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The Covid-19 pandemic brought dramatic changes to higher education settings, particularly for curriculum delivery, moving quickly to online learning in March 2020, which for many was the first experience of teaching and learning in the virtual environment. This paper discusses the experience of redesigning the MSc Computing Foundations module and adapting it to a distance learning model using both synchronous and asynchronous delivery at the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Queen’s University Belfast in response to the challenges brought to higher education by the pandemic. The module is a fundamental compulsory module with an intake of 100+ students in the part-time class studying the conversional MSc course in Software Development. This paper focuses on the challenges and opportunities faced by large class students during this unprecedented move online, and changes made to the curriculum to facilitate the move to online teaching and learning using the conceptual framework for effective online courses. The paper reflects on student feedback to online educational activities including synchronous and asynchronous content delivery, discussion forums, ungraded formative quizzes, formative and summative assessments delivered online for a postgraduate cohort studying part-time. Sustained level of student engagement was evidenced through statistics collected from the virtual learning environment. This paper further discusses how the above has transformed teaching of the Computing Foundations module for the large cohort, focusing on the student experience, and reflecting on how these online teaching practices contribute to provision of education with a view what developments became a success and could be turn to advantage and what was not effective and should be eliminated post-pandemic. Adaptation of the Computing Foundation module to the new model of online delivery has been successful in the 2020-2021 academic year, and the module has become a distance module delivered fully online in the 2021-2022 academic year. The transformation has helped to cope with a “new normal” in an increasingly hybrid higher education ecosystem as students’ and educators’ involvement into learning activities continued to be altered in the post-pandemic society.

nonPeerReviewed

En el Saint Thomas’s Hospital de Londres, la escocesa June Almeida (apellido que obtuvo de su marido venezolano) visualizó por microscopía electrónica en 1964 unos virus con unas estructuras superficiales que sobresalían de una envuelta lipídica y que recordaban el halo de la corona solar. Por eso los bautizó como coronavirus.

Vivim temps incerts. La vida, però, és dinàmica i canviant, i per això el futur sempre serà incert. Una de les funcions del cervell és precisament adquirir coneixements i aprendre de les experiències per intentar anticipar-se a les incerteses, prevenir les amenaces i aprofitar les oportunitats. Una de les moltes virtuts dels llibres de divulgació científica és, precisament, que transmeten coneixements explicats de manera adequada per poder ser compresos sense necessitat de ser especialistes. En una assignatura que imparteixo al Màster de Comunicació Especialitzada de la UB sempre dic als estudiants que la divulgació científica l'hem de valorar com una eina que no només incrementa la cultura de la població, sinó que també, precisament per aquest fet, ajuda a aprofundir els mecanismes democràtics, atès que permet a qualsevol persona interessada prendre decisions personals i col·lectives més informades. Tanmateix, no tota la divulgació que es publica és verídica ni contrastada. La pandèmia de la covid-19 ha estat propícia per a tot tipus de llibres, molts publicats amb urgència per aprofitar la situació.

A brand new, state-of-the-art Microgrid Laboratory Setup was built at the Technical University of Denmark’s (DTU) Ballerup campus to aid with practical, hands-on teaching in the field of power system engineering. The primary focus of the Microgrid Setup is to closely emulate the behaviour of thermal power plants, e.g. emergency power plants, modern distributed combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) and combined heat and power (CHP) plants, especially with regard to synchronous generator control. During the COVID-19 pandemic, an additional requirement came to the fore, in that this Microgrid Setup should also be fully accessible via the web. The design was broadened to include remote, hands-on and flexible experimentation [1], in order for student groups to engage in remote collaborative learning [2].

Miten erityistä tai tehostettua tukea saavien oppilaiden etäopiskelu sujui koronakevään aikana? Minkälainen oli vanhempien rooli opiskelun ohjauksessa? Miten perheet jaksoivat? Muun muassa näihin kysymyksiin haettiin vastauksia kesäkuussa 2020 toteutetulla tutkimuksella. Tutkimuskyselyyn vastasivat lasten ja nuorten vanhemmat, ja vastauksia saatiin yhteensä 616 lapsen tai nuoren osalta. Suurin osa lapsista osallistui etäopetukseen kotona, ja vain kolme prosenttia oli lähiopetuksessa koululla. Pienellä osalla lapsista oli käytössä erilaisia joustavia opetusjärjestelyjä, joissa lähi- ja etäopetusta yhdisteltiin eri tavoin. Muutama lapsi palasi lähiopetukseen kevään aikana etäopiskelun haasteellisuuden takia. nonPeerReviewed

Offentlig transport er en kritisk service i København, fordi mange beboere ikke ejer en bil, og under mange omstændigheder er bilkørsel ikke praktisk i byens centrum på grund af smalle veje og manglende parkering. Som svar på COVID-19 har de danske sundhedsmyndigheder fastlagt en minimumspolitik for social afstand på 1 meter i det offentlige rum. Følgende undersøgelse simulerer passagerernes flow på tre repræsentative stationer i den københavnske metro for at afgøre, om disse afstandskrav kan overholdes, samt om eventuelle fysiske ændringer bør foretages. Undersøgelsen udføres med en mikrosimulering i Bentley Legion af passagerstrømmen på tre stationer med små, mellemstore og store trafikstrømme. Simuleringen er agentbaseret, og den individuelle objektive funktion er minimering af omkostninger i henhold til gåafstand, komfort og frustration. Resultaterne viser, at for de fleste stationer, er den fysiske infrastruktur og den forventede trafikstrøm forenelige med målene for social afstand. For nogle få af de mest efterspurgte stationer, især dem, der fungerer som intermodale knudepunkter, er der imidlertid store vanskeligheder med at opnå de ønskede sociale afstandsforanstaltninger. Især den intermodale hubstation, Nørreport, har ikke korridorer og rulletrapper, der fordeles korrekt i henhold til fodgængerstrømmen. Denne station er under jorden, og det er desværre ikke let at ændre i infrastrukturen for dette knudepunkt.

Non peer reviewed

A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues. Um número crescente de publicações científicas sugere que os polifenóis, caracterizados por possuírem um ou mais núcleos aromáticos contendo substituintes hidroxilados, são os compostos mais abundantes nas folhas da Camellia sinensis, representando cerca de 30-36% do seu peso seco. Estes metabolitos (flavonóides e particularmente flavonóis, flavanóis e metilxantinas) são alguns dos ingredientes naturais capazes de “travar” a ação dos radicais livres e, consequentemente de retardar o progresso das doenças mais preocupantes da nossa sociedade. Desde a última década tem havido um grande interesse, potenciado por estudos epidemiológicos, em estudar os efeitos fisiológicos dos polifenóis do chá, […]. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion