Keynote speakers
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), USA
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Professor Joe Tront is Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering in the Bradley ECE Department at Virginia Tech. He is an international thought leader in the deployment and use of tablet PCs in learning environments. He has responsibility for developing techniques for the appropriate use and assessment of mobile learning technology across the university. In addition to the faculty and student training he provides at Virginia Tech, Joe has delivered over 50 workshops world-wide where he has introduced people to the new technology and has provided them with methods to enhance the way they teach and the way they perform their daily work using mobile devices such as tablet PCs.
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Joe Tront received his PhD from SUNY at Buffalo and has worked in a variety of technical fields including integrated circuit design, space-based systems, computer and network security as well as learning psychology as applied to engineering education. He is a member of the IEEE and ACM and has published numerous papers in professional society journals and conferences. He has received several awards for his leadership in the use of technology in the learning environment including the Computerworld Laureate medal.
Outside of the office he enjoys snow skiing, water skiing, biking and officiating college football on most fall weekends.
Engaging students is vital to effective teaching. It is also one of the most difficult challenges a teacher faces. Distractions are but a text message away. Attention spans are proven to be shorter than the time it takes to read an abstract. Large classrooms provide the easy cover that can allow students to fade into the background and miss the opportunity to participate in the learning process. While technology alone cannot create an engaging environment, it can certainly facilitate various forms of active learning that an unaided instructor may not be able to accomplish. Tablet PCs are one of the newest innovations in the computing and communications world and have the potential for significantly supporting improvements in the way faculty members teach and the processes involved in student learning.
Building a learning environment that uses tablet PCs to support improved pedagogical practices is a multi-faceted problem. Providing the hardware platform, training and supporting the faculty, building the required communication and power infrastructure, and performing the appropriate assessment for use in continuous process improvement are a few of the chores that must be accomplished in order for the new engagement support mechanism to be successful. Unmentioned, but most important, is fostering and growing the teacher’s desire to improve learning. Without the teacher working hard to enhance the pedagogical practices facilitated by technology, the tablet PC is simply a well-shaped conglomerate of plastics, silicon, copper, and an abundance of high speed electrons that are likely confounding the situation rather than assisting the information transfer.
This talk will provide insight into to the complex issues encountered in implementing an effective program to use tablet PCs in the demanding and diverse learning environments found in higher education.
Watch video (mpeg-4, 204mb)
Director of the eEducation Centre, Monash University
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Professor Gordon Sanson is the founding Director of the eEducation Centre. Previously as Head of the School Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Science, Professor Sanson led a number of innovative teaching and learning programs that effectively engaged industrial partners in the development and production of new teaching technologies in science. He brings with him a unique set of skills as an educator, leader and innovator, who is also engaged in active research and is committed to improving student engagement at all levels.
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What is the essence of a tablet PC and why should they be considered superior to laptops? Everyone is so used to the laptop with its digital keypad that the shift to a relatively expensive tablet appears hard to justify and of minor benefit. I will argue that a tablet’s potential is rooted in its spontaneity as a scratch pad and that the full promise is yet to be realised. I will draw connections between tablet PCs and the articulation of Human Computer Interface (HCI) and the opportunity to marshal the power of the “napkin” and mind maps. If the content of these various can be captured and integrated with Web 3.0 and Web 4.0 tools of the future, the potential impact on knowledge acquisition and construction will be considerable if not unimaginable. The challenge for education is how to capitalise on these emerging opportunities and manage the consequences of embracing such technologies.
Watch video (mpeg-4, 150mb)
Presentation slides (pdf, 5.31mb)
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