SynergyNet at AERA
Dr. Emma Mercier from the SynergyNet team will be in Vancouver, presenting our recent work:
Higgins, S., Mercier, E.M. & Burd, E. (2012, April) Collaborative Learning in a Multi-touch Classroom. In E. Mercier (chair) A Framework to Understand the Impact of Technology on Collaborative Learning. Symposium at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, Canada.
Mercier, E.M. & Higgins, S. (2012, April) The Impact of Classroom Configuration on Collaborative Learning. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, Canada.
New SynergyNet Repository
To help make the naming convention of the SynergyNet project and software clearer we’ve moved SynergyNet to a new Google code repository:
http://synergynet.googlecode.com/
The previously used repository, synergyspace, is being kept open for students working on SynergyNet related projects to have a repository to back their work up to. The previous version of SynergyNet will be kept on the old repository but if you wish to get the latest updates you will need to checkout the appropriate projects from the SynergyNet repository.
Also included in the new repository are downloads of compiled versions of SynergyNet. These compiled versions come in the form of a series of jar files which are archived with the appropriate script files and instructions for running them. This should allow for most users to try out SynergyNet without needing to check out the source code.
If you’re interested in developing with SynergyNet read this article.
SynergyNet 3 Update
The process for developing with SynergyNet 3 has been drastically simplified making it easier for developers to build new projects using the framework. This video highlights the most recent features added to SynergyNet 3 which developers can make use of. More information on these new features can be found in this article.
If you’re interested in developing with any other version of SynergyNet (or SynergyView) read this article.
SynergyView made Available
The video analysis tool developed as part of the SynergyNet project, called SynergyView, has been made available.
Downloads of the tool and instructions for its use can be found here: http://code.google.com/p/synergyview/
An example of SynergyView in use
If you’re interested in developing with SynergyView read this article.
SynergyNet and SynergyView Presentation
Steve Higgins and Emma Mercier gave an impromptu presentation on the SynergyNet project and SynergyView Analysis software during a recent Oxford e-Research meeting about multi-touch technology. A description of the analysis tool is in the third part of the video.
New Publication
The SynergyNet team’s paper that compares groups using mulit-touch tables and groups using traditional materials is now available on-line.
Higgins, S., Mercier, E., Burd, E. & Joyce-Gibbons, A. (2011) Mulit-touch Tables and Collaborative Learning. British Journal of Educational Technology. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2011.01259.x
Abstract:
The development of multi-touch tables, an emerging technology for classroom learning, offers valuable opportunities to explore how its features can be designed to support effective collaboration in schools. In this study, small groups of 10- to 11-year-old children undertook a history task where they had to connect various pieces of information about a mining accident to reach a consensus about who had been responsible. Their interaction using traditional resources was compared with their interaction when using a multi-touch table. Analysis suggests that the design and capabilities of the multi-touch technology offers some key features that supported the collaboration and interaction of the participants, particularly in the early stages of the task. Some of these features appear to provide new opportunities for collaboration and interaction, which were different from the interactions observed in the paper-based groups. These features of the multi-touch surface therefore appear to support effective interaction between the pupils.
SynergyNet for Early Years Students
SynergyNet for Early Years is a project developed as part of SynergyNet. The objective of this project is to adapt the SynergyNet software platform to support use by early years students. The project uses SynergyNet 3, the newest branch of the SynergyNet framework which utilises JME3 along side additional libraries such as the Google web kit and hazelcast. This allows anything built using the framework to take advantage of a range of advanced networking features.
SynergyNet for Early Years is not intended to replace or provide an alternative to current classroom activities but to augment tasks carried out in learning environments by both early years students and teachers. The features of this framework are discussed in more detail here.
Analysis of Classroom Data
While the SynergyNet team have been busy creating activities for the multi-touch classroom, and bringing in groups of school children to pilot and test the activities, and provide data for the research teams, we’ve also been developing a tool to look at the video we collect.
One of the great things about the SynergyNet Classroom is that we collect video from ten cameras in the ceiling, audio from microphones embedded in the tables and screen capture from the tables themselves. This gives us a great set of data – but most commercial analysis tools can’t cope with all this video.
With Phyo Kyaw taking the lead on development, we now have a tool that can sync multiple videos, so we can see what’s going on in a group, from two angles, on their table and in the whole classroom. The transcript gets laid out on the timeline, allowing us to consider changes over time when we code the interactions.
 |
| From SynegyNet images |
New Publication
The SynergyNet team’s review paper on multi-touch technology and classroom pedagogy is now available:
Higgins, S.E., Mercier, E.M., Burd, E., & Hatch, A., (2011) Multi-touch Tables and the Relationship with Collaborative Classroom Pedagogies: a Synthetic Review. International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6 (4), 515-538. DOI: 10.1007/s11412-011-9131-y
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w3737v20m8l47630/
Abstract:
This article reviews the research and evidence about multi-touch tables to provide an analysis of their key design features and capabilities and how these might relate to their use in educational settings to support collaborative learning. A typology of design features is proposed as a synthesis of the hardware and physical characteristics of the tables so that the longevity of these factors and the associated analysis can be better preserved, particularly in relation to the range of ways in which they may be used collaboratively in classrooms. The variability of features relating to software is also analysed and key pedagogic issues identified. The aim that underpins this review is to relate the design of the technical features with key pedagogic issues concerning the use of digital technologies in classrooms, so as to provide a more robust basis for their integration in classrooms in terms of their potential to support or to improve learning.
SynergyNet at EARLI
Professor Steve Higgins will be attending EARLI in Exeter, presenting on our recent work:
Mercier, E.M., Higgins, S. & Burd, E. (2011, September) Interdisciplinary design research: developing educational technology. Paper presented at the European Association Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) in Exeter, UK.
