Education Commons^™

Inter-University International Collaboration For An Online Course: A Case Study, John O'Connor, Claudia Igbrude, Dudley Turner

Conference papers

This paper is a practical account of the experience of collaboration between two international partners – one in Europe and the other in the United States. This collaboration experience is a lens through which the authors outline the origin, design and implementation of an inter-university teaching experience. The processes, strengths and difficulties are outlined and the rationale for utilising a virtual world is given, along with the participants’ perspectives of the experience. No institutional changes or formal agreements were needed.

The same course was validated and accredited by each institution and designed to address the requirements of each with the …

Going The Distance: Best Practices In Designing And Sharing Reusable Learning Objects, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

This paper presents an overview of the suite of online interactive tutorials that have been developed at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin); with a particular emphasis on best practices for pedagogy and instructional design in terms of creating eLearning tools. The author also details how these learning objects have been made available for reuse on a national and international basis as open educational resources via online repositories.

Can The Use Of Online Learning And Reflective Journals Improve Students’ Performance And Engage Them In Independent Learning For A Practically Taught “Timber Jointing Module, Jennifer Byrne

Articles

The Technological University Dublin is one of the largest multi-level higher education providers in Ireland. The Institute’s traditional mission has always been focused on teaching and learning in the field of advanced technical vocational education and training (TVET), and one of its agendas is to foster and encourage changes in teaching practice and methodology in order to enhance the student learning experience.

This research concerned the performance levels of first year students of the Timber Product Technology (TPT) programme. I wanted to investigate whether the use of independent online learning and reflective journals would encourage these students to continue their …

Online Resource Platform For Mathematics Education, Marisa Llorens, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean

Conference papers

Engineering education is facing many challenges: a decline in core mathematical skills; lowering entry requirements; and the diversity of the student cohort. One approach to confronting these challenges is to make subject content appropriate to the communication styles of today’s student. To achieve this, a pedagogical shift from the traditional hierarchical approach to learning to one that embraces the use of technology as a tool to enhance the student learning experience is required. By including the student as co-creator of course content, a greater sense of engagement is achieved and a change to one where students become agents of their …

Spatial Skills As Predictors Of Success In First-Year Engineering, Sheryl Sorby, Edmund Nevin, Avril Behan, Eileen Mageean, Sarah Sheridan

Conference papers

Numerous research studies have highlighted the importance of well-developed 3-D spatial skills for success in STEM related programs. Poor spatial skills, particularly among first-year students, can place them at a distinct disadvantage when completing introductory courses in mathematics, CAD, descriptive geometry, and graphic communications - first-year requirements in many STEM related programs. This in turn can lead to poor grades and retention issues. Women are disproportionally among the group of students with weak or poorly developed 3-D spatial skills meaning that they are at a greater risk of leaving engineering when compared to their male counterparts. In this study, the …

“If You Build It, They Will Use: Creating And Sharing Open Educational Resources To Advance Information Literacy”, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

Since 2010, the library at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin) in South County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, has been developing a suite of interactive online information literacy tutorials covering research, referencing, plagiarism and core academic skills. These open educational resources (OERs) provide users with a vibrant, challenging learning environment and facilitate flexible, 24/7, independent learning. The learning objects are accessible via multiple delivery platforms and are available for reuse under Creative Commons licence via national and international teaching and learning repositories.

This paper outlines the development of these OERs and how the creation of these learning tools has …

Initial Investigation Into Spatial Skills As Predictors Of Success In First-Year Stem Programmes, Sheryl Sorby, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean, Sarah Sheridan, Avril Behan

Conference papers

Through numerous research studies conducted over the past fifty years, the importance of well-developed 3-D spatial skills for success in engineering and other STEM fields has been widely demonstrated. Research conducted in the U.S. and elsewhere, has demonstrated the high level of 3-D spatial skills found in engineering students; however, not all of our first-year students have strong spatial skills when they start their post-secondary studies. Poor spatial skills put these students at a distinct disadvantage when completing introductory courses in mathematics, CAD, descriptive geometry, and graphic communications - first-year requirements in many engineering and STEM programs. In turn, this …

Work In Progress: Online Resource Platform For Mathematics Education, Marisa Llorens, Edmund Nevin, Eileen Mageean

Conference papers

Mathematics is intrinsic to engineering and as such plays an integral role in the education of engineers. New challenges are being faced in higher education particularly in the areas of student motivation, engagement and attainment. As a result mathematics is often the focus of engineering education research. Traditional methods of delivery such as lectures and tutorials need to evolve to counter these challenges with new pedagogical approaches explored including the use of new technologies. Today’s students are immersed in an increasingly technological world and are willing to adapt to new technological advances. This paper describes a study being undertaken in …

Using Vles And Mobile Technology To Aid In The Provision Of An Upgraded Delivery Mechanism For The Basic Principles Of Quantity Surveying, Charles Anthony Mitchell

Conference papers

Building measurement has its roots on the construction site not in the classroom. As a result of this it is a subject which is better taught in a practical manner, rather like an apprenticeship. Many students entering the course, whether as standard entry or as mature students, will have had little or no exposure to building measurement as carried out by the quantity surveyor unless they have had some experience of working with a quantity surveyor. As a result students may find the initial learning process very intense. The maths used are relatively simplistic. Building measurement is about analysing the …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Problem-Based Computer Modelling Module From The Student's Perspective, Garrett Keane, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

The Computer Modelling module delivered to the third year Level 8 Mechanical Engineering students in the Technological University Dublin is marked completely by continual assessment. It was developed using a problem based approach in that the theory of Computer Modelling methods is first explained but is then illustrated by demonstrating its application to the solution of real life problems. It is delivered in a traditional manner for the first six weeks in that the underlying principles and techniques of the finite difference method are covered in lectures and practical assignments are completed in the weekly computer laboratory classes. A problem …

Creating And Sharing Information Literacy Open Educational Resources, Philip Russell

Conference Papers

From June 2010 until the present, a suite of online reusable learning objects (RLOs) has been created at the Institute of Technology Tallaght (ITT Dublin) library covering a range of information literacy (IL) competencies. These RLOs have helped to facilitate student transition from second to third level, advance IL and enrich the student learning experience. The paper outlines the development of these resources, how these learning objects have been integrated into academic modules at ITT Dublin and how they have been shared and reused as open educational resources at national and international level. The author also discusses future plans for …

Searching For French Civilization: Reflections On Situating Information Literacy Skills In An Undergraduate French Curriculum, Carmel O'Reilly

Books/Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

College Is Where The Real Learning Happens: Perceptions From Irish Craft Apprentices Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, Eric Bates

Articles

This research set out to examine the learning experience of three apprentice painters and decorators on the Irish Standards Based Apprenticeship from the Technological University Dublin. This apprenticeship involves college based and work based learning. The main aim of the study was to explore the learning experiences of apprentices in their own words. This would provide for unique insights into their learning experience. The research method was one on one semi structured interviews and the data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. One of the super ordinate themes that emerged from the data analysis was the perception among the participants …

Enhancing Building Performance And Environmental Learning: A Case Study Of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Shannon Chance, John Timothy Cole

Books/Book Chapters

School buildings directly affect their natural and socio-cultural environments. They do this through their construction, maintenance, operation, and demolition. Most of the school buildings we have in stock today drain natural resources and inadvertently perpetuate a culture of environmental, social, and long-term economic ignorance and misuse. When approached thoughtfully, however, the design of school buildings can help inform and enrich society. Well-designed buildings can impart environmental knowledge and values. They can foster more effective behaviors among the people who learn in and from them. Effectively designed buildings can also conserve natural resources and—at their best—even help replenish the natural environment. …

Developing Food Provenance In The 'Boyne Valley', Dermot Seberry

Conference papers

A presentation on how Best Practice Food Tourism Initiative can be used across Ireland.