A time for everything : reviewing an institution’s virtual learning environment

This paper outlines a review carried out at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2013 to identify the extent to which the centrally supported virtual learning environment met current and future learning and teaching needs. A range of consultation and investigation activities occurred from May to November to encourage open stakeholder feedback as well as to allow for reflection on alternative digital technologies, systems and strategies. This resulted in the development of nine recommendations, which, following a planning phase, will commence being implemented from mid-2014.

Happiness online : supporting the emotions of emergent teachers in a virtual community

Extending Lash and Urry's (1994) notion of new "imagined communities" through information and communication structures, I ask the question: Are emergent teachers happy when they interact in online learning environments? This question is timely in the context of the ubiquity of online media and its pervasiveness in teachers' everyday work and lives. The research is important nationally and internationally, because the current research is contradictory. On the one hand, feelings of isolation and frustration have been cited as common emotions experienced in many online environments (Su, Bonk, Magjuka, Liu, & Lee, 2005). Yet others report that online communities encourage a sense of belonging and support (Mills, 2011). Emotions are inherently social, are central to learning and online interaction (Shen, Wang, & Shen, 2009). The presentations reports the use of e-motion blogs to explore emotional states of emergent primary teachers in an online learning context as they transition into their first field experience in schools. The original research was conducted with a graduate class of 64 secondary science pre-service teachers in Science Education Curriculum Studies in a large Australian university, including males and females from a variety of cultural backgrounds, aged 17-55 years. Online activities involved the participants watching a series of streamed live lectures within a course of 8 weeks duration, providing a varied set of learning experiences, such as viewing live teaching demonstrations. Each week, participants provided feedback on learning by writing and posting an e-motion diary or web log about their emotional response. The blogs answered the question: What emotions you experience during this learning experience? The descriptive data set included 284 online posts, with students contributing multiple entries. The Language of Appraisal framework, following Martin and White (2005), was used to cluster the discrete emotions within six affect groups. The findings demonstrated that the pre-service teachers' emotional responses tended towards happiness and satisfaction within the typology of affect groups - un/happiness, in/security, and dis/satisfaction. Fewer participants reported that online learning mode triggered negative feelings of frustration, and when this occurred, it often pertained expectations of themselves in the forthcoming field experience in schools or as future teachers. The findings primarily contribute new understanding about emotional states in online communities, and recommendations are provided for supporting the happiness and satisfaction of emergent teachers as they interact in online communities. It demonstrates that online environments can play an important role in fulfilling teachers' need for social interaction and inclusion.

Virtual 3D models of insects for accelerated quarantine control

We learn from the past that invasive species have caused tremendous damage to native species and serious disruption to agricultural industries. It is crucial for us to prevent this in the future. The first step of this process is to identify correctly an invasive species from native ones. Current identification methods, relying on mainly 2D images, can result in low accuracy and be time consuming. Such methods provide little help to a quarantine officer who has time constraints to response when on duty. To deal with this problem, we propose new solutions using 3D virtual models of insects. We explain how working with insects in the 3D domain can be much better than the 2D domain. We also describe how to create true-color 3D models of insects using an image-based 3D reconstruction method. This method is ideal for quarantine control and inspection tasks that involve the verification of a physical specimen against known invasive species. Finally we show that these insect models provide valuable material for other applications such as research, education, arts and entertainment. © 2013 IEEE.

A lucky break : contingency in the storied worlds of prickly pear

In July 1926, the science behind biological control transitioned from an experimental method to a trusted policy tool in invasive species management. In local storytelling, historical writing and scientific analysis, the ‘lucky’ discovery of the South American Cactoblastis cactorum moth was a watershed moment for scientists concerned with prickly pear, Opuntia and Nopalea spp. Within 10 years, Queensland declared itself pest free. Overnight success is the climax in this tale's narrative arc. Articulating this introduction as a ‘lucky break’ worked to stabilize the narrative of human control in the agricultural environments of post-colonial Queensland, and, in doing so, consolidated biological control as critical management technique. I argue that ‘luck’ elides the assemblage of elements and actors necessary to enable this change, allowing settlers to distance themselves from the responsibility for disruptions associated with nineteenth-century plant transfers. To challenge the rhetorical function of luck, three episodes of contingency are discussed: (1) transnational mobility of things and knowledge, (2) the unpredictable adaptation of insect diet, and; (3) human vectors in industrialized insect–plant complexes. There are important distinguishing differences between luck and contingency, which I frame as a critical analytical tool for understanding the political role of non-humans, in the storied worlds of science in prickly pear land.

Collaboration in Web N.0: Stigmergy and virtual pheromones

The aim of this project was to develop a general theory of stigmergy and a software design pattern to build collaborative websites. Stigmergy is a biological term used when describing some insect swarm-behaviour where 'food gathering' and 'nest building' activities demonstrate the emergence of self-organised societies achieved without an apparent management structure. The results of the project are an abstract model of stigmergy and a software design pattern for building Web 2.0 components exploiting this self-organizing phenomenon. A proof-of-concept implementation was also created demonstrating potential commercial viability for future website projects.

The future passenger experience: A shift from physical to virtual design

The importance of passenger experience in aviation has become well understood in the last several years. It is now generally accepted that the provision of good passenger experience is not an option, but a necessity, from an aviation profitability perspective. In this paper, we paint a picture of the future passenger experience by consolidating a number of industry and research perspectives. Using the future passenger experience as a starting point, we explore the components needed to enable this future vision. From this bottom-up approach, we identify the need to resolve data formatting and data ownership issues. The resolution of these data integration issues is necessary to enable the seamless future travel experience that is envisioned by the aviation industry. By looking at the passenger experience from this bottom-up, data centric perspective, we identify a potential shift in the way that future passenger terminals will be designed. Whereas currently the design of terminals is largely an architectural practice, in the near future, the design of the terminal building may become more of a virtual technology practice. This of course will pose a new set of challenges to designers of airport terminal environments.

A three dimensional virtual medical imaging computed tomography suite: Innovation in education

Aims: The Medical Imaging Training Immersive Environment(MITIE) Computed Tomography(CT) system is an innovative virtual reality (VR) platform that allows students to practice a range of CT techniques. The aim of this pilot study was to harvest user feedback about the educational value of teh application and inform future pedagogical development. This presentation explores the use of this technology for skills training. Background: MITIE CT is a 3D VR environment that allows students to position a patient,and set CT technical parameters including IV contrast dose and dose rate. As with VR initiatives in other health disciplines the software mimics clinical practice as much as possible and uses 3D technology to enhance immersion and realism. The software is new and was developed by the Medical Imaging Course Team at a provider University with funding from a Health Workforce Australia 'Simulated Learning Environments' grant Methods: Current third year medical imaging students were provided with additional 1 hour MITIE laboratory tutorials and studnet feedback was collated with regard to educational value and performance. Ethical approval for the project was provided by the university ethics panel Results: This presentation provides qualitative analysis of student perceptions relating to satisfaction, usability and educational value. Students reported high levels of satisfaction and both feedback and assessment results confirmed the application's significance as a pre-clinical tool. There was a clear emerging theme that MITIE could be a useful learning tool that students could access to consolidate their clinical learning, either on campus or during their clinical placement. Conclusion: Student feedback indicates that MITIE CT has a valuable role to play in the clinial skills training for medical imaging students both in the academic and clinical environment. Future work will establish a framework for an appropriate supprting pedagogy that can cross the boundary between the two environments

Simulating droplet motion on virtual leaf surfaces

A curvilinear thin film model is used to simulate the motion of droplets on a virtual leaf surface, with a view to better understand the retention of agricultural sprays on plants. The governing model, adapted from Roy et al. (2002 J. Fluid Mech. 454, 235–261) with the addition of a disjoining pressure term, describes the gravity- and curvature driven flow of a small droplet on a complex substrate: a cotton leaf reconstructed from digitized scan data. Coalescence is the key mechanism behind spray coating of foliage, and our simulations demonstrate that various experimentally observed coalescence behaviours can be reproduced qualitatively. By varying the contact angle over the domain, we also demonstrate that the presence of a chemical defect can act as an obstacle to the droplet’s path, causing break-up. In simulations on the virtual leaf, it is found that the movement of a typical spray size droplet is driven almost exclusively by substrate curvature gradients. It is not until droplet mass is sufficiently increased via coalescence that gravity becomes the dominating force.

A virtual environment for medical radiation collaborative learning

Asoftware-based environment was developed to provide practical training in medical radiation principles and safety. The Virtual Radiation Laboratory application allowed students to conduct virtual experiments using simulated diagnostic and radiotherapy X-ray generators. The experiments were designed to teach students about the inverse square law, half value layer and radiation protection measures and utilised genuine clinical and experimental data. Evaluation of the application was conducted in order to ascertain the impact of the software on students’ understanding, satisfaction and collaborative learning skills and also to determine potential further improvements to the software and guidelines for its continued use. Feedback was gathered via an anonymous online survey consisting of a mixture of Likert-style questions and short answer open questions. Student feedback was highly positive with 80 % of students reporting increased understanding of radiation protection principles. Furthermore 72 % enjoyed using the software and 87 %of students felt that the project facilitated collaboration within small groups. The main themes arising in the qualitative feedback comments related to efficiency and effectiveness of teaching, safety of environment, collaboration and realism. Staff and students both report gains in efficiency and effectiveness associated with the virtual experiments. In addition students particularly value the visualisation of ‘‘invisible’’ physical principles and increased opportunity for experimentation and collaborative problembased learning. Similar ventures will benefit from adopting an approach that allows for individual experimentation while visualizing challenging concepts.

The development of virtual leaf surface models for interactive agrichemical spray applications

This project constructed virtual plant leaf surfaces from digitised data sets for use in droplet spray models. Digitisation techniques for obtaining data sets for cotton, chenopodium and wheat leaves are discussed and novel algorithms for the reconstruction of the leaves from these three plant species are developed. The reconstructed leaf surfaces are included into agricultural droplet spray models to investigate the effect of the nozzle and spray formulation combination on the proportion of spray retained by the plant. A numerical study of the post-impaction motion of large droplets that have formed on the leaf surface is also considered.

Home is where the stuff is: Framing life-worlds in domestic space

This PhD playfully employs visual arts as a means through which to explore concepts of gender, normative behaviour, play, humour, collecting and an intimate and idiosyncratic relationship with domestic space. This PhD seeks to: represent certain complexities of individual experience through theoretical frameworks of Gaston Bachelard, Michel de Certeau, Pierre Bourdieu and selected visual artists; use my art to elucidate the humour that exists in the mundane; and illustrate the construction of particular life-worlds using auto-ethnography and visual documentation. This is represented in a 50,000 word exegesis (50%) and a practice comprising of eight artist books (50%).

Playing with Technology: Young Children Making Sense of Technology as Part of Their Everyday Social Worlds

Games and activities, often involving aspects of pretence and fantasy play, are an essential aspect of everyday preschool life for many young children. Young children’s spontaneous play activities can be understood as social life in action. Increasingly, young children’s games and activities involve their engagement in pretence using play props to represent computers, laptops and other pieces of technology equipment. In this way, pretend play becomes a context for engaging with matters from the real world. There are a number of studies investigating school-aged children engaging in gaming and other online activities, but less is known about what young children are doing with online technologies. Drawing on Australian Research Council funded research of children engaging with technologies at home and school, this chapter investigates how young children use technologies in everyday life by showing how they draw on props, both real or imaginary, to support their play activities. An ethnomethodological approach using conversation analysis is used to explore how children’s gestures, gaze and talk work to introduce ideas and activities. This chapter contributes to understandings of how children’s play intersects with technologies and pretend play.

Efectividad clínica de la intervención terapéutica sobre la mano con realidad virtual en sujetos hemipléjicos: revisión sistemática

Objetivo Revisar de forma sistemática y realizar una evaluación critica de las diferentes publicaciones existentes sobre el uso de la realidad virtual como elemento rehabilitador en la mano. Estrategias de búsqueda Se ha realizado una búsqueda en la base de datos Medline completada con búsquedas en Google Schoolar. Se ha limitado la búsqueda a 10 años de extensión, idiomas: inglés y español. Selección de estudios: se ha centrado sobre aquellos artículos relacionados con la realidad virtual y la rehabilitación funcional de la mano en el accidente cerebrovascular. Síntesis de resultados Debido a la falta de homogeneidad, no ha sido posible evaluar metodológicamente mediante instrumento Caspe. Se detectaron 200 artículos de los cuales 12 cumplen los criterios de selección de los mismos. Dichos artículos han sido agrupados en relación con diferentes criterios como son: tipo de estudio, sistema de evaluación utilizado, periféricos usados o resultados obtenidos entre otros. Conclusiones No se ha obtenido una homogeneidad conjunta sobre los artículos, por ello se debe continuar realizando avances en este ámbito. A pesar de ello, los entornos de realidad virtual pueden ser un instrumento válido para la recuperación funcional de la mano en los accidentes cerebrovasculares, no siendo aptos como elemento único rehabilitador. Abstract in English Objective To make a systematic review and critical assessment of the different existing publications on the use of virtual reality as an element in rehabilitation of the hand. Search Method A search was made in the Medline database completed with searches in Google Schoolar. The search was limited to a period of ten years, and English and Spanish languages. Study selection The study was focused on those articles related to virtual reality and the functional rehabilitation of the hand in stroke. Synthesis of results It was not possible to perform a methodological evaluation using the Caspe instrument due to lack of homogeneity. Two hundred 200 articles were found. Of these, 12 met the criteria for their selection. These articles were grouped in relation to different criteria such as: type of study, assessment system used, hardware used or outcomes results obtained, among others. Conclusions Joint homogeneity was not obtained for the articles. Therefore, progress must still be made in this area. In spite of this, virtual reality environments can be a valid tool for functional recovery of the hand in strokes but they are not adequate for use as a single rehabilitative treatment element.