Monthly Archive for August, 2010

Ubiquitous Learning Journal Submissions

Published on August 31, 2010 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments Tags: .

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We are accepting submissions for the next volume of Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal.

Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal sets out to define an emerging field. Ubiquitous learning is a new educational paradigm made possible in part by the affordances of digital media.

Ubiquitous Learning is a counterpart to the concept ‘ubiquitous computing’, but one which seeks to put the needs and dynamics of learning ahead of the technologies that may support learning. The arrival of new technologies does not mean that learning has to change. Learning should only change for learning’s sake. The key perspective of the conference and journal is that our changing learning needs can be served by ubiquitous computing. In this spirit, the journal investigates the affordances for learning in the digital media, in school and throughout everyday life.

Refereeing of submitted papers will commence shortly so start the submission process early by submitting your proposal.

Paper submission guidelines and timelines are available online.

Announcing the winner of the International Award for Excellence

Published on August 31, 2010 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments

document31Congratulations to Tabitha McKenzie, Rawiri Toia and Hiria McRae the winners of the International Award for Excellence in the area of learning and education with their paper 

Anywhere, Anytime – Creating a Mobile Indigenous Language Platform.

Abstract: A group of academics from Victoria University of Wellington has developed an innovative approach to teacher professional development.


In response to limited teaching reliever numbers in schools and heightened by a dearth of language specialists a model using video podcasts, online support and in-school facilitation was developed to advance areas of M?ori language and language acquisition amongst teachers.


This paper will examine the innovative approach to in-school facilitated language development and discuss outcomes of the project.

The Ubiquitous Learning Journal presents an annual International Award for Excellence in the area of learning and education. All papers submitted for publication in the Ubiquitous Learning Journal are entered into consideration for this award.

The review committee for the award is the International Advisory Board for the Journal and the Conference, who select the winning paper from the ten highest-ranked papers emerging from the referee process and according to the selection criteria outlined in the referee guidelines.


Scholars Test Web Alternative to Peer Review

Published on August 29, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

peer1-articlelargeBy Patricia Cohen, in The New York Times

For professors, publishing in elite journals is an unavoidable part of university life. The grueling process of subjecting work to the up-or-down judgment of credentialed scholarly peers has been a cornerstone of academic culture since at least the mid-20th century.

Now some humanities scholars have begun to challenge the monopoly that peer review has on admission to career-making journals and, as a consequence, to the charmed circle of tenured academe. They argue that in an era of digital media there is a better way to assess the quality of work.

To read more…

Brave New World?

Published on August 27, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

6a00d8341c562c53ef013485bd659a970c-800wiFrom Sarah Firisen, in 3 Quarks Daily

Recently, my husband received an email from a very casual acquaintance and wondered where this person lived. He Googled them, found their address and was presented, by Google Street view, with a picture of their house, and all within the space of 2 minutes. This exercise caused me to comment to him, “it must be really different dating these days” – we’ve been together 15 years – “it’s so much harder for anyone to lie anymore.”

To read more…

In With the Old

Published on August 25, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

typewriter-keysBy Christina Crook, in Curator

“I love everything that’s old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.”

You’ll find Oliver Goldsmith’s words chalked on a coffee-of-the-day board steps away from the Regional Assembly of Text — a small paper emporium that would make Ned Ludd proud. Here co-owners Rebecca Dolen and Brandy Fedoruk, grads of Emily Carr University of Art + Design, stand behind the counter of their store, a wall of cast-off industrial filing cabinets behind, assembling cards and packages with meticulous care.

To read more…

The Difference Engine: Rewriting the Brain

Published on August 23, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

201032stp505In The Economist

It’s a question that’s bothered cultural critics for decades: while we know more than ever, are we getting dumber as a result of the increasing amount of technology at our disposal? Reading historical debates, and hearing of the attention paid to them by a thoughtful populace, certainly makes one wonder. Speaking in the 1820s of the mechanical Difference Engine he had devised for computing polynomial functions, Charles Babbage, the father of the programmable computer and our web-log’s namesake, told the House of Commons:

“On two occasions I have been asked [by Members of Parliament], “Pray, Mr Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?” I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.”

To read more…

Early Take on India’s $35 Tablet: ‘Fairly Impressive’

Published on August 22, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

croppedtablet2By Leslie Katz, from Cnet News

Remember that $35 tablet out of India we told you about last month? If you want to see the much-talked-about prototype in moving color, a gadget show on Indian television just featured an exclusive hands-on that could help dissipate some of the skepticism about the device.

“Everybody actually said, ‘It cannot happen, a $35 tablet,’ and not only does it exist, it works and it works brilliantly,” said Rajiv Makhni, co-host of the show “Gadget Guru,” who took the computer through its paces with show cohort Vikram Chandra and then talked all aspects of the gadget with Kapil Sibal, the country’s Minister for Human Resource Development and the same guy who officially unveiled the super-cheap touch-screen device. Aimed at the country’s students, it’s being called India’s answer to Nicholas Negroponte’s famed OLPC laptop.

To read more…

Google Offers Cloud-Based Learning Engine

Published on August 20, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

brain_cloud_x220From Tom Simonite in Technology Review:

From Amazon’s product recommendations to Pandora’s ability to find us new songs we like, the smartest Web services around rely on machine learning–algorithms that enable software to learn how to respond with a degree of intelligence to new information or events.

Now Google has launched a service that could bring such smarts to many more apps. Google Prediction API provides a simple way for developers to create software that learns how to handle incoming data. For example, the Google-hosted algorithms could be trained to sort e-mails into categories for “complaints” and “praise” using a dataset that provides many examples of both kinds. Future e-mails could then be screened by software using that API, and handled accordingly.

For more…

Coming Soon to a Classroom Near You: Robot Teachers?

Published on August 20, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

simon-gatechresized-150x150By Meris Stansbury, in eSchool News

To help spur interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, many schools have begun to integrate robotics into the curriculum—but are younger students and their teachers ready for a new wave of robotic teaching assistants?

Many researchers and robotics experts agree that robot teachers are no longer the stuff of science fiction—they’re part of a new workforce designed to lend a helping hand to classroom teachers … whose jobs aren’t in jeopardy any time soon, experts say.

To read more…

Technology Takes Formative Assessment to a Whole New Level

Published on August 18, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

promactivexp-150x150From eSchool News

Student response system (SRS) technology has caught on in classrooms nationwide as a tool for boosting class participation, as well as helping teachers ensure that students understand what’s being taught before they move on to another concept. But the current generation of the technology has its limitations.

For one thing, the lag time between student responses kills the pace of learning, says Promethean Director Tony Cann. In a typical use of the technology, the teacher poses a question to the entire class, then pauses as students answer the question on their personal “clicker” devices. This results in a lot of waiting around—time that could be put to better use.

To read more…