Web 2.0 technologies have introduced increasingly participatory practices to creating content, and museums are becoming interested in the potentials of “Museum 2.0” for reaching and engaging with new audiences. As technological advances are opening up the ways in which museums share information about the objects in their collections, the means by which museums create, handle, process, and transmit knowledge has become more transparent. For this to be done effectively, however, some underlying contradictions must be resolved between museum practices, which privilege the account of the “expert,”
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Ramesh SrinivasanRobin BoastJonathan FurnerKatherine Becvar
Immersion is the subjective impression that one is participating in a comprehensive, realistic experience. Interactive media now enable various degrees of digital immersion. The more a virtual immersive experience is based on design strategies that combine actional, symbolic, and sensory factors, the greater the participant's suspension of disbelief that she or he is “inside” a digitally enhanced setting. Studies have shown that immersion in a digital environment can enhance education in at least three ways: by allowing multiple perspectives, situated learning, and transfer. Further studies
This article presents IMAX films as making science more accessible to the public, but cautions against building spectators rather than participants. It examines a film about Yellowstone while making the case that large-format films serve entertainment rather than scientific purposes.
The authors review the giant screen (GS) film literature to determine if the form has unique attributes that contribute to science learning. They find that four attributes are claimed to contribute to higher learning outcomes: the sense of immersion by reducing peripheral views to a minimum; first person perspective contributing to the sense of presence in the film; narrative structure; and sensory stimulation of mirror neurons that promote kinesthetic learning. They demonstrate that most claims are without support in empirical research but uncover some recent results that give reason to
Educators repeatedly underscore the intimate relationship between science and technology. This is problematic because technology, far from being “applied science,” presupposes a unique epistemology (techno-epistemology). A focus on the role of science in technology overshadows this unique way of knowing and hence limits technology education and privileges a scientific worldview in education. To appropriately frame the unique epistemology of technology in education, we propose a cognitive framework developed to understand the use and development of tools in human activity, namely, Cultural
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Michiel van EijckNicholas Xumthoult Claxton
This paper suggests new strategies for introducing students to robotics technologies and concepts, and argues for the importance of providing multiple entry points into robotics. In particular, the paper describes four strategies that have been successful in engaging a broad range of learners: (1) focusing on themes, not just challenges; (2) combining art and engineering; (3) encouraging storytelling; (4) organizing exhibitions, rather than competitions. The paper describes a new technology, called the PicoCricket, that supports these strategies by enabling young people to design and program
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Natalie RuskMitchel ResnickRobbie BergMargaret Pezalla-Granlund
The term 'cyberlearning' reflects a growing national interest in managing the interactions of technology and education, especially with respect to the use of networking and information technologies. However, there is little agreement about what the term means. Such disagreements reflect underlying differences in beliefs about the purposes of education. These disagreements are problematic for anyone interested in evaluating cyberlearning practices. This study used surveys and interviews to investigate how practitioners and experts in the field of cyberlearning define it, how they implement it
Recently, the relationship between identity and learning has come front and center in discussions about how to design successful learning environments for youth who struggle in mainstream institutions. In this essay, I explore the role identity development plays in constructing learning environments for traditionally marginalized youth. While I agree with DeGennaro and Brown on the importance of identity development for learning, I stretch the relationship between these two constructs in several ways: First, I will argue that how we define “technology” and what that means for marginalized
What effects do different setups of museum exhibits have on visitors' conversations and interactions? The study reported here is an investigation of the role that labels and associated materials play in visitors' conversations and interactions at a heat camera exhibit. After we introduced a label to help visitors explore the insulating properties of clothing, we found a dramatic shift in the kinds of activities and participation structures of visitors. Not only were visitors, as expected, discussing why clothing was warm, but they were doing so in a fashion more consistent with formal
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Leslie AtkinsLisanne VelezDavid GoudyKevin Dunbar
resourceresearchProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
In this article, the author expresses her views on how science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) standards can be developed to upgrade lifelong science learning. She mentions that the International Conference in the Learning Sciences (ICLS) that will be conducted by the International Society for the Learning Sciences (ISLS) will have an advantage to the development of the STEM standards. She also comments on the establishment of cyberlearning environments to improve science education.
The author reflects on the use of some media channels to disseminate information about astronomy. He states that there is a striking absence of regularly maintained blogs hosted by major astronomical institutions. He asserts that social networking sites offer a quick and efficient channel for dissemination of content to a younger audience. He offers information on Second Life, the most popular non-game-based virtual community.
Many adolescents develop ideas about and attitudes toward engineering through their exposure to out-of-school representations of science and technology. Yet few studies have investigated the nature of these representations and found ways to use them in formal engineering learning. This article explores media representations of science and technology that today's adolescents are familiar with. It analyzes how the embedded representations compare with those found in academic engineering and examines how these representations influence students' knowledge of and dispositions toward engineering