Monday, May 20, 2013

New book on CSCL design-based research on dynamic geometry

Translating Euclid: Designing a Human-Centered Mathematics is now available in the Morgan & Claypool “Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics.” Faculty and students at many leading universities can download the 325-page e-book for free.
This is Gerry Stahl's third book on his CSCL research on virtual math teams (see www.GerryStahl.net/elibrary). The book reports on the latest theoretical, methodological, pedagogical and philosophical developments in the VMT Project, a research collaboration between the iSchool and the Math Forum since 2002, funded by seven major federal grants.
To download the book: http://www.morganclaypool.com/action/doSearch?target=article&searchText=Translating+Euclid&filter=all&x=0&y=0 . If you do this from a computer at a subscribing university, it will be free; otherwise it costs $20. A paperback version will be available for $40 in October.

Abstract
Translating Euclid reports on an effort to transform geometry for students from a stylus-and-clay-tablet corpus of historical theorems to a stimulating computer-supported collaborative-learning inquiry experience.
The origin of geometry was a turning point in the pre-history of informatics, literacy and rational thought. Yet, this triumph of human intellect became ossified through historic layers of systematization, beginning with Euclid’s organization of the Elements of geometry. Often taught by memorization of procedures, theorems and proofs, geometry in schooling rarely conveys its underlying intellectual excitement. The recent development of dynamic-geometry software offers an opportunity to translate the study of geometry into a contemporary vernacular. However, this involves transformations along multiple dimensions of the conceptual and practical context of learning.
Translating Euclid steps through the multiple challenges involved in redesigning geometry education to take advantage of computer support. Networked computers portend an interactive approach to exploring dynamic geometry as well as broadened prospects for collaboration. The proposed conception of geometry emphasizes the central role of the construction of dependencies as a design activity, integrating human creation and mathematical discovery to form a human-centered approach to mathematics.
This book chronicles an iterative effort to adapt technology, theory, pedagogy and practice to support this vision of collaborative dynamic geometry and to evolve the approach through on-going cycles of trial with students and refinement of resources. It thereby provides a case study of a design-based research effort in computer-supported collaborative learning from a human-centered informatics perspective.

Sunday, May 05, 2013

ijCSCL issue for June 2013


International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
Volume 8 * Number 2 * June 2013
Transactive discourse in CSCL
Gerry Stahl
Participation and common knowledge in a case study of student co-blogging
Richard Alterman * Johann Ari Larusson
Facilitating learning in multidisciplinary groups with transactive CSCL scripts
Omid Noroozi * Stephanie D. Teasley * Harm J. A. Biemans * Armin Weinberger * Martin Mulder     
Co-located single-display collaborative learning for early childhood education
Florencia Gómez * Miguel Nussbaum * Juan F. Weitz * Ximena Lopez * Javiera Mena * Alex Torres
Measuring prevalence of other-oriented transactive contributions using an automated measure of speech-style accommodation
Gahgene Gweon * Mahaveer Jain * John McDonough * Bhiksha Raj * Carolyn Rosé