Some Design Challenges for e-Universities Professor Tim O Shea

“Some Design Challenges for e-Universities” Professor Tim O’Shea Master of Birkbeck & Provost of Gresham

Talk Structure • • Talk Structure UK e-University New Technologies LMN ltd and HERO ltd Birkbeck examples Challenges & Dilemmas Why Bother?

UK e-University • • Open University inspiration Other OU-2 s have bombed Right technological time Some great UK niche courses Whose degrees? Broad or narrow? Which commercial partners? High stake and high risk

IT & Ed - Briefest History • 1960 s - Skinner, Suppes & Programmed Learning • 1970 s - Piaget, Papert & Learning Programming • 1980 s - Intelligent Computer Tutors • 1990 s - Computer Supported Collaborative Learning • 2000 s - Virtual Schools and Universities

Technological Trends • • • Convergence of technologies Wireless mobility (active badges) Moore’s law X 3 The Internet is a ‘pond’ The World Wide Web is an Open Library Object-Oriented Programs (windows and Java) • Machine Learning

The World Wide Web JANET Birkbeck Network Your computer Internet

Convergence of Modes • • Synchronous and Asynchronous Shared Alternate Reality Kit Video and Audio Links Side by Side and Face to Face ‘Time Travel’ Joining past conversations Hybrid Virtual Realities

Higher Education Research & Opportunities ltd • Owned by Universities & Research Councils • Also Course Application Providers • Information on places, subjects and funds • News features and daily news feed • Very useful for overseas and 6 th formers • A portal - a nice set of web sites

London Metropolitan Network ltd • • Owned by 39 unis & colleges in M 25 Linked to 57 further education colleges Linking with libraries & museums Supports research and teaching Almost invisible at 155 M, soon 2. 5 G Same capacity as main UK network 240 video-links, 12 K audio links & 100 M

LHEC 20 April 1999

The Birkbeck Experience (1) • Some courses (e. g Biology) use educational software such as Web. CT • Some courses (e. g. Geography) use commercial software • Some courses (e. g. Organisational Psych) use computer conferencing

The Birkbeck Experience (2) • Some courses (e. g. Screenwriting) use electronic mail • Some courses (e. g. Earth Sciences) use CDROMs • Crystallography has an international reputation for computer based research

Who are Crystallography students? • Most of our students are graduates – many work in industry – some are taking the courses for credits towards a Ph. D • a few are advanced undergraduates – most of these are European students on four- or five-year Masters courses

Course Prerequisites • Students need access to a suitable computer – We support the PC, Macintosh and Unix/Linux platforms – All software needed for the course is in the public domain – Slow Internet links can cause problems • A B. Sc. or equivalent and some computing experience is also required

Multimedia Course Material • • Images Image maps Databases Links to external Web sites • “Movies” • Molecules can be manipulated in 3 -D

Movies illustrate protein motion

Software for Molecular Visualisation • Roger Sayle’s Rasmol is the main program we use for visualising molecular structures – it is readily available on the Internet – it runs on a wide variety of platforms – it is easy to install and use, and free • It can be launched automatically when a molecular structure file is selected

Other Software • The program Mage is used to display interactive diagrams, known as “kinemages” – Each kinemage consists of a number of images which the student can manipulate • e. g. to alter side chain torsion angles and watch the protein conformation change • Students on the crystallography course run programs on the Birkbeck server • All software is freely available for academic use

Tutorials in Virtual Reality • Students and tutors meet and talk in real time using a MUD – MUD = Multi User Dimension – an Internet environment in which participants move around and interact with each other – we use one based at Birkbeck – mostly text-based; Web interface popular • We occasionally use “Bio. MOO” – “The Biologists’ Virtual Meeting Place” – about 1000 users

Reality Check • • If a car was like a computer How many computer scientists? Routes through 10 pages? The 1: 200 rule £ 2000 x 200 x 50 = BA? Savings from I. T. Transparency via I. T. Platform stability

Key Issues • Improving navigation support • Reducing cognitive cost - especially for new learners • Ensuring approaches scale to 1000 s of learners and the WWW • Maximising added value and incidental learning • Widening Access while Enhancing Constructive functionality • Management issue - staff technology expertise

Cognitive cost • Different metaphors - physical object, spatial, locational, computer-computer, etc. • Broken metaphors - infinite desktops, etc. • Mixed metaphors - disks into waste bins, etc. • Different short cut conventions • Response time variation

Cognitive Cost (2) • • Cute but opaque icons & acronyms Syntax/metaphor variation between systems Navigation tool variation (COGNITIVE COST RISING)

Navigation Support • Where am I in this information space? • Is it really a 2 D space, tree, network lattice? • Who is also active in the space • How can I plan next week’s route? • How can I travel between spaces? • How can I travel in parallel? (NAVIGATION IS GETTING HARDER)

e-University position • • Capitalised around £ 100 m Holding & Operating Companies Committee for Academic Quality 84 Pilot course bids London, Oxbridge/Open, WUN Great Technology Partners Developing very quickly

e-University Challenges • • Generic self-assessment navigation support appropriate assessment creating the e-library interactive tutorial support choosing the grain-size the digital divide

Design Challenges (2) • • Reusable learning objects Genuine peer learning Time flexibility Authentic software Real student programming Sense of community Sense of location

Digital Dilemmas • • Mind the Gap! Delivery costs dropping! Design costs rising! 200 cats on the Internet? What manufacturers want? Join Open Source party? Who owns copyright?

Digital Solutions • • Cross subsidise the Gap Exploit low delivery costs Reuse learning objects Authenticate your pets Plan for obsolesence Say ‘Yes’ to Open Source But who owns copyright?

Why bother? • • • Dewey democratic principle Bruner technological principle Knowledge economy real Access, access Exciting experiment Birkbeck Blessings