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Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

HEA Workshop and Seminar SeriesDeveloping Employability Programmes with Interactive Curriculum Technologies

University of Salford, 11 July 2013

Jeff WaldockDepartment of Engineering and Mathematics

Faculty of Arts, Computing, Engineering and Science

http://bit.ly/17JyFJ1

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Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability Jeff Waldock

Experiential/active learning- Engagement- Motivation- Understanding- Practical applicability- Contextualises learning- Employability

BSc Mathematics at SHU is distinctive - it emphasises real practical applications- it emphasises the importance of mathematical modelling

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Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability Jeff Waldock

“It is not sufficient just to have an experience to learn … a learner needs to make the link between theory and action”

“The interesting pedagogical issue is to develop appropriate learning and teaching strategies .. to provide structures which help learners to link theory and practice”

“Where activities cannot be performed in a working environment .. it is suggested that academic staff create substitute experiences. In this way class time shifts from conceptualising to experiencing”

“Computer-mediated communication can be important”

“Computer-supported experiential learning”, Staley and Eastcott, ALT-J, vol7, 1, 1999http://bit.ly/16RzhYE

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Jeff Waldock

Kolb Learning Cycle

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

Experience/Experimentation

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Reflective observation

Team-working, leadership and interpersonal skills

‘DigitiseImage’, ‘Colours’, ‘Gaussian’, Excel

Progress Files, for reflection and action-planning

‘Socrative’

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Jeff Waldock

Experience/Experimentation: DigitiseImage

Experience/Experimentation: DigitiseImage

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

DigitiseImage.exe

Bridge image

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Jeff Waldock

D igita l im ages are com posed of a pixel array , w ith each p ixe l itse lf com prising separate red , green and blue com ponents

Each of these com ponents can take values betw een 0 and 255 .

N orm ally expressed as hexadecim al values – in the form #RRG G BB, so red, for exam ple, is #FF0000.

Digital images are composed of a pixel array, with each pixel itself comprising separate red, green and blue componentsEach of these components can take values between 0 and 255.Normally expressed as hexadecimal values – in the form #RRGGBB, so red, for example, is #FF0000.

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Experience/Experimentation: Colours

Experience/Experimentation: Colours

Colours.exe

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Experience/Experimentation: Gaussian

Experience/Experimentation: Gaussian

Gaussian.exe

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Experience/Experimentation: Excel

Experience/Experimentation: ExcelTraffic flow simulation:

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Experience/Experimentation: Excel

Experience/Experimentation: ExcelMoving average

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

“Very useful to visualise the effects of changing aspects of the input variables, adds to reassurance in understanding of an idea”

“I found that the way the course was delivered helped me engage with the subject a lot more and built confidence in my ability”

“I have been able to use the skills I learnt to progress me far quicker than anyone else in the department”

“I think the course was a great foundation for my career because it not only provided the theory, but allowed us to apply that theory to real problems in a way that workplaces use”

“This engaged me more in the subject allowing me to visualise the problem clearly; I gained a higher level of understanding quicker than in other modules”

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

Reflective Observation: e-Progress Files

“It has allowed me to keep details of how I have improved different skills over the course of the year, which has been useful when it comes to job applications”

“It has built on my abilities to self analyse and review how I am progressing”

“Writing in my progress file has helped me become more organised this year”

“Looking back at previous week’s logs can be motivational when I think I haven’t made much progress with an assignment for example but then I read the log and see than I have done more than I think”

“I have found the logbook a useful way of self-assessing and identifying areas of weakness throughout the year”

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Jeff WaldockUsing Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

Team working, Leadership, Communication: Socrative

Team working, Leadership, Communication: Socrative

join room jw(lower case)

http://m.socrative.com

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Jeff Waldock

In-Class Response Systems (CRS) can promote cooperative learning with “students becoming active participants in the learning process” (Beatty, 2006).

Beatty, I.D. et. al., “Designing Effective Questions for Classroom Response System Teaching”, Am. J Phys., 74, pp31-39, 2006.

“Question-driven instruction” 1. Question2. Peer group discussion3. Peer group response4. Class discussion5. General observations / micro-lecture6. ‘Closure’

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

(1) PC Lab tutorial group• BSc Maths, final year module (Digital Signal Processing)• 40 students (2 groups of 20)• Trialling the use of CRS in PC lab classes to stimulate engagement

Trialled in 2013/14 with two groups:

(2) Lecture group • BSc Maths, first year module (Mathematical Technology)• Up to 100 students • Trialling the use of CRS in lectures to generate interaction,

stimulate interest and focus discussion

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

Team working, Leadership, Communication: Socrative

Team working, Leadership, Communication: Socrative

“It helped me to learn the material better as looking at all of the possible choices helped me to think about not only the correct [answer] but also what the question would have to ask for the other answers to be correct.”

“It's good to be able to have rapid feedback on the questions without putting yourself on the line by putting your hand up to give an answer. It meant I put more of an effort in to answer questions instead of waiting to see what others got.”

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

• Used CRS for one-off sessions.

• Intended for in-class formative assessment.

• Students paired up, to include peer group discussion element

• Questions were focussed on common errors

• Feedback positive

2. First year lectures

Year 1 Socrative task

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

“I really enjoyed this way of interaction and I hope Jeff can find ways to implement it more often for next year’s students”

“I thought was a good idea not only to say what you thought but to be able to see that other people thought as well”

“I think it is a good way to be interactive in lessons!”

“I felt this was a good way to get people to respond as it can be quite awkward putting your hand up to answer”

“It helps because due to the anonymous nature of the tool, I feel able to answer without feeling self conscious within the group”

Comments received (unsolicited)

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability

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Jeff Waldock

• provide interactive elements in lectures• provide a focus for discussion• provide small elements of competition• foster teamwork and collaboration• build confidence• improve engagement and stimulate interest

….. and can be very simple to implement!

Class Response Systems can:

Using Technology in the Curriculum to Develop Employability