Experiences in International Education Using Internet 2

1
Experiences in International Education
UsingInternet 2

• Mary Alcocer
• Universidad de las Americas Puebla
• Morrison G. Wong
• Texas Christian University
• Antonio Sanchez
• Universidad de las Americas Puebla

Cholula, Mexico
Fort Worth, Texas
Phi Beta Delta XVIII Annual Conference
Washington D.C. March, 2004
2
Experiences in International Education Using
Internet 2

• Contents
• Using Internet2 in the Classroom
• International Experiences Using Internet2
• A Course Socio-Cultural Contexts
• Using Technology in Education Past and
  Present
• A Course Programming AI
• Methods
• Initial Findings
• Some Implications
• Available Opportunities
• References

3
Experiences Using Internet 2 in the Classroom

• UDLA and TCU are part of the Internet2 Consortium
  UCAID/CUDI thus benefiting from a rich broadband
  connection.
• Video conferencing using Internet2 is done at a
  fraction of the cost of commercial courier
  videoconferencing service.
• The use of technology provides an important aid,
  but does not limit or obstruct the teaching.
• We present the case of two courses
• In the School of Social Sciences, a course in
  Socio-Cultural Contexts of the United States and
  Mexico, where students located in two different
  countries meet weekly, is facilitated by two
  faculty, one in the US and one in Mexico
• In the School of Engineering, a faculty on
  sabbatical leave was able to teach a regular
  course in AI Programming, even though he was
  located miles away in another country.
• Most importantly, the content of the courses, as
  well as its format, is entirely based on the
  material that is to be taught and not on a
  technological specification.

4
Knowledge is experience. Everything else is
just information.
Albert Einstein
UDLA campus in Cholula
TCU and UDLA students share an interactive
international educational experience using
Internet 2
TCU campus in Fort Worth
UDLA students in a visit to TCU
5
Mexico and the United States Socio-Cultural
ContextsConception of the Course

• .
• As we become more a global society, it is
  important for students to not only have knowledge
  about their own society, but also knowledge about
  other societies.
• This is our attempt to bridge the cultural gaps
  between the two societies. Although book learning
  may provide the basic framework, it is felt that
  the actual interaction and give and take with
  faculty and students from another culture provide
  a much more rewarding and insightful experience.
• It is through this experiential learning
  classroom situation that we expect that students
  will not only learn about and better understand
  their own society, but also another society.
• Each professor discusses selected topics on an
  alternating week basis. These topics include
  demographic characteristics culture, class, and
  ethnic relation migration issues the political
  system the family and religion.
• At the end of the semester, students have a
  greater awareness, understanding, and
  appreciation of not only their own society, but
  of another society.

6
Socio-Cultural Contexts Course

• Format of the Course Technological Facilities
• The course meets every Tuesday from 1400
  to 1645 10 to 15 students sign for the course
  at each institution, with an instructor in each
  campus.
• The course has been offered for three years
  now during the Spring Semester.
• The format and length of the sessions are
  defined in such a way to allow for students to
  engage in a lively conversation about a topic
  previously reviewed by both faculty.
• Students are required to turn in and present
  a joint paper with one student from each campus,
  so they email and chat with each other throughout
  the semester.
• A web page designed for the course located
  at www.udlap.mx/malcocer/tcu provides the links
  for reading materials. A discussion Forum is also
  at www2.tcu.edu/depts/tcu-udla/discuss/
• The course is taught via video conferencing
  over an Internet2 connection. Cameras and
  monitors are set up at both locations allowing
  the faculty as well as students to see and
  interact with students and faculty from the
  United States and Mexico.

7
Socio-Cultural Contexts Course Lecture Topics
and Reading Assignments

• I. Demographic Characteristics
• Income Poverty versus Wealth
• Education and Literacy
• Migration
• Urban versus Rural Life
• Trends
• II. Culture, Class, and Ethnic Relations
• Culture
• Ethnicity
• Identity
• III. Migration issues
• Mexican Migration to U.S.
• Illegal versus Legal Immigration
• American Migration to Mexico
• NAFTA

• IV. The Political System
• Federalism
• Division of Power
• Presidency, Congress,
• Supreme Court
• V. The Family
• Extended Family versus
• Nuclear Family
• Community
• Education
• Trends
• VI. Religion
• Foundations
• Churches
• Religious Life
• Trends

8
UDLA (Mexico) and TCU (United States)
Students for Spring 2004
9
Experiences with the Course TCU and UDLA
Students Comments

• I am so excited about this class, I have been
  telling everyone about it and just find it
  fascinating.... ...It is just so interesting to
  hear it, and not just read it, and than get to
  discuss it, I am so exited!
• I found the paragraph on "time" to be very
  interesting. Having a hispanic background myself,
  I thought that it was just my family that
  suffered from not being able to be on time. I
  have never heard about "mexican time" before but
  I believe it.
• From the article we read on the history of Mexico
  and the differences between Mexico and America I
  have a very hard time understanding why, after
  not even one year in office, everyone is so upset
  with President Fox... ... When you go from an
  Authoritarian government to a Democratic
  government the process of transaction will be
  long and tiring but as citizens you must support
  your leaders and their actions. Look at America,
  for instance. It has taken us over 200 years to
  get our country to where we want it and in some
  spots we still aren't where we want to be.
• It is incumbent upon us to help Mexico become a
  better country, just as the USA is
• I love the opportunity to hear about government
  and policy in other countries, and look forward
  to hearing about other sociological facets of
  life in Mexico.

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Experiences with the Course TCU and UDLA
Students Comments (2)

• According to Octavio Paz, our differences stem
  our from each others heritage yet, in order
  to advance in a sustainable fashion, we must look
  to our past to avoid past mistakes in our
  society.
• I am really interesting how people view the
  change in the government of the 72 years of power
  of the PRI government. In many ways I believe we
  Mexicans want change in a very fast way. I
  believe that change is possible only in a gradual
  way.
• As far as the Internet and the technical things
  go, I am really impressed and feel very fortunate
  to be able to have this experience.
• I am particularly fascinated with the seemingly
  unfair occurrences that are a normality in
  Mexico. Work practices, laws and other things
  that I believe have raised questions in the heads
  of the students here at TCU.
• So far I have learned that coming into class on
  Tues. and Thurs. morning I must remember there
  are many different people involved and although
  it doesn't run as smoothly and precise as most
  college courses, the lessons in flexibility and
  open-mildness are just as important as the
  information I may walk away with.
• When I got into this class I had no knowledge of
  anything about Mexico. Everything we've talked
  about so far is all new knowledge for me

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Using Technology in Education in the Past
Students read and discussed with a faculty about
different societies using the library resources
of the university

12
Using Technology in Education in the Present
Students interact with students from
different societies with the aid of information
technology
13
Using Technology in Education in the PresentThe
TCU UDLA Internet2 Course
Morri Wong answering a question to UDLA students
TCU students paying attention to Mary Alcocer
with her students back in Cholula
Second screen showing the other connection site
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Programming Artificial Intelligence MethodsFall
2002 / Spring 2003

• An UDLA faculty on sabbatical leave at TCU was
  able to teach a course he regularly teaches, even
  though he was located miles away in another
  country. The students did not seem to mind the
  inconvenience of having class remotely.

The lecture as seen by the UDLA students in
Cholula, Mexico the instructor was located at
TCU in Forth Worth, Texas. They met every
Tuesday and Thursday in the afternoon.
15
Programming Artificial Intelligence Methods

• The instructor has been teaching the same course
  for over 20 years. He wanted to experience new
  methods
• The project grew out of the initial experiment.
  The instructor on sabbatical needed to conduct
  advising by email to a junior faculty, so he
  could take on the course.
• The idea of using videoconferencing fully had
  been tested already in the previous course.
  Hence, the academic department was willing to try
  it.
• Similarly, the number of video conferences using
  Internet 2 at UDLA grew from 25 in 1999 to 150 in
  2001. Therefore, for 2002, the Information
  Services Department was also willing to try a
  second course.
• Videoconferencing using the Internet requires at
  least 384 kb/sec dedicated for reasonable
  communication. Internet2 with its 150 Mb/sec
  channel provides nicely for this allowing up to
  24 frames/sec. UDLA uses this facility for
  diverse services such as conferences, seminars,
  job interviews and the like.

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Programming Artificial Intelligence Methods

• The material to be covered required a lot of
  programming. Therefore, the receiving classroom
  was moved to a lab with a computer available for
  each student.
• Students presented their exams and projects over
  the internet. They developed their own webpages
  to present the final work.
• An initial comment from the instructor was that
  Distance is not as difficult as it seemed at the
  beginning. One only needs to adapt.
• Since some the students had already met the
  instructor at UDLA, they were able to relate with
  him using video. Clearly, there is some
  convenience in having a live relationship to
  start with yet new students accepted the systems
  as such, as one student later stated The only
  difference is the professor is there and we are
  here otherwise it is like any other class.

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Programming Artificial Intelligence
MethodsOutline of the Course

• I. Artificial Intelligence Basics
• IA History
• The Range and Purpose of AI  
• AI Paradigms 
• II. Learning (Project 1)
• Adaptive Learning for Adaptation
• Collective Learning
• Artificial Neural Networks  
• Connectionism 
• III. Perception
• Learning and Recognizing Objects
• The Use of Filters
• Industrial Applications  

• IV. Knowledge Representation (Project 2 )
• The Definition of Heuristics
• The MiniMax Algorithm
• Alpha Beta Pruning
• Tree Searching  
• Data Structures for Knowledge
• Semantic Nets, Frames and Scripts
• Logic and Decision Making
• IF/ THEN Rules and Chaining
• Resolution Principles   
• Uncertainty Management
• Selection (Project 3) 
• Artificial Selection
• Genetic Algorithms
• Artificial Gene Coding

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Initial Findings

• Using the Internet2 facilities of our
  institutions, two courses have been taught on a
  regular basis by video conferencing during the
  past two years one in social science and one in
  engineering.
• In this paper we have present our successful
  experience in teaching courses in such a format.
• We have found that students relate to their
  foreign counterparts just as if they were in the
  same location.
• The virtuality (remoteness) of the format does
  not seem to have hindered the educational value
  of both courses.
• The evaluation of the course in terms of grades
  and acceptance by the students provide similar
  values are those obtained in the regular courses
• Furthermore students engage in lively
  discussions, allowing an international
  experience to take place, even though they only
  travel virtually.
• Visits by the faculties to each others
  university during spring break helped the
  students to relate better with both instructors.

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Some Implications

• Faculty/student interaction using this format is
  here to stay. Students engage well using it and
  feel the need to corroborate the instruction with
  student experiences from other cultures.
• Information and reading material will be gathered
  from the Internet.
• Conversation and dialogue in the classroom will
  substitute traditional dictation, both virtually
  (teleconferencing) or in person (regular class
  room).
• Collaborative and team group learning will
  enhance individual learning.
• Coffee tables will substitute armchairs as the
  seating arrangement in order to support this type
  of learning.
• Students will have to take more responsibility in
  their learning -- i.e. thinking rather than
  asking.
• Comparative studies will imply student must learn
  to engage and validate their knowledge.
• Faculty will become both brokers of knowledge
  and mentors to students.
• The availability of global patterns in education
  is a sine qua non requisite in the university.

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Available Opportunities

• Universities must play an important role in
  Internet2 for
• international educational experiences.
• Universities should actively continue to develop
  selected, strategic partnerships with
  universities both physically and virtually.
• Global patterns in education using virtual
  facilities will compete favorably with current
  synthetic (artificial) commercial education.

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References

• Larry Adams Antonio Sanchez Knowledge Focused
  Education Consequences of IT, 25th Annual
  McMaster World Conference , McMaster University,
  Hamilton, Ca January 2004-03-03
• Marjorie Armstrong-Stassen, M.L. Landstrom,
  Ramona Lumpkin Students Reaction to the
  Introduction of Videoconferencing for Classroom
  Instruction The Information Society, Vol 14,
  1998 pp. 153-164
• John T. Burns Evaluation of Staff Development
  and Training Models to support implementation of
  videoconferencing ... The Quaeterly Review of
  Distance Education Vol 3(3) 2002 pp.327-340
• he Internet2 Site in the US located at
  http//www.internet2.edu/
• The Internet2 Site in Mexico located at
  http//www.cudi.edu.mx/
• Damian Knipe Maria Lee The Quality of teaching
  and Learning via videoconferencing British
  Journal of Educational Technology Vol 33 N3.
  2002 pp 301-311
• B.J. Pine J. H. Gilmore Welcome to the
  Experience Economy In Harvard Business Review
  USA, July-August 1998.
• Roger Shanck Are We Going to Get Smarter? In
  Brockman J.(ed) The Next Fifty Years. Vintage
  Books. USA 2002
• The University of Minnesota collaboration with
  TIES, information located at http//www.ties.k12.m
  n.us/main/lrntech/internet2projects.htm
• Acknowledgements
• The authors want to thank our institutions UDLA
  and TCU for supporting Internet2 and making
  available its innovations to students and
  faculty.
• We also want to thank Hugo López and Wilfrido
  Chiapa at UDLA and Bill Senter and Deana Muirheid
  at TCU for dedicating so much time to make the
  connections work flawlessly everyday.

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Thank You
Mary Alcocer malcocer_at_mail.udlap.mx http//www.udl
ap.mx/malcocer Morrison G. Wong m.wong_at_tcu.edu
Antonio Sanchez asanchez_at_mail.udlap.mx http//ww
w.udlap.mx/asanchez