Innovation Showcases
Diverse Immersive Technologies for Teaching and Learning History and Intercultural Competence : A Course on East Asian Migration to the Americas
Innovation Showcase Maria Mercedes Vazquez Vazquez
This presentation describes an innovative curriculum initiative at The University of Hong Kong involving undergraduate historical research that requires the use of immersive technologies. Students create their own individual and collaborative projects using methods as varied as online virtual exchanges with students and informants from distant parts of the world and the creation of VR narratives that are the product of research on past and current migration. This pedagogical approach allows students to, not only understand how global flows between China and Latin America operate, but also to examine and feel how diasporic Chinese, Korean and Japanese communities collaborate(d) in the construction of the Americas. The use of multi-sensory tools that facilitate immersion in the foreign environments also promote social-emotional engagement with material and individuals, and nurture long-term application of the learned concepts. This is an innovative, transdisciplinary course both in terms of the content and skills, including multimedia and intercultural communication, that students acquire through it.
Recited Verse: Poetry at Home, on the Go, and in the Classroom View Digital Media
Innovation Showcase Omar Miranda
The purpose of this presentation is to offer an overview of Recited Verse, an emerging alternative social media platform that supports an entirely free user-generated collection of poetry spoken aloud. While intended primarily for the classroom, all poetry enthusiasts (poets, students, teachers, scholars, and the general public) and all kinds of poetry (original and published verse of all ages, cultures, and languages, including religious verse) are welcome. Through both our website and iOS and Android apps, users can record and listen to poems at home or on the road. Additional features include generating and following poetry playlists; creating, joining, and interacting in private group forums; maintaining a public profile; following other users; liking readings; and using our commenting and advanced search options. Through this presentation, I hope to collect feedback and answer any questions for how we plan to roll out the platform to interested users.
