Events

DIT Showcase of Learning and Teaching Innovations 2009

The annual DIT Showcase of Learning and Teaching Innovations took place on Wednesday 14th January in the Hilton Hotel on Charlemont Place.  This year saw the largest attendance, with more than 140 colleagues participating in the broad-ranging programme throughout the day.

A range of speakers from across DIT addressed the key themes of Assessment, First-year Experience and Student Perspectives. 

Keynote speaker Mantz Yorke, Visiting Professor, Lancaster University delivered a presentation entitled ‘Towards a Successful First-Year Experience for Students’. Formerly Professor of Higher Education at Liverpool John Moores University, Professor Mantz is Visiting Professor in the Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University. He has presented and published on various aspects of higher education, including ‘the first year experience’, retention, employability and assessment. His most recent books are Grading student achievement in higher education: signals and shortcomings (2008) and, with Bernard Longden, Retention and student success in higher education (2004).
View Mantz's presentation Click here
View Mantz's slides Click here

Other speakers included Ms Avril Behan, Faculty of Built Environment, who was the recipient of the 2008 president’s Award for Teaching Excellence, who delivered a presentation entitled “Can students write worthwhile wikis? – a case study of the use of Web 2.0 tools in DIT”; and Mr. Andrew Harrison, DEGW, who gave a special presentation at the end of the Showcase programme on “A student-centred experience: Learning Spaces – the DIT Campus of the Future”.
View Avril's presentation Click here
View Avril's slides Click here

The programme for the day included a range of 20-minute parallel sessions, with participants choosing between three topics at each time slot.  The closing address was given by Professor Frank McMahon, Director of Academic Affairs.

Click here for 2009 programme

PARALLEL PRESENTATIONS

Theme 1: Assessment

• Developing Core Skills in Mathematics - Michael Carr, DIT Faculty of Engineering and Eabhnat Ni Fhloinn DCU
• Integrating Online Assessment: Moving Beyond the Pilot - Nicola Timoney, Faculty of Business
• Innovative Language Learning Using Technology - Michele Boisbourdin, Faculty of Applied Arts
• Translating a Module to an Online Environment: A Practitioner’s Perspective - Michael K.Seery, Faculty of Science

Theme 2: First Year Experience

• One Life or Two? Using Second Life for First Year Inductions - John O’Connor, Faculty of Applied Arts
• Using and Online Repository for Fuel Cell Technology Modules - Eugene Coyle, Market Rebow, Gabriel Garus, Faculty of Engineering
• ‘Get Smart’ – Delivering Information skills to First Year Hospitality Students - Brian Gillespie, Mary O’Rawe, Faculty of Tourism and Food
• Encouraging and Evaluating the First Year Experience - Kevin Griffin, Faculty of Tourism and Food

Theme 3: Student Perspectives

• Enhancing Communications – the Campus Life Skill Pod Forum - Rachel O’Connor, tudent Support Services
• The Students Experience of their Role as “Performer as Researcher” - Mary Lennon, Faculty of Applied Arts
• Using Flexible Web Based Learning Tools for Construction and Surveying Students - Maurice Murphy, Garrett Keenaghan, Faculty of the Built Environment
• Student Panel Discussion: Stude nt Views on Academic Feedback and Assessment - Brian Gormley, Student Support Services

AFTERNOON WORKSHOPS

• Instant Messaging and Instant Response in the Classroom - Robert Howard, Faculty of Science and Eric Clarke, RCSI
• “Does Google Make You Stupid?” - >Brendan Devlin and colleagues, DIT Library Services
• Changing how we Communicate: Web 2.0, Wikis and Weblogs - Rachel Fitzgerald and Muireann O’Keeffe, Learning, Teaching & Technology Centre
• NDLR – Get Aboard for a New and Exciting Era in 2009 - Miriam Allen, DIT NDLR co-ordinator