Hi everybody here!

I have extensive experience in involving my students in various web initiatives. For the first time I did this in 2004 when, along with my students (six groups of about thirty students each), we presented seminars in the classroom on the site of circuit-fantasia.com:

http://www.circuit-fantasia.com/my-students/ske2004/intro/intro-ske.htm

In 2008, I made the biggest web experiment involving my students (ten subgroups of about 15 students each) in Wikibooks. I suggested to them to join Circuit Idea wikibook that I had started a year ago and to present the labs and lectures:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Joining_Students_of_TU_Sofia

Imagine each of the ten subgroups had its own web page. Here is, for example, the page of the group 67a:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Group_67a

Then we created the interesting circuit story about the Ohm's experiment presented in an unusual way:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Walking_along_the_Resistive_Film

I joined ReserchGate in the beginning of this year and I decided to join my students to this scientific sociaty. During the summer semester (02 - 05.2013), I devoted a few minutes on each lecture and lab to introduce them to the development of discussions in which I participated and to consider the result (as you probably guess, I asked questions and participated in topics related to the material that I was teaching).

I spent the final part of the last lab especially to ResearchGate. My students and I, all together, composed and uploaded the interesting question below about the relation between passive and active electrical elements:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_passive_and_what_active_in_electricity_and_electronics_Can_we_make_passive_elements_become_less_passive_neutral_or_even_active?

As you probably guessed, my idea was, in this way, to motivate students... and indeed the best of them were enthusiastic... but... in my opinion, the RG society is not ready for such experiments... When someone is doing something new and overcomes obstacles with much effort, he/she needs a little support ... and if does not get it, the initiative just dies...

Regards, Cyril

Thank you Ahed. I hope to use it properly to reach my goals

I think it will be a good tool to motivate students, because there is definitely a power in seeing how like-minded people are working towards their defined goals! Besides they can get novel ideas and topics for research. Joining a group or bench or project will also help. RG score can function as an initiative.

Yeah. I love what you suggested Jaya.

Thanx Jose !

Jaya and others, Some of my students are scared to talk out loud or say new things in terms of research. How can I push them gently to do so?

Within the group of students have you identified Mentors ? Peer influence is a powerful tool to encourage free flow of their expressions.Fear of strong competetive surroundings or being ridiculed are common factors that block new ideas.To have a positive influence,like minded peers in partnership should help you win the battle.

Good point Snehalata. I am going to try this idea to see what happens and I will let you know. Something interesting is that to say something new, we have to have a history of not repeating other people's worrds only. I think that in Latin America those ideas have not yet emerged even though there are countries that have leaned towards the left. In research we have not yet said anything new....yet. How can we despite our own limitations?

Jose, I would be interested to know your (and the other respondents here) thoughts on how the use of simulations might be of help here. I am engaged in a project in this area - so your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Really, this is what we miss for our students

it worthy to be a problematic research, i appreciate your interest

Researchgate is an interesting tool because students can. see if their research is worth conducting, network with other researchers, apply for jobs, and on the whole, students can learn to compare to other fellow researchers in the world. They can also network to publish in other places of the globe. Students who are minority researchers in industrialized nations or in the third world can use Researchgate to compete against their own professors and instructors. Researchgate is a wonderful instrument to foster equality and break the status quo in terms of who donducts research. I hope someone else may help shed light on this. Thank you all.

Dear, Lobo

Thank you so much for your suggestion about the issue of researchgate

Well you pleas me, I will Bravest one of my students to do a research about this problem, What your suggested question for this statement, I want to compare my own ones with you as the discoverer idea

best regards

Dr.Ibrahim

Ibrahim, I would love to compare results with you. Please write to me whenever you consider necessary.

Thanks Jose,

My student will study in the very near future : If there is any influence for using the rsearchGate on students' ingagement in learning tasks or research skills ? and What is the percents of the Students who use researchGate from acerten faculty? with other variables.

Well or Do you suggest questions may search?

I appreciate deeply your opinion

Ibrahim

Firstly, Happy Easter Dr. Lobo

In deed. I read what you wrote in your about ( in researchGate) for the first time, the phrases and images art were very very beautiful, also the phrases draw an imagination picture carried me to the moon night

I hope you to suggest some domain, if you see it, to study the impact of using the graduate students researchGate on their scientific research skills, enhance a spirit of innovation, creativity, and discovery among them

I appreciate your support any way

Dr. Ibrahim

Dear Ibrahim, I believe that having our students use Research-gate as a tool towards their learning is wonderful. Not only can students network with other professors and professionals,but they can also learn to grow academically. I believe that they can use the work of reputable researchers as a yardstick/. They can additionally search for jobs, submit presentation proposals. We need to instill social change among our students by having them compare our work and their work with the work of other researchers in the world. I hope somebody else can help me articulate other ideas on how to use Research Gate with/among my students.

Dear Lobo

I appreciate your interest

with my best wishes and regards

ibrahim

Ibrahim, can you help me think of other ways to use Research Gate? Please help anyone.

Dear, Jose

thanks for your quesition

I am still looking for developing ideas and items of instrument for using ResearchGate other than delivered or handover the tasks, homeworks something like that or traditional communicate with others, for that, I was asked you to help. By the time if there is anew news, I will be very pleased to hear from you about our work

sincerely yours

Hi everybody here!

I have extensive experience in involving my students in various web initiatives. For the first time I did this in 2004 when, along with my students (six groups of about thirty students each), we presented seminars in the classroom on the site of circuit-fantasia.com:

http://www.circuit-fantasia.com/my-students/ske2004/intro/intro-ske.htm

In 2008, I made the biggest web experiment involving my students (ten subgroups of about 15 students each) in Wikibooks. I suggested to them to join Circuit Idea wikibook that I had started a year ago and to present the labs and lectures:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Joining_Students_of_TU_Sofia

Imagine each of the ten subgroups had its own web page. Here is, for example, the page of the group 67a:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Group_67a

Then we created the interesting circuit story about the Ohm's experiment presented in an unusual way:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Circuit_Idea/Walking_along_the_Resistive_Film

I joined ReserchGate in the beginning of this year and I decided to join my students to this scientific sociaty. During the summer semester (02 - 05.2013), I devoted a few minutes on each lecture and lab to introduce them to the development of discussions in which I participated and to consider the result (as you probably guess, I asked questions and participated in topics related to the material that I was teaching).

I spent the final part of the last lab especially to ResearchGate. My students and I, all together, composed and uploaded the interesting question below about the relation between passive and active electrical elements:

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_passive_and_what_active_in_electricity_and_electronics_Can_we_make_passive_elements_become_less_passive_neutral_or_even_active?

As you probably guessed, my idea was, in this way, to motivate students... and indeed the best of them were enthusiastic... but... in my opinion, the RG society is not ready for such experiments... When someone is doing something new and overcomes obstacles with much effort, he/she needs a little support ... and if does not get it, the initiative just dies...

Regards, Cyril

Ciryll, you've done such great job with your students. Sorry we researchers and professors have so many things on our trays that we cannot see the beautiful things everybody is working on. I will follow your updates carefully from now man and keep it up.

@CYRIL, it's nice to see concepts implemented and initiatives taken and materialised, congrats , many can get motivated from this !

@ Cyrill please keep going. With such a great start, you have a way to go! Hope it will not die out. Your efforts will be seen and your ideas will still be appreciated. RG as a whole may have not given you attention but I assure you that there are still others who will follow you. More power.

Jose, Cyril, Ibrahim, Jaya, Elmer, these are wonderful thoughts. We are living in the age of INTERACTIVITY and GLOBALISM. LEARNING used to mean, grab the book, lock yourself in the room, get a lot of liquids, and potato chips ... Read ... read ... read ... Now, it is no longer the case. You can't imagine how many of my students I tell to "watch a YouTube video to learn C programming" etc ... In fact, I was recommending a professor from a university in Peru how to find a Spanish version of this (the Google Mexican version). She got the answer she wanted within about 10 minutes ! We are about 4000 miles apart. And, yet, only a click away ! This is amazing !

In my lifetime, I have seen this unbelievable transformation in this planet. The days of "ask the kid next door, he might know" are gone ! And, they left their place to having a conversation across the globe. Just the number of countries contributing to this question are mind boggling. Being able to see Cyril's classroom in pretty much real-time and getting some ideas, these are things I couldn't even imagine 25 years ago. Oh, cool classroom Cyril, by the way :)

The idea of exposing the students to a lot of people is very good. The more people you talk to (especially from other countries and cultures), the more you expand your boundaries. Creating groups, where students discuss their ideas with other countries' students is absolutely amazing !

I remember the movies from 25 years ago, where there is always a "bad country" ! and the entire movie is about bad people doing bad things from that country. Well, if a kid, watching these movies, has nothing better to compare it against, (s)he gets influenced by these movies. However, if your professor is exposing you to another countries' students to discuss ideas, you watch the movie and go "wait a minute. I talk to XYZ from that country, (s)he was thinking just like me, except (s)he had a very interesting idea. They can't be bad people ... They are almost like us" ...

Keep it up guys, Hollywood will have trouble finding "bad guys" :)

Good initiative Cyril ...

How nice you have told it, Tolga... ... and how happy I am to have you here at RG! You have not only a sharp mind, but you have also a kind heart and warm soul! I would stay here in RG even you only stay...

I think we will win the "battle" if we get young people to move from Facebook to ResearchGate:)

After becoming a member of Researchgate and following, now I am asking my Students whether the be B.Teh. or M.Tech or Ph.d Research Scholars to become members of R.G and Participate in the Discussions.New insight into Known Facts or Related info or access to Publications or Discussion Forum are all available for Free, One can get help from Peers or Established Senior Faculty or Researchers and people in the Field give the necessary Free help and Guidance.

P.S.

Dear Cyril Mechkov ,

I am so very sorry I am answering back four years later. I have had four bad years working tirelessly. I liked your answer posted about what you do to motivate your students to become better researchers and innovators.

What you say about Researchgate in regards to people`s not providing good immediate feedback, I would say it is just natural because researchers in general and in the midst of the hustle and bustle of their institutional lives.

I do believe though that what you are doing with your students is outstanding and different because you are getting them to think out of the box. I do believe that pushing your students to the limit and exposing them to new ideas is the way to go.

I read the experiments and I have to say that I liked what you did in your classes. I wonder how your students reacted to your teaching modus operandis. Did you get any feedback from them about it?

Congratulations. I have learned a lot from you.

Thanks

Dear Rich Mcdonnell ,

What you suggest about simulations sounds very interesting. I read an article about it published by ERIC and it is just perfect to get timid students who are wrapped up in the themselves to open up. I am going to test it to see what happens.