Journal of Engineering Education Transformations

Richa Mishra ¹, K. Kotecha ²

Affiliations
1 Department of Mathematics and Humanities, Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, IN
2 Institute of Technology, Nirma University Ahmedabad, Gujarat, IN

Abstract

Student engagement is emerging as one of the strong challenges for university teachers. Digital natives not only stand out from their predecessors because of their technology suaveness but also due to their disenchantment with the traditional student engagement. The irony of Digital immigrants teaching Digital natives highlights the sauveness of them in usage of skill and aptitude in technology but also focuses and delineates their peculiar perspective, needs and demands. It widens the bridge of effective student engagement. The time demands to have collaborative and innovative engagements suiting to the purpose of these new-millennials. This inference is the basis of usage of web 2.0 as a learning-teaching tool. The technology-driven learning has actually changed the dynamics of learning acquisition. It has facilitated the creation of learning spaces 'for learners' and 'by learners'. It has also taken out the learning out of the confined of 'mortar and brick' classrooms to that of 'mortar and clicks'. This has helped them in acquiring learning at their own pace, space and time. Keeping all this in mind, a pilot project was launched for a course where the use of hypermedia was used. This paper encompasses insights from this pilot project involving 441 undergraduate students of an Engineering college. Blogging was chosen as the engagement tool. The paper will discuss the methodology and the results from the work. The paper intends to promote the blogging as successful and innovative tool for learning and students engagement.

Keywords

Blogging, Digital Natives, Technology, Students' Engagement.

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Richa Mishra ¹, K. Kotecha ¹

Affiliations
1 Institute of Technology, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, IN

Abstract

Higher education scenario is undergoing a massive transformation, triggered by host of events. The efforts are on to recalibrate Higher Education all over the world. Paradigm shift is from teaching to learning. Realization of learning as a conscious process and importance of formal and informal learning spaces is gathering pace. It has been felt that need is to make learning tangible and measurable. Defining outcome of the courses and programmes are the part of Outcome Based Education, but formal and core courses target cognitive and psychomotor domain in Engineering curriculum but affective domain still remains untouched. The affective domains can be taught and learned through informal learnings. This paper will throw light upon the efforts of defining the co-curricular activities which, inculcates affective domain in a more robust manner. The precise and tangible outcome in the activities mostly related with affective domain are termed as Activity Learning Outcome (ALOs). The activities which can be the part of teaching - learning methodology like blogging and virtual labs or cooperative teaching and industrial visits, have well-articulated outcomes in sync with Bloom's Taxonomy. The paper will discuss the desired commonalities and its manifestation in the Activity learning outcomes (ALOs) for education giving impetus to systemic or holistic thinking, the assimilation of different perspectives, skills such as critical thinking, interpersonal relations and communication, and finally different attitudes and values.

Keywords

Activity Learning Outcomes, Affective Domain, Holistic Education.

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