Duboc.me

[PhD] Conversations in research: slides

This is a presentation I prepared for a seminar I hosted at the Learning Societies Lab where I work. We discussed the important topic of communication, why it matters, the tools you can use to communicate, how to do it well, and the ultimate purpose of conversation.

A computer won't teach you anything. Only people can teach. That's what people do best.

The more I write about eLearning, programming, design, and the web in general on this blog, the more I work on these topics, the more I realise that computer are idiots. A computer can't create anything, never asks questions, and executes code without a word, even if the code doesn't have anything do to with the coder's original intent(hence the complexity of the programming craft: knowing how to give orders to computers isn't simple). Only a human being can do all these things. What's extraordinary isn't what the computer can do, it's what a person can do with the computer.

Agile Design and Computer Science Research Methodology: Refining my Research Questions Again and Finding Ways to Demonstrate Results

Feedback From the 9-Months Report: Needs More Precision, More Explicit Information, and More Methodology Talk

So the little viva to present my work after 9 months at LSL(Learning Societies Lab) has yielded abundant feedback on things to change, but I am allowed to continue my research (believe it or not ). As many budding researchers, I suffer from many typical "intellectual health" issues. Here is a list of comment I got, you might find them useful if your doing any sort of research yourself:

Writing an Academic Progress Report, Writing with LaTeX, and Learning the Truth about Software Engineering

I finished my 9-months progress report last week, and started preparing the next phase of my research. This involves building a complex virtual patient software system. To build the best possible software and make sure it works properly and answers my research questions, I need a solid, realistic methodology. In my recent readings about software engineering, I realised that studies have shown many things I already knew intuitively: building software is a complex task, requirements change all the time, estimates are usually wrong, and people matter, a lot. The only methodologies that take all these realities are agile methodologies.

Best Gadget Ever: LiveScribe Smartpen records text and sound, and replays any part of the conversation

My fellow research student Mike Santer just showed us the most awsome product ever: the Iivescribe Smartpen.
This great piece of kit records audio while you write notes on a special paper. Then, just tap on the note, and the pen will replay the sound you were listening to at the moment you took the note !
Man, when I get this (and I will, soon), it's going to change the way I study, write songs and poetry, and communicate with my PhD supervisors. That thing rocks.