EngineeringEducationforSustainableCitiesinAfrica(EESC-A)OnlineVisionandImplementation

AboutEESC-A’sonlineinitiativesEESC-A’slong-termgoalistobuildanetworkofresearchersandcollaboratorscenteredhereatUofT,withadditionalparticipantsandpartnershipselsewhereinengineeringschools(andotherinstitutions)inCanadaandinAfrica.Itsspecificobjectiveswillbe:(1)workingwithandfacilitatingAfricaneducatorsandtheoriststodefinewhatissustainablecitiesengineeringfromanAfricanperspective,(2)developingrelevantcontentmodulesandcourses,somebroadandsomespecifictocountries,issuesandevenspecificinstitutions,(3)partneringwithAfricanuniversitiesmorebroadly,primarilythroughelectronicapproaches,toassistwitheducatingfutureengineers,(4)activelyinvolvingUofTscholarsandstudentsinengagingwithAfricancounterparts,bypointingtospecificissuesandtopicsforresearchefforts,and(5)pursuingresulting“reverseinnovation”opportunitiesforourstudentsandoureducationalactivitiesoncampusatUofT.

MassiveOpenOnlineCourse(MOOC)TheMOOC“SustainableCities:AnAfricanFocus”ismodeledafteranin-classcourseattheUniversityofTorontoforCivilEngineeringstudents,butwithanAfricanflavour.Thisisa12-weekcourseofferedontheEdXplatformaimstointroducestudentstothetheoriesandtoolstoreimaginecitiesfromanurbansustainabilityperspective.ThecoursemodulesarebeginnerlevelbuildingblocksforacourseonSustainableCitiesthatcatertothenewinter-disciplinarytrendaroundCitiesEngineering.Themodulesprovideanintroductiontoconceptsofsustainability,urbanization,globalization,climatechangeandresilience;toolsandmethodologiesforenvironmentalassessments,materialflows,andurbanmetabolism;andapproachesforbestpracticesinthedesignofnewcitiesandredesignofexistingcities,whileenablingstudentstodesigncitiesindevelopedanddevelopingworldcontexts.Thecourseincludes12weeklytopics,whereeachtopicbeginswithanoverviewandbackground,thenpresentslatestresearchfindingsfromtheacademicliterature,andconcludeswithcasestudiesfromaroundtheworldwithrelevancetothedevelopingworldcontext(andwithparticularattentiontotheAfricancontext,ifandwhenfeasible).

SmallPrivateOnlineCourse(SPOC)TwospecializedcourseswillbeofferedasaSPOC(SmallPrivateOnlineCourse)tobedeliveredtoinstitutionsinAfricathatindicateinterestinfurtherspecializinginoneoftheurbanareas.Thetopicsofchoicewillbedeterminedatalaterdate.

InstructorsNadineIbrahim MurrayMetcalfe DanHoornweg ChibuluLuoFeaturingacademicsfromAfricanuniversities

SustainableCities:AnAfricanFocus

Course Structure and Outline

Howcanacademicscontributecontent?Thereareanumberofwaysthatyoucouldcontributeonlinelearningmaterial,whichdependonyourlevelofcomfortwitheachtype,butalsodependonhowmuchtimeyouhavetodevotetocreation,howtechnicallyinclinedyouare,howmanyvideosyouwillbeproducing,andifyouhaveaccesstoabudgetfortechnicalassistance.

Thisformatallowsfortheindependenceoftheinstructortoproduceandrecordcontentontheirtime,asneeded.Oncetheprocessislearned,itcanbeveryeffective(again,dependingontheslidedesign)butitreliesontheproficiencyoftheinstructor.Sincethisformatisoftencompletedindependently,itisoneoftheonlymethodsthatrequirestheInstructortomastersomeeditingtechniquesthemselves.

Thisformathasthemostbang,whendonewell.Itistheclosesttoa"real"moviethatwegetto.Itisusuallyonlocation,withmultiplecamerasandstaff,andrequiresthemostamountofpost-productionandpre-productionplanning.Italsoisthehardesttogetright.Itcanbequiteeasytoaccidentallyfallintothezoneofcheaporcheesyandthestudentsareusuallythefirsttosensethat.Filminginanuncontrolledenvironmentisthemostdifficultprocesstocompletewhilemaintainingahighstandardofprofessionalism.Becausetherearemanymitigatingfactors,likesound,light,people,equipment,itrequiresthoroughplanningtoachieveaqualityfilm.Thistypeoffilmingoftenrequiresmultipletakesandevenmultipledays(ifshotsdonotworkoutasintended).Itisdifficulttoeditthesevideos,aseditingrequiresre-shootinganditisdifficulttoreproducethesameenvironmentforaseamlessedit.

Thisformatlooksincrediblyprofessionalbutisentirelyreliantontheeffectivenessoftheslides(welldesignedslidesareamust)andthecharismaoftheinstructor.Theinstructor/presenteriscontrollingtheslidesusingaremoteinthistechnique.ThiscallsforalargeinvestmentoftimefromtheInstructor(orteachingteam)astheslidesareincorporatedintothevideoasis.Theyarenotdoneinpost-production.

Thisformatmimicstheclassroomexperience,withtheinstructorspeakingdirectlytothecamera.Totheviewer,itfeelsasthoughtheyarebeingspokentodirectlyandthatthecontentwascreatedforthem(versuslecturecapture).ThisrequiresacommitmentforoncameratimefromtheInstructor,butrequireslittlepost-production.

Source:http://edtech.engineering.utoronto.ca/blog/developing-video-classroom-virtual-or-otherwise

Can’tdoanyofthese?Noproblem!Ifyoufeelthatyouarenotabletocontributecontentinanyofthesemethodsbecauseyoulackthetechnologicaltoolsorthesuitablevisualcontent,oranyotherreason,fortunately,thereareotherwaystoshareknowledge.Consideraninterview,orsharingyourreports,imagesorcoursenotes,andourteamwillbeabletohelpyouproducesuitablevisualsthatareattractivetostudentslearningonline.OurEducationalTechnologyOfficewillhelpproducegoodqualitymaterialforyoutouse.LetusknowyoursuggestionsforcontributingcontentbysendinganemailtoNadineIbrahimnadine.ibrahim@mail.utoronto.caandincludethefollowinginyouremail:(1)Universityaffiliation,(2)Areaofengineeringspecialization,(3)Cityfocus,and(4)Topicsofinterest.Example:YouareaprofessorintheDepartmentofCivilEngineeringattheUniversityofDaresSalaaminTanzania,andyouteachacourseontransportationengineeringtofourthyearstudents.YouhavebeeninvolvedwiththeWorldBank-fundedprojectontheDaresSalaamUrbanTransportImprovementProgramwhichiscurrentlyactive,andyoucanprepareafewslidestoexplaintheproject,inadditiontotakingafewminutesofvideoclosetooneoftheconstructionsitesalongthisprojectarea.TheslidesandthevideowillfitwellintothemoduleonSustainableTransportationasanexampleofatransportationcasestudyfromanAfricancity.