Perspectives on Education Seminars 2016

All staff are invited to participate in the first perspectives on education seminar of 2016, convened by the Learning, Teaching & Technology Centre, and designed to provide an opportunity for members of the DIT community to exchange ideas on issues in education and the factors which impinge on how we work as academics within DIT.

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“Attendance rates for third level lectures are falling due to online notes? Discuss!”

Thursday 25th February, DIT Aungier Street, 3pm to 4.30pm

Chair: Dr Claire McAvinia, LTTC, DIT

Guests: Daniel McSweeney (Lecturer in Creative Digital Media and eLearning Coordinator, ITB), Graham Higginbotham (DIT Student Union President)

Recent reports in the media suggest mixed opinions amongst lecturers and students as to whether the availability of notes in online systems such as Blackboard or Moodle affects attendance at lectures. However, such concerns are not new. They have persisted over many years, and perhaps pre-date online systems too. In this seminar, we will look at some of the viewpoints expressed in the most recent iteration of the debate, and also at the evidence available. We will consider what factors affect attendance, what technology might have to do with attendance, and why attendance remains so strongly associated with learning in the first place.

The seminar will begin with short contributions from the Chair and Guest Speakers, followed by informal discussion in which we welcome all colleagues to voice their opinions about this (sometimes controversial) topic.

When: Thursday 25th February, DIT Aungier Street, 3pm to 4.30pm
 
BOOKING: To ensure that there is adequate space at the venue, please reserve your place by booking online or phone 01-4027866.

Dr. Claire McDonnell, recently of the DIT Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre and now Assistant Head of the DIT School of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, was interviewed recently for an Irish Times special report on Technology in Education.

The interview was published on 11th November 2016 and the full article can be found here