SAIL Smart Space

Overview

SAIL Smart Space is an open source configurable "smart room in a box" that will hopefully allow a community of researchers to share and exchange approaches that work as well as core software code - thus serving to advance this nascent area of research.

Two "Knowledge Communities" that will be served by SAIL Smart Spaces are thus:

Classroom Learning Communities
- Students learn in sophisticated curriculum configurations
- Collaborative, Interactive, Feedback, exchange, community-oriented learning
- Teachers connect deeply with students for learning, assessment
- Learning outside the classroom (home, field trip, parent involvement)
  *Research and Design Communities
- Educational Researchers interested in smart spaces
- Build an open source exchange around "SAIL Smart Space"
- Evolve powerful illustrations - promote "idea economy"

The goal is to create a simple, configurable smart room that could be set up in any classroom, with a clear specification of the role of the Web, local servers, and client devices. We envision the first version to include several satellite servers, each running a projector and connected to physical hubs (creating local subnet) - to which there would be connected 5 or 6 laptops. PDA devides would also play a role.

Design Challenges

Articulate "essential technology elements" of a Smart Space
Articulate "Powerful Use Cases" of a Smart Space
- Powerful illustrations of Smart Space in action
Specify a stable, reliable, cost effective platform
- Interoperable components, sharable architecture
Enable open source model
- Define the "best common denominator" - that provides a general platform for a wide range of possible implementations
- Enable the mutual development of core features, groupware, social tagging, etc.
Open Content (sharing across smart spaces)
- Create communities of exchange that publish their successes, share content

Use models (note - is this too focused on an educational implementation?)

Individual users
Support group work
Support "authororing" of user experience (e.g., student groups)
support "management" of space during experience. (e.g., classroom management)
Support clear theoretical connections:
- Student and teacher activities, curriculum elements, learning theory
- Model for exchange community of researchers/designers

Main technology Elements

PDA (Handheld computers - blackberries, etc.)

Ideally, these are connected wirelessly to the Web.
Begin "brainwashed." User launches a "PDA Hug" software which asks for log in. Once the PDA hug identifies the user, it downloads user (e.g., student) specific data to PDA - (i.e., configures it for activities).
Layers of information identify user(s) - includes a table of data that indexes user (e.g., student) to the activity
Users receive guidance from the Web - directing them to a certain place in the room. Can also perform activities, exchange information (via Web) etc. Example: The S3 ecosystem exchange "fishbowl" for transportation.
Can support remote activities outside of the SSS (e.g., on field trips, data collection, camera etc.)

Laptops

Main user workstation. Also "brainwashed" each time - loaded with user specific data when user logs on.
Rich, interactive content/activities, using SAIL (e.g., student notes, reflections, designs)
Realtime collaborations (e.g., designs, file exchanges, presentations, etc).
SAIL software on Laptops is connected to groupware running on a locally connected group server - supports aggregation and synthesis, for purposes of feedback to the group (e.g., via projection on the wall or being "pushed" out to others in the group).
Laptop is a productivity station, (e.g., for preparing materials to display on the projector or share with others).
Laptop is an information gathering station (for the Web)
Laptop is a collaboration and social aggregation station.
Camera on laptop could possibly come into play (e.g., for real time video conferencing, projecting

Group Server

This runs the coordinating groupware for individual laptops, drives the projector, coordinates the LAN (wired hub for common subnet)
Helps to synthesize individual work in the group into a group product (e.g., a design, a knowledge base, an artifact, or runnable software) that can be shared, exchanged, experienced, handed off to other groups.
Helps process individual user inputs into socially aggregated data.
COmmunicates with hte Web, as well as other group servers (via the Web).

Data Projectors (one per group server)

Displays "Processed Information" from the Group Server. Shows combined effort of the group, or individual users can take over the projector for presentations via VNC or physical switches.
"Feedback" interface - for collaborative games, co-design, knowledge building.
Groupware can show common product, marked up document, collaboraive simulation. E.G. - design an ecosystem - individuals control aspects of the whole
Guidance and Control - can tell all students in the group what they should be working on.
Window into other groups or Smart Spaces - view products, progress, or messages from one or more other groups - allowing feedback between clusters.

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION - SAIL SMART SPACE CAN INTEGRATE OTHER INPUT, OUTPUT OR COLLABORATIVE DEVICES

Touch screens and Smart Boards - enabling group work as well as more tactile interfaces.
Cameras and audio recording - to be replayed, shared, analyzed, marked up, etc.
Probeware - transducers to collect physical data using PDA or laptop.
Virtual Reality/ Multi-user interfaces - for multi-user activities, remote collaborations, etc.
SAIL Smart Space Configurations - three "scales" to consider in designing activities:

SCALE 1 (INDIVIDUAL INTERACTION):

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PDA and Laptop are loaded with student information from the Web when student logs on. They are "vacant" beforehand.
Student receives guidance and selected materials. Java-based SAIL activities collect student work.
Student receives visual and logical feedback from projected screen, in coordination with PDA and laptop.
- E.g., student logs into PDA, which communicates to Web, downloads student data and displays picture of an apple. Student looks for a projector screen with an apple, and logs into to one of the laptops around that screen. Receives materials and instruction tailored to the individual and group level.

SCALE 2 (GROUP INTERACTION):

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Students interact within a small group
Groups are coordinated by Group Servers - which are hardwired in a LAN to laptops.
Groupware coordinates individual student contributions, synthesizes, and projects onto screen.
Web is used to interconnect group servers
- E.G., students gather in a small group and receive instructions to collaboratively develop a knowledge net concerning carbon footprints. The groupware manages their individual contributions and projects onto screen - which guides further efforts.

SCALE 3 (WHOLE CLASS INTERACTION):

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Groups interact with each other via the Web, controlled by Smart Space Server
PDAs and Smart Space Servers can be tracked via GPS - allowing aggregation into layers of data (Smart Spaces and their data may be accessed by mapping their GPS location via Google Earth).
Teachers/Researchers control the activities via the Smart Space Server
Assessment, research design, etc.
Projection screens can work in concert - either broadcasting the same message, or complementary messages.

Activities for SAIL Smart Space - Toward Pedagogical Coherence

At all points in time
- What is teacher doing?
- What are students doing?
For all participants
- How do teachers see and interact with students
- How are students connected to peers
At all points in space
- Classroom, location sensitive, small groups
- Online, offline, at home, field trip, etc.
In all aspects of curriculum
- What resources, what student work/artifacts?
- What assessments, feedback?

Grouping and regrouping of students for purposes of curriculum.

Grouping would be done either into a set of categories (e.g., groups A, B, C, D), or into groups with a certain number of students (3, 4, 5, 6).
The curriculm author could also have groups rotate what category they are assigned to (i.e., the same group of 4 start out working on category A together, while the other categories do their thing, then the A folks go into category B, the B group moves into C, etc. I suppose this doesn't change the grouping at all, but illustrates that groups may be manipulated in terms of what they are working on.
Another kind of grouping would be what is known as "jigsaw" - where you start out grouping everyone into "specialization groups" (e.g., the questioners/hypothesizers, the background researchers, then data analyzers and the concluders) - then after they've done some focused activities on their specialization, you re-group people so that a new set of groups is determined where each group has one person from each of the previous specialization categories. I think there's an even more stringent view of this, where then you re-do the whole thing successively until you've made sure that every kid gets a chance to play every specialization role - but I suppose if we can solve the first case we could do that monster (not sure what curnit would ever have enough TIME to allocate to such a design...)
Another kind of group would be the dynamic grouping, where students are sorted into their group based on content from previous pods in the curnit (e.g., assessment responses, or just "select your preferred group") -
or even more dynamic grouping, where students go to a chat room and find partners and create their own groups.

Some images of Smart Space

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