Teaching and learning in virtual worlds: is it worth the effort?

Educators have been quick to spot the enormous potential afforded by virtual worlds for situated and authentic learning, practising tasks with potentially serious consequences in the real world and for bringing geographically dispersed faculty and students together in the same space (Gee, 2007; Johnson and Levine, 2008). Though this potential has largely been realised, it generally isn’t without cost in terms of lack of institutional buy-in, steep learning curves for all participants, and lack of a sound theoretical framework to support learning activities (Campbell, 2009; Cheal, 2007; Kluge & Riley, 2008). This symposium will explore the affordances and issues associated with teaching and learning in virtual worlds, all the time considering the question: is it worth the effort

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

At the crossroads of big science, open science, and technology transfer

Les grans infraestructures científiques s’enfronten a demandes creixents de responsabilitat pública, no només per la seva contribució al descobriment científic, sinó també per la seva capacitat de generar valor econòmic secundari. Per construir i operar les seves infraestructures sofisticades, sovint generen tecnologies frontereres dissenyant i construint solucions tècniques per a problemes d’enginyeria complexos i sense precedents. En paral·lel, la dècada anterior ha presenciat la ràpida irrupció de canvis tecnològics que han afectat la manera com es fa i es comparteix la ciència, cosa que ha comportat l’emergència del concepte d’Open Science (OS). Els governs avancen ràpidament vers aquest paradigma de OS i demanen a les grans infraestructures científiques que "obrin" els seus processos científics. No obstant, aquestes dues forces s'oposen, ja que la comercialització de tecnologies i resultats científics requereixen normalment d’inversions financeres importants i les empreses només estan disposades a assumir aquest cost si poden protegir la innovació de la imitació o de la competència deslleial. Aquesta tesi doctoral té com a objectiu comprendre com les noves aplicacions de les TIC afecten els resultats de la recerca i la transferència de tecnologia resultant en el context de les grans infraestructures científiques. La tesis pretén descobrir les tensions entre aquests dos vectors normatius, així com identificar els mecanismes que s’utilitzen per superar-les. La tesis es compon de quatre estudis: 1) Un estudi que aplica un mètode de recerca mixt que combina dades de dues enquestes d’escala global realitzades online (2016, 2018), amb dos cas d’estudi de dues comunitats científiques en física d’alta energia i biologia molecular que avaluen els factors explicatius darrere les pràctiques de compartir dades per part dels científics; 2) Un estudi de cas d’Open Targets, una infraestructura d’informació basada en dades considerades bens comuns, on el Laboratori Europeu de Biologia Molecular-EBI i empreses farmacèutiques col·laboren i comparteixen dades científiques i eines tecnològiques per accelerar el descobriment de medicaments; 3) Un estudi d’un conjunt de dades únic de 170 projectes finançats en el marc d’ATTRACT (un nou instrument de la Comissió Europea liderat per les grans infraestructures científiques europees) que té com a objectiu comprendre la naturalesa del procés de serendipitat que hi ha darrere de la transició de tecnologies de grans infraestructures científiques a aplicacions comercials abans no anticipades. ; i 4) un cas d’estudi sobre la tecnologia White Rabbit, un hardware sofisticat de codi obert desenvolupat al Consell Europeu per a la Recerca Nuclear (CERN) en col·laboració amb un extens ecosistema d’empreses.Las grandes infraestructuras científicas se enfrentan a crecientes demandas de responsabilidad pública, no solo por su contribución al descubrimiento científico sino también por su capacidad de generar valor económico para la sociedad. Para construir y operar sus sofisticadas infraestructuras, a menudo generan tecnologías de vanguardia al diseñar y construir soluciones técnicas para problemas de ingeniería complejos y sin precedentes. Paralelamente, la década anterior ha visto la irrupción de rápidos cambios tecnológicos que afectan la forma en que se genera y comparte la ciencia, lo que ha llevado a acuñar el concepto de Open Science (OS). Los gobiernos se están moviendo rápidamente hacia este nuevo paradigma y están pidiendo a las grandes infraestructuras científicas que "abran" el proceso científico. Sin embargo, estas dos fuerzas se oponen, ya que la comercialización de tecnología y productos científicos generalmente requiere importantes inversiones financieras y las empresas están dispuestas a asumir este coste solo si pueden proteger la innovación de la imitación o la competencia desleal. Esta tesis doctoral tiene como objetivo comprender cómo las nuevas aplicaciones de las TIC están afectando los resultados científicos y la transferencia de tecnología resultante en el contexto de las grandes infraestructuras científicas. La tesis pretende descubrir las tensiones entre estas dos fuerzas normativas e identificar los mecanismos que se emplean para superarlas. La tesis se compone de cuatro estudios: 1) Un estudio que emplea un método mixto de investigación que combina datos de dos encuestas de escala global realizadas online (2016, 2018), con dos caso de estudio sobre dos comunidades científicas distintas -física de alta energía y biología molecular- que evalúan los factores explicativos detrás de las prácticas de intercambio de datos científicos; 2) Un caso de estudio sobre Open Targets, una infraestructura de información basada en datos considerados como bienes comunes, donde el Laboratorio Europeo de Biología Molecular-EBI y compañías farmacéuticas colaboran y comparten datos científicos y herramientas tecnológicas para acelerar el descubrimiento de fármacos; 3) Un estudio de un conjunto de datos único de 170 proyectos financiados bajo ATTRACT, un nuevo instrumento de la Comisión Europea liderado por grandes infraestructuras científicas europeas, que tiene como objetivo comprender la naturaleza del proceso fortuito detrás de la transición de las tecnologías de grandes infraestructuras científicas a aplicaciones comerciales previamente no anticipadas ; y 4) un estudio de caso de la tecnología White Rabbit, un sofisticado hardware de código abierto desarrollado en el Consejo Europeo de Investigación Nuclear (CERN) en colaboración con un extenso ecosistema de empresas.Big science infrastructures are confronting increasing demands for public accountability, not only within scientific discovery but also their capacity to generate secondary economic value. To build and operate their sophisticated infrastructures, big science often generates frontier technologies by designing and building technical solutions to complex and unprecedented engineering problems. In parallel, the previous decade has seen the disruption of rapid technological changes impacting the way science is done and shared, which has led to the coining of the concept of Open Science (OS). Governments are quickly moving towards the OS paradigm and asking big science centres to "open up” the scientific process. Yet these two forces run in opposition as the commercialization of scientific outputs usually requires significant financial investments and companies are willing to bear this cost only if they can protect the innovation from imitation or unfair competition. This PhD dissertation aims at understanding how new applications of ICT are affecting primary research outcomes and the resultant technology transfer in the context of big and OS. It attempts to uncover the tensions in these two normative forces and identify the mechanisms that are employed to overcome them. The dissertation is comprised of four separate studies: 1) A mixed-method study combining two large-scale global online surveys to research scientists (2016, 2018), with two case studies in high energy physics and molecular biology scientific communities that assess explanatory factors behind scientific data-sharing practices; 2) A case study of Open Targets, an information infrastructure based upon data commons, where European Molecular Biology Laboratory-EBI and pharmaceutical companies collaborate and share scientific data and technological tools to accelerate drug discovery; 3) A study of a unique dataset of 170 projects funded under ATTRACT -a novel policy instrument of the European Commission lead by European big science infrastructures- which aims to understand the nature of the serendipitous process behind transitioning big science technologies to previously unanticipated commercial applications; and 4) a case study of White Rabbit technology, a sophisticated open-source hardware developed at the European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) in collaboration with an extensive ecosystem of companies

Mediating chance encounters through opportunistic social matching

Chance encounters, the unintended meeting between people unfamiliar with each other, serve as an important social lubricant helping people to create new social ties, such as making new friends or finding an activity, study or collaboration partner. Unfortunately, social barriers often prevent chance encounters in environments where people do not know each other and people have to rely on serendipity to meet or be introduced to interesting people around them. Little is known about the underlying dynamics of chance encounters and how systems could utilize contextual data to mediate chance encounters. This dissertation addresses this gap in research literature by exploring the design space of opportunistic social matching systems that aim to introduce relevant people to each other in the opportune moment and the opportune place in order to encourage face-to-face interaction. A theoretical framework of relational, social and personal context as predictors of encounter opportunities is proposed and validated through a mixed method approach using interviews, experience sampling and a field study of a design prototype. Key contributions of the field interview study (n=58) include novel context-aware social matching concepts such as: sociability of others as an indicator of opportune social context; activity involvement as an indicator of opportune personal context; and contextual rarity as an indicator of opportune relational context. The following study combining Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and participant interviews extends prior research on social matching by providing an empirical foundation for the design of opportunistic social matching systems. A generalized linear mixed model analysis (n=1781) shows that personal context (mood and busyness) together with the sociability of others nearby are the strongest predictors of people’s interest in a social match. Interview findings provide novel approaches on how to operationalize relational context based on social network rarity and discoverable rarity. Moreover, insights from this study highlight that additional meta-information about user interests is needed to operationalize relational context, such as users’ passion level for an interest and their skill levels for an activity. Based on these findings, the novel design concept of passive context-awareness for social matching is put forward. In the last study, Encount’r, an instantiation of an opportunistic social matching system, is designed and evaluated through a field study and participant interviews. A large-scale user profiling survey provides baseline rarity measures to operationalize relational context using rarity, passion levels, skills, needs, and offers. Findings show that attribute type, computed attribute rarity, self-reported passion levels for interest, and response time are associated with people’s interest in a match opportunity. Moreover, this study extends prior work by showing how the concept of passive context-awareness for opportunistic social matching is promising. Collectively, contributions of this work include a theoretical framework encompassing relational, social, and personal context; new innovative concepts to operationalize each of these aspects for opportunistic social matching; and field-tested design affordances for opportunistic social matching systems. This is important because opportunistic social matching systems can lead to new social ties and improved social capital

The Essence of the Library at a Public Research University as Seen Through Key Constituents’ Lived Experiences

“The library is the heart of the university” is an oft-repeated metaphor used to describe the role or centrality of the library. The implication is that the library is central to the university’s teaching, research, and service mission. This concept, though previously generally accepted without authoritative proof, is facing numerous challenges to its validity. There has been considerable research and talk about how to make the library central, again. Much has been focused on what to do, rather than why. As John Budd stated in 1995, “grounded study of the use of libraries, say, or of the transmission of information is impossible without an understanding of what underlies the act of using a library or of transmitting information… without an understanding of the ontological purpose of the library—its essence or being—the empirical study of its function as an organization lacks a fundamental context. By ontology of the library I mean the core of the library\u27s being, the reason for the library\u27s existence” (pp. 305-306). Through this transcendental phenomenological study, the researcher is proposing an ontological purpose of the library at a public research university from the perspectives of representatives of its nine key constituencies–chief executive officer, chief academic officer, chief research officer, chief student affairs officer, library director, faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students

Personal Learning Environments for Inquiry-Based Learning

Personal Learning Environments have recently emerged as a novel approach to learning, putting learners in the spotlight and providing them with the tools for building their own learning environments according to their specific learning needs and aspirations. This approach enables learners to take complete control over their learning, thus becoming self-regulated and independent. This paper introduces a new European initiative for supporting and enhancing inquiry-based learning through Personal Learning Environments consisting of personal and social inquiry tools. This approach aims at supporting students in developing their self-regulated learning skills by conducting their scientific inquiries in collaboration with their peers

Wireless mobility, innovation : social, individual and organizational intelligence ; lessons learned from CEOs

PhD ThesisKnowledge management by organizations and individuals has been a focus of recent research in business management. Strategic knowledge arbitrage and serendipity (SKARSE) describes skills involved in recognizing events that may add to knowledge and enhance management skills. This study investigated the intuitive application of SKARSE principles by CEOs in their use of mobile electronic devices. A pilot study consisting of semi-structured interviews of 33 CEOs addressed the question, How and why do CEOs use wireless mobile devices and what is their perceived usefulness? Response domain analysis revealed three principle domains: serendipitous discoveries, productivity and process, and social/individual networking behaviors. In a qualitative study, 15 CEOs of small to mid-sized organizations were interviewed for 1 hour each. Analysis of transcripts yielded 3 themes (e.g., cultural mobility evolution) and 9 subthemes or properties (e.g., cultural shift for necessity). In a quantitative study, the same 15 CEOs used electronic self-observation logs to record their use of mobile technologies in 3-hour intervals over 2 weeks. Questions were explored as to how and why the CEOs used mobile devices as a tool for learning, an opportunity for serendipity, to practice SKARSE concepts, and as a mechanism for knowledge transfer. Behaviors were recorded for 3 types of devices, 5 locations, 9 uses, and 16 actions (e.g., learning, reviewing), with 5 effects (e.g., satisfied, chaotic). Smartphones were used in 708/1188 time blocks, tablets in 221, and smartcard laptops in 61. The most common actions were responding, reviewing, and sharing. Patterns of use differed by location and time of day. Overall conclusions: CEOs rely heavily on mobile devices for learning, knowledge management, and communication; they are executive knowledge workers and use SKARSE principles on an individual level. Being connected to colleagues and clients 24/7 has major advantages but some drawbacks. A number of cultural shifts were also noted

Human-Centered Technologies for Inclusive Collection and Analysis of Public-Generated Data

The meteoric rise in the popularity of public engagement platforms such as social media, customer review websites, and public input solicitation efforts strives for establishing an inclusive environment for the public to share their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and experiences. Many decisions made at a personal, local, or national scale are often fueled by data generated by the public. As such, inclusive collection, analysis, sensemaking, and utilization of pubic-generated data are crucial to support the exercise of successful decision-making processes. However, people often struggle to engage, participate, and share their opinions due to inaccessibility, the rigidity of traditional public engagement methods, and the lack of options to provide opinions while avoiding potential confrontations. Concurrently, data analysts and decision-makers grapple with the challenges of analyzing, sensemaking, and making informed decisions based on public-generated data, which includes high dimensionality, ambiguity present in human language, and a lack of tools and techniques catered to their needs. Novel technological interventions are therefore necessary to enable the public to share their input without barriers and allow decision-makers to capture, forage, peruse, and sublimate public-generated data into concrete and actionable insights. The goal of this dissertation is to demonstrate how human-centered approaches involve the stakeholders in the design, development, and evaluation of tools and techniques that can lead to inclusive, effective, and efficient approaches to public-generated data collection and analysis to support informed decision-making. To that end, in this dissertation, I first addressed the challenges of empowering the public to share their opinions by exploring two major opinion-sharing avenues --- social media and public consultation. To learn more about people\u27s social media experiences and challenges, I built two technology probes and conducted a qualitative exploratory study with 16 participants. This study is followed up by exploring the challenges of inclusive participation during public consultations such as town halls. Based on a formative study with 66 participants and 20 organizers, I designed and developed CommunityClick to enable reticent share their opinions silently and anonymously during town halls. Equipped with the knowledge and experiences from these works, I designed, developed, and evaluated technologies and methods to facilitate and accelerate informed data-driven decision-making based on increased public-generated data. Based on interviews with 14 analysts and decision-makers in the civic domain, I built a visual analytics system CommunityClick that can facilitate public input analysis by surfacing hidden insights, people\u27s reflections, and priorities. Leveraging the lessons learned during this work, I created a visual text analytics system that supports serendipitous discovery and balanced analysis of textual data to help make informed decisions. In this work, I contribute an understanding of how people collect and analyze public-generated data to fuel their decisions when they have increased exposure to alternative avenues for opinion-sharing. Through a series of human-centered studies, I highlight the challenges that inhibit inclusivity in opinion sharing and shortcomings of existing methods that prevent decision-makers to account for comprehensive public input that includes marginalized or unpopular opinions. To address these challenges, I designed, developed, and evaluated a collection of interactive systems including CommunityClick, CommunityPulse, and Serendyze. Through a rigorous set of evaluation strategies which include creativity sessions, controlled lab studies, in-the-wild deployment, and field experiments, I involved stakeholders to assess the effectiveness and utility of the built systems. Through the empirical evidence from these studies, I demonstrate how alternative designs for social media could enhance people\u27s social media experiences and enable them to make new connections with others to share opinions. In addition, I show how CommunityClick can be utilized to enable reticent attendees during public consultation to share their opinions while avoiding unwanted confrontation and allowing organizers to capture and account for silent feedback. I highlight how CommunityPulse allowed analysts and decision-makers to examine public input from multiple angles for an accelerated analysis and more informed decision-making. Furthermore, I demonstrate how supporting serendipitous discovery and balanced analysis using Serendyze can lead to more informed data-driven decision-making. I conclude the dissertation with a discussion on future avenues to expand this research including the facilitation of multi-user collaborative analysis, integration of multi-modal signals in the analysis of public-generated data, and potential adoption strategies for decision-support systems designed for inclusive collection and analysis of public-generated data

Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Social Information Retrieval for Technology-Enhanced Learning

Learning and teaching resource are available on the Web - both in terms of digital learning content and people resources (e.g. other learners, experts, tutors). They can be used to facilitate teaching and learning tasks. The remaining challenge is to develop, deploy and evaluate Social information retrieval (SIR) methods, techniques and systems that provide learners and teachers with guidance in potentially overwhelming variety of choices. The aim of the SIRTEL’09 workshop is to look onward beyond recent achievements to discuss specific topics, emerging research issues, new trends and endeavors in SIR for TEL. The workshop will bring together researchers and practitioners to present, and more importantly, to discuss the current status of research in SIR and TEL and its implications for science and teaching

NMC Horizon Report: 2017 Higher Education Edition

The NMC Horizon Report > 2017 Higher Education Edition is a collaborative effort between the NMC and the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI). This 14th edition describes annual findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on learning, teaching, and creative inquiry in education. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in educational technology are placed directly in the context of their likely impact on the core missions of universities and colleges. The three key sections of this report constitute a reference and straightforward technology-planning guide for educators, higher education leaders, administrators, policymakers, and technologists. It is our hope that this research will help to inform the choices that institutions are making about technology to improve, support, or extend teaching, learning, and creative inquiry in higher education across the globe. All of the topics were selected by an expert panel that represented a range of backgrounds and perspectives