Kevin C. O’Rourke PhD

 

@kcor1964

https://ie.linkedin.com/in/kcor1964

Kevin is currently on secondment to Ireland’s National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning where he is leading a review of infrastructure for digital learning across Ireland’s higher-education sector. (Usually he works as head of eLearning Support & Development with  Dublin Institute of Technology’s Learning, Teaching & Technology Centre.) He holds a PhD in the history of ideas from University College London, and an MA and BA in philosophy from UCD. His current academic interests include digital education and culture, and the evolving idea of scholarship in the digital age. He is married to Dee, and they have two teenage sons.   

 

 

Abstract of the Keynote Speech: 

 

"Engaging the students: change and confidence in the digital era"

 

With growing pressure to change traditional teaching practices (think flipped classrooms, lecture capture, demand for more student feedback and continuous assessment), along with higher student expectations (shortening attentions spans, rising tuition fees, students as customers), and the always-on culture of the digital era, to engage today's students academic staff are under pressure to perform in ways not imagined just twenty years ago. Research and anecdotal evidence suggest that staff face major challenges in using technology for teaching, coupled with levels of digital literacy that are less than optimal, and diminishing job security. So is it possible to achieve a balance between the full-on demands of living in the digital era and the evolving notion of quality education? This keynote will look at some of the issues facing those who seek to engage today's students using technology, and suggest ways in which the nature and culture of academic life can actually benefit from the challenges of the digital era.    

 

Eng. Stefano Santo Sabato

 

Stefano Santo Sabato is currently serving as CTO for MediaSoft(www.mediasoftonline.com), an Italian cutting-edge company operating in Information and Communication Technology specialized in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media and mostly involved in Collaborative Virtual Environments and in Internet of Things fields.

Now he collaborates with various companies as a senior software architect and as coordinator of agile development teams in projects related to CVEs, Virtual Presence, 3D simulations, Internet of Things.

He is a member of the Digital Agenda Task Force, a unit created by the Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta to lead the development of the Digital Strategy, being involved in the "Digital Identity" initiative.

He is also expert of embedded system also being able to code firmware for microcontrollers.

 

Title of the speech: “Augmented Learning: how to improve training in the IoT era”

 

ABSTRACT: 

The increasing spread of IoT related technologies is making the objects around us more and more intelligent and more connected. It is estimated that every day thousands of objects are connected to the network, and exchange data with each other and with the users. This opens up very interesting scenarios related to Human Computer Interaction, the exchange of information more efficiently and effectively, and also the difficulties of maintaining an average amount of complex equipment connected to the network.

In his tech talk Stefano Santo Sabato will speak about "augmented learning", and a number of techniques to facilitate learning through the technology of augmented reality. Now we can teach and learn how to install, to maintain and to use objects, machinery or industrial component just using an "augmented learning" application.

Stefano will present case studies of applications his team developed to facilitate learning in augmented reality via industrial applications.