Educational iPad User Group

Date: Wednesday 23 May, 2012
Time: 2.30pm-3.30pm, followed by discussion.
Venue: FTLR 0.040, 4th floor NW Library (Murdoch University)
Developing the Scalable Open-Access Digital Textbook for Marine Science
Join us for a special seminar presented by Dr. David Johnston

Duke University has recently developed a marine science digital textbook – called Cachalot – that employs marine megafauna examples as a pedagogical hook. This textbook integrates the use of text-based, photo, video and audio teaching materials and delivers them to students in a freely downloadable application optimized for the Apple iPad.

Cachalot represents a new form of digital textbook, one that is completely open access and populated with current content written by experts in the field.  As a textbook, Cachalot sits at the intersection of transformative philosophy (e.g. it is open access and crowd-sourced), pedagogy (e.g. it provides for location independent and just-in-time learning that can fully exploit multimedia) and technology (exploits new hand-held devices that integrate computational, communication and visualization capabilities).

About the presenter
David is Research Scientist at Duke University and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University. He has active projects involving the oceanographic drivers of foraging ecology in marine vertebrates, the design and utility of marine protected areas; the effects of climate change on marine animals and the sustainability of incidental mortality and directed harvests of marine animals. David has a strong interest in the use of citizen science which enables individuals and local organizations to participate directly in scientific research.

For more information about whale and dolphin research at Murdoch University, please visit: www.mucru.org <http://www.mucru.org>

Please RSVP to Denyse MacNish on D.Macnish@murdoch.edu.au