A Pedagogy for Original Synners

Part of the Volume on Digital Young, Innovation, and the UnexpectedThis essay begins by speculating about the learning environment of the class of 2020. It takes place entirely in a virtual world, populated by simulated avatars, managed through the pedagogy of gaming. Based on this projected version of a future-now-in-formation, the authors consider the implications of the current paradigm shift that is happening at the edges of institutions of higher education. From the development of programs in multimedia literacy to the focus on the creation of hybrid learning spaces (that combine the use of virtual worlds, social networking applications, and classroom activities), the scene of learning as well as the subjects of education are changing. The figure of the Original Synner is a projection of the student-of-the-future whose foundational literacy is grounded in their ability to synthesize information from multiple information streams

Constructionism through construal by computer

Traditional computer programming is not well-aligned to the needs of constructionism. Orthodox programming principles are oriented towards prescribing processes that address clearly specified uses. Functional specification and optimised execution do not encourage interactive exploration and open-ended interpretation. We propose making construals by computer using Empirical Modelling principles as an alternative to conventional computer programming. The merits of this approach are discussed and illustrated using construals for Sudoku solving. Our Sudoku solving construals are made up of definitions that express dependencies between observables. Many kinds of human agency can be expressed through modifying the current set of definitions. The construal serves as a shared artefact with which developers, teachers and pupils can all interact concurrently in essentially the same way, each according to their role and experience. Our preliminary experiments with schoolchildren highlight potential for rich and radically new kinds of learning experience and unprecedented scope for recording, monitoring and intervening in support of constructionist learning. Further empirical study is a vital next step

Introductory programming: a systematic literature review

As computing becomes a mainstream discipline embedded in the school curriculum and acts as an enabler for an increasing range of academic disciplines in higher education, the literature on introductory programming is growing. Although there have been several reviews that focus on specific aspects of introductory programming, there has been no broad overview of the literature exploring recent trends across the breadth of introductory programming. This paper is the report of an ITiCSE working group that conducted a systematic review in order to gain an overview of the introductory programming literature. Partitioning the literature into papers addressing the student, teaching, the curriculum, and assessment, we explore trends, highlight advances in knowledge over the past 15 years, and indicate possible directions for future research

Physicists Thriving with Paperless Publishing

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) and Deutsches Elektronen Synchrotron (DESY) libraries have been comprehensively cataloguing the High Energy Particle Physics (HEP) literature online since 1974. The core database, SPIRES-HEP, now indexes over 400,000 research articles, with almost 50% linked to fulltext electronic versions (this site now has over 15 000 hits per day). This database motivated the creation of the first site in the United States for the World Wide Web at SLAC. With this database and the invention of the Los Alamos E-print archives in 1991, the HEP community pioneered the trend to "paperless publishing" and the trend to paperless access; in other words, the "virtual library." We examine the impact this has had both on the way scientists research and on paper-based publishing. The standard of work archived at Los Alamos is very high. 70% of papers are eventually published in journals and another 20% are in conference proceedings. As a service to authors, the SPIRES-HEP collaboration has been ensuring that as much information as possible is included with each bibliographic entry for a paper. Such meta-data can include tables of the experimental data that researchers can easily use to perform their own analyses as well as detailed descriptions of the experiment, citation tracking, and links to full-text documents.Comment: 17 pages, Invited talk at the AAAS Meeting, February 2000 in Washington, D

A taxonomic proposal for multiliteracies and their competences

The aim of this study is to analyze information and communication competences and their alphabets, both of which are necessary for effective knowledge-based content management. The evolution of the associated specialties or techniques, i.e., literacies, which have emerged to address this task more effectively are considered. The hypothesis that a taxonomic model can be used to order and coordinate literacies, in combination with an application metamodel within the framework of the Voremetur research project, was investigated. The methodology used to complete this analysis adopts an evolutionary approach comprising: (1) a first divergent phase describing the era of literacies and multiple literacies, in which field-specific competences and tools prevail; (2) a second convergent phase of information and digital literacy, whose associated competences become the targets of knowledge; and (3) a third divergent phase, based on multiliteracies, as a consequence of Big Data and its effects, to address which data literacy, together with "digital competences" emerged as new and complex ways of processing web content. Based on this premise, the classifications introduced by Bawden, Stordy, Secker & Coonan, and Mackey & Jacobson are proposed as a taxonomic model, using the metamodel definition from the Voremetur project. This results in the proposal of a multiliteracy including implementations that range from visual literacy and new media literacy, strategies for the selection of keywords as taxonomic labels, semantic control to define taxonomic categories, to a metamodel definition based on the categories obtained in the taxonomy. The development of the metamodel is presented through a program oriented at higher education within the framework of academic literacy, as a means for incorporation into curricula, including a definition of its paradigmatic and conceptual framework, the factors relevant to its programming and instructional design, educommunication as a didactic methodology approach, and digital educational objects as didactic materials, followed by an appropriate evaluation.This article is a result of the project "Vocabularies for a Network of Media Art Archives and Collections and its effects: Metaliteracy and Knowledge Tourism" (HAR2016-75949-C2-1-R) funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain