|
The World Wide Web offers the potential for revolutionary changes in education at all levels from K-12, undergraduate, graduate and continuing (lifelong) levels.
|
|
We describe four significant activities where we have used Web Technologies to prepare and deliver education. These are the
|
|
Living SchoolBook -- 6 K-12 schools in New York State connected by the high-speed ATM network NYNET to HPCC resources at NPAC;
|
|
Undergraduate science education for non-science majors;
|
|
Graduate computer science courses both at Syracuse and remotely with students in China.
|
|
These curricula development and delivery activities build on a suite of Web Technologies.
|
|
We will describe how text-indexed video, Perl, JavaScript, Java, VRML (incurrent and future 2.X version) and object databases can and are being woven into a novel interactive educational technology base.
|
|
We speculate on the implication of pervasive availability of such capabities on Universities or more generally the current educational establishment.
|
|
The World Wide Web offers the potential for revolutionary changes in education at all levels from K-12, undergraduate, graduate and continuing (lifelong) levels.
|
|
We describe four significant activities where we have used Web Technologies to prepare and deliver education. These are the
|
|
Living SchoolBook -- 6 K-12 schools in New York State connected by the high-speed ATM network NYNET to HPCC resources at NPAC;
|
|
Undergraduate science education for non-science majors;
|
|
Graduate computer science courses both at Syracuse and remotely with students in China.
|
|
These curricula development and delivery activities build on a suite of Web Technologies.
|
|
We will describe how text-indexed video, Perl, JavaScript, Java, VRML (incurrent and future 2.X version) and object databases can and are being woven into a novel interactive educational technology base.
|
|
We speculate on the implication of pervasive availability of such capabities on Universities or more generally the current educational establishment.
|
|
Living SchoolBook with 3 schools connected by ATM to NPAC -- excellent content, SU School of Education, Teacher Partnership
|
|
Science for the 21st Century -- Science for non Scientists taught using (partially) Web Modules with growing student interest (currently 250 enrolled)
|
|
Graduate/Continuing Education -- 4 courses and several Related Tutorials on the Web
|
|
Education in a Box -- Web based Certificate in Computational Science offered at graduate level to initial group of students in China
|
|
HPCC and Parallel Computing Consulting -- Develop resources to help NSF supercomputer centers consultants -- partiucularly interesting for resolicitation with distributed centers
|
|
Interfaces for disabled as by product of home health care project
|
|
Certificate in Computational Science offered at Harbin Institute of Technology (China) Spring 1996 -- started March 1,1996 -- is a prototype of Syracuse University extension school
|
Although Internet Connections to China are not guaranteed to be great(!) we can still use Web Technology but assume that Electronic Course material will be packaged at NPAC(SU) in a Pentium PC running WindowsNT and Java
-
Possibly Oracle and Digital Video Server Support as well
-
Possibly RealAudio or similar digital audio
|
|
This will be updated in batch mode by Syracuse -- China Connection
|
|
Students in China will Interact with mentors in China and with NPAC via Internet (web and email)
|
|
Project designed by Fox,Leskiw(NPAC), Xiaoming Li(Harbin and Peking visiting NPAC)
|
|
Graduate Students -- initially 5 guinea pigs
|
|
4 Courses -- each 10 1 hour lectures -- offered Spring 1996 over 20 week period
|
ICPS 700: Introduction to Simulation Track of Computational Science
-
Parallel Architectures, Software, Grand Challenges, Parallel Algorithms (scaled back version of CPS615)
|
ICPS 701: Parallel Programming Laboratory
-
Use of MPI to do real problems on a Cluster of Workstations/PC's
|
ICPS710: World Wide Web Technology
-
Scaled back version of CPS616
|
ICPS711: Web Programming
-
Laboratory companion course to ICPS700. Initially will use Java PERL4 and PERL5.
|
|
Text Indexed Video -- CNN/Reuters/Discovery Channel and other Video available on demand for use as supplemental material using Oracle based text index based on close captioning, associated programming or eventually speech recognition from video.
|
|
Perl, Java and JavaScript WebWisdom system to allow Web Interface to Presentations with over 160 foilsets and 6500 foils
|
|
VRML(3D) and Java(2D) Interface to Geographical Information System with clickable locations to be added by teacher and students -- this is virtual field trip
|
|
Java Client Applets for Visible Human, Animation of algorithmic structure etc.
|
|
Object databases for storage of VRML -- currently terrain data but will add annotated (by hyperlinks) VRML from weather and other HPCC simulations
|
|
I expect Java to be the the dominant implementation language for everything on the Web from Servers, Clients, MOO's, filters, Animations, Simulations etc.
|
|
Can build neat clickable images including Visible Human (biology education!) and our 2D "Interactive Journey" clickable GIS for New York State
|
This has several obvious near term applications including some examples of education in HPCC arena:
-
Downloading software for demonstrations or general client side computing
-
Use of Java to animate the display of performance visualization data
-
Use of Java to produce visualizations of data movement in algorithms such as matrix and particle dynamics -- Brown University initially demonstrated in sorting
|
|
The above examples are quite interesting reasons for introduction of electronic journals as you should be able to explain complex ideas better this way
|
|
Note Web was initially book/libraries done digitally.
|
|
Now we are the second wave of opportunities exploiting the specific advantages of distributed computing backbone
|
|
There are some cases where JavaScript is a rapid prototyping alternative to Java (Java can in principle do anything!)
|
|
Current use (demonstrated in WebWisdom) is for customized display's of information where base information, simulations, audio(video), and indices can be linked in a friendly fashion.
|
|
Syracuse is extending to a set of WebTools (originally developed as Server CGI scripts) with which you can build customized front-ends with user defined configurations choosing between type of access (administrator and naive user would be different) and display capabilities (resolution, color) of terminal
|
|
Note client side and so fast even though interpreted
|
|
However does not yet have (but needs) text processing capabilities of Perl
|
|
WebWisdom uses self - documenting web pages (prepared by PERL filters!) where header has JavaScript functions which define:
|
|
"World" in which document lives
|
|
"Level" or "Family" in World
|
Where associated indices are for lower level information
-
If page is Virtual University -- indices are to Degree Programs
-
If page is Degree Program -- indices are to Courses
-
If page is Course description -- indices are to Foilsets
-
if page is abstract of a Foilset -- indices are to Foils
-
if page is Foil -- indices are to Notes and Reference material
|
|
Defines style of document -- whether it is audio,video, parameterized HTML etc.
|
|
Defines different views (GIF or JPEG/HTML)
|
|
Defines URL's of child material for indices (which can be associated notes or further notes)
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<title>FoilWorld Home Page </title>
|
|
<script language="JavaScript">
|
|
<!--scriptbegin
|
|
top.textsize('title',19);
|
|
top.textsize('bullet1',18);
|
|
top.textsize('reset');
|
|
top.AccumulateInfoPage('familyname',
|
|
top.AccumulateInfoPage('worldname',"FoilWorld");
|
|
top.AccumulateInfoPage('style','webfoil');
|
|
//scriptend-->
|
|
</script>
|
|
</head>
|
Algorithms
-
Some on Computer Algebra, Monte Carlo, Numerical Integration, ODE Solvers, Nonlinear Systems, Optimization
-
Significant Material (total 14) on basic Iterative PDE Solvers (Conjugate Gradient etc.) and Numerical Linear algebra/Matrix Systems
-
None listed in advanced PDE Solvers such as domain decomposition, AMR, Multigrid etc.
|
A very few applications covered in detail
-
CSEP has nice digital text with 5 applications -- Ocean Models, Nonlinear dynamics, Seismic Waves, Monte Carlo Transport, Bioelectric Fields
-
NPAC has "Case Studies" in CFD, Data Analysis , Numerical Relativity, Statistical Physics
-
For instance Chemistry not covered
|
Note we do need more than one version of each piece of material as for instance computer science and application issues are rather different
-
There is a tendency for material to have a computer science slant
|
What is relative role of:
-
Foils i.e. Overview material
-
Lectures in person, audio or video -- Adds depth to foils and context to text
-
Digital Text -- note type of books produced by consumer computer (PC, web etc.) industry which are different from those produced in academia?
-
New approaches -- Java VRML MOO Digital Annotated Video etc.
|
MY major problem with material is that I need
-
BOTH foil (overview) material -- critical for teaching
-
AND digital text or equivalent -- traditionally critical for user
|
|
For Instance CSEP would be an order of magnitude more useful if linked to Overview material
|
Can audio plus foils replace text?
-
Note that when I get up and talk , Stress/Adrenalin produces thoughts that don't appear when writing text in dreaming spires
|
|
We first discuss JavaScript client based systems as an alternative with less power but faster response to CGI server control of lesson material
|
|
WebWisdom implements a heirarchical system based on self defining Web Pages which carry full context with them
|
|
We stress value of database storage both for making organization and interlinkage of material easier
|
|
Templates can be used to map data to particular browsers
|
|
We review collection of parallel processing educational material stored in
|
|
http://www.npac.syr.edu/projects/cpsedu/CSEmaterials
|
|
We suggest that need not just foils and not just online book/manual material but all these media with interlinkage
|
|
We suggest that Universities historically are "approved" to give "licenses" i.e. certification that students have a certain level of knowledge
|
|
In the emerging Web based Virtual University, the traditional type and length of learening cycles is not obviously appropriate
|
|
Further we need to bootstrap WebWisdom and "suck customers in" a little bit at a time!
|
Thus suggest Scalable Certificates
-
Level 1: One day (6 hours)
-
Level 2: One Week (30 hours)
-
Level 3: One Semester/Quarter Course (120 hours)
-
Level 4: Minor/Certificate -- about 5 courses (600 hours)
-
Level 5: Masters degree -- about 12 courses (1400 hours)
|
|
Note these certificates are also portable as can take anywhere at any time!
|
Traditionally, University courses are 1/3 interaction and 2/3 study/homework
-
i.e. 120 hour course is 40 hours lectruring
|
Abstract * Foil Index for this file
