November 30, 2004
Crosstalk Seminar - Thu, Dec 9, 1:00 p.m.
Handheld Games and Simulations for Learning - Participatory Simulations and Augmented Reality
Eric Klopfer, Director of the MIT Teacher Education Program (TEP), Scheller Career Development Professor of Science Education and Educational Technology
Date: Thursday, December 9, 2004
Time: 1:00 p.m. (Please note time change!)
Room: 4-231
Abstract
The growing sophistication of mobile technologies brings with it the power to introduce new learning environments and experiences. The most powerful uses of handheld technologies require working with their limitations and affordances. The PDA is best used to present an extra layer of data to supplement information that users receive from their real world context - such as readings from simulated instruments, interviews from virtual occupants of nearby buildings, or real life interactions with their classmates.
We have been building simulations on handheld computers that involve K-16 students in authentic activities such as large scale environmental engineering investigations, genetic data collection and analysis and epidemiological studies that track the progression of disease through populations. These simulations empower students with a new kind of learning as they try to harness technology to solve authentic complex problems. Currently we are not only developing new simulations (and distributing them to thousands of students and teachers via the internet), but also conducting educational research showing how and what students learn from these environments.
Biography
Eric Klopfer is the Director of the MIT Teacher Education Program
(http://education.mit.edu), and the Scheller Career Development Professor of
Science Education and Educational Technology at MIT. Klopfer's research
focuses on the development and use of computer games and simulations for
building understanding of science and complex systems. His research
projects include StarLogo, a desktop platform that enables students and
teachers to create computer simuations of complex systems, as well as
location aware and participatory simulations on handheld (Palm and PocketPC)
and wearable computers. Klopfer's work combines the construction of new
software tools with research and development of new pedagogical supports
that support the use of these tools in the classroom. He is the co-author
of the book, "Adventures in Modeling: Exploring Complex, Dynamic Systems
with StarLogo."
Here is a link to the slides from the presentation.
November 16, 2004
E-learning Review Available on New Web Site
(From Tomorrow's Professor mailing list)
The Swiss Centre for Innovations in Learning (SCIL Switzerland) this fall announced, in a joint effort with the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning (SCIL Stanford), the launch of a new web site on elearning to make it easier to track and review research literature in the field across its multiple disciplines, something that is difficult to do since the field is so vast.
The website, [http://www.elearning-reviews.org] provides those interested in research on elearning with concise and thoughtful reviews of relevant publications. The goals of the collaborative project are to provide ongoing updates, a solid base of existing literature from the various disciplinary perspectives, and the further the development of elearning as a scientific research-oriented discipline.
The project continually surveys new publications from a broad spectrum of journals, conferences, reports, and books. Each review is carefully written and critically reflects the publication in an accessible and concise manner so that readers can easily decide whether the publication is relevant to them. [http://www.elearning-reviews.org] offers a variety of useful ways to access its reviews. Users can browse the elearning classification scheme covering the wide range of elearning topics: Strategy, Quality, Pedagogy, Technology, Human-Computer Interaction, Change Management, and more. They can search for publications by specific authors or scan the lists of reviewed publications of particular journals or conferences.
[http://www.elearning-reviews.org] targets those at the intersection of elearning theory and practice. Researchers find relevant reviews from the different disciplines constituting elearning. Practitioners appreciate the wealth of research results they can put into practice. Students of elearning programmes will profit from the literature overview provided by the reviews sorted into helpful subject categories. The project was initiated by the Swiss SCIL, which maintains and continues to further develop the web site. The editorial team is made up of researchers from the Swiss SCIL, as well as researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Switzerland, and the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning. All three of the partner institutions will regularly contribute reviews to the website.
Reinhold Steinbeck, Director of SCILNet, the international program of the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning, and topic co-editor, hopes that "elearning-reviews.org could become the 'Google' of elearning, just better, because you know that what you will find will meet the highest standards." For more information visit the website: www.elearning-reviews.org
November 09, 2004
Crosstalk Seminar - Thu., Nov 18, 2:00 p.m.
The Promise and Reality of Web-based Tutoring
Professor David E. Pritchard, MIT physics department
Thursday, November 18, 2004
2:00 p.m.
Room 4-231
Abstract
Textbooks, Lectures, and most educational uses of the web are like broadcast radio: a message is prepared and broadcast, one can find out how many people are listening, but knowing that the message has been received remains elusive. In my view the great promise of the web is two way learning: individual responses for the student, formative and summative assessment for the teacher, and data and guidance to help the author improve the material and the pedagogy. Web-based intelligent tutors offer interactive tutoring for individual students, such as pedagogically useful responses to their wrong answers and hints and simpler subproblems upon student request.
Our research shows that one such tutor (see www.mycybertutor.com) teaches about twice as much per unit time as hand-graded written homework. Feedback from the students can reveal specific student mistakes and misconceptions, provide rich data allowing authors to improve their content, and show class difficulties on each problem for Just In Time Teaching. Our research shows that assessing the process of solution can give a far more accurate profile of student skills than can testing, allowing targeted remediatioin. Splitting the class into two groups that work the same problem after one group has been given a tutorial allows us to measure and improve the amount of learning per unit time from the tutorial. We are currently investigating why some pedagogies transfer several times more knowledge per unit of student time than others.
