Introducing innovative approaches to learning in fluid mechanics: a case study

The purpose of the current article is to examine the impact of laboratory demonstrations and computer visualizations on learning in a third-year fluid mechanics course at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). As a first step, on entering the course, students were exposed to a laboratory demonstration focusing on the nature of waves. Students were subsequently taught the theory of wave mechanics in a regular class along with exercises. Finally, the computer algebra system Maple was used to simulate physical properties of the waves using the mathematical equations. The illustrations throughout the paper are examples of some of the pedagogical devices that students were exposed to during the project. The students enjoyed the demonstrations, but there are some indications that the interventions did not help to improve learning of phenomena.     

Introducing a scalable peer feedback system for learning teams

In the current research, we report on a peer feedback system for supporting student teamwork skill development during post-secondary education. The peer feedback system is part of a larger suite of assessments at ITPmetrics.com. This is a free assessment-based system that allows team members to provide round-robin ratings of each member’s effectiveness in the team on five dimensions (communication; commitment; foundation of knowledge, skills and abilities; emphasising high standards; and focus), as well as provide anonymous written feedback to supplement the numeric scores. Team members have access to a dashboard where they can complete the assessment and store assessment reports generated from their peers’ ratings. We summarise data from student learning teams suggesting that peer ratings are reliable (internally consistent, unidimensional and inter-rater correlated; n?>?85,000). Recommendations for implementation are provided with respect to pre-briefing, debriefing, and assessment schedules.     

引进企业文化 建设具有高职特色的校园文化

近年来,高职院校主动适应市场的需要,以就业为导向,加强同企业之间的交流合作,走产、学合作之路,特别是引进企业文化,创建有高职特色的校园文化,注重学生职业道德和职业能力的培养与提高,培养出综合素质高、专业技能强的"银领"人才。本文对"引进企业文化,创建有高职特色校园文化"的依据及对策进行了分析。     

The evolution of a hybrid classroom: Introducing online learning to educators in American samoa

Conclusion This case study suggests that the process of designing and facilitating hybrid courses in the island community of American Samoa required continuous negotiation with respect to the pace of instruction and the acculturation to online learning. The need for gentle transitions, such as constructing the face-to-face community before rushing into the online community, was apparent for instructors and students. Without honoring the local community, and making time for its renewal on a regular basis, the online community would be difficult, if not impossible, to sustain. The feeling of isolation that characterizes many online experiences is often compounded when one is geographically isolated on an island. It was obvious that the presence of a local teaching assistant was essential in bridging the physical and psychological gap between students and online instructor. Before and after each online activity it was important to take time to discuss in face-to-face sessions the questions and concerns that had arisen while engaged in online activities. These sessions, facilitated by a local instructor, reinforced the sense of community that is so important in this island culture and helped students overcome the challenges inherent in online learning. The importance of honoring the traditions of an oral culture, particularly in an island community, underscores the need to purposefully employ information and communication technologies in a hybrid course. Asynchronous communication such as email and discussion forums allows the widest participation because of low bandwidth internet requirements. However, synchronous modes of communication seem to provide the most natural transition from the oral to digital cultures. Chat sessions and videoconferencing offer students with access to broad bandwidth connections the opportunity to interact directly. Videoconferencing seemed the most successful technology for accommodating American Samoan students’ need for oral expression and visual connections with their distant instructor. Ultimately, instructors must strive for a delicate balance while constructing a hybrid classroom that introduces online learning activities to relative novices. To achieve a healthy equilibrium, instructors must pay heed to the cultural context, social needs and technical constraints of their learning community, fostering a learning environment that simultaneously honors oral traditions and textual innovations, enables synchronous and asynchronous communication and accommodates low bandwidth access while experimenting with broadband technologies.     

The evolution of a hybrid classroom: Introducing online learning to educators in American samoa

TechTrends - This case study suggests that the process of designing and facilitating hybrid courses in the island community of American Samoa required continuous negotiation with respect to the...     

The experiences of students with learning disabilities in a higher education virtual campus

Institutions of higher education are increasingly asking students to use the online environment, or virtual campus, when carrying out business related to college life. In this paper, we report findings from a study conducted to learn more about the experiences of college students with learning disabilities as they interacted with this virtual campus. Sixteen college students with documented learning disabilities were observed and interviewed while completing eight tasks in a virtual campus environment. Tasks were chosen from those typically performed by college students and included such items as locating the email address of an instructor, locating a journal article in the library’s online database, and identifying the textbook for a course on the bookstore webpage. Findings indicate that these participants were both successful and not successful in task completion within the virtual campus. Factors that impacted performance included features of the virtual campus and participants’ implementation of cognitive and behavioral strategies.     

Jimmy Carter on service learning

Jimmy Carter speaks candidly about his commitment to community service, the early influences that shaped his commitment, and the ways that higher education can foster the service habit in students.     

强化图书馆的服务职能完善学习支持服务

图书馆是开放教育学生学习支持服务体系的重要组成部分，在现代远程教育中有着十分重要的地位和不可替代的作用。图书馆要为学生的自主学习提供完善的支持服务，必须要在加强对图书馆信息服务工作的认识、提高学生查询学习资源的操作技能、培养学生的信息意识、加强图书馆信息资源建设等方面开拓创新。     

创建和谐校园应以改善师生成才环境为突破口

创建和谐校园是构建和谐社会和促进学校健康发展的必然要求,各地在和谐校园创建中普遍热情高涨并大力推进。然而其进展与成效却不尽如人意。唯有切实把握住师生成才这个学校发展与校园和谐的关键,以改善师生成才环境作为创建和谐校园的突破口。才能有效推进和谐校园的创建。     

关于在校园网中建立学习型SNS社区的思考

随着网络、社交网络的日益成熟发展,学校教育与网络相结合、师生学习社交关系圈形成的新型教育模式,将是成人学习的新型模式。在校园网中建立学习型SNS社区,可为教师与教师、教师与学生、学生与学生之间的交流提供更好的平台,可以为学生营造出自主、协作的学习氛围,更好地完成学习任务,为教师打造专业平台,快捷知识和观点分享。如何利用学生的网络活跃性和群居性为教学服务,是目前学校网络建设与发展的热点、创新点。在校园网中建立学习型的SNS社区网站就是一个新的探索。     

Introducing the Microcomputer into English. II. An evaluation of WILT as a program using a problem-solving approach to learning spelling

Use of the spelling program WILT with a class of mixed-ability third-year secondary-level pupils as part of an evaluation study of programs for language development is reported. The behaviour and language activities characteristic of pupils using WILT are described and 14 categories of language activity identified. The results of an analysis of the language activities of four groups are presented, and the types of learning that are encouraged by WILT are identified. Differences between the pupils' and the class teacher's evaluations of WILT are examined, and the educational value of the program assessed.     

The relationship of campus crime to campus and student characteristics

This research draws upon merged national databases containing federal crime statistics, community demographic data, and campus characteristics. The study displays the trends in campus crime since 1974, and using 1990 data, examines the relationships between three measures of campus crime and 23 predictors developed for this study. The results show that campus rates of both violent crime and property crime are falling, especially since 1985. Moreover, students are considerably safer on campus than in the cities and communities surrounding them. The lowest average crime rates are found at two-year colleges, while the highest overall rates are at medical schools and health science centers. None of the community characteristics, including community crime and poverty rates, are significantly associated with campus crime. While campus organizational measures in general are more highly related to campus crime than are student characteristics, we find differences in the patterns of variables associated with violent crime versus property crime. Factors associated with property crime are partially consistent with existing theory on criminal activity. Factors associated with violent crime are more complex and difficult to predict.An earlier version of this paper was the winner of the regional Best Paper Award from the North East AIR annual meeting in Bolton Landing, N.Y., November 1993. It was presented again at the Association for Institutional Research Forum, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 1994.     

基于校园SNS的数字化学习平台设计与实现

SNS作为一种新技术、新的交流方式,已逐步走进了教育。在对SNS的内涵、教育传播特性进行分析的基础上,构建了基于SNS的数字化学习平台,旨在为一线教师提供可参考的数字化学习环境开发途径。     

A learning place: Ten years in the life of a new kind of campus center

When George Mason University's Johnson Center opened a decade ago, it was on the leading edge of architectural design and innovative thinking about spaces for learning. Over time, the building has retained many of its revolutionary aspects even as it has accepted encroachments of conventionality.