The Infectious exhibition at the TCD Science Gallery shows how an epidemic can spread through a population. Visitors are greeted by a person in a decontamination suit who hands them an ‘uninfected’ electronic badge. Contagion is spreading (virtually) through the exhibition based on models for the spread of real epidemics. As you move through the exhibition, the chip in your badge is read by sensors. Eventually, you become electronically infected and have to visit a disinfection station.
Multimedia technologies are used very imaginatively. For example, the movement of Daphnia (water fleas) changes in response to infection. These changes are represented musically. In the Cybernetic Bacteria exhibit, bacterial communication and digital network patterns are combined to create artificial life forms. Other exhibits include models of an epidemic spreading over time across the world, agar plates showing the growth of bacteria from people’s lips.
You can participate in research on immunity to malaria by giving a cheek swab, which analyses your mal genes. Depending on the variation of these genes you can have a highly active response which can lead to inflammation, an inactive response which leads to infection or a combined form which responds to infection and does not cause inflammation. Along with 58% of the population tested, I have a highly active response.
The exhibition is free and well worth a visit.
June 11th, 2009
We, educational technologists, talk about engaging, interactive learning experiences yet when we come to share these experiences with colleagues at conferences we frequently revert to a lecture with PowerPoint slides. This is true of my own and many other practitioner presentations at EdTech 2009. This point was made rather well by Terry Smith in his session when he said “If we were in my class, we would be doing a project by now” and was also raised independently by two participants at the plenary session.
Personally speaking, I use PowerPoint much more at conferences than in class. My classes are practical workshops for academics in various educational technologies. Unlike a conference session, the classes have learning outcomes. They also last long enough to allow the participants to practice what they learn.
What is the aim of a conference presentation? To inform? To share findings with colleagues? To be published? Perhaps it’s just habit or a lack of imagination that prevents presenters (including me) from delivering more engaging and interactive conference presentations? Or is it in the nature of conferences? The ‘business model’ of conferences requires large numbers of presentations. Delegates may not get permission to attend unless they are presenters and presenters form a significant portion of paying delegates.
June 2nd, 2009
EdTech 2009 kicked off with a keynote address by Niall Sclater, Director of Learning Innovation at The Open University. The distance learning provided by the OU has always helped the house-bound, prison inmates and others disadvantaged by time and space to participate in higher education. Niall’s talk “Does Location Matter?” showed how the free dissemination of quality-audited, course materials in programmes such as the OU’s OpenLearn and MIT’s Open Courseware have brought the resources used by their registered students to a global audience. Of course, teaching materials are not everything… physical presence on campus gives students all the social and networking benefits of university life which a virtual presence cannot really replicate, at least at present, … and without registering and paying fees the students won’t get a qualification.
Moving beyond the provision of content, Niall looked at how virtual worlds could help deliver a richer and more social experience to students. However, we start with what we know and virtual worlds can end up replicating the structures and limitations of the physical world. In the mid 1990s, Niall and colleagues developed the Clyde Virtual University. It welcomed students with images of a lecture theatre, a library, a café and an examination hall. The library contained links to resources, the café links to discussion boards and the exam hall to online assessment. This imagery recreated the boundaries of the physical university and did nothing to foster collaborative learning. Today, virtual worlds can be created with tools like Second Life and OpenSimulator but our avatars still sit in virtual lecture theatres and search for resources in the virtual library. We can even buy land and build our own home. Perhaps with time virtual worlds will dispense with these metaphors and allow new forms of interaction. Perhaps at that point new ways of teaching and learning to harness these new ways of interacting will emerge.
About 150 delegates attended EdTech 2009 in the National College of Ireland. Others participated virtually by watching live streams of the keynotes and exchanging comments using backgammon free casino money free craps game play free black jack craps video poker strategy play black jack online how to win video poker casino game online uk best casino online casino secure online gambling jackpot casino online casino black jack learn to play craps how to win at video poker craps online blackjack casino game online casino betting free on line video poker casino games no download casino online gambling casino play free casino slots video poker machine bonus video poker free on line slots double bonus video poker free video poker games free casinos roulette online craps rules free on line casino rules of craps online casino free money blackjack 21 internet casino how to play craps free casino game download fortunelounge online casino free casino download free casino card game free roulette game free casino play no deposit free money casino internet casino online Twitter.
May 28th, 2009
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Second Life is a free, online virtual world imagined and created by its members. This virtual world includes places, people and objects. Members are represented by an avatar or character which they create themselves. Many universities are experimenting with Second Life as an educational tool. |
UCD Library ‘branch’ is at a Second Life location called Cybrary Island, which hosts the virtual version of real-life university or city libraries from around the world. The environment is similar to a computer game, members fly or teleport themselves to the library where they can attend meetings, view presentations and participate in discussions with other members. This may lead to the view that Second Life is only a game and not a serious tool for educators.
UCD library has gained extensive publicity for this innovative project according to the library’s Peter Clarke. However, the future role of Second Life is unsure as it requires considerable resources to maintain and expand. Is the educational return worth the effort involved? Niall Sclater, Director of Learning Innovation at the Open University (and keynote speaker at mach-zehnder modulatorEdTech 2009), reports in his blog post, “What educational question is Second Life the answer to?“ that Open University researchers have found that a Second Life presence helps build a sense of community among participants which in turn motivates learners helping them to learn.
April 7th, 2009
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“Does recording lectures and publishing them on the web reduce student attendance at lectures?” |
Recently, there has been a lively discussion of this perennial topic on the ALT listserv. Studies from the University of Leeds, the Royal Veterinary College and Carnegie Mellon University have found that the provision of podcasts or lecture recordings seemed to have little effect on lecture attendance. For example, in a survey of Politics students in Leeds, Lightfoot et al (2008) found that only 7% of the students surveyed would choose to listen to podcasts rather than attend lectures.
Some of the points raised in the discussions:
- Resource: Podcasts can serve as a useful resource for revision after the class or preparation in the class. This is particularly beneficial for students with an aural learning style. Students can choose where and when to listen just as they can choose where and when to read. This can be particularly beneficial for overseas students who have difficulties with English and part-time students with many other commitments.
- Integration: Podcasts should be integrated into the course structure not just be a ‘nice to have’ add-on. For example, in the Leicester IMPALA project podcasts are used to summarise key points. This frees class time to be used for activities and discussion. To help develop their summarizing skills students can create their own podcasts which may be shared with their classmates.
- Third-party: Podcasts from a wide range of reputable sources are available through iTunes and other aggregators and can be used as source materials
Some of the potential disadvantages of podcasting mentioned were:
- Listening to podcasts is a form of passive learning
- Students may lose listening and note-taking skills
- Not all students are familiar with new technology
- Hearing-impaired students are disadvantaged
On lecture attendance:
- A poor lecture makes a poor podcast. Podcasting is a method that won’t overcome inherent weaknesses in a lecture
- Keen students will benefit from the podcasts and attend classes. Weaker, uninterested students won’t listen to the podcasts or attend class
Finally, turn the question the other way around:
“What it is about attending lectures that cannot be captured using a podcast? If lecturers can’t answer that question, then maybe they need to think about what it is they’re doing in their teaching? Put another way, if all they do in lectures is transfer information in the same way that a podcast can, then why indeed should students come to their lectures?”
- (McElearney in ALT listserv)
March 31st, 2009
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