Student presentations using video

Originally posted on: Student presentations using video:



Karl Flowers, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Creative Leather
Technology assesses his students through presentations and has often
found that it is difficult to schedule face-to-face time slots where all
the required parties can make it. Allowing his students to
independently record their presentations and submit them through NILE’s
video streaming tool, Kaltura, overcomes scheduling issues, enables more
use of technology for the students and enables sharing good practice
between year groups.



View the full case study here (PDF, 419KB)



'via Blog this'

All views are the authors, and may not reflect the views of any organisation the author is connected with in any way.

Preprint: Computer Science Courses Using Laptops

A preprint of paper to be publish in the next edition the journal Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences (ITALICS) is now available at http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.11120/ital.2014.00011

Computer Science Courses Using Laptops

Gary Hill, Espen Svennevik and Scott Turner

Department of Computing & Immersive Technologies, University of Northampton, UK

Corresponding author: Scott Turner, Department of Computing & Immersive Technologies, University of Northampton, UK Email: Phone: +44 (0) 1604 893028

Abstract

Traditionally computer sciences courses have been taught using laboratories full of expensive desktop computers. Although this approach may have been valid in the 80, 90s and even the early part of this decade, this paper suggests that buying, maintaining and replacing laboratories full of computers is no longer required. This paper raises the issues associated with attempting to use laptops – as thin/thick clients using virtual machines – to deliver the computer science curriculum and offers potential solutions that, in some cases, may make computer science courses at such ‘brave’ institutions more appealing.

Read More: http://journals.heacademy.ac.uk/doi/abs/10.11120/ital.2014.00011

Gary Hill, Espen Svennevik, and Scott Turner: (2014) Computer Science Courses Using Laptops. Innovation in Teaching and Learning in Information and Computer Sciences. DOI: 10.11120/ital.2014.00011

Posted with Blogsy

MApping: integrating mobile technology into geography fieldwork learning and teaching

MApping: integrating mobile technology into geography fieldwork learning and teaching Who is your project team? Naomi Holmes and Adel Gordon How much funding did you receive? £3,000 What is your project: Using mobile technologies in geography field work learning and teaching. The focus of the project was to use an iPad mini to collect data for a Habitat Survey assignment based at Delapre, Northampton. Do you have any outcomes you can report? There was successful use of the iPad mini in ENV2123 for the Habitat Survey assignment. Students used the apps Fieldtrip GB and Skitch to collect data in the field. Also used in other modules to facilitate learning including: Producing group presentations on ‘Citizen Science’ Making iMovie trailers on ‘Conservation Biogeography’ Working in small groups to research and present a research proposal Various apps were used by the students and Apple TV was used to allow the students to present their work immediately in class. Students engaged well with the technology. They enjoyed the sessions and welcomed the opportunity to use creative learning techniques.

Mobile in the field

Mobile in the field - Learning Across Contexts, the next generation from Adel Gordon

This slide deck was presented at the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Conference, April 2014 - Dublin, Ireland.

• 1. Mobile in the Field Learning Across Contexts – The Next Generation ADEL GORDON Learning Technologist University of Northampton @adelgordon
• 2. ABOUT ME ADEL GORDON Learning Technologist University of Northampton Adel.Gordon@northampton.ac.uk System Administrator for 11 years Focus on assessment technologies, Mobile and Blackboard/SIS integration
• 3. ABOUT MY INSTITUTION The University of Northampton has around 17,000 students (FTE) and around 1,500 staff All students and around 75% of staff are expected to use Blackboard. The Learning Technology team have responsibility over all things related to Blackboard…
• 4. WE’RE GOING TO LOOK AT… • Interdependencies when learning across contexts • Geographers’ use of mobile in the field • Lessons Learned • Future plans
• 5. OUR CHALLENGE #1 Lecture Theatre LaboratoryThe field Personal workspaceSeminar room Online / VLE
• 6. WHY MOBILE? “Mobile and wireless technologies support learning designs that are personalised, situated and authentic...” “mobile learning should aim to innovate and to discover what is gained through having portable tools that support observations, interactions, conversations and reflections, within and across various contexts of use...” (Kukulska-Hulme, Traxler & Pettit, 2007)
• 7. OUR CHALLENGE #2 Mapping “Desk based” Survey Identify & Delineate Overlay key Plan Data Collection Assignment BE ORGANISED! Students are required to:
• 8. OUR SOLUTION Tablets Image source: www.apple.com & www.tesco.com
• 9. OUR SOLUTION Skitch Image Source: www.evernote.com/skitch & Holmes (2014)
• 10. OUR SOLUTION FieldTrip GB Source: http://fieldtripgb.blogs.edina.ac.uk/
• 11. FIELDTRIP GB FORMS
• 12. HERE’S HOW WE USED BLACKBOARD Mobile Learn • All materials are mobile friendly with options for viewing • Discussion board for collaborative work
• 13. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID Like having access to the forms before the fieldwork I like the bigger screen on the iPad mini – makes it easier to use the maps Being able to sync data once connected is great, and the FieldTrip GB app facilitates data collection really well I really like the iPad mini and having a 3G version makes it even better in the field FieldTrip GB is Great!
• 14. LESSONS LEARNED • Can increase engagement and support activities that are central to learning • Be clear about the aims and manage expectations (especially of internet availability!) • Importance of preparatory work
• 15. FUTURE PLANS Oculus Rift – pre fieldwork activities to enhance the usefulness of data capture and gathering in the field. In trials on generic maps and 3D environments student have commented that…
• 16. DO THIS NEXT Have a chat with staff and students about their practice. Particularly in subjects where field, lab, studio work etc is carried out. Consider the contexts in which learning takes place, and how the gap between them can be bridged using mobile. Get some mobile devices!
• 17. REFERENCES Brown, E. (ed) (2010) Education in the Wild: contextual and location-based mobile learning in action. A report from the STELLAR Alpine Rendez-Vous workshop series. University of Nottingham: Learning Sciences Research Institute (LSRI). Downward, S., et al. “Podcasts and Locations”. In Salmon, G. and Edirisingha, P. (eds) (2008) Podcasting for Learning in Universities. Maidenhead: Open University Press, pp. 57-69. Gordon, A., Jackson, J. and Usher, J. (2014) Learning across contexts - mobile for fieldwork in environmental sciences. In: Mobile Learning: How Mobile Technologies Can Enhance the Learning Experience. Oxford: UCISA. pp. 2-5. Holmes, N. (2014) Lake at Delapre. [Skitch image]. Kukulska-Hulme, A., Traxler, J., and Pettit, J., (2007) Designed and user-generated activity in the mobile age. Journal of Learning Design, 2(1), pp. 52–65. Blackboard Mobile – http://www.blackboardmobile.com/ FieldTrip GB - http://fieldtripgb.blogs.edina.ac.uk/ Oculus Rift - http://www.oculusvr.com/
• 18. THANK YOU! Adel Gordon Learning Technologist University of Northampton adel.gordon@northampton.ac.uk @adelgordon

awarding winning mobile for fieldwork

The now highly commended case study (see figure) of colloborative work by Adel Gordon and Janet Jackson, University of Northampton, Julie Usher, Blackboard (previously University of Northampton) in using mobile technologies in Fieldwork for Environmental Sciences  was presented on 23rd January 2014 at 

Effective use of mobile technologies to enhance learning, teaching and assessment, 

,

Context take from the paper:

"The culture, practice and pedagogy of academic disciplines such as geography and environmental sciences are based around in the field activities as well as traditional learning in face to face, online and laboratory scenarios. Downward et al (2008) have argued that environmental scientists are uniquely positioned to pilot mobile technologies, because they work across so many different contexts.

figure 1

Figure 1 depicts the varied contexts in which environmental students are now expected to work. Within each of these disciplinary contexts learners should have access to all the resources they need, as well as the ability to capture, reflect on, develop and extend their ideas into other contexts.

As Kukulska-Hulme et al (2007) note, mobile learning may offer a solution to this problem, by encouraging students to use “portable tools that support observations, interactions, conversations and reflections, within and across various contexts of use...” (p.53).

With this in mind we wanted to find a solution that could facilitate students’ learning both within and across these contexts."

To read more, read the full paper at Good Practice Guide "Mobile learning:How mobile technologies can enhance the learning experience" page 2  published by UCISA.

Reference
Kukulska-Hulme, A, Traxler, J, and Pettit, J, (2007). Designed and user generated activity in the mobile age. Journal of Learning Design, 2(1), pp 52–65.

Other related links:

• Virtual Reality in Teaching.
• Update for the Innovation Panel
• Update: Learning across contexts

Update from the Innovation Fund Panel

Taken from the Raising the Bar Newsletter

The Innovation Fund Panel, comprising Deborah Mattock as Chair, Angie Bartoli (Health), Katie Jones (Institute of Health and Wellbeing), Olinga Taeed (NBS) and Terry Tudor (Science and Technology) met for the first time last week and the funding of two projects was agreed.   These were: • MApping: integrating mobile technology into geography fieldwork learning and teaching (lead: Naomi Holmes); • To use immersive technology devices to prepare for field work (lead: Scott Turner). Congratulations to Naomi and Scott on being the first recipients of the Fund. The Panel received a wide range of project proposals some of which have been deferred for consideration at a later meeting.  In considering the bids, the Panel was particularly pleased to receive bids from individuals or groups who demonstrated collaborative working, either between Schools, between subject areas within Schools, or between Schools and Professional Services.  Projects which demonstrated innovation, either through the use of technology or a different way of working, were also particularly welcomed.  The next meeting of the Panel will be taking place on Thursday 14 November and staff are invited to submit their bids to innovationfund@northampton.ac.uk by Wednesday 6 November 2013.

Learntech and iNorthampton app

Two blog entries concerning the Learning Technology Team and the iNorthampton app taken from: http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/

The Learntech team 2013 – January update

by ROB HOWE on JANUARY 8, 2013 

Julie Usher left the team at the end of June 2012 and Adel Gordon subsequently moved into the role of supporting Science and Technology. Rob Farmer moved into the role of supporting Arts.

Belinda Green joined the team on 17th September as dedicated Learning Technologist for The School of Education (funded by the School). This is similar to Andy Stenhouse who is funded by The School of Health and is their dedicated Learning Technologist. Al Holloway maintains a central position with a supporting role for Education and Health – working with Belinda and Andy.

Rachel Maxwell joined the team on a part time (0.8) post on the 5th November and is picking up support for NBS from Adel Gordon.

We currently have a vacancy for Rob Davis’ post as he left on the 21st December. The interviews for this post will be held on 8th February and the successful person will pick up support for Social Sciences. This work is currently being distributed between current central team members.

From left to right (Rob Howe, Belinda Green, Rachel Maxwell, Andy Stenhouse, Rob Farmer, Adel Gordon)
Al Holloway was not available for the photo.

If staff wish to contact the Learning Technology Team please use ext 2696 or via email atLTSupport@northampton.ac.uk.

 

iNorthampton – January 2013 updates

by ROB HOWE on JANUARY 8, 2013 · LEAVE A COMMENT · in FEED BACK: YOU SAID, WE DID...,LEARNTECH NEWS

This blog posting has relevance for all iNorthampton users (Apple, Android and Blackberry)

iNorthampton has been updated on Apple devices to ensure that it is compatible with the iPhone 5 and IOS 6. This update has made a fundamental change to the way in which NILE is accessed through the app.

Following the update, when you click onto the springboard link for Bb NILE you will be directed to a second app calledBlackboard Mobile Learn (if you do not already have this app then you will be prompted to download it). This is an updated version of the tool which was previously embedded in iNorthampton.

The benefits of using Blackboard Mobile Learn means that:

• NILE will format correctly on iPads
• There is an enhanced link to notifications and announcements on your device
• Ability for mobile formatted tests where appropriate

This change (in linking to Bb Mobile Learn) will be subsequently rolled out to Android users later in the year.

Changes to the way in which Blackberry users are supported

From April 30th, 2013 iNorthampton will cease to be supported as a Blackberry application. For more details on the reason for this – please see the Mobile Central Update. The advice for Blackberry users is to add a shortcut to iNorthampton from the home screen of your BlackBerry (add shortcut to home screen feature for Blackberry OS 6+). This will allow you to access Maps, Courses, News, Events, Library, Directory, Timetables and Get Help. In order to access NILE you should download Blackboard Mobile Learn for Blackberry

How do I add a shortcut to iNorthampton on BlackBerry?

1. Visit  m.northampton.ac.uk in your BlackBerry’s browser.
2. From the BlackBerry Menu, select “Add to Homescreen”.

Tagged with: 

update: Learning across contexts – mobile for fieldwork

An update of the use of the mobile technologies for field work is available at http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/files/2012/09/Npton-Case-Study-EnvSci-Julie-Usher-and-Janet-Jackson-2011-2012.pdf


Intended outcomes

 To enable students to quickly and easily document 
findings and ideas in the field 
 To enable the student to access resources electronically
and re-use data in other learning contexts



Process

Trial use of mobile technology on two field trips, to Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve in December 2011 and to Stonehenge in February 2012. For both trips, the tutor set up a group blog in NILE, and asked the students to record their findings on site using mobile devices, and post them to the blog for 
discussion.

The Wicken Fen field trip formed part of a second year module on Habitat Ecology and Management. Students were asked to observe and record details of the wetland habitat and share their observations with the group. They also planned to use GPS to tag the exact locations of their images and notes, to share with the wider community via Flickr, an image sharing site.



Benefits and Challenges

A feedback survey revealed that students enjoyed using the devices, particularly for photography and video, which 
helped them to record a lot of data very easily. 80% of the students said that the app was ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to use. 

Connectivity was a real challenge, particularly for the Wicken Fen trip where there was very little mobile signal. This was challenging  partly because of student expectations – when handed an internet enabled device, they expected to be able to connect and start accessing information. The purpose of the trip though was for them to record their own data, and be creators rather than consumers, so expectations needed to be clearly set!

Connectivity was also an issue for the GPS tagging of resources, and for some apps, like Dragon Dictation, which relied on data connection or stored information in the cloud. The weather on the Wicken Fen trip was also a challenge, particularly for those using touch screen devices!


Key points

 Framing the device is crucial – explain why you want students 
to use it and what value it can add for their learning.
 Allow students to experiment – some even recorded their 
stakeholder roleplays on site!
 Inclusion is important. Make sure you have loan devices for 
those that don’t have their own.

iNorthampton v2 released into the wild

The update of iNorthampton, the University of Northampton's mobile App has been announced today: http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/2012/09/13/inorthampton-release-2-now-available/. Updates are in-line with comments from students and staff.

Content below taken from: http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/2012/09/13/inorthampton-release-2-now-available/

General Improvements based on feedback

“Need to be able to personalise the app more”

We have included the ability to define your role when using the app from the first launch. This puts a framework in place to enable us to deliver more personalised information in the future.
You are now able to rearrange the tools on the springboard to move the ones you use most to the top – or just to a new page (currently only available on iOS).

Specific improvements to current tools:

You want updates/improvements to Maps. “And maybe a campus walkthrough, using video or augmented reality”

The main campus maps have been updated and will continue to be updated as new maps are released.

We have made augmented reality functionality available for iNorthampton on the iPhone 4 and 4S. Users of these devices can now lay a map of key buildings on top of the picture they see on screen through their camera lens. This dynamically updates as the phone moves to reflect each building and its distance from the phone.

We are currently looking at a tour to be included in a later release.

You would like “to be able to check your library account and renew books”

The library website has become more ‘mobile friendly’ and you will be directed to this when you have conducted a search. You will see a link termed “View availability on Library Site” which will take you to the library site and allow you to login to check your account and renew books. We’re still looking into ways to bring these links into iNorthampton.

“There should be more content from the Students’ Union”

We have worked with the  Students’ Union to add SU news, the SU Youtube channel and SU photo galleries. You will see these when viewing the ‘news’, ‘videos’ and ‘images’ links from the springboard whilst in either the ‘Current Student’ or ‘Prospective Student’ profiles.

“I want to get notifications/reminders from NILE”

This is now available as part of a separate download of Blackboard Mobile Learn rather than being part of the app at this stage – we hope to bring it into iNorthampton very soon. The separate Mobile Learn App is recommended for iPad users in any case as it has been optimised for this device.

The link to NILE within iNorthampton will still provide mobile access to all of your sites on NILE and has been used in a number of pilot projects in The School of Arts and also Science and Technology.

“Why can’t I get NILE on my Blackberry?”

You can – but you have to get the separate Blackboard Mobile Learn app. It’s not possible to build this into another app on the Blackberry platform as it stands. We’re hoping that upcoming changes to the Blackberry operating system will allow us to improve the iNorthampton experience for Blackberry users.

Improvements to the timetable module – “I don’t want to have to log in every time, and should show more of my timetable when I do”

The iNorthampton link to timetables has been completely redesigned for Phase 2 and now allows:

• The ability to pick any date in the academic year
• Timetable location now links to Google Maps to assist with finding the building where room is located.
• Improved help and advise

“Can we have a tool to report faults in halls?”

A telephone number has been included in the “Get Help” section of iNorthampton , and we are still investigating a more detailed GPS-based solution for a future development (sorry, no dates for this yet).

Suggestions for new features

“Please add bus times / traffic information / parking information / car sharing site / taxi numbers to the app”

Northamptonshire County Council have their own app (called NCC) for Android and iPhone, which was developed by staff here at the University. This already has live bus timetables, so we’d recommend you use this if you can. They also supply a text service to send bus times to your mobile. Sadly this does mean that  the NCC won’t let us use the timetable data, but we’re looking at including links to the timetables on the website, as well as to traffic information and the car sharing website.
At present we can’t collect the data for how many parking spaces are free at any one time on site, but we have asked Infrastructure Services to look into this for us.
The University does not have a recommended taxi company, so we won’t be supplying taxi numbers, sorry.

“The app should include email, and access to file storage”

We took the decision not to include email, as smartphones already include a tool to integrate this. File storage is a little more complex, as iOS devices in particular do not have an accessible folder structure where files are stored. There are a few web-based alternatives available though. Apart from files in NILE, you can also access documents stored on the web (or in cloud services like Google docs or Windows Live) through a mobile browser.

“It would be great to include links to other apps that are useful for learning”

We didn’t want to bulk out the app with these, as they may not all be relevant to all users. However when we find useful apps, we will be adding recommendations to ourLearnTech blog. If you’d like to make a recommendation, or write a guest post, just let us know!

“Opening times and menus for the restaurants would be good, and links to offers from Greggs!”

We’re looking at adding ‘places of interest’ to the maps in phase 3, and this will include all the eating places, hopefully along with opening times and menus. If you want offers from Greggs, they will give them to you – but only in exchange for a like from your Facebook account.

“A tool which shows the nearest free PC would be good”

We are still awaiting further development in this area and will update iNorthampton when this becomes available.

……and finally

We are also pleased to announce that Northampton’s experience with iNorthampton has also featured in an international Blackboard marketing campaign.

The app has been downloaded over 10,000 times during the past year.

mobile for fieldwork

Taken from  http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/learntech/2012/09/07/learning-across-contexts-mobile-for-fieldwork/  by Adel Gordon

This case study talks about a pilot run by Janet Jackson and her students in Environmental Sciences from the School of Science & Technology, whilst on two field trips to Wicken Fen and Stonehenge.

The main aims of this pilot were to allow the students to document and reflect on their findings whilst in the context (in this case the field trips), and then to access and re-use that information outside of the context.

Students enjoyed using the devices, particularly for photography and video, which helped them to record a lot of data very easily. 80% of the students said that the app was ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to use.

More details can be found at Leaning across contexts – mobile for fieldwork (case study, PDF 581KB)

 

Apps – annotating PDF

Re-posted from: Apps for Teaching and Learning – annotating PDF files by Julie Usher "With thanks to Dr. James Xue, Lecturer in Computing, for the iAnnotate recommendation." 

Being able to add your own notes to PDF files can be really useful, whether they are lecture notes you want to add your own thoughts to, documents or journal articles you have downloaded for your own research,  or student or collaborative papers that you need to feed back on. There are many different options available for this. Here are a few we found.

iOS (Apple) apps

neu.Annotate is a free app that will allow you to open a PDF file (e.g. from email, the web or a cloud storage service like Dropbox), and annotate it using typed text or freehand annotation in a range of colours, as well as adding shapes, stamps and images. You can even add whole new pages, and annotate those too. The annotations are saved as part of the PDF, which can then be sent out by email or saved back to Dropbox.

iAnnotate PDF is an advanced tool with lots of options, including the usual highlighting and annotation. It can be set up to sync with Dropbox, but also has it’s own sync tool, called Aji PDF service, that allows you to set up a live link to a folder directly on your PC or Mac. This allows you to batch download original files, and then batch upload your annotated versions.

There is also an iAnnotate Lite version of this app for Android.

GoodReader is an app that can handle many different types of files. It’s really a file management tool, that allows you to access PDFs, Office and iWork files, images, video and even archived web pages on your iOS device. It can collect together files from a range of sources, including Google docs, Dropbox and iCloud, and let you read, organise, annotate (PDF and txt only) and re-upload them. It’s pretty complicated, as apps go, but if your files are a bit all over the place, this might be a good one for you. The PDF annotation  here is kind of a bonus.

Android apps

Again, there are a number of options available. Features vary, but all of the following will allow you to mark up, type on and highlight PDFs, as well as fill in PDF forms. In order of price at time of writing:

• ezPDF Reader includes text-to-speech and the ability to view audio and video files if they are embedded in the PDF. It also has a plugin to integrate with Google docs.
• Repligo Reader allows you to annotate and send PDF files via email, Bluetooth, Dropbox and Evernote.
• qPDF also allows you to send files via Bluetooth and sync files in Dropbox.

A note on workflows

If you’re planning to annotate a number of files, it’s worth thinking through how you will transfer these to and from the device. Many of the apps listed above will allow you to download files from (and sometimes upload or sync them to) cloud storage services, like Dropbox or Google docs. This saves having to attach individual files to email, but these services also have their own limitations.

We recommend, particularly when working with documents relating to student assessment, that you transfer the files directly between your device and a University computer wherever possible, rather than using a third party cloud storage solution. You may be able to do this wirelessly, using WebDAV or FTP, otherwise you may need to connect your device to the computer. With an iOS device, you can transfer annotated files via the iTunes software for all of the apps mentioned above. If you have an Android device, you may be able to connect it via USB as you would a memory stick, and batch transfer your files.

With thanks to Dr. James Xue, Lecturer in Computing, for the iAnnotate recommendation.