Event summaries are presented here. Links give more detail, and may include a registration request.
Changes: The November 24th talk by Dr Jennifer Jenson, York University, is now titled "Educational Games. A Dialogue in Two Parts". See the new abstract below.
The rise of e-classrooms: clickers
Caroline Alphonso, Globe and Mail
This story is about clicker use at the University of Western
Ontario by 20 faculty members and about 5,000 students in all
sorts of courses, mostly first-year and with large classes.
UW uses clickers in CHEM 120, STATS 230 and in several courses in
the School of Accountancy.
Background: http://www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~pkates/LT3/june28.html
Wednesday, November 2 (and 3, 7), 2005
Modeling Multi-body Mechanical Systems with DynaFlexPro
Wednesday, November 2, 2005, 2-3 pm.
Registration required.
UW professor John McPhee (System Design Engineering) from MotionPro
leads a web seminar on a Maple package for modeling and simulating
the dynamics of mechanical multibody systems. The demo at the summer
2005 Maple conference was impressive.
The live session is repeated Thursday, November 3, 9-10 am and
Monday, November 7, 8-9 pm.
A user manual and live examples are available at
http://www.maplesoft.com/products/thirdparty/dynaflexpro/main.aspx#features.
New Learning Technologies and Emergent Practices in Higher Education
Cyprien Lomas, ELI Scholar-in-Residence,
Director of the Learning Centre, UBC.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005, 1:00pm-2:30pm
Location: FLEX Lab, Dana Porter Library room 329
In this web seminar Cyprien Lomas explores a cross section of emerging
technologies and practices (including gaming, mobile applications,
and social and collaborative applications) as well as strategies for
integrating them into campus environments. We'll discuss: How do
these technologies meet the needs of different types of learners
and promote deeper learning? What are the potential implications of
students equipped with these technologies?
Wednesday, November 9 (and 22nd), 2005
Implementing Technology in the Modern Math Curriculum
November 9, 2005, 2:00-2:45 pm.
Repeated Tuesday, November 22, 2005, 2-2:45 pm.
Registration required.
View the recorded seminar at http://maplesoft.com/demo/?WS=18.
(See other seminars at http://maplesoft.com/demo/#maple95seminars.)
This short 2-part web seminar will offer valuable information and advice on
the best way of integrating great technology into the classroom,
and provide a concise introduction to Maplesoft products.
Part 1: From the Classroom: An Instructor's View of Effective
Deployment (Dr. Robert Lopez, Maple Fellow, Prof. Emeritus, Rose
Hulman Inst. of Tech.)
Drawing from over 30 years of experience as an educator, Dr. Lopez
will utilize lively and engaging demonstrations to cover a number
of tips and techniques for instructors in order that they succeed
with powerful technology like Maple 10.
Part 2: The "Big Picture" of Education (Dr. Tom Lee, Maplesoft)
Dr. Lee will present the educational breadth of coverage of the
Maplesoft product line. From the desktop to the global classroom,
from personal calculation and plotting aids to rich e-learning
environments, Maplesoft technologies define a new paradigm for
mathematics.
Background: Calculus, linear algebra, algebra, vector calculus,
geometry, statistics, differential equations are some of the
math subjects available as courses in Maple available free to
students at http://maplesoft.com/academic/students/resources.aspx.
At UW, Maple labs are included in the first-year calculus courses.
Mathematics software instruction from IST is available from
Colin Campbell. See
http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/ew/software/math_and_statistical/index.html
Maple is priced at $5 at UW (http://ist.uwaterloo.ca/admin/maple.html).
Thursday, November 10, 2005 through to December 15
UW-ACE training sessions continue in November and December with
a full complement of courses about the quiz tool, gradebook,
action editor, layout designs, links to learning activities,
introduction to UW-ACE.
A few quiz questions before class can tell you what students
understand about their homework and how prepared they are for
class. Students who know the ideas want to participate in class,
and those who don't come looking for answers.
The Gradebook records system-generated and uploaded
grades. Averages and percentages can be calculated.
Selected grades can be released to students.
UW-ACE is completing a mark submission facility to
send final grades from UW-ACE courses to the registrar's
office. Details forthcoming.
The Action Editor sets triggers for a small set of events and
conditions (e.g. quiz mark) allowing a number of different actions
to occur: redirection to a page; email posting; calendar posting
... Details are available in the full UW-ACE manual in the UW-ACE
Help link under Instruction Guides.
IST is offering courses in automating research searching,
concept mapping, creating equations in Word and PowerPoint,
using PowerPoint in lectures, and more.
Wednesday, November 16 (and 17), 2005
Technical Solution Deployment with MapleNet 10
Wednesday, November 16, 2005, 2-3 pm.
Repeated Thursday November 17, 9-10 am and again from 8-9 pm.
Registration required.
This seminar, part of the Maplesoft Seminar Series, will provide an
introduction to MapleNet 10, a platform for publishing and deploying
applications created with Maple 10. MapleNet experts will be on hand to
demonstrate the following:
* An introduction to MapleNet 10 and how it can be deployed within
companies, research labs and academic institutions to share
interactive technical knowledge
* An overview of features within MapleNet 10
* After the presentation, there will be time to answer your questions
GIS Day
Wednesday, November 16, 2005, 12:00-3:00 pm
Location: ES1 Courtyard
GIS Day is a global event to educate people about how geography
makes a difference in our lives through the technology of
Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Five Ways that Technology Can Enhance the Learning Experience of
Students while Saving Instructors Time
Presented by Dr. Mark Morton.
Thursday, November 17, 2005, 3:00pm-4:00pm
Location: FLEX Lab, LIB 329
The presentation includes:
* Using Microsoft Word's "Review" and "Auto-Text" functions
to automate certain kinds of feedback;
* Using online FAQs to ensure that students do not inundate your
email with "low level" questions;
* Using online rubrics to accelerate the assessment process;
* Using guided, online peer-review to provide certain kinds of feedback;
* Using Learning Object repositories to find an existing online
learning activity.
Thursday, November 24, 2005 - Changed Nov. 23rd
Educational Games. A Dialogue in Two Parts.
(formerly listed here as:
How Learning Objects help make Learning Easier for Students)
Dr. Jennifer Jenson, York University.
Thursday, November 24, 2005, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Location: FLEX Lab, LIB 329, Dana Porter Library
Registration requested at: http://lt3.uwaterloo.ca/events/
Game Design for Learning. This talk will look at current commercial
video games as examples of good `game design that can be appropriated
and made use of in the design of digital games specifically for
learning. It will in particular draw on models of learning already
well-exemplified in video games to show how we might better build
digital environments for educative ends. Dr. Jenson's current research
interests include: Gender and video games, video games and education,
designing digital environments for learning, and new media production.
You are welcome to bring your lunch. Drinks will be served.
Background:
Serious Play: Challenges of Educational Game Design
Jennifer Jenson, York University,
Suzanne de Castell, Simon Fraser University
http://www.yorku.ca/jjenson/papers/aera2002.htm
Learning objects are resuable online components used for instruction.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_object and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-learning for background.
Also try http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/page.cgi?topic=146.
WatITis is a one day conference for those involved in IT planning,
support and decision making at the University of Waterloo. It is an
opportunity to see what others are doing on campus in information
technology, to exchange ideas, and make new contacts.
Tuesday, December 6, 8:30 am - 4 pm, RCH 306-8.
Registration and agenda available at site above.
Engaging Students with Online Activities in UW-ACE
Presented by Faculty Members and Jane Holbrook.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Location: FLEX Lab, LIB 329
Faculty members will share their experiences using UW-ACE and
demonstrate how they increased their student's engagement in their
courses. The following topics will be addressed:
* using online journals to promote reflective thought,
* using the UW-ACE class polling tool to stimulate in-class discussions,
* using quizzes and the action editor to generate individualized pathways
through learning activities.
There will be time set aside for discussion and questions. Please
feel free to bring your lunch. Drinks will be provided.
TechExpo-- ePresence an interactive webcast at UW
Presented by Koorus Bookan.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005, 11:00am-12:00pm
Location: FLEX (LIB329)
ePresence Interactive Media open source software is a content capturing,
archiving, and webcasting system that delivers video and
presentation media over the internet using multiple streaming
formats for multiple platforms. ePresence also supports text and
voice interaction among event participants.
Background: http://epresence.tv/,
Open-Source Webcasting and Media Archiving Software for E-learning
Ron Baecker, Professor of Computer Science, Chief Scientist,
Knowledge Media Design Institute and Kelly Rankin, ePresence Interactive
Media Consortium Manager, University of Toronto
http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=tutorials&article=21-1
The Sounds of Stanford, via the iPod
http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/10/21/itunes
A Presentation by Video Gaming Exemplar, Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights
Presented by Denis Dyack.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006, 12:00pm-1:00pm
Location: FLEX Lab, LIB 329
Dennis has been involved in the Video Gaming Industry since the
early 1990s. He has been involved in the development of a number
of video games. During his visit at Waterloo he will discuss his
views on the industry and his vision with the audience.
Refreshments will be served.
Background: http://www.siliconknights.com/main.html,
Learning by Doing : A Comprehensive Guide to Simulations, Computer Games,
and Pedagogy in e-Learning and Other Educational Experiences
by Clark Aldrich (2005). See a reviews at amazon.com and
http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=reviews&article=7-1
Please contact me if you would like further information.
Paul Kates, Mathematics Faculty LT3 Liaison, pkates@uwaterloo.ca, x7047
This page is located at www.math.uwaterloo.ca/~pkates/LT3/events.
More information about the services of the Centre for Learning and Teaching through Technology - LT3 is available at lt3.uwaterloo.ca/.
(1) More information about learning and teaching Mathematics and Computer Science, plus a description of the services I provide as Mathematics Faculty LT3 Liaison is available here.