he Staff Development Committee of the Engineering Department organised a programme on “Design of Artificial Neural Network Controller for Power Converters Using MATLAB GUI” on 10 May 2021 at 1.30 pm. Dr Muruganandam Masilamani, lecturer, Electrical Section, Department of Engineering, delivered the presentation for the benefit of the staff members. He shared information about the design and simulation of the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) Controller using MATLAB’s graphical user interface (GUI). In his presentation he emphasised the importance of the Artificial Neural Network Controller in different discipline and explained the design procedure of the controller with some practical examples. He also demonstrated the design of of the Artificial Neural Network Controller for controlling the speed of a DC motor using MATLAB simulation. Finally, he gave the advantages of using Artificial Neural Network Controller for different applications. The presentation was well received by the staff with good interaction. A total of 14 staff participated in the event.
The Staff Development Committee of the Engineering Department organised a programme on “Heat Exchanger Simulation Using Ansys Fluent Software on 4 May 2021 from 11 am to 12 noon. Dr V Sivananth delivered the presentation for the benefit of the staff members. He gave a general introduction about computational fluid dynamics and its industrial application. The presentation briefed about mathematical modelling using mass, momentum and energy conservation concepts. Finite volume method and its computational techniques in fluent software for flow analysis and heat exchanger was also discussed. He demonstrated geometry, material properties, meshing, and boundary conditions using fluent tools and displayed the graphical and contour format. Finally, results part of the simulation were discussed using CFD Post to highlight the software accuracy. The staff members felt that the presentation was very useful and effective.
The English Language Centre at UTAS-Ibri hosted a webinar on May 6, 2021, titled Population Samples in Linguistics.
Sampling is a process widely used in statistical analysis in which a predetermined number of observations are taken from a larger population. The methodology used to sample a more significant population depends on the type of analysis being performed, but it may include simple random sampling to Social network sampling.
The speaker, Mr Jabez Syam, highlighted the significance of sampling used profusely while collecting data for research purposes. The presentation primarily focused on types, methods and process of sampling pertaining to linguistics. The session tried to bring the participants to an understanding that linguistics is ready to: leave the methodological convention, have relaxation on the concept of statistical representativeness and blend sampling methods across sub-disciplines of linguistics
The session ended with a quick recap with an activity to revise what has been discussed.
Jabez Syam is an ELT practitioner since 2004 with an MA (English) besides teacher training courses and paper presentations. Currently, he is pursuing PhD in Linguistics and Language Teaching and he is a lecturer at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences.
Participation of Information Technology DepartmentThe Information Technology Department of the University of Technology and Applied Science-Ibri participated in the UTAS-SurAnnualConference2021 Sustainable Development: What have we learnt from the pandemic? on 11 and 12 April 2021. The programme started with a keynote by speaker Dr RaminMohajer, PhD., M.B.A. Advisor to the MTCIT, Sultanate of Oman. The conference included different themes which are Biology and Biotechnology, Information Technology, Business Management, Communication Technology, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Linguistics and Education. Around 24 papers were presented in the conference. The contribution of the Information TechnologyDepartment of UTAS-Ibri was mainly focused on the networking and cybersecurity domain.
The department participated in two papers. Nasim Al Balushi (Lecturer) presented her paper titled “Impact of Covid-19 on Cybersecurity in Oman”. The abstract of her paper is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine our life without the Internet. Despite the importance and benefits of the Internet, Internet connections are vulnerable to many threats; the number of phishing sites, spoofing of social networking sites, and other attacks have increased annually. As well as due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of people are depending on the internet for doing their works, education, business, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges for security specialists. Cybercrimes increase and the investigations for the crimes become a challenge for the investigators. It is very necessary to figure out the impact of COVID-19 on cybersecurity and the difficulties of the investigation and improve it, as cybercrimes can cause damage or loss of sensitive information.”
Ms Roselle Salazar-Solitario (Lecturer) presented a paper titled “Investigation of IT Infrastructure Management for Sustainability Amidst a Pandemic and Beyond”. The abstract of the presented paper is that IT infrastructure management includes activities such as hardware maintenance, software upgrades and the administration of networks and servers to ensure continuity of business operations. In educational institutions, technology managers see to it that the existing IT infrastructure can sufficiently support seamless class activities and other tasks that require the use of computers and network services. The fast evolution of technology in education has been making the technology support teams occupied with their jobs but the major challenge came when the Covid-19 pandemic reached its peak during the previous academic year. At the height of the pandemic, government-imposed lockdowns have forced educational institutions around the world to make a sudden shift from on-campus to online mode of teaching. Consequently, technology teams have to keep up with the newer challenge of supporting both onsite and remote users who simultaneously access the IT resources. This paper investigated the strategies adopted by the technology managers to support remote work/classes in the previous academic year and how they addressed the technical issues encountered during the transition period- from on-campus to online classes and assessments. The empirical case study approach was used in conjunction with a focused group questionnaire for the data collection and analysis. The authors identified three classifications of technical support issues reported during online classes, namely, 1) issues related to online teaching tools, 2) compatibility issues between computers and the teaching software required for online classes, and 3) non-technical issues due to lecturers’ non-familiarity to online teaching tools. The results showed that the technical issues were addressed and improvements in the infrastructure were adopted afterwards. Finally, owing to the lessons learnt throughout this study, this paper proposes implementing the following Industrial Revolution Technology (IR4) solutions to improve sustainability: 1) Edge Computing via Private Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) for high availability and security of access to contents; and 2) On-Demand Computing for load balancing and efficient bandwidth utilisation.
On 28.4.2021, Ms Claire Bradin Siskin gave an elaborate presentation on Demystifying Digital Literacy and Autonomous Learning
Digital literacy is fundamental in helping students become lifelong learners. It is an effective medium to have master essential life skills and academic skills. A fine blend of digital literacy and autonomous learning paves the way to critical thinking skills, which helps students communicate better.
Ms Claire suggested that interesting tips and techniques facilitate students to become effective autonomous learners and use online resources to enhance their academic and critical thinking skills as it has become more critical than ever to have an edge with a stronghold on digital literacy skills.
The presentation was quite informative and proved to be relevant and valuable in the current scenario.
Claire Bradin Siskin is a consultant, teacher trainer, and practitioner of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). She has 20 years of classroom experience as an instructor of ESL/EFL. She has a strong interest in international education and has given presentations and workshops in 24 countries.
With learning-centered instruction in vogue, instructors facilitate and share information with their students to find solutions to various academic issues. It has become obligatory for teachers as well as learners to understand learner's autonomy to fit in online learning environments. The instructors have to adapt to a range of interactive methodologies and focus on the instructional design of their courses.
With this backdrop, the presenter Rob Howard on 21.4. 2021 at UTAS-Ibri shared his experiences through a webinar that centered on the advantage of being online is working on fine-tuning learners' abilities. He spoke at length on usingthe online teaching mode to break fossilized habits in students' speaking, pronunciation, and accuracy by improving and building students' confidence utilizing methods that make working online a more effective and productive tool.
Rob concluded the session with a hopeful note that a prudent approach to using online tools would enhance the quality, quantity, and patterns of communication students practice during learninig language skills.
Rob Howard is an Owner of Online Language Center and managing partner of Business Language Training Institute. Joint Coordinator for the IATEFL BESIG( Business English Special Group), Online and Video Coordinator for the Visual Arts Circle, has authored and co-authored several books for EFL, co-founder of the Independent Authors & Publishers.
The English Language Center at UTAS-Ibri has always been at the forefront in providing opportunities to the teaching fraternity at regular intervals to exchange its know-how on ELT Dynamics. As part of the ELT events hosted by the PDC committee, Ms Amal Ashour Ebid gave an informative presentation titled Helping Students Become Better Writers on 27.04.2021 at UTAS-Ibri.
The painstaking effort exerted to teach academic writing skills to EFL/L2 students is gratifying when learners are cognizant of the need to improve their English language skills and gain the mastery of the skill that is a pre-requisite for their academic and professional life.
Ms Amal Ashour highlighted the significant challenges of teaching writing and shared her views on facilitating students to improve their writing skills. She skillfully integrated Bloom's Taxonomy as part of planning instructions to teach writing skills. She further added that it could train students to use higher-order thinking skills to evaluate their writing. Her suggestion to use Bloom's taxonomy to enhance vocabulary in formal language was noteworthy.
She promoted using writing rubrics as a ready reckoner to help students plan and organize their ideas accordingly while writing.
The presentation had rich takeaways for writing teachers, and the tips shared were tailor-made and were worth adding to the teachers' activity repertoire.
Ms Amal Ashour Ebid holds a bachelor's degree in Education from the Suez Canal University, CELTA and a master's degree in English from the Annammali University. Her 14 years of teaching career is replete with exciting observations and her experiences are enriching.
The Science of Learning (SoL) connects contributions from cognitive sciences, particularly neuroscience and psychology, and their practical implications for the teaching-learning process.An effective lesson gets students thinking and allows them to interact and ask questions, tap into their background knowledge, and build new skills.
The webinarby AndréHedlund on April 21, 2021, at English Language Centre, UTAS-Ibri, an ELC initiative, offered practical tips on planning engaging lessons through the science of learning. He is of the profound belief that the approaches he shared help students to retain more of what they learn. He focused on a thought-provoking framework called ENGAGE-BUILD-CONSOLIDATE (EBC),developed in line with SoL research and its application in lesson plan and delivery.
He emphasized few vital questions on how the brain and the mind learn and what it means for teachers when planning their lessons?André's expertise on effective ways to design lesson plans to help students attain better learning outcomes was remarkable. He also made his audience understand the basic principles of EBC, reflected on its benefits and shared some innovative ideas on how to plan lessons to engage students and help them build new knowledge and consolidate learning.
André Hedlund is a Chevening Alumnus, MSc in Psychology of Education from the University of Bristol, and an Edify Bilingual Program Mentor for SPOT Education. He is also a representative of BRAZ-TESOL's Mind, Brain, and Education Special Interest Group (MBE SIG) and a guest lecturer in postgraduate courses on Multilingualism, Global Education, and Neuroscience. He uses Instagram (@edcrocks) to host monthly lives about how neuroscience and psychology can be applied in the classroom and interviews teachers worldwide.
Language Learning games for the classroom are one of the best ways to promote language learning.
Ms Hind engaged the ELC staff on 25 April 2021 by introducing teachers to an innovative and free learning platform where they can create their own jeopardy games for online or in-person classrooms.
Ms Hind justified her endorsement as interesting features of Factile facilitate teachers to use user-friendly game -board templates and play Factile in four different ways: Jeopardy-style, multiple-choice, memory, or flashcards. She also recommends it as its multiple features make the lessons interactive and engaging. Some features that were listed were buzzer mode, images, sound effects, and many others. Ms Hind describes Factile as an effective tool to check students’ understanding of new topics and review the previous lessons.
Ms Hind concluded the session by reiterating that language learning games can generate immense interest and effectively gain students’ attention.
Hind Al_Mahrouqi is an EFL lecturer at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences_Ibri. She has a Master of Education in TESOL from the University of Sydney, Australia. She has been teaching English for over four years. She is interested in autonomous learning and technology use in the classroom.
A crisp description of classroom management includes the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students methodical, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class. When classroom-management strategies are executed commendably, teachers minimize the behaviors that impede learning for both individual students and groups of students while maximizing the behaviors that facilitate or enhance learning.
MsNourien Al Shaer captured this essence of classroom management in her presentation. She shared many interesting tips and strategies to make classes interactive and rewarding to generate interest in students in online learning.
This session focused on the challenges of virtual classroom management, traditional management strategies and approaches that can be implemented in the virtual classroom to work for both group and individual tasks.
Ms Nourein Al Shaer is an Academic English instructor at the Nile University, Egypt. She has been working as an English university-level lecturer since 2009. She is CELTA-certified and holds Masters in Applied linguistics. Her research is on computer-mediated communication that underlines combining Synchronous CMC tools, as online written chat, in EFL teaching and learning.
