Neue Medien und Hochschule: Nach der Euphorie

Vortragsfolien eines eingeladenen Vortrags auf der 58. Jahrestagung Bundesverband Deutscher Stiftungen am 16.05.2002 in Hamburg. Das Thema der Jahrestagung war „Stiftungen in der Wissensgesellschaft“. Der Vortrag geht in kurzer und unterhaltsamer Form auf Vorstellungen und Hoffnungen der Wissensvermittlung mittels E-Learning ein. Stiftungen waren ganz wesentlich an der Gründung der Informatik in Kassel beteiligt, was im Vortrag auch gestreift wird.

Interface issues in the ESCHER visual database editor

Presentation at the 1997 Dagstuhl Seminar "Evaluation of Multimedia Information Retrieval", Norbert Fuhr, Keith van Rijsbergen, Alan F. Smeaton (eds.), Dagstuhl Seminar Report 175, 14.04. - 18.04.97 (9716). - Abstract: This presentation will introduce ESCHER, a database editor which supports visualization in non-standard applications in engineering, science, tourism and the entertainment industry. It was originally based on the extended nested relational data model and is currently extended to include object-relational properties like inheritance, object types, integrity constraints and methods. It serves as a research platform into areas such as multimedia and visual information systems, QBE-like queries, computer-supported concurrent work (CSCW) and novel storage techniques. In its role as a Visual Information System, a database editor must support browsing and navigation. ESCHER provides this access to data by means of so called fingers. They generalize the cursor paradigm in graphical and text editors. On the graphical display, a finger is reflected by a colored area which corresponds to the object a finger is currently pointing at. In a table more than one finger may point to objects, one of which is the active finger and is used for navigating through the table. The talk will mostly concentrate on giving examples for this type of navigation and will discuss some of the architectural needs for fast object traversal and display. ESCHER is available as public domain software from our ftp site in Kassel. The portable C source can be easily compiled for any machine running UNIX and OSF/Motif, in particular our working environments IBM RS/6000 and Intel-based LINUX systems. A porting to Tcl/Tk is under way.

Gone with the internet - How the old education was lost

Despite its young history, Computer Science Education has seen a number of "revolutions". Being a veteran in the field, the author reflects on the many changes he has seen in computing and its teaching. The intent of this personal collection is to point out that most revolutions came unforeseen and that many of the new learning initiatives, despite high financial input, ultimately failed. The author then considers the current revolution (MOOC, inverted lectures, peer instruction, game design) and, based on the lessons learned earlier, argues why video recording is so successful. Given the fact that this is the decade we lost print (papers, printed books, book shops, libraries), the author then conjectures that the impact of the Internet will make this revolution different from previous ones in that most of the changes are irreversible. As a consequence he warns against storming ahead blindly and suggests to conserve - while it is still possible - valuable components of what might soon be called the antebellum age of education.

El rol del profesor en el aprendizaje colaborativo mediado por ordenador.

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Enseñanza de inglés asistida por ordenador : evaluación de CALL en general y de algunos programas en particular.

Número homenaje a: Isabel Azcárate Ristori, Carmen García Surrallés, Carmen Pereda del Collado y Máximo Pajares Barón. Resumen basado en el de la revista

La interactividad multimodal en la sección de lengua extranjera de la Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad en España.

Monográfico con el título: 'Nuevas perspectivas en la sección de idiomas de la Prueba de Acceso a la Universidad'. Resumen basado en el de la publicación

The distributed work of local action: interaction amongst virtually collocated research teams

Existing research on synchronous remote working in CSCW has highlighted the troubles that can arise because actions at one site are (partially) unavailable to remote colleagues. Such ‘local action’ is routinely characterised as a nuisance, a distraction, subordinate and the like. This paper explores interconnections between ‘local action’ and ‘distributed work’ in the case of a research team virtually collocated through ‘MiMeG’. MiMeG is an e-Social Science tool that facilitates ‘distributed data sessions’ in which social scientists are able to remotely collaborate on the real-time analysis of video data. The data are visible and controllable in a shared workspace and participants are additionally connected via audio conferencing. The findings reveal that whilst the (partial) unavailability of local action is at times problematic, it is also used as a resource for coordinating work. The paper considers how local action is interactionally managed in distributed data sessions and concludes by outlining implications of the analysis for the design and study of technologies to support group-to-group collaboration.

A Real-time, Predictive Architecture for Distributed Virtual Reality

User interaction within a virtual environment may take various forms: a teleconferencing application will require users to speak to each other (Geak, 1993), with computer supported co-operative working; an Engineer may wish to pass an object to another user for examination; in a battle field simulation (McDonough, 1992), users might exchange fire. In all cases it is necessary for the actions of one user to be presented to the others sufficiently quickly to allow realistic interaction. In this paper we take a fresh look at the approach of virtual reality operating systems by tackling the underlying issues of creating real-time multi-user environments.

Measuring the value of “all play and no work”: can rigorous assessment of simulation games drive innovative teaching in construction?

The construction field is dynamic and dominated by complex, ill-defined problems for which myriad possible solutions exist. Teaching students to solve construction-related problems requires an understanding of the nature of these complex problems as well as the implementation of effective instructional strategies to address them. Traditional approaches to teaching construction planning and management have long been criticized for presenting students primarily with well-defined problems - an approach inconsistent with the challenges encountered in the industry. However, growing evidence suggests that employing innovative teaching approaches, such as interactive simulation games, offers more active, hands-on and problem-based learning opportunities for students to synthesize and test acquired knowledge more closely aligned with real-life construction scenarios. Simulation games have demonstrated educational value in increasing student problem solving skills and motivation through critical attributes such as interaction and feedback-supported active learning. Nevertheless, broad acceptance of simulation games in construction engineering education remains limited. While recognizing benefits, research focused on the role of simulation games in educational settings lacks a unified approach to developing, implementing and evaluating these games. To address this gap, this paper provides an overview of the challenges associated with evaluating the effectiveness of simulation games in construction education that still impede their wide adoption. An overview of the current status, as well as the results from recently implemented Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS) game at Penn State provide lessons learned, and are intended to guide future efforts in developing interactive simulation games to reach their full potential.

A Survey on Graphical Methods for Classification Predictive Performance Evaluation

Predictive performance evaluation is a fundamental issue in design, development, and deployment of classification systems. As predictive performance evaluation is a multidimensional problem, single scalar summaries such as error rate, although quite convenient due to its simplicity, can seldom evaluate all the aspects that a complete and reliable evaluation must consider. Due to this, various graphical performance evaluation methods are increasingly drawing the attention of machine learning, data mining, and pattern recognition communities. The main advantage of these types of methods resides in their ability to depict the trade-offs between evaluation aspects in a multidimensional space rather than reducing these aspects to an arbitrarily chosen (and often biased) single scalar measure. Furthermore, to appropriately select a suitable graphical method for a given task, it is crucial to identify its strengths and weaknesses. This paper surveys various graphical methods often used for predictive performance evaluation. By presenting these methods in the same framework, we hope this paper may shed some light on deciding which methods are more suitable to use in different situations.

Introducing Undergraduate Students to Science

Understanding the scientific method fosters the development of critical thinking and logical analysis of information. Additionally, proposing and testing a hypothesis is applicable not only to science, but also to ordinary facts of daily life. Knowing the way science is done and how its results are published is useful for all citizens and mandatory for science students. A 60-h course was created to offer undergraduate students a framework in which to learn the procedures of scientific production and publication. The course`s main focus was biochemistry, and it was comprised of two modules. Module I dealt with scientific articles, and Module II with research project writing. Module I covered the topics: 1) the difference between scientific knowledge and common sense, 2) different conceptions of science, 3) scientific methodology, 4) scientific publishing categories, 5) logical principles, 6) deductive and inductive approaches, and 7) critical reading of scientific articles. Module II dealt with 1) selection of an experimental problem for investigation, 2) bibliographic revision, 3) materials and methods, 4) project writing and presentation, 5) funding agencies, and 6) critical analysis of experimental results. The course adopted a collaborative learning strategy, and each topic was studied through activities performed by the students. Qualitative and quantitative course evaluations with Likert questionnaires were carried out at each stage, and the results showed the students` high approval of the course. The staff responsible for course planning and development also evaluated it positively. The Biochemistry Department of the Chemistry Institute of the University of Sao Paulo has offered the course four times.

Från traditionellt akademiskt bibliotek till modern lärmiljö : Högskolan Dalarnas bibliotek – förväntningar och resultat

I denna rapport beskrivs idéerna bakom Högskolan Dalarnas prisbelönta bibliotek i Falun. Planerings- och byggprocessen beskrivs och det färdiga resultatet utvärderas, samt de erfarenheter som har gjorts delas.

Redefining the Academic Library Managing the Migration to Digital Information Services

Academic libraries are faced with a daunting series of challenges brought on by the digital revolution. In an era when millions of books, articles, images, and videos available instantaneously via the web, libraries across all institutional types are experiencing declining demand for their traditional services, built around the storage and dissemination of physical resources. At the same time, new demand for digital information services and collaborative learning spaces promise new areas of opportunity and engagement with patrons. A rapid and orderly transition to “the library of the future” requires difficult trade-offs, however, as no institution can afford to continue expanding both its commitment to comprehensive, local print collections as well as new investments in staff, technology, and renovations. This report illustrates how progressive academic libraries are evolving in response to these challenges, providing case studies and best practices in managing library space, staff, and resources.

Um Estudo dos efeitos organizacionais e sociais da utilização da tecnologia Groupware Lotus Notes na administração pública do Estado do Paraná

Em 1995, o Estado do Paraná escolheu o software Lotus Notes como solução de correio eletrônico distribuído e automação de escritórios para suas estruturas organizacionais. Após 5 anos do início do processo de sua implantação, a previsão inicial de 3.600 licenças de uso dessa tecnologia groupware já foi amplamente superada. Existem atualmente mais de 9.000 usuários do Lotus Notes, distribuídos em praticamente todos os níveis da administração pública. Essa dissertação é o primeiro estudo formal realizado para avaliar os impactos organizacionais e sociais produzidos pela utilização de tecnologias de informação colaborativas na administração pública do Paraná. Os capítulos que fazem parte dessa dissertação focalizam em tecnologias de informação colaborativas, com ênfase no Lotus Notes e a sua utilização na administração pública. Inicialmente são introduzidos conceitos básicos sobre Groupware e CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work), em seguida é apresentado o Lotus Notes, com um breve histórico de sua criação e uma visão resumida de pesquisas acadêmicas sobre implementações dessa tecnologia. Na seqüência, o ambiente de informática da administração pública do Estado do Paraná e a questão da seleção de uma plataforma tecnológica para resolver o problema de comunicação nesse ambiente são descritos, assim como o processo de implantação do Lotus Notes no Estado. A parte principal desse trabalho é apresentada em seguida: uma ampla pesquisa realizada nos órgãos da administração pública sobre a utilização do Lotus Notes, operacionalizada através de questionários virtuais e entrevistas. O modelo referencial utilizado na pesquisa é mostrado, assim como seu embasamento conceitual e as variáveis consideradas nas questões. Na conclusão são comentados os principais resultados do trabalho realizado, as contribuições e benefícios de sua realização, assim como sugestões de continuidade para futuras pesquisas sobre o assunto.