Tools and collaborative environments for bioinformatics research

Advanced research requires intensive interaction among a multitude of actors, often possessing different expertise and usually working at a distance from each other. The field of collaborative research aims to establish suitable models and technologies to properly support these interactions. In this article, we first present the reasons for an interest of Bioinformatics in this context by also suggesting some research domains that could benefit from collaborative research. We then review the principles and some of the most relevant applications of social networking, with a special attention to networks supporting scientific collaboration, by also highlighting some critical issues, such as identification of users and standardization of formats. We then introduce some systems for collaborative document creation, including wiki systems and tools for ontology development, and review some of the most interesting biological wikis. We also review the principles of Collaborative Development Environments for software and show some examples in Bioinformatics. Finally, we present the principles and some examples of Learning Management Systems. In conclusion, we try to devise some of the goals to be achieved in the short term for the exploitation of these technologies

Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Mashup Personal Learning Environments

Wild, F., Kalz, M., & Palmér, M. (Eds.) (2008). Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Mashup Personal Learning Environments (MUPPLE08). September, 17, 2008, Maastricht, The Netherlands: CEUR Workshop Proceedings, ISSN 1613-0073. Available at http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-388.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the TENCompetence Integrated Project (funded by the European Commission's 6th Framework Programme, priority IST/Technology Enhanced Learning. Contract 027087 [http://www.tencompetence.org]) and partly sponsored by the LTfLL project (funded by the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme, priority ISCT. Contract 212578 [http://www.ltfll-project.org

Higher Education and Mobile Learning: How Innovative Instructors Use Mobile Applications for Learning

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study investigated the experiences of innovative higher education instructors from the Midwest United States regarding their use of mobile devices in their classes for student learning. Fourteen participants discussed how they specifically use mobile devices and applications for knowledge acquisition in interdisciplinary fields and to prepare students for professional roles in advanced fields. This study revealed innovative examples from interdisciplinary scholars regarding their use of mobile applications for real-time feedback, formative assessment, and continuous engagement. Professors also used mobile applications to give students technical opportunities to acquire knowledge and produce content through project-based learning. Professors described student use of relevant, industry-standard mobile technology for creating webpages, videos, and social media. Mobile devices and applications were used to promote student engagement, comprehension, and creative expression. An analysis conducted using Vygotsky’s (1978) theory of social constructivism and two frameworks widely adopted in the field of education: technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK; Mishra & Koehler, 2006) and universal design for learning (UDL; Meyer et al., 2014) revealed how students were successful and more engaged through introduction to mobile technology. This study confirmed students reached a higher level of knowledge related to their discipline because their instructors leveraged mobile technology in innovative ways. This study included recommendations for faculty development and strategic planning to address the skills and information necessary to allow faculty to effectively use mobile technology in their courses

Learning Spaces

Edited by Diana G. Oblinger. Includes a chapter by former College at Brockport Faculty member Joan K. Lippincott: Linking the Information Commons to learning. Space, whether physical or virtual, can have a significant impact on learning. Learning Spaces focuses on how learner expectations influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments: faculty, learning technologists, librarians, and administrators. Information technology has brought unique capabilities to learning spaces, whether stimulating greater interaction through the use of collaborative tools, videoconferencing with international experts, or opening virtual worlds for exploration. This e-book represents an ongoing exploration as we bring together space, technology, and pedagogy to ensure learner success.https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/bookshelf/1077/thumbnail.jp

Design, Implementation, and Evaluation of an Online Systemic Human Anatomy Course with Laboratory

Systemic Human Anatomy is a full credit, upper year undergraduate course with a prosection laboratory demonstration at Western University Canada. To meet enrolment demands beyond the physical space of the laboratory facility, a fully online section was developed to run concurrently with the traditional face-to-face (F2F) course in 2012-13. Lectures for F2F students were broadcast in live and archived format to online students using Blackboard Collaborate virtual classroom. Online laboratories were delivered in the virtual classroom by teaching assistants (TAs) with three dimensional (3D) anatomical models (Netter’s 3D Interactive Anatomy). Student performance outcomes and student and instructor perceptions of the experience were studied over a two year period to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the new format. Data comparing the online and F2F student grades suggest that previous academic achievement, and not delivery format, predicts performance in anatomy. Students valued pace control, schedule and location flexibility of learning from archived materials. In the online laboratory, they had difficulty using the 3D models and preferred the unique and hands-on experiences of cadaveric specimens. The F2F environment was conducive to learning in both lecture and lab because students felt more engaged by instructors in person and were less distracted by their surroundings. The course was modified in its second year with the addition of virtual breakout laboratory rooms, which allowed students to learn in smaller groups and interact with 3 TAs per lesson. The new laboratory format encouraged the majority of online students to use the 3D models. Virtual breakout rooms engaged online students in learning and the students were satisfied with their interactions with TAs and peers, though online laboratories did not adequately replace the F2F learning environment for all students. The biggest concern of the instructors was their inability to see coverbal student behaviour and use it to assess class engagement and their teaching effectiveness. The design and evaluation of the course will guide anatomy educators in accommodating large student populations when faced with limited laboratory facilities and/or cadaveric specimens. The instructional methods will also be of interest to science, engineering, and mathematics educators who teach 3D concepts

Building capacity in climate change policy analysis and negotiation: methods and technologies

Capacity building is often cited as the reason “we cannot just pour money into developing countries” and why so many development projects fail because their design does not address local conditions. It is therefore a key technical and political concept in international development. Some of the poorest countries in the world are also some of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Their vulnerability is in part due to a lack of capacity to plan and anticipate the effects of climate change on crops, water resources, urban electricity demand etc. What capacities do these countries lack to deal with climate change? How will they cope? What steps can they take to reduce their vulnerability? This innovative and high-profile research project was part of a larger project (called C3D) and conducted with non-governmental organisations in Senegal, South Africa and Sri Lanka. The research involved several participatory workshops and a questionnaire to all three research centres

Investigating the impact of digital technologies on the performance of learning in higher education

The central theme of blended learning is to draw from the best practices of digital learning and face-to-face (F2F) learning to create a cohesive learning experience for improving the performance of learning. Blended learning is becoming increasingly popular across the world because of the benefits it can bring including easy and quick access to learning resources, timely feedback to students, better collaboration, and improved flexible and personalised learning. As a result, many higher education institutions across the world have introduced blended learning. Following the global trend, South Africa has been actively pursuing the development of blended learning in higher education. This leads to the passing of the e-Education policy with specific objectives for improving the development of digital learning in higher education. Despite these efforts, the adoption of digital technologies in higher education in South Africa is unsatisfactory. The performance of individual students in teaching and learning in higher education is deteriorating. This shows the need for better understanding the impact of specific digital technologies in blended learning on the performance of learning in South African higher education. The objective of this research is to investigate the adoption of specific digital technologies in South African higher education for better understanding the effectiveness of these technologies on the performance of learning. Specifically, this research aims to (a) investigate the impact of learning management system (LMS) on the performance of learning, (b) explore the impact of using instant messaging (IM) on the performance of learning, and (c) examine the relative effectiveness of LMS and IM on the performance of learning in higher education in South Africa. A quantitative research methodology is adopted in this study. It employs a pre-test and post-test method for assessing the performance of learning. The study uses a 'treatment' group of LMS + F2F and IM + F2F and a comparison group of F2F design for investigating the relationship between the use of specific digital technologies and the performance of learning in higher education. The data is collected in higher education in South Africa using paper-based surveys. Various statistical analysis techniques including descriptive statistics, t-test, and regression analysis have been used for analysing the data in the study. The study shows that the adoption of LMS and IM has a positive impact on the performance of learning in higher education. The comparative analysis study shows that (a) digital learning using LMS and F2F teaching is more effective than traditional F2F teaching, (b) digital learning using IM and F2F is more effective than traditional F2F teaching, and (c) digital learning using LMS is slightly more effective than blended digital learning using IM on the performance of learning in higher education. Such findings can help to better understand the adoption of specific digital technologies in higher education in South Africa. This study contributes to the digital learning research from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Theoretically, this study (a) explores the impact of specific digital technologies including LMS and IM on the performance of learning, (b) investigates the effect of student characteristics on the performance of learning using specific digital technologies, and (c) conducts a comparative analysis of specific digital technologies in blended learning on the performance of learning in higher education. This study is the first of its kind that conducts a comparative analysis of specific digital technologies on the performance of learning in higher education. Practically, this study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of LMS and IM for improving learning. Based on the results of this study, existing policies to encourage the adoption of digital technologies should be supported and strengthened. This study can thus (a) help government departments develop specific policies and strategies for adopting specific digital technologies in order to improve the performance of learning, (b) provide South African higher education institutions with guidelines for facilitating the adoption of digital technologies, and (c) challenges LMS and IM instructional developers and software developers for the continuous development of effective digital technologies for teaching and learning