some design challenges for e-universities professor tim oshea master of birkbeck & provost of...
TRANSCRIPT
“Some Design Challenges for e-Universities”
Professor Tim O’SheaMaster of Birkbeck &Provost of Gresham
Talk Structure
• Talk Structure
• UK e-University
• New Technologies
• LMN ltd and HERO ltd
• Birkbeck examples
• Challenges & Dilemmas
• Why Bother?
UK e-University
• Open University inspiration• Other OU-2s have bombed• Right technological time• Some great UK niche courses• Whose degrees?• Broad or narrow?• Which commercial partners?• High stake and high risk
IT & Ed - Briefest History
• 1960s - Skinner, Suppes & Programmed Learning
• 1970s - Piaget, Papert & Learning Programming
• 1980s - Intelligent Computer Tutors• 1990s - Computer Supported Collaborative
Learning• 2000s - Virtual Schools and Universities
Technological Trends
• Convergence of technologies
• Wireless mobility (active badges)
• Moore’s law X 3
• The Internet is a ‘pond’
• The World Wide Web is an Open Library
• Object-Oriented Programs (windows and Java)
• Machine Learning
The World Wide Web
Your computer
Birkbeck Network
JANET
Internet
Convergence of Modes
• Synchronous and Asynchronous
• Shared Alternate Reality Kit
• Video and Audio Links
• Side by Side and Face to Face
• ‘Time Travel’
• Joining past conversations
• Hybrid Virtual Realities
Higher Education Research & Opportunities ltd
• Owned by Universities & Research Councils
• Also Course Application Providers
• Information on places, subjects and funds
• News features and daily news feed
• Very useful for overseas and 6th formers
• A portal - a nice set of web sites
London Metropolitan Network ltd
• Owned by 39 unis & colleges in M25
• Linked to 57 further education colleges
• Linking with libraries & museums
• Supports research and teaching
• Almost invisible at 155M, soon 2.5G
• Same capacity as main UK network
• 240 video-links, 12K audio links & 100M
LHEC 20 April 1999
The Birkbeck Experience (1)
• Some courses (e.g Biology) use educational software such as WebCT
• Some courses (e.g. Geography) use commercial software
• Some courses (e.g. Organisational Psych) use computer conferencing
The Birkbeck Experience (2)
• Some courses (e.g. Screenwriting) use electronic mail
• Some courses (e.g. Earth Sciences) use CD-ROMs
• Crystallography has an international reputation for computer based research
Who are Crystallography students?• Most of our students are graduates
– many work in industry– some are taking the courses for credits towards
a PhD
• a few are advanced undergraduates– most of these are European students on four- or
five-year Masters courses
Course Prerequisites
• Students need access to a suitable computer– We support the PC, Macintosh and Unix/Linux
platforms– All software needed for the course is in the
public domain– Slow Internet links can cause problems
• A B.Sc. or equivalent and some computing experience is also required
Multimedia Course Material
• Images• Image maps• Databases• Links to external Web
sites• “Movies”• Molecules can be
manipulated in 3-D
Movies illustrate protein motion
Software for Molecular Visualisation
• Roger Sayle’s Rasmol is the main program we use for visualising molecular structures– it is readily available on the Internet– it runs on a wide variety of platforms– it is easy to install and use, and free
• It can be launched automatically when a molecular structure file is selected
Other Software• The program Mage is used to display
interactive diagrams, known as “kinemages”– Each kinemage consists of a number of images
which the student can manipulate• e.g. to alter side chain torsion angles and watch the
protein conformation change
• Students on the crystallography course run programs on the Birkbeck server
• All software is freely available for academic use
Tutorials in Virtual Reality• Students and tutors meet and talk in real time
using a MUD – MUD = Multi User Dimension
– an Internet environment in which participants move around and interact with each other
– we use one based at Birkbeck– mostly text-based; Web interface popular
• We occasionally use “BioMOO” – “The Biologists’ Virtual Meeting Place”– about 1000 users
Reality Check
• If a car was like a computer• How many computer scientists?• Routes through 10 pages?• The 1:200 rule• £2000 x 200 x 50 = BA?• Savings from I.T.• Transparency via I.T.• Platform stability
Key Issues
• Improving navigation support• Reducing cognitive cost - especially for new
learners• Ensuring approaches scale to 1000s of learners and
the WWW• Maximising added value and incidental learning• Widening Access while Enhancing Constructive
functionality• Management issue - staff technology expertise
Cognitive cost
• Different metaphors - physical object, spatial, locational, computer-computer, etc.
• Broken metaphors - infinite desktops, etc.
• Mixed metaphors - disks into waste bins, etc.
• Different short cut conventions
• Response time variation
Cognitive Cost (2)
• Cute but opaque icons & acronyms
• Syntax/metaphor variation between systems
• Navigation tool variation
• (COGNITIVE COST RISING)
Navigation Support
• Where am I in this information space?
• Is it really a 2D space, tree, network lattice?
• Who is also active in the space
• How can I plan next week’s route?
• How can I travel between spaces?
• How can I travel in parallel?
(NAVIGATION IS GETTING HARDER)
e-University position
• Capitalised around £100m
• Holding & Operating Companies
• Committee for Academic Quality
• 84 Pilot course bids
• London, Oxbridge/Open, WUN
• Great Technology Partners
• Developing very quickly
e-University Challenges
• Generic self-assessment
• navigation support
• appropriate assessment
• creating the e-library
• interactive tutorial support
• choosing the grain-size
• the digital divide
Design Challenges (2)
• Reusable learning objects
• Genuine peer learning
• Time flexibility
• Authentic software
• Real student programming
• Sense of community
• Sense of location
Digital Dilemmas
• Mind the Gap!
• Delivery costs dropping!
• Design costs rising!
• 200 cats on the Internet?
• What manufacturers want?
• Join Open Source party?
• Who owns copyright?
Digital Solutions
• Cross subsidise the Gap
• Exploit low delivery costs
• Reuse learning objects
• Authenticate your pets
• Plan for obsolesence
• Say ‘Yes’ to Open Source
• But who owns copyright?
Why bother?
• Dewey democratic principle
• Bruner technological principle
• Knowledge economy real
• Access, access, access
• Exciting experiment
• Birkbeck Blessings