S e b l o g g i n g

The Second ACM International Workshop on Multimedia Technologies for Distance Leaning (MTDL 2010) – Firenze, Italy

Multimedia technologies and networking infrastructure have changed human social behavior. One typical example is education. The impact of distance learning to traditional universities in particular allows educational professionals to rethink about how to efficiently and effectively using multimedia technologies to improve instruction, as well as to encourage students to learn. Although multimedia technologies have already been used widely in e-learning, various considerations should be carefully addressed from both pedagogical and technological perspectives, to ensure the successful incorporation of these technologies in e-learning.

This ACM workshop aims to discuss problems, current studies, and solutions in how to use multimedia and communication technologies to improve e-learning. Especially, presentations should address the difference between using and without using multimedia technologies in education. Practical solutions are encouraged, although pedagogical theories may be used to support the solutions.

[MTDL 2010 Website via TELeurope]

The submission deadline for this event is on May 21, 2010. Authors should be notified on July 05, 2010.

[Sebastian Fiedler]

Tags: Firenze, workshop

The changing dynamics of scientific collaborations

The confluence of two major trends in scientific research is leading to an upheaval in standard scientific practice and collaborative technologies. A new generation of scientists, working in large-scale collaborations, is repurposing social software for use in collaborative science. Existing social tools such as chat, IM, and FriendFind are being adopted and modified for use as group problem-solving facilities. At the same time, exponentially greater and more complex datasets are being generated at a rate that is challenging the limits of current hardware, software, and human cognitive capability. A concerted effort to create software that will support new scientific practices and handle this data tsunami is redefining the collaboratory and represents a new frontier for computer supported cooperative work.

This follow-on event to a similarly themed workshop at CHI 2009 is intended to foster community among researchers and practitioners from multiple disciplines interested in the changing dynamics of scientific collaborations.

[Workshop Website]

This workshop is part of the CSCW 2010 conference that will take place on February 6-10, 2010, in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
Position papers of 2-4 pages need to be submitted until November 20, 2009.

Too bad that I will be downunder at the time of the conference. Savannah is a pretty place… and I sure wouldn’t mind to re-visit Georgia again.

[Sebastian Fiedler]

Tags: collaboration, CSCW, workshop