Facilitators
Bodong Chen, Cresencia Fong, Murat Oztok, Weiwei Qin
Two implementation days
Summary of Our Approach
Our team found this to be a challenging theme, primarily because "Layered Information System" (LIS) is not a recognized term in the literature or in cyberspace! We collected many examples of what we thought might be considered LISs, then we grouped these examples. In doing so, it became apparent that there were 4 emerging LIS sub-themes: geographic information systems (GIS), social information networks, web mashups, and virtual spaces. However, it should be noted that LIS is not limited with these four sub-themes.
Homework In Preparation for Day 1
Please visit "Homework 1".
Homework objectives:
- do some introductory reading about LIS
- explore LIS ideas that emerged during the 2007 class' implementation of the LIS theme, and connect to their personal experience
- ensure that classmates download necessary software (e.g. Diigo, Google Earth) and create necessary user accounts (e.g. Gmail, Diigo) needed for Day 1
- have classmates choose their sub-theme focus, thereby dividing the class into 4 small groups which will rotate as groups through the Day 1 activities
Day 1
Please visit "Class Activity" (and scroll down).
We moved our regular class location from the Bahen Centre to OISE's KITL lab on the 3rd floor (beside the elevators). Each of the 4 facilitators took one LIS sub-theme and created a 30-minute workshop in which we showcased and discussed various (debatable) examples of LIS, related to a particular theme of LIS. Our first implementation day of LIS was spent largely on having our classmates rotate through our 4 workshops with their own LIS sub-theme focus group. During these workshops, the groups discussed:
- whether or not the examples presented were valid LIS examples
- how various examples could enhance learning
- began to formulate ideas about what an LIS is (i.e. properties of an LIS)
Homework In Preparation for Day 2
Please visit "Homework #2".
Homework objectives:
- actively collaborate in a social information network using Diigo while reading websites related to a chosen LIS sub-theme focus
- for each of the 4 LIS sub-theme wiki pages, sub-theme focus groups will:
- find more examples of a chosen LIS sub-theme
- begin to think about overarching properties of a chosen LIS sub-theme
- begin to think about how a particular LIS sub-theme could enhance knowledge construction and learning
Day 2
Please visit "Class Activities" (and scroll down).
Again, we moved our regular class location from the Bahen Centre to OISE's KITL lab on the 3rd floor (beside the elevators). This allowed us to utilize the KITL lab's Thunder virtual flip chart system. To establish a "mental set", we showed a video: "Microsoft Office Labs 2019", and followed this with a full class discussion about the implications of layered information systems for the future as well as how this vision encompasses all of the themes we've explored throughout this course.
We then did a breakout session in which all LIS sub-theme focus groups (Social Information Networks, GIS, Web Mashups, Virtual Spaces) worked together on their LIS sub-theme wiki page to capture their ensuing small-group discussion in which they developed and refined ideas about:
- homework readings
- overarching properties of their chosen LIS sub-theme
- how their LIS sub-theme could enhance knowledge construction and learning
A second breakout session followed in which all LIS sub-theme groups were divided and re-grouped into 4 jigsaw groups that comprised of members from all 4 LIS sub-theme focus groups (Jigsaw 1, Jigsaw 2, Jigsaw 3, Jigsaw 4). Through these jigsaw groups, classmates presented their LIS sub-theme focus and showed the corresponding sub-theme wiki page. This way, all classmates learned about the 3 other LIS sub-themes which were not their focus. Each of the 4 jigsaw groups had their own wiki page where they captured their ensuing jigsaw group discussion in which they developed and refined ideas about:
- overarching common properties of the layers found in the layers of all 4 LIS sub-themes
- how the common properties of LISs enhance knowledge construction and learning
- choose a couple of examples that illustrate learnings from #1 & #2
- using a Thunder-enabled tablet, take screen shots of #1-3 and present this information to the whole class using Thunder
The class was then brought together as a whole group and each jigsaw group presented their responses from their jigsaw wiki pages. The facilitators had thought that these 4 jigsaw presentations would yield similar ideas. This was surprisingly not the case! These presentations sparked some class discussion. After all the jigsaw groups presented their ideas, we synthesized all our ideas in a full class discussion. Click [here|^ThunderSession.pdf] for the Thunder transcript of this final presentation and discussion.
Sub-Themes of Layered Information Systems
Click on the links below to visit our 4 LIS sub-theme wiki pages:
What is a Layered Information System?
The following ideas emerged during our final full class discussion on Day 2:
- most people think that there should be a foundational layer, for example:
- GIS: Map layer is the foundational layer. However, this foundational layer is not good enough to make the meaning by itself. Although the map layer makes the most of the meaning when all the data are layered, the map layer does not provide many information when it is used just by itself.
- Social Information Network (e.g. Diigo): the article/text is the foundational layer
- Web Mashups & Virtual Spaces: the foundational layer lies in the connections between metatags. The better/finer the tags, the better the connections. connections beget connections.
- 1 jigsaw group felt that there is no need for a foundational layer
- dynamic
- the quality of the information depends on the involvement of a community of users and their relationships with each other and with the information
- In an LIS, the quality of the whole system depends on the quality of the layers. As well, the system is limited to the availability and the reliability of the data and the layer.
How might layered information systems enhance knowledge creation and learning?
The following ideas emerged during our final full class discussion on Day 2:
- enhances dimensions of information, making information deeper and richer
- LIS encompasses all of this course's themes: Smart Spaces & Augmented Reality, Immersive Environments, Knowledge Building & Semantic Aggregation
- the information isn't neutral
- information is re-purposed to fit learning goals
- "How can I use information to find people with similar interests or learning goals?" (This system provides us connections around the knowledge rather then people; however, mashing-up LIS with social networking could provide some interesting results.)
- "Where is the epistemology?" (in the usage and design of LIS)
- focus on the social framing of information
- virtual spaces can physically capture semantic variables (e.g. placing the contents of the course wiki into Second Life)
- LIS enables us to build a network around the ideas and knowledge.
- Information and data are not necessarily layered in a vertical way, it is also possible to layer them in a horizontal way. In other words, we do not need to put data on top of each other to layer them, we could put data next to each other and layer them.
