Friday 28 November 2014

OER Summary November 2014

A selection of the open educational resources that have been released from the School of Science and Technology at the University of Northampton. 

This post shows the number of views and downloads of these resources by the end of November 2014. Warning there may be some errors in the October data due to a change in the Jorum system:

"Following our recent upgrade to significantly improve performance and stability, we realised that there is now a difference in the way resource views are recorded. These will be artificially inflated for October only, and we are working on a fix; the stats will be post-processed at that point, so they accurately reflect real usage" http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/18529/report




Pollution And Pollutants


Authors: Paul Cox and Nigel Freestone

Details


Pollution is the undesirable introduction of pollutants (contaminants) into the natural environment (land, air and water) and can have an adverse affect on human health. This resource provides an introduction to pollution and pollutants. The classification and distribution of pollutants is also considered. A number of self-assessment questions are provided to allow you to check your new knowledge. The material comes in Word format and its HTML equivalent. The pollutants.htm file includes two images (poll.gif and ld50.gif) and an answers page (SAQ_Answers.htm) related to it that need to be put in the same folder as the pollutants.htm file.

Keywords: UKOER, Environmental Science, Waste Management, Pollution, Pollutants, Environment, Air Pollution, Water Pollution, Pollution Pathways, Toxicity 

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The resource found on Jorum at: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/18529 



Properties of Ultrasonic Waves

Author:  


Details
This material gives the description of the physical processes involved in the propagation of ultrasonic pressure waves as they pass through a material. It includes a mathematical derivation of the amplitude of the transmitted and reflected pressure waves, and an explanation is given for the differences between the near and far zones. This material has been used in the Advanced Inspection Methods and Techniques module as part of the BSc programme in Non-Destructive Testing at the University of Northampton.
Published:  School of Science and Technology, University of Northampton
Keywords: UKOER, Ultrasonic waves, Inspection and testing, Non-destructive testing 











Summary of Evolutionary Algorithms
Click here for the resource: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/19204
Author:  
These slides are intended for undergraduate computing students, providing an overview of Genetic Algorithms, a concept of in artificial intelligence. As well providing an overview the material also include links to applications via web resources. The slides are taken from an undergraduate artificial intelligence module on the BSc Computing Programme at the University of Northampton. Possible uses of these including support material for second year, third year or masters level course on artificial intelligence.

Click here for the resource: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/19204


C Programming


Click here for the resource: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/19192
Author: 
In this material you will be introduced to some of the principles of programming, and specifically learn to write fairly simple programs using a programming language called C. An idea central to this material is that programming is about problem solving; you write a program to solve a particular problem. It is hoped that at the end of the material you should see that there is nothing magical or mysterious about programming. One of the features some people like about programming is you are making the computer do what you want. During the programming exercises, do not worry about making mistakes. In this material you will be expected to try out programs and eventually write your own. The target audience is anyone who wants to learn a programming language or is looking for some assessment questions around programming. The material was originally aimed at second year engineering students at the University of Northampton.
Click here for the resource: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/19192



Problem-Solving



Author: Dr Scott Turner





These mini lectures are intended for undergraduate computing students, for providing simple steps in problem solving before the students learn a programming language. Problem-Solving and Programming is a common first year undergraduate module on the BSc Computing Programme at the University of Northampton. This material was taken from the problem solving part of the module and provides an introduction to five topics in problem-solving.

The resource can be found at: http://find.jorum.ac.uk/resources/19001



Sustainability: Environmental Business Imperatives

Author: 
Created: 7 July 2014, by School of Science & Technology and Northampton Business School, The University of Northampton
This video outlines the drivers for resource efficiency for business including raw materials scarcity and economic imperatives. The savings that can be made by more efficient use of raw materials, energy and waste are highlighted. Case study examples are given to show how different sectors have achieved resource efficiency and moved towards a circular model of resource use.




All views are the authors, and may not reflect the views of any organisation the author is connected with in any way..

Thursday 27 November 2014

Learning Smart - a community-driven, best learning resource sharing website.

Dr James Xue from Department of Computing and Immersive Technologies, University of Northampton and Ahmed Salim (an MSc Computing student) have developed a community-driven, best learning resource sharing website. 



Originally developed as his Ahmed's dissertation under James supervision, it is now live at  www.learningsmart.co.uk

The following are some of the main features: 
  1. Top-five resource list for each subject area is updated at real-time (nearly) automatically based on real users’ reviews (one user can only review a resource once, this stops fake reviews)
  2. Learning resources are classified based on levels of difficulty (e.g., beginner, intermediate, advanced) so that learners won’t waste time searching for the right resources or reading inappropriate resources.
  3. Any contribution (upload and review of resources, interaction with other learners) will be rewarded some points, top contributors are displayed on the home page. As a result, more good resources are expected.
  4. Users can create learning groups and other learners at similar levels can join the groups.
  5. Messaging service allows learners to discuss issues on a one-to-one basis.
  6. Seamless Facebook integration to reach wider audience. e.g.,Facebook login, cross comments on both sites.
  7. Personalised reading lists allow learners to create their own learning portfolio.
James Xue "... this site will benefit our students and other learners in general in many aspects. e.g., it’s a good addition to our “Module Reading List” as they are created and reviewed by the community (instead of the lecturers). It encourages collaborative learning..."

Go have a go yourself go to http://www.learningsmart.co.uk/ 


All views are the authors, and may not reflect the views of any organisation the author is connected with in any way.