New virtual university articles

[Eric Sandelands]

Dear all

Issue 2 Part 1 of the Virtual University Journal is now online at:
http://www.openhouse.org.uk/virtual-university-press/vuj/welcome.htm

The newly published papers are:
1. Content Design Frameworks For Internet Studies Curricula And Research
R.William Maule, Ph.D.
2. PEDAGOGY, GRAMMARS AND ART: towards art and design higher education
strategies
D. Bruton

The abstracts follow.

ABSTRACTS
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Content Design Frameworks For Internet Studies Curricula And Research
R.William Maule, Ph.D.

This article examines instructional frameworks for university-level
education in Internet content design. Examined are academic constructs,
philosophies and strategies from two disciplines traditionally associated
with content - herein denied as instructional science and informational
studies. These approaches are then extended into a curricula paradigm for
academic studies in Internet content design. The intent of the article is
to begin dialog on the development of university-level curricula and
degree programs in Internet Studies.

--
PEDAGOGY, GRAMMARS AND ART: towards art and design higher education
strategies
D. Bruton

The impact of computational grammatical design on pedagogy has received
little attention in art education due to the dominant modes of
traditional approaches to art and design education. This paper explores
the pedagogical implications of grammatical strategies using computers
for judgements of design within an art educational setting that uses
generic graduate qualities as a starting point.

Grammatical strategies are studied for their effect on the judgements of
novice artists in a new media educational context. It is argued that
concepts of grammar and views of contingency are used in a variety of
senses in the conception and form making of artists; that finding methods
for discussing and utilising complex visual information is aided by
grammatical formalisation; that these strategies are evidently effective
at both early and mature stages of the realisation of a project.
Relations between computers and art contain three levels in which grammar
is used: as a sense of grammar, as a computational paradigm and as a
description of a kind of computer program.

Grammatical formalism is apparent in two dimensional linear and
non-linear animations using Photoshop, Premiere and Director, and in
solid modelling programs such as Extreme 3D, Form Z, Strata Studio Pro,
3D Studio Max and SoftImage. Web site construction also impacts on the
judgements of 2D and 3D design. Computational grammatical programs
generate forms that reflect alternative understandings of art and design.
Art practise is defined in terms of developing consistent and appropriate
design language for the contingency at hand. Form making using
grammatical tools, both recursive and array types, is discussed in terms
of their applicability and educative value. Reference is made to formal
qualities for critique and strategic capability of alternative pedagogy
for generation of forms.

Examples provided show how simple rule sets develop into complex
derivational sequences that challenge traditional strategies for computer
imaging. For novice artists and designers, grammars in conjunction with
reflective practice offers a useful mind set that supports an interest in
actively defining a new kind of art.
--

SAMPLE PAPER
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Assessing Student Perceptions of Electronic Lectures in Marketing
John Milliken
FREE ACCESS TO FULL-TEXT ONLINE
http://www.openhouse.org.uk/virtual-university-press/vuj/welcome.htm

Toffler once said that change was the only constant and this has been
evidenced in the implementation of the 1988 Education Reform Act which
introduced a series of dynamic forces that are restructuring education in
the United Kingdom. A central tenet of government policy was that the
extension of customer choice would lead to improved quality, which was
the reflection of the declared determination to open education to the
competitive forces of the market place. This paper attempts to show how a
university lecturer responded to these changes against a backdrop of
increased student numbers, a reduction in available resource. This was
while maintaining a belief that the aim of higher education was for the
personal development of the individual student. This belief led to the
development of structured lectures using a computer based teaching
approach.

Eric Sandelands
VUP International
http://www.openhouse.org.uk/virtual-university-press/