Last December, Economics Lecturer at NBS, Dr Kevin Deane, took the unusual step of abandoning 4 weeks of his timetabled lecture programme and replacing it with a group exercise culminating in an academic poster exhibition (see this blog posting for more details!)
The exhibition was a real success, particularly for a first-time event, as evidenced by the comments from the students and other NBS staff who attended the exhibition. That said, Kevin has some definite changes and improvements he would introduce next time around. But, in these days of NSS scores and working to improve the student experience, the big question to be answered is … what did the students think?
Generally, their reflections mirrored those of Kevin himself. Apart from an appreciation of the refreshments (!) the following comments are worth mentioning in response to the question of what was good about the task:
- One student responded by saying that the good thing was the “big range of information exchanged and displayed, very insightful. Food was good, getting tutors and guests involved.”
- Another enjoyed the fact that they didn’t have the pressure of an assessed assignment.
- “People did them relatively well. Rewards were good incentive”.
- Another student commented that it “was a great insight into a variety of economists. It provided me with a better understanding of these economists and their philosophies.”
There were some technical hitches on the day of the exhibition itself. In particular, Kevin had been expecting the room to be ready when he and his students arrived, but an error in communication meant that an hour was lost having to set up the exhibition boards. This did have a significant knock-on effect for students as the first hour of the session was lost. This had been scheduled for a student-student presentation of each of the posters, which would have provided the primary opportunity for students to learn about those other economists being studied by their peers.
The following student comments on what could be done differently/better mirror Kevin’s own reflections. Specifically, the students were keen that copies of the other posters were circulated – something Kevin had already planned to do. This is of particular importance pedagogically – where students are creating and generating module content which forms one jigsaw piece of the whole picture, ensuring that each student has access to the full and final picture is essential. Another comment was that it was rightly considered unfair that some students were asked to produce posters on economists that had already been studied in class whereas others were starting from scratch. Looking ahead, Kevin would ensure this didn’t happen again and recognises that it was purely circumstantial, arising from the decision to move away from lecturing to the poster exhibition after the lectures had begun. In itself, this was engendered by student feedback indicating that the lecture approach to this topic was dry and uninteresting.
One final comment worth addressing directly was that students considered the poster to be “too much extra, [it was] not part of our course.” This feedback reflected a failure to appreciate that this poster wasn’t actually ‘extra’ work per se, rather a change in the way the module content was being taught. In future, Kevin would draw attention to the fact that the requirements of producing a poster are no more onerous in terms of the expected study time than indicated in the module spec: 4 students per group x 3 hours per week of independent study x 3 weeks = 36 student study hours per poster.
Other negative comments included the following:
- It was a lot of work, for no obvious reward in terms of assessment.
- Lack of assessment meant no incentive to produce high quality.
- Doing a poster on one subject was limiting.
- Some people didn’t even go.
Having allowed time for both his personal and the students reflections, the following changes would, Kevin believes, improve the exercise next time around:
- Ensuring that the dedicated time for student-student presentations is preserved to ensure that all students receive the benefit of the work done by other groups and learn about all the economists studied in the module
- Explicitly recognise the focus that students place on assessment and grades and therefore turn the task into the first assessment for the module and run it earlier in the academic year when students were not under pressure to complete assessment tasks for other modules
- Ensure that the key points are captured in a summary ‘timeline’ lecture that places them all in context.
Probably the biggest objection he has to overcome is the idea that this task placed an additional burden on students and this really boils down to managing their expectations more explicitly. A clearer explanation and on-going reminder that the poster itself should be the final product of 36 student study hours (9 per student) would go a long way to removing this objection and engendering in students the realisation that this level of work and time investment is, ultimately, what they are at University for!
On the 10th February from 11am till 2pm, representatives from Library and Learning Services (LearnTech, Academic Librarians, CfAP and Collections) will be available in the Park Library Tpod. You may turn up at any point between these times and stay for as long as you wish.
The event is based around an open format where you will be able to talk to representatives about any of the items raised in the recent staff School Technology survey such as:
- Lecture Capture using Panopto
- Video streaming using Kaltura
- Enhanced features in NILE (e.g. Groups / Collaborative Tools)
- Reading lists using Talis Aspire
- Understanding digitising resources
Academic Librarians will be on hand to offer support and answer your questions about Talis Aspire, the Skills Hub, NELSON and subject specialist databases.
You will also be able to see (and have a go) on the demonstration Smart Table which will be available during this time.
Coffee and tea will be available during this time.
If you would like to attend between these times then please signup
The LearnTech team have arranged for a Smart Table to be demonstrated on the 10th February in the Park Library Tpod between 11am and 2pm.
If you would like to attend between these times then please signup
“The SMART Table is predominantly designed for the Early Years and Primary Market, hence the vast majority of Apps and software is aimed at these segments. The Table is used by the NHS, in libraries and museums, but again, the content is very much the same as what is available now.
Outside of the SMART Table content, the Table is in effect a Windows 7 dual touch PC and in this mode can be used in the same way as any PC ’
In addition to the above we will also have a CleverTouch Fusion Table on loan between 8 – 15th April and will be running further events around this. Please indicate when you would like to see this table by completing the signup form
The summary of the 2014 mobile survey has now been published and we are really grateful to the 444 respondents who took their time to complete this. As part of the survey, we gave staff and students the opportunity to add comments and make suggestions about the University’s mobile provision and specifically about developments that need to be made.
Device support
For the first time Android has slightly overtaken Apple in device ownership. This is inline with Gartner’s predictions and findings. Blackberry ownership is still in decline, whilst Windows phone ownership has increased to 6.6% of respondents. The web based versions of iNorthampton complement the app for those that are unable to download it onto their device. A dedicated Windows app is being requested by the user community, however there is no timescale for approval or release, yet.
iPad users have requested a dedicated version of iNorthampton which complements the NILE (Blackboard Learn) download. In last year’s report we stated that this would be available in 2013, however it is still in development and will hopefully be released before the end of the 13/14 academic year.
Wireless
IT Services are responsible for the site wide implementation and maintenance of the campus wireless provision and they have now successfully implemented the educational wireless service Eduroam. Eduroam (education roaming) is the secure, world-wide roaming access service developed for the international research and education community. Just connect to Eduroam wireless from your mobile device and enter your Northampton username (in the format username@northampton.ac.uk) and password (which is normally used to log in to Northampton machines). Choosing to connect to Eduroam when on campus will give you a dedicated connection to the Wifi and you will no longer need to authenticate through a browser.
iNorthampton
Use of the iNorthampton app has increased with NILE, Library and Timetables being the top three tools within it for staff and students.
When asked about functionality that participants thought would be useful to include in the app the most common answer referred to the Library tool. Users would like to be able to renew books and check their account details. Other comments included requests for more detailed maps (e.g. room finder, opening times), access to email and other University services and more use of texting.
We are working on the new version of the app which will incorporate some of the functionality being requested. Unfortunately innovative development of the app has been slowed significantly by the changes made to the web site, and the compatibility between that platform and the mobile development platform. This has resulted in the app remaining stagnant for a much longer period than we are happy with.
Other comments
“Links to bus timetables, email, and other University services”
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.
We took the decision not to include email, as smartphones already include a tool to integrate this. We will be providing more guidance on how to setup email on devices in the next release.
Where possible we will include links to University Services, but we will be maintaining a balance between iNorthampton just being full of links to the main University site and actually displaying data within the app itself. For example, we are working closely with Student Services to ensure that information pertinent to living in halls and navigating around campus is included in current, or bespoke functionality.
“More use of texting for institutional messages?”
The Learning Technology team are currently investigating text messages through NILE. This will be phased in during the 2013/2014 academic year.
If you would have any other comments on iNorthampton then please mail LearnTech@northampton.ac.uk
WizIQ (the tool which allows for the creation of a virtual classroom) has been upgraded on NILE. The upgrade will allow for:
1. Scheduling recurring classes.
2. Cancel recurring class instances.
3. View recording.
4. Delete Recording.
5. View attendance report.
6. Download attendance report.
If you are interested in knowing more about WizIQ then please contact the Learning Technology Team.
Sadly we had our first instance of of marking being lost using the Turnitin mobile application for iPad yesterday, which resulted in a significant loss of work. Unfortunately, all the data was lost before we could gather a complete understanding of the problem, but it seems to relate to the application refusing to sync papers because of a lack of internet connectivity, despite the iPad being able to access mail and web sites. There is nothing on the Turnitin Self-Service Help Center to indicate that this is a common problem – it might even relate to our local wi-fi provision or an iPad setting – so Learntech will continue to encourage the apps continued use, but with care.
We do know that changing the iPad settings (moving from ‘TurnitinUK’ to ‘Turnitin’) will irretrievably destroy any local data stored on the iPad. We suggest – if at all possible – synchronizing marking more regularly, particularly early in the process.
If you do encounter a problem, help us troubleshoot this further with the Turnitin support staff, please send us the log file.
To find the log file, open the Turnitin App and then press and hold the “Help” link at the bottom of the screen. The “Turnitin Mobile App Logs” appears. Copy the log information and then paste it into an email to learntech@northampton.ac.uk – you can send this directly to the Turnitin support email address using the ‘send’ button if you wish, but do let us know if you have done this. Then contact Learntech immediately on x2696 where we will give this the highest priority.
Turnitin UK have been in touch with us and are in the process of improving their documentation and FAQs relating to synchronization problems as a result of this issue. They are also investigating a way to warn users not to change their iPad settings. They have been extremely co-operative and have assured us of their commitment to dealing with problems as quickly as possible.
We are very grateful for the affected user’s patience, understanding and feedback on the problem – if this prevents it happening to another user it is of some comfort, at least.
There seem to be more and more staff at Northampton getting their hands on a mobile device. It’s either something they’ve bought themselves, or they are borrowing an iPad or iPod from stock purchased by their academic school. This is great news. We think these devices have real value as tools for learning and teaching, which is why we’ve started our monthly App Cafe sessions.
On the first Monday of the month between 1-2pm in the tPod at Park Campus, we come together to share apps and examples of good practice, drink coffee and even snaffle a pastry or two. The agenda for these sessions is intentionally loose. We don’t know what level people are at, some might be very comfortable with their own device, others are totally new to mobile devices. We want to try and focus on a single app each session and look at the learning angle on it. We’ll bring along some of our devices for staff to play with, and make the sessions practical and active.
Our first session focused on iPad Essentials, which was hard to nail down as there are so many apps to choose from, but we had a go and here are links to our small selection:
Accessing your University emails from your mobile is something we find essential, it’s not strictly learning or teaching but it’s pretty much an essential in our eyes.
CALENDAR
When you set up an email account, you can also choose to sync your Outlook calendar to your mobile, which is something we’d find hard to live without. The thing to be aware of with both email and your calendar is to if it’s not your machine then you need to delete your account when you’re finished with it. Speak to use if you need help setting it up.
You can use iNorthampton to find staff in the directory, check timetables, browse the library catalogue and access your NILE modules via the Blackboard Mobile Learn app. It even has a map of the campus if you ever get lost on the way to class!
More and more staff are recording their lectures for students to access outside of class and this app is a great way to view many of the excellent video recordings available.
Finally, my favourite. Flipboard is a superb way to pull together into one place all the latest news from websites you’d like to follow. It’s hard to find time at your PC to trawl through dozens of websites, twitter feeds and personal blogs which focus on your teaching interests. Flipboard brings all these sources together and can keep you updated on professional issues, relevant discussions and current trends. If you’ve been avoiding Twitter then get an account, install Flipboard and you’ll never look back.
Okay, that’s all for now. There are so many other apps we could have chosen, but I wanted to keep the list short. Apple produce a range of apps which include word processing and presentation tools, and though they’re not free like the ones I’ve listed, they are great ways to stay productive.
Come along to an App Cafe, if you have time, or bookmark our blog for updates if you’re not free on each first Monday of the month. We are also happy to run small school-focused group sessions if you’d prefer so get in touch with us at learntech@northampton.ac.uk.
Al
We meet on the first Monday of every month from 1-2pm, in the T-Pod, second floor of Park Library. The provisional programme is as follows:
- November – Mobile Essentials
- December – Assessments
- January 2014 – Presentation Tools
- February – Communication
- March – iNorthampton / Mobile NILE
- April – Focus on Audio-Visual
- May – Collaboration
- June – Student Feedback
Following up on their piece on free picture resources, Zembl have added this article which introduces a number of video sources that would be suitable for material that could be safely used within a Creative Commons resource. Some are available as animated gifs (which is what the image to the left is), which are very simple to add – even directly into NILE.
Many are quite short clips that could be used as looping backgrounds or for ‘audio only’ sections. There are also many that are suitable for using as overlays on existing video or as a background for ‘green screen’ recordings.
LearnTech have a green screen available for recordings if you are interested in putting together your own masterpiece!
The New Year brings the new version of Box of Broadcasts with a host of new features:
- it now supports non-Flash web browsers by using an HTML5 player – great news for iPad/iPhone users!
- transcripts appear next to the video – excellent for international students and for those with hearing difficulties
- a better programme guide with a wider range of channels, including the facility to request material from the BBC Archive (takes a little time to transcode, but very much like eternally available iPlayer content)
However, there have been some changes in the embed code that is provided – although existing embedded videos are not affected. However, the ‘need to log in’ warning isn’t there any more, so you may need to add this as text to existing content that still in use that doesn’t already have a warning like this.
An ‘iframe’ version of the embed code is no longer available, having been replaced with a ‘script’ code. Sadly this code will be automatically removed by the Blackboard text editor as we don’t allow scripts to be run directly in NILE.
The suggested way to link to BoB videos on NILE is to use a Weblink that uses the ‘WAYFless URL’ as its URL. The advantage of this method is that students are prompted to login (if they are not logged in to BoB already) before being redirected to the video. This avoids having to remind them to log in to BoB first.
If is still possible to use the embedded iframe technique (via ‘insert media’ icon on the editor) providing the link is changed from ‘http’ to ‘https’. The WAYFless URL would be the one to use for the reason cited above. You need to set the iframe width to at least 900 px to avoid cropping off the transcript box. As iframes containing external web site data are becoming less and less acceptable in new browsers, this probably isn’t the best way to go in the long term.
Please speak to your LearnTech support if you have any difficulties, but be aware that this new site is new to us too so it would be worth checking the BoB help information first.
