CIT 2006 - WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

TUESDAY, MAY 30, 2006

Developing Agile Learning Objects

Instructor: Ruben R. Puentedura, Ph.D.
Founder and President, Hippasus

Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: TBA
Rating: Introductory
Platform: PC
Cost: $100

While Learning Objects can transform education, faculty are frequently overwhelmed by the actual task of creating them. Agile Programming, a family of tools and practices designed to produce software swiftly, flexibly, and sustainably, can remedy this problem. We will explore the concepts from Agile Programming relevant to the Learning Object development cycle, focusing on the tools to be used and their real-world application, and demonstrating the actual development of a new object of two.

Key topics to be covered:

• Theory
• Learning Objects: Key definitions; Pedagogical Rationale; Best practices; Avoiding potential pitfalls
• Agile Development Processes: Background and definitions; Agile development processes in software development; Adapting Agile methodologies for classroom scenarios
• Design Patterns: Back to the Roots: Alexander's Pattern Language; Design patterns at the intersection of software development and education.
• Practice
• Methodology Bringing the components together
• Defining uses in specific classroom situations
• Defining and implementing appropriate workflows
• Evaluating the results
• Toolkit
• The essentials: tools that define the practice
• Key supplements: additional tools for specific scenarios
• Integration: making the tools work together
• Processes
• Creating, refining, building, and evaluating the Learning Object

Registrants are not required to attend CIT to participate in this workshop (although we really think you'll WANT to!). Register for this workshop!

About the Instructor:

Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura is the Founder and President of Hippasus, an educational consulting firm focusing on transformative applications of information technologies to education.

The basis for Hippasus is to be found in Dr. Puentedura's eighteen years of work in educational research and reform. While a teaching fellow at Harvard University, he co-developed new courses in the introductory sciences, aimed at increasing the breadth and depth of science understanding for majors and non-majors alike. This work resulted in a Phi Beta Kappa teaching award, as well as his being named a Harvard Technology Fellow. Over the next twelve years, as a faculty member at Bennington College, and as the Director of the College's New Media Center, Dr. Puentedura designed and implemented new models for teaching that made exemplary use of new media and networking technologies.

In addition to his work in pedagogy, Dr. Puentedura maintains a number of active research projects. These cover a broad range, from complex systems theory, through the creation of new tools and approaches for visualization in the sciences and the arts, to social network theory and interface design for social software spaces. His applications of technology extend beyond the sphere of education and the sciences, and include significant work in the integration of technology and art. He has worked with Cathy Weis and various collaborating artists since 1996 on developing the Live Internet Performance Structure (LIPS) project, which has resulted in performances uniting locations as disparate as the city of Skopje in Macedonia and New York City. His most recent work with Ms. Weis has focused on the creation of "digital marionettes" that can be animated by performers as full partners in live performance.

Brought to you by the SUNY Training Center, Academic Programs.