Engaging robots: innovative outreach for attracting cybernetics students

Cybernetics is a broad subject, encompassing many aspects of electrical, electronic, and computer engineering, which suffers from a lack of understanding on the part of potential applicants and teachers when recruiting students. However, once the engineering values, fascinating science, and pathways to rewarding, diverse careers are communicated, appropriate students can be very interested in enrolling. At the University of Reading, Reading, U.K., a key route for outreach to prospective students has been achieved through the use of robots in interactive talks at schools, competitions (often funded by Public Understanding of Science projects), a collectable fortnightly magazine, exhibitions in museums, open days at the University, and appearances in the media. This paper identifies the interactive engagement, anthropomorphic acceptability, and inspirational nature of robots as being key to their successful use in outreach activities. The statistical results presented show that the continued popularity of degrees at Reading in cybernetics, electronic engineering, and robotics over the last 20 years is in part due to the outreach activities to schools and the general public.

Curriculum theory, curriculum policy and the problem of ill-disciplined thinking

This paper examines the implications of policy fracture and arms length governance within the decision making processes currently shaping curriculum design within the English education system. In particular it argues that an unresolved ‘ideological fracture’ at government level has been passed down to school leaders whose response to the dilemma is distorted by the target-driven agenda of arms length agencies. Drawing upon the findings of a large scale on-line survey of history teaching in English secondary schools, this paper illustrates the problems that occur when policy making is divorced from curriculum theory, and in particular from any consideration of the nature of knowledge. Drawing on the social realist theory of knowledge elaborated by Young (2008), we argue that the rapid spread of alternative curricular arrangements, implemented in the absence of an understanding of curriculum theory, undermines the value of disciplined thinking to the detriment of many young people, particularly those in areas of social and economic deprivation.

Interactive sensory objects for improving access to heritage

In this project we explore how to enhance the experience and understanding of cultural heritage in museums and heritage sites by creating interactive multisensory objects collaboratively with artists, technologists and people with learning disabilities. We focus here on workshops conducted during the first year of a three year project in which people with learning disabilities each constructed a 'sensory box' to represent their experiences of Speke Hall, a heritage site in the UK. The box is developed further in later workshops which explore aspects of physicality and how to appeal to the entire range of senses, making use of Arduino technology and basic sensors to enable an interactive user experience.

Developing international business managers through international study visits to China

Globalization is a key factor in the success of business organizations today, impacting many aspects of management performance. Understanding the global business environment has therefore become a key objective in the teaching of international business on Executive MBA programs. Drawing on the theory of experiential learning, this study examines the relationship between program structure and learning activities of an international study visit (ISV) to China and the learning experience for Executive MBA students. The findings indicate that learning experience may be most effective where the structure of an ISV incorporates certain activities that promote experiential and deep-level learning. Educational implications are discussed.

Object-love at the Science Museum: cultural geographies of museum storerooms

The field of museum geography is taking on new significance as geographers and museum-studies scholars make sense of the spatial relations between the people, things, practices and buildings that make and remake museums. In order to strengthen this spatial interest in museums, this paper makes important connections between recent work in cultural geography and museum studies on love, materiality and the museum effect. This paper marks a departure from the preoccupation with the public spaces of museums to go behind the scenes of the Science Museum in London to explore its rarely visited, but nonetheless lively, small-to-medium-sized object storerooms at Blythe House. Incorporating field diary entries and interview extracts from two research projects based upon the museum storerooms at Blythe House, this paper brings to life the social interactions that take place between museum curators and conservators and the objects they care for. This focus on object-love enables scholars to consider anew what museums are and what they are for, the life of the museum object in the storeroom, and the emotional practices of professional curatorship and conservation. This journey into the storeroom at Blythe House makes explicit how object-love shapes museum space.

Interactive sensory objects for and by people with learning disabilities

This project engages people with learning disabilities to participate as co-researchers and explore museum interpretation through multisensory workshops using microcontrollers and sensors to enable alternative interactive visitor experiences in museums and heritage sites. This article describes how the project brings together artists, engineers, and experts in multimedia advocacy, as well as people with learning disabilities in the co-design of interactive multisensory objects that replicate or respond to objects of cultural significance in our national collections. Through a series of staged multi-sensory art and electronics workshops, people with learning disabilities explore how the different senses could be utilised to augment existing artefacts or create entirely new ones. The co-researchers employ multimedia advocacy tools to reflect on and to communicate their experiences and findings.

Interactive sensory objects for and by people with learning disabilities

This project engages people with learning disabilities to participate as co-researchers and explore museum interpretation through multisensory workshops using microcontrollers and sensors to enable alternative interactive visitor experiences in museums and heritage sites. This article describes how the project brings together artists, engineers, and experts in multimedia advocacy, as well as people with learning disabilities in the co-design of interactive multisensory objects that replicate or respond to objects of cultural significance in our national collections. Through a series of staged multi-sensory art and electronics workshops, people with learning disabilities explore how the different senses could be utilised to augment existing artefacts or create entirely new ones. The co-researchers employ multimedia advocacy tools to reflect on and to communicate their experiences and findings.

Museum Personalized : The impact of floor staff on an exhibition - A holistic approach

The current paper presents a study conducted at The National Museum of Science and Technology in Stockholm to investigate the exhibition “Antarctica – that’s cool” from its first concept to the first workshop that is held in the exhibition. The focus is on the influence of floor staff on an exhibition and workshops as learning facilities in museums. Findings, based on visitor observation and the exhibition building process, go into the characteristics of low-budget productions and discuss the importance of staff on the exhibition floor for museums as life-long learning facilities. The holistic approach of the study provides deep insights into the complex interplay of visitors, staff and exhibitions. The results can be used for future exhibition building processes and educational programs in museums and should strengthen the museum’s position as life-long learning facility in nowadays society.

”Det är ju troligen inte en overheadapparat de kommer att använda sig av i framtiden…” : Om skolans tekniksprång, en undersökning om datorns användning på gymnasiet

The aim of this qualitative respondent investigation is to delve into the various views that teachers have concerning the “One-to-One project”, as well as the use of computers as an aid in teaching. One-to-One means that teachers and students will be equipped with a laptop they can use at home and at school.This essay looks at how several factors have changed as a result of this. These factors are threefold: the role of the teacher, the teaching experience, and the student´s learning process. In order to answer the mentioned questions, four interviews have been conducted at two different high schools in southern Norrland. The theory used is the socio-cultural perspective. One result has been that computers can simplify teaching in various ways. Students have faster access to information, and there exists a platform for further communication between the teacher and student outside the classroom. However, there are also several negative aspects. One of these is that the students spend time doing non-school related activities, such as interacting using social mediums. Results also show that the role of the teacher has due to the "One-to-One project" gone from being structural to being interactional. The conclusions reached by the investigation are that today’s schools are experiencing a paradigm shift. Old teaching methods are being replaced by new methods and an altered teaching practice has developed as a result of the presence of the computer in the classroom.

À la recherche des facteurs de réussite au lycée : Apprentissage de langues en ligne au lycée - une étude

The aim of this academic essay is to research into Distance teaching in language education at a comprehensive upper high school in a region in Sweden. Qualitative and quantitative studies are combined by using evaluation and interview methods with students who have completed their studies and with those who have decided to terminate them 2012/2013. The goals are to identify success factors and elements in devising and compiling on-line language courses thus eliminating failure by students unable / choosing not to complete courses. Present Distance teaching is mostly applicable for the already motivated students and research shows that measures can be taken to increase the percentage of successful and satisfied students.

Undersökande arbetssätt i NO-undervisningen i grundskolans tidigare årskurser

This thesis deals with the use of inquiry-based approaches in primary school science. The aim is to investigate the goals and purposes that are constituted by the curriculum and by the teachers in interviews and through their teaching in the classroom. The results are used to develop conceptual tools that can be used by teachers’ in their work to support students’ learning of science when using an inquiry-based approach. The thesis is comprised of four papers. In paper one a comparative analysis is made of five Swedish national curricula for compulsory school regarding what students should learn about scientific inquiry. In paper two 20 teachers were interviewed about their own teaching using inquiry. Classroom interactions were filmed and analyzed in papers three and four, which examine how primary teachers use the various activities and purposes of the inquiry classroom to support learning progressions in science. The results of paper one show how the emphasis within and between the two goals of learning to carry out investigations and learning about the nature of science shifted and changed over time in the different curricula. Paper two describes the selective traditions and qualities that were emphasized in the teachers’ accounts of their own teaching. The results of papers three and four show how students need to be involved in the proximate and ultimate purposes of the teaching activities for progression to happen. The ultimate purposes are the scientific purposes for the lesson (as given by the teacher or by the curriculum), whereas the proximate purposes are the more student-centered purposes that through different activities should allow the students to relate their own experiences and language to the ultimate purpose. The results show the importance of proximate purposes working as ends-in-viewin the sense of John Dewey, meaning that the students see the goal of the activity and that they are able to relate to their experiences and familiar language.

Klassrumsinteraktion i de tidiga skolåren : flerspråkiga elever i skolans språkliga vardag

Classroom interaction is particularly important for those students who learn school knowledge in a second language. In this article two episodes of whole class teaching in pre-school and standard one are analyzed. The analysis shows the importance of making teachers aware of interactional patterns in classrooms. Although knowledge was presented clearly and concretely and teachers used routines that made norms explicit, inconsistencies in interactional patterns made the role of the teacher stand out as unclear. Whole class teaching of this type does not provide students with such linguistic and intellectual demands that are necessary for their language development.

"Men skolan kan inte bara lägga sig platt på rygg" : Attityder till värdegrundsarbetet inom vuxenutbildningen

Syftet med denna studie är att belysa attityder som finns hos lärare i svenska för invandrare (SFI) och svenska som andraspråk (SVA) till integreringen av värdegrundsuppdraget i vuxenutbildningen och i det sammanhanget även uppmärksamma deras berättelser om yrkesetiska konflikter som de upplevt i värdegrundsarbetet. Studien söker att svara på följande frågeställningar: Hur definierar SFI- och SVA-lärarna vuxenutbildningens värdegrund? Hur förhåller sig lärarna till integreringen av värdegrundsfrågor i undervisningen? På vilket sätt integrerar SFI- och SVA-lärarna värdegrundensmålen i sin dagliga verksamhet? Vilka svårigheter möter lärarna och vilka yrkesetiska konflikter uppstår i deras arbete med värdegrundsfrågor? och Vad styrs lärarna av när de löser yrkesetiska konflikter som uppstår i värdegrundsarbetet? Metoden som används i undersökningen är kvalitativ och bygger på intervjuer med totalt sex SFI- och SVA-lärare. Intervjuerna kompletteras med en enkätundersökning som genomförts med samma lärare. Studiens resultat diskuteras utifrån en teori om sociala attityder och dess antagande att individers kunskaper om, och positiva känslor till, en social företeelse kommer att manifesteras i deras handlingar. Resultatanalysen visar att SFI- och SVA-lärarna förknippar skolans värdegrund med demokrati, jämställdhet mellan kvinnor och män, alla människors lika värde och trygg inlärningsmiljö och har ett positivt förhållningssätt till värdegrundsarbetet, som de medvetet integrerar i språkundervisningen.