Events

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Details and reports of our events which have now been presented are available from this link or from the left menu bar item "Season's past".

Did I mention that all our open meetings are open?

Branch Events

The Power of Immersive Experiences: Using serious games and virtual worlds to enrich social interactions and create new spaces

Date	Wednesday 21 Jan 2009
Time	18:30 - Tea 6:00pm for 6:30 start
Speaker	Sara de Freitas - Serious Games Institute www.seriousgames.org.uk
Location	AS124, Coventry University
Abstract	The presentation will explore how living, learning and working are changing in the face of new technologies that allow for more immersive experiences. The impact of games and virtual worlds is only beginning to be touched upon with new applications from health, education to business training emerging. However questions remain as to how different the twenty-first century will become in the face of new spaces emerging for undertaking all kinds of human interactions. Step into the world of the immersive and the social and envisage how far these new forms may transform our everyday lives. Dr Sara de Freitas is Director of Research at the Serious Games Institute at the University of Coventry where she leads an applied research team working closely with industry. The Institute is the first of its kind in the UK and it is envisaged that it will play a leading role in future developments of game-based learning. Formerly Sara worked as Lab Manager, Project Manager on development programmes and Senior Research Fellow at the London Knowledge Lab. The Lab is a collaborative venture between Birkbeck College and the Institute of Education, University of London focusing upon technology assisted learning. Sara continues to hold a visiting senior research fellowship at the Lab.Sara is also working with TruSim (Blitz Games), the Vega Group PLC and the University of Birmingham on a 2 million pound UK Technology Strategy Board part-funded Serious Games research and development project which is developing highly immersive learning games demonstrators to solve business training needs.

University Challenge

Date	Wednesday 18 Feb 2009
Time	18:30 - Tea 6:00pm for 6:30 start
Speaker	Mike Joy, Irene Glendinning + PhD Students - Warwick and coventry Universities coventry.bcs.org
Location	AS124, Coventry University
Abstract	The rematch to the rematch - please watch this space for more details and synopses.

"Robots R US": National Science and Engineering Week

Date	Saturday 07 Mar 2009
Time	09:30 - Exact date to be advised, however
Speaker	Coventry BCS, Warwick University, Coventry University and YOU!!! - Coventry www.the-ba.net/the-ba/Events/NSEW/
Location	Coventry Transport Museum - if we can swing it
Abstract	The National Science and Engineering "Week" runs from Friday the 6th March 2009 to Sunday the 15th March 2009. Coming under the auspices of the BA (British Association for the Advancement of Science - a registered charity which exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering) the National Science and Engineering Week (formerly National Science Week) is an opportunity for people of all ages, areas and organisations to take part in science, engineering and technology activities. 2008 was a huge success with an estimated 3500 events and 1.4 million attendees! See the full evaluation report. Coventry Branch, in association with Coventry and Warwick Universities, and a number of spin-offs, are planning a Robot Extravaganza as part of this "week". We've moved beyond Robot Football to Robot Rescue and Robots used in Bomb Disposal. We have been promised a talk and demo of bomb disposal robots by Nasser Bhatti of Remotec UK Limited, (please see The BBC Report). The question is, do you construct and/or operate robots? Do you have anything you would like to show off on our day? If so, please contact the Coventry BCS Branch Secretary, or any one of the committee you know. We would welcome further input, ideas and helpers!

e-Learning

Date	Wednesday 18 Mar 2009
Time	18:30 - Tea 6:00pm for 6:30 start
Speaker	David Morris - Coventry University www.coventry.ac.uk/researchnet/d/153
Location	AS124, Coventry University
Abstract	Just when we thought we had it all sorted, life got interesting again...... In the mid 1990's we began to build university-wide intranets to help manage teaching and learning content. However we struggled to add any interactive activity around this content. Then our problems seemed to be solved with the emergence of VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments), new-fangled software systems built on web technology. For the next five or six years we spent our time steadily developing the technology, adding functionality, improving the user interface and speeding the systems up. The gold-plated VLE was here, we knew where we were going and pretty much we were on top of the technology. But then two things happened. Firstly "the no significant difference" phenomenon gained ground. Put simply, for all the money spent on the technology, it was very difficult to see what difference it made to students' learning. Secondly, Web 2.0 arrived and we began to see all the inadequacies of our gold-plated VLEs. We had to begin thinking again. In this lecture David Morris describes the e-learning journey over the last ten or so years from a small-scale cottage industry for enthusiasts to the cutting edge systems we develop and run today. We will also look into the future of learning and teaching and how technology is fundamentally changing the nature of universities.

eCrime: The Big Bad Wolf

Date	Wednesday 22 Apr 2009
Time	18:30 - Tea 6:00pm for 6:30 start
Speaker	Daniel Chapman - TNT www.tnt.com
Location	AS124, Coventry University
Abstract	What is eCrime? Answering that question is more troublesome than you may think. Whilst the precise definition is largely an academic debate it is worth a brief overview to explain why the law enforcement agencies are having such difficulties addressing it, and in many cases seem not to be dealing with it at all. The presentation will quickly discuss a working definition before moving on to the unfortunate quantity of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) constantly circulated by the media; software vendors and occasionally the government surrounding the topic of eCrime. What we all need is practical advice to help reduce the risk of eCrime in our everyday lives. With a greater understanding of the risks and how the criminals operate we can take ownership and make wiser decisions about the ways in which we use computers, rather than waiting for the software vendors to produce a magic bullet solution that will never come. The presentation hopes to empower attendees with some of that knowledge and a few techniques to help use the Internet safely and potentially contribute directly to community policing of the eCrime problem.

The AGM

Date	Wednesday 20 May 2009
Time	18:30 - Tea 6:00pm for 6:30 start
Speaker	The "outgoing" committee - Your Branch coventry.bcs.org/index.php
Location	AS124, Coventry University
Abstract	We've a packed programme this year as you can see. So, what else would get you out of doors on a cold, damp winters night to come along to a branch open meeting? Don't wait until the AGM, please tell us now!