“ “ The Learning from Starlight” The Learning from Starlight” project: experencing mobile project: experencing mobile technologies to improve education technologies to improve education and outreach of Astrophysics and outreach of Astrophysics Serena Pastore INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) – Padova – ITALY [email protected]
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Serena Pastore INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) – Padova – ITALY [email protected]
“The Learning from Starlight” project: experencing mobile technologies to improve education and outreach of Astrophysics. Serena Pastore INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) – Padova – ITALY [email protected]. The Project and its goals. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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““The Learning from Starlight” The Learning from Starlight” project: experencing mobile project: experencing mobile
technologies to improve education technologies to improve education and outreach of Astrophysicsand outreach of Astrophysics
Serena Pastore
INAF (National Institute of Astrophysics) – Padova – ITALY
Didactic design by: Angela Turricchia of “Planetario – Settore Istruzione Comune di Bologna” and Maria Antonietta Carrozza of “ Liceo Scientifico Fracastoro Verona”
Involved School and primary goal
“Scuola Media Pepoli”Bologna secondary school; 13-years-old pupils
“Liceo Scientifico Fracastoro – Verona – high school; 18-years-old students
Students of each class should attend an astronomy course about the observation and analysis of astrophysical phenomena divided into two phases (in classroom and research institute context)
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Mobile learning (m-learning) as tecnology supported learning: any educational provision where the dominant tecnologies are heldheld devices (including mobile phones, PDAs, tablets and and wireless devices)”
The Mobile learning paradigm
Deployment of a wireless network infrastructure for the delivery of programmed activities
m-learninge-learning
tablets
laptopPDA
smartphone
PC
Mobile devices and wireless connectivity enables teachers and students in learning-related activities in several physical locations enhancing the sharing of multimedia content
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- Digitized contents in several formats (text, animation, slides, web pages, presentation, on-line quizzes and so on) to be provided both in classroom context and outside (for example at home);
- each student had to partecipate in individual and group based activities sharing her/his work with others;
- teacher could assist and should monitor them;
- all actors should be able to read and write contents of all the types
General requirements and constraints
On the other hand:- Locations without avaibility of internet connection;- Preferably use of open source software (for example OpenOffice.org instead of the well-known Microsoft Office);
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Classroom context: use of palms and
tablets in an intranet network to follow the astronomical course INAF-Padova context: a full day with
astronomers. Use of palms and tablets wireless connected to the institute network and to Internet to follow a
specific module of the course
Final module until the end of the
school
7th January – 18th April 2005
31th March 200528th April 200529th April 2005
29th April – 10th June 05
Project phases
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Use of an ad-hoc wireless network of tablets and iPAQs to realize an information system implementing an hybrid Peer-to-Peer architecture
Course module: how to discover the difference between a luminous and not-luminous celestial body with the observation of its physical parameters
Classroom context (intranet)
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- wireless ad-hoc network using Wi-Fi connection (using Windows XP operating system network functionalities);
- Client-server architecture between teacher’s tablet (equipped with web server) and students’ devices
-Peer-to-peer system between students palms and tablets in order to exchange multimedia content
The intranet wireless LAN for each classroom
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INAF-Padova context (internet)
W-LAN integrated with INAF wired infrastructure to allow internet connection and a more wide wireless range
Course module: Mars – how to know and classify this celestial body of our solar system
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- W-LAN integrated into the institute wireless LAN (same SSID)
-Use of all access point to extende wireless range in all the rooms;
- use of institute web services (web and ftp server, etc)
- Wireless LAN connected to wired infrastructure and by the network of italian research and university institution (GARR) to internet
Extended W-LAN with internet connection
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Several activities concerning the knowledge of Mars
A typical day experience at INAF-Padova
Morning activities
intensive use of iPAQs to take notes, make calculation and explore content on the web
Afternoonactivities
use of iPAQs and tablets to work in group: pupils had to make a presentation to the whole audience about a list of subjects
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Calculate Mars
distance
Morning activities
Interviews with
astronomers
Knowledge of Mars in the past
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Write about an argument
Afternoon activities
Presentations of the work to others
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Efficacy of wireless network environment
Issues
Content delivered
Initial problem with the little knowledge of computers especially in the first phase of the project, then
students were happy to use these tools for learning
- Some problems only in the classroom context
- Limited software and technical problems in exchancing files between iPAQs and tablets
Handheld devices
- Specific content developed for palm devices
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- Students was excited to use these computers for doing their lessons and they also continued the learning process outside (at home for example)
- Course material used with palms and tablets indifferently;
-Wireless network in INAF-Padova successfully used for all activities (limitation only due to network band);
Initial results
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- Specific user interface should be developed in order to exploit iPAQs in learning/teaching activities
Further development
This experience encourages the use of wireless tecnology and mobile devices to improve education and outreach.