Some ideas to improve graduate quality, broaden access, and promote UL.
Development Programme for Technical Staff - UCC 2nd Sept
Excellent course blog/wiki here: http://techofficerteach.pbworks.com/
Got a lot from this 1 day event my notes:
Apply Knowledge in new situations
Affirmation and Evaluation Encouragement
We should do all we can to assist students understanding of instrumentation!
We already do some Assesment: Ongoing Formative Assesment.
Challenges:
Prioritise
It's all about the students NOT ME!
Projects:
Remote Lab possible partner through Robert Cosgrave (UCC teaching and learning)
Instrument blog to monitor instrument status.
The University of Liverpool has a young analyst competition by which they promote chemistry. http://www.liv.ac.uk/chemistry/Events/SchoolsEvents/index.html
20 April
Met with Andrea Deveral got a positive vibe. Explained proposal to Maria to get the support of the Department.
3rd April 2009
I attended a demonstration of an online engineering laboratory and presentation of it's capabilities. The presentation was given by Ian Grout, Dept ECE.
Interesting how they used webcams to monitor the experiments setup on the bench. The student input values from your PC they are applied to the experiment and the result is sent back to your PC It is setup on their own server. Ian showed a simple calculator experiment where you input values and a function on a remote PC this is sent to the calculator which displays the result, you can see the result on the webcam!
For a chemistry lab: What about online chem lab experiment using a burette and camera valves and solenoids control the delivery of solutions Use this idea to apply for the teaching and learning inovative fund! Another experiment for the preparation of ethanal?
March 2009:
Dragons den type experience for 2nd level students to attract them to science and UL.
Design a car run on CO2 generated from acetic acid and Bicarb. Race them in UL.
Pod casts from teaching staff.
Regular Chemistry Twitter.
CES on Facebook.
Make a battery!
Solar power how?
meeting 12/03/08
Present: Tony Pembroke, Maria Munroe, Catherine Adley, Robert Hutchison.
Agreed that we identify "fans" of the who would kick start the foundation of an elearning ethos:
Tony Pembroke, Maria Munroe, Catherine Adley, ask: Teresa Curtin and Richard Moles.
Aimed at delivery through a PC
Elearning objectives:
- Enhance learning of current students.
- Attract students.
- Standardise the platform and electronic delivery of module content (use Sulis).
- Work towards an electronic form of module delivery.
- Decrease consumption of paper and printing lecture notes and practical manuals.
To Do List
List learning objectives for Modules.
Initiate quizzes on sulis.
Estimate the student sulis uptake.
Identify the staff sulis uptake.
Identify the staff interest in making their course available through elearning.
Check on the link to the CES server from Sulis.
Identify and fix copyright issues for department members using media (not licienced or owned by UL) usually from other sites.
Produce some sort of business plan to harness funding and interest for elearning in CES.
Identify status of Catherine’s elearning project submitted to Dean T&L (can it be rescued?)
Other ideas:
IT module offered by CSIS should include lessons on Sulis, Endnote, MS Office.
Business plan.
Design and publish a template of course layout to assist faculty in publishing course content on Sulis.
Develope an interest and awarness of web 2.0 amoung staff.
Staff Survey:
In Lectures do you: (Please tick all that apply)
use overhead transparencies
use blackboard / whiteboard
use powerpoint or other slide presentation. If other please state:
use video presentations.
use public folders to make coursework available?
use ces server to make coursework available?
In Practical Sessions do you (Please tick all that apply)
use overhead transparencies
use blackboard / whiteboard
use powerpoint or other slide presentation. If other please state:
use video presentations
use public folders to make coursework available?
use ces server to make coursework available?
Notes for Meeting on 12/03/08
Identified interested faculty: Teresa Curtin already uses Sulis (Tony Pembroke, R Moles, yes,)?Erzeng Xue, ?Matt Fanning, ?Peter Childs, ?Thosko, ?Gary Walsh
Faculty Role
Need to identify what service teaching occours on each course.
Probably best not to aim at one degree course.
Graduate school pert (environmental certs)
06/03/08
Professor Talor's talk today 05/03/08 about elearning/distant learning described the experience of the university of Southern Queensland Australia. His model of course production could form the basis of our discussion in this area.
The USQ model (as far as I can remember):
I asked about this model and it seems that the university has a team dedicated to the production and delivery of course material. UL does not have the resources of USQ. This is resource heavy for a department to incorporate.
My proposed model:
This model utilises the existing services of the university and the personel in the CES department.
Problem:
The university of Southern Queensland does not offer an elearning/distance education major in chemistry:
Quote from their website http://www.usq.edu.au/handbook/current/sci/BSCI.html#program.focus10:
The majors in Chemistry, Ecology and Sustainability, Human Biology, Human Physiology, Physics and Plant
Science are not available by distance education. Some courses in the Physics major are available by
distance education. There are residential schools in some courses.
We must overcome this obstacle(s) if CES were to try to introduce an elearning/distance learning option for our courses. I wonder what obstacles (if any)
Next task is to identify a course most suited to prioritise for elearning.
03/03/08
I understand that there is a COS web committee David Newport, Bernie Quilligan.
The Dean may appoint an ADR for E-Learning in the summer.
-Quat- more thoughts
We need to recognise that prospective students use the web to a certain degree (needs measured) to base the decision for the choice of their university. We need to incorporate the new wave of web2 to attract more students.
Tertiary thoughts
most important A business plan is required
Clearly define SMART goals and objectives.
Department, College, University integrated strategy.
Remember elearning is not a substitute it's an enhancement.
Secondary thoughts
Thought: Should there be someone separate to interface with the public? (Department, College, University)
Not all problems are solved electronicaly!
Initial thoughts:
The University's strategic plan calls for implementation of the ideas listed below.
How will the strategic plan assist development of the above objectives?
Use professional production values.
Apply best practice in instructional design, technical communication and interactive media design.
Strategic Plan:
Page 10
Flexible delivery methods.
Widen access overcome barriers for on and off campus students.
Page 11
integrate learning research and inovation.
Page 16
Provide more lifelong learning opportunities.
Page 18
Offer students opportunities to broaden their curriculum.
Page 19
Improve quality effectiveness and diversity of student learning.
Maximise the use of IT in teaching.
Page 20
Learner-focused research dissemination forum established in each college by end 2007. (DONE?)
Page 29
Use elearning methods to ensure staff career development opportunities.
Page 33
Increase range of online resources and services.
Page 34
Improve online services.
Improve internal university communications and the external profile of the university.
A business plan is required
The ideas below address the criteria being asked for above in the strategic plan.
Website:
Should have RSS feeds
FAQ for students filling out their CAO form.
FAQ for current students.
Consistent format to integrate the college, departments and university. (style)
Internet forum and discussion groups:
Develop communities of practice.
Create an enhanced learning ethos.
Web Seminar:
We could have a collection of webseminars and an archive of distinguished academics talking about a general topic or their specialist subjects. (It must be relevant to the audience.)
Social Networking:
How do we include ul in the whole social networking scheme?(I'm currently looking into this)
Shared bookmarking.(eg. del.icio.us)
Blogs.
Wikis.(like this one)
Podcast:
I think we need a prominent sports/showbiz personality/politican to meet and have a conversation with the course leader
A podcast with the dean or president would mean more for general science?
Teaching aids:
Media to assist students understand concepts.
Media to help lecturers explain difficult concepts.
These are separate because they could be used in different scenarios ie. home/lecture theatre.
Prerecorded seminars for example on hazardous topics and in dangerous or inaccessible areas eg. Aughnish, hospital operating theater(prosthesis).
Prerecorded webcast lectures.
Resources:(All require a coordinated approach to professional production values)
Preferred choice: create media.(can be used limitless)
Centre for Teaching and Learning.
Educational Media Research Centre.
Centre for Life Long Learning.
Library.
A/V department, Mary Immaculate college, Education department.
National Digital Learning Repository.
Independant creators (seek permission, join Creative Commons)
Local and national production companies (expensive solution)
Delivery:
Sulis, internet CDROM.
Production equipment, software, hardware,
Staff requirement?
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