Data rich digital architectural environments

The development of data rich digital environments for the construction industry has been problematic despite the initial optimism when their application to design and construction was first considered. This paper reviews the current state of the art research into the application of information technology in design and construction and identifies the more critical issues in its adoption. In conclusion the paper then proposes a preliminary theoretical model being developed as a research tool for investigation into highly detailed information flows in a case study building renovation project. This investigation aims to track the detailed information flows and knowledge system used by the stakeholders in the building project.

Innovating from the inside: teacher influence and the 'promisingness' of digital learning environments

In line with global trends, Australian educational policy emphatically recognises the need for contemporary learners to be digitally literate, with provision of 'one-to-one' devices to individual learners in schools a major implementation strategy. However, without teacher commitment, the benefits of such investment in one-to-one programs are undermined and the devices themselves are under-utilised. Too often, the focus on hardware is not accompanied by insight into the organisational learning and change required in pedagogical practices. In the knowledge that curriculum and pedagogical renewal rests squarely with teachers and leaders rather than with technological hardware and software per se, this article draws on outcomes/findings from a school/university ethnographic collaboration which closely explored the introduction of a school-funded, one-to-one netbook program in a school excluded from a state-wide initiative. It seeks to make visible the often overlooked work of teachers as members of learning organisations through a narrative of change. The narrative focuses on teacher agency and capacity to mobilise a school community to commit to a vision of; no-blame risk taking; collective professional learning; the power of purpose and passion; leadership in the face of government practice which disempowered teachers and disadvantaged students; and the development of an innovation 'from the inside'.

Strangely familiar: teacher-researchers rethinking literacy pedagogies in digital environments

This article reports on a collaborative project between middle school teachers and university researchers exploring the impact of a one to one netbook program on literacy teaching and learning at one Australian primary school. Following the traditions of ethnographic classroom research and practitioner research in literacy, we describe and analyse the evolution of teacher knowledge and understandings informing the processes of reshaping print based literacy pedagogies and practices within digital learning environments. The study sought to explore the possibilities of one-to-one computing through an investigation of the affordances of digital literacy pedagogies within an open plan learning environment. We focus on the richness of ethnographic tools, in particular visual ethnographic methods, for "making the familiar strange" and identify contexts supporting the emergence of innovative digital literacy pedagogies and powerful professional learning in primary classrooms. Drawing on surveys, interviews and conversations with teachers and students and classroom observations, we suggest that dialogues between teachers and researchers provide a forum for co-construction of insights into innovative digital literacy pedagogies and offer rich learning opportunities for students, teachers and researchers.

Multimodal literacy, digital games and curriculum

Digital games offer enormous potential for learning and engagement in mathematics ideas and processes. This volume offers multidisciplinary perspectives—of educators, cognitive scientists, psychologists and sociologists—on how digital games influence the social activities and mathematical ideas of learners/gamers. Contributing authors identify opportunities for broadening current understandings of how mathematical ideas are fostered (and embedded) within digital game environments. In particular, the volume advocates for new and different ways of thinking about mathematics in our digital age—proposing that these mathematical ideas and numeracy practices are distinct from new literacies or multiliteracies. The authors acknowledge that the promise of digital games has not always been realised/fulfilled. There is emerging, and considerable, evidence to suggest that traditional discipline boundaries restrict opportunities for mathematical learning. Throughout the book, what constitutes mathematics learnings and pedagogy is contested. Multidisciplinary viewpoints are used to describe and understand the potential of digital games for learning mathematics and identify current tensions within the field.Mathematics learning is defined as being about problem solving; engagement in mathematical ideas and processes; and social engagement. The artefact, which is the game, shapes the ways in which the gamers engage with the social activity of gaming. In parallel, the book (as a textual artefact) will be supported by Springer’s online platform—allowing for video and digital communication (including links to relevant websites) to be used as supplementary material and establish a dynamic communication space.

Sky high, skin deep: dark technologies of mediation

Media has become responsive architecture. Intelligent media artefacts are now embedded into the very fabric of our existence; they have become the structure of society itself. Ubiquitous computing creates informational environments in which material structures of communication become alive with agency. McLuhan's light bulb is now everyware: [1] technology that mediates by its mere presence. Pervasive mediation, a combination of mobile networks and systems of material translation such as 3D printers and programmable matter--is our current regime of mediation.

Process model to support data rich digital environments

This paper proposes a theoretical process model and the associated detailed information structure which reflects the complexity of information, stakeholder interaction and intellectual property concerns which are currently seen in the construction industry. This is being developed and tested against a field study renovation project. The field study project identifies information flows and interactions between stakeholders such as designers, project managers, clients, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. The process model which is being established shows very high levels of complexity in dependencies and interdependencies between implicit and explicit information within the project design and construction teams. Without an understanding of these detailed and complex process interactions, proposals for the application of ICT to the construction industry will not reflect the requirements of those for whom they are being developed.

New students, new learning, new environments in higher education : literacies in the digital age

Information literacy is developing new meanings and importance in the online age of teaching and learning in higher education. Information literacy, as a highly prized graduate attribute, is related to the development of lifelong learning capacities. Its strong re-emergence in the form of digital literacy in the context of major online developments at Deakin University is considered through four cases. In each case the reader is asked to consider how the teaching staff members have conceived critical discipline-based information and digital literacies, how these conceptions are related to desired learning outcomes, the types of digital and online environments designed to support the development of these literacies, and how each one contributes to the development of lifelong learning capacities. Information and digital literacy is enlivened through being situated in broader understandings of new generations of learners, new forms of learning and new e-supported learning environments. Educational design, evaluation, research and technology implications of these new types of digital and online-based teaching and learning environments are finally examined.

Towards a digital representation of physical phenomena to assess comfort in future environments

This paper presents the concept and a test implementation of a digital representation of the physical world designed to assess comfort quality in
future environments. An integrated set of physical phenomena is modeled three-dimensionally to investigate the dynamic behavior of design objects
holistically.

The formulation supports the integration of computational simulation in the performance-based design process. It employs the principles of
geometrical and physical selfcontainedness to avoid that complex geometrical and physical circumstances have to be specified at design time. The concepts of congeneric cells and congeneric conjunctions are
introduced to simulate various physical phenomena simultaneously with a uniformly structured set of equations.

The concept, the prototype implementation and selected test cases are presented. Although it was not possible to implement all features and model parts completely, the research and the discussion of its achievements make valuable contributions towards more effective integration of computational simulation in the performance-based design process.

Towards a universal and integrated digital representation of physical phenomena: a model to investigate comfort and energy efficiency in future environments

This thesis describes the exploration and the development of computational means to investigate the behaviour of design objects before they are available for investigation in the physical world. The motivation is to inform the design process about the design object's performance in order to achieve better--more performance-oriented--design outcomes in the sense of energy efficiency and comfort performance than can be achieved by conventional design techniques.

Navigating 21st century multimodal textual environments : a case study of digital literacy

In the 21st Century young people have the opportunity to create texts that were unimaginable for previous generations. Today’s children live and learn while immersed in a technological world that is fast paced and constantly in a state of change. As technology becomes more and more accessible and specifically marketed to children of the 21st century, educators are challenged to re-consider the literacy skills required to be successfully and safely literate, and the repertoire of literacy pedagogies teacher must have to effectively engage these young people in learning. While there is much evidence to suggest that schools and teachers are not all meeting this challenge, there are some inspiring examples in which schools, communities and teachers are taking up the challenge. This paper presents one case study, which is explored through a 21st century literacy framework that allows us to interpret and analyse the multimodal texts and the processes students use in their creation. Attention is paid to how the case study teacher created meaningful learning experiences and opportunities for them to create and interact within multimodal communications environments, both within and beyond the school.

Navigating 21st Century multimodal textual environments: a case study of digital literacy

In the 21st century young people live and learn in a technological world that is fast paced and in a constant state of change. As technology becomes more and more accessible outside of the classroom,educators are challenged to re-consider the literacy skills required to be successfully literate. Enacting literacy teaching and learning in and for the 21st century requires teachers to update their pedagogicalknowledge, skills and contextual understanding of the world children live and learn in. This chapter offers a brief overview of the Australian Curriculum, locating it within a 21st century learning discourse.The authors interpret and analyse one young student’s creation of a digital text in a movie modality. Attention is paid to how the case study teacher created meaningful digital literacy learning experiences and opportunities for children to create and interact in social, multimodal textual environments, both within and beyond the school.

Renewing assessment practices: literacy teaching and learning in digital environments

Interpretations of “literacy” and approaches to literacy pedagogy and assessment are under renewal as meaning-making and learning are increasingly situated in digitized environments. While the implications of these shifts are in part technological, they are also relational, as students are increasingly positioned as interactive with participatory roles in self-knowledge and increased responsibility for their learning. However, while shifts are occurring in understandings of literacy and approaches to literacy pedagogy, the same cannot be said for the way in which assessments of digital literacies are undertaken. There is a lack of valid, reliable, and practical assessments of new literacies to inform and help students to become better prepared for study, work, and citizenship in digital environments. This article maps five characteristics of effective formative assessment in print-based classrooms with seven affordancesin digital learning and assessment to suggest an analytical framework for examining teacher and student assessment in digital environments. Drawing on data from a research project in which a team of teachers introduced a one-to-one computing program and worked to renew their literacy assessment practices, this article discusses how each of the seven affordances are enacted in the assessment practices in a years five and six primary school classroom. The findings from this research project show that educational technologies have the potential to enable new approaches to teaching, learning, and assessment that better align with the needs of twenty-first century literacy learners. The findings alsosupport approaches to formative assessment that value print and multimodality and engage students in more flexible and differentiated ways. They can enable teachers and students to be re-positioned as designers, knowledge producers, and collaborative learners. The seven affordances provide a framework that holds rich possibilities for teacher learning and planning as prompts to support reflection on formative assessment practices, critique habitual practices, and considernew opportunities.

A facility for the integration of live and virtual environments in realtime

This paper describes a research facility which has been established to explore the integration of live and virtual environments in real-time. The facility combines digital ontput from both live and electronic sources such as video, animatinos and 3D virtual environments and enables the monitoring and control of the interaction between live actors and the digital enviromnents. This provides a research environment in which the interaction between participants in the design and construction process and 3D virtual buildings can be investigated. This will lead to the enhancement of decision making and planning in the design and construction process.