Fade to Play

On January 13th, I was part of a panel hosted by the Office of Learning Technology as part of the Teaching and Learning with Technology Speaker Series at UBC.

Facebook’s popularity is uncontested but questions remain as to its role and purpose in an educational setting. How are students and educators using Facebook? What are the benefits and drawbacks of this social networking tool? Come join our diverse panel for a discussion that promises to provide multiple perspectives, deeper understanding and further questions.

The other two panelist were:
Sheryl Adam, a Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian, Koerner Library
Cyprien Lomas, Director of the Learning Centre in Land and Food Systems

The panel was moderated by Cindy Underhill, Office of Learning Technology

I enjoyed being a part of the panel. It was a great opportunity to learn from the staff and professors in attendance about their opinion regarding how Facebook can be used to network with each other and how they were using it educational purposes. There were comments made that the focus of these discussions shouldn’t be limited to Facebook but should involve how social media can be beneficial for education.

In addition, as there were not alot of students in attendance, there were questions about how best to reach students so that they can be adequately informed about Faceboook privacy issues? For example, for some exchange or foreign students coming to UBC, (e.g. China), this is their first exposure to Facebook.

I would love to see a panel about social media and education in which we discuss the advantages of tools like twitter for learning environments. Another beneficial panel would be about applications like Evernote and how they can enhance time management and productivity for students.

There is a podcast available.

Thanks to Catherine Paul, Office of Learning Technology for organising this panel.

Relevance: Knowledge about the social media, facebook, and online productivity tools is beneficial in understanding not only why a certain application may have value for educational settings, but to clarify why another may be better.

On Wednesday, June 4th, I attended an event by the SSHRC at the Vancouver Art Gallery to honour 30 years of contributions to social sciences and humanities research.

During the reception, I interviewed Chad Gaffield, President Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council about the meaning of the evening for Canadian research. His response is below.

Chad Gaffield, President SSHRC

Chad Gaffield, President SSHRC

Third Eye Tribe

Third Eye Tribe

Third Eye Tribe

Gift Bag Contents

My photos of the evening are available on my Flickr site. My Congress 2008 photos are here.

Relevance: The book has really interesting examples of cool research being conducted by Canadians in the areas of Social Science and Humanities. I suggest you view the website to learn about what this research is telling us about our world.

On June 3rd I attended an announcement by the Canadian Research Knowledge Network at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences (Congress 2008) to present the results of a project. Through funding from the government of Canada, $47 million was invested in new digital scholarly content for research and innovation, primarily for the humanities and social sciences.

According to the media release:

Thanks to a joint $47 million investment by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), eight provinces and 67 universities, nearly 900,000 researchers, scholars and students in Canadian universities will gain desktop access to an extensive body of national and international material.

With the click of a button, researchers and students in Canada will be able to access, search, sort and consult a rich digital collection of scholarly content, ranging from books, letters and historical documents to music scores, maps, artworks and visual materials. Many of these were not previously accessible to Canadians, or were only offered with limited access in print version.

This investment is the work of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN), a consortium of universities dedicated to expanding digital content in support of the academic research enterprise in Canada.

Social sciences and humanities researchers and students at 67 Canadian universities will have access to the new content by Fall 2008.

About CRKN: The Canadian Research Knowledge Network is a partnership of Canadian universities, dedicated to expanding digital content for the academic research enterprise in Canada. Through the coordinated leadership of librarians, researchers and administrators, CRKN undertakes large-scale content acquisition and licensing initiatives in order to build knowledge infrastructure and research capacity in Canada’s universities. For more information on CRKN visit our website at www.ResearchKnowledge.ca.

I interviewed Dr. Noreen Golfman, President of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, about what this announcement means for Canadian students. Below is her response.

Dr. Noreen Golfman

Deb deBruijn, CRKN Executive Director, opens the DCI event

Distinguished Speakers: Dr. Mona Nemer, Dr. Eliot Phillipson, Mr. Brent Sauder, Dr.Noreen Golfman and Dr. Ron Rensink

Dr. Mona Nemer, University of Ottawa VP Research & CRKN Board Member

Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation

Mr. Brent Sauder, Assistant Deputy Minister, Research Technology & Innovation Division, Ministry of Advanced Education, Province of British Columbia

Dr. Ronald Rensink, Professor of Computer Science and Psychology, Visual Analytics research, University of British Columbia

Mike Baida – Micromedia/ ProQuest & Kim Isaac – University College of the Fraser Valley

Erik Moore – University of New Brunswick & Michael Eberle-Sinatra – President of Synergies

Martin Dee – Photographer, Public Affairs, University of British Columbia. (photography on right)

Waiting for the reception


Relevance: An example of what Canada is doing to remain current in the areas of digital media and innovative research through partnerships between governments (federal/provincial) and our university system.

Dr. Jean Twenge who wrote “Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled-And More Miserable Than Ever Before” is coming to town. I read her book in 2007 and found it to be a fascinating account of what is going on with today’s youth. I have also referenced the book in some of my presentations within Vancouver. You can read some reviews here on the book’s website which also contains a link to her live journal.

She will be a speaker for 45 minutes at an all day Career and Education Fair called Change is Possible.

Her topic is entitled: Generation Me: Managing Young People (& Being Managed).

Dr. Twenge will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the data on how generations differ (based on a sample of 2 million young people) spiced with plenty of pop culture and humor. The generational changes include increases in self-esteem, narcissism, and entitlement and declines in mental health. In other words, today’s young generation really is different. Dr. Twenge will discuss how these changes impact education and the workplace, including the young generation’s expectations for work-life balance and the types of jobs they find most desirable.

Location: Bombay Banquet Hall, Surrey
Date: Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Time: 12:00 – 12:45 pm
You must pre-register online @ www.changeispossible.info

The fair will be held from 11am – 7pm.

Relevance: If you are studying youth or if you are interested in the everyday lives of youth, this talk is for you.

It was one year ago, that I was shaken to the core as I heard how students in Virgina Tech lost their lives in a tragic and sudden way. As a fellow student here in Canada I felt deeply affected, scared, and a little lost. On this day, we remember.

Sent to VT from UBC last year

Relevance: Sad that students full of life and promise didn’t come home from college that day.

from the Facebook group A tribute to those who passed at the Virginia Tech Shooting

Dr. Irving K. Barber and Phillip Jeffrey

Last Friday I attended the Grand Opening of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre here at the University of British Columbia on Media credentials. It was an eye-opening experience and I am really glad I was able to attend because I had only been in the Learning Centre on two occasions and I was interested in meeting some of the people behind its construction.

To provide context to my experiences today, I hadn’t visited the Learning Centre before this week, although many of the spaces were open from late February. Last Tuesday, I walked inside to use a computer as I am without my laptop for a short period of time. To put it mindly I was blown away, I was simply unprepared for the beautiful, open space around me as I stood on the top of the stairs. As I walked around I observed students sitting with open laptops being productive with end-of-term papers, group studying, or early preparation for exams. Rather that an area of books, it was designed to facilitate the development of knowledge wherever someone wanted to plop themselves down. Everywhere were plugs for laptops – this space was designed with a realisation that the future of learning is mobility. Today students are using their laptops to get their work down. The days of groupwork huddled around a desktop or standing in line forever to use one of the Student Computer Labs is past. This is the future of learning and this type of space has been long desired on campus.

What is also really beneficial is that there is a cafe in the Learning Centre with ample space for sitting down and working while eating or drinking a coffee. There is no need to trek to the SUB, residence, or the Village. One can quickly recharge and get back to work without losing valuable time — very important especially during the exam period.

I also noted that the Learning Centre had extended hours until 1am from Monday to Thursday which is simply great. I stayed until 1am on Wednesday and noted that there were a fair number of students still there working at close. I personally think that the Learning Centre could be an experiment in opening all night during the exam period. I am sure it would be appreciated by students wanting a quiet place to study.

So I have provided the context behind why I felt it was important for me to attend the Grand Opening as Media, as it was a private affair closed to the public.

The event was live-casted and an archived copy should be available here soon.

Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

Background
The $79.7 million Irving K. Barber Learning Centre is constructed around the refurbrished core of the UBC Main Library, built in 1925, one of the first buildings on campus. Within its walls are Canada’s first robotic library storage unit called ASRS, a lecture theatre, extensive study spaces and seminar rooms.

The Learning Centre is equipped with high-speed Internet access, campus WiFi, as well as video-conferencing capacities. There are 250 000 square feet of new and renovated space which are provided to support learning and research here. Around 1 500 study seats are provided for informal learning.

Who is Irving K. (Ike) Barber?

• 85 years old, one of B.C.’s most prominent entrepreneuers
• came to UBC in 1945 after service in WWII
• founded Slocan Forest Products Ltd. at age 55
• appointed to the Order of Canada and Order of British Columbia
• created the Irving K. Barber Chair in Diabetes Research at UBC
• has 3 children, 9 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren with his wife Jean

Former UBC President Martha Piper, Irving K. Barber, Jean Barber, The Honourable Gordon Campbell

Official Ceremony

At the official ceremony Mary Charles, an Elder of the Musqueam Indian Band provided a prayer on behalf of the Musqueum people whose land UBC resides on.

Mary Charles, Musqueam Indian Band

Next The Honourable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia, spoke about the commitment of Dr. Barber towards higher education.

The Honourable Gordon Campell

Brad Bennett spoke next as chair of the UBC Board of Governors

Brad Bennett

This was followed by Professor Stephen J. Toope, UBC President and Vice-Chancellor who spoke about the advantages of the additional learning spaces for students on the UBC campus.

Professor Stephen J. Toope

Next was Dr. Irving K. Barber who gave an inspiring speech in which he spoke about how he came to UBC and why he felt it was important to give some of his wealth back to the community. What is very cool is that he was often here during the development of the building keeping up to date on its progress.

Dr. Irving K. Barber

Andre Malan, a 2nd year Computer Science student in the Faculty of Applied Science gave an excellent speech from the perspective of students. He talked about why it was important to have these types of learning spaces and why they are especially appreciated on campus. A great speaker and definitely someone whose future is bright.

Andre Malan

The ceremony ended with a plaque unveiling followed by refreshments and guests were provided with a small bag containing a token of appreciation.

Gifts for Guests

It was a pleasure to meet Dr. Barber and I found him to be very approachable with students. As he wandered around after the ceremony I observed students talking with him, expressing their graditude for his contribution. I now have a greater knowledge of Irving K. Barber and the origins of the Learning Centre that bears his name.

[update] Photos are available as a set on Flickr here. If you use them, please attribute and link to fadetoplay.com

Relevance: UBC recognises the future of learning (informal, collaborative, mobile) intermixed with traditional (classrooms, project room, seminar rooms) spaces for learning and study.

First floor, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre

The Call for Participation has been announced for the 8th Annual e-Strategy Town Hall June 11th at my university.  It is an opportunity for the UBC community to gather, discuss, and share our experiences and techological innovations in the areas of learning and digital education.

The theme this year is: Here and Virtually There – UBC & the Digital Generation.   I presented for the first time last year on Facebook and was quite nervous.  I did find it to be a great learning experience and I am glad that I was provided with the opportunity to speak.

UBC’s instructors, students and staff are invited to participate in a day-long conference on campus this June, where they can meet with colleagues and learn about the latest developments in e-learning technology. 

The deadline is May 15th and members of the UBC community can submit your proposal here.

UBC faculty, students, alumni and staff are invited to submit a proposal for an Interactive Seminar and/or a Display Poster at the 8th annual e-Strategy Town Hall on Wednesday June 11, 2008. Our goal is to share our experiences and our innovations in e-learning technology with colleagues across campus.

Relevance: Attending last year was a beneficial experience as I met interesting members of the UBC community that I ordinarily might not have run into. Afterwards I felt more informed about the unique and cutting edge research being conducted at UBC within the area of learning technology.

Last June I gave a presentation for the e-strategy town hall at my university on Facebook which I subsequently blogged about. I provided a number of tips and suggestions for university administrators, staff, and professors regarding how Facebook could be used for academic or research purposes.

I provided a number of examples of incoming UBC students that had created Facebook groups (e.g. UBC 2001) as an information space to share and discuss relevant issues (e.g. what classes to take, what their residence would be like, etc.) with other students. These grassroots initiatives build on the wisdom of crowds concept prevalent in web 2.0 technology.

According to an article entitled “News Feed Update: Universities sign on to Facebook“, in the Globe and Mail, a number of Canadian universities (e.g. Mount Allison University) have launched Facebook groups with the goal of recruiting students.

Simon Behrens is a student in Germany, hoping to come to New Brunswick’s Mount Allison University next year. When he arrives, he’ll have plenty of connections. He already has 263 friends.

Mr. Behrens is a member of Mount Allison Class of 2012, a Facebook group for prospective students that is up and running long before any bags are packed by next year’s freshman class. That’s because it was created by an existing Mount Allison student who works closely with the school’s admissions staff. Besides the Facebook group, there are student-made videos on YouTube and student blogs, commissioned and paid for by the university.

It would be interesting to see how effective these campaigns on Facebook are. Although students are on Facebook, is it still viewed as a fun, social space for one’s friends or is it perceived acceptable to have universities creating a presence there as well? In addition, are user-generated spaces and social networks such as YouTube and blogs being widely used by other Canadian universities beside Mount Allison? What other digital avenues are bing explored? Are there examples of a 2012 twitter group or 2012 Flickr group being created to recruit and assist incoming students? What are the downsides to these new forms of digital recruitment when the rules and conventions for using them are still not fully developed?

Mr. Sheridan-Jonah at Mount Allison points out that even without an official effort the university is well represented on popular Internet sites. Getting involved in a Facebook group allows staff from his office to answer students questions directly and correct misinformation. The only downside he sees with the growth of such sites is students’ increasing tendency to rely on each other for information, rather than contacting schools as they did in the past.

Relevance: According to Facebook Stats, there are nearly 2 million new users signing up each week around the world. Of the more than 59 million active users, over 7 million are Canadian. Is Facebook a viable place for universities to recruit students?

The Learning Centre is very pleased to announce the inaugural session of its Fall 2007 Brown Bag Lunch series!

Please join us this Tuesday for a seminar presented by Phillip Jeffrey, a UBC graduate student at the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre (MAGIC).

Topic: “The Role of Facebook in Everyday Student Life”
Where: MacMillan Room 350
When: Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, from 12:30pm to 1:30pm

Facebook is a social utility originally launched in 2004 by Harvard University undergraduates exclusively for students. Facebook has over 35 million active users ( 3.3 million in Canada) and 68% log-in daily. It has become a primary tool among students for communication, information sharing, and for organising events among their real-world friends. The phrase “I’ll facebook you” is a regular part of student vernacular. Facebook is the top website in Canada. Last September it became accessible to anyone with an email address.

The goal of this presentation is to discuss what can be learned from the popularity of Facebook among students and to explore what some of the educational and academic applications may be. Mr. Jeffrey will begin with a discussion about what Facebook is, how real world campus events such as the potential closing of the UBC Aquatic Centre Weight Room mobilized the UBC community through Facebook, and provide insight into why it has become such as integral part of everyday student life. He will conclude by addressing what appropriate social behaviour is within this digital space and outline potential privacy issues regarding Facebook usage.

Phillip Jeffrey is a graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Studies program and his home department is the Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre (MAGIC). His research explores social and cultural issues in user-generated spaces through ethnographic study. He has a number of media appearances to provide Facebook expertise on CBC Radio One Vancouver and his research blog is http://fadetoplay.com.

Please RSVP to duncan.mchugh@ubc.ca. Refreshments will be served. Feel free to forward this email to any interested parties.

The Brown Bag lunch series is a series of discussions, presentations and hands-on workshops about technology use for teaching, learning, research, everyday use and (hopefully) fun. The sessions are open to all.

For information on future sessions, please visit http://brownbag.notlong.com/

I hope to see you there!

Duncan McHugh
Multimedia Developer
The Learning Centre
t: 604.822.1628
duncan.mchugh@ubc.ca

UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Suite 264C-2357 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
www.landfood.ubc.ca/learningcentre

Relevance:

Opportunity to talk about Facebook and improve my public speaking skills

technorati tags: facebook ubc brown bag lunch series learning presentation

Experiencing Second Life, originally uploaded by tyfn.

I am working on a short 2-4 pg report on virtual worlds where avatar interact and socialise such as Second Life and how they are being used/potential as educational space and learning platforms for engaging people about math and science.

I joined Second Life for the first time today and decided to come over to the NMC campus designed by NMC to explore. I am also searching for relevant research papers and articles written on this topic.

A gem I found so far was this article entitled Second Earth in the July/August issue of Technology Review by Wade Roush (free registration required to view).