EDUCATION 392
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SPECIAL TOPICS - MULTI-MEDIA DATABASES IN EDUCATION:
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Using HyperCard to develop Classroom Applications
Summer Session 1988
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Instructor: Dr. G. Sinclair
July 4 - August 12 ?
Office: MPX 8622
Tuesday and Thursday
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Telephone: 291-3615
1:00 - 4:50 P. M.
MPX 8542
PREREQUISITES: Education 4011402 and working knowledge of Macs.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will explore the educational uses of multi-media systems which
combine the information handling capacity of the microcomputer with the
print-based resources of the textbook and the presentational power of video
technology. The course will be project-oriented. Over a six week period,
students will design multi-media databases in such curriculum areas as
biology, art history, Canadian history, chemistry, physics, and the earth
sciences. These projects will combine the use of music, computer graphics,
slides, online information databases, texts, and video clips, all of which will
be integrated into an electronic learning environment designed for easy and
intuitive browsing and exploration. Students will make use of Apple
Computer's newly released HyperCard software for the MacIntosh (which its
designer Bill Atkinson has called an "electronic erector set") in order to create
an interactive navigable path through each database. The course will also
explore the exciting potential of videodisc and CD-ROM technology in
offering learners rapid, finger-tip access to a range of educational resource
materials including reference texts, flim clip libraries, image banks, and sound
archives.
Through the act of compiling a database, students will not only develop their
research skills and collect a great deal of information in a given curriculum
area, but more importantly, they will also acquire a full range of information-
management skills necessary to effective teaching and learning in the
classroom of the next decade.
OUTLINE OF TOPICS:
1.
"Whole Brain"/"Whole Curriculum" Education -- an overview of recent
trends and research findings
2.
Paradigms for learning in the Information-Age -- process vs. product
3.
The Media Wars in education -- the Walkman/TV culture of the home
versus the print-based environment of the school
4.
The educational applications of microcomputer technology
5.
The uses of telecommunications in the classroom: electronic networking
and accessing online databases
6.
Hypertext and Hypermedia -- Historical roots and present iterations
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7.
Browsing, Navigating, and Serendipitous Learning -- new tools for
individual discovery-based learning
8.
Optical Information Systems -- managing large visual, textual, and sound-
based databases with CD ROM and videodisc technology
9.
Through the Analog Tunnel to the Digital World -- the use of image-
scanners, video-digitizers, and digital audio recorders in constructing multi-
media classroom applications
10.
Putting it all together -- the uses of Macintosh and HyperCard in
orchestrating multi-media learning environments
Course Requirements:
Working together in teams of two or three persons, students will be
responsible for the design and compilation of an interactive multi-media
database for use in the classroom. They will also be responsible for scripting a
number of flexible HyperCard navigational paths (stacks) through the
database, using HyperTalk, a very "friendly" programming language. This
project will account for 80% of the course grade. Students will also be
required to keep a journal to document their own discoveries about the uses
of technology in creating and enhancing environments for learning. The
journal will be worth the remaining 20% of the grade.
Course Pre-requisites
A formal course in computer programming or the educational uses of
microcomputers are not pre-requisites for this course. Students should have
an enthusiastic attitude towards the creative power of computer-based tools,
and ideally will have experimented with at least two of the following: word
processing, computer graphics, computer music, computer conferencing,
online databases, video production, Logo. Before the course begins, students
are expected to become familiar with the Macintosh computer and its
software (minimally MacWrite and MacPaint) either through their own
resources or through use of one of the Macintosh labs at SFU.
Required Reading:*
Ambron, Sueann and Kristina Hooper, eds.
Multi-media in Education.
Learning Tomorrow Series, Apple Computer Education Advisory
Council, Cupertino, 1987.
Bush, Vannevar. "As We May Think," Atlantic Monthly, July 1945, p.101
Goodman, Danny. The
Complete HyperCard Handbook,
Bantam, 1987
Ofiesh, Gabriel. "The Seamless Carpet of Knowledge and Learning," in
CD ROM: THe New Papyrus,
eds. S. Lambert and S. Ropiequet.
Microsoft PRess, 1986.
