Graham Paterson, Computing Technician
School of Engineering
Science, Agriculture and Engineering
What did you do?
Staff in CEGS give out Galaxy Note 10 to first-year students in the School for use in lectures, seminars and private study.
Who is involved?
IT technician in the School Graham Patterson sourced the devices and provides support and training, teaching assistant Henny Mills provides teaching and support from an academic perspective.
How do you do it?
Devices are used to poll feedback during lectures using Responseware, to support apps and software useful to the course such as the camera or CAD for site visits or viewing documents. Students receive three training sessions in the first term, along with their device. The first session is aimed at familiarising them with the device and the Android operating system, the second focuses on University facilities on the tablet, such as accessing University drives and timetables and the third is a Drop-In session to address any teething problems.
Why do you do it?
The pilot was undertaken as a way of helping students to engage with the course and giving them an invaluable tool to help their learning, both in a taught and private environment.
Does it work?
The devices give students the opportunity to have all of their data with them, they can have dual screen to make notes on slides in lectures, they can check AutoCAD documents in practicals and can make use of having an extra screen for note-taking or comparing. Students have given excellent feedback about the devices and how helpful they are in lectures and practicals. Once students are trained on the devices very little technical support is needed, provided the hardware contuse to function correctly and students have treated the devices responsibly, replacing those that are lost or damaged and not misusing the devices in lectures and other taught sessions. The scheme has been highly successful in the School.
Contact Details
Graham Paterson, Computing Technician