Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and Money: Technology-Based Art and the Dynamics of Sustainability

Proposes innovative new approaches and models for art and technology institutions, and provides details for an "Arts Lab," a unique hybrid art center and research lab

Exploring, Engaging, Understanding in Museums

Patterns of accessibility through the space of the exhibition, connections or separations among spaces or exhibition elements, sequencing and grouping of elements, form our perceptions and shape our understanding. Through a review of several previous studies and the presentation of new work, this paper suggests that these patterns of movement form the basis of visitor understanding and that these effects can be deliberately controlled and elaborated through a closer examination of the influence of the visual and perceptual properties of an exhibition. Furthermore, it is argued that there is also a spatial discourse based on patterns of access and visibility that flows in its own right, although not entirely separate from the curatorial narrative

Collaborative trails in e-learning environments

This deliverable focuses on collaboration within groups of learners, and hence collaborative trails. We begin by reviewing the theoretical background to collaborative learning and looking at the kinds of support that computers can give to groups of learners working collaboratively, and then look more deeply at some of the issues in designing environments to support collaborative learning trails and at tools and techniques, including collaborative filtering, that can be used for analysing collaborative trails. We then review the state-of-the-art in supporting collaborative learning in three different areas – experimental academic systems, systems using mobile technology (which are also generally academic), and commercially available systems. The final part of the deliverable presents three scenarios that show where technology that supports groups working collaboratively and producing collaborative trails may be heading in the near future

The Role of Gender in Computer-Mediated Communication Technology Selection to Disseminate Time-Sensitive Data within Virtual Teams

Organizations are ever-increasing the usage of teams of globally dislocated employees, or virtual teams, to collaborate on projects. Employees often need to share time-sensitive data before it decays and becomes useless. To help reduce costs and improve speed, management often requires employees to use computer-mediated communication (CMC) technologies, such as email, to share such data. From the literature, males and females have been shown to exhibit differing communication styles. The literature has shown women tend to use synchronous communication more than men. This can potentially lead to data not being shared effectively as a sender may not connect with his or her recipient(s) before the data decays. This research explores how gender can influence CMC technology selection to effectively disseminate time-sensitive data within virtual teams by administering surveys to players in an online game called Travian. Travian has over ten-million players globally collaborating in virtual teams. Surveys were administered over a 30-day period through the forums. As expected, the results of this study showed a relationship between gender and CMC technology selection to disseminate time-sensitive data

Location-based technologies for learning

Emerging technologies for learning report - Article exploring location based technologies and their potential for educatio

Online Simulations For Conceptual Understanding Of Thermoelectric Devices

Computer simulations have been extensively used with educational purposes. However, the successful implementation in order to improve learning has been a matter of debate in research in education. The purpose of this case study is to analyze how a set of computer simulations can improve student understanding of thermoelectric devices. The study was developed in a learning context characterized by the advanced degree of difficulty of the topics treated, the high academic level of education of the students, and the online nature of the learning environment. As part of the course, students were provided with instructional materials that guided the simulation practice; a homework assignment and an instructional assessment were the strategies used for this purpose. Learning gains, instructional support effect, and students\u27 perceptions about the course were investigated. Students significantly improved their conceptual understanding of thermoelectric devices. Yet, the overall performance was considered as moderate. Neither the homework assignment nor the instructional assessment had an effect on the learning gains of the students. Student perceptions about the simulations were positive. This satisfaction was not associated with the student performance on the learning tasks. These results support the agreement that computer simulations have positive effects on student learning gains. The controversy of the instructional support findings can be explained by the difference on the learning context in which this study was developed when compared to the existing research on this field. Further research is recommended on how to enhance the user experience with the simulation through the use of different strategies for inquiry-based learning. Particularly, more studies for higher education and online learning are encouraged

Tangible language for hands-on play and learning

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2008.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-192).For over a century, educators and constructivist theorists have argued that children learn by actively forming and testing -- constructing -- theories about how the world works. Recent efforts in the design of "tangible user interfaces" (TUIs) for learning have sought to bring together interaction models like direct manipulation and pedagogical frameworks like constructivism to make new, often complex, ideas salient for young children. Tangible interfaces attempt to eliminate the distance between the computational and physical world by making behavior directly manipulable with one's hands. In the past, systems for children to model behavior have been either intuitive-but-simple (e.g. curlybot) or complex-but-abstract, (e.g. LEGO Mindstorms). In order to develop a system that supports a user's transition from intuitive-but-simple constructions to constructions that are complex-but-abstract, I draw upon constructivist educational theories, particularly Bruner's theories of how learning progresses through enactive then iconic and then symbolic representations. This thesis present an example system and set of design guidelines to create a class of tools that helps people transition from simple-but-intuitive exploration to abstract-and-flexible exploration. The Topobo system is designed to facilitate mental transitions between different representations of ideas, and between different tools. A modular approach, with an inherent grammar, helps people make such transitions. With Topobo, children use enactive knowledge, e.g. knowing how to walk, as the intellectual basis to understand a scientific domain, e.g. engineering and robot locomotion. Queens, backpacks, Remix and Robo add various abstractions to the system, and extend the tangible interface. Children use Topobo to transition from hands-on knowledge to theories that can be tested and reformulated, employing a combination of enactive, iconic and symbolic representations of ideas.by Hayes Solos Raffle.Ph.D