Group items tagged

Ng & Koller talk about Coursera at a meetup in California. This news article describes that and quotes Ng saying that the Coursera experience could be as big as Google

Queen's University Belfast have a website which is provided for students to show evidence of learning and skills learnt from extra-curricular activities and achievements. "Many activities you participate in - whether you serve as a Course Rep or have a part-time job or are engaged in voluntary work - may be allowing you to acquire important employability skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication and commercial awareness.  The Degree Plus Award allows these skills and this experience to be formally recognised" The Award is awarded by the University and is a 'value added' item which students can get in addition to their formal qualification. 

"Gamification [n]: the use of game design elements in non-game contexts. Gamification has tremendous potential in the education space. How can we use it to deliver truly meaningful experiences to students?"

"Welcome to the website for the OER IPR Support Project. Our aim is to provide IPR and licensing support for JISC/HEA funded OER Phase 1, 2 and 3 projects in order to help them identify and manage IPR issues with particular emphasis on the use of Creative Commons Licences.  The objectives of OER IPR Support Project are: To create a range of advice and information resources which will enable JISC/HEA OER Projects to manage the IPR in their OER resources appropriately To  create IPR advice and information resources which have longevity and broad applicability beyond the duration of the JISC/HEA OER Projects To disseminate the advice and information resources to JISC/HEA OER Projects through JISC Legal Helpdesk, published resources, workshops, and via the JISC Legal website at www.jisclegal.ac.uk To ensure that all resources created in this project build on the experience gained in JISC/HEA Phase 1 OER Projects and are responsive to the needs of the JISC/HEA OER Project. To monitor and assess the impact of the project support and resources on the JISC/HEA OER Projects"

"Key Takeaways Education built around digital portfolios not only ties together various student-generated artifacts into a coherent whole but also creates an environment in which technology use has a clearly identified purpose. Hundreds of services provide free hosting and website creation tools and are ideal platforms for digital portfolios because they can support just about any type of digital content. Turning consumers of knowledge into producers of knowledge transforms learning into an active experience."

"Taking first steps in the Twitterverse can be a nerve-wrecking experience with new users unsure what thoughts to tweet to the world. Here, Paul André, Michael Bernstein and Kurt Luther attempt to fill the void and give some insights into what makes interesting and valuable microblog content." Actually doesn't give any real insights about 'academic' content - the first comment makes that point well. Perhaps the full paper is better.

Different tracks online students take with MOOCs e.g. do the bits which clear up the muddy points in the topic, take the course because the professor is famous, want to find out what MOOCs are like etc. These are the students lumped together as 'drop-outs' and unpacking their experience shows useful learning takes place, but they don't complete the course.

Article refutes five commom myths about MOOCs 1. Fail to engage students in effective pedagogical practices 2. Deny students mentoring experiences with scholars passionate about their research 3. Lack the rigor of an on-campus curriculum 4.Provide, at best, superficial and narrowly defined training rather than deep understanding 5.Are an attempt to replace faculty"

Sounds like Blackboard are shifting their game in terms of user experience. Interesting.

The (non) importance of academic experience to getting a job at Google.

Mantz Yorke's second report on the first year experience of HE in the UK. This is a key work in this field.

Innovation as an activity. Explore, experiment, exploit.

"The DUCKLING project - funded by JISC - at the University of Leicester develops advanced delivery, presentation and assessment processes to enhance the work-based learning experience for students studying remotely."

"In a traditional teaching laboratory environment, students typically arrive at the laboratory to do an experiment without a clear idea of the practical techniques they will be using, the skills they will need, or the chemistry behind the practical."

"...nine points of customization that can map neatly to the four phases of any course: the beginning, early middle, late middle, and wrap-up."

Aeriel fly bys of locations as a Chrome experiment.

"This Ministry of Education report describes a project undertaken to explore what digital information literacy is and how individuals can obtain it. Digital information literacy takes dedicated time, intensive support and the opportunity to experiment with a range of information and communication technologies."

Some Danish high schools have experimented with allowing students access to the internet during exams.  This is a news article but it suggests thayt the trial showed many positive effects.

"As part of the JISC-funded Student Expectations of University project, aimed at enhancing applicants' understanding of university experiences, the 1994 Group have produced this report to illustrate innovative and excellent practice in the areas of: communicating with prospective students; providing information, advice and guidance (IAG) to applicants; and managing student expectations of university."

"A universally frustrating experience for undergraduates is the struggle to determine the prerequisites they need to graduate in their chosen fields. But help is close at hand."