Current and Future Perspectives for Personalized Adaptive Learning
The rationale of this last report is to provide a short summary of achievements and visions, and this is also helpful in setting the stage for sustainability beyond the termination of network activities. In the next paragraphs we start with providing a summary of our work in WP1 on Personalized and Adaptive Learning. Then an introduction of a wider context and an outline of the state of the art in this field follow. Finally, we attempt to identify the main trends in personalization and learning
Integration of adaptive learning processes with IMS Learning Design considering corporate requiremen
D1.11 deals with standards and integration, especially with four topics: IMS Learning Design, Adaptation, Integration and Corporate Requirements. It attempts to emphasize the needed relationship among them in order to improve the personalized learning. Based on academic research, our findings take also into account the specific features of corporations. D1.11 is closely related to D1.10, where several taxonomies of learning processes and learning categories are presented, which are used in D1.11
Promoting Different Kinds of Learners towards Active Learning in the Web-Based Environment
According to many recent studies the effect of learning style on academic performance has been found to be significant and mismatch between teaching and learning styles causes learning failure and frustration. Thus balancing the teaching style and the students' learning style is very important. When emphasizing the individual learning processes, web-based learning offers a good opportunity for differentiating ways of learning. So far the aim of this study is to describe different learners (categ
JeCo: Combining Program Visualization and Story Weaving
We present a collaborative learning tool for programming, Jeliot Collaboratively or JeCo. Jeliot Collaboratively is a combination of a program visualization tool for Java programs, called Jeliot 3, and a collaborative authoring tool, Woven Stories. We introduce these systems and explain how they can be used in learning. Furthermore, we present future directions in order to support a wider range of use cases with JeCo.
Towards Building an Open Digital Library for Instructional Design that Facilitates Reflective e-Inst
Computer-based instruction, online or offline, which we will be referring at as e-instruction, provides for the development of new flexible pedagogical frameworks that will offer opportunities for open worldwide lifelong instruction. We claim that these are to be stored in instructional digital libraries in order to be accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere. While many advances have been made in the creation of digital libraries, there is considerable room both for improving how learning object
SelMa - Self-guided Learning in Teaching Mathematics
In the project ``Self-guided Learning in Teaching Mathematics - SEC II'' (SelMa), five authoring schools are working out scenarios, media and materials for phases of self-guided learning, which will be tested systematically by 10 trial schools with regard to their everyday suitability. In this paper three approaches to such learning arrangements (independent learning centre, jigsaw classroom and learning at stations) are being outlined and relevant experiences are being made available. Learning
Intelligent Agents for Distance Learning
Distance learning involves a lot of work of human assistants. These assistants need to be connected for answering student doubts and questions. Intelligent agents can do part of this repetitive work because they can observe students interacting with educational courses, detect learning troubles of these students, and then suggest them some way for overcoming those troubles. However, a design problem appears with this promised possibility: how to connect educational applications with these agents
Towards Web-Based Education of Demography
This paper describes steps taken towards introducing Web-based educational technology in teaching demography at the university level. Traditionally, demography is taught by giving lectures to the students, who are then expected to study from textbooks and exercise in demographic calculus. Some students find this way of learning monotonous and exhausting, hence their motivation gradually drops. Modern learning technology can help prevent such a situation, at least to an extent. Of course, using a
An Experience Applying Reinforcement Learning in a Web-Based Adaptive and Intelligent Educational Sy
The definition of effective pedagogical strategies for coaching and tutoring students according to their needs is one of the most important issues in Adaptive and Intelligent Educational Systems (AIES). The use of a Reinforcement Learning (RL) model allows the system to learn automatically how to teach to each student individually, only based on the acquired experience with other learners with similar characteristics, like a human tutor does. The application of this artificial intelligence techn
The Cognitive Transfer and the Tutor's Role in a CBL Environment
In this paper we report on a longitudinal study of a Leonardo da Vinci program regarding the application of a Computer Based Learning environment in three EU countries, Greece, Germany, and Holland. The `` Orestis''CD-ROM was a multimedia CBL environment aimed at teaching young offenders the basic and advanced skills for the use and maintenance of a photo-copy shop. The complete project consisted of three phases: construction of the CD-ROM, application of the instructional methodology in the par
Learning Objects Need Badly Instructional Digital Libraries Support
In this paper, we present a standard definition for learning objects, a controversy around it, and the resulted working definition, along with features to be held by learning objects, benefits of the object-oriented approach for learning, some pros and cons for using learning objects, and finally some quality standard guidelines for these objects. In addition, we introduce shortly a taxonomy of learning object types and the metadata standards that can be used for learning objects and the way the
Mathematical Reasoning in a Technological Environment
Dynamic geometry software has been accused of contributing to an empirical approach to school geometry. However, used appropriately it can provide students with a visually rich environment for conjecturing and proving. Year 8 students who were novices with regard to geometric proof were able to exploit the features of Cabri Geometry II to assist them in formulating and proving in the context of Cabri simulations of mechanical linkages.
Would-Be Teachers' Competence in Applying ICT: Exposition and Preconditions for Development
Changes in educational technologies modify the role of the teacher and require new competencies. Scientific literature describes competence in using ICT as the wholeness of two structural components - basic and educational ICT competence. The conception has been considered conducting research on would-be teachers' competence in applying ICT. The article deals with the exposition of would-be teachers' competence in applying ICT in the process of teaching practice and focuses on the impact of stud
Half-Baked Logo Microworlds as Boundary Objects in Integrated Design
The paper addresses the problem of fragmentation of the communities involved in the design of digital media for education. It draws on the experience gained at the Educational Technology Lab in the design of Logo-based microworlds with three different platforms respectively based on component computing, 3D game engines and 3D navigation with a GIS. In this paper I use the term half-baked to describe a microworld which is explicitly designed to engage its users with changing it as the main aspect
Design and Implementation of a Logo-based Computer Graphics Course
Two years ago the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at Sofia University makes a decision to design a new series of Logo-based courses which make use of the modern technology. The pedagogical component of the challenge is to design a multidisciplinary course suitable for students with different skills and interests. From a development perspective the challenge is to build an entirely new one. And finally the course must be attractive regardless of the seriousness and complexity of the topics
Investigation of Q-Learning in the Context of a Virtual Learning Environment
We investigate the possibility to apply a known machine learning algorithm of Q-learning in the domain of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It is important in this problem domain to have algorithms that learn their optimal values in a rather short time expressed in terms of the iteration number. The problem domain is a VLE in which an agent plays a role of the teacher. With time it moves to different states and makes decisions which regarding action to choose for moving from current state to
Students Learning Experience in the Integrated Information Literacy Course Constructed in Virtual Le
The paper examines the impact of ICT on students learning experiences and opportunities offered by virtual learning environment as an integral part of traditional learning environment in the experimental course ``Integration of information literacy skills into ESP programme'' at Mykolas Romeris University (Lithuania). The experiment aimed at developing students' information literacy and social skills as the means for enhancement of learning with a particular attention towards foreign language co
The First Decade of Informatics in Dutch High Schools
Informatics is currently being taught in high schools all over the world. In the Netherlands, where all students are expected to become computer literate in the lower grades of high school (Hulsen et al., 2005), it has been decided not to consider computer literacy as being part of Informatics. What, then, should be the content of the Informatics curriculum taught in the higher grades? What should be taught, how and to whom? How should students' achievements be assessed? The answers to these que
Future Quality in the Emergent European Higher Education Area Involves the Use of Informatics
In this paper an agreed set of standards, procedures and guidelines on quality assurance for the emergent European Higher Education Area is presented. If this set is implemented, the procedures for the recognition of qualifications will be strengthened. The set has been divided in two groups: there are internal and external standards and guidelines. The internals should be implemented by higher education institutions and under their responsibility. The external standards and guidelines should be
Why Web 2.0 is Good for Learning and for Research: Principles and Prototypes
The term "Web 2.0" is used to describe applications that distinguish themselves from previous generations of software by a number of principles. Existing work shows that Web 2.0 applications can be successfully exploited for technology-enhance learning. However, in-depth analyses of the relationship between Web 2.0 technology on the one hand and teaching and learning on the other hand are still rare. In this article, we will analyze the technological principles of the Web 2.0 and describe thei
