Posts By: twebb

Sharing pedagogical innovation

BU Learning Technologists have recently been exploring some recent innovations in education technology and last Wednesday the Technology Enhanced Learning Innovation and Design (TELID) team hosted a drop-in session in the Fusion building to share some of this work. Participants enjoyed a high quality Virtual Reality experience via the Oculus Rift S which doesn’t require… Read more » about Sharing pedagogical innovation

How AI is revolutionising DNA evidence

Developments in AI are revolutionising DNA evidence – but can we totally trust the machines?  Sophisticated AI (Artificial Intelligence) techniques are being developed to work out whether a DNA sample came directly from someone at a crime scene or was just innocently transferred. But could this technology introduce even more miscarriages of justice when even… Read more » about How AI is revolutionising DNA evidence

12 Apps of Christmas

The Digital Education Unit at the University of Glasgow has pulled together 12 apps that are useful in teaching and learning for online and distance education. Starting on the 9th of December 2019 they will reveal one app per day for 12 consecutive working days. They’ve added some festive cheer by creating a different short… Read more » about 12 Apps of Christmas

Assessment and Feedback Toolkit

Have you seen the Assessment and Feedback Toolkit? FLIE’s Assessment and Feedback Toolkit provides resources for academic staff along with tools and strategies to align assessment and feedback practices with the BU Principles of Assessment Design Policy (6c). At BU we support the Higher Education Academy’s principle that teaching and learning in Higher Education can… Read more » about Assessment and Feedback Toolkit

Brightspace tools : Intelligent Agents

At the end of November, Sophie McGown Customer Success Manager at D2L, ran some sessions with BU staff providing a more detailed look at one of Brightspace’s most powerful tools; Intelligent Agents. Sophie shared some best practice and top tips before assisting staff in building and scheduling Intelligent Agents to run on their units. What… Read more » about Brightspace tools : Intelligent Agents

Green screen – an easy way to create an impression…

At our recent research day, ‘Nurses today, tomorrow and the future’, our librarian Jose Lopez Blanco and I decided to give a future ‘feel’ to the day. Working with FLIE LTs Tracey Webb and Stephen Pyne, we used chroma keying (where a block of colour is replaced by an image or video) using a piece… Read more » about Green screen – an easy way to create an impression…

Pearson Global Learner Survey 2019

Pearson have published their inaugural Global Learner Survey, capturing the opinions of learners worldwide. Internationally, learners are relying less on traditional institutions and are adopting a self-directed approach to their education, embracing technology and online learning to facilitate this. Learners are looking for vocational and soft skills bite-size learning across their lifetime. The report highlights… Read more » about Pearson Global Learner Survey 2019

Women in AI: Reinforcing Sexism and Stereotypes with Tech

An interesting article from Techopedia on the persistent problem of bias in AI. Why are gendered stereotypes manifested in the female identities associated with AI assistants? Why is there a systemic gender gap in technology roles in general, and in AI in particular? A recent UNESCO report warns how, if men continue to dominate this… Read more » about Women in AI: Reinforcing Sexism and Stereotypes with Tech

5 common myths about virtual reality

… and why they aren’t true People have many different ideas about virtual reality, but not all of those conceptions are based in reality. Techopedia looks at the fact and fiction of VR and its potential across a broad range of different industries, highlighting 5 common myths: Myth 1: VR is a modern technology that… Read more » about 5 common myths about virtual reality

The Future of Skills in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution

D2L (suppliers of Brightspace) have produced a whitepaper on the skills of the future and how new models of learning must be embraced to meet the needs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As automation rapidly consumes basic tasks in the workplace, they focus on how educational establishments must adapt to address the rising demand for… Read more » about The Future of Skills in the Age of the 4th Industrial Revolution