scholarly journals Learning in Facebook: First year tertiary student reflections from 2008 to 2011

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Online Forum ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
Design Students ◽  
The University ◽  
Technological University ◽  
Student Reflections

<p>This paper reflects on the use of Facebook as an online learning environment for first year design students from 2008 to 2011. Between 2008 and 2010 three student cohorts from the University of Adelaide engaged with their peers through forums hosted by Facebook, submitting work-in-progress imagery and critiquing peers' submissions. In 2011 the study expanded to include national and international collaborators with first year cohorts from Swinburne University in Australia, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore also participating, allowing students to interact with their global peers. The online forum facilitated increased peer interaction, particularly between local and international students, and improved academic performance as a result of consistent feedback from a range of sources. At the end of 2011 students from the four participating cohorts between 2008 and 2011 were invited to take part in a survey reflecting on and evaluating the learning experiences in Facebook. The results highlighted many positive outcomes regarding the online forum, and have led to the establishment of a series of recommendations for the future use of Facebook as a learning tool, outlined at the conclusion of this paper.</p><p> </p>

Online Networking

2013 ◽  
pp. 189-210
Author(s):  
Josh McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Virtual Environment ◽  
National Survey ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Culture ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Design Students ◽  
Local Students ◽  
The University

This chapter explores the use of Facebook in helping immerse international students into Australian university culture at a first year level by furthering the development of academic and social relationships between peers. The study was initiated in response to a national survey that found 65% of international students experience periods of loneliness and isolation when studying in Australia; moreover, one of the key triggers for this loneliness is an inability to develop academic relationships with peers, particularly local students, during the early stages of their university careers. 100 first year design students (including 23 international students) took part in the semester-long study, as part of the course “Imaging Our World” at the University of Adelaide. Every two weeks, students were required to submit images to an online gallery in Facebook and to provide critiques on peers’ submissions. The gallery topics were broad in nature, and open to the students’ own interpretations, allowing for a concurrently wide range of images in each. The galleries gave students the opportunity to connect with their peers in a virtual environment, and develop academic relationships freed from the constraints of the classroom and their own inhibitions. Discussions between students often evolved from formal, academic critiques to informal social interactions as embryonic online connections were formed. The study was considered to have been a success, due to Facebook’s engaging and interactive qualities, the students’ existing interest and experience with the software, and their eagerness to connect with their peers.

scholarly journals STUDENT REFLECTIONS IN COURSE-BASED UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXPERIMENT IN A FIRST-YEAR CIRCUITS COURSE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yani Jazayeri
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Research ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
First Year ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
University Of Calgary ◽  
Research Experiment ◽  
The University ◽  
Authentic Learning Experiences ◽  
Student Reflections

At the University of Calgary, we piloted a course-based undergraduate research experience in thefirst year circuits course. The intention was to provide authentic learning experiences, with the ultimate goal of fostering deep learning in the students. Using qualitative coding, these reflections were analyzed with a framework from self-determination theory to understand the studentlearning and motivation throughout the experience. There were 10 themes that emerged, categorized within the three elements of the theoretical framework: competence, relatedness, and autonomy.

scholarly journals INCORPORATING A COMMUNITY-BASED RAPID MANUFACTURING FACILITY INTO A FIRST YEAR ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Wlodyka ◽  
Bruno Tomberli
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
First Year ◽  
Design Tools ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Laboratory Equipment ◽  
Manufacturing Facility ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Design Students ◽  
Manufacturing Technologies ◽  
The University

University engineering departments are often challenged to maintain state of the art manufacturing facilities due to the rapid technological changes that are occurring in industry. Older or obsolete engineering laboratory equipment, manufacturing machines, and design tools are difficult to replace due to limited department budgets, space, and staff resources.At Capilano University, where a hands-on project-based one semester first year engineering design class is offered, the Engineering department has taken a novel approach to meet the above challenge.The Engineering Design students are required to design, build, and test original prototype electrical circuits, and mechanical structures as part of their design projects. Construction of these student-designed units requires a rapid turnaround manufacturing facility to meet the peak demands of the students, capabilities that smaller universities are often limited in their ability to provide.To meet this specific requirement, a community-based private rapid prototyping design and manufacturing facility, Zen Maker Labs, was approached, and a partnership agreement has been developed. The agreement consisted of cooperation between the university and the Zen Maker Lab to support up to 60 engineering design students. The students were provided with tools, safety training, and support for manufacturing. The facility has provided CAD design stations, several 3D printers, laser cutters, and numerically controlled milling machines to support manufacturing of student designs. Access to the manufacturing facility was initially provided on subscription basis, where students used the library to “sign-out” membership cards, and access the facility on a controlled,  supervised basis. The controlling of student numbers through the  university library provided a method for managing student access to themanufacturing facility over a period of 8-10 weeks. This arrangement for laboratory access has recently been expanded through a revised collaboration arrangement, and has provided engineering design students with handson experience with several manufacturing technologies and CAD engineering modelling and design tools.

scholarly journals Exploring the Diversity of Everyday Experiences through the Humans of the University of Wisconsin-Stout Facebook Assignment

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-29
Author(s):  
Genesea Carter
Keyword(s):  
White Students ◽  
First Year ◽  
Personal Essay ◽  
Predominately White ◽  
First Year Composition ◽  
University Of Wisconsin ◽  
Research Article ◽  
Everyday Experiences ◽  
The University ◽  
Student Reflections

In this personal essay and research article mash-up genre, I reflect on my Humans of the University of Wisconsin-Stout first-year composition Facebook assignment, which was developed to teach my predominately white students about the diversity of everyday experiences. I share with readers how my positionality, as a former evangelical Christian Republican who left Christianity and became a liberal progressive a few years before this assignment, and the context of my university, a predominately white, midwestern polytechnic university, shaped my assignment design. I include Humans of UW-Stout Facebook stories, corresponding student reflections and homework, and my own personal reflection on the curriculum to empower instructors to teach diversity-focused FYC assignments and to inspire instructors to reflect upon how their own political and religious beliefs shape their curriculum.

scholarly journals Teaching English for Academic Purposes in the KU Academic Accelerator Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Marcellino Berardo ◽  
Kellie Smith Herrod
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
International Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
The University

The Kansas University Academic Accelerator Program (KUAAP) is new to the University and brings with it a reconceptualization of the first year experience for newly arrived international students who have not yet fulfilled the University’s English as a second language requirements. In their first two terms, international students in KUAAP take classes in English for academic purposes (EAP) alongside General Education (Gen Ed) courses. By their third term, students no longer take EAP classes.

scholarly journals Teaching English for Academic Purposes in the KU Academic Accelerator Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Marcellino Berardo ◽  
Kellie Smith Herrod
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
International Students ◽  
General Education ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
First Year Experience ◽  
First Year ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
The University

The Kansas University Academic Accelerator Program (KUAAP) is new to the University and brings with it a reconceptualization of the first year experience for newly arrived international students who have not yet fulfilled the University’s English as a second language requirements. In their first two terms, international students in KUAAP take classes in English for academic purposes (EAP) alongside General Education (Gen Ed) courses. By their third term, students no longer take EAP classes.

scholarly journals Conditions for harmonious and comprehensive integration of foreign students in the Russian university (the case of the Ural State University of Economics)

2021 ◽  
Vol 291 ◽  
pp. 05044
Author(s):  
Irina Pirozhkova
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
First Year ◽  
State University ◽  
Domestic Students ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Russian Higher Education ◽  
The University

One of the priority goals of Russian higher education development is its export, which is reflected in the federal programs and plans. The paper addresses the issues of language education of international students at the Ural State University of Economics (Yekaterinburg). A survey helped identify the needs of international students of the first year and reveal the main problems they face. Among the most serious difficulties are poor knowledge of Russian, bad communication with teachers and domestic students, and lack of support in the group. Some recommendations to foreign language teachers are offered that can help eliminate problems in the work with mixed-nationality groups and to motivate international students to study, which will decrease dropout and provide their harmonious integration in the university.

scholarly journals An Academic and Cultural Transition Course for International Students: Efficacy and SocioEmotional Outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson C. Brunsting ◽  
Andrew C. Smith ◽  
Corinne E. Zachry
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Private University ◽  
First Year ◽  
Cultural Transition ◽  
Self Advocacy ◽  
Intercultural Skills ◽  
The University ◽  
Socioemotional Outcomes

The current study details changes in first-year international undergraduate students’ perceived knowledge of, confidence in, and usefulness of intercultural skills in specific US university contexts after completing a semester-long academic and cultural transition course at a mid-sized private university. Results revealed significant increases in participants’ (n= 42) perceived intercultural competence, perspective shifting, suspending judgment, self-advocacy, and interacting in class with students of other cultures; participants also reported significantly higher campus belonging and social support than a comparison group of students at the university who were not enrolled in the course (n = 32). These findings provide initial evidence for the potential of transition courses to increase intercultural skills and campus belonging for first-year undergraduate international students attending US universities.

scholarly journals Learning in the Café: Pilot testing the collaborative application for education in Facebook

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environment ◽  
Interface Design ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
First Year ◽  
Online Learning Environment ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Design Students ◽  
Collaborative Application

<p>This paper reports on a pilot study using the <em>Café</em>, the collaborative application for education as an online learning environment within the Facebook framework, for first-year tertiary design students. The <em>Café</em>, a new e-learning application, has been designed based on five principles of user interface design – visibility, usability, relevance, accessibility and interactivity – and developed not only to take advantage of Facebook’s popularity and social qualities, but also to provide institutions with an established, structured and dedicated e-learning environment that meets the needs of contemporary tertiary students and teaching staff. From March to June in 2013, 48 students participated within the e-learning environment, in combination with traditional face-to-face classes including lectures and tutorials. Students were required to submit work-in-progress imagery related to major assignments, and provide feedback and critiques to their peers. The evaluation process of this new e-learning application involved pre- and post-semester surveys providing participating students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the experience during the semester.<em> </em></p><p> </p>

scholarly journals First Year Introductory Chemistry at the University of Western Australia: Reflections and Perceptions

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 203
Author(s):  
Tristan D. Clemons ◽  
Robert B. Bucat ◽  
Dino Spagnoli
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Chemistry Education ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
First Year ◽  
Emeritus Professor ◽  
Introductory Chemistry ◽  
Perceptions Of Students ◽  
Student Cohorts ◽  
The University ◽  
Real World Problems

This study investigated two student cohorts enrolled in an introductory tertiary chemistry unit designed for students with little or no previous education in chemistry. Emeritus Professor Graham Chandler was instrumental in the design and development of this unit almost 30 years ago. Therefore, this study has particular interest in this special issue of the Australian Journal of Chemistry, which celebrates Emeritus Professor Graham Chandler’s contribution to Australian chemistry. This paper is divided into two distinct parts that provide two unique perspectives of the unit. The first perspective, Part A, is a historical account of the origins of this unit and is based on an interview with E/Prof. Chandler and Dr Peter Simpson OAM. Both E/Prof. Chandler and Dr Simpson provide an excellent reflection on the need for an introductory chemistry unit in tertiary education, which was not as common then as it is in the present day. The second perspective, Part B, is a research study focussing on the perceptions of students taking this unit in 2013 and 2014. In this study, it was found that the number of students who perceived chemistry to be applicable to real world problems increased during the unit, as did the number of students who enjoyed the unit. However, many students, most of whom did not intend to study chemistry further, did not recognise the application of the content to their future careers. There are many similarities between the aims of E/Prof. Chandler and Dr Simpson for the unit and the perceptions of students taking this unit 30 years later, which is testament to Graham’s contribution to chemistry education at the University of Western Australia.

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