Working with Dr C.E. Timothy Paine, then the Biology Programme Director at the University of Stirling, we overhauled the undergraduate Population and Community Ecology module. In previous years, pupils had been given R scripts to run. I took those R scripts and used Shiny to make the models interactive, making the module far more accessible to students. Whereas there used to be a large focus on R programming skills, the teaching post-app development became more focused on ecological model mechanics and theory - leaving the R skills to be taught in the R module.
Screenshots of the Shiny teaching tools
I utilised my experience with web development to give the Shiny apps a responsive layout and make the tools compatible with mobile devices. Student feedback regarding these improvements to the course has been incredibly positive.