• Institutional Co-ordinator: Dr. Terry Maguire, Department of Lifelong Learning
  

Title: Mobile Moodle iPhone Learning Object (MMILO)

• To produce a virtual classroom iPhone Application to support the teaching of key threshold concepts in Software Development (First Year Computing module)

• The User Requirements and Preliminary Design (Screen layout, and content design) of the iPhone application have been completed. The project team is currently working on the design of the Technical Architecture and Server to Client communication.

• The development phase started upon receipt of the two iPhones in June 2010. 

Title: Interactive Business Simulations (IBS)

• To develop simulations which can be used to demonstrate typical business application skills to interactively test students on the demonstrated skills.

• The project team is in the process of producing, developing and refining the initial interactive simulation. The prototype interactive simulation is nearly complete and will test the user on how to insert a list-based combo box into a form.

• The project is currently on target with the project aims of creating interactive simulations which can be used to develop and test student skills in MS access.

• The simulations produced by this project will be SCORM compliant, reusable learning objects which can be deployed via any SCORM compliant Learning Management System. If required the project team can also produce non-SCORM simulations which can be deployed via any website.

Title: Utilising YouTube as a learning resource in German for improving writing skills

• To link the use of YouTube with learning a Foreign Language, specifically learning and improving writing skills.

• Firstly, the YouTube clip to be exploited was identified and then ways of exploiting the material were devised. This included ways on presenting relevant vocabulary as well as how to best support and test students’ writing skills.

• Training in ‘Articulate’ was provided by staff of the IoTI on 12th May 2010 attended by both the project team . Following the training on ‘Articulate’ the following has been achieved:

o    Presentation of vocabulary dealing with colours has been devised
o    Presentation of vocabulary dealing with numbers has been devised
o    Presentation of vocabulary dealing with professions has been devised
o    Presentation of phrases dealing with professions has been devised
o    Labeled graphics have been created
o    Quizzes to test the material presented have also been devised

• The use of a digital voice recorder to record relevant vocabulary has been discussed and initial tests done. 

Title: Video appraisal of lecture recording techniques

• Funding was awarded for this project work however the proposal was withdrawn in May 2010 so no work will be undertaken/funded for this project until the project team has been reconvened.

Title: Online Referencing and Plagiarism Tutorial

• The aim of this project is to promote academic integrity and ensure that students are educated and supported in the ethical use of information through the design and development of an online learning tool on how to reference appropriately and avoid plagiarism. The team is designing and developing a pedagogically and technically robust reusable learning object to be hosted on the library website, the Institute’s VLE, Moodle and the NDLR.

• The library at ITT Dublin is committed to developing student information literacy skills as part of its strategy for information literacy development.

• The project plan was drawn up and the planning phase of this project took place in April 2010 with the target audience being identified, best practice international tutorials being reviewed and the identified software being evaluated with appropriate suppliers. Costs for the software licences for Articulate Studio 9 and Photoshop Elements were sourced, with the software being purchased in May 2010 and the training on this software was undertaken with Mark Glynn of the IOTI and the supplier OLAS in May 2010.

• The project team meeting with relevant stakeholders in the project took place in May 2010 with the academic lecturers on the team providing advice on appropriate content for the tool from a pedagogical perspective. A planning meeting of the content and outline structure of tutorial also took place in May 2010 with the learning outcomes & relevant modules being identified. The storyboarding and scripting of the content commenced in June 2010 with a view to having some outputs by June 20th.

Title: On-Line Electrical Science (ONES)

• The development of an online coaching environment for assessment problems in the specific area of Electrical Science.  The primary target group is first year Full and Part-time Students studying for the Higher Certificate in Electronic Engineering and the Electrical Trades students taking the Phase 4 and Phase 6 block based tuition in both full time and repeat modes.

• The project team update is firstly to purchase more licenses. In order to get enough licences the project coordinator suggested moving up two levels.

• Currently we have 99 licences which are used in Business. The next step is 150 which only provides 50 more seats so the Project Coordinator will need to move to the next level again at 300 seats.  In order to obtain better value he approached a Mathematics lecturer to join the project team in order to develop some Mathematics problems which can be used across Mechanical and Electronic Engineering.  The project team has started transferring problems into the system as a trainer and will build the training into the software purchases. This project was completed on 30 June 2010.

Title: The Language Gallery

• Phase One of the development of a repository of photographs and images, tagged according to category and by key word, presented with corresponding translation into English, French, Spanish, and German.

• To date the project team has had several meetings both as a group and in smaller subgroups. They have identified thematic areas which they hope to develop and have discussed at length how best to exploit the learning objects from a pedagogical perspective. They have also discussed some of the ways in which the final learning objects might be presented and published on the NDLR.

• They have also been familiarising themselves with the features of both Photoshop Elements and Articulate Engage and Presenter and have all attended a full training day on Photoshop Elements. Some of the team members have also attended a workshop on Articulate Engage.

• Several issues have arisen with the licences for Articulate Engage but to date one has been installed and uploaded successfully and another is pending.  In the interim the team has been working using a trial version of Articulate and with licensed copies of Photoshop Elements. Progress has been slow at times as the Articulate software is slow to react and erratic.

• The team has also been editing the chosen images and have created a number of learning objects using Articulate which may need to be edited further. Furthermore they have commissioned further images which they hope to exploit both in the current format and in an alternative format in Presenter.

Title: Online Referencing and Plagiarism Tutorial

Reusable teaching and learning objects (RLOs) 

• ITT Dublin has developed a number of reusable teaching and learning objects (RLOs) which have been funded by the National Digital Learning Resources (NDLR). Covering the areas of academic research, study skills, referencing and plagiarism these online tools have proved significant in terms of enhancing the student learning experience, facilitating the student transition from second to third level and in-formation literacy development.
• The resources facilitate student learning in an interactive and engaging manner as students are provided with opportunities to develop, reflect and assess as they acquire an independent approach to learning.
• These tutorials were developed using Articulate Studio software, adhere to sound pedagogy and are SCORM 1.2 compliant. They are hosted on the ITT Dublin library website and have been downloaded as SCORM files to the Institute’s VLE, Moodle, where the embedded quizzes facilitate grading and assessment. The tutorials have enriched the student learning experience at ITT Dublin by providing users with flexible, 24/7, self-paced online support. Since September 2010 when the first tool was launched, the tutorials have achieved over 3000 completions with over 2162 students providing online feedback.
• The tutorials have also fostered collaborative partnerships and have been embedded into a number of academic modules across various disciplines in ITT Dublin, with a commitment to integrate them into further modules. User feedback to date has highlighted the value of these resources for academic skills development.
• These reusable learning objects have impacted significantly on the wider higher education community in terms of online learning support. These tools have promoted best practice in innovative delivery methods and added value to the academic community through their dissemination via the NDLR.

Title: On-Line Electrical Science (ONES)

• The development of an online coaching environment for assessment problems in the specific area of Electrical Science.  The primary target group is first year Full and Part-time Students studying for the Higher Certificate in Electronic Engineering and the Electrical Trades students taking the Phase 4 and Phase 6 block based tuition in both full time and repeat modes.

• The project team update is firstly to purchase more licenses. In order to get enough licences the project coordinator suggested moving up two levels.

• Currently we have 99 licences which are used in Business. The next step is 150 which only provides 50 more seats so the Project Coordinator will need to move to the next level again at 300 seats.  In order to obtain better value he approached a Mathematics lecturer to join the project team in order to develop some Mathematics problems which can be used across Mechanical and Electronic Engineering.  The project team has started transferring problems into the system as a trainer and will build the training into the software purchases. This project was completed on 30 June 2010.