We view college classroom teaching and learning as a multimedia authoring activity. The classroom provides a rich setting in which a number of different forms of communication co-exist, such as speech, writing and projected images. Much of the information in a lecture is poorly recorded or lost currently. Our hypothesis is that tools to aid in the capture and subsequent access of classroom information will enhance both the learning and teaching experience. To test that hypothesis, we initiated the Classroom 2000 project at Georgia Tech. The purpose of the project is to apply ubiquitous computing technology to facilitate automatic capture, integration and access of multimedia information in the educational setting of the university classroom. In this paper, we discuss various prototype tools we have created and used in a variety of courses and provide an initial evaluation of the acceptance and effectiveness of the technology. We also share some lessons learned in applying ubiquitous co...

Identification and specification belong to the initial stages of problem management. Traditionally, creative methods in these phases have not been considered a part of a computer scientist's expertise or skills. For innovative systems, however, it is crucial that computer experts have a stronger contribution in formulating and even recognizing problems. Managing a problem up to its solution as a software product is a long process that needs creativity and flexibility. Thus, in addition to the basic elements of Computer Science curriculum, namely knowledge and skills, also training at attitudinal level is required. A dedicated course in creative problem management is a combination of these elements. Preliminary feedback of a pilot course indicates that the course increased students' motivation and supported their self-image as creative agents.

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Abstract Learners do not always enjoy productive interactions with Multimedia Interactive Learning Environments. Their attention can be distracted away from the educational focus intended by designers and teachers through poor design and operational inadequacy. In this paper we describe a study of groups of learners using a multimedia CD-ROM research tool called Galapagos. This tool was developed to enable us to observe groups of learners interacting with different versions of the same multimedia content. These different versions implemented different forms of guidance for learners both within the presented narrative structure of the material and in the tools offered to learners to help them build the individual content elements into a coherent whole. Our empirical work was conducted with groups of learners within their educational establishment using the Galapagos CD-ROM as part of their studies for national examinations in Biology. Their sessions with Galapagos were recorded using video and audio and our analysis of their dialogue has enabled us to gain a greater understanding of the factors that contribute to productive, educationally focused learning interactions. Through the construction of different representations we have been able to coordinate information about interactivity between learners and system at the interface with

this paper is the what question. We (the author and his collaborators) have placed into classroom use a very simple forum for communication and collaboration called the CoWeb, for ##llaborative ###site. The CoWeb is not an advanced technology, and it does not support the creation of interactive elements the way that other tools do, e.g., AgentSheets (Repenning, 1994). Rather, the CoWeb supports a simple but powerful notion of open authoring: Any user can edit any page, and any user can create any page, with links from and to any other page. There is no distinction enforced in the software between teachers and students, and there is no explicit scaffolding built into the tool to structure what students do, how they do it, or even how they learn with the space. On the other hand, what the CoWeb does do is to make it as easy as possible for teachers and students to create collaborative Web-based activities. For this one aspect of the potential of the Web, the CoWeb does resolve the issue of providing access with very few interface 5 barriers. Thus, with the CoWeb, we can ask what teachers and students will do when openly authored Web pages become a matter of course. We originally began exploration of the CoWeb as an extension of our research on anchored discussion and collaboration (Guzdial, 1997; Guzdial & Turns, 1999). We had shown that collaboration spaces directly linked to media of interest to students (anchors) tended to create more sustained discussion than traditional classroom newsgroup discussions. But in our work, the anchors were always created by teachers. Was it the anchor, or the fact that the teacher said to go there? Could students create anchors? Through the CoWeb, we were able to explore how other students might discuss anchors created by peer students...

Distributed Computational Toys are physical artifacts that function based on the coordination of more than one computing device. Often, these toys take the form of a microcontroller network embedded in a children’s construction kit. We present a survey of Distributed Computational Toys. Although most of the toys we surveyed were built in the last five years and exist only as research projects, they build on the rich history of Constructivism, Constructionism and Kinesthetic Learning. Projects are tagged according to their structure, status, and intended functionality:

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Proceedings of the 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences- 2002 Teamwork is always challenging. Adding the complication of problem solving and software design only amplifies this challenge. The challenges of developing software as a team can be reduced by using groupware to coordinate and communicate the intricate details involved in the process. This study set out to determine if in fact there are tools available to assist in the collaborative problem solving and software development process. It must be understood at the outset of this paper that problem solving is at the heart of software development. Without amplifying the collaborative problem solving steps required for developing an effective and efficient solution, a much less then accurate solution will result. This paper provides a review of collaborative problem solving techniques and groupware in the software development domain covering both methodology and technology. There are three areas of focus in this paper. Specifically, collaborative problem solving and decision making; groupware theory and tools; and group cognition and psychology will be explored. The review is then followed by a careful analysis of the collaboration models and tools as well as their potential impact on software development. This paper ends with a discussion of our future work that will include developing a tool, which incorporates a problem solving model and collaborative structures for the software development domain.

Abstract: It is our experience that many Web-based training (WBT) systems do not take into account the latest advancements in teaching or learning paradigms – they simply reflect Web technology. We believe that such a technical approach to building WBT systems has a number of drawbacks, since WBT systems are primarily about teaching and learning, rather than about technology. Thus, WBT systems should actually combine conventional and innovative tools compatible with the current Web technology to support well-known, well-tested techniques, and also to enable implementation of new and innovative teaching and learning paradigms in a Web-based environment. Therefore, we built a novel WBT system called WBT-Master as a Web-based platform supporting a wide range of different teaching and learning paradigms. In this paper we present a WBT-Master tool that implements the well-known and highly accepted project-based learning paradigm. Further, we present results when applying this tool to conduct a project-oriented software engineering course with more than 200 university students. Also, evaluation results in applying WBT-Master in a corporate environment are presented as well. 1.

Abstract. This paper is concerned with user modelling issues such as adaptive educational environments, adaptive information retrieval, and support for collaboration. The HomeWork project is examining the use of learner modelling strategies within both school and home environments for young children aged 5 – 7 years. The learning experience within the home context can vary considerably from school especially for very young learners, and this project focuses on the use of modelling which can take into account the informality and potentially contrasting learning styles experienced within the home and school. 1 Introduction: The HomeWork