Monday, August 2, 2010

Week 3

A special week as we had our class at a different venue - Block A computer lab. The setting and lighting were awesome and elegant. The main thing I've learn from this lesson is on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality and how it can be utilized in education for children.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)


Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the area of computer science focusing on creating machines that can engage on behaviors that humans consider intelligent. The ability to create intelligent machines has intrigued humans since ancient times, and today with the advent of the computer and 50 years of research into AI programming techniques, the dream of smart machines is becoming a reality. Researchers are creating systems which can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat the best human chessplayer, and countless other feats never before possible.


How to use this in education?
One of it would be to use a intelligent tutoring system at schools. It is an educational software containing an artificial intelligence component. The software tracks students' work, tailoring feedback and hints along the way. By collecting information on a particular student's performance, the software can make inferences about strengths and weaknesses, and can suggest additional work. It is like a synthetic interactive tutor that is tutoring the students. Advantage is when the artificial tutor can give full attention to every student in a class where is quite difficult for teachers to do alike.




Virtual Reality


It can be termed as a simulation that our computer creates to create a virtual world. This world can be anything that is essentially three – dimensional. Objects over here are life like. The user is given power to interact as well as manipulate in this virtual reality world. Users can also explore this world. The feeling that he/she will derive while exploring is that as if they are themselves present in this virtual world in flesh and blood. Computer scientists and engineers and visual experts have devised a whole lot of technical applications and devices and gadgets and tools to
improvise these effects in people.


How to use this in education?

Schools can seldom afford fully immersive virtual reality, but they often use programs that at least provide three-dimensional graphics and interactivity. These programs run on standard computers. Some require free downloadable programs or inexpensive gear such as shutter glasses, but many need no additional software or equipment.

One example of a school virtual reality program is called Touch the Sky—Touch the Universe. It uses an interactive 3-D model of the solar system to help students learn about astronomy. Students fly a virtual spaceship through the model, looking at it from different viewpoints. They watch eclipses and changes of phase as the planets and moons move through their orbits. They can zoom in on individual planets, moons, asteroids, and comets to study them more closely. When they touch a planet or other astronomical object with the mouse pointer, the program shows information about the object, such as its size and the time it takes to complete its orbit. Students can speed up or slow down the movement of the system and find out how these changes affect the movement of particular planets or moons.


Read more:
http://www.scienceclarified.com/scitech/Virtual-Reality/The-Virtual-Classroom-Virtual-Reality-in-Training-and-Education.html#ixzz0vVE0bgoh

This knowledge about Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality opened up my mind towards knowing that these technology are not meant for outside world oly.. but it can serve as an enzime for our education for children

Week 1 & 2

The first class started at MK2. The outline and pro-forma for the whole course was given. What made me curious is the fact that we will choose and develop our own science courseware by the end of this course. To me coursewares are a bit complicated but I am looking forward for it =)

We were also told to write a reflection for each lesson (like what I am doing now) on what we have learnt the most on that week's lesson.

The assignments for this course were then being explained.

One important thing I've learnt was: Technology is a great tool to just ASSIST the teachers in educating the Y-generation learners effectively, but NOT REPLACING teacher totally or 100%. I feels that real human-to-human communication and education is still the "back-bone" for all learning as real human have natural human feelings and can most often give the best advice or words to help the students understand what they are learning more.