EDUCAUSE | Contributed by EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and Teaching and Learning

ELI Discovery Tool: Applying Technology to Teaching and Learning

ckeller — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:22:04 -0600

Applying Technology to Teaching and Learning is a set of guides to help you select and integrate technology into teaching and learning. Whether you are a faculty member, academic administrator, instructional technologist, or part of a planning committee you may find them useful to:

Focus on the key learning issues that should drive technology selection
Better understand your technology options
Implement the technology that best supports your teaching and learning objectives

ELI Discovery Tool: Student/Faculty Questionnaire

ckeller — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:41:06 -0600

The ELI Student/Faculty Questionnaire is designed to help you explore student and faculty experiences and expectations with technology in teaching and learning. Specifically, the questionnaire examines student and faculty

Familiarity with learning technologies,
Expectations for the use of technology in teaching and learning, and
Views on how students prefer to learn.

This questionnaire provides insight into possible gaps that may exist at your institution, such as

The difference between the learning technologies that are expected by today's students and those that your faculty feel comfortable using, and
Students' self-described learning preferences contrasted with faculty perceptions of those preferences.

Engineering Informatics for Bio-Inspired Robots

ckeller — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:59:58 -0500

Engineering Informatics for Bio-Inspired Robots is an NSF-funded project trying to break down barriers to collaboration between engineering and computer science departments. Faculty members participating in the project are teaching the next generation of engineers and computer scientists to produce intelligent design by reaching across disciplines. The goal is to ensure that students are better prepared to tackle the multidisciplinary demands of the engineering and computing industries. As part of the project, participating institutions are leveraging cyberinfrastructure to share expertise, store research results, and advocate for multidisciplinary instruction, demonstrating the power of inter-institutional cooperation for teaching and learning.

7 Things You Should Know About Data Visualization

ckeller — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:15:04 -0500

Data visualization is the graphical representation of information. Information technology combines the principles of visualization with powerful applications and large data sets to create sophisticated images and animations. Representing large amounts of disparate information in a visual form often allows you to see patterns that would otherwise be buried in vast, unconnected data sets. Data visualizations offer one way to harness infrastructure to find hidden trends and correlations that can lead to important discoveries. Visual literacy is an increasingly important skill, and data visualizations are another channel for students to develop their ability to process information visually.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.
In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

7 Things You Should Know About Haptics

ckeller — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 11:17:47 -0500

Haptics technologies provide force feedback to users about the physical properties and movements of virtual objects represented by a computer. Human-computer interaction is largely visual -- words, data, or images on a screen. Input devices such as the keyboard or the mouse translate human movements into actions on the screen but provide no feedback to the user about those actions. Haptics incorporates both touch (tactile) and motion (kinesthetic) elements. For applications that simulate real physical properties -- such as weight, momentum, friction, texture, or resistance -- haptics communicates those properties through interfaces that let users "feel" what is happening on the screen.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

CyberBridges—An Authentic Learning Case Study

ckeller — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 15:53:12 -0500

CyberBridges trains graduate students how to use cyberinfrastructure (CI) -- a combination of computing systems, applications, and virtual organizations. Supported by NSF, CyberBridges hinges on the hypothesis that technical training of graduate students will not only lead to more rapid scientific discovery but will also trigger greater CI adoption in academic departments. Students are trained in networking and grid computing and then integrate what they have learned into their research to develop innovative tools or approaches. Due to the success of the initial program, CyberBridges has gone "global," involving students in China, Hong Kong, and Brazil.

nanoHUB - An Authentic Learning Case Study

ckeller — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 17:12:35 -0500

nanoHUB is an online portal for nanotechnology researchers, instructors, and students created by Purdue University and the National Science Foundation. It uses cyberinfrastructure to provide access to scientific tools for research, demonstration, and collaboration, as well as instructional materials. Users can run experiments, review research, or download lectures. nanoHUB is a virtual toolkit as well as a community where students and faculty contribute to the science of nanotechnology.

ELI Discovery Tool: Guide to Blogging

ckeller — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:26:10 -0500

The ELI Discovery Tool: Guide to Blogging offers practical information about how blogging can be used in teaching and learning and walks users through the important considerations for implementation. It presents real-life examples and first-hand accounts of class blogging; advice on important planning questions, engaging stakeholders, faculty support, and assessment; and an annotated list of helpful resources.

Approaches That Work: How Authentic Learning Is Transforming Higher Education

ckeller — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:20:03 -0500

Authentic learning aligns well with the needs of today's participatory learners. The challenge is to channel their online and collaborative abilities and interests into academic pursuits, helping them develop the higher-order thinking skills they may not acquire on their own. This second paper in the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative's authentic learning series presents case studies on how institutions have used technology to foster authentic learning and thus better meet learners' needs.

MARIACHI - An Authentic Learning Case Study

ckeller — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 10:12:58 -0500

The Mixed Apparatus for Radar Investigation of Atmospheric Cosmic-Rays of High Ionization (MARIACHI) project is setting a new standard for authentic learning—enabling students to learn by doing. Under the direction of scientists, students are building, monitoring, and analyzing data from devices that detect ultra high-energy cosmic rays in the atmosphere. They are also learning how to connect those devices to a larger cyberinfrastructure so they and the scientific community can learn more about these highly charged energy particles.