Department for Curriculum and Quality Enhancement
Technology we are exploring
The Higher Education landscape is changing with the introduction of higher fees and the need to meet the expectations of an increasingly computer literate student population demanding more 'bang for their buck'. The TEL team is investigating several other technologies that will help all of us deliver an innovative and engaging student experience. Contact the TEL team (elearn@port.ac.uk) if you want to learn more about:
Mobile Learning – we are striving to make our web sites convenient and easy to use on small screen devices meaning students and staff can access learning resources wherever they are. Moodle is a great example of this work; it automatically detects the types of device accessing the site and provides an appropriate display to the user.
We are also committed to producing web applications to support teaching and learning on mobile devices such as smartphones, feature phones and tablets. This will enable us to cover a wider range of operating systems than native mobile applications. Students and staff will benefit from access to content even when no network signal is available. We welcome new ideas for mobile applications from teaching staff and students. Currently three web apps are being developed in DCQE based on suggestions from faculty staff.
Audience response system (ARS) - ARSs allow students to answer a question or to vote on a topic. After a set time the system ends the polling for a particular question or topic and then instantly displays the results via a bar chart.
In the academic year 2012–13, TEL in conjunction with Manish Malik from the School of Engineering will be trialling the use of a very simple online ARS called Allthevotes.
If you would like to investigate Allthevotes further:
- Visit www.allthevotes.com/login and login using the Gmail account you would like to use with the system.
- You should see a simple, non-functioning screen asking for a “Classroom code” and nothing more.
- Send an email message to admin@allthevotes.com clearly stating the Gmail ID you used to login to the system, along with your school/department details.
- An email reply will be sent to you confirming access.
Prezi – bored of PowerPoint? Try enhancing your presentations with this free tool.
Xerte – this award-winning suite of tools for elearning developers and authors is open source. It allows you to produce high-quality, interactive learning materials.
Wordle – create beautiful word clouds for free; they look great and have several educational uses.
Wallwisher – Wallwisher is a free online collaboration tool. You can use it to share ideas, resources and musings on a particular topic. Think of it as a place where you and your students can share electronic Post-It notes.
Teachers are using Wallwisher in a variety of ways, including activities such as:
- Writing – it allows for collaborative work on essay plans, note-taking, memos and so on. The 160 character limit for each post encourages conciseness.
- Language learning – students can work on definitions, practice tenses, match vocabulary (video and audio can be included).
- Brainstorming – many teachers use it as an ice-breaker at the beginning of a lecture.
- Feedback – you can check on how well your students have understood a new concept.
If you’re interested in trying Wallwisher, it’s easy to get started:
- Follow the link to Wallwisher (www.wallwisher.com) and sign up for free
- Build a new wall
- Describe the activity you want people to collaborate on
- Specify your Wallwisher URL
- Share the link.