Category Archives: Education

Reflections on New Realities and #NMC16

The Oculus is set up and ready to go. To prepare for this momentous occasion I attended a pre- NMC Summer Conference workshop on Virtual Reality and the Future of Learning. Maya Georgiva, from New York University, and Emory Criag, from College of New Rochelle, presented a thorough and engaging overview of the new realities that will influence the academic cyberinfrastructure. The workshop and the conference prompted a lot of thoughts and questions.  For instance…

What is the difference between augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality?

From Wikipedia “Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.”

My interpretation is that this reality occurs when digital information has a connection with physical space. For instance, portal information is only available when a player moves to coordinates in a real location.

Another example is Pranav Mistry’s Sixth Sense, where are camera picks up information in physical space and projects related digital information.

From Wikipedia: “Virtual reality or virtual realities (VR), also known as immersive multimedia or computer-simulated reality, is a computer technology that replicates an environment, real or imagined, and simulates a user’s physical presence and environment to allow for user interaction. “

Immersive is the key word, the majority of the sensory information has been created, most often digitally. The participant is surrounded by the virtual world, they experience very little from the physical space. Star Trek’s Holodeck would be considered an advanced version of vr.

For now we will need devices like the Oculus, so that we can be saved from aliens by a bunny, or be eaten by a T-Rex.

From Wikipedia “Mixed reality (MR), sometimes referred to as hybrid reality,[1] is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time.”

The top of the Wikipedia article suggests that MR should be merged with AR. Based on explanations or MR I could see  it as a subset of AR, although I may rethink this if we start thinking about MR as including the features to bring you back and forth between AR and VR, much like Microsoft’s preview here.

Quick scholarship and music crossover

Novice musicians can make good music by learning the score, note-for-note, measure-by-measure, and performing it accurately, but great music is created when they listen to the other performers and create a conversation that goes beyond the notation. The same can be said for scholarship, where ideas are shared with melodies and counter-melodies, tight and complex harmonies, and pushed through the process of dissonance and resolution. Every performance builds on the last, creating an ongoing conversation to build knowledge and meaning.

Just the Way You Are

“Mommy, Daddy… I am different.”

Music started with a pickup and a down beat.

“And I learn different.”

The key signature had not been established, but the melody line had a direction.

“And I learn different than the teachers are teaching.”

“And I know I know this because the teachers talk to me as if I should know something, but I don’t.”

Beautiful self-aware dissonance is created.

“So what I want to do is get all of my teachers in a room and talk so they can teach to me in a way that matches how I learn.

“Hail to the Chief” had never sounded so bold.

 

In 2012, our youngest daughter was in 6th grade. She had always been an amazing storyteller, bringing rich detail and creativity to her audience. Academically she was above average, but for some reason she was having problems this year. I remember feeling an amazing sense of pride after listening to her statement of the issue and a call-to-action to resolve it.

We asked for more details, and she told us stories of missing papers and not understanding directions. There were times where she felt that she did not fit in with her classmates.

So now what? We had an opening verse and a chorus, but the song had to go further. There was a slim-to-none chance that we could do as she had requested, if only our school systems could devote that much attention to any one student, especially one that was doing well.

 

This is the opening for the third chapter for the 10K Maniacs assignment, about how my daughter brought us on a journey to learn about how she sees the world, and the people that helped us along the way. Title of the post comes from the Billy Joel song:

Just Write by Sean MacEntee

These Are Days

This fall begins the next phase of my professional development journey. I will be pursuing an MEd in Interdisciplinary Studies at UVM, my undergraduate alma mater. The flexibility of this program, as well as the proximity, feels like a good fit.

The first course I will be taking is Scholarly Personal Narrative Writing, co-led by the director of the program, Dr. Robert Nash, and Sydnee Viray. Last week we had our first class, an introduction to the course and an enjoyable getting-to-know-you conversation that modeled the code of conduct outlined in the syllabus. Robert and Sydnee’s deliveries complimented each other very well, and my fellow students represented a broad range of interesting backgrounds and experiences. This seems like the perfect stew for engaging interaction, we shall see what happens as the pot is stirred.

I’ll admit I feel anxious when I look at the syllabus and see “Write a minimum 10,000-word manuscript…” While my friends were writing 30-80k thesis papers, I was learning songs in four different languages for recitals (my friends insisted that they preferred the papers). I question whether I can pull together that many words in one piece and make them sound coherent, let alone interesting enough for someone else to read.

The first assignment was to read the first half of Anne Lamott’s “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.”1 I found Anne’s writing genuine and compassionate, as if she is a companion taking you down a path. She encourages the reader to explore the small, hidden, connected trails while still moving in a forward direction. She has a fascinating way of sharing the realities of writing, each one is a candid story on their own. When Anne has an idea that has the potential to make it into a story, she writes it down on an index card that she keep folded in half, lengthwise, in her pocket. I wonder if I could do something similar with my iPhone, we will see how it goes. For now, I’ll jot down some ideas in this post, topics that keep coming up in my mind recently and may be ripe with good material.

 

Family & Relationships

I have lost count of the number of times I’ve told the “how I met your mother” story. Both of my parents demonstrated a desire to contribute beyond the job, whether it was building a Babe Ruth league or leading cancer support groups. The somber (relatives passing, my parent’s divorce) and the joyous (birth of our daughters, vacations) all seem worthy of written words.

I’ve also had the privilege of meeting, and doing things, with very creative and intelligent people. The occupation and vocation hold memories that could use some increased resolution.

 

Music

Will my approach and experience with writing be the same as it is with creating music? Will the process of creating a piece be more satisfying than the publication? Will I fall prey to a formula, then become inspired by another point of view that reinvigorates my interest?

 

The Commute

Middlebury is an incredible place to work, filled with brilliant quirky people who share their passion with very motivated students. There is always something going on, Summer Language Schools, J-term classes, MiddCORE, MIL, and the list goes on.If I could change anything about my job it would be the commute, a 38 mile route through the valley that happens twice a day. The landscape is beautiful, and there is something to be said for being able to listen to your own music for a long period of time. There has also been a recent spike in the enjoyment level with the purchase of a Nissan Leaf.

A colleague of mine was doing a similar commute, and during my first summer at Middlebury she said something that has always stuck with me. “You never feel like you are a part of either community.” At the time I was feeling that I was just extending my existing community down Rt. 7, broadening my circle. As I walked from the Gutterson Field House to my class in Living & Learning B last week, memories of what it was like working in the same place where you lived resurfaced. Writing may help me reconcile these thoughts.

The hope is that as the class progresses these topics will become targeted and worthy of a reader’s time. For now the journey starts with a 771 word post.

 

The title is a hopeful song by 10,000 Maniacs, which sums up how I am feeling about this paper.

1 Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, First Anchor Books, 1995.
“Just Write” by Sean MacEntee

Give it a Beat

An energetic exploration of how to make every precious second of rehearsal time count … and change the way you perform! This active workshop demonstrates exercises that help singers feel the beat and line up complicated rhythms.

http://bostonsings.com/#giveitabeat

at Roxbury Community College

1234 Columbus Ave
Roxbury, MA 02120
Website

Amazing Rehearsals

Amazing Rehearsals (Antonioli) Manage!

Are you looking for more ways to bring positive energy to a rehearsal, while being productive? Joe will share knowledge from 18 years of directing rehearsals, and demonstrate a few exercises that any group can add to their rehearsal schedule.

https://web.archive.org/web/20111107074208/http://sojam.net/workshops/#schedule

Middlebury College Web Makeover

In 2 years, 295 people participated in a project that changed the way Middlebury interracted with the web.

http://sites.middlebury.edu/webredo/

http://www.middlebury.edu/offices/technology/web/thanks

Project Manager: Joe Antonioli

Designers: White Whale Web Services: Jason Pontius, Tonya Langford, Janie Porche, Donald Tetto, Alex Romanovich

Developers: Ian McBride, Adam Franco, Travis Stafford

Server and Network Set Up: Adam Franco, Howie McCausland, Mark Pyfrom

Workshops: Benjamin Molberger, Cynthia Slater

Monster Menus Developers Amherst College: Dan Wilga, David Hamilton, Anita Rao, Victor Quinn, James Resse

Coordination Group: Joseph Antonioli, Mary Backus, David Donahue, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Ryan Kellett, Ian McBride, Amy McGill, W. McKenna, Jason Mittell, Jamie Northrup, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Timothy Spears

MIIS Coordinators: Kristen Byers, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGillPresentation SupportBob Cole, Adam Dobucki, David Kloepfer, Ben Molberger, Scott Witt

Project Managers: Joseph Antonioli, Mary Backus, Liane Barrera, Carey Bass, James Beauchemin, Doreen Bernier, Virginia Bukowski, Bryan Carson, Thomas Cutter, Stephen Diehl, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Adam Franco, Jessica Isler, Richard Jenkins, Robert Keren, Jeffrey Lahaie, Michael Lynch, Carrie Macfarlane, Ian McBride, Barbara Merz, Benjamin Molberger, Christopher Norris, Margaret Paine, Carol Peddie, Joy Pile, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Sheldon Sax, Elin Waagen, Joseph Watson, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitas, Mark Zelis

Design/IA Group: Joseph Antonioli, Kristen Byers, Rhoads Cannon, Bryan Carson, Alex Chapin, Timothy Etchells, Pamela Fogg, Elizabeth Lloyd, Ian McBride, Amy McGill, Andrew Ngeow, Jamie Northrup, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Robyn Whyte, Mark Zelis

Requirements Group: Joseph Antonioli, Lisa Ayers, Mary Backus, Doreen Bernier, Renee Brown, Timothy Etchells, Tamara Hilmes, Ryan Kellett, Elizabeth Lloyd, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Jason Mittell, Amy Morsman, Christopher Norris, Jamie Northrup, Margaret Paine, Jeffrey Rehbach, Michael Roy, Sheldon Sax, Pooja Shahani, Jaichandra Shankar, Susan Simmons, Elin Waagen

Platform Group: Joseph Antonioli, Kristen Byers, Bryan Carson, Alex Chapin, Thomas Cutter, Adam Franco, Ian McBride, Christopher Norris, Jeffrey Rehbach, Mack Roark, Michael Schuster, Travis Stafford

Stakeholders Group: Douglas Adams, Scott Atherton, Lisa Ayers, Elizabeth Boudah, John Byrne, Susan Campbell, Laura Carotenuto, Jeffrey Cason, Michael Collier, Thomas Corbin, Ann Crumb, Norman Cushman, David Donahue, Kim Downs, Kathleen Foley-Giorgio, Margaret Groves, Karen Guttentag, Derek Hammel, Jennifer Herrera, Tracy Himmel Isham, F. Huth, Kaye-Lani Laughna, Sandra LeGault, Elizabeth Lloyd, C. Macan, Patricia Manley, Barbara Marlow, Patricia McCaffrey, Michelle McCauley, Amy McGill, Bradley Nadeau, Jamie Northrup, Margaret Paine, Douglas Perkins, Jeffrey Rehbach, Elizabeth Robinson, Elizabeth Ross, Jaichandra Shankar, Allison Stanger, Charlotte Tate, Cindy Wemette, Janet Wiseman

MIIS Web Strategy Team: E. Arrocha, Alicia Brent, Robert Cole, Nina Dutra, Ann Flower, Regina Garner, Jennifer Hambleton-Holguin, Robert Horgan, Linae Ishii-Devine, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Rafael Ochoa, Angela Quesenberry, Shawna Routh, Anne-Marie Steiger, Patricia Szasz, Jason Warburg

LIS Website Team: James Beauchemin, Doreen Bernier, Jessica Isler, Carrie Macfarlane, Ian McBride, Barbara Merz, Elin Waagen, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitaswww.middlebury.edu

Content Editors: Douglas Adams, Jeanne Albert, Joseph Antonioli, Adriana Arroyo Abad, Scott Atherton, Janis Audet, Lisa Ayers, Katherine Ayres, Mary Backus, Vickie Backus, Martha Baldwin, Charlene Barrett, Carey Bass, Megan Battey, James Beauchemin, Melissa Beckwith, Ann Benson, Doreen Bernier, Mary Bertolini, Bonnie Betourney, Thomas Beyer, Catherine Bilodeau, Keith Bishop, Tania Bolduc, Sandra Bonomo, Linda Booska, Elizabeth Boudah, Lucas Braun, JoAnn Brewer, Renee Brown, Charlene Bryant, Jeff Buettner, Susan Burch, Cheryl Burnham, Diane Burnham, Margaret Burns, Cory Buxton, Jeffrey Byers, Nelson Caldwell, Taunia Cantin, Noreen Cargill, Oliver Carling, Karen Carpenter, Bryan Carson, Carole Cavanaugh, Nicole Chance, Alex Chapin, Raymond Coish, Marcia Collaer, Colleen Converse, Jonathan Cormier, Deborah Cousino, Allison Carroll, Derrick Cram, Terence Crouch, Jyoti Daniere, Alison Darrow, Luke Dauner, Carolann Davis, Penny Deacon, Franklin Dean-Farrar, Matthew Dickerson, Stephen Diehl, Ann Dolber, David Dolginow, Patricia Dougherty, Francisca Drexel, Susan Driscoll, Ophelia Eglene, Cathy Ekstrom, John Elder, Rachel Eldredge, Brenda Ellis, Christina Ellison, Timothy Etchells, Alexa Euler, Eileen Brunetto, Miguel Fernandez, Margaret Fischel, Brenda Fizur, Adam Franco, Dale Freundlich, Daniel Frostman, Theresa Funk, Daniel Gaiotti, Randall Ganiban, Lisa Gates, Kara Gennarelli, Deanna Gilbert, Jennifer Goetz, Rebecca Gooch, Gloria Gottlieb, Karin Hall-Kolts, Peter Hamlin, Derek Hammel, Elizabeth Hammel, Karin Hanta, Anne Harlan, Chester Harvey, Jennifer Herrera, Mario Higa, Tamara Hilmes, Tracy Himmel Isham, Lisa Hoff, Amy Holbrook, Arabella Holzapfel, Julie Hoyenski, Mary Hurlie, Jessica Isler, John Janikis, Richard Jenkins, Daphne Jensen, Carrie Johnson, Michael Katz, Ryan Kellett, Robert Keren, Stephen Kiel, Connie Kim, Yookyung Kim, Donald Kjelleren, Blair Kloman, Carolyn Kooi, Jeffrey Lahaie, Linda Larocque, Kaye-Lani Laughna, Matthew Laux, Sandra LeGault, Susan Levine, Jean Lin, Jodi Litchfield, Elizabeth Lloyd, Michael Lynch, Carrie Macfarlane, Dennis Manalo, Rachel Manning, Justin Martin, Meghan Mason, Judith Mayer, William Mayers, Barbara McBride, Ian McBride, Monica McCabe, Janine McDonald, Donna McDurfee, Ellen McKay, Michael McLaughlin, Emily McNamara, Ximena Mejia, Barbara Merz, Jason Mittell, Benjamin Molberger, Stephanie Monasky, Timothy Mosehauer, Kevin Moss, Ethan Murphy, Bradley Nadeau, William Nash, Naomi Neff, Jolene Newton, Andrew Ngeow, Melissa Nicklaw, Corinna Noelke, John Nordmeyer, Christopher Norris, Jamie Northrup, Pamela Norton, Jennifer Nuceder, Judith Olinick, Michael Olinick, Margaret Paine, Kathleen Parent, Nicole Parker, Nicole Patterson, Douglas Perkins, Susan Perkins, Kevin Peters, Kenneth Pierce, Joy Pile, Janine Podraza, Jennifer Ponder, Hans Raum, Sarah Ray, Mary Reed, Jeffrey Rehbach, Russell Reilly, Yunfei Ren, Lisa Reynolds, Carol Rifelj, Susan Ritter, Mack Roark, Pathik Root, Amy Rose, Elizabeth Ross, Danielle Rougeau, Alice Rouleau, Carrie Roy, Michael Roy, Lynn Saunders, Sheldon Sax, Daniel Scharstein, Linda Schiffer, Sheila Schwaneflugel, Katie Scott, Shane Scranton, Jaichandra Shankar, Shawna Shapiro, Joanna Shipley, Susan Simmons, Terry Simpkins, Ruchi Singh, Bobby Smith, Marcella Smith, Donna Stark, John Stokes, Tiffany Stowe, Edmund Sullivan, Anna Sun, Catherine Tester, Stacey Thebodo, Jaime Thiesen, Fawn Torrey, Joseph Toth, Elin Waagen, Susan Walker, Joseph Watson, Susan Watson, Andrew Wentink, Elizabeth Whitaker-Freitas, Robyn Whyte, Madeleine Winterfalcon, Jonathan Wischhusen, Janet Wiseman, Deborah Young, Helen Young, Mark Zelis, Muchadei Zvoma

www.miis.edu Content Editors: Tsuneo Akaha, Joseph Antonioli, E. Arrocha, Joan Baczewski, Amer Barghouth, Carly Reci, Alicia Brent, Kristen Byers, Kelley Calvert, Rachel Christopherson, Kelly Cole, Seamus Dorrian, Anna Dudney, Nina Dutra, Ann Flower, Jennifer Hambleton-Holguin, Robert Horgan, Linae Ishii-Devine, Renee Jourdenais, Francesca Lichauco, Hsin-Tai Lin, Priscilla Lorenzo, Florence Lu, Devin Lueddeke, Naoko Matsuo, Ian McBride, Lynn McDonald, Amy McGill, Keegan McGrath, Leonid Naboyshchikov, Melissa Nguyen, Rafael Ochoa, Angela Quesenberry, Seth Raphael, Shawna Routh, Elias Shakkour, Fabian Sievert, Clayton Snyder, Kathleen Sparaco, Sarah Springer, Anne-Marie Steiger, Patricia Szasz, Christie Tam, Carolyn Taylor, Toni Thomas, Daria Ushakova, Pamela Ventura, Rebecca Walters