Author: aucadmin

Danny Munnerley, University of Canberra Part of CW12

As a relatively new and rapidly developing technology, applications for mobile devices, web cameras and now glasses that augment reality with digital objects are being taken up as potential educational tools.
There is a danger of educational applications being driven by what is technically possible, and by the interests and agendas of the early adopters, rather than what is pedagogically desirable, or empirically defensible. The risk of such a fragmented approach to augmented reality (AR) implementation may be to make it harder for academics and teachers to incorporate augmentation into their learning and teaching practices, and it may even alienate the less technically-minded, with AR left seeming as yet another flash-in-the-pan, short-lived technological toy, accessible only to those with technical know-how and high levels of IT literacy and competence.

In this presentation, we discuss how multi-modal, sensorial augmentation of reality links to existing theories of education and learning, focusing on ideas of cognitive dissonance and the confrontation of new realities implied by exposure to new and varied perspectives.

We stress that augmented realities, unlike virtual realities, are not substitutions for physical reality; not approximations to reality; but the layering of perspectives and experiences to augment and enrich reality. We discuss what opportunities AR opens up, and how those opportunities might be exploited within a given (constructivist) approach to learning and teaching. Finally, we consider existing applications of AR, trends in AR research and possibilities for uses of this technology in education.

Tim Nugent & Nic Wittison, University of Tasmania Part of CW12

Last year we developed a prototype app as part of a multidisciplinary project by the Schools of Computing and Information Systems, Engineering and History and Classics to combine spatial and historical data together to better improve historical and physical exploration of the Hunters Wharf area of Hobart. The prototype is an iPad and iPhone app that takes current maps of Hobart and allows users to overlay different historical maps of the same area to compare and contrast with the modern – allowing the historical information normally tied up in books to be available in a more modern and accessible form.

This presentation will cover what the app can currently do, and how it has been used by the different disciplines involved in its creation and how we envisage the app and similar tools being used in the future. This talk will also highlight the unique process undertaken to try and best fit the differing needs of the group when faced with presenting a traditionally hard to understand data source.

This talk will cover aspects of both education, system design and data visualisation.

Stephen Young, University of Melbourne Part of CW12

Why ‘digital’ makes a difference in copyright

The rights of the author and the employer

Using the work of others; others using your work

Confusion in the cloud – who is the actor?

Highlights of the Australian Law Reform Issues Paper “Copyright and the Digital Economy’

– Speculation on outcomes and what they could mean for Higher Education

Helen Farley, University of Southern Queensland Part of CW12

Machinima is the art of using virtual worlds or games to make films. Second Life has proven popular venue for the creation of machinima for a number of reasons including the ability of users to create custom content, the facility to reuse items made by other users, and the capacity to readily alter avatars and landscapes. Though this medium is used by budding film makers to create fictional pieces and simulated documentaries, educators and researchers have also been quick to spot the potential of this form.

This paper reports on a project undertaken by the Australian Digital Futures Institute and the Centre for Sustainable Catchments both at the University of Southern Queensland to use machinima to inform sugarcane farmers’ decisions around sustainable farming practices. Future issues such as regional sustainability and predicted changes to climatic regimes will place an even greater burden upon struggling rural farming communities. This project will improve decision-making by regional communities, policy-makers and civil society through the development of an innovative, web-based, discussion support system, leading to sustainable and resilient regional areas.

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Susan Yue Hua Sun, Auckland University of Technology Part of CW12

While many people are yet to be convinced that fully-online language courses are capable of developing learners’ oral/spoken language skills, strong empirical evidence is starting to emerge. It shows that online language learners’ oral skills can be adequately, if not exceedingly well, developed through the use of the increasingly sophisticated online tools, especially voice tools, e.g., Blackboard Wimba Voice Board, Voice Presentation, Voice Authoring, and the latest available Blackboard Collaborate, etc.

This study looks into two fully online Chinese language papers in a New Zealand University, and examines how the development of student oral skills takes place, i.e., their curriculum designs, technology choices, pedagogical considerations behind, and assessments related to oral language development. Needless to say, the technology choices are at the central place in the discussion, as the two papers are taught in the total absence of the traditional face-to-face classroom and its success or even just its survival are decidedly relied on online technology.

The examination will focus on the use of Wimba Voice Board, Voice Presentation, and Voice Authoring, and painstakingly point out their strengths and weaknesses. The inadequacy of technology and the frustrations which have been felt by the instructors along the way will also be detailed and discussed. Finally, commentary is made with regard to the latest available online tool – Blackboard Collaborate in Blackboard Learn.

This study concludes that through careful design and use of online voice tools such Voice Board and Voice Presentation, students’ oral skills can be well-developed in total-online language courses.

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CreateWorld is our 3 day performance, presentation, and professional development event, specifically for academic and technical staff who work in the digital arts disciplines.

The conference features a wide range of academic and technical presenters from the tertiary education and industry sectors, and includes several keynotes, panel sessions, hypotheticals, hands-on technical workshops, and regular presentation sessions.

We are seeking presenters from a wide range of disciplines for presentations, performance pieces and workshops. Presenters will be financially supported to attend the conference.

Continue reading “CreateWorld 2012 – Call for Presenters”