Architectural Technology and the BIM Acronym 3: Getting to Grips with BIM

Among Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in particular, the UK Government’s ambitions regarding BIM uptake and diffusion across the construction sector may be tempered by a realpolitik shaped in part by interactions between the industry, Higher Education (HE) and professional practice. That premise also has a global perspective. Building on the previous 2 papers, Architectural technology and the BIM Acronym 1 and 2, this third iteration is a synthesis of research and investigations carried out over a number of years directly related to the practical implementation of BIM and its impact upon BE SMEs. First challenges, risks and potential benefits for SMEs and micros in facing up to the necessity to engage with digital tools in a competitive and volatile marketplace are discussed including tailoring BIM to suit business models, and filtering out achievable BIM outcomes from generic and bespoke aspects of practice. Second the focus is on setting up and managing teams engaging with BIM scenarios, including the role of clients; addresses a range of paradigms including lonely BIM and collaborative working. The significance of taking a whole life view with BIM is investigated including embedding soft landings principles into project planning and realisation. Thirdly procedures for setting up and managing common data environments are identified and the value of achieving smooth information flow is addressed. The overall objective of this paper is to provide SMEs with a practical strategy to develop a toolkit to BIM implementation.

El rol del conocimiento y de las habilidades intelectuales generales en la adquisición del aprendizaje complejo

El objetivo principal del presente trabajo es examinar la relación existente entre la habilidad intelectual y la habilidad de organización del conocimiento dentro de un modelo más general sobre los factores explicativos de la adquisición de conocimientos y habilidades. Se trata de comprobar si se produce un efecto compensatorio entre la habilidad intelectual general y la habilidad para organizar el conocimiento, así como establecer si el aprendizaje de los sujetos que obtienen un mayor conocimiento en un dominio particular viene predicho/explicado por las mismas variables que explican el aprendizaje de los sujetos que obtienen un menor conocimiento. Los resultados, en una muestra de estudiantes universitarios, indican que no se produce un efecto de interacción entre ambos factores, sino más bien un efecto aditivo. No obstante, sí se observa que el efecto de la inteligencia no es el mismo en los distintos niveles de conocimiento adquirido.

Juguem a definir la ciència: recursos per treballar el lèxic acadèmic col·laborativament

El coneixement de la ciència i la tècnica es representa i es transfereix a través de paraules que tenen un significat especialitzat, precís i concís. L’accés al coneixement especialitzat permet l’ús adequat de la terminologia. Treballar el llenguatge juntament amb el coneixement científic des dels inicis és crucial. En el projecte «Jugant a definir la ciència» (I i II) partim del supòsit que les bases del coneixement especialitzat es comencen a adquirir en els primers anys de vida d’una persona. El nostre objecte d’estudi és presentar recursos per treballar col·laborativament paraules bàsiques de la ciència a l’escola com ara aigua, espai, estrella, cervell, gel, mort, sol, calor, velocitat, aire, vida, etc. Enguany, el projecte ha saltat a la xarxa. En aquest article presentem, a més, la plataforma digital, «El club lèxic», que fomenta el treball col·laboratiu.

MOOCs, Open educational resources and social networking: bridging the gap between informal and formal learning

MOOCs and open educational resources (OER) provide a wealth of learning opportunities for people around the globe, many of whom have no access to formal higher education. OER are often difficult to locate and are accessed on their own without support from or dialogue with subject experts and peers. This paper looks at whether it is possible to develop effective learning communities around OER and whether these communities can emerge spontaneously and in a self-organised way without moderation. It examines the complex interplay between formal and informal learning, and examines whether MOOCs are the answer to providing effective interaction and dialogue for those wishing to study at university level for free on the Internet.