IWM

Open House: "Virtual Realities" at the KMRC Tuebingen, Germany - March 7th 2010, 2pm-5pm

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:00:00 GMT

On that day, we invite the interested public to get to know KMRC's work on virtual realities. With the help of interactive technology installations, we offer both adults and children insights into 3D animations and digital technology used for learning purposes. Our highlight is the "Rebirth of a Dinosaur": experience it for yourself!

The 3D-dinosaur is brought to life using a mixed-reality technology that overlays a model skeleton with virtual muscles and skin. In addition, visitors will find several other experimental installations: experience a virtual soccer game, try out a driving simulation, and view 3D materials from the natural sciences. To complement the technology installations, there will be a talk given by Prof. Dr. Stephan Schwan, dealing with the potential that virtual worlds have for learning.

For more information, please see our press release:

DinoIWM_3D.jpg, PRkmrc0310_open_house_virtual_realities.pdf

KMRC hosting this year's Earli SIG2 meeting - August 26 to 28 in Tuebingen, Germany

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:00:00 GMT

The meeting of the Earli Special Interest Group 2 (Comprehension of text and graphics) focuses on how learning is influenced by the representation of the learning material. Besides text and picture, the SIG also considers other forms of representation as graphs, diagrams, concept maps, animations, equations, virtual reality, information and scientific visualization, haptics, multimedia, hypermedia, and simulations.

For more information, please visit http://www.earlisig2-2010.de/sig2-2010

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Are you interested in doing your diploma in the area of Educational Psychology?

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:00:00 GMT

An American post-doctoral researcher at the IMW-KMRC is looking for a bilingual student to assist in an on-going research project, which could be used as the basis for your diploma. For further information please consider the document below and contact: Krista DeLeeuw.

Diploma_student_position.pdf

Season's Greetings

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The Knowledge Media Research Center would like to wish all its partners and friends a Merry Christmas time, nice holidays and a Happy New Year 2010!

Researchers from KMRC Tuebingen on visit at the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Cairo

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Prof. Dr. Stephan Schwan, deputy director of KMRC Tuebingen and leader of the research unit "Knowledge Acquisition with Cybermedia", Dr. Carmen Zahn and Manuela Glaser visited the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) in Cairo in late November.

On this occasion the scientists from Tuebingen met with Prof. Dr. Fathi Saleh (Director at CULTNAT), Sherif Farahat (Training
Manager) and Karim Omar (Head of the Computer Graphics Unit) to talk about possible cooperations among both institutions; with special interest in a digital database of the cultural heritage of Egypt or virtual animations of historical equipment and engines, see www.eternalegypt.org. In the focus of the visit was also the potential to explore an impressive multimedia and interactive presentation technique called CULTURAMA that makes even possible an 180 degree-view.

Kairo_BesuchIWM_3.jpg, Kairo_BesuchIWM_4.jpg

Successful Workshop on "The potential of social software for knowledge creation and economic performance"

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The Knowledge Media Research Center and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) hosted an interdisciplinary workshop for talented junior researchers from the field of economic and psychological research.

In Mannheim, they presented their current work and discussed approaches for interdisciplinary research on social software (such as wikis, blogs, social tagging tools, and social networks), and other interactive web applications. The keynote speakers were Alessandro Acquisti (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) and Tom Postmes (University of Groningen, the Netherlands and University of Exeter, UK).

The workshop was also a kick-off for the KMRC- ZEW cooperation within the WissenschaftsCampus Tuebingen.

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Friedrich W. Hesse from the Knowledge Media Research Center (KMRC), Germany, gives keynote presentation at EC-TEL 2009

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The talk "Use and acquisition of externalized knowledge" by Prof. Hesse is one of three keynotes invited to EC-TEL 2009 in Nice. On October, 2nd, the speaker will address paradigmatic changes in learning research and highlight the potential of the so-called "Social Networks" and "Social Software Tools".

Hesse is going to show that such tools can serve as a bridge between formal and informal education. He states that the nature of the new information resources has changed the way we do (peer) teaching as well as the way how we learn from each other. To make use of the tool's potentials for educational purposes, we have to understand their underlying mechanism.

The speaker, Prof. Friedrich W. Hesse, is director of the KMRC, an extra-faculty research organization located in southern Germany, dealing with knowledge acquisition, its exchange, and communication within innovative technologies. He is also holding the chair of applied cognitive psychology and media psychology of the University of Tuebingen, Germany, and is initiator and speaker of the first WissenschaftsCampus (Science Campus) in Germany.

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New project deals with efficient knowlege communication in non-governmental organizations

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:00 GMT

New project on "Patterns and Tools for Non-Governmental-Organizations" (in short: PATONGO) aims at the investigation of circumstances for efficient knowledge communication in larger non-governmental organizations. By the case of the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland, the exchange of good practices and the development of a common organizational knowledge structure with the use of web 2.0 technologies will be investigated and optimized within a large non-governmental organization.

The cooperation project with the FernUniversitaet Hagen and the Evangelische Kirche Deutschland (EKD) has a duration of three years. It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Eduation and Research and the European Social Fund. At KMRC, the project is part of the research unit "Design and Implementation of Integrative Learning Environments". For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Ulrike Cress.

Call for Papers for Workshop on "The potential of social software for knowledge creation and economic performance" in Mannheim, Germany, November 2009

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The Knowledge Media Research Center (KMRC) and the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) are pleased to announce an interdisciplinary workshop for talented junior researchers from the field of economic and psychological research to present their current work and to discuss approaches for interdisciplinary research on social software (such as wikis, blogs, social tagging tools, and social networks and other interactive web applications).

Keynote Speakers: Alessandro Acquisti (Carnegie Mellon University, USA) and Tom Postmes (University of Groningen, The Netherlands and University of Exeter, UK).

We invite submissions of theoretical and empirical research from economics, management and psychology.

Please find further information on the workshop, taking place in Mannheim, Germany, from November 6-7 in 2009 in the document given below:

Call_for_papers_socialsoftware0906.pdf

Opening event of WissenschaftsCampus Tuebingen attracted 300 people

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:00:00 GMT

Human Development, Learning, and Education in Informational Environments is the topic the first WissenschaftsCampus in Germany deals with. The cooperation between the Knowledge Media Research Center Tuebingen and the University of Tuebingen is a strategic initiative to make use of existing expertise in the field of knowledge acquisition, knowledge exchange and knowledge communication with innovative technologies and of broad academics offering by the University of Tuebingen. The aim is to integrate it into common research foci and establish new structures to strengthen the empirical educational and media research in Tuebingen. At the opening ceremony, on April 20th, the partners officially signed and cooperation treaty.

For further information about the WissenschaftsCampus Tuebingen, please visit the official website of the project:

http://www.iwm-kmrc.de/www/en/forschung/WissenschaftsCampus/index.html

Eroeffnung_WissenschaftsCampus_Tuebingen_20.04.09.jpg

Call for Papers: 2nd Workshop on Inclusive E-Learning -Deadline extension till April 14th

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The second of a series of e-Inclusion in eLearning workshops will take place on June, 17th as part of the international eLearning Baltics (eLBa) conference and congress in Rostock, Germany.

e-Inclusion is a necessary prerequisite to let people with different kinds of handicaps stay as equal members of our society. Quite a few people work towards solutions in the field of eLearning, collaborative learning, shared knowledge construction and the like - as we have been able to see in our previous workshop in 2008 as part of the ECTEL conference. This time, we would like to go further into the question how researchers and developers for special solutions for elderly people, people with learning disabilities and people with special (educational) needs can benefit from each others' experiences. We will address the comparable difficulties experienced by very young learners, learners with handicap or disabilities and elderly people when using ICT. Our assumption is that developing computer supported learning environments and utilities for every day life shares more common properties than the diverse target groups let expect. Considering not only technical but pedagogical and contextual aspects and intended outcomes and needs is a key for success solutions.

For further information please visit http://bebop.iwm-kmrc.de/iel

Ulrike Cress is Programme Chair of the Fourth European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning "Learning in the Synergy of Multiple Disciplines"

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:00:00 GMT

ECTEL 2009, taking place at Nice September 29th till October 2nd, aims to bring together new technological developments and
learning models. The conference will explore how the synergy of
multiple disciplines, ranging from Computer Science, Education,
Psychology, Cognitive Science, and Social Science, can provide new,
more effective and more sustainable, technology-enhanced learning
solutions.
The conference welcomes researchers from European and
Non-European countries and industries to present recent advancements
from technologies, applications, and learning models in all areas of
technology enhanced learning. Please find more information at: http://www.ectel09.org

STELLAR kick-off meeting took place on February 25th-26th

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:00:00 GMT

The official launch of the brand-new Network of Excellence within the Seventh Framework Programme of the EU, STEALLAR, was hosted by the Knowledge Media Institute (KMi), in Milton Keynes, UK. STELLAR represents the effort of the leading research institutions and projects in Europe in the field of Technology-Enhanced Learning.
The network aims at unifying the diverse community. Amongst others, the work is based on a broad-scale delphi-study. The design and implementation process of the delphi-study is in the joint responsibility of the University of Freiburg and the KMRC. Moreover, KMRC participates in monitoring and evaluating the STELLAR activities.

International Workshop on E-Learning Patterns from March 4th-6th at KMRC Tübingen, Germany

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Patterns have been around for a while, with enormous success in the
area of computer sciences, and increasing impact in the field of
education. The research, however, is still fragmented into isolated
groups. The E-Learning-Patterns Workshop at KMRC brings together
leading protagonists to exchange their experience, discuss their work,
and form a network of co-operations. To get further information about
the workshop, please visit us at: http://www.iwm-kmrc.de/workshops/e-learning-patterns/

200 years ago, Charles Darwin, one of the world's most important naturalists was born. His modern evolution theory has still been affecting science and every day life - and currently researchers at KMRC Tuebingen, too

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Media psychologists at KMRC and scientists from the University of Tuebingen have started a project in the field of biology didactics in which they closely cooperate with pupils and teachers inside and outside the classroom. The project "Darwin 2.0 - Re-Discovering Evolution in Europe" aims at enabling pupils to retrace Darwin's steps, not only theoretically but with the help of real world and hands-on experience. The scientists, media psychologists, experts in didactics, biologists, zoologists and computer scientists, have designed a set of digital high quality learning and testing material that is used in the classroom as well as for field trips, e.g., for visits in the aquarium or for snorkel study trips.
Your contacts for this project at KMRC are:
Prof. Dr. Peter Gerjets p.gerjets(at)iwm-kmrc.de
Dr. Katharina Scheiter k.scheiter(at)iwm-kmrc.de

Linda Rising gives guest lecture on patterns at KMRC

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:00:00 GMT

Rising is regarded as an outstanding expert in the field of patterns. Patterns describe recurring elements of successful applications. Patterns originated as an architectural concept by Christopher Alexander (1977) to label successful practices, the so- called pattern language. Rising's latest book "Fearless Change: Patterns for Introducing New Ideas" deals with patterns in the field of change management.

The lecture takes place January 29th, 5 pm at KMRC Tuebingen. The interested general public is invited to join. Free entry.

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Season's greetings

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

The Knowledge Media Research
Center would like to wish
all its cooperating partners and friends a merry Christmas time and a Happy New
Year 2009.

Chinese delegation visiting the KMRC

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

At KMRC, the members of the delegation - more than 20 high-ranking guests from the higher educational sector in China - informed themselves about movements and trends within the scope of e-learning and e-teaching. KMRC offered its international guests an interesting program: Besides the presentation of current research at KMRC in the above mentioned field, some specific areas were highlighted: aspects of functionality and didactic design, of quality assurance and media technology were explained on the basis of e-learning and e-teaching projects, for example on basis of the KMRC led project e-teaching.org.

The visit was organized by the Chinese-German Association for the international exchange of experience of high qualified staff from industry and science.

Chinesische_Delegation_zu_Besuch_am_IWM_web.jpg

Virtual lecture on "excellent teaching" at universities, december 15th, 2pm

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Recently, national initiatives to foster excellent research and teaching at German universities have become popular. The next live webcast organized by the e-teaching.org project at KMRC will therefore deal with the question "What is excellent teaching?". Guest speaker and expert in the live chat is Sanita Battaglia, chairwoman of the German organization Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Hochschuldidaktik (DGHD). The lecture will be held in German.

People interested in joining the discussion can find further information and login data on the e-teaching.org website: www.e-teaching.org/community/communityevents/ringvorlesung/

Big Opening event at the virtual KMRC on December 1st coming up!

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:00:00 GMT

In his opening speech, the director of KMRC, Prof. Hesse, will explain to the public audience why the extra-faculty institute runs an island in Second Life to research into the potenial of 3D-worlds for computer supported collaborative and individual learning. The new KMRC-island will host spacious buildings and a new meeting area for various online-events coming up in the future. Interested avatars are cordially invited to visit us at

http://slurl.com/secondlife/KMRC/216/104/23

J. Holland with talk on judgment enhancement in museums

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:00:00 GMT

Johann Holland (Association Institut de Recherche et d'Innovation, Centre Pompidou, Paris) gives a talk on "Amateurs of the XXIst century: How to enhance judgment using annotation, contribution, publication tools".

Date: November 2th, 2008 at 9:30 am

Place: Knowledge Media Research Center, room E01

Herewith the interested public is sincerely invited.