International lessons for the digital age

Some commentators hold the view that the digital divide is a problem largely caused by lack of access to appropriate technologies which, when overcome, will act as a virtual panacea for many interlinked ills. Yet, others see this as far too simplistic an analysis in the search for radical solutions in a world of such extreme social inequality and global inequity. This paper will argue for a bottom-up rather than a top-down approach to finding those solutions, advocating a greater amount of needs-based work in this field, getting to the root of the problem by taking into account the particular set of conditions within each situation or case study. At the same time it will strive to create a more harmonious world view where each small scale project is seen as part of a network searching for broader solutions rather than an end product in themselves. In order to provide a framework for this argument, and support theories with informed practice, a case study of a teacher training project delivered to Rwandan students, through the medium of the English language and new technologies, will be used as an example of what has been achieved so far in the field of online learning, and what lessons could be learned for the future. The paper shall also argue for greater involvement on the part of British universities, so that voyages into this multidimensional terrain, widely explored but largely uncharted, remain more pedagogic than economi

Hyperstories for Learning

We present a conceptual model for building hyperstories. Hyperstories are the hypermedia version of literary stories. The model combines static and dynamic aspects of a computer environment such as a nested context, allowing navigation through a virtual world. The flexibility of the model supports things such as the existence of objects to be acted on by the learner, autonomous objects or characters who represent entities that live independently from users, the reusability of entities and environments to avoid repetitive work, and a clear separation between content representation and interface management.Laboratorio de Investigación y Formación en Informática Avanzad

A study of the concept of interactivity as it applies to online newspapers

This project examines how frequently a sampling of online newspapers incorporates interactive features into online content. The newspapers for the study represent the eastern, western and central regions of the United States. The analysis focused on the amount of links and their destination, opportunities for feedback and the use of images, video and audio. The study found that the sampled newspapers do not frequently use links, images, video and audio or give users opportunities to give feedback

Disorientation and Hypermedia Structure

Subjects viewed information on a web site presented in one of four types of hypermedia structures. A measure of disorientation was taken immediately after the task was completed. No significant differences in disorientation was found among the four styles

A model to design multimedia software for learners with visual disabilities

Current interactive multimedia learning software can not be accessed by learners with disabilities. This is the case for students with vision disabilities. Modeling techniques are necessary to map real world experiences to virtual worlds by using 3D auditory representations of objects for blind people. In this paper we present a model to design multimedia software for blind learners. The model was validated with existing educational software systems. We describe the modeling of the real world including cognitive usability testing tasks by considering not only the representation of the real world but also modeling the learner’s knowledge of the virtual world. Finally, we analyze critical issues in designing software for learners with visual disabilities and propose some recommendations and guidelines.Education for the 21 st century - impact of ICT and Digital Resources ConferenceRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Using Interactive Video Technology for the Development of Game-Based Learning

[[abstract]]Interactive video technologies are developed for providing interactions for users to get better interactivity in watching TV programs. Since receiving TV programs is a common affair for general users, many systems with interactive TV technologies are implemented for educational or commercial purposes. Learning by playing game is a hot topic in current distance learning systems. Most of game-based learning systems designed by computer programmers and domain experts. Generating interactive game courses is hard for content providers since they are not computer experts. The interactive game authoring tool proposed in this paper provides a friendly interface to help the users to create their educational games easily. The students will be attracted in such learning platform with entertaining elements.[[conferencetype]]國際[[conferencedate]]20070910~20070914[[conferencelocation]]Xian, Chin

Implications of multimodal learning models for foreign language teaching and learning

This literature review article approaches the topic of information and communications technologies from the perspective of their impact on the language learning process, with particular emphasis on the most appropriate designs of multimodal texts as informed by models of multimodal learning. The first part contextualizes multimodality within the fields of discourse studies, the psychology of learning and CALL; the second, deals with multimodal conceptions of reading and writing by discussing hypertextuality and literacy. A final section outlines the possible implications of multimodal learning models for foreign language teaching and learning.En este artículo se hace una reseña de la literatura en torno al impacto de las tecnologías de la información y comunicaciones desde la perspectiva de su impacto en el proceso de aprendizaje de la(s) lengua(s), con particular énfasis en los diseños multimodales más pertinentes según indican los modelos de aprendizaje multimodal. En la primera parte se contextualiza la multimodalidad en el campo de los estudios del discurso, la psicología del aprendizaje y CALL y, en la segunda, se aborda la lectura y escritura multimodal por medio de la discusión de los conceptos de hipertextualidad y lecto escritura. La sección final plantea las posibles implicaciones de los modelos de aprendizaje multimodal para los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje de lenguas extranjeras/segundas

AUXie: Initial evaluation of a blind-accessible virtual museum tour

Remotely accessible audio-based virtual tours can offer great utility for blind or vision impaired persons, eliminating the difficulties posed by travel to unfamiliar locations, and allowing truly independent exploration. This paper draws upon sonification techniques used in previous implementations of audio-based 3D environments to develop a prototype of blind-accessible virtual tours specifically tailored to the needs of cultural sites. A navigable 3D world is presented using spatially positioned musical earcons, accompanied by synthesised speech descriptions and navigation aids. The worlds are read from X3D models enhanced with metadata to identify and describe the rooms and exhibits, thus enabling an audio modality for existing 3D worlds and simplifying the tour creation process. The prototype, named AUXie, was evaluated by 11 volunteers with total blindness to establish a proof of concept and identify the problematic aspects of the interface. The positive response obtained confirmed the validity of the approach and yielded valuable insight into how such tours can be further improved. Copyright the author(s) and CHISIG

I'll Tell the Story My Way! Multi-perspective, Multimodal Storytelling in an Elementary Classroom

The project investigated how elementary students engaged in creating 21st-century narratives with multiple perspective storylines enriched with images, videos and sound. The project was implemented as three substudies - Study A, B & C, in specific instructional contexts. Study A & B employed the use of digital technology and Study C did not. All were conducted in two Toronto elementary schools over a period of six months with a total of forty-four students (comprised of 31 girls and 13 boys) aged 10 to 12, and with the collaboration of their teachers. The data collection took the form of participant observation (Spradley,1980) and detailed writing analysis. The initial procedure used a pictographic map of the structure of Snow White from which 4 class-created stories were generated, resulting in 55 students stories told from the various characters perspectives. The results showed the projects activities empowered the students and engaged them. Perspective taking in their stories allowed students to examine the lives of others, emotionally process the story, and empathize with their story characters predicaments. Findings from the project were 1) students who wrote on computers produced more text and were more reflective of their thoughts; 2) students did not collaborate in their writing when using computers while students writing in a traditional way with pencils and paper notebooks did; 3) boys and girls had distinctive narrative styles even when using the same storys content and structure; and 4) students did not use the technology as a tool to enhance personal creativity but rather as a substitute. Perspective writing may be easy to implement into practice and there is an indication that the method is widely applicable

Action video game play and transfer of navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind

For individuals who are blind, navigating independently in an unfamiliar environment represents a considerable challenge. Inspired by the rising popularity of video games, we have developed a novel approach to train navigation and spatial cognition skills in adolescents who are blind. Audio-based Environment Simulator (AbES) is a software application that allows for the virtual exploration of an existing building set in an action video game metaphor. Using this ludic-based approach to learning, we investigated the ability and efficacy of adolescents with early onset blindness to acquire spatial information gained from the exploration of a target virtual indoor environment. Following game play, participants were assessed on their ability to transfer and mentally manipulate acquired spatial information on a set of navigation tasks carried out in the real environment. Success in transfer of navigation skill performance was markedly high suggesting that interacting with AbES leads to the generation of an accurate spatial mental representation. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between success in game play and navigation task performance. The role of virtual environments and gaming in the development of mental spatial representations is also discussed. We conclude that this game based learning approach can facilitate the transfer of spatial knowledge and further, can be used by individuals who are blind for the purposes of navigation in real-world environments