Research Papers by Daisy Abbott
Higher Education Pedagogies , 2019
Research skills are challenging to teach in a way that is meaningful to students and has ongoing ... more Research skills are challenging to teach in a way that is meaningful to students and has ongoing impact in research practice. This paper investigates constructivist and experiential strategies for effective learning and deep understanding of postgraduate research skills and proposes a game-based learning (GBL) solution. A (non-digital) game called How to Fail Your Research Degree was designed and iteratively developed. Gameplay loop analysis identifies various learning and game mechanics and contextualises them in relation to GBL theory. Evaluation of gameplay (n = 127) demonstrates effective transmission of intended learning outcomes and positive game experience based on Keller’s Attention-Relevance-Confidence-Satisfaction (ARCS) model. Discussion proposes that the game has high cognitive authenticity, relies heavily on tutor facilitation, can create tension between knowledge and confidence, and is applicable to multiple domains and learning situations. GBL is proposed to be an original and effective approach to teaching high-level, functional learning outcomes such as academic research skills.
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Proceedings of Interactive Narratives, New Media and Social Engagement, 2014
When a theatrical performance is digitally broadcast live to cinemas, the limitations of temporal... more When a theatrical performance is digitally broadcast live to cinemas, the limitations of temporal and spatial specificity are removed and the theatrical experience is simultaneously opened up to a wider audience and inherently altered. One such production, Coriolanus (Donmar Warehouse, 2013-14), starring an actor with a particularly enthusiastic online fan community, was broadcast to cinemas by National Theatre Live where fans recorded it on digital devices, extracted clips and produced animated gifs, which they captioned to reinterpret the play, sharing them online, removed from their original context. The transformation of theatre texts to cinemas to social media platforms raises exciting questions related to how fans interact with culture both as consumers and as producers of new media texts. How do the different transformations (technical and actively fan-produced) affect both the narrative and the cultural experience? How do new texts function as surrogates for, and extensions of, the 'official' narrative, as well as new interactive narratives in their own right? This paper addresses these questions in the context of as specific theatrical event as it crossed the boundary from a live, co-located experience into first cinema, then interactive hypertexts and memes. Drawing on theories of fandom and participatory culture, as well as post Web 2.0 analysis of Internet behaviours, the paper examines fan production of new media texts and how they both transmit and transform the source narrative via interpretation, re-interpretation, and misinterpretation.
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Serious Games, 9090, 2015
This work in progress game was created to deliver knowledge and understanding of research process... more This work in progress game was created to deliver knowledge and understanding of research processes and techniques, within the context of a postgraduate training programme at Glasgow School of Art. Development was in relation to the concepts of encouraging creativity and risk-taking within a safe game environment, and of learning by (potentially) failing. Game characteristics and intended learning outcomes were defined, leading to game mechanics and text that emphasise player agency, working within a time limit, and humour. Initial small-scale evaluation shows that the game is highly successful at delivering the intended learning outcomes and is a memorable and enjoyable complement to the existing course curriculum.
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Preserving Complex Digital Objects, 2014
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Documenting Performance, 2017
Live broadcasts of theatrical events result in complex documentation processes for performance at... more Live broadcasts of theatrical events result in complex documentation processes for performance at the points of production, consumption, interpretation and further production. The increasing popularity of live broadcasts offers brand new possibilities for documenting performance, not only for theatres but for audiences. Acknowledging the temporal, spatial and conceptual distances between the theatre production of a particular play and discrete audiences enabled via the NT Live streaming, this chapter focuses in particular on the concept of paradocumentation, asserting a notion of unity between performances and their documents, borne in part from the technology of NT Live. An analysis of a production and livecast of Hamlet in 2015 identifies key features of the Barbican Centre and NT Live production with particular attention to the merging of performance and its documents. The latter part of the chapter expands upon the notion of paradocumentation, with an exploration of data gleaned from an audience survey, and analyzes and suggests patterns of evidence for audience-created paradocumentation.
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International Journal of Digital Curation, 2015
This article considers digital curation in doctoral study and the role of the doctoral supervisor... more This article considers digital curation in doctoral study and the role of the doctoral supervisor and institution in facilitating students' acquisition of digital curation skills, including some of the potentially problematic expectations of the supervisory relationship with regards to digital curation. Research took the form of an analysis of the current digital curation training landscape, focussing on doctoral study and supervision. This was followed by a survey (n=116) investigating attitudes towards importance, expertise, and responsibilities regarding digital curation. This research confirms that digital curation is considered to be very important within doctoral study but that doctoral supervisors and particularly students consider themselves to be largely unskilled at curation tasks. It provides a detailed picture of curation activity within doctoral study and identifies the areas of most concern. A detailed analysis demonstrates that most of the responsibility for curation is thought to lie with students and that institutions are perceived to have very low responsibility, whilst individuals tend to over-assign responsibility to themselves. Finally, the research identifies the most common types of support system for curation and suggests ways in which students, supervisors, institutions, and others can effectively and efficiently address problematic areas and improve digital curation within doctoral study. The International Journal of Digital Curation is an international journal committed to scholarly excellence and dedicated to the advancement of digital curation across a wide range of sectors. The IJDC is published by the University of Edinburgh on behalf of the Digital Curation Centre. ISSN: 1746-8256. URL: http://www.ijdc.net/ Copyright rests with the authors. This work is released under a Creative Commons Attribution (UK) Licence, version 2.0. For details please see
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Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2019
This paper describes a learning-objective-centric workflow for modifying ('modding') existing tab... more This paper describes a learning-objective-centric workflow for modifying ('modding') existing tabletop games for educational purposes. The work-flow combines existing research for serious games design with novel systematic analysis techniques for learning and game mechanics and gameplay loops to improve the understanding and rigour of the process. A detailed worked example applies the workflow to the development of a serious tabletop game with the educational goal of increasing knowledge and confidence of performing postgraduate literature reviews. Systematic application of the workflow to a real example supports the value of this approach and provides a useful template for educators to follow for increasing the quality and feasibility of self-designed serious games. 1 Introduction It is now well evidenced that games can be engaging and effective tools for education but that the design of an intervention has as large an effect on success as the medium [1] and that designing effective game-based learning solutions requires significant expertise in both game-design and pedagogy [2]. Educational games which do not successfully combine game design with learning design are ineffective in terms of engagement , learning, or both (often known as a 'spinach sundae': a product which is neither appealing nor good for you [3]). Furthermore, research into game-enhanced learning demonstrates that the different characteristics of different games have discernible effects on the learning behaviours of players [4] and consequently on how well the game achieves its educational purpose [1, 5]. In short, educational game design is complex, resource intensive, and requires multiple interdisciplinary skillsets. Games designed for digital platforms also need significant technical expertise and the resources to support them. Despite these barriers, the well-documented advantages of game-based learning (GBL) drive demand for games for learning, training, or behavioural change (hence-forth referred to as 'serious games') across a wide range of contexts [6-8]. However, as evidence of the efficacy of GBL grows, the discipline gains new advocates from a variety of backgrounds which increases the risk of GBL solutions being designed and implemented in isolation of the expertise and resource contexts necessary to make them effective. This paper presents a practical solution to the tension between the growing desire for serious games amongst students and educators and the barriers to effectively implementing them [9]. It is proposed that serious game design can be streamlined and
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Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2017
Pedagogical opportunities offered by 3D immersive environments are not restricted to subject-base... more Pedagogical opportunities offered by 3D immersive environments are not restricted to subject-based knowledge but also include non-disciplinary and cross-curricular key skills. This pilot study introduced a large 3D scene of a non-extant architectural exhibition into teaching and learning activities at three UK schools. From observation and qualitative data capture, a comparative case study identified a number of pedagogical opportunities and challenges. Despite diverse teacher and student approaches, a number of common factors were identified including constructionist teaching methods and the suitability of 3D environments for developing cross-curricular key skills and capabilities. In relation to the literature, this paper analyses how subject-aligned use of the 3D model met with differing levels of success, identifies four key skills that emerged from student use of the model across all three schools, and considers how challenges might be translated into further learning opportunities. 1 Introduction Whilst there is a growing body of research that focusses on pedagogical opportunities of 3D environments for the enhancement of particular, curriculum-based learning outcomes, few empirical studies consider their role in developing key cross-disciplinary skills and attributes such as collaboration, creativity, leadership, and emotional maturity. These capabilities are recognized across national curricula as intrinsic to the development of successful learners. Through a comparative case study of the use of a 3D environment in teaching activities in three schools, this paper investigates how 3D environments within the classroom can provide opportunities for developing key cross-disciplinary capabilities.
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Proceedings of the Digital Research in the Humanities and Arts Conference, 2015
This paper considers the tensions and interactions between a classic play, its modern staging and... more This paper considers the tensions and interactions between a classic play, its modern staging and live broadcast, and its playful reinterpretation by fans via social media platforms such as Tumblr. In the context of cultural theory and organizational policy, the live broadcast of Shakespeare's Coriolanus is shown to be a complex, fractured, transmedial cultural experience with significant implications for its live theatrical and broadcast audiences, as well as online audiences drawn from the fan base of its lead actor. Examples of fan production are shown to extend and reinterpret the core narrative, further fracturing the narrative across unofficial platforms and creating new, interactive cultural experiences.
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2011 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Applied Computing, 2011
3D visualization is a powerful tool to increase understanding and experience of the world's cultu... more 3D visualization is a powerful tool to increase understanding and experience of the world's cultural heritage. However, where there is incomplete primary material on which to base visualizations there is a recognised danger that 3D models, as absolutist in their representations, can be misinterpreted as a totally accurate replica of reality. Good practice in creating digital reconstructions of non extant architecture leads to researchers meticulously documenting the process and outputs of heritage visualizations, however unless the research sources and methods are made explicit and visible, the danger of misreading visualized data remains. This research describes the development of software that allows research sources, methods, and interpretation to be added as multimedia annotations to a 3D scene comprising the entire British Empire Exhibition of 1938. All real-world and digital objects are semantically described and given a spatial placement within the scene. The software is built on a CIDOC-CRM export-compatible data model and provides a novel interface which allows groups of users to collaboratively and simultaneously create annotations in an intuitive discursive visualization environment using remote tablet PCs. The development of a unique, life-size, stereo visualization of this lost architecture, with spatialised semantic annotations, will enhance engagement with and understanding of this hugely significant event in history.
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VAST, 2011
The virtual reconstruction of heritage sites and artefacts is a complicated task that requires re... more The virtual reconstruction of heritage sites and artefacts is a complicated task that requires researchers to gather and assess many different types of historical evidence which can vary widely in accuracy, authority, completeness, interpretation and opinion. It is now acknowledged that elements of speculation, interpretation and subjectivity form part of 3D reconstruction using primary research sources. Ensuring transparency in the reconstruction process and therefore the ability to evaluate the purpose, accuracy and methodology of the visualization is of great importance. Indeed, given the prevalence of 3D reconstruction in recent heritage research, methods of managing and displaying reconstructions alongside their associated metadata and sources has become an emerging area of research. In this paper, we describe the development of techniques that allow research sources to be added as multimedia annotations to a 3D reconstruction of the British Empire Exhibition of 1938. By connecting a series of wireless touchpad PCs with an embedded webserver we provide users with a unique collaborative interface for semantic description and placement of objects within a 3D scene. Our interface allows groups of users to simultaneously create annotations, whilst also allowing them to move freely within a large display visualization environment. The development of a unique, life-size, stereo visualization of this lost architecture with spatialised semantic annotations enhances not only the engagement with and understanding of this significant event in history, but the accountability of the research process itself.
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The Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) Project aimed to provide a comprehensive s... more The Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) Project aimed to provide a comprehensive snapshot of digital resource provision in the UK and to examine the technical infrastructure and preservation environment of this digital content. There has been a clearly articulated need for a “one stop shop” for information discovery across a range of different digital collections. By concentrating on resources containing digital objects, the catalogue of resources created during the Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) project updates and complements previous aggregation efforts and provides more specific information about the preservation of each collection (which has not been part of the scope of previous portals). This information is crucial to understand the current preservation environment in the UK and will build on previous work by the Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) and Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) (amongst others) in building strategies for digital preservation.
The Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) project was funded by JISC as part of the Digital Repositories Programme 2007-8. The overall approach was focussed on interoperability with the JISC Information Environment Service Registry (IESR) , and in future the data produced by the DRAI project can be incorporated into the IESR with the minimum of effort. The DRAI project aggregated and classified 3,707 records from a variety of critical existing sources and reports, including checking over 120,000 of Intute’s links to Web pages. A wide variety of information on the access to, and preservation of, these digital collections was recorded into a database. Analysis of this data led to the project’s conclusions regarding the current preservation environment and recommendations for future issues relating to the preservation of the digital resources identified. In addition to this report, the DRAI project also delivered the MySQL data, the data in XML format, the PHP scripts used, a document showing mapping to the JISC IESR, and full documentation for the project.
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The Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) promotes the creation, preservation and dissemination... more The Arts and Humanities Data Service (AHDS) promotes the creation, preservation and dissemination of digital resources. The AHDS has five subject centres: Archaeology; History;
Language, Literature and Linguistics; Performing Arts; and Visual Arts. Each of these subject centres makes a significant contribution to its individual subject communities. AHDS
Performing Arts supports research, learning and teaching with digital resources related to music, dance, theatre, radio, film, television and performance. Digital resources are widely
varied and can be in a variety of structures, scopes and file formats. Digital resources currently held by AHDS Performing Arts range from small highly focused databases to a very large
collection of images, video and 3D objects. The Arts and Humanities Data Service provides access to these resources through its Website, and one of the primary aims of the AHDS is to support and facilitate preservation to ensure the longevity of resources it holds and to enable the curation of these resources by user communities.
AHDS Performing Arts is working towards developing a greater appreciation as to how the higher education community uses digital resources and how opportunities for research, teaching and learning in Performing Arts disciplines can be enhanced. This study is designed to understand the nature of ‘digital resources’ created and used in the Performing Arts, how
their creation and use is integrated into the research, teaching and learning process, what methods scholars are using, and what kinds of services, including guidance and advice, AHDS
Performing Arts should be providing. The scoping study found that, while Performing Arts communities in Higher Education demonstrate highly innovative and experimental engagement in the creation and use of digital resources, the development of a core digital collection at AHDS Performing Arts has not kept pace with demand. This scoping study analyses the use and creation of digital resources in the Performing Arts community through desk-based research, an online survey and a series of in-depth interviews. Key to these findings is identifying and addressing the needs of the Performing Arts community through evidence based knowledge gathering in the areas of music, theatre, dance, film, television, radio and performance. This report presents conclusions based on evidence gathered during 2006 and makes recommendations. These findings and conclusions will form the foundation for establishing for AHDS Performing Arts a proactive vision and a strategy for delivering that vision which will be presented to the AHDS Executive later in 2006. By sharing the outcome of the Scoping Study with funding bodies, such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), it is hoped that their attention will be drawn to issues related to the research and teaching and learning needs of the
Performing Arts community.
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DigiCULT.Info is a quarterly electronic journal presenting current news, articles, interviews, op... more DigiCULT.Info is a quarterly electronic journal presenting current news, articles, interviews, opinions, and issues related to cultural heritage and the information society. Our aim is to bring developing projects and initiatives to a wider audience, to demonstrate the use of technologies and standards, and to provide greater access to the expertise and experiences of fellow cultural heritage professionals.
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Conference presentations by Daisy Abbott
European Association of Archaeologists 20th Annual Meeting, 2014
Public monuments have a long history in the United Kingdom occupying highly visible locations in ... more Public monuments have a long history in the United Kingdom occupying highly visible locations in our major towns and cities, however it is noticeable that a whole swathe of such sites have become so much a part of the urban landscape that it is to all intents and purposes ignored by the population in general. These monuments have a lot to tell us both about the development of style, practice and technology, but also a huge amount about our heritage; scientific, political, industrial and social, as well as and the national and imperial identity construction narratives dominating at the time of their erection. This project has researched and developed a pilot system (using streaming audio and fine grained geo-location), based in George Square in Glasgow, to deliver innovative new musical compositions that connect directly to these forgotten works in order to re-inspire interest in both the artists and their subjects and to re-engage citizens with a pre-existing body of work. This has the potential to enrich their everyday lives as a largely forgotten layer of interest, historical information and artistic merit is brought to the fore-front of their minds through a combination of the distinct domains of music and heritage.
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9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation, 2016
This paper explores how a pre-existing virtual 3D model of the British Empire Exhibition of 1938 ... more This paper explores how a pre-existing virtual 3D model of the British Empire Exhibition of 1938 was used to deliver innovative teaching and learning materials into schools. With digital and mobile technologies now forming an integral feature of schools, a range of tools can be used to support students and teachers in their every day lessons. However, despite the wealth of research on digital technology use within schools, few studies have so far looked at the teaching and learning potential of 3D models and in particular the re-use of the large number of existing digital heritage datasets originally generated for a range of purposes.
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how the 3D model was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, it evaluates the potential and impact of using such a tool in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others, the wider pressures of teacher time and curriculum regimes, the role of the motivation and interest of individual teachers as well as the drivers for student engagement. In light of the above, the paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of such a project and concludes with some suggestions for the future use 3D models and supporting software.
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International Symposium on Evaluating Digital Cultural Resources (EDCR 2016), 2016
The REVISIT project explored how immersive 3D models generated in heritage and research contexts ... more The REVISIT project explored how immersive 3D models generated in heritage and research contexts can be used to deliver innovative teaching and learning materials for use in schools. Digital technologies play an integral part in educational strategies and methodologies, with a range of tools being used to support students and teachers in their everyday lessons. However, despite the wealth of research on digital technology use within schools, few studies have so far looked at the teaching and learning potential of pre-existing immersive 3D models, in particular the re-use of the large number of digital heritage datasets. The REVISIT project is a one year collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Hull. It was funded as part of a special 10 year anniversary ‘follow on’ funding call from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how a legacy 3D model of the 1938 British Empire Exhibition and its associated digital archive was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, the project evaluated the potential and impact of this model of access in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others: the drivers for student engagement; the desire for creative engagement with the 3D and archive data; co-creation of learning materials; modes of learning; and the wider pressures of teacher time, curriculum regimes, and technical issues. In line with the conference themes, this paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of the use of legacy 3D datasets in education and concludes with some suggestions for the future use of these models in this context.
Aims
The 1938 British Empire Exhibition was an architecturally significant event, incorporating over 100 buildings and attracting over 12.5million people to Bellahouston Park, Glasgow over its six month run. Funded by the AHRC, in 2005, Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation (formerly Digital Design Studio) constructed a thoroughly researched and highly accurate 3D digital model of the Exhibition as well as a digital, multimedia archive content relating to the Exhibition, its visitors and its international impact. The primary aim of REVISIT was to attempt to transform these research focussed digital assets into innovative learning tools targeted at school learners and covering multiple aspects of the curriculum; to make these learning tools as widely accessible as possible; and to increase our understanding of what value, if any, such assets have for teachers and learners through a pilot study.
Research context
Virtual environments and 3D models have been used across various disciplines and levels of education since the 1990s. Potential learning benefits in both primary and secondary education include opportunities for rich learner engagement; the possibility to explore, manipulate and construct virtual objects; creative interactions where active participation leads to digital forms of cultural production and user-led innovation and co-production. One 2011 review reported that virtual 3D models and environments are predominantly used in the subject areas of science and mathematics, with a smaller number in the social sciences. There are now several examples in the literature that highlight the pedagogical potential of such technologies across a range of subjects including ecology; foreign language learning; maths; science, epidemiology, and creative writing. As learning in virtual 3D models and environments gains momentum there arises an array of challenges and barriers that need to be considered. Despite the plethora of studies that have explored the pedagogical opportunities of specially created tools, very few research studies have looked at the re-use of virtual 3D models originally designed for other purposes (such as research), how well they fit within educational settings. This is particularly relevant for those producing high-quality 3D datasets from original research and who wish to maximise the learning potential and impact from their work – an ongoing challenge across the cultural heritage domain.
Challenges include the availability and cost of robust hardware and internet connectivity; the pedagogical skills needed for creating relevant and meaningful tasks in virtual worlds and the time to plan and design these tasks; usability and fit within existing classroom procedures. Teachers are reported to perceive digital 3D as a means of enriching existing practice rather than transforming it and innovative practices are limited by the current focus on standards and individual performance. Similarly, teaching practice is highly dependent on confidence with both subject-specific and cross-curricular themes as well as a teacher’s willingness to work outside the ‘curricular comfort zone’.
Results
REVISIT collaborated with three different schools to define appropriate, curriculum-driven themes around which to base immersive, interactive ‘virtual tours’ of the 3D model, which incorporate both learning materials and teaching and learning activities. It became quickly evident that, where there was engagement from teachers and students, there was also a desire to be the producers (rather than passive consumers) of content using both the 3D immersive model, its archive of related material, and additional material created by the students. This resulted in a collection of 3D narratives, created by both the project team and the children themselves, exploring different subjects via different aspects of the Exhibition. Approaches varied within and across age groups and subject interests. Examples include investigations of a very specific subject (e.g. coal) using just one building within the Empire Exhibition model; linking up a series of buildings on a particular subject (e.g. pavilions from Commonwealth countries); using numerical data from vintage radio broadcasts in maths exercises; and adding original photographs comparing how Bellahouston Park looked then and how it looks now. As the project encouraged creative responses to the 3D model, research materials, and delivery technology, REVISIT’s results include a reflection on this creative, non-didactic mode of engaging young learners with 3D research data and the effects of the creative responses created by the students themselves. The REVISIT team used ethnographic approaches including interviews and participant observation to explore engagement, enjoyment, and specific curricular learning outcomes and produce a robust evaluation of the use and impact of this mode of learning. In this paper we will also highlight a number of policy, technical and engagement issues that arose during the research process. Through reflecting on both the positive outcomes and the barriers to educational re-use of legacy datasets, expected and unexpected, we will suggest approaches to 3D dataset creation that will go some way to increasing their utility, and therefore re-use, in educational contexts.
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Research Papers by Daisy Abbott
The Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) project was funded by JISC as part of the Digital Repositories Programme 2007-8. The overall approach was focussed on interoperability with the JISC Information Environment Service Registry (IESR) , and in future the data produced by the DRAI project can be incorporated into the IESR with the minimum of effort. The DRAI project aggregated and classified 3,707 records from a variety of critical existing sources and reports, including checking over 120,000 of Intute’s links to Web pages. A wide variety of information on the access to, and preservation of, these digital collections was recorded into a database. Analysis of this data led to the project’s conclusions regarding the current preservation environment and recommendations for future issues relating to the preservation of the digital resources identified. In addition to this report, the DRAI project also delivered the MySQL data, the data in XML format, the PHP scripts used, a document showing mapping to the JISC IESR, and full documentation for the project.
Language, Literature and Linguistics; Performing Arts; and Visual Arts. Each of these subject centres makes a significant contribution to its individual subject communities. AHDS
Performing Arts supports research, learning and teaching with digital resources related to music, dance, theatre, radio, film, television and performance. Digital resources are widely
varied and can be in a variety of structures, scopes and file formats. Digital resources currently held by AHDS Performing Arts range from small highly focused databases to a very large
collection of images, video and 3D objects. The Arts and Humanities Data Service provides access to these resources through its Website, and one of the primary aims of the AHDS is to support and facilitate preservation to ensure the longevity of resources it holds and to enable the curation of these resources by user communities.
AHDS Performing Arts is working towards developing a greater appreciation as to how the higher education community uses digital resources and how opportunities for research, teaching and learning in Performing Arts disciplines can be enhanced. This study is designed to understand the nature of ‘digital resources’ created and used in the Performing Arts, how
their creation and use is integrated into the research, teaching and learning process, what methods scholars are using, and what kinds of services, including guidance and advice, AHDS
Performing Arts should be providing. The scoping study found that, while Performing Arts communities in Higher Education demonstrate highly innovative and experimental engagement in the creation and use of digital resources, the development of a core digital collection at AHDS Performing Arts has not kept pace with demand. This scoping study analyses the use and creation of digital resources in the Performing Arts community through desk-based research, an online survey and a series of in-depth interviews. Key to these findings is identifying and addressing the needs of the Performing Arts community through evidence based knowledge gathering in the areas of music, theatre, dance, film, television, radio and performance. This report presents conclusions based on evidence gathered during 2006 and makes recommendations. These findings and conclusions will form the foundation for establishing for AHDS Performing Arts a proactive vision and a strategy for delivering that vision which will be presented to the AHDS Executive later in 2006. By sharing the outcome of the Scoping Study with funding bodies, such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), it is hoped that their attention will be drawn to issues related to the research and teaching and learning needs of the
Performing Arts community.
Conference presentations by Daisy Abbott
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how the 3D model was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, it evaluates the potential and impact of using such a tool in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others, the wider pressures of teacher time and curriculum regimes, the role of the motivation and interest of individual teachers as well as the drivers for student engagement. In light of the above, the paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of such a project and concludes with some suggestions for the future use 3D models and supporting software.
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how a legacy 3D model of the 1938 British Empire Exhibition and its associated digital archive was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, the project evaluated the potential and impact of this model of access in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others: the drivers for student engagement; the desire for creative engagement with the 3D and archive data; co-creation of learning materials; modes of learning; and the wider pressures of teacher time, curriculum regimes, and technical issues. In line with the conference themes, this paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of the use of legacy 3D datasets in education and concludes with some suggestions for the future use of these models in this context.
Aims
The 1938 British Empire Exhibition was an architecturally significant event, incorporating over 100 buildings and attracting over 12.5million people to Bellahouston Park, Glasgow over its six month run. Funded by the AHRC, in 2005, Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation (formerly Digital Design Studio) constructed a thoroughly researched and highly accurate 3D digital model of the Exhibition as well as a digital, multimedia archive content relating to the Exhibition, its visitors and its international impact. The primary aim of REVISIT was to attempt to transform these research focussed digital assets into innovative learning tools targeted at school learners and covering multiple aspects of the curriculum; to make these learning tools as widely accessible as possible; and to increase our understanding of what value, if any, such assets have for teachers and learners through a pilot study.
Research context
Virtual environments and 3D models have been used across various disciplines and levels of education since the 1990s. Potential learning benefits in both primary and secondary education include opportunities for rich learner engagement; the possibility to explore, manipulate and construct virtual objects; creative interactions where active participation leads to digital forms of cultural production and user-led innovation and co-production. One 2011 review reported that virtual 3D models and environments are predominantly used in the subject areas of science and mathematics, with a smaller number in the social sciences. There are now several examples in the literature that highlight the pedagogical potential of such technologies across a range of subjects including ecology; foreign language learning; maths; science, epidemiology, and creative writing. As learning in virtual 3D models and environments gains momentum there arises an array of challenges and barriers that need to be considered. Despite the plethora of studies that have explored the pedagogical opportunities of specially created tools, very few research studies have looked at the re-use of virtual 3D models originally designed for other purposes (such as research), how well they fit within educational settings. This is particularly relevant for those producing high-quality 3D datasets from original research and who wish to maximise the learning potential and impact from their work – an ongoing challenge across the cultural heritage domain.
Challenges include the availability and cost of robust hardware and internet connectivity; the pedagogical skills needed for creating relevant and meaningful tasks in virtual worlds and the time to plan and design these tasks; usability and fit within existing classroom procedures. Teachers are reported to perceive digital 3D as a means of enriching existing practice rather than transforming it and innovative practices are limited by the current focus on standards and individual performance. Similarly, teaching practice is highly dependent on confidence with both subject-specific and cross-curricular themes as well as a teacher’s willingness to work outside the ‘curricular comfort zone’.
Results
REVISIT collaborated with three different schools to define appropriate, curriculum-driven themes around which to base immersive, interactive ‘virtual tours’ of the 3D model, which incorporate both learning materials and teaching and learning activities. It became quickly evident that, where there was engagement from teachers and students, there was also a desire to be the producers (rather than passive consumers) of content using both the 3D immersive model, its archive of related material, and additional material created by the students. This resulted in a collection of 3D narratives, created by both the project team and the children themselves, exploring different subjects via different aspects of the Exhibition. Approaches varied within and across age groups and subject interests. Examples include investigations of a very specific subject (e.g. coal) using just one building within the Empire Exhibition model; linking up a series of buildings on a particular subject (e.g. pavilions from Commonwealth countries); using numerical data from vintage radio broadcasts in maths exercises; and adding original photographs comparing how Bellahouston Park looked then and how it looks now. As the project encouraged creative responses to the 3D model, research materials, and delivery technology, REVISIT’s results include a reflection on this creative, non-didactic mode of engaging young learners with 3D research data and the effects of the creative responses created by the students themselves. The REVISIT team used ethnographic approaches including interviews and participant observation to explore engagement, enjoyment, and specific curricular learning outcomes and produce a robust evaluation of the use and impact of this mode of learning. In this paper we will also highlight a number of policy, technical and engagement issues that arose during the research process. Through reflecting on both the positive outcomes and the barriers to educational re-use of legacy datasets, expected and unexpected, we will suggest approaches to 3D dataset creation that will go some way to increasing their utility, and therefore re-use, in educational contexts.
The Digital Repositories and Archives Inventory (DRAI) project was funded by JISC as part of the Digital Repositories Programme 2007-8. The overall approach was focussed on interoperability with the JISC Information Environment Service Registry (IESR) , and in future the data produced by the DRAI project can be incorporated into the IESR with the minimum of effort. The DRAI project aggregated and classified 3,707 records from a variety of critical existing sources and reports, including checking over 120,000 of Intute’s links to Web pages. A wide variety of information on the access to, and preservation of, these digital collections was recorded into a database. Analysis of this data led to the project’s conclusions regarding the current preservation environment and recommendations for future issues relating to the preservation of the digital resources identified. In addition to this report, the DRAI project also delivered the MySQL data, the data in XML format, the PHP scripts used, a document showing mapping to the JISC IESR, and full documentation for the project.
Language, Literature and Linguistics; Performing Arts; and Visual Arts. Each of these subject centres makes a significant contribution to its individual subject communities. AHDS
Performing Arts supports research, learning and teaching with digital resources related to music, dance, theatre, radio, film, television and performance. Digital resources are widely
varied and can be in a variety of structures, scopes and file formats. Digital resources currently held by AHDS Performing Arts range from small highly focused databases to a very large
collection of images, video and 3D objects. The Arts and Humanities Data Service provides access to these resources through its Website, and one of the primary aims of the AHDS is to support and facilitate preservation to ensure the longevity of resources it holds and to enable the curation of these resources by user communities.
AHDS Performing Arts is working towards developing a greater appreciation as to how the higher education community uses digital resources and how opportunities for research, teaching and learning in Performing Arts disciplines can be enhanced. This study is designed to understand the nature of ‘digital resources’ created and used in the Performing Arts, how
their creation and use is integrated into the research, teaching and learning process, what methods scholars are using, and what kinds of services, including guidance and advice, AHDS
Performing Arts should be providing. The scoping study found that, while Performing Arts communities in Higher Education demonstrate highly innovative and experimental engagement in the creation and use of digital resources, the development of a core digital collection at AHDS Performing Arts has not kept pace with demand. This scoping study analyses the use and creation of digital resources in the Performing Arts community through desk-based research, an online survey and a series of in-depth interviews. Key to these findings is identifying and addressing the needs of the Performing Arts community through evidence based knowledge gathering in the areas of music, theatre, dance, film, television, radio and performance. This report presents conclusions based on evidence gathered during 2006 and makes recommendations. These findings and conclusions will form the foundation for establishing for AHDS Performing Arts a proactive vision and a strategy for delivering that vision which will be presented to the AHDS Executive later in 2006. By sharing the outcome of the Scoping Study with funding bodies, such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), it is hoped that their attention will be drawn to issues related to the research and teaching and learning needs of the
Performing Arts community.
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how the 3D model was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, it evaluates the potential and impact of using such a tool in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others, the wider pressures of teacher time and curriculum regimes, the role of the motivation and interest of individual teachers as well as the drivers for student engagement. In light of the above, the paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of such a project and concludes with some suggestions for the future use 3D models and supporting software.
Through a comparative case study of three primary and secondary schools in the UK, this paper investigates how a legacy 3D model of the 1938 British Empire Exhibition and its associated digital archive was used by teachers and students to support teaching and learning activities across different subject areas. In particular, the project evaluated the potential and impact of this model of access in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges that emerged. These include, amongst others: the drivers for student engagement; the desire for creative engagement with the 3D and archive data; co-creation of learning materials; modes of learning; and the wider pressures of teacher time, curriculum regimes, and technical issues. In line with the conference themes, this paper considers the range of actors and factors that underpin the outcomes and sustainability of the use of legacy 3D datasets in education and concludes with some suggestions for the future use of these models in this context.
Aims
The 1938 British Empire Exhibition was an architecturally significant event, incorporating over 100 buildings and attracting over 12.5million people to Bellahouston Park, Glasgow over its six month run. Funded by the AHRC, in 2005, Glasgow School of Art’s School of Simulation and Visualisation (formerly Digital Design Studio) constructed a thoroughly researched and highly accurate 3D digital model of the Exhibition as well as a digital, multimedia archive content relating to the Exhibition, its visitors and its international impact. The primary aim of REVISIT was to attempt to transform these research focussed digital assets into innovative learning tools targeted at school learners and covering multiple aspects of the curriculum; to make these learning tools as widely accessible as possible; and to increase our understanding of what value, if any, such assets have for teachers and learners through a pilot study.
Research context
Virtual environments and 3D models have been used across various disciplines and levels of education since the 1990s. Potential learning benefits in both primary and secondary education include opportunities for rich learner engagement; the possibility to explore, manipulate and construct virtual objects; creative interactions where active participation leads to digital forms of cultural production and user-led innovation and co-production. One 2011 review reported that virtual 3D models and environments are predominantly used in the subject areas of science and mathematics, with a smaller number in the social sciences. There are now several examples in the literature that highlight the pedagogical potential of such technologies across a range of subjects including ecology; foreign language learning; maths; science, epidemiology, and creative writing. As learning in virtual 3D models and environments gains momentum there arises an array of challenges and barriers that need to be considered. Despite the plethora of studies that have explored the pedagogical opportunities of specially created tools, very few research studies have looked at the re-use of virtual 3D models originally designed for other purposes (such as research), how well they fit within educational settings. This is particularly relevant for those producing high-quality 3D datasets from original research and who wish to maximise the learning potential and impact from their work – an ongoing challenge across the cultural heritage domain.
Challenges include the availability and cost of robust hardware and internet connectivity; the pedagogical skills needed for creating relevant and meaningful tasks in virtual worlds and the time to plan and design these tasks; usability and fit within existing classroom procedures. Teachers are reported to perceive digital 3D as a means of enriching existing practice rather than transforming it and innovative practices are limited by the current focus on standards and individual performance. Similarly, teaching practice is highly dependent on confidence with both subject-specific and cross-curricular themes as well as a teacher’s willingness to work outside the ‘curricular comfort zone’.
Results
REVISIT collaborated with three different schools to define appropriate, curriculum-driven themes around which to base immersive, interactive ‘virtual tours’ of the 3D model, which incorporate both learning materials and teaching and learning activities. It became quickly evident that, where there was engagement from teachers and students, there was also a desire to be the producers (rather than passive consumers) of content using both the 3D immersive model, its archive of related material, and additional material created by the students. This resulted in a collection of 3D narratives, created by both the project team and the children themselves, exploring different subjects via different aspects of the Exhibition. Approaches varied within and across age groups and subject interests. Examples include investigations of a very specific subject (e.g. coal) using just one building within the Empire Exhibition model; linking up a series of buildings on a particular subject (e.g. pavilions from Commonwealth countries); using numerical data from vintage radio broadcasts in maths exercises; and adding original photographs comparing how Bellahouston Park looked then and how it looks now. As the project encouraged creative responses to the 3D model, research materials, and delivery technology, REVISIT’s results include a reflection on this creative, non-didactic mode of engaging young learners with 3D research data and the effects of the creative responses created by the students themselves. The REVISIT team used ethnographic approaches including interviews and participant observation to explore engagement, enjoyment, and specific curricular learning outcomes and produce a robust evaluation of the use and impact of this mode of learning. In this paper we will also highlight a number of policy, technical and engagement issues that arose during the research process. Through reflecting on both the positive outcomes and the barriers to educational re-use of legacy datasets, expected and unexpected, we will suggest approaches to 3D dataset creation that will go some way to increasing their utility, and therefore re-use, in educational contexts.
acknowledged as fruitful tools for learning and skills development across multiple
domains, including specifically educational enhancement. ‘How To Fail Your
Research Degree’ is a serious game developed to deliver knowledge and
understanding of research processes and techniques, within the context of a
postgraduate training programme at Glasgow School of Art which guides students
transitioning from undergraduate to Masters. Development focussed on
encouraging creativity and risk-taking within a safe game environment and
learning by (potentially) failing. Intended learning outcomes (ILOs) are to:
highlight various risks of research projects and suggest their impact on projects;
reinforce dependencies between tasks at different stages of research; directly
reinforce the interrelations of different risks with the activities taken to negate or
ameliorate them; and replicate the time-critical nature of short research projects.
Game characteristics were based on implementation within a postgraduate course
and emphasise player agency, working within a time limit, and humour.
Quantitative and qualitative evaluation was performed to provide evidence of the
effects of the game within teaching and learning practice. This was achieved
through a series of direct interventions in which students (n=66) played the game
within a tutorial context and provided feedback. Game effectiveness on meeting
the ILOs was evaluated using a 5-point Likert scale. Game experience was
evaluated within the theoretical framework of Keller’s Attention Relevance
Confidence Satisfaction (ARCS) model. Qualitative data was sought in free text
responses. Qualitative data was also collected to assess knowledge retention over
time.
Evaluation shows that the game is extremely successful at delivering all of the
ILOs and emphatically succeeds at Attention, Relevance, and Satisfaction, with
moderate success at increasing Confidence. This serious game is an effective,
innovative, and enjoyable complement to postgraduate training on research skills.
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
• Understand issues of participant information, consent and ethics.
• Gain an insight into how to practically organise community work, including co-production and focus group/evaluation activities.
• Have a deeper understanding of issues arising from community politics and how groups understand and engage with perceived ‘experts’
This workshop will be of particular interest to Doctoral researchers in all disciplines of the arts and humanities who envisage working with community groups, particularly collaborative or co-production work.
Games have been shown to be powerful complements to classroom-based education, enhancing both learning and motivation to learn. However, game design requires significant specialist knowledge, and can be very time-consuming and costly. Furthermore, transitions between instructional design and game implementation is acknowledged as lacking methodology (Hauge, et al, 2015) This hackathon focusses on how teachers can adapt existing games and effectively implement them in a variety of learning situations. By teaching teachers how to analyse widely available, inexpensive games and match game mechanics to pedagogic actions, this event will enable informed selection of games which are appropriately aligned to pedagogic goals and provide examples of how to then modify these games for particular learning outcomes.
PROPOSED ACTIVITIES
The hackathon will begin with an in depth analysis of game mechanics in a variety of mainstream board/card games using gameplay loop analysis (Guardiola, 2016) and Gamebricks (Djaouti et al, 2008). Worked examples will lead to participants undertaking their own analyses. Then, identified game mechanics will be aligned with learning behaviours using the Serious Game Mechanics card game (Hauge, et al, 2015). These activities will allow participants to practice game analysis, understand which game mechanics are most suited to encouraging particular pedagogical goals, and gain an understanding of intrinsic integration in game-based learning and its importance (Arnab, et al, 2015). In the latter half of the hackathon, participants will select a learning situation from their own practice, define their desired pedagogic behaviours, and propose a modification to an existing game to align it directly with their chosen subject. Finally, the group will work together to discuss how ‘modded’ analogue games can be most effectively integrated into teaching activity, within time and cost limitations.
By documenting the workshop and inviting participants to feed back in the months following the event, this hackathon will create a legacy of material and relationships on techniques and successes when modding existing games for learning purposes.
WHO BENEFITS
This hackathon is suitable for anyone who wants to use game-enhanced learning but does not consider themselves a game designer, or does not have the resources to design a game from scratch. The techniques learned are applicable for all levels of education from primary to post-graduate. The workshop team has significant experience of modding board games and publishing in the field of serious games and game-based learning and this hackathon builds on expertise gained in previous events.
SUMMARY
Modding existing analogue games is a fast and inexpensive way of implementing GBL in the classroom. This hackathon will showcase this technique and develop participants’ critical skills, ensuring that games are selected and modified appropriate for the best possible learning outcomes.
REFERENCES
Hauge J.M.B., Lim T., Louchart S., Stanescu I.A., Ma M., Marsh T. (2015) Game Mechanics Supporting Pervasive Learning and Experience in Games, Serious Games, and Interactive & Social Media. In: Chorianopoulos K., Divitini M., Baalsrud Hauge J., Jaccheri L., Malaka R. (eds) Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2015. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 9353. Springer, Cham
Arnab, S., Lim, T., Carvalho, M. B., Bellotti, F., de Freitas, S., Louchart, S., Suttie, N., Berta, R. and De Gloria, A. (2015), Mapping learning and game mechanics for serious games analysis. Br J Educ Technol, 46: 391–411. doi:10.1111/bjet.12113
Guardiola, E. (2016) The Gameplay Loop: a Player Activity Model for Game Design and Analysis. In: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, ACM New York, NY, USA. doi:10.1145/3001773.3001791
Djaouti, D., Alvarez, J., Jessel, J.P., Methel, G., and Molinier, P., (2008) A Gameplay Definition through Videogame Classification. In: International Journal of Computer Games Technology, Volume 2008 (2008), Hindawi Publishing Corporation, doi:10.1155/2008/470350
This paper will focus on interactions with digital artworks and the challenges of documenting these ephemeral enactments, before using current research in digital curation to suggest strategies for preservation of interactive art in the long term.
Bringing together research from Human Computer Interaction and dramaturgy, the paper outlines the broad types of interactions in immersive interactive virtual environments (Kulik, 2009) and the ways in which artists can design user/audience interactions (Benford, Reeves, O'Malley, & Fraser,2005) and create trajectories of experience through technologically-driven artworks (Benford, Giannachi, Koleva, & Rodden, 2009). The paper then presents recent research in user expectations of digital documentations of artworks (Abbott, 2006) and applies the challenges inherent in documentation and curation of performance works to performative interactions in general. Finally, strategies of documentation and curation for performative artworks are considered using the data lifecycle model developed by the UK’s national Digital Curation Centre (Higgins, 2008).
Daisy Abbott, AHDS Performing Arts Services and Outreach Officer, will summarise current research on performance documentation and consider how representations of performance can be created. She will discuss the usefulness of different forms of documentation and will debate how successfully each method captures the key elements of performance.
Sarah Jones, AHDS Performing Arts Collections Development Officer, will discuss appraisal, questioning whether traditional archival strategies can be applied to the performing arts. She will consider how the enduring traces of performance are selected and will question who has the right to make appraisal decisions.
Finally Hannah Little, an archive PhD student, will consider the concepts of reliability and authenticity. She will question whether the archival meaning of these terms is relevant to the performing arts, and whether documentation can ever be ‘authentic’.
This seminar will consider how performing arts practitioners, researchers, teachers, and students use digital resources to inform their work. Drawing on recent research, the seminar will interrogate what can constitute a digital ‘record’ in performing arts from materials documenting the process of creating the performance, to contextual materials, to appropriate media preservation formats for records of performances themselves. How do/can these resources affect scholarship in the Performing Arts?
This paper will present the results of ongoing research undertaken by AHDS Performing Arts into the creation and use of digital collections by performing arts communities within Higher Education.
In the performing arts, digital collections development seems to have lingered behind other subject areas, despite the flourishing and innovative performing arts communities that exist both in and out of higher education. Creating and using digital resources related to the performing arts is problematic primarily due to a lack of understanding of how/if a performance can be ‘captured’ or represented digitally in perpetuity and the relatively low overlap between performing arts practitioners (those who are actually creating performances) and performing arts academics (those who study and teach performing arts subjects). Other issues which contribute to the difficulties experienced by performing arts communities in relation to digital resources are copyright, file formats, and knowledge of the existence of collections.
The paper will first identify the different performing arts communities in the UK, focussing on those in HE, and present the general levels and topics of research being undertaken. It will then examine how performing arts practitioners, researchers, teachers, and students use digital resources to inform their work.
Based on the results of an extensive survey and subsequent interviews, the paper will examine the creation and use of digital resources in performing arts subject areas in HE:
• What types of collection currently exist?
• What are the common barriers to digital resource creation?
• What are the common barriers to the use of digital resources?
• What are the most commonly used digital resources in performing arts subject areas?
• Which materials are in great demand for teaching and research?
Drawing on recent research the paper will consider what can constitute a digital ‘record’ in performing arts from materials documenting the process of creating the performance, to appropriate media preservation formats for records of performances.
Finally, the role of the Arts and Humanities Data Service will be considered in relation to these findings:
• How can AHDS increase our support for digital resource creators and users?
• How can AHDS Performing Arts forge relationships with organisations outside HE to facilitate the digitisation of highly sought after materials?
The paper will conclude by presenting AHDS recommendations for future directions in digital resources for the performing arts, in relation to an overall strategy for the arts.