Presentation Two Using UCROO to build community among first year programming students Rebecca England, School of Engineering and Information Technology

Keeping students in a first year programming unit Class Landscape: Domestic : International 60% : 40% Internal : External 65% : 35% Challenges: Many students find programming hard to learn IT students are generally more socially introverted International students have a double hurdle (programming requires learning another language) 60% internals are international

Keeping students in a first year programming unit Strategy: Build community among students Using UCROO (http://ucroo.com.au) Australian educational & social networking site Interface similar to Facebook IT cohort -> my participation is crucial Can give isolated students a sense of belonging Public class wall and private messaging Analytics on student use available