Education Commons^™

Piloting Of Specific Common Tools In Support Of Digital And Online Learning, Orlin Marinov, Karlis Valtins, Janina Fengel, K.C. O'Rourke, Lubomir Dimitrov, Rossen Radonov

Conference Proceedings

This publication is an insightful exploration into the evolving landscape of digital and online learning, with a specific focus on the pilot testing and implementation of innovative educational tools. It aims to critically assess the effectiveness of these tools in enhancing the educational experience and the overall learning outcomes in digital environments.

This manuscript is particularly relevant for educators, education technologists, policymakers, and scholars interested in the advancement of digital education. It serves as a pivotal resource, providing valuable insights into the utilization and effectiveness of digital tools in education. The publication's contribution to academic scholarship is significant, offering a …

Avatar - Identity With Intent, John O'Connor, James Neville

Conference Papers

We don’t often think of identity as a choice, but rather something we are born into by circumstance of birth and inheritance. This paper addresses identity by assertion. Virtual worlds afford the opportunity for a more fluid concept of self: identity with intent. Understanding this approach can empower our actions and results in the virtual and natural worlds. The authors draw on fifteen years teaching this topic in the virtual world of Second Life as part of a class on collaborative online engagement. The term avatar, representing the concrete embodiment of something abstract, originated in Hinduism in the 6th century …

Apprentices’ Experiences Of Studying Online During The Covid-19 Emergency In Ireland: A Report Of Research Findings, Aidan Kenny

Level 3

In March 2020 the Irish government introduced emergency measures to stop the spread of the highly contagious Covid-19 virus. The change was immediate, and the protection of public health was paramount. All citizens were requested to cooperate and adhere to the restrictions. Key features included, restricted movement within the country, all non-essential workplaces to close and where possible move to remote working, the closure of all schools, training centres and universities, education was to be provided by online means. This research focused on a specialised section of the Irish education system - the Standard Based Apprenticeship - and how apprentices …

Neuromatch Academy: A 3-Week, Online Summer School In Computational Neuroscience, Bernard Marius 'T Hart, Titipat Achakulvisut, Ayoade Adeyemi, Athena Akrami, Bradly Alicea, Alicia Alonso-Andres, Diego Alzate-Correa, Arash Ash, Jesus J. Ballesteros, Aishwarya Balwani, Eleanor Batty, Ulrik Beierholm, Ari S. Benjamin, Upinder Bhalla, Gunnar Blohm, Joachim C. H. Blohm, Kathryn Bonnen, Marco Brigham, Bingni W. Brunton, John Butler, Brandon Caie, N Alex Cayco Gajic, Sharbatanu Chatterjee, Spyridon Chavlis, Ruidong Chen, You Cheng, H. M. Chow, Raymond Chua, Yunwei Dai, Isaac David, Eric E. J. Dewitt, Julien Denis, Alish Dipani, Arianna Dorschel, Jan Drugowitsch, Kshitij Dwivedi, Sean Escola, Haoxue Fan, Roozbeh Farhoodi, Yicheng Fei, Pierre-Étienne Fiquet, Lorenzo Fontolan, Jeremy Forest, Yuki Fujishima, Byron V. Galbraith, Mario Galdamez, Richard Gao, Julijana Gjorgjieva, Alexander Gonzalez, Qinglong Gu, Yueqi Guo, Ziyi Guo, Pankaj K. Gupta, Busra Tugce Gurbuz, Caroline Haimerl, Jordan B. Harrod, Alexandre Hyafil, Martin Irani, Daniel Jacobson, Michelle Johnson, Ilenna Simone Jones, Gili Karni, Robert E. Kass, Hyosub Edward Kim, Andreas M. Kist, Randal Koene, Konrad Kording, Matthew R. Krause, Arvind Kumar, Norma K. Kühn, Ray Lc, Matthew L. Laporte, Junseok Lee, Songting Li, Sikun Lin, Yang Lin, Shuze Liu, Tony Liu, Jesse A. Livezey, Linlin Lu, Jakob H. Macke, Kelly Mahaffy, A. Lucas Martins, Nicolás Martorell, Manolo Martínez, Marcelo G. Mattar, Jorge Aurelio Menendez, Kenneth D. Miller, Patrick J. Mineault, Nosratullah Mohammadi, Yalda Mohsenzadeh, Elenor Morgenroth, Taha Morshedzadeh, Alice Claudia Mosberger, Madhuvanthi Muliya, Marieke Mur, John D. Murray, Yashas Nd, Richard Naud, Prakriti Nayak, Anushka Oak, Itzel Olivos Castillo, Seyedmehdi Orouji, Jorge Otero-Millan, Marius Pachitariu, Biraj Pandey, Renato Paredes, Jesse Parent, Il Memming Park, Megan A. K. Peters, Xaq Pitkow, Panayiota Poirazi, Haroon Popal, Sandhya Prabhakaran, Tian Qiu, Srinidhi Ragunathan, Raul Rodriguez-Cruces, David Rolnick, Ashish Kumar Sahoo, Saeed Salehinajafabadi, Cristina Savin, Shreya Saxena, Paul Schrater, Karen Schroeder, Alice C. Schwarze, Madineh Sedigh-Sarvestani, K. Yuvaraj Sekhar, Reza Shadmehr, Maryam M. Shanechi, Siddhant Sharma, Eric Shea-Brown, Krishna V. Shenoy, Carolina L. Shimabukuro, Sergey Shuvaev, Man Ching Alison Sin, Maurice Smith, Nicholas A. Steinmetz, Karolina Stosio, Elizabeth Straley, Gabrielle Strandquist, Carsen Stringer, Rimjhim Tomar, Ngoc Tran, Sofia Triantafillou, Lawrence Udeigwe, Davide Valeriani, Vincent Valton, Maryam Vaziri-Pashkam, Peter Vincent, Gal Vishne, Pascal Wallisch, Peiyuan Wang, Claire Ward, Michael Waskom, Kunlin Wei, Anqi Wu, Zhengwei Wu, Brad Wyble, Lei Zhang, Daniel Zysman, Federico D’Oleire Uquillas, Tara Van Viegen

Articles

No abstract provided.

A Case For Open Educational Resources (Oer) For Liberation: Leveraging Librarians And Library Skills, Aisling Coyne, Amy Fitzpatrick

Other

This paper will establish the case for Open Educational Resources (OER) for Liberation for Ireland, and the leveraging of librarians in pursuit of creating a database of Open resources for public good and public liberation within the context of post-neutrality librarianship. The researchers have conducted a literature review of existing OER initiatives and emerging areas of Open Education. The review is underpinned by the philosophical and pedagogical motivations of Open, with a keen focus on equity, access and accessibility. Through this research, it has been found that there is a strong framework available for establishing a national OER initiative, and …

Lessons From The Classroom – Assessing The Work Of Postgraduate Students To Support Better Hygrothermal Risk Assessment, Joseph Little, Beñat Arregi, Christian Bludau

Conference papers

The widespread adoption of transient simulation modelling tools by building design professionals to support hygrothermal risk assessment of building design specifications is a crucial component in a multi-pronged drive to reduce moisture risk in buildings. Structured upskilling is essential. Much can be learnt about the ways practitioners use such tools by reviewing the work of professional postgraduate student groups. Such review could inform the creation of a user protocol. Peer-review under the responsibility of the organizing committee of the ICMB21.

Authentic Assessment Framework May 2021 Version, Jen Harvey, Derek Dodd

Reusable Resources

The TU Dublin Authentic Assessment (AA) framework was designed to be used as a general guide.for staff undertaking assessment redesigns as part of a University Initiative under the IMPACT SATLE 1 funding call.

The Framework builds on the work of Gulikers et al, (2006) and Villerarroel et al (2020) and is structured across four dimensions: ‘Realism’, ‘Cognitive challenge’, ‘metacognition’, and ‘feedback processes’.

The resource provides a set of ideas that can be used to build the four dimensions into programme based Authentic Assessment strategies and practices.

Virtual Tutor Personality In Computer Assisted Language Learning, Johanna Dobbriner, Cathy Ennis, Robert J. Ross

Conference papers

The use of intelligent virtual agents in language learning has increased in recent years. Studies into several aspects of personalisation aiming to increase user engagement are an ongoing research topic with avatar personality being one such aspect. As a step towards our development of intelligent virtual avatars, we present two of our initial experiments to explore differences in user interaction with two contrasting avatar personalities -- P1: open-minded, friendly and sociable and P2: closed-off, curt and distant. Each user interacted with a single personality in a video-call setting and gave feedback on the interaction. Our expectations, that P1 would be …

Asynchronous Assistance: A Social Network Analysis Of Influencing Peer Interactions In Peerwise, Tomas Shields, Geraldine Gray, Barry J. Ryan

Articles

This mixed methods, investigative case study explored student patterns of use within the online PeerWise platform to identify the most influencing activities and to build a model capable of predicting performance based on these influencing activities. Peerwise is designed to facilitate student peer-to-peer engagement through creating, answering and ranking multiple choice questions; this study sought to understand the relationship between student engagement in Peerwise and learning performance. To address the research question, various usage metrics were explored, visualized and modelled, using social network analysis with Gephi, Tableau and Python. These findings were subsequently analyzed in light of the qualitative survey …

Quiche With Savoury Pastry, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Quiche is a very versatile dish that is easily made and can have many fillings. Quiche can be vegetarian or contain meat and fish. This recipe will make one large 32cm Quiche and the preparation time is approximately 45 minutes to make the pastry and fillings.

Hot Cross Buns 2020: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The hot cross bun is a traditional enriched, soft, spiced bun which is mainly eaten during lent. Good Friday being the big traditional day to buy these buns due to the religious significance of the catholic Easter celebrations. This particular recipe was used in the Coupe du Monde 2019 finals in Paris as part of the international challenge for competing candidates.

Raspberry Scones: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Raspberry Scones are a delicious treat, best eaten warm with raspberry Jam, butter or clotted cream. The recipe is over 140 years old and was used by my great grandfather in the 1870's in Galway. Simple to make, this is one of the most popular recipes when I teach globally.

Currant Bread: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

Traditional Irish Currant bread is a fruited sweet soda bread available in most bakeries and bread shelves in supermarkets. This is a very straightforward and quick product to make and bake. Delicious toasted with butter.

Traditional Irish Potato Cakes: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The Potato cake is a delicious griddle bread made using potato, flour, salt and butter as the main ingredients. They can be baked in an oven or for a better result, cooked on a griddle or iron skillet, turning them over after 10minutes to cook them through thoroughly. They are best eaten warm with butter.

Traditional Brown Soda Bread: Recipe, James A. Griffin

Recipes

The Irish Soda Bread is Ireland's iconic brown bread. The loaf is made with wholemeal flour, buttermilk, salt and baking soda. Brown soda bread is quick and easy to produce; the bread is nutritious and filling and has been the staple diet of the Irish for nearly 200 years.

Using Blended Learning To Enhance The Experience Of Students In Built Environment Related Degree Programs, Philip Russell, Ruairi Hayden

Articles

Blended learning was introduced into the Construction Management programme in the School of Surveying and Construction Management at the Technological University Dublin in 2016. The module has traditionally been delivered by face-to-face teaching but online delivery has been facilitated using the Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard) which has enabled a more blended approach to academic instruction. This innovative change to module provision has also provided an opportunity to enhance the student learning experience within the School through a more flexible teaching and learning environment. In this paper, the design, development and implementation of blended learning into a Construction Technology module is …

Assessment Strategies To Promote Peer Learning In An Online Course, Pauline Rooney, Caitríona Ní Shé

Conference papers

The value of peer learning in higher education is now well recognised. Just as we continually learn from eachother in our everyday lives, so our students also learn from eachother as part of informal and formal learning experiences. Within educational programmes, peer learning is facilitated through a variety of pedagogical strategies which promote active participation, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and ideas. With the increasing ubiquity of social networking and online learning platforms, new opportunities for facilitating peer learning, have emerged. Within online courses – where students often study at geographically disparate locations – peer learning strategies assume arguably …

The #Vleireland Project, Claire Mcavinia, Angelica Risquez

Conference papers

A decade after Martin Weller’s proclamation that ‘The VLE/LMS Is Dead’ (2007) was met with widespread acclaim and debate, virtual learning environmentsVLEs)remain pervasive in most higher education institutions (HEIs) including those in Ireland .

"I Don't Have The Time!" Analysing Talk Of Time In Lecturers' Use Of The Vle, Claire Mcavinia, Deirdre Ryan, David Moloney

Articles

This paper reports on findings from the recent extension of the VLE survey which examined VLE usage from a staff perspective. 580 staff across seven institutions responded to the survey. The survey explored staff perceptions of the VLE and the opportunities for and barriers to its effective use. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed in order to identify the major factors influencing staff engagement with the VLE. Time (or the lack thereof) emerged as the greatest barrier to effective use of the VLE. When time was in scarce supply, staff evaluated where to spend it and prioritised accordingly. The amount …

Virtual Interaction: A Real Alternative, Emmett Tuite, Lavinia Mclean

The ITB Journal

Social care students on block placement have reported a feeling of disconnection from both the broader student group and the natural supports available in the college environment. Students experience a variety of challenges and opportunities on placement, and when combined with practical and geographical limitations on support this can provide a key obstacle for successful progression through placement. Appropriate navigation of practice placement challenges offer the opportunity for key personal and professional development. This article is intended to outline the implementation and use of a specific moderated online interactive support space designed for social care students on final practice placements. …

The Lecturer As Learner: Exploring That Digital Divide One More Time, Mary O'Rawe

Conference papers

Although there is widespread acceptance of the importance, and indeed superiority, of student-centred learning in the contemporary success equation (McCabe & O’Connor, 2014), charting the route to such success remains problematic. Many assumptions around the nature of digital learning, and inter-generational attitudes to such learning are still made.

Specific to the context of technology-enhanced teaching, learning and assessment in a higher education environment, a range of generic and particular debates around how to be student-centric arise. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) has been examined extensively from both the student’s viewpoint, and the lecturer’s perspective (Waycott et al., 2010). But how can these …

Digital Libraries And Their Use In E-Learning, Caoimhín O’Nualláin

The ITB Journal

How e-learning providers do business and produce content has changed dramatically over the past few years. Technology advancement and increased use of broadband coupled with the need to develop content optimised for size, richness and personalization have been key drivers. Due to the high costs associated with producing content, much progress has been made adapt old material to courses that may apply a different style guide. The fact that there are millions of duplicating courses covering the same material across the world, which cannot be re-used or shared, is an issue we discuss in this paper in the context of …

Work Placement Reflective Assessments And Employability Enhanced Through Highlighting Graduate Attributes, Julie Dunne

Articles

This paper reports on a study which investigated the effect of activities to promote awareness of specific prioritised graduate attributes on the quality of reflection displayed in student work-placement reflective blog assessments. The focus of the paper is on the results from a thematic analysis of reflective writing assisted by NVivo software from a control and research group, using the a priori codes of ‘reflection’ and ‘graduate attributes’, as part of a Participatory Action Research study. The findings show an increase in reflection associated with graduate attributes in the research group compared to the control group. More importantly, there is …

The Design Of E-Learning Resources For Part-Time Distance Education Students, Rowena Hennigan

Teaching Fellowships

This research assessed the current e-learning provision for Ibec postgraduate students at DIT. The current e-learning resources are delivered using Webcourses (Blackboard), which is the Institute’s Learning Management System (LMS).1 The first stage of the research involved an audit of the existing e-learning resources on Webcourses, discussions with colleagues and a review of the e-learning literature. This research indicated that there were five key elements required in the programme’s e-learning design, namely: user experience, assessment, module content, interactivity of content and the updating of module content. A number of amendments were made in order to provide standardisation and to enhance …

Problems With Internet And Library Usage For Secondary School Children, Tom Nolan, Mark Humphrys

The ITB Journal

This research consisted of investigating seven hypotheses using the following components: 1. Observation of forty-three secondary school children using the Internet and the library to complete five tasks. 2. An interview was held with all the participants in the study that was audio taped and subsequently transcribed. 3. An on-line form was constructed so that the students could nominate their favourite educational web sites for each class subject. The participants were given five tasks and had to find the answers using two of the most common forms of information retrieval found in Irish schools, the Internet and the school library. …

Experiences Gained From The Deployment Of An E-Learning "Java Arrays" Prototype For Novice Java Programmers In The Institute Of Technology Tallaght, 2002/2003, Eamonn Hyland, Dean Fennell

The ITB Journal

This paper describes recent experiences gained from the deployment of an E-learning "Java Arrays" prototype for novice first year students within the Computing department at the Institute of Technology, Tallaght. It attempts to determine what contributions, if any, the E-Learning prototype made to novice students learning to declare, create, initialise and manipulate one-dimensional and two-dimensional arrays within the Java Programming language. Tentative conclusions from this process are presented and a charter for progressing this research further is outlined.

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 …

“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 …