2012

The Student Perspective

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The Student Perspective Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 12/04/2012 - 00:00

The average undergraduate today has been learning in front of a screen and typing away at a keypad since early childhood. "I do remember when we still could choose between turning in a typed paper and a handwritten one," says junior Mifa Kim. Yet, most students have never experienced a pre-digital classroom. "I remember computers always being there," says junior Jen Lee. If you ask a current college student, education and technology are fundamentally interlinked.

Perhaps the most important question today is whether or not our current education technologies are effective. This is is a question that teachers and organizations at CU (ASSETT included) are trying to answer. Which technologies contribute to learning? What hinders student progress? In my previous post, I discussed technology that has been shown to distract students. In an attempt to determine which tools are most successful, I sat down with twelve undergraduate art students to ask their perspectives on specific tools being used in classrooms at CU.

Triple major Yasmine Dawud puts down her paintbrush and considers my question carefully. "Lecture Capture has really saved me," she says. "And iclickers are helpful, but only in science classes." Dawud is an insatiable learner, as enthusiastic about oil painting as she is about finance and comic books. When I ask her to describe her experience with Lecture Capture, she gladly elaborates.

Dawud's Lecture Capture course is a long walk from her morning class, making it difficult for her to reach her seat on time. "It's not that students don't want to be there," she says, explaining that she learns more when she is "actually interacting with other students and actively answering questions." Lecture Capture, she explains, is valuable in that it allows her to keep up with classes that she wouldn't be able to attend any other way. Instead of falling behind when she is sick or late, she watches the lectures and reviews them for upcoming exams.

Most of the students agree with Dawud. Even those who have never used Lecture Capture are excited about its possibilities:"I would definitely take advantage of Lecture Capture" says sophomore Keegan Valaika who wishes his classes were recorded. "It would be very helpful to have the lectures available" agrees Kat Brown, a freshman in her first semester. She hopes to take her first Lecture Capture course next semester.

Despite these advantages, there is one drawback. "I haven't gone to office hours because of Lecture Capture," says Dawud. Based on her experience, the availability of lecture notes means that she is less inclined to ask her professor for help with the material. Dawud wishes she had more excuses to get to know her professors.

iclickers are a more divisive topic. Most agree that they are helpful, but only in large lecture classes. Many students seem slightly embarrassed by them. "I hate them because they know more than you do," says Kat Brown, although she admits "they also help you to to stay awake and pay attention."

"iclickers are impersonal," says Natalie Rechter.

"They punish you double," says Keegan Valaika, explaining that he doesn't think it's fair that professors can use iclickers to deduct points for missing class. "And they always choose to check attendance during the most boring lecture of the year," he adds.

Comments about Desire to Learn (D2L) were mainly neutral, though Jen Lee explained that she appreciates it when teachers post lecture slides and notes. "Reviewing PowerPoint slides helps me a lot in learning. Otherwise, things don't stick in my brain,"
she says, laughing. Other students enjoy being able to monitor their progress through regular grade postings on D2L.

The topic of blogging is met with a more enthusiastic response. Keegan Valaika who is drawn to classes that "allow creativity" enjoyed contributing to a class blog in Dr. Claire Farago's art history class. "I liked that blog," he says. "Everything was right there. We had WordPress and a syllabus. We had to post a summary every Sunday... an analysis of the previous class." An additional advantage, he says, was that "we didn't have to buy books." Kat Brown nods vigorously. She recently had to spend $230 on a single French textbook.

It is also important to note that many students are leery of the idea that technological tools can solve their problems. "More technology isn't the solution," says Dawud. "I want professors to be a physical being." Dawud, Brown, Kim and Kirkpatrick all said that they learn best by reading books. As discussed in the previous article, most students prefer taking handwritten notes and often feel distracted by gadgets inside and outside the classroom.

I wrap up the interviews by asking each student to invent a new tool to improve the college learning experience.

Like Kat Brown, several students want technology to help combat exorbitant textbook prices. Alex Kirkpatrick, a visitor to the class, spends several minutes describing a "practical and easy way to carry your books" before he realizes that he has re-invented the Kindle. Keegan Valaika begins inventing a "way to record lectures" before noticing that he is describing Lecture Capture. Natalie Rechter designs a classroom where each desk contains a built-in computer so that students won't have to carry their laptops back and forth to class.

In the end, Mifa Kim offers the most original answer: "I would like to invent a digital professor app," she says, describing a portable instructor-clone that students can carry in their pockets."That way I will be able to brainstorm with my professors any hour of day."

If these twelve undergraduates are in any way representative of the larger student population, it seems that students benefit from many of the tools available today. It is also clear that there are problems to be solved. While issues like high textbook costs may possibly have a technological solution, problems with technology itself will only be resolved through careful analysis and troubleshooting. Maintaining a dialogue with the students using these tools seems like the best way to move forward.

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PhET: Teaching Science with Computer Simulations by Ashley Williams

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

PhET: Teaching Science with Computer Simulations by Ashley Williams Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/27/2012 - 00:00

What would you learn if you could turn off the atmosphere? What problems might you solve if you could increase the force of gravity or had the ability to manipulate individual electrons in a circuit? Demonstrations and experiments have long been an important tool in science education, yet real-world limitations often make it impossible for students to see invisible interactions or understand the influence of massive forces. But by using PhET, an interactive simulation platform developed at CU �鶹ӰԺ, students can alter powerful forces and see the unseen.

In 2002, Nobel Laureate Dr. Carl Wieman founded PhET as a way to help students learn through independent exploration. Funded in part by Dr. Wieman’s Nobel award, a team of scientists and designers from CU �鶹ӰԺ have created a wide range of interactive computer simulations that students and teachers can download for free. The acronym “PhET” initially stood for “Physics Education Technology,” but the project has expanded to offer simulations on a range of science topics including biology, chemistry, and mathematics. As of August 2012, over 100 simulations have been created, tested, and released to the public.

The software is organized by grade level:

Elementary school students can learn why balloons stick to sweaters by simulating friction and observing positive and negative charges.
Students in middle school begin to understand color vision by mixing light, creating rainbows and observing individual photons.
High school students and university undergraduates are introduced to cutting edge research on lasers and optical quantum control.

Although the concepts vary, the visual and interactive experience remains consistent throughout grade levels. Almost all elements in a simulation are simple, colorful, and movable. The “Fluid Pressure and Flow” demonstration allows students to modify fluid density, gravitational pull, atmospheric pressure, and the shape of a pipe through which water is flowing, to see how it changes speed. Students can often switch between different screen views and information boxes can be turned on and off. Some simulations, like the ever-popular “Electric Field Hockey” contain game-like elements.

Because these games have the potential to be distracting, PhET researchers conduct extensive testing on new projects. Each simulation is analyzed carefully to make certain that students are learning the intended concepts and can easily interact with the software. Researchers observe which features are helpful and which are distracting, eliminating superfluous elements and adding new details that aid learning.

After the research is complete and simulations are released to the public, this material is used by teachers in a variety of ways. Although many students interact with PhET material independently, teachers also integrate the software into their lectures. When using PhET demonstrations in the science classroom, it has been observed that “students often ask many more, and deeper questions.”[i] According to the PhET lecture guide, “Once students realize the ease with which the simulation’s controls can be changed by the instructor, it is common for student ideas to direct investigation of a sim through a series of ‘what-if’ questions.”[ii] It seems that students pay more attention when they have the opportunity to interact with the material directly. This is very difficult to accomplish in an auditorium lecture, but PhET allows for these interactions to happen even in large classes.

PhET software is now being used by teachers and students around the world. The newest tested simulations include explorations of molecule polarity and bending light. Because of its popularity abroad, PhET has added a function that allows the simulations to be easily translated into dozens of different languages. As more students and teachers gain access to this material, Dr. Weiman’s dream of encouraging scientific exploration at all levels of education is coming true. “It’s the best science education software that money can buy,” says Dr. Mike Dubson, science expert and software engineer at PhET, “except you can’t buy it because it’s free.”

[i] http://phet.colorado.edu/publications/classroom-use/PhETUseInLecture.pdf

[ii] http://phet.colorado.edu/publications/classroom-use/PhETUseInLecture.pdf

Article written by Ashley E. Williams, ASSETT research assistant

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Nine Theses On Teaching With Technology by Ben Robertson

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Nine Theses On Teaching With Technology by Ben Robertson Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/27/2012 - 00:00

The following theses come out of my experience with a faculty seminar at CU �鶹ӰԺ on the subject of Teaching with Technology sponsored by Arts and Sciences Support of Education Through Technology (ASSETT). I do not claim any sort of comprehensiveness nor exhaustiveness. There are further things to be said and any number of issues that I have ignored. I do not claim that any of these theses are correct or proven; they are places to begin.

1. We always “teach with technology”

Before there were computers, there were textbooks. Before there was presentation software, there were black and white boards. Before there were word processors, there were notebooks and pens. Before there was print, there was writing. Before there was writing, there was speech. And don’t forget about purposeful images. If teaching involves a passing along of knowledge, skill, etc. in a process that is not simply nor merely mimetic, but involves some sort of abstraction, then teaching involves technology.

2. “Teaching with technology” is redundant

The usefulness of the phrase has less to do with its brute truthfulness than it does with how it informs us in another manner, how it draws our attention to what we have been doing and how we have been previously informed or disciplined. In short, we have always taught with technology, even before we were aware of doing so. Our use of such technologies was mimetic (based on having seen others doing something similar), done without an abstract knowledge of what we were doing. Thus “teaching with technology” abstracts our practices so that we might know them.

3. We never teach “with” technology

Following from the claims above, we must understand that technology is never something that is simply “with” us, in two senses. First, and most simply, if teaching always involves some form of technology (from language to the Internet), then we cannot use “with.” Such would be the equivalent of “I eat withmy mouth” or “I see with my eyes.” Without a mouth, I don’t eat. Without eyes, I don’t see. (Or at least not in the ways I am used to). Second, technology is not simply “with” us. That is, technology is neither transparent nor neutral. Technology adds to (or disposes of) teaching in unexpected ways, often in ways that do not conform to our desires or our expectations. Thus technology is not “with” us. That’s not to say that it is “against” us, but rather to say that whatever its allegiances seem to be at any given moment, they have, in fact, no concern for us whatsoever.

4. We need to think harder about what we mean by “technology”

We focus on computers, networks, and course management software. We think about presentation software and, maybe, clickers. We do not think hard enough about (text)books, pens, spiral-bound notebooks, backboards, our language as language, etc. No doubt there is a vast body of research on these matters, but seminars, conferences, and informal discussions on “teaching with technology” tend to focus on digital technologies. There are other technologies at work in the classroom (and outside of the classroom, where a great deal of what comprises teaching in the classroom gets done in terms of prep). Because these technologies are not neutral, because they operate in the classroom in unexpected and sometimes uncontrollable ways, we need to see that, when it comes to teaching, it’s technology all the way down; we need to think about what various layers of technology do and afford.

5. Interdisciplinarity should consist, in part, in recognizing discipline-specific technologies

There are technologies in engineering classrooms and physics laboratories that do not, at present, translate into literature courses or business seminars as technology. “Teaching with technology” effaces such difference in the name of interdisciplinarity, an interdiscipinarity that then only operates at one level of abstraction: the level on which these disciplines already meet (we all use Twitter, or Facebook, or Powerpoint, or clickers, or Blackboard cum DesireToLearn, etc.). What happens when Powerpoint meets the Bunsen burner? When Word meets a wind tunnel? Certain disciplines (cultural studies, philosophy) might be able to make sense of these meetings as objects of inquiry, but such making sense is not interdisciplinarity, but meta-disciplinarity.

6. Technology should be attached to a problem, which it tries to solves

We must resist using technology for its own sake. A wiki does not add to teaching outside of any other context, nor does a blog, Twitter, a textbook, or a pencil. A textbook provides a standardized means of disseminating information (whether it accomplishes this task is another question). A pencil provides a means of “remembering” information as well as providing a means of editing such “memories.” Each technology solves (or tries to solve) a problem, even if it introduces other problems (textbooks go out of date or limit the flexibility of a syllabus; pencils can distract from listening and notes can provide a false sense of security). Teaching with any technology must include a consideration of intended/desired outcomes: what will this specific technology do in this class under these conditions? Is there a problem here? What technology might solve that problem? How?

7. Technology is more than the latest, shiniest thing

We cannot fetishize technology as an end. We should not seek technology for its own sake. We should not listen to vendors of technology explain to us what we might do with their shiny things. We should ask ourselves what we need to do and then think of what we need to accomplish our self-set task. Because technology is not neutral and because it affords some things and not others, giving technology primacy likewise gives primacy to those things that technologies affords rather than to those things that we might desire in its absence. Homer: “The blade itself incites to violence.” The promise of technology all too often becomes bound up in the promise of the commodity: “Buy this software for whiter whites!” “Use this blogging platform and everyone will love you!” “Tweet your troubles away!” Our whites might be fine, we may be loved already, and our troubles might, it turns out, come from the new thing rather than being solve by it.

8. We must not simply instrumentalize technology

We should think about what problems technology might solve, and how, and avoid using technology for its own sake (and thus use it for our own sakes). At the same time, we must also understand the previous theses, and never forget that technology will not solve any problem without creating new ones, or that it might solve a problem in unexpected ways, or fail to solve a problem altogether. Technology should not become an end in itself, but nor should we think therefore that it can ever simply be a means to an otherwise neutral end. The introduction of any new technology to the classroom reorganizes “means” & “ends,” “subjects” & “objects.” The question of who (or what) is in control is complex, but we must never assume that the answer is simply “the professor” or some such.

9. There should be no single theory of “teaching with technology”

Technology cuts across many spaces: in-class/outside-of-class; personal space within class (the laptop screen)/public space outside of the classroom (the laptop screen at the coffee shop). Technology reconfigures memory. Technology is a (non-neutral) product and a (non-neutral) means of production. Technolgies overlap and interpenetrate one another (writing in textbooks and online) but cannot be reduced to one another (a television program on Hulu is not the same as the one on NBC). There is no single thing “technology” that is utterly coherent in all contexts, for all individuals. As such, we should not look for any single answer or even single set of answers to the question of “teaching with technology.”

Tools for thought

I wrote much of the above in the wake of (or under the influence of) the following theoretical texts (and, doubtless, others I fail to recall here).

Agamben, Giorgio. “What is an Apparatus?” An apparatus is not simply that device over there, but the things we say about it, the institutions and individuals who use it, the economies that spring up around it, etc.

Bousquet, Marc. How the University Works. The “informationalization” of the university (and the concomitant casualization of its workforce) has detrimental effects on teaching, research, and society.

Deleuze, Gilles. “Postscript on Control Societies.” While discipline still exists, it has been supplemented if not succeeded by control: the control of the individual through technologies specific to that individual (rather than general to the masses).

Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish. How does power interact with bodies? How do we become disciplined?
- “The Subject and Power.” There are not subjects without power and there is no power without subjectivity.
- “What is Enlightenment?” Reads Kant’s answer to this question as a new moment in history. Historical progress is no longer the culmination of some series of events, but an escape from the past. We escape from one power to another.

Flusser, Vilém. Does Writing Have a Future? In a word: no.
- Into the Universe of Technical Images. Human history as a history of its means of abstracting the world through images, writing, and other technologies.

Golumbia, David. The Cultural Logic of Computation. “Computationalism” (the equation of any number of things with computers) has detrimental effects on thought, society, etc.

Kant, Immanuel. “An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?” Enlightenment is the free public use of reason.

McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy. What we call the human begins with the Gutenberg technology and the subsequent shift in sense ratios away from hearing what surrounds us and towards seeing what is before us (from our particular points of view).
- Laws of Media: The New Science. All media (by which MM means “thing”) can be understood according to the the following laws: enhance (What does the medium make possible or improve? Search engines enhance our capacities for research.); reverse (How does the medium contradict its own effects when pushed to its limit? Search engines provide so many results that we are lost in the data stream.);retrieve (What older behavior does the new medium bring back into practice? The search engine makes plagiarism easier and perhaps more prevalent.); obsolesce (What older medium is pushed aside by the new medium? The card catalog is no longer useful.)
- Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. Shifts in media environments involves shifts in sense ratios (the primacy afforded one or more senses over others). We must understand such shifts in order to recognize how different individuals learn differently (via the eye, the ear, etc.).

Stiegler, Bernard. For a New Critique of Political Economy. Human memory is more and more frequently embodied in technology. This “grammatization” (the breaking of language or being into smaller and smaller parts) must be thought in terms of a political economy different than that of Marx and the nineteenth century.
- Taking Care of Youth and the Generations. New technologies destroy our capacities for attention and contemplation. This issue must be thought in terms of a general organology that considers 1) humanorgans (the body and its parts); 2) technical organs (devices; think of organ in terms of “organon”); and 3) social organizations.
- Technics and Time, Volume I: The Fault of Epithemeus: How can we think technology and its evolution outside of humanist concerns and parameters?

Zielinski, Siegfried. Deep Time of the Media. Media do not operate on human time scales and are therefore deeply inhuman.

This article can also be found on Ben Robertson's personal website.

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Distracted by the Digital Age

Anonymous — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Distracted by the Digital Age Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/19/2012 - 00:00

As freshmen at CU, Bryce Eaton and Natalie Rechter expected the usual challenges. Leaving high school for college means navigating an entirely new social atmosphere, succeeding in classes like Classical Mechanics and Mathematical Methods, and learning to accept (or ignore) the various eccentricities of new roommates. However, there was one challenge that neither Eaton nor Rechter anticipated: the effect of digital distraction on their success in the classroom.

Students often dread large lecture classes, but they are nearly unavoidable. Over 200 students can be packed into crowded lecture halls. In many of these classes, iPad and laptop screens flicker like candles. Every few moments, a cell phone vibrates or a message appears silently on a screen.

Cell phones are the biggest distraction, Eaton admits, explaining that his high school limited cell phone use. The problem is the knowledge that you won't get in trouble. I don't hesitate. The door is open.

The biggest distraction is having my phone with me, Natalie Rechter agrees. And people around me watching ski videos on their laptops, she adds with a tone of exasperation. It's like, why are you even here?

70% of students text in class, says Dr. Douglas Duncan, a researcher and astronomy professor at CU �鶹ӰԺ. And their grades are almost half a grade lower than the 30% of students who never text. And what about laptops?Much worse, says Dr. Duncan. Astronomy faculty who teach intro classes either have laptop users sit in the front row and promise only to do class work; or in the back row, where they bother others less.

Dr. Duncan expressed these alarming findings at his Discipline-Based Research Group last week. I asked him whether it is possible that students who don't text are simply better students. Maybe it's not the texting itself that is a problem but rather that students who text are more easily distracted or less interested in the topic? Yes, says Duncan. We cannot be sure that correlation implies causation. But, the data from our classes where the instructor most strongly discourages phone use is significant. It seems to me that the fact that a strong anti-phone policy minimizes the drop-off suggests that it is an effect for all students.

Research on this topic has been in the spotlight in recent years. In 2010, the New York Times published an article called Growing Up Digital about high school students whose grades suffer because Facebook is more engaging than homework. Driven to Distraction by Cal-State psychology professor Dr. Larry Rosen has recently been circulating the web. Rosen writes about the importance of implementing "tech breaks" so that students can focus for longer periods of time.

It seems clear that our brains adapt to new learning patterns. The more time we spend engaging with the fast-paced virtual world, the less patience we have for a one-hour college lecture. Cell phone messages offer instant gratification and studying for a chemistry exam offers future rewards that are not immediately tangible.

Dr. Duncan believes that implementing strict rules about cell phone and laptop use would help students focus. Others believe that we need to counter technology with technology. They advocate using interactive lecture tools like blogs and iClickers in the classroom to compete with the lure of social media.

The undergraduates I talked to seem to have a different idea. Many of them said that they aren't being sufficiently challenged. School isn't difficult enough, says freshman Kat Brown. It's easy to get distracted when you aren't engaged. Many students echoed her sentiments, often describing college professors who spoke too slowly. Are these students suffering from a decline in the quality of a college education or are they looking for soundbites and a fast stream of information? It is a very real possibility that freshman-level college classes are too easy for many students, but have these students learned how to ruminate over philosophical ideas, to research topics more deeply or to analyze and challenge their professor's theories?

If our classes become more fast-paced, tech-savvy, and interactive, will teachers be able to hold the attention of distractible students? Or should we resist catering to this desire for constant stimulation? Do professors need to focus on slowing students down so that they can once again learn to be critical thinkers, deep readers and patient problem solvers? Can we do all of this while acknowledging the importance of cutting-edge technology in our rapidly changing world?

In my next blog post I will continue to investigate the student perspective. I will extend these questions to undergraduates, graduate students, and teachers across campus.

Article by Ashley E Williams, ASSETT reporter

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Learning Through Making by Ashley Williams

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Learning Through Making by Ashley Williams Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/12/2012 - 00:00

He was never a good student. Bored in the classroom, he would rarely raise his hand, shuffling reluctantly from class to class, obviously unengaged. When his middle school offered a game design class he enrolled apprehensively, but the prospect of building his own game piqued his interest. By mid-semester he was incorporating Artificial Intelligence into his design. “The fact that advanced math dealing with diffusion equations was necessary to build this AI was not a problem,” said Dr. Alexander Repenning, Director and creator of the Scalable Game Design project. “He literally raised his hand and said ‘Excuse me! I need better AI’.” Unfazed by complex computations, the student began to appreciate mathematics for the first time.

So what happens when you take an idea and turn it on its head? In 2008, the Scalable Game Design project originated to challenge the belief that the best way to use games in the classroom is to provide students with well-designed and engaging educational games.

Studies have shown that certain games have the potential to boost learning by helping student to understand complicated subjects through interactive play. There are several projects at CU �鶹ӰԺ alone that focus primarily on designing educational games (and game-like simulations) for students to use in the classroom. But what if the graduate students designing the games are learning more than the students playing them? This was a question that Dr. Repenning had back in 1993. Designing and constructing games is a complicated process that involves complex mathematical reasoning, programming and computational skills – technical knowledge that is infamously difficult to teach on the K-12 level. In 2008, Scalable Game Design was founded: a project aimed not at designing games for students to use, but at teaching students to learn computational thinking through game design.

According to Repenning, Scalable Game Design’s “short’ motto is: “reinventing computer science in public schools by motivating and educating all students including women and underrepresented communities to learn about computer science through game design starting at the middle school level.” Although the project was initially created for a middle school curriculum, the program has expanded over time to include elementary, high school, and college level courses. The project received $1.5M in 2008 (under the NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers ITEST program) and another $1.5 in 2012 (under the NSF Computing Education for the 21st Century CE21 program.)

It is important to note that the goal is not necessarily to educate future game designers. Rather, Scalable Game Design hopes that students enrolled in the program will develop computational and programming skills in a way that is fun and engaging. Research has also shown that students involved in the program gain a general appreciation for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). “Computational skills are becoming more relevant these days and are considered 21’st century skills,” says Repenning. Few K-12 schools offer classes that teach students this technical knowledge and fewer still encourage students to use this knowledge to build and create.

When asked what the future might hold, Repenning describes a “cyber learning environment” that will allow teachers to reach students more effectively. “We have developed very interesting new instruments that can actually analyze games and simulations built by students. This ability to judge where students are in their learning (boredom, anxiety…) could be used to create a complete cyber learning system including a feedback loop to get student into the so-called zone of proximal development where, with the right support, they can learn most effectively.” In 2008, the iDreams Scalable Game Design Summer Institute was started. Involving 100 teachers and thousands of students, there was an unexpectedly high level of participation.

Of course, even well-funded education initiatives face challenges. The biggest one, Repenning says, is “scale-up and sustainability.” He talks about better training for teachers and encouraging schools to incorporate more classes that emphasize computational thinking. In an age where schools face constant budget cuts, money and time are always obstacles. The need to adhere to state testing requirements often leaves little opportunity for students and teachers to work creatively with technology.

Despite these challenges, it seems clear that even a single class can make a difference. The middle school student mentioned at the beginning of this article eventually went on to tutor some of his classmates. In an attempt to share his newfound fascination with Artificial Intelligence, he passed on his knowledge about diffusion equations to half his class.

In this way, Scalable Game Design is upending more than one convention. Instead of designing games for students, students are taught to design the games themselves, and, as tends to happen in successful and dynamic learning environments, sometimes the students being taught become the teachers. By empowering just one student, Scalable Game Design indirectly helped to jumpstart a wider, student-driven learning community. This may be the most exciting success story of all.

To learn more or to talk to Dr. Alexander Repenning, please visit the Scalable Game Design Wiki (http://scalablegamedesign.cs.colorado.edu/wiki/Scalable_Game_Design_wiki) or call 303-492-1349

Article By: Ashley E Williams

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Teaching with Technology, Learning from Each Other

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Teaching with Technology, Learning from Each Other Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/05/2012 - 00:00

Teaching With Technology, Fall 2012 Photograph by Nigora Azimova

Each semester, a small group of CU professors who share a passion for experimenting with technology hold regular meetings in the Technology Learning Center, sometimes with a large plate of pastries and often with laptops and iPads in hand. This semester's participants include a digital storyteller, a mobile technology enthusiast, and a mechanical engineer. Others are teachers, researchers, artists, scientists, and agents of change. Their goal? “Not only to acquire new skills and meet and steal from other tech-savvy like-minded colleagues,” says Dr. Cecilia Pang, explaining her reasons for joining the group, “but also to push myself to go beyond merely grafting existing forms of pedagogy into new media.”

ASSETT’s Michele Jackson and OIT’s Associate Director for Academic Technology Research, Mark Werner, founded the Teaching With Technology Seminars in 2010. According to Amanda McAndrew, Sr. Teaching and Learning Consultant at ASSETT, “the idea was to build a community around teaching and learning. We wanted to have a place, a space, and a time for faculty to be able to talk to each other and be inspired by new ideas.” Now in its third semester, Teaching with Tech is funded by ASSETT, OIT, and the CU Libraries. Faculty apply for the program by submitting an essay that describes their experiences with technology in the classroom and their future project ideas. Those chosen for the program participate in bi-weekly seminars and contribute four blog posts to the ASSETT website. In return for their participation, they are awarded a $2,000 grant for their professional development.

While each semester has explored different formats and topics, his semester, the seminar leaders are testing a new, discussion-based approach. Led by ASSETT’s Teaching and Learning Consultants[1] , OIT’s Mark Werner, and the Library’s research and instructional services coordinator, Caroline Sinkinson, the discussions often center around cutting-edge education and technology research. Recent topics under discussion include Tpack, a pedagogical approach that focuses on “the complex interplay between three different kinds of knowledge” and Backwards Design, an instructional design method that places emphasis on large-scale student learning end goals. The participants discuss the merits and challenges of these approaches and address the best ways to integrate these research findings into their own lesson plans.

The coordinators and participants often discuss practical questions. Sometimes these questions can jump-start a lively debate. At other times, the professors learn surprisingly simple techniques that have the potential to transform teaching strategies. “I could really use those one-minute papers,” comments a religious studies professor.

Although the meetings are structured, these gatherings also provide an opportunity for more casual discussions. Amanda McAndrew observes that the professors often share professional challenges about teaching in a 21^st century research environment. According to McAndrew, there is a sense of camaraderie that allows them to let down their guard. They are determined to experiment and improve the student learning experience. Despite these ambitions, it is often difficult for faculty to find time to experiment with new tools and develop new teaching strategies. Although still in its early years, Teaching With Teach might provide the support faculty need.

“A seminar like this is very valuable,” says Dr. Douglas Duncan. “It convinced me to experiment with allowing students more creativity in what they produce, using video which I’ve never assigned before.” When describing the seminar, Dr. Cecilia Pang used words like “engaging” and “eye-opening.” Teaching with Tech’s long-term goal is to inspire instructors to experiment with new evidence based teaching strategies and play with learning technologies to continually improve the student learning experience.

The Fall 2012 Teaching With Technology participants are:

Dr. Doug Duncan, Astrophysics and Planetary Science
Dr. Holly Galey, Religious Studies
Dr. Nancy Hightower, Writing and Rhetoric
Dr. John Hoover, Education
Dr. Moonhawk Kim, Polical Science
Dr. Jeffery Knutsen, Mechanical Engineering
Dr. Cecilia Pang, Theater and Dance
Dr. David Rickels, College of Music
Dr. Kathleen Ryan, Journalism and Mass Communication
Dr. Petger Shaeberg, Writing and Rhetoric

[1] Amanda McAndrew, Nigora Azimova, and Andy Saltarelli

Article by: Ashley E. Williams

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Is Lecture Capture Effective?

Anonymous — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Is Lecture Capture Effective? Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/22/2012 - 00:00

"I don't think it's my job to make students come to class," says Dr. Ingrid Ulbrich, chemistry instructor at CU �鶹ӰԺ. Nor does she think it important to take attendance, though she cares deeply about her student's success. During the spring and summer of 2012, Dr. Ulbrich used Lecture Capture software to record her lessons and made the video files and lecture notes available through an online database. Because students have constant access to these recordings, there are no acceptable excuses for missing a lesson. Accessing class material is the student's responsibility alone.

Over the past several decades, new technology has enabled teachers to shift classroom dynamics. Some technologies are uncomplicated upgrades, like replacing light projectors with digital projectors. Others have the potential to fundamentally alter how students learn. On its surface, Lecture Capture is a simple recording tool, yet integrating this technology into the classroom can affect information retention and student accountability in profound ways.

In August of 2009, the CU Office of Information Technology began equipping select classrooms with the technologies needed to use Lecture Capture. In these classrooms, faculty are able to record lectures automatically. The system is set up to begin one minute before the lecture is scheduled to start and end one minute after, allowing the instructor to focus on teaching. These video-recorded lectures can then be automatically posted on Desire2Learn for students to access at any time.

Faculty who do not have access to the equipped classrooms can record their lectures with a computer webcam or video camcorder. Screen capture software can be used to supplement these recordings for more in-depth presentations. Software like Camtasia Relay[1] makes it possible for the user to display presentation slides and lecture notes alongside the video recording. These pre-recorded lectures can be used to supplement material covered during the lecture and are often made available on video sharing sites such as Vimeo and YouTube.

Instructors choose to use Lecture Capture for a variety of reasons. Dr. Ingrid Ulbrich encourages students who have a difficult time grasping the material to review lectures multiple times. "I remember trying to take notes as an undergraduate," says Dr. Ulbrich, explaining how she struggled to simultaneously take notes and listen to the presentation. With Lecture Capture, students can pay attention and think more." Simply having the option to review a lecture a second time has the potential to help students with a range of learning styles retain material. Making recorded lectures available online also means that students who miss class due to illness will not fall behind. Because all lectures are available, students are accountable for every lesson and have to determine for themselves the best way to retrieve the information. "It makes it less of my responsibility," say Ulbrich.

From the instructor's perspective, there are many additional benefits. Watching the recorded lectures allows teachers to experience class from a student's perspective. Instructors can refer back to the recordings in order to pinpoint weaknesses and improve their teaching ability. Instructors who must be absent due to illness or travel may also benefit from this system. One history professor at CU �鶹ӰԺ was able to use Lecture Capture to prerecord her lessons and have them shown in class during a long absence.

So what are the drawbacks? Some instructors worry that Lecture Capture will discourage students from attending class. Although regular attendance may not be an issue in large auditorium classes, smaller discussion classes may benefit from engaged dialogue. There are also some technical issues that still need resolving. Because audio playback can sometimes begin after video playback has already started, "students come to the video and think it's broken," says Ulbrich. However, with a little advanced warning, this problem is a minor one.

The most pressing issue is simply that there are too few classrooms to go around. "I'm kind of bummed that I don't have [a Lecture Capture classroom] this semester," says Ulbrich. This fall, she has been using a laptop recorder and Camtasia Relay software to continue recording her lessons, but this process is more time-consuming. Ulbrich encourages all instructors to try Lecture Capture and she has a similar message for students. "This is a tool that is available to you," she says "and you really need to take advantage of that."

Article By: Stephanie Hayden and Ashley Williams

[1] Camtasia Relay is lecture recording software that allows the viewer to jump directly to specific content through a simple word or phrase search on the sidebar. A table of contents allows the viewer to skip directly to relevant information without having to waste time fast-forwarding or re-winding, and closed captioning capabilities makes the content available for almost anyone to use. Students can access the videos from their iPods, iPhones, or iPads .

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The Nintendo Wii – The Lab’s Next Bunsen Burner

Anonymous — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 06:00:00 +0000

The Nintendo Wii – The Lab’s Next Bunsen Burner Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 10/08/2012 - 00:00

Whether we are standing, walking or running, the force we exert on the ground mediates all our bodily movements. Measuring this force was a considerably difficult process, but now an easier and cheaper system exists through employing a Nintendo Wii Balance Board. Alaa Ahmed, an Assistant Professor in the department of Integrative Physiology, and her team of researchers developed a new program, using a Wii Balance Board, to gauge the force exertion and pressure distribution of an individual. Prior to this innovation, undergraduate students taking an Integrative Physiology course were unable to work with force plates as there were not enough for a whole class. Now, with the program created by Dr. Ahmed, post-doctoral fellow Dr. Helen Huang, and undergraduate student Andrew Kary, anyone can conduct this experiment and understand the data.

To track and manipulate the data, Ahmed and her team of researchers accessed the balance board from the back end and wrote a custom program. The Wii board is connected to a computer synced with the complimentary program to gather the data. When someone stands on the balance board, this program tracks and presents the metrics in real time. Though writing the code itself required significant programming expertise, the data from the Wii board is visualized on screen in a simple graph and is saved to Microsoft Excel for later analysis. “These on-screen images and the Wii Board help to make learning concepts more relatable,” Huang says, as it reframes an abstract concept in a familiar manner such as playing the actual Wii games or riding a snowboard. Now students can gain a more dynamic understanding of the effects that force and pressure distribution have on our movements. According to Ahmed, “The Wii and program we have developed provide inexpensive balance measurement equipment and [the] means for physiology students to analyze the recorded data. They don’t need any fancy programs or programming knowledge, just Excel.”

Not only are CU-�鶹ӰԺ students benefiting from the development of this program, but so are other university and high school students interested in the field of Integrative Physiology. Last summer, students from educational institutions besides CU came here to study the equipment and bring it back to their own universities. Currently, the department works with a handful of high school students who are conducting research with the Nintendo Wii Balance Board system. Numerous people are interested in the device because, as Ahmed stated, it “provides an inexpensive tool that will enhance understanding of basic biomechanic principles through hands-on application.”

This system will have a major impact on Integrative Physiology, but will also benefit other fields of study and industries as the system possesses uses outside of the lab. Health Sciences can employ this tool for rehabilitation and balance assessment, while Psychology could use it to test learning and attention. Outside of academia, it could serve to benefit personal trainers and athletes attempting to improve their balance. In physical therapy, the Wii board can be employed for rehabilitation purposes after a traumatic injury to help the person find the most effective movements. As the device continues to be developed and refined, it will likely begin entering more fields as people recognize how the tool can benefit them.

With this tool, people outside of the Integrative Physiology department at CU-�鶹ӰԺ are benefiting as it provides them with a cheap and effective tool to measure force. The Wii balance board is improving education for Integrative Physiology as it democratizes the research in this field by being relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

Dr. Ahmed and Dr. Helen Huang received an ASSETT Development Award for the Spring 2011 semester. Development Awards are given out each semester to CU professors using technology in their courses to drive education into the 21st Century.

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Taking Games Seriously

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Taking Games Seriously Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 09/24/2012 - 00:00

"I've been gaming since I was a little kid", brags Trent Begin, a TTA at ASSETT.

"Well I was playing Flight Simulator", says TTA Casey Zahorik, pausing dramatically as he leans back in his swivel chair, when I was three years old.

Grant Matheny, ASSETT's technical director, laughs and then confesses. "I didn't play games until I was a teenager. I started late. But my wife," he counters, in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to regain credibility, "my wife was playing Doom at age three."

At CU �鶹ӰԺ, games are serious business. Games and Education is a growing research field and many educators are beginning to recognize the potential of games as educational tools. There are several initiatives at CU �鶹ӰԺ that focus on this new experiment in education. Scalable Game Design is a National Science Foundation-funded project aimed at introducing Middle School Students to computer science through game design. Another group experimenting with games is The ATLAS Institute, which offers undergraduate courses named after gaming platforms like "Second Life" and "Unity 3D".

"I think these initiatives are only the first step for the future of games and education,"says Kara Behnke, Ph.D. student at the ATLAS Institute. "Games are structured systems of rules that give us a very specific goal to reach. This helps us learn because the game is very effective at illustrating our progress." Also, she explains: "In a game you usually know exactly what you did wrong and are given the support you need to progress forward. Games encourage us to learn from our failures."

Here at ASSETT, the Teaching With Technology staff is testing the idea that games can help students learn by working with departments on specific projects. Matheny, Begin and Zahorik are currently collaborating with the Anthropology Department to create a game that is tailored to their class needs. Using Adventure Maker software as a foundation to build on, the team is creating a virtual Russian town that anthropology students will be able to explore virtually. The game is designed so that students can travel back in time to learn how Russian society was structured in different historical periods.

Another recent commission is from the communications school. Their task, explains Grant Matheny, is very open-ended: "we want to help [students] think in more complex ways about how people collaborate." Although the design work hasn't started yet, they plan to share their initial ideas with students in the communications school so that they can jump-start a dialogue with future users that will be maintained during every stage of the design process.

Matheny, Begin, and Zahorik all experienced the educational benefits of gaming at young ages. "Eve online taught me basic and advanced economics," said Grant Matheny, referring to a complex trade agreement with an Italian player that involved negotiations across language barriers. "And I've learned more about world history through that game than from any history class I've taken." The Teaching with Technology Assistants both agree. Casey Zahorik explains that games helped him to"learn by doing," which increases information retention. Also, Trent Begin explains, "gaming is fun" and the learning that happens is "subtle." Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of learning through games is that gamers often don't realize that they're having an educational experience until after they've learned the material.

Of course, gaming in the classroom is still controversial. Educators worry about bringing games into a class where not all students are tech-savvy. Others are concerned that game elements distract students from real learning. Yet many departments seem willing to experiment and the ASSETT Teaching with Tech staff is confident that once educators hear the success stories, they will be less skeptical. At the recent COLTT conference at CU, the number of presentations focused on gaming and education doubled when compared to last year's conference. It's clear that interest in games is growing and many believe that the concept of games as educational tools will eventually be embraced by the education community at large.

I think it is inevitable that games will be used in the classrooms of the future, says Kara Behnke. In fact, according to Behnke, the real question is not whether teachers will start using games; rather, she wonders, “when will games become the new norm for education?” In her view, this shift might happen sooner than anyone ever anticipated. And why not? In an age where educators are scrambling for better ways to reach their students, any new venture is worth a try. If games have the potential to foster a learning environment that is both fun and challenging, this new experiment in pedagogy may have the potential to enrich the learning experience of students at all levels of education in classrooms across the globe.

Article written by: Ashley E Williams, ASSETT reporter

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Performing The Archive: Using Modern Technology to Describe Turn of the Century Innovation

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Performing The Archive: Using Modern Technology to Describe Turn of the Century Innovation Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/10/2012 - 00:00

“You’re doing it right when you’re playing,” says Dr. Amma Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin. This may seem like a strange statement to make in an upper-level class where students use complex technology and challenging archival material to re-imagine the 1901 New York World’s Fair on stage. Yet, Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin’s Spring 2012 class, “Performing the Archive,” thrived on fearless experimentation, the willingness to make mistakes, and energetic collaboration.

Collaboration occurred at all stages of the process. For several years Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin has been developing a new musical called “At Buffalo,” which Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin describes as “a multimedia, historical musical that reconstructs and deconstructs black performance from the 1901 Buffalo, New York World’s Fair.” Now collaborating with New York artist Jim Augustine to complete the professional production, the pair hopes to eventually take it to Broadway. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin has also workshopped the musical at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, UC Berkeley, and CU �鶹ӰԺ, allowing students to assist in developing the production further. Blending contemporary multimedia technology and archival material, students in CU �鶹ӰԺ’s “Performing the Archive” class acted out scenes, conducted research, and generated material which could be used in the final musical. Students taking the class had a range of acting abilities and varying levels of experience with technology. Some were professionals, others had never been on stage, and few had any knowledge of the 1901 New York World’s Fair.

One “student”, ASSETT technical director Grant Matheny, wasn’t even technically enrolled. According to Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, Matheny was one of the most important collaborators involved in “Performing the Archive.” Along with financial support in the form of an ASSETT professional development grant, Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin was able to meet with Matheny and the ASSETT technical team, including Amanda McAndrew, to discuss unfamiliar equipment. One of the most complicated hurdles that Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin presented to ASSETT was that of projecting moving images onto live actors. Choosing the right equipment and learning how to use it properly was vital to the success of the class. “ASSETT allowed me to sit down with them and brainstorm ideas,” says Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin.

In addition to offering equipment support, Grant Matheny attended every class and worked with technology expert Aisha Jackson to train students to use the digital projectors. He also filmed the class, uploaded video to the Desire2Learn courseware platform, and coordinated Lecture Capture conversations between the class and virtual collaborator Jim Augustine. “It was amazing to see the students able to work with someone across the country in New York almost as if he was in the same room,” says Matheny. After a while, Matheny also begin contributing ideas and interacting with the performance. “He became a part of it,” said Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin. “He freely began to respond to the material.”

The final collaborative aspect of “Performing the Archive” involved instructor Robert Shannon’s Video Projection Design Concepts and Practice class. Shannon’s class experimented with the technology and then shared their discoveries with Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin’s students, allowing them to push the material further. “So, the ASSETT grant not only affected my course but also Robert Shannon’s course,” she says.

Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin speaks proudly of her students. At the end of the semester, students delivered performances that drew from their newly acquired skills and knowledge. It was often the non-actors, those who had few preconceived notions about what theatre could be, who most impressed her. One senior undergraduate student from the sociology department had no acting experience at all, but, says Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin, “she played brilliantly.” Student reactions to the class varied, but many thought “Performing the Archive” was one of the hardest classes they had ever taken.

Students, teachers, and collaborators alike left the class with new insights and skills. Dr. Ghartey-Tagoe Kootin said that Jackson, Matheny and McAndrew “showed me what it looks like to play with technology.” And in return, she introduced her students to the power of theatre and taught them how to play with a story. The final lesson learned by everyone involved was that rich possibilities unfold when artists, technologists, and students decide to work together and exchange knowledge.

Article written by Ashley E. Williams, ASSETT Research Assistant

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