Dr. Charles Kinzer of Teachers College will argue that the most powerful electronic learning environments, and those with the greatest fidelity to principles of effective instruction, begin with clear specificity of theoretical assumptions that guide the construction of content and user interfaces.
Professor Adrian Johns of the University of Chicago will lead the University Seminar in New Media Teaching and Learning in a discussion of one of his major projects: Microcosmos, an online interactive environment that reproduces and conveys the skills of past scientific exploration to students.
Dr. Tom Reeves of the University of Georgia will explore the various incentives for conducting research on the impact of computing and other technologies in higher education, examine the social relevance of that research, and recommend design research as a particularly appropriate approach to socially responsible inquiry. A description of the characteristics of design research will be covered, together with an argument for the more widespread adoption of this approach to enhance the quality and usefulness of research in computers and other technologies in education.
Dr. Geri Gay will talk about lessons learned from two current research projects. The first will describe the use of wireless computing in formal and informal learning contexts (Intel, Microsoft, NSF) and the second will discuss collaborative learning among distributed project teams (NASA, AT&T Foundation).
Dr. Sunil Kumar, lecturer at the London School of Economics, will discuss best practices for integrating online experiences with face-to-face classroom discussions in his Urbanization and Social Planning courses. To this end, he will outline his Web-based resource for navigating the research process, which provides students with an understanding of how various components of the research process are interrelated. Together, we will discuss the applicability of Dr. Kumar's practice to Columbia University courses.
