1. INTRODUCTION
Mathematics is often
seen as a right/wrong subject filled with easy to forget algorithms. It is our belief that students
should spend a lot of time playing with ideas before they are asked to understand techniques
related to the ideas. In this workshop you will play with a couple of famous ideas to see if you
can understand them better. We will also take a quick look at computer aided assessment, as
we believe rapid feedback is a must for checking understanding. As an eminent e-assessment
expert said, "No child would play a shooting game if it took them two weeks to find out if the
target was dead or not.
Computers and related electronic resources have come to play a
central role in education.Whateveryourfeelingsaboutwhatsomehavecalled the digital revolution,you
must accept that many, perhaps most, of your students are fully immersed in it. At the very simplest
level, you will rarely receive a paper or other assignment from a student that has not been written with
the help of a computer. Most of your students will have considerable experience with the Internet and
will, whether you like it or not, make use of it for much of their academic work. Many of them will be
accustomed to using e-mail as a normal form of communication. But it is not just students who find
electronic resourcesvaluable.Teacherscan benefitfromtheseresourcesas well, by employing a series of
useful tools.
Electronic resources (or e-resources) are materials in digital
format accessible electronically .Learningmanagement systems (LMSs) provide an online space for
course content, along with tools for course administration and interaction between instructors and
students.
E-RESOURCES
E-resources are short termfor Electronic Resources or electronic
information resources. These are collections of information in electronic or digital format that are
accessed on an electronic device, such as a mobile phone, computer, etc. E-resources are part of the
“Invisible Web” which is essentially information accessible through the Internet but normally
can't be found on Google. Most E-resources are not freely available to everyone on the World
Wide Web (exception are free or Open Access resources) and they may not appear on search
engines like Google. Examples of e-resources are electronic journals (e-journal), electronic
books (e-book) online databases in varied digital formats, Adobe Acrobat documents,
WebPages (.html, .asp etc) and more.
E-JOURNALS
2. An electronic journal is a periodical publication which is published in electronic format, usually
on the Internet.
Electronic journals have several advantages over traditional printed journals:
1. You can search the contents pages and/or the full text of journals to find articles on a
certain subject.
2. You can read journal articles on your desktop , you don't have to be in the Library.
3. You can e-mail articles to yourself or download them for printing.
4. The article that you want to read will always be available, even when the Library is
closed.
5. Hypertext links allow you to move to different sections within individual journals or
articles and can link you to related resources on the Internet.
6. Journals can include more images and audio-visual material.
7. Journals can be interactive - you can e-mail the author or editor with your comments.
Many electronic journals which are available are electronic versions of journals which exist in
print. For example, if you wanted to see the journal called "Man" this journal is available
physically on Level F in the Library .Some journals are only available in electronic format and
although some of these journals are of a high "academic" quality, please be aware that not all of
them have gone through the same process of academic peer review as traditional print
journals.
E BOOK
An electronic book (variously: e-book, eBook, e-
Book, digital book, or even e-edition) is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of
text, images, or both, readable on computers or other electronic devices. Although sometimes
defined as "an electronic version of a printed book", many e-books exist without any printed
equivalent. Commercially produced and sold e-books are usually intended to be read on
dedicated e-readers. However, almost any sophisticated electronic device that features a
controllable viewing screen, including computers, tablets and smart phones can also be used to
read e-books.
E-book reading is increasing in the US; by 2014 28% of adults had read an e-book, compared to
23% in 2013. This is increasing because 50% of American adults by 2014 had a dedicated
3. device, either an e-reader or a tablet, compared to 30% owning such a device by the end of
2013
E DATA AICHIVES
Data archiving is the
process of moving data that is no longer actively used to a separate data storage device for
long-term retention. E-data archives consist of older data that is still important and necessary for
future reference, as well as data that must be retained for regulatory compliance Data
archives are indexed and have search capabilities so that files and parts of files can be easily
located and retrieved. Data archives are often confused with data backups, which are copies of
data. Data backups are used to restore data in case it is corrupted or destroyed. In contrast,
data archives protect older information that is not needed for everyday operations but may
occasionally need to be accessed.
E MAPS
A map is a visual representation of an area a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships betwe
en elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes.Many maps are static two-
dimensional, geometrically accurate (or approximately accurate) representations of three-
dimensional space, while others are dynamic or interactive, even three dimentional.
Although most commonly used to depict geography, maps may represent any space, real or ima
gined, without regard to context or scale; e.g. brain mapping, DNA mapping and extra
terrestrial mapping.
ADOBE ACROBAT DOCUMENT
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software and Web services developed by Adobe
Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document
Format (PDF).
Software that allows users of different computer systems (PC, Macintosh,
minicomputer , mainframe) to transfer a document from one computer to another
(via disk or Internet), without any degradation or change in how the document
looks on the screen or in print. Acrobat preserves colors, fonts, graphic elements,
and layout of a document and reproduces them accurately. It converts
the document's file format into portable document file (PDF) format which can be
4. read by any computer by using Acrobat Reader software (without needing
the application program with which the document was originally created). PDF is
the de facto worldwide standard for platform-
independent distribution of books, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and
other types of literature. See also Extensible Markup Language (XML).
LEARNING
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
What is a Learning Management
System?
A Learning Management System (LMS) is an online portal that connects lecturers and students. “It
provides a way for classroom materials or activities to be shared easily and enables lecturers and
students to interact out of the classroom.” With the Internet easily available and accessible in many
areas it is more convenient than ever for both students and instructors to access coursework. An online
portal is a place where students can go and confidently search and obtain information regarding their
courses, and since the school sponsors it, it also helps ensure the accuracy of the information that’s
available.
An LMS includes a “set of tools and a framework
that allows relatively easy creation of online course content and the subsequent teaching and
management of that course including various interactions with students taking the course” “A typical
LMS provides an instructor or moderator to prepare and deliver content, monitor participation by
students, as well as assess students’ performance online.”
Do Learning Management Systems
affect the way students learn?
The quantity and quality of e-learning research in higher education have increased dramatically during
5. the pastdecade.Numerousstudiesexamined thefactors that affect the learning outcomes and student
satisfaction in asynchronous online learning courses.
Many studies have examined factors that
affect the student learning in asynchronous online courses. A 2005 study found that instructor-student
interaction was the most important factor. The study indicated that distance education advantages,
although significant,arelessimportant than the interaction between the instructor and student. A 2006
study found six key factors - course structure, self-motivation, learning styles, instructor knowledge and
facilitation,interaction,and instructorfeedback - significantly influenced a student’slearning experience.
The studieshaveshown there were no extensive differences with and without the aid of online systems,
but there was a considerable variation in the outcome of learning depending on how instructors were
using the technology with their classes. With any tool, its effectiveness is measured in how the tool is
used and that is no different for an LMS. An LMS can be equally effective in knowledge transfer as
compared to a traditional classroom setting if used properly.
Training for teachers using Blackboard
Instructorsplay a fundamentalrolein teaching and learning at any university. Over the past decade, the
introduction of an LMS has changed the way in which instructors work. Instructors may perceive their
overall level of workis increasing as they add variety to their mode of teaching by maintaining an online
classroomand institutionsworldwide.Whethercoursesaretaughtentirely online or a hybrid approach is
used, most university instructors must design and develop online materials and create and maintain
courseweb sites and LMSshavebecomean importantmeansof communication with students for many
instructors.
How is the LMS currently be used and
what are its advantages?
There are many advantages to using an LMS and it can be used in a variety of ways. The LMS assists in
creating a virtual classroom for students to “attend”. The virtual classroom can be used in conjunction
with a face to face, traditional course, a strictly virtual course or a combination of these two (hybrid)
where students may have meetings both in-person and online. Regardless of the way the LMS is being
used it is a place where coursework such as assignments, syllabi, and grades can be accessed in one
location. Students can come together in this virtual meeting place to interact with one another or the
instructor at any time.
6. The LMS is a useful content distribution system
and communication tool, where instructors are able to distribute course materials and interact with
students without a traditional classroom through discussion boards, shared files, screen sharing, chat,
and virtual live classes. The LMS creates a way for students to manage their time for their course when
all of their materials are available to them at all times. They have the ability to review materials and
assignments as often as they wish before submitting them to be evaluated. The virtual classroom also
eliminates the need for travel to a university campus. For students that are working full time or have
otherresponsibilities during theday,eliminating theneed to travelis very convenient.Virtualclassrooms
are available as long as the student has an internet connection
What are the disadvantages of an LMS?
While there are many advantages to using an
online learning management system, there are also drawbacks. With technology changing and
advancing asquickly as it does, it is no surprise that an LMS can become quickly out of date. The system
will need to performroutineupdatesto keep its servicesup to dateand secure and will ultimately require
some downtime for maintenance, which means the LMS may not be available when a student or
instructor needs.
Like any new tool, some training will need to be
involved.TheLMS will need to havean intuitiveinterface thatstudents and instructors should be able to
utilize withlittle to no training forday to day taskssuch as finding contentoruploading an assignment.If
the interface is not clear, it is most likely that learners will give up on the system and usage will be at a
significantly lower rate than a user-friendly interface. Another disadvantage for the LMS is cost. The
investment in an LMS is typically high and students may also encounter additional fees to purchase or
download mobileapplications to use on their tablets or other devices. Typically these fees are low and a
one-time fee but any additional fee should be considered.
CONCLUSION
For a college or school, the LMS that is chosen is an important decision for both the integrity of the
institution as a place of higher education but also it can be a costly investment .We stress the word
"useful" because electronic resources complement, but seldom replace, more conventional teaching
techniques.Electronic tools can make classes more efficient; lectures more compelling, informative, and
varied; reading assignments more extensive, interesting, and accessible; discussions more free ranging
and challenging;and students'papersmoreoriginaland well researched.Only you,however,can judgeif
these techniques advance your own teaching goals. Of the many electronic teaching techniques that
instructors have found useful, we have chosen five that we believe seem particularly likely to help
7. significant numbers of teachers. All of these techniques demand an investment of time if they are to
succeed, and your willingness to use them should be balanced carefully against other, perhaps more
important, teaching priorities. But for each technique, there are both simple and complex ways of
proceeding, and we will try to make clear the respective advantages and disadvantages.
REFERENCES
www.press.uchicago.edu
eresources.lib.unc.edu
en.wikipedia.org
