Facebook & Blackboard: comparison of learner perspectives

Different systems, different purposes – but how do they compare as learning environments? We undertook a survey of students at the University, asking whether they learned from their use of the systems, whether they made contact with other students through them, and how often they used them. Although it was a small scale survey, the results are quite enlightening and quite surprising. Blackboard is populated with learning material, has all the students on a module signed up to it, a safe environment (in terms of Acceptable Use and some degree of staff monitoring) and provides privacy within the learning group (plus lecturer and relevant support staff). Facebook, on the other hand, has no learning material, only some of the students using the system, and on the face of it, it has the opportunity for slips in privacy and potential bullying because the Acceptable Use policy is more lax than an institutional one, and breaches must be dealt with on an exception basis, when reported. So why do more students find people on their courses through Facebook than Blackboard? And why are up to 50% of students reporting that they have learned from using Facebook? Interviews indicate that students in subjects which use seminars are using Facebook to facilitate working groups – they can set up private groups which give them privacy to discuss ideas in an environment which perceived as safer than Blackboard can provide. No staff interference, unless they choose to invite them in, and the opportunity to select who in the class can engage. The other striking finding is the difference in use between the genders. Males are using blackboard more frequently than females, whilst the reverse is true for Facebook. Interviews suggest that this may have something to do with needing to access lecture notes… Overall, though, it appears that there is little relationship between the time spent engaging with Blackboard and reports that students have learned from it. Because Blackboard is our central repository for notes, any contact is likely to result in some learning. Facebook, however, shows a clear relationship between frequency of use and perception of learning – and our students post frequently to Facebook. Whilst much of this is probably trivia and social chit chat, the educational elements of it are, de facto, contructivist in nature. Further questions need to be answered - Is the reason the students learn from Facebook because they are creating content which others will see and comment on? Is it because they can engage in a dialogue, without the risk of interruption by others?

Habitat re-creation and restoration at the landscape scale: woodlands in Wales

The aim of this three year project funded by the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) is to develop techniques firstly, to refine and update existing targets for habitat restoration and re-creation at the landscape scale and secondly, to develop a GIS-based model for the implementation of those targets at the local scale. Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) is being used to map Landscape Types across the whole of Wales as the first stage towards setting strategic habitat targets. The GIS habitat model uses data from the digital Phase I Habitat Survey for Wales to determine the suitability of individual sites for restoration to specific habitat types, including broadleaf woodland. The long-term aim is to develop a system that strengthens the character of Welsh landscapes and provides real biodiversity benefits based upon realistic targets given limited resources for habitat restoration and re-creation.

Multi-mode approximations to wave scattering by an uneven bed

Approximations to the scattering of linear surface gravity waves on water of varying quiescent depth are Investigated by means of a variational approach. Previous authors have used wave modes associated with the constant depth case to approximate the velocity potential, leading to a system of coupled differential equations. Here it is shown that a transformation of the dependent variables results in a much simplified differential equation system which in turn leads to a new multi-mode 'mild-slope' approximation. Further, the effect of adding a bed mode is examined and clarified. A systematic analytic method is presented for evaluating inner products that arise and numerical experiments for two-dimensional scattering are used to examine the performance of the new approximations.

Approximations to the scattering of water waves by steep topography

A new method is developed for approximating the scattering of linear surface gravity waves on water of varying quiescent depth in two dimensions. A conformal mapping of the fluid domain onto a uniform rectangular strip transforms steep and discontinuous bed profiles into relatively slowly varying, smooth functions in the transformed free-surface condition. By analogy with the mild-slope approach used extensively in unmapped domains, an approximate solution of the transformed problem is sought in the form of a modulated propagating wave which is determined by solving a second-order ordinary differential equation. This can be achieved numerically, but an analytic solution in the form of a rapidly convergent infinite series is also derived and provides simple explicit formulae for the scattered wave amplitudes. Small-amplitude and slow variations in the bedform that are excluded from the mapping procedure are incorporated in the approximation by a straightforward extension of the theory. The error incurred in using the method is established by means of a rigorous numerical investigation and it is found that remarkably accurate estimates of the scattered wave amplitudes are given for a wide range of bedforms and frequencies.