I will be presenting at the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) Online Winter Conference 2015. The talk discusses the research into teaching and assessment that has led me to argue that project-based curricula make better use of our time in education than traditional curricula. There are many practitioners who support my argument. Consequently, Finland is moving […]
Read this post →Author Archives: Paolo Oprandi
8.10.2015
Integrating learning tools with our learning platform
The more learning management systems (LMS) are used for assessments, the more the stakes in the system grow and the more security becomes a serious issue. Iframes are an html technology that is frequently used to share learning objects within institutional systems such as LMS but they can represent a security issue. At Sussex we are […]
Read this post →24.7.2015
Developing passion in your students about your discipline
People do not only use their hearts when deciding which university degree to choose, but they always have an affinity and curiosity for their subject. My research has revealed that most first year students have a high level of enthusiasm and determination to succeed. We would all like to see successful graduates that maintain this […]
Read this post →13.7.2015
The assessment challenge – an end-to-end solution
As some of my last posts have documented, Sussex University has been engaging in the provision of an end-to-end solution for online assessments. Our solution uses Turnitin and GradeMark as the technical infrastructure to support the project. We have presented the project at the Dublin Moodlemoot conference and the Assessment in Higher Education conference and […]
Read this post →13.4.2015
Project-based learning: the future of teaching and assessment
I am giving a keynote at the Moodlerooms Teaching & Learning Forum branch of the Blackboard Teaching and Learning Conference. Thank you Moodlerooms! Abstract: Content-based curricula which require students to have facts at the tip of the tongue has had its day. Multiplication tables, historical dates, scientific formulae and so on are all important, but […]
Read this post →27.1.2015
Supporting learning autonomy and curriculum coverage in university teaching: three case studies of formative assessment
My thesis is now available at http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/51389/ Abstract This research investigates formative assessment at a UK research-intensive university, considering the aims and effects of their deployment. The research spans three academic disciplines broadly within the sciences and considers the influence of their history and culture on the approaches taken. It reports on three case studies […]
Read this post →25.11.2014
Reducing paperwork: Electronic Submission of Written Coursework
Giving teachers more time for teaching and students more time for learning Life just improved for our tutors and our first year students. Sussex University has introduced the policy and technology for online submission of essays and return of feedback, removing administrative tasks and making time for value-added activities such as teaching and learning. This […]
Read this post →10.11.2014
Had I anything new to say?
How I became a Doctor of Education I turned the corner. In front of me was a fifty metre corridor at the end of which were two examiners who would determine my future in academia. They had left the door ajar, probably by accident rather than design, but it meant that I would need to […]
Read this post →9.6.2014
Where is my feedback?
Tutors give feedback to formal assessments via our student administrative system. Up until March this year the students accessed this feedback through the same system. Now we have now added a new view of the data through our learning system (Moodle). Why did we bother? We feel assessments are core to students’ learning. They’re often the motivation […]
Read this post →27.5.2014
A new Moodle home page: “I am studying towards a degree, not a group of related courses”
At Sussex University we have taken steps to reconceptualise our learning space from the point of view of the students. Students understand their educational journey to be one towards accreditation in a degree programme, but in the past our online space only reflected the compartmentalised courses (modules *) that made up their studies. As of March 2014 […]
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