Wednesday 19 March 2014

Open Education Resource: Properties of Ultrasonic Waves

Another new Open Education Resource (OER) has been made available by the School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton.


Properties of Ultrasonic Waves

Author:  
Details
This material gives the description of the physical processes involved in the propagation of ultrasonic pressure waves as they pass through a material. It includes a mathematical derivation of the amplitude of the transmitted and reflected pressure waves, and an explanation is given for the differences between the near and far zones. This material has been used in the Advanced Inspection Methods and Techniques module as part of the BSc programme in Non-Destructive Testing at the University of Northampton.
Published:  School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton
Keywords: UKOER, Ultrasonic waves, Inspection and testing, Non-destructive testing 

The resource found on Jorum at: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/18755 

Friday 14 March 2014

Some interesting papers from HEA STEM 2013

A selection of some interesting papers from the recently put online Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference 2013:


Catherine Hack: Using Rubrics to Improve Marking Reliability and to Clarify Good Performance. Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference. DOI: 10.11120/stem.hea.2013.0027

Gaye Lightbody and Peter Nicholl: Extending the Concept of the One Minute Paper (OMP) Model. Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference. DOI: 10.11120/stem.hea.2013.0032

Chris MartinGraeme W. Coleman, and Janet Hughes: Do Student-produced Videos Encourage Critical Reflection among Undergraduate Computing Students?. Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference. DOI: 10.11120/stem.hea.2013.0007 

Michael James Scott and Gheorghita Ghinea: Educating Programmers: A Reflection on Barriers to Deliberate Practice.Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference. DOI: 10.11120/stem.hea.2013.0005

Yongmei Bentley and Shamim Warwick: Students' Experience and Perceptions of Group Assignments. Proceedings of the HEA STEM Learning and Teaching Conference. DOI: 10.11120/stem.hea.2013.0028


These were a few of the papers that got my attention. A full list can be found at: http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/book/10.11120/stem.hea.2013

Opinion: Screencast-o-matic video capture



Apart from it's name (Screencast-o-matic) I really like this piece of video screen capture software (so thank you to Amir Minai for telling me about it). Even though (or especially as) it is a  free bit of software it has some very nice features:

- you choose capture the screen either through a downloaded app or through a link on the site (i.e. no download needed)
- When the cursor is moving you get a large yellow circle surrounding it and it clear where it is. Which is great for demonstrating software in a video.
- When you left click the mouse you get a brief blue blob on the screen next to the cursor to show a click has occurred. Again, great when demonstrating software.
- you get up to 15 minutes per recording.
- several videos formats are possible.
- it is easy to use.
- last and certainly not least it is free.

On the free version you get Screencast-O-Matic.com across the bottom of the screen, but in my view that is easy to live with and doesn't really distract from the content.


As a complementary tool to use alongside software such as Panopto this is a very nice tool.

The software can be found at: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/

I would be interested in receiving comments from others on other similar pieces of software.




All views are the author's and therefore do not necessarily reflected the views of any organisations the author is employed by or is affiliated with.


Friday 7 March 2014

GIRLS INSPIRED TO GET INTO SCIENCE


Northampton | Anglia - ITV News: " GIRLS INSPIRED TO GET INTO SCIENCE
Northampton: Teenage girls encouraged to consider a career in science and engineering
They've seen fireballs, heard deafening explosions and heard the personal experiences of one of Britain's most famous female motorbike champions and now they're being encouraged to follow their dreams.

Around 100 14-year-old girls have spent time this week at the University of Northampton taking part in the 'Girls Going Global' event which aims to encourage more women into science and engineering.

Report from ITV News Anglia's Russell Hookey

'via Blog this'