As another year draws to a close, The Educational Technology team would like to reflect on their work this year and if they’ve been good enough, they would like a stocking full of shiny technology….
Topping Adel’s list this year and very much the topic of the moment is the Star Wars inspired BB-8 Sphero; an orange sized sphere that rolls around under the command of your Android phone. On that note, to make up the package she would also the Google Pixel C, which looks like a relatively affordable alternative to the Apple and Microsoft offerings in the ‘Pro’ tablet arena.
Amy’s christmas quest is to update the home theatre experience for super fast broadband by replace the creaking iMac with a new MacMini or something like a chromecast (a popular gift from last year’s santa list). If you have the hardware already, Kodi.TV is a worthy environment for the Home Theatre PC.
Mark would like the gesture based input offered by the Myo to control the new Micro-Brewery offering from Pico. Waving at a device to set in motion the creation of craft beer, is in his opinion the pinnacle of the Internet Of Things.
Oliver would like a Standuino 3π2, to add to his smorgasbord of noise making machines.
We hope you’ll see that we really have been awfully good technologists again this year, so if you could see your way to leaving this stuff under our LED christmas tree, we’d be most appreciative.
Last month, as part of a craft of writing session, English and Writing students were invited to contribute to their lecture via twitter. Including a real time conversational element to the lecture seemed apt given that the nature of the session was dialogue. Prior to the lecture students were emailed a hashtag and invited to contribute should they wish.
During the session the live tweets were broadcast to all in the lecture theatre. This was the first time a session like this had been run with the cohort and it was as much of a learning exercise for staff as it was for students. Purposefully no rules were implemented as part of the activity, and although conversation occasionally diverted away from the lesson having staff who were tweeting with the students meant conversations were steered towards the subject should they veer too far off topic. The addition of a digital dialogue element to the session gave an extra dimension to an already engaging lecture.
Particularly interesting was that one of the most engaged students in the session via twitter wasn’t even studying on the course and had instead contributed after seeing the hashtag on his friends twitter wall and decided to get involved.
The decision by academic staff to incorporate this interactive element was really encouraging, they wanted students to become involved in the session and went with a method that they had not used previously. Sometimes it is difficult to try new things because you are unsure of how they will go and if it will be a success. Hopefully the english team will build on this experience, reflecting on the dialogue session to include further methods students can contribute to taught sessions. We’re really pleased Rupert and Fréa got in touch and hope to be working with them again soon.
As a team we are always happy to support academic staff wanting to introduce a technical element into their teaching, if you’ve been inspired by this session or want to discuss any ideas you have please get in touch with the team: etsupport@falmouth.ac.uk
Over one billion people, 15% of the world’s population, live with some form of disability. Removing barriers to their participation creates a better world for all. December 3rd, marks the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities and this year’s theme centres around inclusion. The Equality Act 2010 asks us to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. With this is in mind, the Educational Technology Team have put together a set of good practice principles that staff can factor into their Learning Space module design.
Involve a diverse groups of learners in the design of your online module to provide feedback and advice and help you iterate.
Provide multimedia alternatives to text; close captioned videos, audio and supportive visuals can break learning into chunks.
Provide a contextual description for the files you upload. Your Learning Space is your voice guiding learners through the module.
Test your content using some of the accessibility features of popular browsers and devices Chrome, Apple, Windows, Firefox, Android.
Read More. JISC have a range of resources published around the areas of disability, accessibility and special educational needs
We’d encourage you to pick one or two of these and act on them to recognise today’s international effort.
In this series of articles, the Educational Technology team will be providing an insight into existing practice using technology for learning and teaching at Falmouth University and also at projects being undertaken within the sector.
The student experience is increasingly mediated through use of technology; timetabling systems, online learning, Student Information Systems, Customer Relationship Management software, mobile devices… all things that staff and students will need to engage with in one form or other to navigate their way through life at University. ‘Digital Wellbeing’ is concerned with exploring and improving these interactions in a personal and social context.
Social media tools are incredibly useful and popular in teaching and learning, but are often built around a Culture of Participation; the more ‘likes’ you get the more influential you are. This in turn exacerbates the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) – if you’re not connected then you’re not part of the crowd. Some technologies are designed to help us improve our wellbeing; running trackers, calorie counters, sleep timers all attempt to provide us with feedback based on quantifying our day to day activity, but do they in themselves enhance our wellbeing?
Technology proliferation and a participation culture within the HE sector, can lead to increasing anxiety amongst students and staff, so there is an increasing need for the individual and the institution to recognise and makes steps to mitigate this. JISC/NUS’s Student Experience Benchmarking Tool can be a great conversation starter in this area; note where you are on the scale of First Steps to Outstanding and plan to improve.
Some courses at Falmouth University are addressing this head on by encouraging group discussion around stress and anxiety; there are various signs up inviting people to meditation groups and the University promote both internal wellbeing services and external Talking Therapies like BE|ME.
A recent #LTHEChat that explored Digital Wellbeing asked participants to reflect on technology that enhanced their wellbeing, many focused on social connectivity that isn’t restricted by place/time and the ability to share. In thinking about how technology detracted from this, answers centred around not being able to ‘switch off’, being ‘all over the place’ and a saturation of ‘info’ and ‘spam’ that could be considered digital noise.
So how do we manage our digital wellbeing? Suggestions from the chat were to set time boundaries for checking social media, literally switch off devices and step outside the bubble of your own technology use. It is also important to encourage discussion and development of our digital capabilities and as JISC/NUS suggest, provide space for self-reflection.
Falmouth’s Student Union have identified ‘Mental Health Support’ in their Top10 issues for 2015/16 and have also established a ’Green Living’ project and ‘Digital Detox Series’. These events focus on removing oneself from the day to day technology and engage in outdoor making and horticultural activities as a means to improve wellbeing.
The series was organised by a recent graduate who I had the opportunity to ask about the concept of Digital Wellbeing. He talked about access to the internet, movies and online games as “another layer of insulation from the outside world, a further excuse to stay indoors.” and “a constant stream of stimulation, rendering anything outside of a virtual world boring.” He acknowledged the benefits of online learning and video/audio chats, but said that above all the means of technology to play music was one thing they couldn’t be without.
I also talked to a member of academic staff, who saw the benefits of technology in making you feel connected and providing avenues of accessibility, which chimes with the #LTHEchat. She also mentioned the negative impacts that mobile technology can have on our physical health, such as carrying the items, using the items incorrectly and sharing workstations adding “Right now, my laptop is on my knee and I am looking down at the screen. That can lead to a form of whiplash but in slow motion – accreting over the years.”
As working online is such a part of our daily lives, we’re often using the internet as a distraction instead of taking time away from the screen. A common theme was that access to online stuff can “suck you in”, so techniques that break tasks up such as Pomodoro can be useful. Our staff member has introduced “an early morning switch off policy – going for a walk/run instead…I feel better for it”. They suggested that less or better use of email could aid wellbeing, but although this has been discussed over a number of years, it remains hard to implement.
It’s fantastic to see this concern being raised at national and institutional level and the JISC/NUS tool leaves us with an important consideration regarding implementation:
“Most of the ‘outstanding’ practices involve staff and students working in partnership. The partnership needs to be meaningful in order to work, which means that both groups must listen, recognise each others’ skills and resources, and be willing to compromise. “
