My article on metrics and the proposed Teaching Excellence Framework now appears on the Guardian Higher Education Network website.
All posts by john
My son's first game written in Scratch
Scratch is a programming language used as an entry point to coding. My son Samuel (age 9) is using Scratch in his coding lessons at school and developed his first game ‘Attempt to land the Fireflash’ on his Raspberry pi version. The game is inspired by a scene in Thunderbirds where Alan and Gordon have to land Fireflash on the back of a car. In this screen-capture Samuel demonstrates his game and introduces various elements of Scratch programming. Scratch can be downloaded from https://scratch.mit.edu/
Starting this term he has coding lessons twice a week at school. He built this with the Raspberry Pi version of Scratch, and did the screencast in Ubuntu using the Kazam screencaster software.
Code test for Teaching and Learning Conference 2015
10 useful study apps recommended by students at Brighton
At our training sessions for PASS leaders we ask student to recommend apps/ websites/ software they use to assist them in their studies.
Here are 10 of them: These are not reviews just a list with links. I’ve not used all of these apps or checked their terms and conditions.
1. Tinyscan
Available for Apple/ Android
Turns your mobile phone into a scanner making pdf documents from multiple pictures.
http://www.appxy.com/tinyscan/
2. What’s app
Available for Android, Apple, Blackberry, Windows
Supports group chat. Some the students have set up ‘What’s app’ groups with PASS groups or friends from their course. Using mobile phones they can exchange questions, comments and provide mutual support.
3. Colornote
Available for Android.
Basically coloured post-it notes for your phone.
http://www.colornote.com/index.html
Possible alternative for other platforms: http://alternativeto.net/software/colornote-notepad-notes/?platform=iphone
4. Onenote
Apps available for Android, Apple, Windows
Brings together notes, webpages, pictures etc. in any form. Ships as a standalone application in Microsoft Office; mobile apps can be used to view/ amend notes online.
Alternatives include Evernote which is free for the basic level service with subscriptions for improved functionality. https://evernote.com/
5. TED Talks
Apps available for Android, Apple, Blackberry, Windows
TED talks are basically online lectures. Students see TED talks as a mark of quality and interest— hopefully they don’t see them as infallible!
I have an app on my NowTV box for TED talks.
6. Googledocs
Apps available for Andoid, Apple
Collaborate on group projects with documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
https://www.google.co.uk/docs/about/
7. Refme
Apps available for Apple and Android.
Free online servce that puts references into different formats e.g. Harvard based on a doi, ISBN etc. Can also be used to scan journal/ book barcodes and generate references.
8. Easybib
Available for Apple and Android
Similar to Refme. Generates whole bibliography. Some free and some pro services.
9. Photomath
Available for Apple, Android and Windows. Solve mathematical problems by taking a mobile phone photograph of the problem. Apparently being developed to solve increasing more complex problems.
10. Quizlet
Apps for Android and Apple.
Create your own flashcards and quizzes.
Slides on 'Canning list' available
Slides from my presentation at the HEA surveys conference last week 'A new measurement and ranking system for the UK National Student Survey 'are now available on the HEA website.
Workaround where a website requires the old youtube embed code
Just a note for myself, but may help others.
Today I made a short video demonstrating how to submit application for Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (no use outside the University of Brighton).
To embed a youtube on a website is simply a matter of clicking 'share' then 'embed' then copying the code into the html part of the website.
Until last year Youtube contained an option to 'embed old code'. Until today I didn't really know why this was necessary, but some websites and software still require the old code. The Brighton CLT website is built in Concrete 5 (or at least the version we have), which does not support the new youtube embed code.
Fortunately, help is at hand from http://www.gorissen.info/Pierre/files/YouTube_code.htm Just paste the youtube link, click 'generate' and the site generates the old code.
The National Student Survey and the development of the 'Canning list'
The National Student Survey (NSS) is now in its tenth year. Vice-Chancellors set targets by it, newspapers and magazines use it to create league tables and university strategies are framed around it. Expressing an off-message opinion on the NSS cost former HEA research director Lee Harvey his job.
It surprises me how little has actually been written by an NSS in peer-reviewed journals. By ‘how little’ I don’t mean little as in nothing, but relatively little considering the big part it plays in the life of the British university.
I’ve long been a critic of the NSS. What it comes to enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, the NSS is a bit like using a screwdriver to put a nail into the wall. It is possible to get a nail in into the wall using a screwdriver, but you’re better off using a hammer. If you don’t have a hammer then you might go ahead and use the screwdriver at the risk of a bent nail, broken screwdriver or injured hand.
However, perhaps I’ve been a bit mean to the NSS over these past few years. For all the emphasis on ‘overall satisfaction’, and assessment and feedback you might think that there were only three or four questions on the NSS. The NSS asks questions about course organisation, library resources and skills development as well, but we don’t hear much about these. What if we actually paid attention to some of these questions?
I took up this challenge in developing a new system of measurement for the NSS. I reasoned that if we considered all the questions and understood their relative importance we could bring about a system where each UK course at each university could have a ‘score’—in my paper I call this the Weighted Student Satisfaction Score (WSSS). However a raw score of say 1400 doesn’t tell you what they means in relation to other scores, so the scores are then normalised to a normal distribution so that an average course scores 100 (the Weighted Student Satisfaction Quotient—WSSQ). Over time it will be possible to trace changes in both absolute and relative scores. The system is fully outlined in the article and takes into account subject differences as well as providing a bonus for good response rates.
The full ‘Canning list’ (a term used by David Law in his editorial is available from my website.
Here are the top 10 best courses in the whole UK according to the 'Canning list'.
|
Overall rank |
Institution |
Subject |
Type |
WSSS |
WSSQ |
|
1 |
Hugh Baird College |
Fine Art |
Other undergraduate |
1884.7 |
141.0 |
|
2 |
Somerset College |
Drama |
Other undergraduate |
1877.6 |
140.5 |
|
3 |
Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education |
Imaginative writing |
First degree |
1869.7 |
140.0 |
|
4 |
Plymouth College of Art |
Cinematics and photography |
Other undergraduate |
1861.6 |
139.4 |
|
5 |
Petroc |
Design studies |
Other undergraduate |
1843.1 |
138.2 |
|
6 |
University of Cumbria |
Fine art |
First degree |
1836.8 |
137.7 |
|
7 |
Northumbria University Newcastle |
Architecture |
Other undergraduate |
1836.0 |
137.7 |
|
8 |
Imperial College London |
Geology |
First degree |
1833.9 |
137.5 |
|
9 |
University of Glasgow |
Social policy |
Other undergraduate |
1828.5 |
137.2 |
|
10 |
NCG |
Marketing |
Other undergraduate |
1817.4 |
136.4 |
A couple of subject ranking examples
Physics and Astronomy top 10.
|
Rank |
Institution |
Type |
WSSS |
WSSQ |
|
1 |
Lancaster University |
First degree |
1685.1 |
127.4 |
|
2 |
Nottingham Trent University |
First degree |
1663.6 |
126.0 |
|
3 |
University of Birmingham |
First degree |
1571.6 |
119.7 |
|
4 |
University of St Andrews |
First degree |
1517.9 |
116.0 |
|
5 |
Keele University |
First degree |
1511.7 |
115.6 |
|
6 |
University of Hull |
First degree |
1510.9 |
115.6 |
|
7 |
University of Bath |
First degree |
1494.0 |
114.4 |
|
8 |
University of Sheffield |
First degree |
1471.3 |
112.9 |
|
9 |
University of Sussex |
First degree |
1456.7 |
111.9 |
|
10 |
University of Hertfordshire |
First degree |
1452.7 |
111.6 |
French
|
Rank |
Institution |
Type |
WSSS |
WSSQ |
|
1 |
Coventry University |
First degree |
1686.9 |
127.5 |
|
2 |
Queen's University Belfast |
First degree |
1667.9 |
126.2 |
|
3 |
Northumbria University Newcastle |
First degree |
1595.6 |
121.3 |
|
4 |
University of Southampton |
First degree |
1595.1 |
121.3 |
|
5 |
University of Exeter |
First degree |
1547.5 |
118.1 |
|
6 |
University of St Andrews |
First degree |
1507.7 |
115.4 |
|
7 |
Newcastle University |
First degree |
1501.1 |
114.9 |
|
8 |
University of Leicester |
First degree |
1496.1 |
114.6 |
|
9 |
Edinburgh Napier University |
First degree |
1486.6 |
113.9 |
|
10 |
King's College London |
First degree |
1482.6 |
113.6 |
Links
Worked examples for Gorard (GS) and Allen and Vignoles (D) measures of segregation in schools.
I put together this paper of worked examples for the Gorard (GS) and Allen & Vignoles (D) segregation indices. It measures the extent of school segregation within a geographical area using Free School Meals (FSM) as an indicator.
13 wicked problems in assessing students in higher education
The concept of ‘Wicked problems’ is often used to refer to complex problems such as climate change or social inequality. Rittel and Webber (1973 –open access) outline 10 characteristics of ‘wicked problems’: 1 ‘Wicked’ does not been mean ‘evil’ here, but in set in contrast to ‘tame’ problems which are potentially solvable, even if they are very complex. 2
- There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem.
- Wicked problems have no stopping rule.
- Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but good or bad.
- There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem.
- Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial and error, every attempt counts significantly.
- Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan.
- Every wicked problem is essentially unique.
- Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem.
- The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution.
- The social planner has no right to be wrong (i.e., planners are liable for the consequences of the actions they generate).
Here are 12 questions we face regarding the assessment of students in higher education -- this list is by no means exaustive. If you are convinced any of these are not ‘wicked problems’ I’d love to hear from you. Some of these are UK specific, but every country will have its own version of the problem. The same problems are true of other sectors of education as well.
- Is the UK degree classification system fit for purpose?
- Should/ can student work be assessed anonymously?
- Are some courses under assessed or over-assessed?
- Is a degree from one university the same standard as the same class of degree from another UK university?
- Is a degree from a UK university equal to a degree (in the same subject) from a university in another country?
- What say should students have in how they are assessed?
- (When) does an assessment accommodation (e.g. for disability) provide an advantage? E.g. how much extra time in exams is needed to gain an unfair advantage?
- Could a student object to a form of assessment for moral, ethical or religious reasons? How should they be accommodated (if at all)?
- Are assessment regulations across a university consistent? Should they be?
- Are students able to avoid particular topics of types of assessment through strategic module choice?
- Are too many students getting ‘good degrees’? Why is the growth in the number of students getting good degrees often cited as evidence of falling standards?
- Why (in the UK) do we call marks ‘percentages’ when we rarely give marks above 80 or below 30?
- Are we under assessing formatively and over assessing summatively? (From Juliet Eve)
Notes:
- Rittel, H. W. J. and Webber, M. M. (1973) Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning. Policy Sciences 4, pp. 155-169 ↩
- I don’t know if people still say ‘wicked' to mean ‘cool’ or ‘great’, but it doesn’t mean that either. ↩
Inclusive teaching and learning materials from the University of Plymouth
I'm delighted to see that staff at the University of Plymouth have developed new materials on Inclusivity in teaching and learning practices in Higher Education. I've only have a brief look so far, but the site is well presented and the materials are of good quality.