Faculty of Creative Multimedia
Multimedia University, Malaysia
Dr. Mai Neo is Professor and Director for ADEPT (Academic Development for Excellence in Programmes and Teaching) for Multimedia University), and from the Faculty of Creative Multimedia, where she is the Program Coordinator for the Master of Multimedia (e-learning technologies. She is also the founding Chair of the Centre for Adaptive Multimedia, Education and Learning content Technologies (CAMELOT) and Project Leader of the MILE Research lab, for enhanced student learning in constructivist-based learning platforms, and co-Leader for the Multimedia University’s Blended Learning Group. Her previous positions held included Dean, Institute of Postgraduate Studies, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya Malaysia, Director of R&D Collaborations, Multimedia University, and Deputy Dean of Staff and Student Affairs of the Faculty of Creative Multimedia.
She was the recipient of the 2014 Excellent Researcher Award in Multimedia University, for her contributions to research and academics in FCM and MMU, and leads an award-winning research team, developing the MILE Project, a student-centred learning platform. Her research interests are in the design of constructivist learning environments in the following areas:
- Multimedia authoring technologies in the teaching and learning process
- Use of interactive multimedia projects in teaching and learning methods
- Problem-solving learning (PSL)
- Collaborative and cooperative learning
- Project-based learning
- Interactive multimedia learning
- Authentic learning in e-learning environments
- Using Web 2.0 tools in learning environments
- Multimedia Micro-learning environments
Prof. Mai has written 9 books on Multimedia over 100 internationally referred publications and was a regular multimedia columnist in Malaysia’s Computimes and Computimes Shopper. She has published extensively in many international referred journals, including the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET), Educational Technology & Society Journal (ETS), Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning (JCAL), Learning Media and Technology (LMT), International Journal of Instructional Media (IJIM), Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology (TOJET) and many more. She is also on the Reviewer Board of the Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET), Technology, Pedagogy and Education, Australian Educational Researcher (AER), Educational Technology & Society Journal (ETS), Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning (JCAL), the Korean Journal of Integrated Design Research, the ASCILITE international conferences and many more international and local conferences, and has completed her tenure as an Executive Committee Member for the EdMedia conference (AACE) for the 2010-2013 period. She has also served as Technical Consultant for the MGS, eContent and Science Fund grants of the Malaysian Ministry of Science and Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), and a University member for the Internal Screening Committee for External Funds.
Keynote Title: Authentic Learning for 21st Century Teaching
Research has suggested that students’ learning improves through student-centred learning environments that allow them to actively engage in their courses. These environments foster collaborative efforts, create scaffolds, allow student reflections, and enable them to become more responsible for their learning. Furthermore, students today are digitally savvy and social media adept, blending their formal classroom learning with informal learning through social media tools such as Youtube, Facebook and blogs. This means that teachers will also have to adjust their teaching methods to these needs of the students. In Malaysia, there is a National Agenda to create more ICT-based learning environments to engage students’ critical and creative thinking processes. As such, many educators are looking to enhance their classroom teaching methodologies with effective pedagogies. Authentic learning has been shown to promote learning by doing and solving real-life problems and an effective way to engage students in their learning process, inculcating them with real-life learning skills. This talk will present authentic learning as a viable teaching strategy for 21st century educators who seek to blend their classrooms, combining sound pedagogy and technology.
