Four I School students are preparing to present their research and development efforts at the annual iConference in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
Erin Knight and Nathan Gandomi are participating in a panel discussion on "Next Generation Teaching and Learning: Technologies and Trends" and also presenting a poster on "Participatory Media for Education: Next Generation Teaching and Learning." Sarah Van Wart, Michael Manoochehri, and Gandomi are presenting a poster on "Using Paper Maps for Geospatial Data Collection". All four students are part of the MIMS class of 2010. In addition, I School professor Marti Hearst will be delivering a keynote speech at the conference: "An iSchooler Goes to Washington: IT Research Challenges to Better Help Government Help Citizens."
Knight and Gandomi's poster will present their work on their Master's Final Project, "Participatory Media for Education: Next Generation Teaching and Learning." For this project, the two are studying the use of Web 2.0 technologies in the educational domain, exploring how these tools can provide a framework for student-centered, flexible learning environments that adapt to students' needs and interests. They are analyzing patterns of use, expectations, motivations, perspectives and readiness of both students and instructors. Their ultimate objectives are to align various tools with course goals and learning activities, as well as to support teachers in adoption and usage.
Knight and Gandomi's panel discussion also explores next-generation teaching and learning, with input from teachers, students, and developers of learning management systems.
Van Wart, Manoochehri, and Gandomi's poster is a follow-up to their final project in last fall's course "Social Enterprise using ICTs for International Development," and their research in East Africa in summer 2009. The students present an innovative new "smart paper" solution to the challenge of missing or inaccurate maps and geospatial data in developing regions. The lack of reliable maps hinders all kinds of development work, including emergency services, infrastructure engineering, and relief organizations. The project explores the possibility of using a simpler GIS data collection methodology – annotating paper maps – in order to both simplify the data collection process, and capture more qualitative data.
The annual iConference is sponsored by the iSchools Caucus, a coalition of leading information schools from across the US and Canada. These schools have joined together to build awareness of, support for, and involvement with the field of information among key constituencies, principally the media, business community, those who fund research, student prospects, and users of information.
The conference will be held at the University of Illinois February 3–6, 2010.