Rubidium-87 atoms. Using a Mach-Zehnder configuration with the two arms separated by a two-photon Bragg transition, we observe interference fringes with a visibility of 83% at T=3 ms. We exploit large momentum transfer (LMT) beam splitting to increase the enclosed space-time area of the interferometer using higher-order Bragg transitions and Bloch oscillations. We also compare fringes from condensed and thermal sources, and observe a reduced visibility of 58% for the thermal source. We suspect the loss in visibility is caused partly by wavefront aberrations, to which the thermal source is more susceptible due to its larger transverse momentum spread. Finally, we discuss briefly the potential advantages of using a coherent atomic source for LMT, and present a simple mean-field model to demonstrate that with currently available experimental parameters, interaction-induced dephasing will not limit the sensitivity of inertial measurements using freely-falling, coherent atomic sources.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Final version, published PR

Meta-food-chains as a many-layer epidemic process on networks

Notable recent works have focused on the multi-layer properties of coevolving diseases. We point out that very similar systems play an important role in population ecology. Specifically we study a meta food-web model that was recently proposed by Pillai et al. This model describes a network of species connected by feeding interactions, which spread over a network of spatial patches. Focusing on the essential case, where the network of feeding interactions is a chain, we develop an analytical approach for the computation of the degree distributions of colonized spatial patches for the different species in the chain. This framework allows us to address ecologically relevant questions. Considering configuration model ensembles of spatial networks, we find that there is an upper bound for the fraction of patches that a given species can occupy, which depends only on the networks mean degree. For a given mean degree there is then an optimal degree distribution that comes closest to the upper bound. Notably scale-free degree distributions perform worse than more homogeneous degree distributions if the mean degree is sufficiently high. Because species experience the underlying network differently the optimal degree distribution for one particular species is generally not the optimal distribution for the other species in the same food web. These results are of interest for conservation ecology, where, for instance, the task of selecting areas of old-growth forest to preserve in an agricultural landscape, amounts to the design of a patch network.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Optically trapped atom interferometry using the clock transition of large Rb-87 Bose-Einstein condensates

We present a Ramsey-type atom interferometer operating with an optically trapped sample of 10^6 Bose-condensed Rb-87 atoms. The optical trap allows us to couple the |F =1, mF =0>\rightarrow |F =2, mF =0> clock states using a single photon 6.8GHz microwave transition, while state selective readout is achieved with absorption imaging. Interference fringes with contrast approaching 100% are observed for short evolution times. We analyse the process of absorption imaging and show that it is possible to observe atom number variance directly, with a signal-to-noise ratio ten times better than the atomic projection noise limit on 10^6 condensate atoms. We discuss the technical and fundamental noise sources that limit our current system, and outline the improvements that can be made. Our results indicate that, with further experimental refinements, it will be possible to produce and measure the output of a sub-shot-noise limited, large atom number BEC-based interferometer. In an addendum to the original paper, we attribute our inability to observe quantum projection noise to the stability of our microwave oscillator and background magnetic field. Numerical simulations of the Gross-Pitaevskii equations for our system show that dephasing due to spatial dynamics driven by interparticle interactions account for much of the observed decay in fringe visibility at long interrogation times. The simulations show good agreement with the experimental data when additional technical decoherence is accounted for, and suggest that the clock states are indeed immiscible. With smaller samples of 5 \times 10^4 atoms, we observe a coherence time of {\tau} = (1.0+0.5-0.3) s.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures Addendum: 11 pages, 6 figure

Research ethics in practice: Lessons from studies exploring intimate partner violence in different contexts

Studies researching interpersonal violence (IPV) are associated with a range of ethical challenges. In this paper, lessons are drawn from three case studies exploring the experiences of different groups of survivors and perpetrators of IPV in diverse contexts: refugees in the Thailand-Burma border area; partner-violent adult men and female survivors in Ireland; and, school children in five European countries. The ethical – and associated methodological - challenges faced, and the ways in which they were overcome, are presented. Drawing on the case studies presented, the paper concludes that three key areas require special attention when conducting research in this field: accessing and recruiting participants, researcher skills and experience, and appropriate use of data