Conserving Energy One Home at a Time

Posted on 2016.10.25 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

Had a great discussion about conserving energy at home with the Victoria Computer Club. Great group, and lots of good questions and discussion. Here are my slides from my presentation:

Here are some links that answer questions that came up during the presentation:

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Posted in education, Sustainability

Rich’s Way-Back Machine: My First 5 Computers

Posted on 2016.08.28 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

vic20andtvI’ve seen a few people recently posting on Facebook about their first 7 jobs.  Being a techie for as long as I can remember, I thought that listing my first 7 computers would be more appropriate… then I couldn’t remember much past my 5th computer, so here we go with my first 5 computers! Read more ›

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Posted in education, Technology

Exploring the learning outcomes of a flipped learning methodology for post-secondary information literacy students: a mixed methods approach

Posted on 2016.08.26 by Rich McCue — 1 Comment

flipped-learningNow that I have completed my Master of Arts degree in Curriculum and Instruction, thought that I should provides some links to it in a few different formats for your reading pleasure. The full title is: Exploring the Learning Outcomes of a Flipped Learning Methodology for Post-Secondary Information Literacy Students: A Mixed Methods Approach. Here it is in the format of your choice:

A PDF version of my thesis can also be found in the University of Victoria institutional repository.

If you have any questions about my thesis, or flipped learning in general, I’d be happy to talk to you.

Here is the abstract of my thesis:

The concept of flipped learning has received significant attention in recent years. In a flipped learning methodology, students view instructional videos and complete related assignments before class, so that face-to-face time with the instructor can be spent applying the knowledge and skills they were introduced to in the pre-class assignments. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a flipped learning method for teaching information literacy (IL) skills to undergraduate students compared to a traditional teaching method where the majority of face-to-face time is spent instructing. To evaluate this, a mixed methods research design was used, where results from qualitative interviews helped explain findings from test data, assignment completion data, and major paper rubric data. The IL tests resulted in a small but insignificant test score improvement for flipped participants. Interviewed flipped participants reported mainly positive feelings toward flipped learning, whereas all flipped ESL interviewees related strong positive feedback towards flipped learning.

 

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Thesis Defence Presentation: Exploring the Learning Outcomes of a Flipped Learning Methodology for Information Literacy Students

Posted on 2016.08.02 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

Here are my presentation slides from my thesis defence, and the Abstract from my thesis:

Abstract: “The concept of flipped learning has received significant attention in recent years. In a flipped learning methodology, students view instructional videos and complete related assignments before class, so that face-to-face time with the instructor can be spent applying the knowledge and skills they were introduced to in the pre-class assignments. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of a flipped learning method for teaching information literacy (IL) skills to undergraduate students compared to a traditional teaching method where the majority of face-to-face time is spent instructing. To evaluate this, a mixed methods research design was used, where results from qualitative interviews helped explain findings from test data, assignment completion data, and major paper rubric data. The IL tests resulted in a small but insignificant test score improvement for flipped participants. Interviewed flipped participants reported mainly positive feelings toward flipped learning, whereas all flipped ESL interviewees related strong positive feedback towards flipped learning.”

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Posted in education, Uncategorized

Book Review: Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning – Foundations and Applications

Posted on 2016.07.19 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

emergencecoverEdited by George Velestianos, Emergence and Innovation in Digital Learning – Foundations and Applications, is an insightful survey of emerging technologies and practices in digital education. Technology is not neutral, and as such the creators of educational software embed in their programs a host of implicit assumptions about how students and educators will act and interact while using their software.

I especially appreciated the chapter on “Designing for Open and Social Learning,” where an example is given of a course where students use open platforms, like blogging software and twitter, to learn in public, publish public artifacts of their learning, and create their own personal learning networks.

I recommend this book for anyone interested in the intersection of education and technology.

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Undergraduate Information Literacy Curriculum Materials

Posted on 2016.07.14 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

As part of my MA in Education thesis, I’m publishing the teaching materials I used for the flipped information literacy instruction that I was studying under a Creative Commons BY-SA license. Below are six units that were integrated into an undergraduate first year research and writing class along with a 40 question pre- and post-test that was used to try to evaluate student skills and knowledge gain.

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The materials below are in Google Doc format for easy review:

Here is the above materials in a Moodle package.

The above materials in MS Word format (zipped up).

If you have any questions, or problems accessing the files, please email me at: rich@msys.ca.

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12 Years of Student Technology Ownership Surveys: Trends & Today’s Opportunities for Richer Learning Experiences

Posted on 2016.06.16 by Rich McCue — Leave a comment

Thanks to Will Monroe, PhD, from Louisiana State Law School, who presented with me, on our student law school technology surveys. We conducted an informal survey of CALI conference participants on their personal technology ownership during the conference, and as promised, here are the responses: https://goo.gl/1a1SYw    Here is the video of the presentation including the slides (the audio quality improves after 2 minutes):

And, here is the session outline from the conference website:

For the past 12 years the University of Victoria Law Faculty & Louisiana State Law Center have surveyed incoming students on their personal technology ownership and usage in order to better understand the technology devices students are bringing with them to law school and how we can leverage those devices to provide a richer learning experience for students. In 2004 student data was gathered on laptop ownership and internet access. Questions were added over time, and we now collect data on the ownership and/or usage of: laptops, cell phones, tablets, email, collaborative document editing, desktop video, note taking, file backup, printing, and social-media. Current project goals include:

  • Discover technologies students were bringing with them to school and their use.
  • Explore ways to use personal technology for research and engaging instruction.
  • Identify means to provide equitable access to technologies for students who cannot afford to purchase it for themselves.

By the end of the session participants will have a clear view of the technologies law students bring with them to school, as well as some potential ways those tools can be leveraged to provide more engaging instruction and better services to students.

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