USING MLEARNING TO ENGAGE WITH THE LIVING BOTANICAL WORLD
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Reimagine Education is keen to emphasise that reimagining education involves more than devising ingenious technological solutions to problems. Presence learning is also in need of reimagining, reliant as it is on centuries-old teaching methods. How can you and your team reimagine presence-based pedagogies, and improve learning outcomes in traditional learning environments?
Past Winner Presence Learning Award: Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Project: STIMulate: integrated maths, science and IT support for learning
STIMulate is a systemic and innovative support-for-learning program, engaging thousands of students annually to boost success in maths, science and IT. It caters for diverse student abilities by providing an integrated learning community. Over 10,000 students have participated in the program in the period from January 2013 to July 2016. www.qut.edu.au/about/services-and-facilities/all-services/stimulate
Previous Presence Learning Award Winners
University of Texas at Austin, United States
Project: The Freshman Research Initiative
University Students in the Freshmen Research Initiative work on faculty-led research projects integrated into the curriculum, increasing the likelihood that they will graduate with the skills and resilience needed in today’s economy. Over 6,000 undergraduates over the past decade have participated, while the program currently serves 900 additional students each year. cns.utexas.edu/fri
Falmouth University, United Kingdom
Project: Launchpad Entrepreneurship Program Pilot
Launchpad is a proven, innovative post-graduate business incubation and acceleration program which creates a new generation of companies in high-value and high-growth Smart Specialization markets. Launchpad aligns skilled graduates, a bespoke package of specialist support and the University’s RD&I infrastructure with clearly defined business opportunities, encouraging regionally specific economic development. www.falmouth.ac.uk
University of Technology Sydney, Australia
Project: BCII: Create the Future
The BCII combines knowledge cultures from 25 degrees and 7 university Faculties, in collaboration with industry, public sector organizations and communities, to prepare students who can lead innovation in a rapidly changing world. In its first year, 2660 applications were recorded for 150 places, increasing to 3547 in its third year.www.uts.edu.au
Seeing The Light: The SpecUp Educational Spectrophotometer’
Spectroscopy is an important component of tertiary science courses including Chemistry, Physics, and Pharmacy. Students often regard analytical instrumentation as black boxes which provide results, without properly conceptualising and understanding the components of which they are comprised. Limited hands-on learning opportunities are possible with commercial instrumentation due to their rugged design, and this is particularly true for spectrometers where typically the only direct interaction the student has with the instrument is the insertion of their sample. A kit was therefore designed from which students can build their own spectrophotometer, called the SpecUP (Spectrophotometer of the University of Pretoria), which can be used to generate analytically useful data. The SpecUP was designed with moveable components both to enhance student interaction with the equipment and encourage inquiry-based learning, which is important in the development of future creative scientists and equipment developers.