Andrew Middleton

A three year case study of using audio to blend the engineer's learning environment

Abstract A blended approach to learning, teaching and assessment has been part of curriculum design in the teaching of software engineering at Sheffield Hallam University since 2003 when the Blackboard virtual learning environment (VLE) was first used alongside lectures and laboratory-based assignments. In seeking a greater degree of integration between physical and virtual learning spaces we have been keen to explore how digital audio can be used to engage and develop students. Digital audio has shown itself to be a simple medium to work with and distribute. Its essential value has proven to be in how it supports access to the disparate voices available in education. We have developed several ideas, including audio notes to support lectures, educational podcasting and audio feedback to bridge the virtual and physical environments in order to offer a richer, more meaningful and formative learning experience. Our recent work has shown that digital audio is generally accessible to, and valued by, students and that it can lead to greater ongoing engagement in the module. This paper focuses on the formative feed forward potential of this flexible medium and illustrates how we have built upon initial successes by improving the design and integration of audio feedback. It describes how the techniques have been used to promote an holistic blended learning environment and how this has affected both the student and the tutor.

A cross‐faculty simulation model for authentic learning

This paper proposes a cross‐faculty simulation model for authentic learning that bridges the gap between short group‐based simulations within the classroom and longer individual placements in professional working contexts. Dissemination of the model is expected to widen the use of authentic learning approaches in higher education (HE). The model is based on a cross‐faculty project in which UK HE students acted as professional developers to produce prototype educational games for academic clients from other subject areas. Perceptions about the project were obtained from interviews with project participants. The stakeholders believed the cross‐faculty simulation to be a motivating learning experience, whilst identifying possible improvements. To evaluate whether the authenticity of the student–client relationship could be improved, the interview data were compared to four themes for authentic learning described by Rule in 2006. The data supported Rule’s themes, whilst highlighting the added value gained from meta‐awareness of the simulation as a learning opportunity.

The Innovative Use of Personal Smart Devices by Students to Support their Learning

Research into the autonomous use of MP3 audio recorders by students in UK higher education demonstrated that students were innovative in their autonomous use of the devices. They used them to capture learning conversations from formal and informal situations to personalise and enhance their learning. However, today smartphones and other smart devices have replaced the necessity for students to carry multiple mobile devices including MP3 recorders. This chapter builds upon the earlier work and presents a small qualitative study into how students are autonomously using their smart devices to support their learning. The research explores the hypothesis that students are being innovative in the ways in which they are using their smart devices to support their formal and informal learning. The study involved five students who own smart devices who were invited to discuss their ownership of smartphone and tablet technologies and the ways they used them in their studies. The students first completed a short questionnaire and were then interviewed in small groups. The results agree with previous research into student use of smart devices and describe autonomous engagement facilitated by personally owned smart technologies. The study identifies continuous patterns of pervasive engagement by students and concludes that more thought should be given to disruptive innovation, digital literacy and employability.

Using student generated audio to enhance learning

Abstract This paper explores the issues surrounding the use of audio in learning and offers an alternative to podcasting. It considers the practicalities of enabling students to generate their own audio recordings and the potential to enhance and personalise learning in a self directed way that suits their individual learning styles. There is some discussion of hardware and its accessibility, cost and ease of use as well as protocols on what audio can/cannot be recorded or shared amongst students. The paper explores different types of scenario where recording can be used beneficially and uses real student case studies to demonstrate its efficacy, as perceived by the students. There is also particular emphasis on the benefits to specific student groups, including those with English as an additional language or students with learning difficulties. In summary the paper gives evidence of how student generated audio can be embedded into the curriculum and the benefits it can bring.

Smartphone feedback : using an iPhone to improve the distribution of audio feedback

Smartphones combine the flexibility of MP3 recorders and the connectivity of a PC in a discrete handheld device, thereby suggesting their application as a user friendly tool for giving recorded audio feedback efficiently. This paper describes a smartphone feedback methodology and presents findings from research on its use with 130 Level 5 (2nd year of degree study) Engineering and Computing students. The study found that the smartphone was more suitable than other technologies to the various demands of feedback production and distribution, and that this helped the tutor to manage the exceptionally stressful time associated with marking and giving feedback on top of an ongoing teaching load. Its pedagogic integration also resulted in a good dialogical experience as evidenced through student testimony.

Property Explorer – a guided tour of a virtual house

Describes a computer‐aided learning package developed as a multi‐media teaching resource. The package models a three‐bedroomed terrace house and students are able to interact with the model and simulate a building survey. The program is being developed as a CPD resource, particularly with the new seller’s survey in mind.

Audio Active: Discovering Mobile Learner-Gatherers from Across the Formal-Informal Continuum

This paper challenges the dominant perception evident in the literature that mobile podcasting is primarily a medium for knowledge transmission. It describes why and how mobile audio learning can be facilitative, active and integrated, and how it can involve diverse voices, including those of students, in ways that usefully disrupt didactic pedagogy. Audio is described as an active learning environment, capable of supporting connection to the real world around education in which students are able to act as autonomous learner-gatherers. The paper responds to concerns raised by Ciussi, Rosner, and Augier 2009 that some students are disinterested in podcasting and uses a scenario-based design methodology Carroll, 2000 to describe and evaluate six innovative applications. It concludes that mobile audio can be understood as an active medium capable of richly and meaningfully engaging learners.