ICL Workshop 01

Next Generation e-Learning: Harnessing the power of Web 2.0  and  Web 3.0

Vassil Alexandrov, University of Reading, UK

Content:

As the world begins to understand the Web 2.0 concept, ideas on how to apply this platform are beginning to emerge. Nevertheless, two new approaches are also making progress on the educational technology arena: games and 3Di technology. They share one single characteristic: they are synchronic, but in everything else they are different. In game based programming we use competition as motivator. Learning is the result of competitive interaction. In Web 3.0’s 3D interactive technology (3Di) the motivation is real-life like interaction and learning is the result visualization and collaboration. In such environments students contribute their own elements of learning using platforms that instead of managing learning provide value transfer of learning objects and orchestrate resources for learning. These approaches seem promising. Nevertheless there is one big caveat, one that is as old as gaming, 3D and interaction technology. There is evidence that the skills acquired in synthetic environments, such as software games and virtual worlds do not transfer to real-life. The purpose of this workshop is to review new approaches to education based on gamming, Web 3Di technology and collaboration, this is what we call Web 3.0. The key topics are: 

• Web 2.0, 3Di and i-3D technology and learning
• Game Based Learning
• Collaborative virtual environments and learning
• 3D Visualization and learning
• 3D Synchronous learning
• Dynamic knowledge discovery
• Advanced educational/pedagogical models
• Visualization and interaction as motivators for learning
• Active learning through virtual environments
  

Contributions:

• The place of Computational Science and emerging technologies in the natural sciences education at university level.  (Vassil Alexandrov, Nia Alexandrov)
  

• Next Generation E-learning based on Grid Technologies and Web 2.0 (Olga Boronenko,  Vassil Alexandrov)
  

• Educational games in Virtual 3D Immersive Environment: the teacher role and student assessment in different scenarios (Nina Cherenkova,  Nia Alexandrov)
  

• Packaging Learning Content for Java ME Platform Devices (David Johnson)
  

• Using Web2.0 technologies to enhance the Learning Process (Shafreen Sayyed, Nia Alexandrov)
  

• The use 3D user interfaces for immersive learning environments (Andrew Dunk)
  

Vassil Alexandrov, MSc, Moscow State University, Russia, PhD, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria. Professor in Computational Science (since 2002) and Director of the Centre for Advanced Computing and Emerging Technologies, University of  Reading, since 2003.

Nia Alexandrov, MSc, Sofia University of Technology, Sofia, Bulgaria

David Johnson, MSc, University of Reading, UK

Nina Cherenkova, MSc, University of Reading, UK

Andrew Dunk,  MSc, University of Reading, UK

Olga Boronenko,  MSc, University of Reading, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki & University CarlosIII Madrid

Nina Cherenkova, MSc, University of Reading, UK

Shafreen Sayyed,  MSc, University of  Reading, UK