Search as Learning: challenges and approaches of the use of search engines as learning platforms

Search as Learning: challenges and approaches of the use of search engines as learning platforms

Web searches are now part of our daily lives. Individuals use search engines to start almost every activity online, ranging from simple searches (factual, transactional) to more complex ones such as online learning. This talk intends to overview the information search process along with a reflection on the role of search engines play in learning processes, and the challenges involved.

During the talk Dr Bernardo Nunes will briefly introduce a model of exploratory search that was applied to Web searching in language teacher education, promoting its evolution and validation, and enabling a visualization of search patterns and the learning process. This model helped clarify best practices associated to users’ decision-making processes regarding suitable and unsuitable information, and to capture the relevance of context variables, personal skills, and expertise that users utilize as filters for the search.

The talk will cover the social aspects of searches in learning spaces such as Online Question & Answer communities, which have emerged as important contributors to online learning. There, members can post questions at any time with realistic expectations of receiving reliable feedback. This collaborative and informal learning environment allows participants to benefit from collective knowledge.

Bernardo Pereira Nunes holds a Ph.D. and Masters in Computer Science, with a Postgraduate certificate in Pedagogical Mediation for Distance Education, and a degree in Computer Engineering from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio). Currently, Bernardo is an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Informatics at PUC-Rio, Collaborator Professor in the Computer Science Department at Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), researcher of the Central Coordination for Distance Learning (CCEAD) of PUC-Rio and Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Computers in Education. Bernardo has led many academic and industry-oriented projects that have been awarded by Brazilian and International institutions. He has also worked as a research assistant at the L3S Research Center of Leibniz Universität Hannover in Germany and as a research visitor at the High Performance Computing Lab in the CNR Italy, where he participated in Linked Data, Semantic Web, e-Learning, Data Mining and Web Archiving E.U. projects.

Date & time

Fri 06 Jul 2018, 3.30–4.30pm

Location

Lady Wilson Room, Sir Roland Wilson Building, ANU

Speakers

Dr Bernardo Nunes

Contacts

Katrina Grant
+61 2 6125 8117

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