contribute to their achievement of programme outcomes. The following are some
examples of this:
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in an grouped student evaluation reported in 2010,
students reported that "the use of YouTube clips helped (them) to understand the
topic"
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in annual end-of-module surveys the average class
response to the statement “The Blackboard quizzes were effective in
encouraging me to study the notes and understand the concepts at an early
stage” has ranged from 4.3 to 4.6 over the last 5 years (1 being 'strongly
disagree' and 5 being 'strongly agree') [Total respondents: 50+ annually]
• 1st year Fundamentals of Civil Engineering: 78% of students rated the usefulness
of Bridgebuilder
TM to their learning as 4 or better on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being 'of
no use at all' and 5 being 'very useful') [Total respondents (2011): 64]
• 2nd year Elementary Hydraulics: 98% of students agreed that the concept
questions helped improve their understanding of the course material and 100% of
students rated the instructional value of the animations/videos as a 4 or better on
a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being 'of no value' and 5 being 'of great value') [Total
respondents (2011): 25]
In relation to the second metric of evaluation, analyses of anonymous student
feedback also provide evidence that the digital resources used by lecturers do
indeed enhance the student learning experience. Some examples are:
• 2nd year Elementary Hydraulics: 100% of students answered 'yes' when asked if
they enjoyed using the clickers and 100% of students also answered 'yes' when
asked if the clickers improved their engagement with the course. Furthermore,
92% of students said they would like the clickers to be used in other programme
modules. The combined use of clickers, concept question, videos and animations
meant that students generally found the module quite stimulating; when asked to
rate the lectures on a scale of 1 ('very boring') to 5 ('very interesting') 84% of
students gave a rating of 4 or better [Total respondents: 25]
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in annual end-of-module surveys the average class
response to the statement "The use of Blackboard enhances my learning
experience" has ranged from 4.2 to 4.45 over the last 5 years (1 being 'strongly
disagree' and 5 being 'strongly agree') [Total respondents: 50+ annually]
• according to a 2011 3rd year civil engineering student “The new Engineering
building has really enhanced my learning experience ... the building has sensors
all over the place so we can monitor and analyse how the building is working
using software in our labs”
• many students in Fundamentals of Civil Engineering and Sustainable Energy
noted the use of the Engineering building data as one of the most interesting
features of their lectures
The deployment of digital resources has also facilitated the introduction of a number
of more student-focussed teaching pedagogies, such as, enquiry- and problembased learning (e.g. the use of the bridge design game for the spaghetti bridge
project), peer instruction (made possible by deploying clickers), small group teaching
(again making use of clickers) and formative learning (e.g. the 'practice' online
quizzes). These student-focussed teaching approaches have created a much more
stimulating, interactive and engaging learning environment for students.
examples of this:
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in an grouped student evaluation reported in 2010,
students reported that "the use of YouTube clips helped (them) to understand the
topic"
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in annual end-of-module surveys the average class
response to the statement “The Blackboard quizzes were effective in
encouraging me to study the notes and understand the concepts at an early
stage” has ranged from 4.3 to 4.6 over the last 5 years (1 being 'strongly
disagree' and 5 being 'strongly agree') [Total respondents: 50+ annually]
• 1st year Fundamentals of Civil Engineering: 78% of students rated the usefulness
of Bridgebuilder
TM to their learning as 4 or better on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being 'of
no use at all' and 5 being 'very useful') [Total respondents (2011): 64]
• 2nd year Elementary Hydraulics: 98% of students agreed that the concept
questions helped improve their understanding of the course material and 100% of
students rated the instructional value of the animations/videos as a 4 or better on
a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being 'of no value' and 5 being 'of great value') [Total
respondents (2011): 25]
In relation to the second metric of evaluation, analyses of anonymous student
feedback also provide evidence that the digital resources used by lecturers do
indeed enhance the student learning experience. Some examples are:
• 2nd year Elementary Hydraulics: 100% of students answered 'yes' when asked if
they enjoyed using the clickers and 100% of students also answered 'yes' when
asked if the clickers improved their engagement with the course. Furthermore,
92% of students said they would like the clickers to be used in other programme
modules. The combined use of clickers, concept question, videos and animations
meant that students generally found the module quite stimulating; when asked to
rate the lectures on a scale of 1 ('very boring') to 5 ('very interesting') 84% of
students gave a rating of 4 or better [Total respondents: 25]
• 3rd year Soil Mechanics: in annual end-of-module surveys the average class
response to the statement "The use of Blackboard enhances my learning
experience" has ranged from 4.2 to 4.45 over the last 5 years (1 being 'strongly
disagree' and 5 being 'strongly agree') [Total respondents: 50+ annually]
• according to a 2011 3rd year civil engineering student “The new Engineering
building has really enhanced my learning experience ... the building has sensors
all over the place so we can monitor and analyse how the building is working
using software in our labs”
• many students in Fundamentals of Civil Engineering and Sustainable Energy
noted the use of the Engineering building data as one of the most interesting
features of their lectures
The deployment of digital resources has also facilitated the introduction of a number
of more student-focussed teaching pedagogies, such as, enquiry- and problembased learning (e.g. the use of the bridge design game for the spaghetti bridge
project), peer instruction (made possible by deploying clickers), small group teaching
(again making use of clickers) and formative learning (e.g. the 'practice' online
quizzes). These student-focussed teaching approaches have created a much more
stimulating, interactive and engaging learning environment for students.