1. The Scene…

Daniel is studying taxonomy and plant identification as part of the Landscape Design & Horticulture diploma.  He and his team mates have spent time in the wooded ambience of Clementi Woods Park, gathering data and information relating to the  identification, use, origin and scultural requirements of trees and shrubs.  Daniel scans the park environment and sights a Tembusu tree.  Excited, he whips out his iPhone, launches the Plants@NP app, takes photos of the tree from various angles, takes some observational notes, geo-tags the entry and uploads to the Plants@NP database. Nifty.  Back in campus, another team accesses Daniel’s micro-blog entry, peer reviews the content and contributes additional information relating to the Tembusu’s optimal growing conditions based on their observations and research.  

Sue is a nursing student: passionate about advocating healthy eating and healthy lifestyles; passionate about providing patients with knowledge so they can make informed and realistic choices; passionate about helping people make sustainable behavioral changes; and passionate about mobile technologies meeting nursing practice needs.  As part of Clinical Attachment, Sue frequently needs to apply mathematical formulae, mainly when administering drugs.  Sue launches the medical calculator app on her iPod Touch to accurately compute the dosage, volume and rates of drug administration.  To unwind after a tough shift at the hospital, she indulges in a session of the wacky Hospital Havoc time management sim game whereby she assumes the role of a budding doctor by admitting, diagnosing, and treating some of the most whacky patients ever encountered.

2. Ubiquitous Mobility

Mobile learning has become a ubiquitous and integral element of campus life at Ngee Ann Polytehcnic (NP), whereby our students are living increasingly media-saturated, digital and co-located lives.  Embracing handheld technologies and apps is thus a natural extension for the polytechnic given the proliferation of converged mobile media devices and tech savvy students demanding access to info and instantaneous communication on portable devices such as smartphones and media tablets.  When considering mobile learning, it is important to frame our approach with handheld devices and apps, not as the ‘next big thing’ but as ubiquitous learning tools meaningfully integrated into teaching and learning.  

3. Replacement, Augment or Part of the Blend?

At a broad level, mobile learning could be defined as any educational interaction delivered via mobile technology and accessed anytime, anywhere, on location. Here at Ngee Ann polytechnic, definitions of mobile learning are evolving, as we come to grasp the rapid emergence of new mobile technologies and begin to gain a deeper understanding of mobility.  So, the transition from desktop to laptop was in itself a significant move toward mobile learning.  However, a key area of focus for the Future MeL section in the Teaching and Leaning Centre, going forward, will be on the transformative capabilities of mobile learning with highly mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to augment the laptop.

It is important not to think of smartphones and tablets as a replacement for the notebook (which has been a mainstay of NP’s MeL since the year 2000), but rather, as a new form factor that augments what our students are doing with their notebooks, opening up new areas where computing-based learning was just impractical before.  

As mobile and tablet touch-points proliferate and smartphone ownership continues to rise amongst our student population, it is highly conceivable that students at NP could be owning and bringing multiple devices (say a tablet and a laptop) to campus and leveraging each device for its unique learning affordance.  The degree of a specific device’s mobility will largely determine the ways it is best used in learning.  

So, in a ‘device-plus’ scenario, students such as Daniel and Sue will still use their laptops for extensive data entry such as report writing and spreadsheet creation, whilst tablets such as the iPad and Motorola Xoom could be used for consuming, interacting and exploring information, allowing navigation with taps, finger swipes and pinch zooms, not feasible on a typical laptop, and finally, using smartphones for geo-locative experiences (e.g. check-ins) and live blogging during field trips, given its great on- the-move portability, unobtrusiveness, and sheer instant usability.  

4. It’s All About Learning with the App

Beyond snazzy hardware, it’s also about the mobile applications (or apps for short) designed specifically for learning purposes.  Mobile technology will no doubt continue to follow Moore’s law, but the real innovation, the stuff that will change students’ lives in the future, now lies with app software and interfaces.

In the age of the app, a quick browse of Apple’s iTunes AppStore as well as Google’s Android Market will reveal a host of education-related apps, ranging from study aids, reference guides, calculators, translators to immersive game-based learning apps.  

So, whilst apps are undoubtedly cool, it is imperative to peel back the covers on the hype and take a serious look at why, when and how we should approach the mobile app strategy here in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.  Our primary focus has been on developing a cohesive app development strategy that clearly identifies the case and role for apps for teaching and learning, whereby hyper mobility is pitched as a new platform for learning.  

It is this very platform that will help bring learning to life by enabling our students to go to various kinds of places and do the kinds of things that weren’t even imaginable with the laptop, transcending the boundaries of structured lecture and tutorial-style learning environments and associated confined modes of communication.

Case Study 1

SkelePracti App: Immersive, Interactive Learning via Multi-Touch & Motion Sensing

Sue browses the reference section to learn about the bone groups (learning by exploring), having hands-on practice by assembling each bone group from constituent bones using the iPod Touch’s multitouch capability, then naming them and testing herself on correct joint movements using the 3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope (learning by doing).  As an added impetus for learning, Sue gains bragging rights amongst her peers on the leaderboard for correctly joining the bones to form a bone group as well as executing the correct movement of the various joints.  

SkelePracti is an app conceived and developed for use by students in the Diploma in Health Sciences (Nursing) program.  It is an educational tool that helps students refresh knowledge on the human anatomy and the skeletal system – serving as both a reference and a self-assessment tool for skeletal bones and joint movements.  In terms of learning experience and change value, through allowing students to manipulate and ‘touch’ the various elements of the skeletal system in a fun, engaging way, the app has helped students to more intuitively grasp and understand the skeletal system, including the classification of bone types and divisions of the skeletal system, how they function and, how they are linked.   With this app as the first gesture-based learning app prototype in NP, there is rich potential for NP’s future app development projects to incorporate similarly intuitive gestural interactions for students to tangibly interact with content via mobile devices. It’s early days for SkelePracti and we are looking forward to further testing to determine the effectiveness for learning.

Case Study 2

Plants@NP App: Bringing Learning to Life

Daniel comes across an Acacia tree at Clementi Woods Park and needs further information on its care and propagation methods.  He launches the Plants@NP app,  scrolls through the plant categories and queries the networked plant database and learns that the tree requires full sun and moderate watering.  Real-time performance support, in-context, just-in-time learning in Clementi Woods Park! Beyond just passive acquisition of information, Daniel is also an active constructor of knowledge whereby he records and shares his personal reflections on the Acacia’s propagation methods of seed and stem cutting, participating within a community of practice.  

One of the key custom iOS apps developed by the iMedia CEntre is Plants@NP – a plant directory-cum-micro blogging app that combines a desktop wiki environment with a companion mobile app.  

Ngee Ann Polytechnic previously piloted the use of PDAs for location-based content delivery via HP’s MediaScape Authoring Toolkit in 2008, following the adoption of Clementi Woods Park as a learning park. Going beyond mere content delivery and access, this latest iteration of the project incorporates features that empower students to collect, organise, and curate plant data in authentic learning contexts. Through using the app, the field work experience of students from the Diploma in Landscape Design & Horticulture are enhanced and enriched, whereby they can refer to, contribute to, and update the plant directory, while on the go, on location in a park or nature environment.  

In terms of pedagogical value, the hyper-mobility afforded by the iPhone/iPod Touch offers rich potential to embed context in learning, whereby students don’t just merely consume, but are engaged as co-creators of plant info in authentic contexts, collectively building and peer-reviewing contributions.   

As part of a project, students were engaged to work in groups to gather data on plant species from an allocated zone in Clementi Woods Park.  Each group was tasked to gather information and data for a minimum of 20 plant species, encompassing a combination of flowering plants, palms and other categories.  All entries were to be submitted to the Plants@NP database, peer reviewed and fine-tuned by group members.  

Through this learner-centred activity of learning by exploring, collaborating and reflecting, students engage with plant taxonomy and identification in a way that transforms their interactions and modes of exploration, thus deriving a richer learning experience overall.  Above all, students have developed a deeper understanding of the basis of classification of plant groups and the association of species in natural vegetation based on features of flowers, fruits and leaves used for taxonomic purposes.   

Cheng Yingwei, a second year student from the Diploma in Landscape Design & Horticulture shares how the Plants@NP app has enhanced her field-based learning experience

“… the app has helped me a lot by letting me know what kinds of plants are suitable to grow at particular areas, and also, where the plants are exactly located.  This info can be used for almost all our course modules, thus if we had an iPhone/iPod Touch and did not bring our laptops, we can use the mobile platform to research on plant species that we would like to know.   Going one step further, I hope useful apps such as this will benefit students from our very own junior  batch from Dip Landscape Design & Horticulture as well as supporting students from other courses to explore the flora in our parks.”

5. Developing App-titude for Future Work, Learning and Life

As part of Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s efforts to hone students’ mobile media literacies for future work, learning and life, we have been actively engaging and mentoring students in various app development projects.  Through this initiative, students are transformed from mere consumers to creators of apps designed to meet their campus needs.  

To support the burgeoning interest, app development workshops are regularly organised, focusing on both the business perspectives (app idea research, IP protection, app marketing, understanding the AppStore etc.) as well as the basics of objective C programming (XCode).

Following completion of these introductory workshops, students then embark on implementing their app ideas.  Through app projects, students not only get the opportunity to hone their app development skills, but, more significantly, are empowered to participate in and shape their campus experience – developing apps that benefit their peers and the wider campus community.  

To date, there are over 25 student-initiated and developed apps on the iTunes App Store.  Apps developed include a campus food review app (Hungry@NP) and an app to check out the latest schedules and pickup points of the polytechnic’s shuttle bus service (NP Shuttle Service). The apps are all free and available for download on iTunes at www.itunes.com/apps/ngeeannpolytechnic. (You need to have a Ngee Ann Polytechnic name and password to access most of the apps.)

The QR code on the right will take you there.

One of the student-developed apps is ‘NP Courses’, developed by Alson Toh, a 2nd year BIT student in collaboration with the Corporate Communications Office.  The personality quiz app enables prospective students to check out the many diploma courses that NP has to offer. It is targeted at students who have multiple interests and are still not sure which diploma they should pick. Through the quiz, users are able to find out which courses are likely to suit his/her interests.

6. What’s Next?

So, as the mobile learning revolution gathers pace, what’s next? From the utility of learning the human skeletal system to the geo-locative experiences of gathering and sharing plant information on-the-go, it seems as time goes on there will be an app for just about everything. But in the minds of the most students, this is merely the first generation of handheld technologies that we will wonder how we ever lived without. So what do apps of the future look like?

Could an app advise if you should avoid the bag of chips or that chocolate bar?  

Sue envisions that the future of mobile technology in healthcare will somehow combine a person’s DNA and genomics information coupled with his/her personal health record within an app, whereby the smartphone is then used to scan against ‘barcode’ labels of food products to determine which foods are best or detrimental to one’s nutritional needs.

Could there be an app that will help in the promotion of eco-efficiency and environmental awareness? Are random park visitors capable of forming a network of ‘automatic intelligent mobile sensors?  Daniel envisions the use of a smart, location-aware, ambient mobile app that integrates dynamic real-time environmental data automatically collected by park visitors with central environmental databases to help develop innovative eco-solutions.    

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the subject matter contribution and assistance given by  our colleagues, Dr Myat Maw Tun (Dip HSN) together with the HS next-gen mobile learning  team and Mr Gregory Chow (Dip LDH) and Mr Phang Chee Boon in the design and  development of the SkelePracti and Plants@NP apps respectively.

Author

Lim Ee-Lon, Manager, T&L Infrastructure Teaching and Learning Centre, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

There is a very handy tool that not only helps you keep track of your sources, but also automatically creates the bibliography for you. It can also keep a local copy of Web pages for later reference.

Zotero is a Firefox add-on that makes the task of citing our sources easier. As Zotero needs Firefox, we’ll first download this browser.

Installing Firefox

If you don’t already have Firefox on your computer, go to http://mozilla.org and download Firefox Browser.

(The Zotero team is currently working on a standalone version which won’t require Firefox. At the time of writing, this is still in beta.)

Installing Zotero

Next, using the Firefox browser, we will go to http://zotero.org and install the Zotero add-on. You will have to restart the Firefox browser to activate Zotero.

Using Zotero to save web pages

Zotero is activated by a small “Zotero” icon on the bottom bar of the Firefox browser.

Once you click on the “Z” icon, you will see three distinct areas. The Collections on the left, Item lists in the middle and Item details on the right.

It is a good practice to create a Collection (a Collection is similar to a Folder) to save related resources. You may be working on several projects at the same time. Use Collections to organize your research.

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To add a web page to Zotero, just navigate to the page, activate Zotero by clicking on the “Z” icon in the bottom bar and then click on the “Add Current Page” button.

Zotero will save the page in its database. You will see the item added to the column in the middle. Click on the name of the item to see its details on the right column.

One other advantage of Zotero is that it saves the webpage locally. This means that you can view the webpage even if you are not connected to the internet.

Zotero can also recognize some special items such as books, Wikipedia pages and YouTube videos. In such cases it will store additional information about that item.

Such special items are indicated with a small icon on the URL field in the browser.

Creating Bibliography

Once you have a few items, you can create a bibliography. Just right click on an ollection and select “Create Bibliography From Collection”

Zotero will let you select the citation style and output format. Usually, your assignment will specify what format the citations needs to be in. If you are not sure just use APA (American Psychology Association). Under output format choose “Copy to Clipboard”.

Paste this citation on your research document. For example my citation looks like this when I paste it on Word or any other text editor.

As Sudan Prepares to Split, Border Tensions Rise in Abyei. (2011, January 9). Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2041445,00.html

Here is an example bibliography from a collection:

As Sudan Prepares to Split, Border Tensions Rise in Abyei. (2011, January 9). Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2041445,00.html

Johnson, D. H. (2002). The Root Causes of Sudan’s Civil Wars. James Currey, UK.

Stoves, D. (2010). Taxis in Khartoum. Retrieved from http://www.flickr.com/photos/darfurstoves/5240735290/

Sudan 101: Could Sudan’s oil resources solve its problems? – CSMonitor.com. (n.d.). . Retrieved May 4, 2011, from http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Africa/2010/0426/Sudan-101-Could-Sudan-solve-its-problems

The Kush Empire. (2008). . Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b86XE3TbXg0

Video Resource

This video describes Zotero and shows you how to use it.

Author

Preetam Rai, Educational technologist, Teaching and Learning Centre, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

A recent research report indicates that Singapore is the third in the world when it comes to per-capita smartphone ownership. This trend is also reflected in the the student community where smartphone use continues to increase by leaps and bounds. The popularity of apps, internet access, social media platforms combined with competitive data plans from telcos (and not to mention – peer pressure) are encouraging students to upgrade to smart phones.

This provides educators with many new opportunities for enhancing learning.

Smart phone popularity has increased dramatically

Let us look at some of the many ways educators can create and distribute media for their students.

E-books

The larger and sharper screens of smartphones makes reading on mobile devices more comfortable. The most popular ebook format on the current breed of smartphones is the epub format. (See more on epub.)

These are popular epub reading apps

• IPhone, iPod Touch and iPad – Apple’s own iBook app and Stanza app
• Android Phones and Tablets – Aldiko app

Converting your notes (in Word/PDF) to epub format

The simplest way to convert your notes to epub format is to use the Stanza application from Lexcycle. Stanza allows you to import your materials from popular document formats such as Microsoft Word and convert it to epub.

• Download Stanza for Mac
• Download Stanza for Windows

Video

Smartphones are able to shoot decent video

Smartphones allow you to create learning videos on the go. More importantly, you can get your students involved too.

If privacy of the content is not an issue, the best way to publish videos is direct publishing to YouTube, which is possible with most current smartphones. YouTube will take care of the conversion and storage and gives you limitless storage. The students can also watch these videos on the go on their smartphones.

Presentations

To provide presentations for your students to consume on their smartphones, just create an account on slideshare.net and post your presentation. Send the link to your students and they can view them on their smartphones. Your presentation would become public and can be viewed by anyone on the web. (Before doing this, you may need to consider who owns the copyright on the presentation.)

See:

• Slideshare on mobile devices

Audio

Set up a free account on SoundCloud and get your students to do the same. The students can download the free iPhone or Android app and use the app to record and publish their audio. Using the app (or SoundCloud’s site), they can comment on each other’s audio clips.

• SoundCloud Website
• SoundCloud apps for iPhone and Android

Other interesting learning activities with smartphones

Digital archiving with Evernote

Evernote is an online archiving solution that gives you generous storage even on a free account. Evernote’s app is available on most smartphone platforms. Using Evernote, you can get your students to collect text, audio and images for a project. Evernote’s app can then sync this date from the student’s phone to a common private storage folder on the web. (The teacher will need to have a paid Evernote account to create this common folder but the students can use free accounts.)

• Desktop and mobile download for Evernote

Mobile discovery tours with QR codes

QR or “quick response” codes are becoming more popular with people using smartphones.

QR codes are rectangular codes that anyone can generate using URL shortening services such as Goo.gl or Bit.ly. We can find a good web resource (an YouTube video or a Wikipedia page) for a physical object – a tree, a machine etc. and generate a QR code for it. Print this code out and attach it to the object. When the students snap a picture of the code using a free QR code reading app, they will be directed to the web resource.

• QR code for education and training

Real-time Q&A in conferences – and in class

Here’s an interesting possibility for engaging students in class, especially in large lectures. Pigeonhole live (currently under development in Singapore) could help to make lectures more interactive.

Participants enter a PigeonHole “live” session and can post their questions – or vote on existing ones so the “best” questions rise to the top – using their smartphone.

Author

Preetam Rai, Educational technologist, Teaching and Learning Centre, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Background

Students taking Law modules offered at the School of Business & Accountancy are required to prepare and present answers to various legal problems during their 2-hour tutorial classes. The answers are discussed and amended during the class, and are archived for shared access for revision purposes.

The students bring their notebook computers to class and use them throughout the lesson.

Before Google Docs…

Before I started using Google Docs, the students developed and  presented their answers using Microsoft Office (mostly Word and Powerpoint).

I faced the following challenges, each of which reduced opportunities for learning:

1. I wanted everyone to see the student’s answer plus other resources at the same time

When a particular student’s answer was being discussed by the class, I needed all students to be able to view that student’s answer, and they also needed to see helpful resources (such as online legislation and case law, videos, news, corporate and other websites).

It was impossible to allow all students in a class to view both the student answer and a resource such as Statutes Online at the same time, since the only shared viewing space (the screen) was occupied by the projection from one computer.

Students could access other resources on their own laptop computers, but could not quickly and easily share what they were reading or watching with others in the class.

The tutor or students leading the discussion could not direct the entire class to other resources without first switching away from the student answer, thereby disrupting the focus of the discussion.

This caused some confusion and it was hard for students to follow.

2. I wanted all students to be able to conveniently make immediate amendments to, and comments on, the answer in discussion.

With Microsoft Office, amendments to the student answer could only be made from one computer, since that answer was usually only stored on that computer. Files could be sent from computer to computer, but not shared simultaneously.

This situation reduced the opportunities for collaboration between students.

3. I wanted to enable easy reversal of any unwanted changes.

"Versioning" (or the saving of multiple versions of a document for easy reversal of unwanted changes) all the way back to inception, was not available in Microsoft Office. Changes could be tracked, and the Undo function allows the reversal of unwanted changes before saving, but once changes are accepted or rejected, and once the file is saved and closed, only that latest saved version is subsequently available to the user.

4. Allow all students quick and easy access to the final version of the answer after the class.

This was accomplished by uploading the Microsoft Office file to a common password-protected repository (File Exchange in Blackboard). It was necessary for students to log in to Blackboard, download and then open the file to view its contents.

I felt these challenges reduced the learning outcomes, since what we were doing was neither efficient nor convenient.

A Revolutionary Idea? “Wiki-fy” the process

Google Docs is essentially a Wiki. Access to a Google Document is available via the Internet to any user with appropriate access privileges. A Google Doc is stored “in the cloud” (that is, on a networked server, not solely on one computer) and access is therefore available to more people than the one author. Wikis are almost as old as the World Wide Web but have only recently become popular.

The following features of Google Docs proved helpful in solving my challenges.

1. Google Docs was designed as a wiki…

Students in the class can all view the same Google Doc on their laptops as long as they have access to the Internet. This enables a "double-whiteboard" learning approach – one resource (e.g. the tutorial answer guide) can be viewed by the whole class as a projected image from one computer, while another resource, typically the student’s Google Doc answer under consideration, is available for viewing at all times on students’ laptops. Essentially, two shared viewing spaces are available. The entire class can view other resources, without first having to remove the student answer from their field of vision.

This has proven to be very effective from a learning point of view, since there is less distraction because of logistics.

Students use Google Docs in class

2. … and a wiki has simultaneous edit power

Up to 10 users can concurrently edit the same page on Google Docs. Changes are effected nearly simultaneously. Google auto-saves and almost immediately updates all changes in a Google document for viewing by all users.

Concurrent edit power makes Google Docs a practical solution for collaborative work where students must complete their work together in a physical classroom within a tight time-frame. Most other wikis, by contrast, are designed for asynchronous collaboration where users are expected to take turns and edits must be saved for updating one at a time. Such wikis are not suitable for a classroom scenario such as mine.

3. Changes can be reversed…

Like other Wikis, Google Docs implements versioning, or saving older versions of documents for later retrieval. Changes can be reversed even after saving, all the way back to inception. The ability to "rewind" a document may be helpful not just to erase errors but also to trace the chain of reasoning leading to the final answer. It can also be beneficial for assessment purposes, to ascertain what individual students contributed.

4. … and everything is always available, right after the class.

Students can view the final and all preceding versions of every tutorial answer, on the Web at any time, via any computer with internet access. Students do not even need to remember to save the document before the end of the class as Google Docs auto-saves changes. No uploading to an online repository is necessary since the document was already available online to all in the class at inception.

With these advantages, learning was enhanced since the technology became less intrusive.

Apart from learning their law lessons, my students also developed the ability to synchronously collaborate online, a skill that will become more important during the 21st century.

Slideshare explanation

This Slideshare presentation may give you a better idea of how the Google Docs lessons worked.

Student Feedback: Survey Results

I conducted a survey of the 8 tutorial classes who experienced law discussions using Google Docs. Over 90% responded positively when asked how they felt about using Google Docs for collaboration. When asked what they liked most about using Google Docs, the factors students cited most were:

1. Anybody can edit the answer and share the results quickly (74%)
2. Can access the document from any computer (66%)
3. Can share one document on screen and another on the laptop at the same time (60%)

(Students could respond to more than one answer.)

Qualitative feedback from the survey was generally positive, although some students had valid reservations over network lag and the limit of 10 concurrent editors. Some of the student comments included:

• "Helps in discussion better"
• "Need not be in front of the class to present (I’m shy )
• "Good to have for reference as sometimes the teacher may go too fast in class"

Conclusion

Google Docs is an example of a tool intended primarily for remote collaboration, and it has been successfully applied to enable collaboration in a physical, face-to-face classroom setting. The tool adds value to in-class instruction primarily because of its "view same document anywhere" and real-time "concurrent edits" features. Google Docs is an ideal tool to achieve the aim of a 21st century education to inculcate skills in communication and collaboration.

Two years after Google Docs was introduced in the School of Business and Accountancy, I find that students still consider the entire concept of working collaboratively on Wikis to be novel, especially when any change made by one student is viewed immediately by the rest of the class. Some students continue to express amazement at not having to share documents by emailing them back and forth. This insight is vital preparation for future online collaboration.

Moving forward, the introduction of competing web-based collaborative work tools by various vendors such as Microsoft’s Office Live and Sharepoint (both of which allow users to easily work collaboratively by saving documents in the cloud) opens up many interesting possibilities. Security of document contents is often cited as a reason to avoid cloud-based systems, but as long as the service provider is reliable, and files are encrypted during transfer and kept behind passwords, they are as secure as files kept within intranets.

My students found the experience of synchronous virtual teamwork to be quite valuable. Good synchronous virtual teamwork skills will be beneficial to our students when they enter the cost-saving, time-efficient and environmentally-conscious 21st-century professional or business workplace.

Author

Paul Ng Jin Meng, Lecturer, School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

When I was young, my parents encouraged me to keep a diary. My sister, who was 5 years older, had already been keeping one for a couple of years and, like most pesky younger brothers, I would have walked through poison ivy to have a peek into that book.

Privacy. Exclusivity. Secrets.

I wanted it too.

So I started my diary but in the end, it only documented three-and-a-half days of my life as an eleven year old.

My question then – and still is today – was “why write it if no one was ever going to read it?”

Self-reflection, some might say.

Catharsis, exclaim others.

Sense of achievement. Writing practice. Documentary proof.

The list goes on – but what was the point?

Writing For An Audience

One of the major discussions (or arguments) I have with students in my Storytelling Techniques class has been based around this simple question:

If you wrote a story and no one read it, would it still be a story?

For me, the answer is a plain and simple, no.

I think that any form of art is defined by the audience’s reaction to it. The Greek philospher and poet Aristotle said that a proper tragedy invokes both pity and fear in the audience. The audience relates to the story through pitying the characters and fearing their situation.

Notice how Aristotle never said you need an audience for a story. Why? Because it’s understood – the audience is always there and you are always writing for an audience.

So when I was writing my diary, who was going to pity me and fear my situation?

An Audience Of One

When I started teaching the Storytelling Techniques module in the Digital Visual Effects course and then for the Film, Sound & Video course, I found myself confronted by journaling once more.

The Journal Assignment was one I “inherited”, along with the module, from the previous module leader. Students were required to keep journals of their progression in the art of storytelling. These journals consisted of writing exercises as well as their own weekly reflections on the things they learned and how it was applied. They were compiled in folders and done on paper, handed in at the end of the semester.

An example of the paper-based journal entries I was receiving.

The first time I read the journals, I realized most of the entries were written for my benefit, as the students knew I would be marking it.

Being a writer myself, I was acutely aware that a writer’s greatest reward is the response you get from people when they read your work. Currently, these students were getting a response from a grand audience total of one – me.

Essentially, I was their audience.

Just me. One person.

No wonder they didn’t care.

A Perfect Fit

As the new semester drew near, I discussed this issue of lack of an audience with another lecturer who had been co-teaching the module with me. This was where the idea of a blog emerged. As it turns out, he had been exploring the option of using a blog as a journaling tool.

The blog, as defined by Dictionary.com, is “a Web site on which an individual or group of users produces an ongoing narrative”.

We had a group of users (students) and we needed them to produce an ongoing narrative (stories).

It was a perfect fit.

Getting Heard

The introduction of blogs at the beginning presented some challenges. I had two weeks before the start of semester to become an expert on blogging and I hadn’t even blogged before! But, like most things we have to do, I did it and at the end of the two weeks, I became some sort of a blogging guru, writing posts, putting up pages, changing themes and embedding video at the touch of a button. I started to write weekly posts, because I thought that if I expected my students to blog regularly, I would have to lead by example and do it myself.

When I introduced blogging in the first class, I received collective moans and groans – an almost immediate resistance. At first I was taken aback – had I made a wrong (or worse – uncool) decision? In spite of this, I persevered, instructing them on how to start a blog, how to create pages and how to post. Then I told them how their writing exercises and weekly reflections would be posted.

My students need to check my blog weekly to get their assignments and they then need to complete such exercises using their own blogs. I then read their blog entries and mark them while giving comments. In addition to the weekly exercises, they also have to write a post – I call it a reflection but I don’t limit the subject matter, as long as it’s not objectionable (vulgar, discriminatory, overtly sexual, etc.)

Screen shot of one of the first long posts I received after making the paper-to-blog transition.

Surprisingly, as the weeks went by, the groans and moans I heard in the first class never resurfaced. The students got into the habit of writing and I was getting reflections that were five times as long as I did when I used paper journals.

They were still acutely aware that I was reading and marking their work but they were also conscious of the fact that their classmates were also reading what they wrote. I think it was because of this awareness that made them more meticulous and insightful in their own writing; I began to see a marked change in the quality of the reflections as well as the work submitted.

Then the comments started.

It wasn’t a flood of comments but just one or two, here and there, on some of the blogs, from people they didn’t know. Some students panicked and told me that strange people were reading and commenting on their writing.

To them, it was inconceivable that someone would read what they wrote, who didn’t have to.

As word got around the class that certain people were getting external comments, I found the general standard of work in the class as a whole getting better. At first I couldn’t understand why this was happening. Then it hit me. The ones who had no comments were trying to get comments to their work while the ones who had comments wanted to get more.

They were finally writing for an audience.

Getting Better

One of the questions people always ask me is, “Does blogging improve writing?” As someone who used to write for a living and now teaches it, I’ll always say this: writing improves writing.

There’s no better way to improve your writing than to write and get it out there; essentially, blogging is writing. Getting students to blog is, in a way, getting them to write without them realizing that they are learning how to write and that’s the beauty of it!

Just look at this first entry from a student a few years ago.

Now compare that to his entry just two weeks after.

[See post]

Of course, my first thought was … plagiarism! But after speaking to him, he told me that when he realized people were reading it (albeit from his class), he wanted to make the best impression he could. So he had to improve his writing. Amazing.

Here’s another example of a student who was surprised at having received comments. She confessed to me that she never thought her writing was good, much less good enough to incite any sort of comment or discussion.

A good reflective piece about facing one’s past… and the six comments she received. [See post]

4 Blogs, 67 Posts, 43 Comments and 12 Pages Later …

A funny piece on pre-National Service jitters. [See post]

A student’s blog which is now his award-winning photo blog.

It’s been about 3 years since I started my first blog and sometimes I still surf idly into my old students’ blogs.

Obviously, in the fast-paced world that our students live in today, the number who maintain their blogs after my class finishes is low, but whenever I chance upon a new post from an ex-student I will always take the time to leave a comment. Whenever I see that I’m no longer the only one who’s commenting on their work, it always brings a smile to my face.

As for me, I now have 4 blogs, which I try to keep updated on a regular basis. Obviously, there are the ones for school but there’s also one I have devoted to my experiences riding a Vespa, another on my obsession with Mickey Mouse and also a personal one I like to call my “dumping ground”.

Blogging has helped me tremendously in my Storytelling class and I highly recommend it.

In this age of blogs (and now micro-blogs, for example Twitter), journaling has taken on a completely different meaning. The lines between what’s public and what’s private are blurring and although much can be argued on those grounds, you can’t argue the fact that the Internet is a ready audience for anyone who wants to be heard.

As one of my professors in university once said, “There’s no better way to learn to write, than to write to learn.”

Seek me out at Redpants and while you’re there, please visit some of my students’ blogs (you’ll see the links in my Blogroll on the right of the page) – they need all the audience they can get.

Excerpts from student blogs

These excerpts demonstrate some of the student writing output for the story-telling module.

The first one is an example of a 50-word story.

She Who Loves Strawberries

A girl who loves strawberries recently transferred to my school. She eats them all the time. Since she’s pretty, boys woo her with gifts to do with strawberries, until one day, she tells her best friend, “I never thought the day would come when I would be tormented by strawberries.”

[Nadiyah: 50 word stories]

Students have shared not only stories, but personal frustrations and triumphs, as in:

People seem to think that if they just enjoy and play they’ll be happy, but the truth is, it’s the accomplishment of what’s important to you that gives you real joy. And that’s what I’m feeling right now.

[ClareCheon: I’m writing this now because I’m bored…]

There’s even a Polerick (which is “less intellectually challenging than a poem and more fun than a limerick”):

The Nintendo Polerick goes something like this
Its starts on a sunny day with Mario and his Miss
Princess Peach is pregnant– her bellies so fat
Mario’s so happy as he shakes his red hat
“I love you Peach!” he says with a smile
The Princess just grins and laughs for a while.

[Theodorex: The Nintendo Polerick for round 4]

Author

Leslie Tan Wee Boon, lecturer, School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

The project simulates a real working environment by exposing students to technologies and experiences of a real work place. The project also leverages on Web 2.0 technologies so that students can share and review information posted by other team members, co-author documents that explain the concepts of cell layout methodologies, evaluate and critique the product of other members, and collaboratively build on each others’ work to present the final product.

These experiences have increased the level of students’ engagement in learning. The students tend to show greater interest in the topics and have demonstrated a deeper understanding of the concepts and theories related to this module.

“During this project, we discussed the problems together, helped each other and stayed back at school until it was finished. This was very inspirational and I learnt how to communicate with the others.” – Student feedback

Read the complete paper:

» Holistic Development through Project-based Learning in Engineering Modules [PDF, 11 pages, 129 kB]

Copyright © CDIO™. Used with permission.

Author

Linus Low Koon Teck is a lecturer in the School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

What is CDIO?

CDIO stands for Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating.

According to CDIO.org,

The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products. Throughout the world, CDIO Initiative collaborators have adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular planning and outcome-based assessment.

The 5th International CDIO Conference was held at Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore, June 7 – 10, 2009.

[Circuit image: source.]

The topic of stock-taking is best taught by allowing students the actual experience of participating in a real world stock-take. This provides opportunities for students to make authentic decisions (such as selecting samples of stocks to be test counted) and allows them to experience the detection and investigation of exceptions encountered during the stock take.

However, as you can imagine, it is difficult to find multiple companies that would welcome hundreds of students participating in and observing the real year-end stock take. Hence the topic had been taught in the past using lectures and tutorial discussion.

We began to consider other more effective ways of teaching this topic after a recent forum organized by the Teaching and Learning Centre, where we observed an open source virtual world platform called Project Wonderland. We realized this may be the solution we needed.

Project Wonderland is a Java-based toolkit for creating collaborative three dimensional virtual worlds. Within these worlds, users can move around, communicate using audio, and share live desktop applications and documents. They can even conduct real business transactions.

We crafted the following scenario as a graded assignment in “Auditing 2” (a 3rd-year module within the Diploma of Accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic).

Our Virtual Scenario

Students firstly need to customize avatars that represent themselves in the virtual world. The main task is to navigate around 3 virtual rooms and complete various activities.

In the first room (briefing room), students access resources to learn the concepts and techniques behind carrying out a stock take observation. They need to access the stock list, from which they have to draw up their stock take samples for conducting test counts.

Learning concepts in the briefing room

In the second room (warehouse room), students work collaboratively in groups of 5 to 6 members to conduct their stock take of (virtual) DVD and Hi-fi players, and television sets. They interact with graphical representations of stock and are able to determine the quantity of stocks by clicking on relevant pallets.

Students conduct the stock count by comparing the details on the stock list received in the briefing room with details on the pallets of stocks selected for the sample counts. They are able to interact with their peers while conducting the stock take using either the chat function within the room or the audio and speaker functions which allow students to talk to each other.

Counting stock in the warehouse room

In the final room (audit room), students complete the audit work papers in groups after completing the stock take and note any exceptions or discrepancies in quantities between stock list and count.

Discussing and reflecting in the audit room

The completed audit work papers, together with an individual reflection of the virtual world experience and their suggestions for improvement are submitted via our learning management system for grading.

Findings

After running the assignment for the past 3 semesters, we noted from the working papers submitted by the students that on the whole they have grasped stock take concepts and techniques. The majority of students could perform the appropriate procedures in carrying out a stock take and most could document the findings and observations arising from their stock count.

A review of students’ reflections revealed that almost all of them appreciated the new learning approach and felt that the experience was interesting and fun and it allowed them to learn about stock taking techniques in a hands-on manner. They appreciated our efforts to introduce a new learning approach and felt that they were better able to learn the stock taking concepts using a virtual world approach rather than a traditional lecture and tutorial approach. Many had not encountered a virtual world before this experience and were also excited to learn a new e-competency.

The following are excerpts from students’ reflections:

• “Overall I think the whole virtual world experience is insightful and beneficial. I am able to try out how a stock take is conducted and (it) has allowed me to gain a better understanding of inventory auditing. It is quite an interesting experience”;
• “Through this assignment, I have benefited and this is an enriching experience for me as it allows me to explore and feel what is like to do a stock take for a client. It positively enhanced my learning experience for this chapter”; and
• “I believe that through this experience I learnt more than what I have through notes and textbooks”

Conclusion

The implications for practice are both encouraging and challenging. We are happy to note that students appreciated learning stock taking concepts and techniques in the virtual world platform which they have found to be more hands-on and practical than the usual lecture and tutorial style of learning. It was also nice they acknowledged the efforts of staff!

As the virtual world assignment required students to work collaboratively and to reflect on their learning experience, students have taken more ownership and were more engaged in their learning, which are features of learner centered learning.

However, we acknowledge that students are constantly exposed to rich interactive media platforms, and they have high expectations in terms of graphics and features in any online courseware or virtual world platform used for education. Since funding is limited we need to balance students’ high expectations with budgetary constraints.

Action Research

We conducted action research to improve this virtual world stock take project. Our paper was accepted and presented at the ICT2010 Conference organized by UniSim.

In this paper, we shared our experience of using a virtual world to inject a more practical slant in the teaching of audit of inventories to enable students to get a real-life feel of what doing a stock-take is all about, especially from an external auditor’s point of view.

Read the complete paper:

» Virtual Stock-taking: An Experience of Co-presence for Accountancy Students [PDF, 15 pages, 804 kB]

Copyright © 2010, ICT2010 Singapore Conference. Presented at the ICT2010 Singapore Conference. Reproduced by permission.

Authors

Mr. Lee Koon Yew is a lecturer in the School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Mrs. Tiew-Teo Hui Leng is a deputy director in the School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

The following learner-centred e-learning activities were an important part of the success in engaging students in the module.

Ship Simulation Game

In order to generate interest at the onset of the module, ShipSim 2008 (a computer simulation) provides an exciting approach for the students to gain insights into the marine and offshore environment. The students are engaged by the visual, audio, and kinesthetic impact of this software. This greatly enhances their experiential learning as it allows them to explore the characteristics of various marine vehicles in a simulated marine environment.

3-D Modelling Software

Collaborative learning in practical sessions was achieved through computational methods (using 3-D modeling Delftship, and Google SketchUp) followed by discussions in the Blackboard environment. This required team work as students created the physical model of the hull form.

Mindmap Software

CMap (mindmapping freeware) and other variants (e.g. FreeMind) aid the students in developing and reflecting on various aspects of ship construction through a constructivist approach. In this project students are required to do simple research and reflect upon their learning in the form of a mindmap. The student mindmaps are shared with other users online.

Read the complete paper:

» Active Learning in Naval Architecture [PDF, 12 pages, 398 kB]

Copyright © CDIO™. Used with permission.

Author

David Seow Chih Wei is a lecturer in the School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

What is CDIO?

CDIO stands for Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating.

According to CDIO.org,

The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products. Throughout the world, CDIO Initiative collaborators have adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular planning and outcome-based assessment.

The 5th International CDIO Conference was held at Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore, June 7 – 10, 2009.

Using technology to enhance the learning experience is common in schools of engineering. There are many simulation tools (both hardware- and software-based) which can be used to teach various engineering topics. However, for some new and complex engineering subjects such as Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), securing a good learning tool at a reasonable cost is not easy.

The following paper talks about how we’ve used a self-developed DVB system customized to enhance student learning. Since students have easy access to the system, self-exploration is enabled and encouraged.

The paper was presented at a recent CDIO conference in Singapore.

Read the complete paper:

» Using Technology to Enhance Learning of Digital Video Broadcasting
[PDF, 10 pages, 119kB. Copyright © CDIO™. Used with permission.]

Authors

Eva Rosdiana

Chua Beng Koon

Eva and Beng Koon are lecturers in School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

What is CDIO?

CDIO stands for Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating.

According to CDIO.org,

The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products. Throughout the world, CDIO Initiative collaborators have adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular planning and outcome-based assessment.

The 5th International CDIO Conference was held at Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore, June 7 – 10, 2009.

Introduction

Decision Support with Spreadsheets (DSS) is a 1st year module offered by the School of Business and Accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. One of the main objectives of this module is for the students to develop a working knowledge of spreadsheets for use within a business environment. Students are expected to develop spreadsheet skills that can be used for data analysis to enhance business intelligence.

The original module format

The original teaching and learning model for this module was designed around a conventional 1-hr lecture, 1-hour tutorial and a 2-hour workshop each week during the semester.

A spreadsheet chart. [Image source.]

The purpose of the large-group lectures was for the lecturer to explain Microsoft Excel concepts, while the tutorials offered opportunities for students to practice these concepts in a smaller class. In the workshops, students undertook small group problem-solving activities.

A review of student learning outcomes indicated that students felt they were learning about Excel functions as a theoretical exercise and the main purpose appeared to be learning for a test, rather than being able to apply the concepts.

The review highlighted an apparent mismatch between 50% of the curriculum time (the teacher-led, content-centered relatively large-class lecture/tutorial) and the applied knowledge that the students actually needed to develop.

Moving towards more learner-centered learning…

In reviewing how students learn, the teaching team felt that learning would be more effective if curriculum space could be created for students to handle more realistic business problems in a learner-centered manner. Opportunities had to be created to involve students in the capture, manipulation and analysis of data and in the construction of possible solutions.

Instead of asking students to do text-book assignments during tutorials, the students experience a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach so that they are better able to apply their understanding of the topic to real world issues. Working in small teams, students now encounter real-world problems, identify the key issues, conduct reviews and information search, suggest ways to handle and resolve the problems, select the best solution/method, and present their findings for review and critique by their classmates and tutors.

Scaffolding learning – with PBL

In the course of the semester, students are given two PBL assignments which aim to develop the students’ thinking from that of a novice to a “professional”. The first assignment is designed with more guidance and scaffolding as students are still new to this method of learning. In working through the problem, students are expected to learn Excel functions, learn how to apply these functions and concepts to real-world problems, capture and manipulate the necessary data, analyse the data and posit solutions to the problem using Excel decision support features.

Students working on their PBL assignments

The second PBL assignment further develops the student’s ability to integrate classroom knowledge and real world issues as they are required to develop their own “problems” and to solve them. In order to identify real world problems, students would need to demonstrate good understanding of the concepts in the module as well as the problems arising from the use of these concepts in the workplace. Students would be challenged to synthesize their knowledge of the module, analyse the workplace environment and evaluate the various options for the most appropriate solution. This would take the students from novice to a more expert level.

Further enhancement to create more learning spaces

To further create the space for applied learning, the weekly large-group lecture of 250 students was removed. The revised model now includes a weekly 2-hr seminar and a 2-hr workshop with a class-size of 40 & 20 respectively.

The seminar sessions are used to highlight specific features of the Excel software and for students to complete in-class assignments which are more “text-book” based. A longer workshop allows the students more time to discuss and collaborate with their group on their PBL tasks. The smaller class size also meant that the tutor could spend more time with each group.

In order to ensure the validity of the assessment, the module team changed the assessment to emphasise the applied nature of the module. Theoretical assessment now covers only 25%, with the rest of the 75% being PBL assignments, class assignments and quiz.

Summary of Changes

Original Module Design Lectures were conducted where concepts were explained. Concepts are reinforced during tutorials where students practice. Workshop sessions were for students to work on small-group problem solving.

Revised Module Design The first hour of the tutorial is used by lecturers to explain concepts. The second hour is meant for students to practice.   Workshop sessions are meant for students to work on their PBL projects.

Original Module structure 1-Hour Lecture (250 students) 1-hour Seminar (40 students) 2-hour Workshop (40 students)

Revised Module Structure 2-hour Seminar (40 students) 2-hour Workshop (20 students)

Original Assessment Class & e-learning Participation (20%) Common Test & Final Test (40%) PBL Project (40%)

Revised Assessment Class Participation & assignments (20%) PBL Project (50%) Practical Test (25%) Quiz (5%)

Alignment with graduate outcomes

In this revised approach to learning how to use Excel to make informed business decisions, students develop the following repertoire of attributes, skills and knowledge:

Attributes

• Being responsible for self-directed activity
• Being confident about self-learning

Skills

• How to create, capture and manipulate data in Excel
• Data analysis
• Real-world Problem handling skills
• Critical thinking business and data-driven decision making
• Collaboration and team work

Knowledge:

• Excel decision support functions

Student Feedback on their PBL experience

Students have reported that while they find the learning experience to be meaningful and more effective than learning the concepts through the lecture mode, the module is challenging in that the problems are now larger and the workload is also heavier given that the PBL approach places a large amount of responsibility for the learning in the hands of the students. This is perhaps the most critical discomfort that students have registered about this new approach. Without the security of the ‘authorised content’ of the lecture, they feel a little lost and insecure about what they know and what they know to be ‘correct’.

Conclusion

Some students, especially since these are first year students, may find the PBL approach to Decision Support with Spreadsheets a little too challenging. They will probably need more scaffolding to develop the skills and attributes necessary for them to experience satisfaction from such a learning design. However, most students have also demonstrated that they are able to draw more meaning, relevance, and demonstrate the intended applied knowledge and skills, making this learning method more effective in achieving the learning objectives of this module.

Author

By Leong Kwok Keong, lecturer in the School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.