NECC 2002San Antonio, June 2002

Imagining the Future, student-centered exploration of learning applications and systems

Amela Sadagic, PhDamela@advanced.org

Agenda

1. Motivation

2. Project basics

3. Pilot year: 2001 / 02

4. Two examples

5. Videoconference cook-book

6. Virtual Pizza Party

7. Lessons learned

8. Q & A

1 Motivation

• our mission: exploration of learning spaces empowered by advanced digital technologies

• to enable an active role of K-12 in exploring and designing future learning environments

• to identify critical conditions, especially technological environments and strategic relationships, needed to nurture such processes

1 Motivation

Internet• Advanced helped build NSFnet

Internet2• Advanced was a founding partner• our staff takes part in engineering and

research activities• actively involved in K-20 initiative

1 Motivation

ThinkQuest• started in 1995• 66 national, 2 multinational and 38 state

partners, 125,000 students and teachers from 123 countries

• 23 different programs• central library with over 5,000 educational web

sites created by student teams• 2.5 million unique users / month• 35 million page views / month

2 Project basics

2.1 Key ingredients

2.2 Key formula

2.3 Student task

2.4 Project categories

2.1 Key ingredients

- take what kids are really, really good at: • envisioning new possibilities and

exploring new learning channels

- take what we are good at: • understanding educational

parameters and technological needs to facilitate and nurture that process

2.2 Key formula

1. kids in the center or the process – they are the owners of all phases of that process

2. role of teachers:• teachers as facilitators not instructors• provide them time and space to learn

along with students where they are not expected to be technology experts

3. technology - a tool, not the goal !!!

2.3 Student task

• imagine and partly prototype learning system or application that employs advanced digital technologies including rich media, large public data resources, broadband or wireless networking

• work in small teams (2-6 students)

2.4 Project categories• … • Classroom of the Future• Virtual Laboratory / Museum / Botanical Garden• Interactive Exhibits• Helping Hand: Advanced Technologies Helping

Students With Disabilities• Math and Art• Reading Lesson• Atom-ic Tour• GlobeQuest• Endangered Species: Learn How to Make a

Difference

3 Pilot year 2001 / 02

3.1 Participants

3.2 First part

3.3 Second part

3.1 Participants

6 high schools:

• Benton Harbor HS, Benton Harbor, MI• Emerson HS, Union City, NJ• Moanalua HS, Honolulu, HI• Plano Senior HS, Plano, TX• Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and

Technology, Alexandria, VA• Wylie E. Groves HS, Beverly Hills, MI

3.2 First part

Goal: build knowledge base, inspire, energize

Activities:• multipoint videoconferencing sessions: expert

presentations given by Dr. Andrew Glassner, Jaron Lanier, Dr. Carrie Heeter

• local working sessions and workshops• off-line student forums• field trips• point-to-point videoconferencing sessions• school discussions: ethic dilemmas in computer

science, enduring knowledge

3.2 First part

Materials:• list of selected web resources• Glossary• Fascinating Stories• Showcase Pages• Video Postcards• general reference desk: content organization,

writing, citing• ethic issues in computer science, internet / web

ethics, copyrights, plagiarism

3.3 Second part

Goal: facilitate work of student teams

Activities:• team creation: 2-6 students per team• work on team projects• inter-team collaboration• dialog with ITF staff• dialog with researchers• creation of web presentations

3.3 Second part

Visible outcome:• 26 projects with their web presentations

available on-line• two representative teams will go to

“Exploring the Future of Learning – a ThinkQuest Live Event” www.thinkquestlive.org

“Food for Thought”

“Glimmersion”

4 Two examplesMoanalua High School, Honolulu, HI

Two “overnighers” (16 and 22 hours!) filled with:

numerous workshops…

4 Two examples

movies and videoconferencing…

4 Two examples

hard work…

4 Two examples

fun…

4 Two examples

and great food feast !!!

4 Two examples

… and more thoughts about sleep and great food …

4 Two examplesBenton Harbor High School, Benton Harbor, MI

They presented project at the conferences….

4 Two examples

…and visited two universities!

5 Videoconference cook-book

5.1 Is it a good medium?

5.2 Our goal

5.3 Prior lessons

5.4 Multipoint session

5.5 Point-to-point sessions

5.6 Our lessons

5.1 Is it a good medium?

• Not the best medium - there are no social cues we are used to in real world, no transparency of social interactions

• Network parameters (low frame rate, high latency and packed loss) may make it impossible to be used for normal human communication

• Yet, it has a power of (near) real-time images, it connects remote collaborators in the same audio and visual context, and it enables events that otherwise would never be possible

5.1 Is it a good medium?

Advice: if possible, have face-to-face meetings before you start a series of videoconferencing sessions. It will be good investment.

• managed to go to TX, NJ, MI and VA but unfortunately not to HI

5.2 Our goal

Multipoint videoconference session:• importance of get-together events• creates sense of larger community• enables dialog with leading scientists• use it to inspire, motivate and energize

Point-to-point videoconference session:• enable more intimate setting for project

discussions and consultations

5.3 Prior lessons

• SURA / ViDE workshops 2001, 2002• Megaconference 2001 (H.323)• Virtual Internet2 Member Meeting – VIMM

2001• VRVS system• Internet2 QoS working group

There are many sessions you can attend with minimal or no costs involved – try them

5.4 Multipoint session

Note: this is not a mere replica of face-to-face meeting!

• medium is different – different communication cues and rules

• session / meeting dynamics is different

Your expectations should be different too.

5.4 Multipoint session: Requirements

• need MCU - multipoint connection unit• need session moderator• everyone has to learn basic “grammar”

- how to bypass firewall – big issue in schools!

- learn to mute / un-mute the mike- look at the camera not the screen / display- …and have lots of patience for connection

problems!

5.4 Multipoint session: Requirements

Play “We connected!” clip

5.4 Multipoint session: Dynamics

• start min. 30-15 min before- start both video / audio and text chat, and have

plenty of time to troubleshoot - have time for informal chat among people

before the “formal” session begins

• at the beginning reserve time to introduce everyone and show all participants to the people who will be speaking

- compensate for the lack of face-to-face collaboration features - speakers will appreciate having good idea of their audience

5.4 Multipoint session: Dynamics

Play “Start” clip

5.4 Multipoint session

Useful titbits:

• use text chat to troubleshoot, manage queue in Q&A and in discussion parts

• beware of displays of casual behavior- you might be “on the air” and you may

not know it!

5.4 Multipoint session: A recipe

1. Make sure you are ready to record the session (analog / digital)

2. Connect 30-15 min before

3. Run text chat as a background channel

4. Introduce the audience

5. Manage Q&A queue in chat

6. Have time to say goodbye

5.5 Point-to-point session

• school-to-school• us-to-schools• us-to-students teams• us-to-teachers

But students may be more open and confident if they ask questions in text chat !

5.6 Our lessons

• students were running a “shop” – they were in charge of cameras and chat sessions!

• students loved possibility to talk to the scientist – for some this was the greatest thing in the project

• use videoconferencing to your advantage – recognize what it can do but also what it cannot do

• do not use videoconferencing when it gets in the way of the task and the goal you want to achieve

6 Virtual Pizza Party

Real pizzas were included!

Another multipoint connection when we:• celebrated the end of project year• all teams presented their projects• and we had a fun project related quiz!

6 Virtual Pizza Party

Play “Food for Thought” clip

http://library.thinkquest.org/IF0210100/

6 Virtual Pizza Party

Play “Star Formation” clip

http://library.thinkquest.org/IF0210080

6 Virtual Pizza Party

Play “ITF Quiz” clip

7 Lessons learned

Q: What did you like most?• “It was so different from what I usually did it at

school, a new experience. ”• “The freedom in making our own project.”• “The creative interactions between group

members”• “The vast amounts of knowledge was amazing.

It was also encouraging to know that there were no limits to what we wanted to do. ”

• “The learning that took place, and the chance to do something that might affect the world.”

7 Lessons learned• schools participated in each others’ events• the task was fun… but also a tough job.

-> some students will need more “structure” and guidance

• students loved the idea of being pioneers

-> they are ready to work hard if they see a clear purpose and the way their results will be used

• students want more videoconferencing sessions!• students loved opportunity of having a dialog with

researchers• do not forget to leave a room for fun in the project!

7 Lessons learned: fun activity

Organize video-quiz: 1. select N web sites as basic resource,

2. ask each student team to define questions they will ask other teams (answers should be easy to find in those N web sites !),

3. make point-to-point connection between two teams: they have to see and hear each other,

4. teams ask each other questions and judge each other’s responses,

5. quarterfinals -> semifinals -> big finale + celebration with everyone in multipoint feast

7 Lessons learned: for the end

Play “End” clip

Q & A

www.thinkquest.org/future