Monthly Archive for July, 2011

Ubiquitous Learning Journal: Recently Published

Published on July 29, 2011 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments

ubiquitous

The latest issue of Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal includes:

A User-centered Approach to Open Educational Resources by Jingfeng Xia and Lydia C. Spotts.
A Slang Open Book: An Exploration of Wiki for ESL Learners by Jerry Li, Wenting Ma, Cai Qing and Michele Secret.
The Classroom as a “Total Work of Art”: Pedagogy, Performance and ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’ by Margaret Eleanor Menninger.
Utilizing Virtual Reality Learning Environment for Undergraduate Math Teaching by Jian-ao Lian, Yonghui Wang and Yonggao Yang.
The Effect of the Artistic Pedagogical Technology Called Photovoice on Interaction in the Online Post-secondary Classroom: The Teachers’ Perspective by Beth Perry, Cynthia Menzies, Katherine J. Janzen and Margaret Edwards.
Your Desktop or Mine: Extending the Reach of Writing Instruction by Janet Kayfetz, Henning Schulzrinne, Timothy Sherwood and Mohit Tiwari.

The Research Lab In Your Pocket: Apps and The Academy

Published on July 28, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

By Sarah Cunnane, Times Higher Education

When George MacKerron set out to investigate how people’s happiness is affected by their environment, he hit upon the idea of using mobile phones. What if an application could be developed to ask study participants – at regular intervals – how they were feeling, where they were and who they were with?

The research project Mappiness does just that via an app that beeps phone owners once or more a day to enquire about their state of mind while simultaneously taking a noise measurement and tracking the participant’s location with global positioning system technology. Richard Layard, the British economist and Labour peer known for his research on well-being, has described the project as “a revolutionary research idea”, but for MacKerron, the concept was obvious.

“The technology was there: it seemed a no-brainer,” says the PhD researcher at the London School of Economics.

What took MacKerron by surprise was the scale of the response. At the start of the project, he and his supervisor Susana Mourato had a “crazy pipe dream” that it might be possible to get as many as 3,000 people to volunteer to participate in the project. Instead, to date nearly 43,000 people have experienced “the warm glow of helping increase the sum of human knowledge”, in the words of the Mappiness website.

To Read More…

Ubiquitous Learning Journal, Volume 3, Number 3 now available

Published on July 18, 2011 in Journal and Newsletter. 0 Comments

ubiquitous_front The third issue of Volume 3 of Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal has now been published.

Volume 3, Number 3 contains:

Application of Smart Card Technology in Higher Education from the Users’ Perspective: Case of Tarbiat Modares University by Amir Albadvi and Ata Zahedi.
The Culture of Institutes and Emotional Development: A Comparative Study among the Student Teachers of Public Universities and Traditional Religious Institutes by Muhammad Aamir Hashmi, Afshan Nazeer, Sobia Akbar and Syed Imtiaz Hussain Naqvi.
The Nifty Factor Never Trumps Instructional and Information Design Principles: The Blizzard of New Technology Tools, Toys, and Wonders Must Attend to Timeworn Basics by Keith Hopper and Laura Palmer.
e-Learning through Digital Theatre: Breaking Down the Tyranny of Distance and Limits of Location by Yoni Prior, Louise Johnson and Rose van der Zwaard.
Engaging Facebook: An Interactive Discussion and Training on Making Facebook Matter in the Classroom by Allison Butler.
Game-based Learning Approach to Teach Computer Science Concepts by Udeni Jayasinghe and Anuja Dharmaratne.

Continue reading ‘Ubiquitous Learning Journal, Volume 3, Number 3 now available’

2011 Conference on Ubiquitous Learning Dinner – Reserve Your Seat Now

Published on July 7, 2011 in Conference and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Announcing our Conference Dinner – Le Bateau Ivre – Friday 11 November – 7:00pm

Located seven blocks south of the UC campus on the corner of Telegraph and Carleton, join Ubiquitous Conference colleagues, speakers and friends for a French-inspired 3 course conference dinner at Le Bateau Ivre Restaurant, Cafe and Coffeehouse, a Berkeley landmark. Established in 1972, Le Bateau Ivre was originally a residence built in 1898 by a French architect. Enjoy the warm and comfortable ambiance of a French home and good conversation at a time when many of our speakers are able to come together for more intimate conversations over great food and wine.

Registration is required for this event.

To register, please login here.

An Anthology of Educational Innovation: Digital Frameworks of Understanding

Published on July 4, 2011 in Book, Headline and Newsletter. 0 Comments

An Anthology of Educational Innovation: Digital Frameworks of Understanding edited by Caroline M. Crawford is now available as part of the Ubiquitous Learning series.

As the Digital Age embraces the concepts related to online distance education environments, the importance of conceptually grounded and innovative impact upon the success of online education environment and support tools is realized. Dr. Crawford has focused a significant part of her career upon the conception of successful distance education learning environmental instruction and support. This anthology of various intriguing select works suggests the innovative ways through which quality instruction and the development of successful online learning environment communities can be supported.

Caroline M. Crawford, Ed.D., is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Houston, Texas, USA. At this point in Dr. Crawford’s professional career, her main areas of interest focus upon communities of learning and the appropriate and successful integration of technologies into the learning environment.

Gamification Time: What if Everything Were Just a Game?

Published on July 1, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

By Katia Moskovitch, BBC

One more step, and a tiny creature will cross the bridge and get to safety.

Just one more step – but letters do not match, the fragile structure blows up and the brown mole falls into a digital abyss.

But as Juha Valtamo, a 21-year-old Finnish student, correctly types the next word that appears on the screen of his laptop, another mole happily reaches the destination.

Digitalkoot may sound like a typical online game – but there is more to it than just building bridges and saving moles.

Every time players complete a level, they help with a real-life task – digitising huge archives of Finland’s National Library.

Developed by Finnish start-up business Microtask, Digitalkoot – which means digital volunteers in Finnish – combines two very hot trends in today’s business world: gamification and crowdsourcing.

To Read More…