Plenary Lecture
Between Research and Action: The Generative Sense of Technology
Professor Michele Della Ventura
Music Academy 'Studio Musica'
Treviso, ITALY.
E-mail: michele.dellaventura@tin.it
Abstract: Web search and the consequent possibility of accessing billions of documents, with relative ease, is now an important resource for students in the learning process. But what seems to prefigure a new era in sharing knowledge risks remaining a utopia for dyslexic students. In this presentation I explore student diversity and difference in higher education and consider the ways in which we can engage all students in meaningful learning. I illustrate an educational experience based on the use of Instagram to create a "visual" search engine where the search results are shown through images (and not just words) that represent the educational mediator to recall content related to specific concepts. The affordances of this tool and its educational implications are analyzed (highlighting their potential and threats) in order to develop appropriate actions for this new learning environment.
Brief Biography of the Speaker: Michele Della Ventura, professor of Music Technology, is a learning expert, researcher and instructional designer. His research interests include correlation between music and mathematics with a particular emphasis on artificial intelligence research in the field of computer-aided analysis of tonal music; intelligent systems; enhancing teaching and learning with technology; assessment for learning and strategies and models for the effective integration of technology into the curriculum at all academic levels. He is the author of several articles presented at many conferences and published in international science magazines and high school textbooks (also featured at the International Book Salon of Turin in 2012 and 2018). He proofreads articles and is a member of scientific committees in International Conferences. He has delivered numerous invited talks at international conferences and world-renowned institutes in Italy, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, UK, US (Baltimora, Boston, Las Vegas, New York, Washington). Michele Della Ventura is also consultant in Big Data and Semantic Technology projects in Italy and he leads an interdisciplinary research group in the domain of Computer-based Speech Assessment.