Joseph Rosen

Beyond participation to co-creation of meaning: mobile social media in generative learning communities

Digital social media is dramatically changing the social landscape and the ways in which we understand ‘participation’. As youth embrace these dynamic yet highly scripted forms of mediated social interaction, educators have struggled to find ways to harness these new participatory forms to support learning. This article considers the interactive structures and frameworks that underlie much of ‘Web 2.0’ participatory media, and proposes that theories of social learning and action could greatly inform the design of participatory media applications to support learning. We propose engaging the potential of mediated social interaction to foster ‘generative learning communities’ and describe an informal learning social media application under development known as ‘Mobltz’ — embracing concepts of ‘mobile media blitz’ with the intentional emphasis on the syllable ‘mob’. The application is an attempt to bring guidance from what social science knows about learning and human development to craft interactional affordances based on sharing of meaning and experiences. Les médias sociaux ont radicalement changé le paysage social et la manière dont nous comprenons la ‘participation’. Alors que la jeunesse adopte ces formes d’interaction sociale médiatisée dynamiques mais très structurées, les éducateurs peinent à les exploiter à des fins pédagogiques. Cet article examine les structures d’interaction et les cadres qui sous-tendent la plupart des médias participatifs du ‘Web 2.0’. On suggère que les théories de l’apprentissage social et de l’action peuvent grandement éclairer la conception de systèmes pédagogiques à base de médias participatifs. Nous proposons de mobiliser leur potentiel d’interaction sociale pour favoriser l’émergence de ‘communautés d’apprentissage génératives’. Nous décrivons ‘Mobltz’, un média social en cours de développement, fondé sur le concept de ‘blitz médiatique mobile’, où l’accent est délibérément sur la syllabe ‘mob’. Mobltz est une tentative d’apporter l’éclairage de ce que la science sociale sait sur l’apprentissage et le développement humain pour construire des affordances interactionnelles basées sur le partage du sens et des expériences.

The Diver project: interactive digital video repurposing

The digital interactive video exploration and reflection (Diver) system lets users create virtual pathways through existing video content using a virtual camera and an annotation window for commentary. Users can post their Dives to the WebDiver server system to generate active collaboration, further repurposing, and discussion. Although our current work focuses on video records in learning research and educational practices, Diver can aid collaborative analysis of a broad array of visual data records, including simulations, 2D and 3D animations, and static works of art, photography, and text. In addition to the social and behavioral sciences, substantive application areas include medical visualization, astronomic data or cosmological models, military satellite intelligence, and ethnology and animal behavior. Diver-style user-centered video repurposing might also prove compelling for popular media with commercial application involving sports events, movies, television shows, and video gaming. Future technical development includes possible enhancements to the interface to support simultaneous display of multiple Dives on the same source content, a more fluid two-way relation between desktop Diver and WebDiver, and solutions to the current limitations on displaying and authoring time/space cropped videos in a browser context. These developments support the tools fundamentally collaborative, communication-oriented nature.

Interactive graphics for plastic surgery: a task-level analysis and implementation

We have implemented a system for Computer-Aided Plastic Surgery. Planning plastic surgery procedures is complex because the surgeon needs to stretch and reshape the patient’s skin to replace missing tissue while minimizing distortion of the surrounding tissue. Traditional planning techniques rely on the surgeon’s experience to select among a myriad of possible procedure designs. While mathematica1 techniques for predicting the outcome of surgery have been proposed in the past, these are not in widespread use by surgeons because they require the surgeon to perform manual constructions and geometric calculations. Our system makes the analysis process easier by allowing the surgeon to draw the surgical plan directly on a 3D model of the patient. An automatic mesh generator is used to convert that drawing into a well-formulated problem for finite element analysis.

The nerve gap dilemma: A comparison of nerves repaired end to end under tension with nerve grafts in a primate model

The objective of this study was to compare, in a clinically relevant primate model, axon regeneration after epineurial repair under tension (15 mm gap) with interfascicular nerve grafts with the use of either standard microsuture techniques or a new interfascicular nerve graft technique termed fascicular tubulization that uses a hypoantigenic collagen membrane formed into a tube to approximate nerve ends. Electrophysiologic analysis demonstrated that the percentage of proximal axons that conducted across the repair site was greater in those nerves repaired under tension with epineurially placed sutures than in either of the tensionless repairs involving interfascicular graft techniques. The mean diameters of the regenerated axons repaired under tension with epineurial sutures were greater than those of the nerves repaired with interfascicular grafts, although the difference was not statistically significant. Interfascicular nerve grafting with tubulization using the current collagen tube resulted in regeneration equal to the sutured interfascicular nerve grafts. For modest defects (perhaps up to 3 to 4 cm in the adult), it seems advantageous to accept the modest tension associated with an epineurial repair rather than to use an autograft (or artificial graft) to achieve a tension-free repair.

Comparing Simple and Advanced Video Tools as Supports for Complex Collaborative Design Processes

Working with digital video technologies, particularly advanced video tools with editing capabilities, offers new prospects for meaningful learning through design. However, it is also possible that the additional complexity of such tools does not advance learning. We compared in an experiment the design processes and learning outcomes of 24 collaborating participant pairs (dyads) using 2 contrasting types of video tools for history learning. The advanced video tool WebDIVER supported segmenting, editing, and annotating capabilities. In the contrasting condition, students used a simple video playback tool with a word processor to perform the same design task. Results indicated that the advanced video editing tool was more effective in relation to (a) fostering student understanding of the topic and acquisition of cognitive skills, (b) the quality of student design products, and (c) the efficiency of dyad interactions. The implication of our experimental findings for constructivist design-based learning is that mediating functions of video tools may be used as cognitive and social supports, for example when students learn by solving design tasks in school.

Fascicular tubulization: a cellular approach to peripheral nerve repair

Present techniques of nerve repair by suture are based on an anatomical approach. The severed layers of connective tissue are reapproximated. Another approach to nerve repair is to separate the specific cellular components of the peripheral nerve that contribute to fibrous healing and nerve regeneration. The perineurium normally separates the extrafascicular epineurium of mesodermal origin from the intrafascicular endoneurium of ectodermal origin. A cellular approach to nerve repair would use a tube around the fascicle as an artificial perineurium to separate fibrous healing from axonal regeneration until the perineurium reestablishes its continuity. Fascicular tubulization with polyglycolic acid tubes was studied in 25 rats. The polyglycolic acid tube is resorbed after the perineurium has reestablished its continuity. The repairs by fascicular tubulization demonstrated improved organization of the repair site compared to suture repairs. The diameter histograms of the regenerated myelinated axons were similar in repairs by tube and suture techniques. The total regenerated cross-sectional area of the myelinated axons was similar in the repairs by fascicular tubulization to repairs by fascicular suture.

A comparison of suture and tubulization nerve repair techniques in a primate.

This study compared standard methods of nerve repair, epineurial or perineurial sutures with a technique termed fascicular tubulization using a biodegradable polyglycolic acid tube in a nonhuman primate model. Electrophysiologic analysis demonstrated that the percentage of proximal axons that conducted across the repair site did not significantly differ among the three techniques while epineurial suture repairs were associated with significantly longer conduction delays across the repair site compared with the other two techniques. Even though fascicular tubulization using the current polyglycolic acid tube resulted in regeneration equal to the currently perceived best suture repair technique, associated technical problems with the current tube design indicate that this fascicular tubulization technique cannot, at present, be considered as an alternative to present clinically used nerve suture techniques.

Virtual environment system for simulation of leg surgery

A virtual environment system has been developed for viewing and manipulating a model of the human leg. The model can be used to simulate the biomechanical consequences of various reconstructive surgical procedures. Previously, the model was implemented on a standard engineering workstation, and interaction was limited to a mouse and screen cursor. By incorporating the leg model into a virtual environment, the authors were able to assess the value of a head-coupled stereo display and direct 3-D manipulation for a surgery simulation application. This application is an interesting test case for a virtual environment because it requires visualization and manipulation of complex 3-D geometries. Since the model can be used as the basis for a number of biomechanical analyses, the virtual environment provides an opportunity to visualize the resulting datasets in the context of the 3-D model. The components used in assembling the system are described the design and implementation of this system is discussed, and a set of interface techniques that allow direct 3-D interaction with the model is presented.

Fascicular tubulization: a comparison of experimental nerve repair techniques in the cat.

Peripheral nerve repair remains one of the most difficult problems in hand surgery; the results of conventional epineurial and fascicular suture repair are a major limitation to the rehabilitation of the patient. The aim of this study was to evaluate a tubulization technique of nerve repair by wrapping a membrane of hypoantigenic collagen around the nerve at the fascicular level. Cat ulnar and median nerves were used as a multifascicular nerve model. Thirty-eight animals were studied. Ten animals were included in long-term studies comparing fascicular tubulization to either epineurial suture or fascicular suture nerve repair. Histologically, the tube repairs demonstrated improved organization at the repair site compared with either suture technique. Tube repair is not significantly different statistically by quantitative histological and physiological evaluation methods from epineurial suture or fascicular suture repairs. Further studies in more clinically applicable animal models are required before this technique can be considered as an alternative to present clinical nerve suture techniques.

Advanced digital video technologies to support collaborative learning in school education and beyond

The aim of the paper is to characterize two new advanced video technology software systems developed for uses in collaborative learning (DIVER and Hyper Video), and how they extend the paradigms of video use in classrooms today. The rationale for and characteristics of these tools are described, and early experiences with their educational uses are characterized.