Multi -Touch Technology & Transdisciplinarity

Content
1. Multi-Touch Technology
2. Transdisciplinarity
3. Romanian Project

1. Multi-Touch Technology

Multi-touch technologies have a long history (Ref: Bill Buxton). What is Multi-touch? Ref.: http://solutions.3m.com (Touch Terminology)
Example. 2011: Surface 2.0 (Microsoft & Samsung) - www.microsoft.com/surface/

Ideas main. About Microsoft Surface:

• 2001: Microsoft researchers Steve Bathiche and Andy Wilson developed idea of interactive table that could understand the manipulation of physical pieces.
  
• 2007: Final structure finalised,interactive tabletop device was built that seamlessly brings both the physical and virtual worlds into one.
  
• Direct interaction: Users can actually “grab” digital information with their hands and interact with content by touch and gesture, without the use of a mouse or keyboard.
  
• Multi-touch contact: Surface computing recognizes many points of contact simultaneously, not just from one finger, as with a typical touch screen, but up to dozens and dozens of items at once.
  

2. Transdisciplinarity

"A NEW VISION OF THE WORLD - TRANSDISCIPLINARITY" by Basarab Nicolescu (Basarab Nicolescu is a major advocate of the transdisciplinary reconciliation between science and the humanities. He has published many articles on the role of science in contemporary culture in journals in France, Romania, Italy, United Kingdom, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and in the USA)

Who is Basarab Nicolescu ? Ref.:
The International Center for Transdisciplinary Research (CIRET)
- http://basarab.nicolescu.perso.sfr.fr/ciret/ro/visionro.htm
- http://basarab.nicolescu.perso.sfr.fr/ciret/indexen.html
- http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basarab_Nicolescu
- http://basarab.nicolescu.perso.sfr.fr/Basarab/index.html
- http://basarab.nicolescu.perso.sfr.fr/Basarab/News.html

"Disciplinarity, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity are like four arrows shot from but a single bow: knowledge . The three pillars of transdisciplinarity - levels of Reality, the logic of the included middle, and complexity -- determine the methodology of transdisciplinary research." Basarab Nicolescu

"In our time, a Pico della Mirandola is inconceivable. Perhaps a Pico della Mirandola in our time could be conceivable if he took the form of a supercomputer into which one could load all the known data which has been generated by all existing disciplines. This supercomputer would be capable of knowing everything while understanding nothing. Its user would be no better off than the supercomputer itself. The user would have immediate access to any results from any discipline, but would be incapable of understanding their meanings, still less of making connections between the results of different disciplines." Basarab Nicolescu
Note 1: 1959: Gold medal at the First International Mathematics Olympiad, Brasov, Romania.
Note 2 : 2010: The ATLAS Ramamoorthy§Yeh Transdisciplinary Distinguished Award, offered by the Academy of Transdisciplinary Learning and Advanced Studies, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, USA. Designated as Co-Editor-in-Chief of "Transdisciplinary Journal of Engineering&Science", USA.
Invited Talks (a selection):
- talk The Relationship Between Complex Thinking and Transdisciplinarity at the Symposium on Complex Systems Modeling and Complexity Thinking, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Maison Suger, Paris.
- talk Methodology of Transdisciplinarity - Levels of Reality, Logic of the Included middle and Complexity at the international congress "Transdisciplinary Sustainable Development", Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, USA.

3. Romanian Project

Multi - Touch project: "Educational process optimized in vision of knowledge society skills" Project 2009-2012. Integrated curriculum, inter-and transdisciplinary "Learning in the Knowledge Society"
Ref.: http://transdisciplinar.pmu.ro

"Societatea cunoaşterii presupune nu numai o extindere şi aprofundare a cunoaşterii umane, dar mai ales managementul cunoaşterii şi o diseminare fără precedent a cunoaşterii, către toţi cetăţenii, prin mijloace noi." Mihai Drăgănescu (1929-2010)

(in romanian)
Strategia de postaderare UE 2007-2013.
Proiect Multi - Touch „Proces educaţional optimizat în viziunea competenţelor societăţii cunoaşterii” (Curriculumului integrat, inter- şi transdisciplinar "Învăţare în societatea cunoaşterii"), cofinanţat din Fondul Social European (FSE) si implementat de Unitatea de management al proiectelor cu finanţare externă, din cadrul MECTS, în parteneriat cu SIVECO România şi Universitatea Naţională de Apărare "CAROL I" (Departamentul ADL).
Activitati principale:
- DEZVOLTAREA DE CURRICULUM TRANSDISCIPLINAR (dezvoltarea curriculumului transdisciplinar pentru domeniile stiintific si umanist, aferent nivelului liceal)
- DEZVOLTAREA DE MATERIALE DIDACTICE AFERENTE CURRICULUMULUI TRANSDISCIPLINAR (dezvoltare de aplicatii practice aferente continutului teoretic transdisciplinar, constand in proiecte didactice transdisciplinare
- IMPLEMENTAREA DE CURRICULUM SI MATERIALE DIDACTICE TRANSDISCIPLINARE-FORMARE (organizarea unui concurs de proiecte didactice transdisciplinare -dupa finalizarea implementarii, pentru toate liceele din tara grupate pe regiuni de dezvoltare; pentru fiecare regiune de dezvoltare va fi desemnat un liceu castigator, acesta urmand sa fie dotat cu laborator multi-touch: Achizitia publica de laboratoare multi-touch pentru 8 unitati de învatamânt - Fiecare laborator va contine 4 mese multi-touch, 1 tabla interactiva si videoproiector, 1 server, 1 calculator portabil, toate aceste echipamente fiind integrate într-o retea locala si conectate la Internet.)
- DEZVOLTAREA DE PROIECTE TRANSDISCIPLINARE PE BAZA TEHNOLOGIEI MULTI-TOUCH (continut curricular transdisciplinar adaptat pentru utilizare in cadrul laboratoarelor multi-touch -metodologie de scriere a scenariilor didactice, inclusiv formatul pe baza caruia vor fi elaborate scenariile, dezvoltate)
Concluzii
Utilizarea tehnologiei multi-touch implementează:
• învăţarea activă prin explorare, valorificând rolul pozitiv al erorilor ca parte integrantă a procesului de învăţare; elevii pot crea experienţe greu accesibile din diverse motive (periculozitate, imposibilitate istorică, distanţa în spaţiu, costuri etc.); elevii pot testa evenimentele ce pot interveni într-un sistem dat, modificând variabilele acestora;
• învăţarea prin acţiune, prin transferul de cunoştinţe şi deprinderi în contexte noi;
• învăţarea colaborativă, participativă, bazată pe negociere şi partajare socială a rolurilor în cadrul grupului, dezvoltarea capacităţilor de lucru în echipă şi de raportare la ceilalţi;
• învăţarea bazată pe proiect;
• învăţarea în context.
Ref.: http://transdisciplinar.pmu.ro/resurse

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