Erasmus+ scheme and visit at Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen – part 2 | Cynllun Erasmus+ ac ymweliad â Phrifysgol Dechnegol Denmarc, Copenhagen – rhan 2

Rhan 2/2 | Part 2/ 2
*Fersiwn Cymraeg isod | Welsh version below*
Rhan 1 | Part 1

Digital Education:

Similarly to Cardiff’s “Way Forward” education strategy, DTU has their own strategy that involves some commitments for the future regarding digital education. It is interesting that a technical university is only at the beginning of implementing an institution-wide and complex VLE. They’ve been using their in house developed solution until now, but it no longer meets current and modern requirements for online collaboration and course design. It was decided to implement Desire to Learn (D2L) as a campus VLE. This year the central team is working on delivering academic workshops around module design and best practice adopting the approach from the University of New South Wales.

I also had an interesting chat about supporting staff digital capabilities. The central team has designed a very well structured course to increase staff digital literacy. The programme is very similar to Cardiff’s academic practice programme, and is compulsory for new staff. This course extends and enhances digital teaching skills and is supported with best practice examples and pedagogical theory. They are interested in adopting the University of New South Wales model (https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/beginning-teach-ecrs-and-hdrs ) to create a professional teacher development framework.

DTU is also piloting a lecture recording platform called Kaltura. As they are at the beginning of their journey, they really appreciated a little advice on some crucial issues we also faced here at Cardiff University (i.e recording policy and approaches to up-skill academic staff). Surprisingly the adoption of this platform from the student side has been much quicker. Students can use Kaltura to record voice over Powerpoint presentations in a similar way to personal capture here at Cardiff University. They can also use a designated space and PC facilities within the main library to create their presentations.

Regarding online MOOC courses, DTU have a partnership with Coursera to run their courses. DTU has a couple of courses focused on green energy and the strategic aim is that every department will design and run at least one course on Coursera by 2020.

I spent most of time with Helle, the director of the Centre for Digital Learning Technology. The centre is part of the Department of Computer Sciences (DTU Compute) and launched two years ago as a response to the role of technology within education. The Centre is looking at possible ways of learning utilising technology with cooperation from students. The Centre supports student projects that look to utilise technology in education (such as use of predictive learning or use of VR and AR in education). Helle and I hold similar views in regard to technology enhanced learning, and we shared similar ideas. Helle mentioned that we evaluate formal learning at University but we don’t pay much attention to informal learning, and I agree that University could provide advice to students on effective learning pathways.

I had a very inspirational chat about using data and the purpose of gathering learners’ data. From that discussion, I think every institution should be looking to answer basic questions, such as:
Why do we want to gather data from learners?
What kind of data we want to gather and how we will evaluate this data in the longer term?
We’ve also agreed that there is a need for institutional policy covering the gathering, use and analysis of learners’ data.

Physical Learning Spaces:

It’s always useful to see that other institutions face similar challenges, so I wasn’t surprised that DTU recently invested in a campus and physical learning spaces renovation/refurbishment. This was due to increasing number of students and the need for modern facilities (more power sockets, display screens/devices, etc.).

Lars (staff member from estates/campus services) gave me a tour of renovated lecture theatres. He explained that establishing relationships with teaching staff had been key to discussing learning space design, layout and facility requirements.

After visiting a few lecture theatres, I realised how the spaces were designed for collaboration. Even the old standard lecture theatre with lines of seats and desks had been transformed into a collaborative space. E.g. extending the desk if required, using movable chairs with height adjustment allowing lower sitting students to turn around and collaborate with their peers. Another great teaching space was the combination of a traditional layout (rows of desks) with designated spaces for collaboration, again with movable chairs to allow students to move between both spaces.

A great example of student involvement and support was my visit to the SkyLab. A space to make student projects a reality. Every student can apply for a designated space, equipment and special facilities to develop and test out their projects. The space has a range of meeting rooms from small group meeting rooms to larger auditoriums to present project proposals or outcomes. Many of successful projects take part in university start-up scheme to run their own business.

One of the successful projects developed by a former DTU student and widely adopted by other universities is a platform for peer marking and peer feedback called Peergrade (www.peergrade.io). This platform allows academics to set up peer assessment. Designed by students in cooperation with academics, it has quickly been adopted by most universities in Denmark as a peer assessment tool. I’ll definitely explore possibilities of this tool for future use at Cardiff University.

Conclusion – reflection:

From all the conversations I’ve had, I felt that collaboration, group work, project work and problem based tasks are a crucial part of education at DTU. Student surveys showed that traditional teacher focused teaching is preferred at DTU and that students appreciate collaborative tasks. These aspects have been considered while designing new courses and learning spaces and it was amazing to see how the students use the spaces to collaborate on projects.

Although DTU is a technical focused university with a smaller number of enrolments in comparison to Cardiff University, it was a great experience to learn how international institutions operate and deal with similar Higher Education challenges and issues. Moreover, meeting people with various areas of interest and roles is always inspirational and I’ve definitely gathered a lot of new ideas. I especially appreciate their approach to group and collaborative learning. Moreover new connections can lead to interesting international projects or further partnership.
I truly enjoyed my time in Denmark and would encourage anybody to apply for a grant in this great Erasmus + scheme. If you wish to get more information on the application process, please get in touch at nosekm@cardiff.ac.uk.
I would also like to thank again to Dewi and Nathan my line managers for their support, and Helle for her great hospitality during my stay at DTU.

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Addysg Ddigidol:

Yn debyg i strategaeth addysg “Y Ffordd Ymlaen” Caerdydd, mae gan DTU eu strategaeth eu hunain sy’n cynnwys rhai ymrwymiadau i’r dyfodol ynghylch addysg ddigidol. Mae’n ddiddorol fod prifysgol dechnegol ond nawr yn dechrau cyflwyno VLE cymhleth ar draws y sefydliad. Maen nhw wedi bod yn defnyddio datrysiad a ddatblygwyd yn fewnol tan nawr, ond dyw hwn ddim bellach yn bodloni gofynion cyfredol a modern ar gyfer cydweithio a chynllunio cyrsiau ar-lein. Penderfynwyd cyflwyno Desire to Learn (D2L) fel VLE ar y campws. Eleni mae’r tîm canolog yn gweithio ar gyflwyno gweithdai academaidd am gynllunio modiwlau ac ymarfer gorau gan fabwysiadu dull Prifysgol De Cymru Newydd.

Cefais sgwrs ddifyr hefyd am gefnogi galluoedd digidol staff. Mae’r tîm canolog wedi cynllunio cwrs sydd wedi’i strwythuro’n dda i gynyddu llythrennedd digidol staff. Mae’r rhaglen yn debyg iawn i raglen ymarfer academaidd Caerdydd, ac yn orfodol i staff newydd. Mae’r cwrs yn estyn ac yn cyfoethogi sgiliau addysgu digidol ac yn cael ei gefnogi gydag enghreifftiau o ymarfer gorau a damcaniaeth addysgeg. Mae ganddyn nhw ddiddordeb mewn mabwysiadu model De Cymru Newydd  (https://teaching.unsw.edu.au/beginning-teach-ecrs-and-hdrs ) i greu fframwaith datblygu athrawon proffesiynol.

Mae DTU hefyd yn peilota llwyfan recordio darlithoedd o’r enw Kaltura. Gan eu bod ar ddechrau eu taith, roedden nhw’n gwerthfawrogi ychydig o gyngor ar rai materion hanfodol a wynebwyd gennym ni yma ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd hefyd (h.y. polisi recordio a dulliau i uwchsgilio staff academaidd). Syndod oedd gweld bod ochr y myfyrwyr o’r llwyfan hwn wedi’i fabwysiadu’n gyflymach o lawer. Gall myfyrwyr ddefnyddio Laltura i recordio llais dros gyflwyniadau Powerpoint mewn ffordd sy’n debyg i gipio darlithoedd personol yma ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd. Hefyd maen nhw’n gallu defnyddio mannau a chyfleusterau PC dynodedig yn y brif lyfrgell i greu eu cyflwyniadau.

O ran cyrsiau MOOC ar-lein, mae gan DTU bartneriaeth gyda Coursera i redeg eu cyrsiau. Mae gan DTU rai cyrsiau sy’n canolbwyntio ar ynni gwyrdd a’r nod strategol yw y bydd pob adran yn cynllunio ac yn rhedeg o leiaf un cwrs ar Coursera erbyn 2020.

Treuliais y rhan fwyaf o’r amser gyda Helle, cyfarwyddwr y Ganolfan Technoleg Dysgu Ddigidol. Mae’r ganolfan yn rhan o’r Adran Cyfrifadureg (DTU Compute) ac fe’i lansiwyd ddwy flynedd yn ôl mewn ymateb i rôl technoleg mewn addysg. Mae’r Ganolfan yn edrych ar ffyrdd posibl o ddysgu gan ddefnyddio technoleg gyda chydweithrediad myfyrwyr. Mae’r Ganolfan yn cefnogi prosiectau myfyrwyr sy’n edrych ar ddefnyddio technoleg mewn addysg (fel defnydd o ddysgu rhagfynegol neu ddefnyddio VR ac AR mewn addysg). Mae gan Helle a fi farn debyg o ran dysgu a gyfoethogir gan dechnoleg, gan rannu syniadau tebyg. Soniodd Helle ein bod ni’n gwerthso dysgu ffurfiol yn y Brifysgol ond nad ydym yn talu llawer o sylw i ddysgu anffurfiol, ac rwy’n cytuno y gallai’r Brifysgol ddarparu cyngor i fyfyrwyr ar lwybrau dysgu effeithiol.

Cefais sgwrs ysbrydoledig am ddefnyddio data a diben casglu data dysgwyr. O’r drafodaeth honno, rwy’n credu y dylai pob sefydliad geisio ateb cwestiynau sylfaenol fel:
Pam ydyn ni am gasglu data gan ddysgwyr?
Pa fath o ddata ydyn ni am ei gasglu a sut byddwn ni’n gwerthuso’r data hwn yn y tymor hirach?
Rydym ni hefyd wedi cytuno bod angen cael polisi i’r sefydliad ynghylch casglu, defnyddio a dadansoddi data dysgwyr.

Mannau Dysgu Ffisegol

Mae bob amser yn ddefnyddiol gweld bod sefydliadau eraill yn wynebu heriau tebyg, felly doedd hi ddim yn syndod bod DTU yn ddiweddar wedi buddsoddi mewn ailwampio ac adnewyddu’r campws a’r mannau dysgu ffisegol. Roedd hyn oherwydd y nifer cynyddol o fyfyrwyr a’r angen am gyfleusterau modern (mwy o socedi pŵer, sgriniau arddangos/dyfeisiau ac ati).

Aeth Lars (aelod o’r gwasanaethau ystadau/campws) â fi ar daith o gwmpas y darlithfeydd ar eu  newydd wedd. Esboniodd fod sefydlu perthynas gyda staff addysgu wedi bod yn allweddol wrth drafod cynllun, gosodiad a gofynion cyfleusterau’r mannau dysgu.

Ar ôl ymweld â rhai darlithfeydd, sylweddolais sut roedd y gofod wedi’i gynllunio ar gyfer cydweithio. Roedd hyd yn oed yr hen ddarlithfa safonol gyda rhesi o seddi a desgiau wedi’i thrawsnewid yn ofod cydweithredol. e.e. estyn y ddesg os oes angen, defnyddio cadeiriau y gellir eu symud gydag addasiadau uchder gan alluogi myfyrwyr sy’n eistedd yn is i droi a chydweithio gyda’u cymheiriaid. Man dysgu gwych arall oedd cyfuniad o osodiad traddodiadol (rhesi o ddesgiau) gyda mannau cydweithio dynodedig, eto gyda chadeiriau symudol i ganiatáu i fyfyrwyr symud rhwng y ddau le.

Enghraifft wych o gynnwys a chefnogi myfyrwyr oedd fy ymweliad â’r SkyLab. Lle ar gyfer gwireddu prosiectau myfyrwyr. Gall pob myfyriwr ymgeisio am fan dynodedig, offer a chyfleusterau arbennig i ddatblygu a phrofi eu prosiectau. Ceir cyfres o ystafelloedd cyfarfod, o ystafelloedd i grwpiau bach i awditoria mwy o faint i gyflwyno cynigion neu ganlyniadau prosiectau. Mae llawer o brosiectau llwyddiannus yn rhan o gynllun cwmnïau newydd y brifysgol i redeg eu busnes eu hunain.

Un o’r prosiectau llwyddiannus a ddatblygwyd gan gyn fyfyriwr DTU ac a fabwysiadwyd gan brifysgolion eraill yw llwyfan ar gyfer marcio cymheiriaid ac adborth cymheiriaid a elwir yn Peergrade (www.peergrade.io). Mae’r llwyfan hwn yn gadael i academyddion sefydlu asesu cymheiriaid. Fe’i cynlluniwyd gan fyfyrwyr mewn cydweithrediad ag academyddion, ac mae wedi’i fabwysiadu’n gyflym gan y rhan fwyaf o brifysgolion Denmarc fel offeryn asesu cymheiriaid. Byddaf yn bendant yn edrych ar bosibiliadau’r offeryn hwn ar gyfer ei ddefnyddio ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd yn y dyfodol.

Casgliad – adfyfyrio:

O’r holl sgyrsiau rwyf i wedi’u cael, rwy’n teimlo bod cydweithio, gwaith grŵp, gwaith prosiect a thasgau’n seiliedig ar broblemau’n rhan hanfodol o addysg yn DTU. Dangosodd arolygon myfyrwyr bod addysgu traddodiadol yn canolbwyntio ar athrawon yn cael ei ffafrio yn DTU a bod myfyrwyr yn gwerthfawrogi tasgau cydweithredol. Ystyriwyd yr elfennau hyn wrth gynllunio cyrsiau a mannau dysgu newydd ac roedd yn rhyfeddol gweld sut mae’r myfyrwyr yn defnyddio’r gofod i gydweithio ar brosiectau.

Er bod DTU yn brifysgol ag iddi ffocws technegol gyda llai o gofrestriadau na Phrifysgol Caerdydd, roedd yn brofiad gwych dysgu sut mae sefydliadau rhyngwladol yn gweithredu ac yn ymdrin â heriau ac ystyriaethau tebyg mewn Addysg Uwch. Yn ogystal, mae cyfarfod â phobl gydag amrywiol feysydd diddordeb a rolau’n ysbrydoli bob tro ac rwyf i’n bendant wedi casglu llawer o syniadau newydd. Yn arbennig rwy’n gwerthfawrogi eu hymagwedd at ddysgu grŵp a chydweithredol. Yn ogystal gall cysylltiadau newydd arwain at brosiectau rhyngwladol diddorol neu bartneriaethau pellach.

 Fe fwynheais i fy amser yn Nenmarc yn fawr a byddwn yn annog unrhyw un i ymgeisio am grant yn y cynllun Erasmus+ gwych hwn. Os hoffech ragor o wybodaeth ar y broses ymgeisio, cysylltwch:  nosekm@cardiff.ac.uk. Hoffwn hefyd ddiolch unwaith eto i Dewi a Nathan fy rheolwyr llinell am eu cefnogaeth, ac i Helle am ei chroeso gwych yn ystod fy arhosiad yn DTU.