STEM Showcase - Computing and Communications
KAREN FOLEY: Welcome back to the Student Hub Live STEM Showcase. In this section, we talk about computing and communications, and more specifically, going to be talking about Pythons, turtles, and Raspberry Pis, which you can see on our table here. And I'm joined by Paul Piwek, who is going to be telling us all about programming and Python language, which is an important part of TM112, Introduction to Computing and IT2.
PAUL PIWEK: Yes, that's right. So in TM112, Introduction to Computing and IT2, one of the things we want to help students work with is in the Python programming language. That's actually the first text-based programming language they encounter in their computing and IT degree studies. But it's actually sort of framed within a broader context of problem solving.
And so within that context, we look at various rules of thumb, so heuristics, to solve a range of problems. And one of those is to take a problem and really decompose it or take it apart into simpler, easier to solve problems and to go from there. And we've got a number of examples throughout the module of that.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Now you've devised a very interesting problem.
PAUL PIWEK: Yeah, so what we are going to have a look at later is the Turtle Challenge. So this is actually what we do at the very beginning of TM112, where we, basically we use a visual feedback to actually help the student to understand what the computer programme is actually doing. So you will see something directly happening on the screen when you give the computer a particular command. So that could be something like forward or left or right, but we will see a bit more of that in a minute.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Now at home, you'll be able to see on our interactive votings tools a couple of different options-- which way should the turtle go, and you'll have options for forwards, left, or right, and you can also write your answers in the chat to that. So hopefully, we'll try and get the turtle to go in the direction we want it to as well.
And we have Kit on the hot desk as well. Kit, hello. How's everyone at home?
KIT: Hi. Yeah, they're having a good time. We got lots of queries about STEM BSc, which we're chatting about. But I think they're looking forward to the Turtle Challenge.
KAREN FOLEY: Brilliant. OK, excellent. So shall we start doing the Turtle Challenge, or should we start talking about why Python programming is an important thing to look at?
PAUL PIWEK: We can say a little bit more maybe about Python first because the Turtles Challenge is a sort of very simple instance, which really, I hope, is for some people might be the first experience of seeing or interacting with a real programming language. But so Python itself is important because it's not just-- the reason we use it in TM112 is because it was developed for non-programmers.
So scientists who use it, say biologists who want to analyse a DNA sequence, maybe a linguist who wants to collect lots of text and analyse that. But also in the sort of commercial world. So companies like YouTube, Instagram, so social media, it's actually Python running underneath all that.
KAREN FOLEY: So it's one of the most widely used programming languages now, isn't it?
PAUL PIWEK: That's right, yes.
KAREN FOLEY: And why is it important then that non-programmers are able to pick up a language and use it? Things like Instagram, Facebook that rely very heavily on quick changes, on being very agile and adaptive in a very evolving world,-- why is it important that they can access a language more easily?
PAUL PIWEK: So because-- well, when you are as a non-programmer, say from a particular discipline, a particular STEM discipline, you have a particular problem to solve-- nowadays that often involves a huge data set and you want to work with that-- you're really interested in solving that problem. You're not necessarily interested in learning the programming language. So the programming language is really a means to get to the end. And so the faster the programming language can allow you to do that, the better, basically.
KAREN FOLEY: So is it about honing down the steps then, in terms of the programming, to make things more simple and less complex, and therefore more robust?
PAUL PIWEK: It's partly about that. I think what's sort of special about Python or what distinguishes it from other languages is-- but it's certainly my experience when I first started learning about it about 10 years ago where I tried some other languages as well for a particular problem, took me several days to get my head around it in those languages, and it didn't really work. In that case, it was analysing a huge amount of text basically, a set of dialogues, and I wanted to find out where the turns are, how long the turns are, and do some analysis on that.
Python, I then came across Python, and literally within a day I had actually solved the problem I wanted to solve. And it had more the feeling of telling the computer almost in English what I wanted it to do. So some of the things which I hadn't really sort of looked up yet in, say, the manual for the programme, I just tried tell the computer, you know, that particular command, and it just did what I expected it to do. But with all the languages, often there is a lot of overhead in terms of the brackets, the spacing, the special key words, the whole sort of infrastructure, which you really need to get around first. Which is interesting for programmers and computer scientists, but for somebody who just wants to solve a problem, it's not really what it's about.
KAREN FOLEY: So what do you learn about them in TM112? Because obviously, you're teaching Python and you're teaching it, well, you've mentioned that it's one of a set of languages. And so obviously, it's not the only one because others are useful at some point. And you've mentioned why this is more useful for non-programmers to be able to do things quickly and easily. How do you sort of teach it then within that context?
PAUL PIWEK: So we have-- so we build up to a number of projects with the idea that these projects use real world data. So there are two examples of that. So the first one, so there's the Office for National Statistics that makes lots of data that it collects throughout the UK available on its site. So one of the set of statistics is on health and well-being, particularly on people's happiness in different regions of the UK. And so we get our students to do some analysis of that, then also actually look at some other-- connect it with another data set to see is it really true or is there a correlation between how long you live and how happy people are in a particular region, for instance.
KAREN FOLEY: So students are using this found data to really develop a programme to look at relationships between things.
PAUL PIWEK: Yes. So they are, on the one hand, they are learning the problem solving skills and a little bit of the Python. On the other hand, they're also learning a little bit about statistical concepts like correlation versus causation, for instance. So things which are not necessarily related to the programming language itself, but which, well, you can use the concrete example as a nice vehicle to introduce those concepts as well.
KAREN FOLEY: Now you mentioned that things like Instagram, Facebook, Google are using Python language. Why is it important in a race to sort of get better, things going on, better functionalities, et cetera? Why is that important and what have been some sort of key battles, and who's won?
PAUL PIWEK: So there is a really nice story there, because actually, YouTube was acquired a while ago by Google. So it's a Google company now. But before that, there was actually also something called Google Video, which was in a few blocks down the road, where YouTube was located, as well. Google Video had about 100-- well, over 100 people employed to build their video application. YouTube was a fairly small outfit, with about 20 people.
They were racing against each other because, at that time, the sort of streaming of video was still very early on in the process. So all these new features sort of came on-- so one of them would introduce a feature, maybe, to like a video or to share it. The other one would then very quickly want to do the same thing, and introduce that as well.
Now, Google Video was using a more low level language, C++, with this huge number of developers. And typically, if the other side introduced a feature, it would it take them a month, or a couple of weeks, to have that feature ready as well. And actually, YouTube managed to do the same thing in about a week, or even under a week. With the difference really being that they were using this higher level scripting language, in particular, in this case, that was Python, basically. And so they won, in the end, the race. Because-- yeah, and so what we've got now-- some of you might be watching this on YouTube right now, actually.
KAREN FOLEY: Brilliant. OK. Well, let's do the turtle challenge.
PAUL PIWEK: Right.
KAREN FOLEY: This is it. And everyone at home needs to get ready now. And Kit, we're going to ask for you and the viewers at home, which way you think the turtle should be going? So I hope you're paying attention.
KIT: Absolutely.
KAREN FOLEY: Tell us how it works, Paul.
PAUL PIWEK: Yeah, so we've got the turtle here, and we've got a box here. And the idea is to get the turtle precisely into the box. There is what, in programming terms, is called a shell here. So over here, we can type in commands, which will then be followed by the turtle.
KAREN FOLEY: And just to clarify, the turtle on the screen, not the turtle on the table. The turtle on the table is going nowhere. It's a toy.
PAUL PIWEK: Yeah. It's this one.
[LAUGHTER]
KAREN FOLEY: It's busy eating biscuits.
PAUL PIWEK: So we've got only three commands at the moment we can choose from. There's Forward, Right, and Left. So Forward, and then the number in brackets. That means how many steps it goes forward. Part of the challenge is to figure out what that precisely means, so we're not telling you how far it will go with just one step.
Then we've also got Right and Left. And the number there is actually degrees. So if you go right 360 degrees, that means you're turning fully around. 180 would mean that you face the opposite direction. And you can do that left and right.
Left and right is from the point of view-- the turtle's point of view. So you have to think from the turtle's point of view.
KAREN FOLEY: Be in the turtle's shoes.
PAUL PIWEK: Yeah. And so the challenge now is to-- what we hope to do is to do this in as few commands as possible.
KAREN FOLEY: Great. OK. Everyone's voting, so let's see where we think the turtle should go. OK. Forwards is in the lead, with 50%. So we're going to go forwards. Kit, how many steps forwards do you think we should put the turtle?
KIT: Yeah, this is an interesting question because I think what we need to do is establish how big a step is, which of course we don't know at the moment. That's our x factor.
KAREN FOLEY: Very good point. Not one I considered in the run-through. I just went in with a number.
KIT: This is me, rather than the chat, talking, but I would suggest taking one and watching very carefully, so you evaluate what one step means. And then you can use that information to make better decisions for your future steps.
PAUL PIWEK: One is an interesting choice. I would say-- I mean, it might help to look at the examples, as well. So one is a fairly small number, I'd say.
KIT: OK. Yeah.
PAUL PIWEK: Just to get you--
KIT: No, yeah, yeah, yeah. OK.
KAREN FOLEY: Higher. Higher, Kit.
[LAUGHTER]
KIT: Are we saying higher than one then? OK. Well, yeah. OK. So maybe 10, then. Something like that.
KAREN FOLEY: OK. Let's try 10.
KIT: Yeah, the chat says 10, as well.
KAREN FOLEY: OK. Great.
PAUL PIWEK: So have we done 10?
KAREN FOLEY: So we've done 10. Let's clear that widget down, and you can vote again to let us know which way you think the turtle should go to get into the box.
KIT: OK.
KAREN FOLEY: So that's one step we've done so far.
PAUL PIWEK: That's one particular step, yeah.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah.
PAUL PIWEK: So again, if you were doing that individually, or with a number of people, you would probably want to think also-- not just about figuring out how much a step is, but also, how am I going to take this problem apart? So how do I get to the box? You could go straight and then up. Maybe you first want to do something else with the turtle before you move.
KAREN FOLEY: OK. Well, let's see what everyone thinks at home. Which way should the turtle go? 55% say forwards. OK. Kit, what number?
KIT: Suggestions from the chat are forward-- OK. There's a range of options here between 90 and 120.
KAREN FOLEY: Kit, you're in charge.
KIT: Well-- yeah, OK. So let's split that and go for-- let's go for 110.
KAREN FOLEY: Interesting strategies. I'm enjoying actually listening to how this is being solved. Forward 110. Great. OK. So that's two steps we've done so far. Which way do you think the turtle should go now? Clear the widgets. I'm assuming you have to spell forward correctly. Otherwise, it doesn't work.
PAUL PIWEK: That's right. So we could say "forwards," for instance. And let's say we just-- so we don't change anything. We just say forwards.
KAREN FOLEY: Oh, yeah. Not happy.
PAUL PIWEK: It says something like Name Error. Forwards is not defined.
KAREN FOLEY: We haven't broken it now, have we?
PAUL PIWEK: We haven't. No, I hope not.
[LAUGHTER]
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah, that could end the show quite abruptly. Right. OK. The widget says go left. Kit, how many left should we go?
KIT: Yeah. I think-- I'm having a look at the suggestions. I think we'll probably go left-- yeah, left 45--
KAREN FOLEY: 45.
KIT: --seems to be the consensus.
KAREN FOLEY: Perfect.
PAUL PIWEK: Beautiful.
KIT: Oh, that's looking good. Good work.
KAREN FOLEY: Three steps. OK. Excellent. Now let's clear that widget down and see, again, where everyone thinks the turtle should go.
PAUL PIWEK: We've been doing very well. We've only done three steps so far, not counting my test step forwards.
KAREN FOLEY: Unsurprisingly, it is forwards, which I don't think anyone would've-- no one's going to say any other way because it's getting lined up. Right. Kit, let's get an idea of how far forwards.
KIT: OK. So based on the last movement, which was-- we've added up to 120. The suggestions I'm getting here are between-- so we had 300, 320, 400. I think it's going to be towards the lower end. I'm looking at that. I think it's the lower end. So I'd say 300, actually. In a soup--
KAREN FOLEY: No, we're not putting a turtle in a soup! That's very cruel.
KIT: No. Nor will we be using a catapult, by the way, just for the record.
KAREN FOLEY: Oh.
PAUL PIWEK: Ah.
KAREN FOLEY: Is that in the box? What does in the box mean?
KIT: Oh.
PAUL PIWEK: No. We ran this at the Student Association Conference, as well, and we were very strict about people having to put it exactly in the box. At this point, there is--
KAREN FOLEY: Much like the passport office with the signature.
[LAUGHTER]
PAUL PIWEK: At this point, there is an interesting choice here because there are now two ways forward. So how do we get that-- how do we get the turtle back? So maybe one clue, which I've given all the people, as well--
KAREN FOLEY: Don't help them too much. Their problem.
[LAUGHTER]
Go on, then.
PAUL PIWEK: Well, with just one command, we should be able to get it backwards.
KAREN FOLEY: OK.
PAUL PIWEK: So we don't need to turn.
KAREN FOLEY: But there's no backwards because there's only forwards, right, or left. Thus presents the challenge. Why is there no backwards?
PAUL PIWEK: Because, to some extent, you can use numbers to go backwards. If you give forward the right number, it's--
KAREN FOLEY: OK.
PAUL PIWEK: --interpreted as--
KAREN FOLEY: I think we've got some suggestions, and I know there's some computing, programming students here. So Kit, what does everyone say?
KIT: Yeah, we've got a suggestion here of minus 30. Move forward minus 30. I like the sound of that.
KAREN FOLEY: Ah. Well done. Bravo.
PAUL PIWEK: Very good.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Now-- right. Brilliant. Well, everyone's won that. That's great. And what is interesting, then, about this, Paul?
PAUL PIWEK: So in terms of how we use this in TM112. It's really-- so you wouldn't just be solving this on the fly. The idea would really be to start with a problem and think about these bigger steps. So maybe, if we-- and in this case, I think we've done that because we've-- basically, we've decomposed it into two sub-problems first. First is figure actually out what a step exactly is. And then the second is, OK, get the turtle in the box by first turning it in the right direction, and then going forward.
That's a very simple example. But you can imagine, if you have to draw a complicated mathematical figure or geometrical figure on the screen, or maybe you have some data and you want to draw a graph for that, you would have to use similar strategies to achieve the same thing, basically.
KAREN FOLEY: Brilliant. Well that was incredibly interesting, and very wonderful watching the problem solving going on. And again, that's one of the interesting things with computing and communications. So Paul, thank you very much. Well, stay with us because we're going to take a look at the LabCast rehearsal with Eleni. And Jon Rosewell and Kate Bradshaw are preparing for tonight's session. So we're going to go live over to the LabCast rehearsal, and see what's going on there.
ELENI: Hello, Karen. Yes, I'm live, and I'm behind the scenes at one of our Raspberry Pi lab casts. I'm joined by Kate and Jon, and they're going to talk a little bit about what's going on here. But first, do you want to introduce what you both do?
JOHN ROSEWELL: Hi. I'm Jon Rosewell I'm going to be running this particular LabCast today. It's for TM129, which is an introductory computing and IT module. And we're looking at little Raspberry Pi computers.
KATE BRADSHAW: Hi, I'm Kate Bradshaw. I'm the producer/director person who runs our whole programme of LabCasts in STEM.
ELENI: Great, guys. So we've got a whole bunch of exciting looking kits here. Jon, do you want to go into a little bit about what's going to be going on this evening at the LabCast?
JON ROSEWELL: OK. Well, I'm going to be demonstrating some of these little Raspberry Pi computers. These are very small, little things. Cheap, as well. 10 or 11 pounds for a gadget like that. But that can be used as a full computer, desktop computer. So you can connect it up to a monitor, use it with a keyboard and mouse, and do word processing, on any web browsing. Any of the major computing tasks that you do when you do programming.
But also, these things are quite nice because they can be connected up to little bits of hardware. So I've got some hardware devices over there, as well. One of them has just got some blinking lights on it, just to show there's something happening. The one sitting next to it has got some environmental senses attached to it.
So the challenge is how we can connect these together, and get information backwards and forwards. And I'm using my laptop, which has got Linux on there as a way of doing that. And they're all connected through Wi-Fi, through just the standard domestic router that's sitting over there.
So, challenge for today is how to get all that set up and demonstrated to students in a short period. This is a practical activity that you can easily imagine doing at home, so this is not really a lab in any formal sense. It's kitchen table sort of stuff.
ELENI: Yeah. I was going to say, like you said, picking it up for 10 pounds for the computer kit, and everyone's got their router. So everyone could get involved by themselves at home. But the people tuning in tonight, they'll be able to interact with the experiment whilst you're running it.
JON ROSEWELL: They'll be able to interact in various ways through the widgets and so on, and tell me what I'm doing wrong, probably, when I get the commands wrong, get myself in a muddle. So yes, there will be some interaction, letting students help decide. And it will reinforce some of the concepts we do in the course.
ELENI: Sure. Yeah. So this is not a compulsory element, per se, but what are the real benefits for the students who are tuning in for this tonight?
JON ROSEWELL: For this one, they get to see some things that they might not normally experience. So they might not see this equipment themselves, unless they think to go out and buy them themselves. And it is using bits of hardware that we won't do in the normal teaching of the module. So it's just a step outside of what is covered in the module.
Some of the previous LabCasts that we do in the course as a whole, include a robotics one, and we have a big, humanoid robot that we can show. That's the sort of thing that you're not going to do on a kitchen table at home. But it's nice to be able to see it.
ELENI: Oh, fantastic. So these link to the different modules that you'll be-- that the student will be taking throughout their course.
JON ROSEWELL: That's right. So in this one module, there are three different topics. We're on the last bit at the moment, which is Linux. Previously, we did networking. And we did some live networking, as well. And the one before that was robotics. And as I said, we used that big humanoid robot there.
ELENI: Brilliant. Kate, you have a broad view of all the different LabCasts that go on here at the Open University. Can you say more about the different types of things that the different LabCasts offer?
KATE BRADSHAW: Well, firstly, it's only in STEM at the moment. But the range, everything from broadcasting from a field, behind one of the buildings on campus. That's an environmental science course, where students have to learn how to do field science. How to choose parameters, choose equipment to collect the data, and how to ask a scientific question, set up a hypothesis. And pursue their scientific argument. And the three academics who do it have great fun doing it, and we just hope we have nice weather whilst we do it.
[LAUGHTER]
So that's kind of one extreme, in a way. One of the most obvious uses of LabCast-- obviously, it's bench chemistry sorts of experiments, and we do some of those, as well, for level 2 and level 3. In fact, the level 2 one comes direct from an actual residential school we run here. We get some ex-students in to run that for us, and they do an experiment live. That runs for three hours, that one.
ELENI: Oh, fantastic.
KATE BRADSHAW: So that's the latest experiment. But then we have some which are for the physical sciences. We have some experiments, too. Obviously, not with chemistry, the lasers and things like that. But there's more emphasis on how to work through the maths and the equations, and things like that. So it's using a white board, for instance. And there's a real benefit to students actually seeing an expert work through the problem, mathematically. So that sort of thing, too.
ELENI: Sure. So it helps give them the confidence, maybe, to go on and do their own stuff in the future, really.
KATE BRADSHAW: Exactly, exactly. Because they're interactive events, there's a dialogue there. Students can talk to each other, which they certainly do. And they can ask questions of the presenters and the-- we generally have somebody who's monitoring the chat, too.
ELENI: Super. And can people catch up with these if they miss them?
KATE BRADSHAW: Oh, absolutely. Yes. We always record them, so they're always there on the Open STEM lab afterwards.
ELENI: Fantastic. Super. Thank you both. It's really fascinating, and I hope it all goes well tonight.
JON ROSEWELL: Thank you.
KATE BRADSHAW: Thank you.
ELENI: Karen, back to you in the studio.
KAREN FOLEY: Thank you so much, Eleni, and thank you very much, Jon and Kate. Good luck tonight. I'm sure that will be absolutely amazing, and I know that students really enjoy that. Wasn't the sort of Raspberry Pi I was expecting, but nonetheless, very, very interesting.
So Paul, what's next for you? We've been hearing a lot of students today who've been doing a T112, in addition to other things. What's next for you, in terms of your academic aspirations?
PAUL PIWEK: Well, in terms of aspirations, at the moment, I'm actually working on a badged course myself. So this is a course on digital thinking tools.
KAREN FOLEY: OK.
PAUL PIWEK: So this is a course which is free for the Open Learn site. It's hopefully going to go live later this year, beginning of next year. And it has-- so it has a bit of Python in it, as well, actually. Because you can use the Python-- the shell, which we showed early on, where we were driving the turtle-- you can also use that as a calculator to solve small problems.
We also look at things like, given that you have a text with a bit of argumentation in it, how can you analyse that? Use, again, digital tools to make that visually explicit, and use that in writing a bit of, say, reasoned conclusion for a, say, TMA or an essay, or something like that.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. And we've got some resources on the Student Hub Live website that Paul has given us. So there's the Open Learn Python Simple Coding. There's also the T112 module description, and the Zen of Python. That sounds exciting.
PAUL PIWEK: Yeah. So the person who designed Python-- I think it's now about 30 years ago-- at some point, a colleague of him asked him to write down, in a few, pithy statements, what the philosophy behind Python is. And so this is that set of statements. So there are about 10 of them, which sort of capture what Python is about. And I definitely recommend having a look at that.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Well, Paul, thank you so much for being on today. And if you've enjoyed that, Paul made a video with us at a recent Student Hub Live event about Level 1, so you might want to check that out on the Student Hub Live YouTube channel. But before we end the session, I'd like to take a quick trip to the Hot Desk. Kit, how are things?
KIT: Yeah, great. The turtle exercise, incredibly popular. I had a student mention that it reminded them of the jumping frogs and toads from Java modules that they've been dealing with before. So that was a nice callback there. Very, very happy with the result, as well, with the five moves. Discovering that we second out of 20 examples where Paul's run that. So people in the chat feeling, rightly, very proud of themselves.
And just some other feedback here. "It's been a great event. More like this needed, please." Someone else earlier was mentioning how much they've enjoyed doing their MSc in computing with us, and how they recommend it to anyone. So yeah, really positive stuff in the chat. It's been lovely.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Well, thank you very much, Kit. Lucia, welcome back to the studio. It's been quite a day. I've thoroughly enjoyed myself.
LUCIA: Fantastic.
KAREN FOLEY: I've signed up for an engineering module next. So I'm going to be doing that. And I've learned so many new things today. It has been a really, really fabulous showcase. And the students and audience at home have been sharing so many wonderful tips and ideas, and it's just been so positive.
LUCIA: It's been fantastic. Lots of participation. Really interesting and fun stuff this last session. Obviously, I'm a computer scientist, so I will have liked this last session.
[LAUGHTER]
It's a classic, the turtle. It just brings back memories.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah, absolutely. How many steps did you do it in, then?
LUCIA: I would have probably done it in five, perhaps.
KAREN FOLEY: OK.
LUCIA: Yeah. I mean, I would have turned the turtle and then gone straight. So the turning would have been easier. I think the difficult bit is to work out how far the turns will actually move. So 10 was, obviously, a very small amount. So then they have to figure out how far to go. But I did participate online. I couldn't stop myself.
[LAUGHTER]
I had to do it. I went on the chat.
KAREN FOLEY: Good. Now, you began the day and we were talking about some of the new curriculum. And we've heard colleagues talk about various new programmes, qualifications, modules, et cetera, that are all on the horizon. It's a really exciting time for the faculty at the moment.
LUCIA: Absolutely. It is for STEM, it is-- in the wider context of the UK, there is so much demand for STEM skills. So much shortage. I mean, if you think about it, about 89% of the industry employs 10 people. People are struggling to find the right people. So there's never been such a great time to join STEM. And with all the opportunities that we provide our students, there's a choice for everybody. And even if you just want to do part STEM, you can still integrate with other disciplines, which is fantastic. So you have this interdisciplinary so that you can explore.
KAREN FOLEY: Yes. One of the key things we've been talking about today is everyone's been coming on saying, well, this is from our school. But actually, we link so much into other things. So let's take a quick recap of some of the things that we've learned about today. We heard from the School of Physical Sciences, and we looked at their various telescopes, and we had some demonstrations here from Andrew Norton and Meredith Morrell, which was really exciting, and they were explaining how we've got these telescopes and we can actually allow students to be able to go in and operate those, and what a fantastic experience that is.
LUCIA: It's amazing. Yeah. Telescope the other side of the ocean.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah.
LUCIA: And we can still operate it from home. It's pretty impressive.
KAREN FOLEY: And a lot of students were very interested in the planetary sciences. And we were talking a lot about informal learning, and some of the MOOCs available from the Open University, which are incredibly popular.
LUCIA: Yes. Incredibly popular, yes. And also for people who want to take a proper degree. Then they can continue their study at Masters level. We have a space science and technology Masters, as well. So there are opportunities beyond the informal learning.
KAREN FOLEY: Absolutely. And we had a science lab tour, so we had a little look at some of the cold atoms labs, a source of the exciting things going on there. Then we looked at some of the field trip highlights from EEE, Environment, Earth, and Ecosystems science. And we looked at the tweeting tree and treewatch.net, and talked about the importance of citizen science, and how people could actually be able to get data and collect data themselves.
LUCIA: Yeah, absolutely. With the internet, the possibilities are infinite if you want. And it's great to see the general public participating and being really enthusiastic about doing science. And so that's a fantastic example of how you can combine technology and people to solve really interesting problems.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah. And Phil was telling us about one of the field trips he's doing, as well, on the weekend, and that sounds really, really exciting. So we were encouraging students, in particular when they've got a level 2 or 3 module that is perhaps very specific to what they want to do, to register now so that they can ensure a place on that module.
LUCIA: Absolutely, yes. Registration are open. It's time to put your name down.
KAREN FOLEY: Yes. Then we had the incredibly inspiring engineering and innovation session, and we looked at women in engineering. And we also saw the results of some amazing work the students have done for design poster competition, which is on at the Open University. So everyone is welcome to come and see that this week.
LUCIA: I must say, on design, we've just refreshed that particular curriculum, so our design qualification now offers many more choices starting from October. So please have a look what you can do now with design.
KAREN FOLEY: And then Chris Heath came and talked to us about some of the work he's doing in one of our Meet our Researcher sessions. We were looking at touchscreen computing changing mental health, and how attention could be measured. That was really, really exciting. And then we took a look at some of the Open STEM labs, and Nick Braithwaite came and showed us some of the ways that students can operate various things that are happening, either here, or even slides, looking at various objects.
LUCIA: Absolutely. Very important, practical skills you can still do virtually, but still they're practical skills. They're very important for whoever is engaged in applied science.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah. And he brought all his awards, as well, and he told us about the work he's been doing with government, in terms of promoting the way that the Open University are teaching students--
LUCIA: Absolutely.
KAREN FOLEY: --and how valued that is.
LUCIA: It is extremely valuable. And it's this very rich resource, which is for our students and beyond. So we should make the most of it.
KAREN FOLEY: Then we looked at student support, and we took a quick check up to Manchester to see what was happening in the office up there. And we also talked about the importance of careers, advice, and the way that the Open University offers a very holistic package to students throughout their studies.
LUCIA: Absolutely. We cater for everybody at any point in their career, whether they're a study break, they want to get back into employment, whether they're professional, they want to get up the ladder. Anybody can find something really valuable for their future.
KAREN FOLEY: Then we had a maths and statistics session, so we were looking at chaos theory and the four-colour theorem, which was really, really interesting. And the whole way that maths and stats are using modelling to predict the future.
LUCIA: Absolutely. It's so important these days, where data are everywhere and people really use artificial intelligence and statistical modelling in trying to predict in economics, in sciences-- everywhere, really. So fundamental skills. I think, in the near future, more and more people will have to acquire the skills to be able to make good decisions.
KAREN FOLEY: But they weren't interested in the weather, that lot. That's probably for another school who pays more attention to things that aren't quite so "predictable," as I think they called it.
LUCIA: OK.
[LAUGHTER]
KAREN FOLEY: Then we looked at life, health, and chemical sciences. We had a chromatography demonstration. And we also looked at an amazing augmented reality app, and the way that we're teaching students to look at the heart.
LUCIA: Absolutely. That was incredible, wasn't it? My son studied medicine, so it's this sort of technology that really, really do the preclinical training for health practitioners. It's an amazing resource.
KAREN FOLEY: And in addition to being able to use telescopes and use some of those apps, et cetera, it really to demonstrate how distance education was so superior in that sense of really enhancing the use of technology to be able to teach students in a way that just isn't possible without that technology.
LUCIA: Absolutely. Technology is quite fundamental now, even at traditional university. But so much more for the Open University. So we can give this facility to all of our students.
KAREN FOLEY: And our non-students, through some of the informal learning.
LUCIA: Absolutely. Absolutely.
KAREN FOLEY: And then we talked about waste management.
LUCIA: Yeah.
KAREN FOLEY: Toni Gladding and Carl came on and talked about the various research that they're doing. And we discussed composting and what we could all do, as citizens, to do our bit for the environment. We then met some students, and talked about support for students, and the various ways that students can engage in societies. And also, how important the student voice is.
LUCIA: Yes, absolutely. We listen to our students. We want to hear more from our students. In fact, we're trying to introduce technology that allows students to participate more in our curriculum, and shape our curriculum. So it'd be good to see-- to have all that participation is extremely valuable to us.
KAREN FOLEY: It is. And then we heard from computing and communications, where we had our Python turtle challenge and our Raspberry Pi demonstration, and a full grounding of tonight's LabCast, so that was very, very interesting.
LUCIA: Yes, absolutely. As I said, I'm a computer scientist by training, so that's just my home.
KAREN FOLEY: So if I ask you what your favourite bit was--
[LAUGHTER]
--are you going to be biased or not?
LUCIA: It's difficult. Too many good things, actually. I guess the thing that always impresses me is-- are the more practical aspects of what we offer. The digital facilities, how we use technology, the innovation. And really, the enthusiasm of the people that are involved in this sort of teaching for us, as researchers, as academics, for our students. The passion, I think, was very clear throughout the day.
KAREN FOLEY: Absolutely. I know about the awards. I know about the labs. But when you meet people and you see the enthusiasm for the subject, and the genuine way that they're so concerned about how they teach--
LUCIA: Yes. It's a true passion at the OU. It's fundamental in what we do. And everybody gets involved in teaching, pretty much. And we are very proud of it, I think.
KAREN FOLEY: Yeah. It's been fantastic. And I tell you what, everyone at home has been absolutely fantastic, as well, haven't they, Kit?
KIT: They absolutely have, yeah. Lots of celebrations here at the turtle challenge. Having finished second out of 20 is definitely the big news, I'm afraid, getting it done in five. Comments include, "The hare never stood a chance."
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah. Lots of pride for Team Home there, which I'm really happy with. Yeah. Good stuff.
KAREN FOLEY: Excellent. Well, Kit, and so many of your other colleagues who have been on our hot desk today, thank you so much. And thank you, everyone, at home for sharing links, sharing your ideas, inspiration, and talking together. I'm so glad that you've had a good day. If you would like to tell us about your experience, please drop us an email, studenthub@open.ac.uk. Or there's a feedback form on the Student Hub Live website, if you'd like to tell us about your experience. Whilst this session has ended today-- or is ending-- there are many more opportunities to connect with Student Hub Live events.
We've got a writing retreat over the summer. We'll be looking at report writing, which I know will be of particular interest to many STEM students. And also, next week, we're looking at writing for visual purposes. So those of you who are interested in design might like to join us. There are workshops in Adobe Connect, so please do come along. Everyone is welcome. You can just log in and find out more about those from the Student Hub Live website.
Don't forget, though, that the Facebook page from the faculty is a great source of inspiration, and a really, really good way of keeping in touch. So like the Open University STEM page, and also the Twitter account is @OU_STEM. So I hope that you can use those ways to connect over the summer, as you start preparing for your modules in September. We'll be doing more Student Hub Live sessions in preparation for that particular module start.
So please do check out the website, StudentHubLive.open.ac.uk, where you can find out more about what we've got planned for you then. But from everybody who's been involved in this event, from all of the guests, from everybody at home, everyone on the hot desk, and most importantly, our production crew, et cetera, who have made this day possible, thank you so much for coming along. That's all from us today. We will see you at another event very soon.
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