Student Response Systems (SRS) take many forms but we argue that there are compelling reasons to use some form of SRS in lectures and seminars at some points in the year, irrespective of subject taught and setting. Deciding which tool to use can be a challenge which is why we have selected a range of cloud based SRS types with varying functions and levels of difficulty and offer reviews of each here using the 'SCORE' analysis system enabling the reader to compare the perspectives of experienced users of each tool before trialling one or more of them. The tools we review here are: Todaysmeet, Slido, Polleverywhere, Mentimeter, Socrative, Kahoot and Zeetings.** Note from Authors 17th May 2018: Since publication we have received notice that Todaysmeet will cease operating in June 2018
How do postgraduate researchers (PGRs) see themselves at the start of their PhD journey? There is a duality of identity or even a triality when it comes to PGRs, since they exist in a space that is simultaneously researcher, student, and often ‘teacher’ in the broad sense of supporting other students in their learning. This report draws on data from a source originally not intended to be one: personal pie charts of identity. The activity was originally conceived as a warmer or discussion prompt for ensuing focus groups (four separate groups all completing a Teaching, Learning and Assessment strand of the mandatory elements of their PhDs). However, the pie charts themselves provided surprising insights. The pie charts presented here show considerable variance in the ways they see themselves within the academic community and raise issues about the implications for them as they exist and traverse the spaces within and between these multiple identities.
Abstract"Have you done your reading?" If you are a teaching academic who always gets positive responses to this question, then you are in a very fortunate (or talented) minority. This small case study draws on existing research into why students do not read and evaluative research into strategies designed to combat this phenomenon. It reflects on an ad hoc trial of quiz questions randomly targeted at individuals in two seminar groups of first-year undergraduates within the Business Faculty. The trial spanned seven weeks and sought to improve previously poor levels of reading compliance. The study found that, within a short period, the technique employed significantly increased levels of reading compliance, when measured across the whole group through qualitative comprehension questions.
Despite extensive investment, levels of enthusiasm for technology enhanced learning (TEL) are notoriously varied amongst the key stakeholders. A growing body of research shows that TEL is often expected by students and, when used effectively, has a positive impact on engagement and outcomes. Despite this, transmissive models of continuous professional development (CPD) that focus on the technology and systems over the pedagogic underpinnings can feel like a compliance mechanism ripe for resistance. We argue that a more effective approach utilises simpler, cloud based tools to highlight pedagogic approaches and that adaptations in the way CPD happens provide an environment within which exploration, utilisation and even transformation in practice can occur.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.