Projects and stuff

Hi, This blog is from Michael Mayrath.

I'm working on my dissertation and things are looking good for graduation in May 2009. I've accepted a postdoctoral fellowship under Dr. Chris Dede, Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at Harvard Graduate School of Education. I will be working on the Virtual Assessments project, which is funded through the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.
www.VirtualAssessment.org

My dissertation examines instructional media modality (text & animation, voice narration & animation, and voice+text & animation) and interface restriction (locking part extraneous parts of the sim's interface vs. not locking down parts of the sim). The sim used is Packet Tracer 5.1.
www.cisco.com/web/learning/netacad/course_catalog/PacketTracer.html


My big project of 2008 was titled "A Proposed Method for Converting Professional Military Education Programs into Blended Learning Courses with Live, Virtual, and Constructive Simulations" and was co-authored with Sheilagh O’Hare. The project is headed by Aubrey White, and we work at University XXI, Institute for Advanced Technology, University of Texas at Austin. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force's Future Learning initiative.
www.aetc.af.mil/library/whitepaper.asp

In early 2009, myself and three partners started a company called GetYa Learn On that develops educational games and apps that utlize the pedagogical affordances of the iPhone, including the touch-screen, accelerometer, high fidelity graphics, wifi, and processing power. Our first app is going to be released in summer 2009. It is being pilot-tested using a spiral development cycle in which user feedback is used to modify the app and increase its pedagogical effectiveness.
www.GetYaLearnOn.com

Finally, Educate Austin continues to provide information to teachers and parents on research and teaching tips. Texas State Representative Mark Strama's education advisor, Mary Throop. Mary, myself, and a team of others surveyed over 1,000 Texas K-12 public school principals. We developed a 52-item online survey called "The Texas Public School Technology Inventory" which examined six areas of technology integration: 1) computer hardware, 2) software, 3) Internet access, 4) professional development, 5) information technology support, and 6) technology integration in the classroom. Four recommendations were made based on the data: (A) Need for a Central Repository of High-Quality Technology Resources; (B) Need for On-Campus Technology Specialists; (C) Need for Laptops, Not Desktops; and (D) Need for Online Grade and Assignment Portals. In the 2007 Legislative Session, Rep. Strama introduced legislation based the recommendations. His legislation passed the House but not the Senate. However, he is back working on the recommendations right now in the 2009 Session.
www.EducateAustin.org

Texas_Public_School_Technology_Inventory

Here's my vita:
Mayrath Vita



Thanks for checking out my blog.

Michael