{"id":4127,"date":"2020-05-27T20:41:10","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/?p=4127"},"modified":"2020-05-27T20:42:48","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:42:48","slug":"student-ambassador-communities-helping-students-learn-matlab-at-a-distance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/2020\/05\/27\/student-ambassador-communities-helping-students-learn-matlab-at-a-distance\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Ambassador Communities Helping Students Learn MATLAB at a Distance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>blog<\/span>\u00a0is written by\u00a0<\/span>Owen Paul<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Student Ambassador\u00a0<\/span>Technical<\/span>\u00a0Program Specialist at MathWorks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

As universities transition<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>distance learning<\/span>\u00a0across the world<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>having additional resources to<\/span>\u00a0help student<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0continue their learning<\/span>\u00a0is crucial<\/span>. One community within MathWorks <\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>has been helping student<\/span>s<\/span> continue their learning is <\/span>MATLAB Student Ambassadors.\u00a0<\/span>Th<\/span>eir job is to help students<\/span> through two main activities: in-person events and social media. <\/span>Because<\/span>\u00a0universities transition<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0to distance learning, hosting events has become trickier. Despite this new challenge, our student ambassadors have done a\u00a0<\/span>truly amazing job<\/span><\/b>\u00a0at making this transition. In today\u2019s blog, I\u00a0<\/span>will\u00a0<\/span>share<\/span>\u00a03 examples<\/span>\u00a0of the great things that our student ambassadors have been doing to aid distance learning and expand their communities.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Students\u00a0<\/span>L<\/span>earning<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>hrough<\/span>\u00a0YouTube<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

Our<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span>\u00a0ambassador<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0in Italy have always done a great job at\u00a0<\/span>hosting events. They consistently have engaging events\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0topics such as\u00a0<\/span>low<\/span>–<\/span>cost hardware<\/span>, machine learning,<\/span>\u00a0and robotics<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with audiences sometimes over 100 students.\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span>\u00a0Italian ambassadors had even more exciting events planned<\/span>\u00a0through the rest of this semester<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but\u00a0<\/span>they had to reassess these plans with the transition to distance learning<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>hese ambassadors took the initiative to<\/span>\u00a0tackle this new\u00a0<\/span>challenge together as a team<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"screenshot\"

Ambassadors showcasing App Designer<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

By working together on this YouTube Channel, not only does this increase access to the events but it also sparks creativity. From making\u00a0<\/span>a trailer to promoting an upcoming event<\/span>\u00a0to having a\u00a0<\/span>video on creating\u00a0<\/span>the snake game using App Designer<\/span><\/a>, there is no shortage of fun and engaging ideas. The Italian ambassadors share and develop these ideas through Microsoft Teams. Through this<\/span>\u00a0Teams<\/span>\u00a0group, they\u00a0<\/span>support each other with promoting events, coordinat<\/span>ing<\/span> hosting events for multiple universities, and making these events more entertaining for everyone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A professor at one of these universities\u00a0<\/span>shared<\/span>\u00a0the positive impact of these<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span>\u00a0ambassadors\u00a0<\/span>by\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>ay<\/span>ing:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

H<\/span><\/i>aving the help of a MATLAB<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Student<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Ambassador would notably improve the effectiveness in using MATLAB\/Simulink within an academic course. Usually, the professor must give some preliminary lectures by her\/his own, without the availability of appropriate examples and, sometimes, without providing the necessary information to complete the student training with additional material.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Turning Current News into an Event<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

O<\/span>ur next student ambassador, Sarah Hakam, started at the beginning of 2020 at the University of Houston. I make this distinction because most of the materials to ramp up student ambassadors are geared towards in-person events. But this didn\u2019t stop Sarah from hosting her first event virtually.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For her event, Sarah hosted an online event through Zoom looking\u00a0<\/span>at\u00a0<\/span>the COVID<\/span>-19 case growth in the United States<\/span>. She started the event with a\u00a0<\/span>presentation<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>on using MATLAB to plot\u00a0<\/span>COVID<\/span>-19 cases, extrapolate data, and predict short-term case<\/span>\u00a0growth using public data<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Sarah said that \u201c<\/span>It was a great way to look at how coding software is used for modeling and pandemic predictions<\/span>.\u201d I couldn\u2019t have said it better myself; I\u2019d just add that it\u2019s also a great way to show that you don\u2019t have to be a scientist to analyze and create a model for data.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah also made sure that students left the session learning something new by asking each participant to write their own code to plot and predict COVID-19 cases. Each student chose a country of their choice and then presented their code to everyone else through screen sharing. Leveraging this feature in Zoom created a fun learning environment, as seen below, but also allowed students to apply everything that they learned. Now everyone who attended this event has a better understanding of MATLAB, can predict short term results of\u00a0<\/span>COVID<\/span>-19 cases, and more importantly can apply these techniques on any data set given to them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"screenshot\"

Using screen share to show MATLAB code<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Virtual MATLAB Tutoring<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

As\u00a0<\/span>highlighted from the previous<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>example<\/span>s<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>there are different types of events that events host<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>One<\/span>\u00a0event that<\/span>\u00a0Pedro Mendes, student ambassador at the University of Au<\/span>c<\/span>kland<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0has been hosting<\/span>\u00a0is MATLAB<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>T<\/span>utoring Fridays.\u00a0<\/span>For one hour every Friday<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0Pedro\u00a0<\/span>answers<\/span>\u00a0students with any MATLAB questions they have.<\/span>\u00a0Originally these sessions were held in\u00a0<\/span>a help room<\/span>\u00a0on campus<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but to adapt with distance learning he now does these\u00a0<\/span>tutoring<\/span>\u00a0sessions through Zoom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"ad\"

Poster\u00a0informing students of tutoring sessions<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

When I talked to\u00a0<\/span>Pedro<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>last summer<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0he told me that his focus is\u00a0<\/span>to help<\/span>\u00a0undergraduate students who are\u00a0<\/span>ju<\/span>st\u00a0<\/span>getting started with MATLAB<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>H<\/span>e<\/span>\u00a0ensures to\u00a0<\/span>keep these students in mind<\/span>\u00a0with these\u00a0<\/span>tutoring<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>sessions by\u00a0<\/span>sending out a poll asking\u00a0<\/span>what topics they need help with<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Having these\u00a0<\/span>online\u00a0<\/span>sessions\u00a0<\/span>truly benefits\u00a0<\/span>these<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>students as learning a new program can be daunting, particularly when you have questions and don\u2019t know where to go.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

T<\/span>hese\u00a0<\/span>tutoring<\/span>\u00a0sessions aren\u2019t just for\u00a0<\/span>student<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>learning<\/span>\u00a0MATLAB<\/span>\u00a0for the first time<\/span>. \u201c<\/span>I<\/span>f you are struggling with a difficult assignment, want to learn something new in MATLAB or you just improve your coding skills\u201d is what Pedro tells the members of his Facebook group.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>H<\/span>is goal\u00a0<\/span>with these tutoring sessions<\/span>\u00a0is to help students with\u00a0<\/span>MATLAB. He\u00a0<\/span>truly embodies what being a student ambassador\u00a0<\/span>is all about.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Closing Remarks<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

These are just a few examples<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0but there are many more events and ideas that our<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span>\u00a0ambassadors are coming up with to keep students\u00a0<\/span>at<\/span>\u00a0their\u00a0<\/span>universities<\/span>\u00a0learning and engaged.<\/span>\u00a0Each<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span>\u00a0ambassador\u00a0<\/span>has<\/span>\u00a0a MathWorks\u00a0<\/span>engineer to<\/span>\u00a0help\u00a0<\/span>guide them<\/span>, but without the creativity and hard work of these<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0none of this would be possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Working with this program I am<\/span>\u00a0always impressed with the ideas th<\/span>ese<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>students co<\/span>me up with<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and all the work they put in to\u00a0<\/span>be\u00a0<\/span>successful. I hope after reading this blog\u00a0<\/span>you\u00a0<\/span>share my\u00a0<\/span>level of admiration\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0these students<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>And i<\/span>f you are a student reading this and want to learn more about becoming a\u00a0<\/span>MATLAB S<\/span>tudent\u00a0<\/span>A<\/span>mbassador at your university\u00a0<\/span>click here<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to learn more. Thanks for reading<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>p<\/span>lease share any new ideas in the comments section that you may have for the<\/span>\u00a0student<\/span> ambassador team going virtual!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"screenshot\"<\/div>\n

Today\u2019s\u00a0blog\u00a0is written by\u00a0Owen Paul,\u00a0Student Ambassador\u00a0Technical\u00a0Program Specialist at MathWorks.\u00a0
\nIntroduction\u00a0\u00a0
\nAs universities transitioned\u00a0to\u00a0distance learning\u00a0across the world,\u00a0having… read more >><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":4131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[52],"tags":[407,405,403,409],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4127"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/163"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4127"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4159,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4127\/revisions\/4159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.mathworks.com\/student-lounge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Thirteen\u00a0<\/span>student ambassadors from\u00a0<\/span>7<\/span>\u00a0different universities\u00a0<\/span>in Italy<\/span>\u00a0collaborate on<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a\u00a0<\/span>YouTube channel<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>where\u00a0<\/span>they\u00a0<\/span>do<\/span>\u00a0live streams<\/span>, post events<\/span>\u00a0they\u2019ve recorded<\/span>, a<\/span>s well as<\/span>\u00a0post<\/span>\u00a0other<\/span>\u00a0fun<\/span>\u00a0videos<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>They\u2019re able to do events through live streams<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0with multiple ambassadors\u00a0<\/span>running the live stream<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0they\u00a0<\/span>can<\/span>\u00a0present the information and answer question<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0without any delays.\u00a0<\/span>They also\u00a0<\/span>leverage<\/span>\u00a0other platforms such as WebEx<\/span>\u00a0to host events<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>record\u00a0<\/span>them<\/span>, and then post\u00a0<\/span>them<\/span>\u00a0to th<\/span>eir YouTube<\/span>\u00a0channel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Regardless of\u00a0<\/span>the platform used to host the event<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0s<\/span>toring them on the YouTube channel allows for\u00a0<\/span>the event<\/span>s<\/span> reach hundreds <\/span>of students<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n