Initial Trials of Ephorus

This is a Dutch software app which claims to do much the same as TurnItIn (TII), only cheaper. A trial was set up whereby 20 files which had already been passed through TII were put through a demo version of Ephorus. The results: • The Ephorus demo account that was being used only checks againstRead more

Raspberry Pi – the new BBC Micro?

If, like me, you were a teenager in the 1980s, chances are you’ll remember the BBC Micro and the Sinclair Spectrum. These were ‘home computers’ that encouraged a generation of pallid adolescents to try their hand at programming, leading pretty much directly to the British games industry becoming one of the country’s biggest export earnersRead more

Peer assessment of conceptual understanding of mathematics

Ian Jones and Lara Alcock in the Mathematics Education Centre recently undertook an innovation designed to assess undergraduates’ conceptual understanding of mathematics. Undergraduates first sat a written test in which they had to explain their understanding of key concepts from the module. They then assessed their peers’ work online using an approach called Adaptive ComparativeRead more

JISC News Release: Developing digital literacy – trial and error?

A JISC study has found that learners develop a variety of digital literacies often through a social trial-and-error process, without the direct support or advice of their educational institutions. Ben Showers, JISC programme manager, said, “By understanding and recognising students’ hidden behaviours and motivations, JISC is in a position to help universities and colleges developRead more