Matthew Butler

Understanding initial undergraduate expectations and identity in computing studies

ABSTRACT There is growing appreciation of the importance of understanding the student perspective in Higher Education (HE) at both institutional and international levels. This is particularly important in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects such as Computer Science (CS) and Engineering in which industry needs are high but so are student dropout rates. An important factor to consider is the management of students’ initial expectations of university study and career. This paper reports on a study of CS first-year students’ expectations across three European countries using qualitative data from student surveys and essays. Expectation is examined from both short-term (topics to be studied) and long-term (career goals) perspectives. Tackling these issues will help paint a picture of computing education through students’ eyes and explore their vision of its and their role in society. It will also help educators prepare students more effectively for university study and to improve the student experience.

Understanding the graphical challenges faced by vision-impaired students in Australian universities

ABSTRACT Information graphics such as plots, maps, plans, charts, tables and diagrams form an integral part of the student learning experience in many disciplines. However, for a vision impaired student accessing such graphical materials can be problematic. This research seeks to understand the current state of accessible graphics provision in Australian higher education. We conducted an online survey of 71 vision-impaired university students and semi-structured interviews with 44 key stakeholders (students, academics, disability liaison officers and accessible graphics providers). We found that difficulty in accessing graphical materials was a barrier to many vision-impaired students and that there were systemic problems with current processes for accessible graphics provision. Recommendations are made on ways to address these concerns in order to provide a more equitable higher education experience.

Video annotation - improving assessment of transient educational events

Annotation of video content has been commonplace in the entertainment industry for many years and is now becoming a valuable tool within the business world. Unfortunately its use in education has to date been limited. Although research and development is being undertaken to apply video annotation techniques to assessment and both software and hardware exists to facilitate this process, it must be acknowledged that these solutions are generally cost prohibitive for educational use. This paper will investigate simple video annotation methods for assessment of transient state events in the education context such as presentations. The authors will introduce a number of existing uses of video annotation, as well as discuss the educational context this can be placed within, highlighting fundamental concerns with some assessment practices. A framework for a solution involving video annotation techniques will be discussed, along with practical demonstration of a prototyped solution and discussion of further application.

Creating new distance learning environments from contemporary technologies

Over the last decade, rapid technological change and increasing rates of adoption of those new technologies in the community have resulted in widespread acceptance in domestic and commercial applications. Regrettably, such developments have effected little impact within the domain of education and in particular, distance education (DE). We attempt to explore the hitherto unexploited potential of these new technologies in the educational realm and specifically their application to distance education. The authors argue that these technologies could address the inequities that currently differentiate the learning experiences of the on-campus from the off-campus student. Currently available technologies appropriate for enhancing the learning process of the distance education student are discussed as well as possible applications as yet undeveloped in the education sector.

Initiatives to Increase Engagement in First-Year ICT

There is widespread concern about lack of student engagement in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) courses and the influence of this on learning outcomes, retention, and the student experience overall. Lack of engagement is particularly concerning for first-year students, who are developing their study behaviours for the remainder of their degree programs. This study seeks to report on the myriad of current initiatives in Australian universities to increase ICT student engagement. This is explored for both in-class teaching innovations and the support structures with which students interface academically and administratively. The study draws upon data collected from interviews of 30 academics involved with the design and delivery of the first-year learning experience of ICT students in 25 Australian universities. Analysis of this data has provided a comprehensive overview of current initiatives to address student engagement. These covered a range of academic and non-academic aspects of the student experience. Our findings highlight the unique challenges that our first-year ICT students face and we recommend areas for further investigation.

Accessible Maps for the Blind: Comparing 3D Printed Models with Tactile Graphics

Tactile maps are widely used in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training for people with blindness and severe vision impairment. Commodity 3D printers now offer an alternative way to present accessible graphics, however it is unclear if 3D models offer advantages over tactile equivalents for 2D graphics such as maps. In a controlled study with 16 touch readers, we found that 3D models were preferred, enabled the use of more easily understood icons, facilitated better short term recall and allowed relative height of map elements to be more easily understood. Analysis of hand movements revealed the use of novel strategies for systematic scanning of the 3D model and gaining an overview of the map. Finally, we explored how 3D printed maps can be augmented with interactive audio labels, replacing less practical braille labels. Our findings suggest that 3D printed maps do indeed offer advantages for O&M training.

Multidimensional analysis of creative coding MOOC forums: a methodological discussion

The emergence of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in higher education has led to new variations in the social and educational interactions that students have with their peers and teachers. In this paper, we focus on methodological issues and discuss different options for analysis frameworks for forum posts in MOOCs. The ultimate aim of our ongoing research is to understand how factors relating to interactions and discussions may lead to better learning outcomes in programming courses. We performed a multidimensional analysis using existing frameworks for a small data set extracted from a larger data pool from a Creative Coding MOOC. Based on this pilot study, we discuss how different analysis approaches contribute to gaining a holistic understanding of online interactions. We found the need to redefine existing frameworks for the specific analysis of MOOC discussions and in particular, for computer science focused discussions. We conclude by highlighting some of the themes and challenges we are expecting in our future work, such as, how to automate data analysis of MOOC discussions.

The use of games engines to create practical learning environments

The last decade has seen a vast growth in technologies suitable for implementation into learning frameworks. Web and communications technologies are now being used in the delivery of course materials to both on-campus and distance education students. Primary application of these technologies however has been in simple replication of existing processes. This paper attempts to explore the previously unexploited potential of games engines in the university educational realm. The author argues that these technologies could address the inequities that currently differentiate the learning experiences of the on-campus from the off-campus student as well as enhancing the learning process of the on-campus student, primarily in application of learned concepts.

Contrasting CS student and academic perspectives and experiences of student engagement

The performance of Computer Science (CS) on a range of international student engagement benchmarks, including the North American National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) in the USA and Canada, Student Experience Survey (SES) in Australia, and the Student Engagement Survey (SES) in the UK, has generally been poor over a number of years and unfortunately shows little sign of improvement. In this ITiCSE Working Group we propose to carry out an in-depth analysis of student perspectives and experiences regarding student engagement in their CS courses and to contrast these with the perspectives and experiences of CS academics. We hope this will allow us to better understand the alignment between CS student and CS academic perspectives on student engagement and obtain insight into possible reasons for the reported poor engagement performance.

Examining manual and semi-automated methods of analysing MOOC data for computing education

We examine a semi-automated approach to the analysis of data from MOOC discussion forums. Previous research had analysed a sample of discussion forum data and developed a manual analysis framework, however this process can be very time consuming, especially given the class size of some online courses. Therefore it is important to investigate appropriate and automated analysis techniques to improve timeliness of analysis and to reveal the topics that emerge from a semi-automated process. An analysis of a data set from a coding MOOC in 2015 using the automated Structural Topic Modeling (STM) technique in R is described and contrasted against a manual analysis conducted on a segment of data from the same course in 2014. The types of analyses available and the relevance to computing education research is highlighted, with a focus on providing a discussion of the contrasting capabilities of each approach. The aim is to enable computing education researchers to assess the relevance of these techniques for further work.