Use of Heuristics to Facilitate Scientific Discovery Learning in a Simulation Learning Environment i
This article describes a study into the role of heuristic support in facilitating discovery learning through simulation-based learning. The study compares the use of two such learning environments in the physics domain of collisions. In one learning environment (implicit heuristics) heuristics are only used to provide the learner with guidance derived from heuristics, without presenting the heuristics themselves; in the other (explicit heuristics) the heuristics themselves are also made explicit
The impact of example comparisons on schema acquisition: Do learners really need multiple examples?
Comparing multiple examples within problem categories is usually considered a necessary prerequisite for schema acquisition. However, there is an evident lack of conclusive empirical evidence supporting this claim. Moreover, there are findings indicating that carefully designed one-example conditions may allow for profitable processes of example comparison as well. In line with this reasoning, we present an experiment - that builds up on a series of studies conducted by Quilici and Mayer (1996)
New tools in Social Practice: Learning, Medical Education and 3D Environments
Learning with different kinds of ICT-based tools is an important issue in todayÂ’s society. In this article we focus on how design of technology rich environments based on state of the art learning principles can give us new insights about how learning occur, and how we can develop new types of learning environments. Medical education constitutes the subject domain. There has been a considerable effort to develop 3D technologies in this field, and the article provides a careful review of how the
Gridcole: a tailorable grid service based system that supports scripted collaborative learning
This paper introduces Gridcole, a new system that can be easily tailored by educators in order to support the realization of scripted collaborative learning situations. To do so, educators can provide a script specifying the sequence of activities to be performed by learners as well as the tools and documents required to support them. Gridcole can then search for these tools in a service-oriented grid in order to integrate them so that they are available for users during the realization of the s
Researching classroom interactions: A methodology for teachers and researchers
Teaching and learning in schools is a complex social process which involves both the teacher and students in distributed knowledge-building activities. Research into this process includes researchers exploring from the outside and teachers exploring from the inside (Bassey, 1995). Jaworski (2003) draws on the work of Wagner (1997) to elaborate a form of research which she calls co-learning, in which research on classroom learning is “conducted jointly by outsiders and insiders” (p 250). The w
The defining characteristics of intelligent tutoring systems research: ITSs care, precisely
his paper argues that, despite the changes in philosophies and techniques that have occurred since ITS research began, there are continuous threads running through this research which define its essential and distinctive nature. In particular, ITSs are computer-based learning systems which attempt to adapt to the needs of learners and are therefore the only such systems which attempt to 'care' about learners in that sense. Also, ITS research is the only part of the general IT and education fie
A Framework for Assessing Self, Peer and Group Performance in e-Learning
In this chapter we propose a framework that supports the analysis and assessment of collaborative learning of online groups of students working on a complex task (software project, or case study) in a real web-based, distance learning context. On the one hand, our approach is based on principled evaluation criteria that involve and measure a variety of elements and factors as well as on a combination of a basic qualitative process and a quantitative method that provide a grounded and holistic fr
Open Distance Inter-University Synergies Between Europe, Africa and the Middle East (ODISEAME)
The challenge facing new technologies is whether they can contribute to a qualitative step up and to education for all as a process of facilitating the development of creative people with the ability to think critically and to engage in socially relevant decision making. In this paper, we describe a project whose purpose is to develop a learning environment that takes into account current expertise in learning theory in order to facilitate productive collaboration in a way that leads to active c
Teachers' attitudes to and beliefs about web-based collaborative learning environments in the contex
This paper reports the conceptions of teachers from four European countries of the
Innovative Technologies for Collaborative Learning project tools for collaborative
learning. Fifty six teachers were interviewed about different aspects of the CLE (Webbased
Collaborative Learning Environment) implementations and about their own
evaluations of the CLE implementations in their classrooms. Their answers were analysed using categories based on a model from cultural-historical activity theory
(Engestr
Learning opportunities in a kindergarten about the concept of probability
In this paper we describe the studentsÂ’ mathematical learning in a kindergarten during a classroom teaching experiment about the concept of probability. We present and analyze the learning opportunities that were created in the classroom as the children tried to resolve their problems, to reason mathematically and to
communicate their thinking to others. The results of the research showed that kindergarten children made considerable progress in their probabilistic thinking,when they accepted th
Meanings for Fraction as Number - Measure by Exploring the Number Line
Construction of meanings for fraction as number-measure is studied during the implementation of exploratory tasks concerning comparison and ordering of fractions as well as operations with fractions. 12-year-old students were working collaboratively in groups of two with software that combines graphical and symbolic notation of fractions represented as points on the number line. Fractions as points and segments, ordering fractions as part of kinesthetic activities and abstracting the scaling of
Towards an Open Grid Marketplace Framework for Resources Trade
A challenge of Grid computing is to provide automated support for the creation and exploitation of virtual organisations (VOs), involving individuals and different autonomous organizations, to which resources are pooled from potentially diverse origins. In the context of the presented work, virtual organizations trade grid resources and services according to economic models in electronic marketplaces. Thus in this paper we propose GRIMP (Grid Marketplace), a generic framework that provides servi
Decentralized Service Deployment for Collaborative Environments
In this paper we present the design of a system which allows service deployment in a small-sized group of computers distributed through the Internet. These groups are formed by users who share a common interest, and voluntarily yield their own resources for the achievement of the collaborative activities of the group. Having enough resources contributed by the members of the group, our system guarantees service availability and the fact that the deployment and execution of the services is carrie
WWG: a Distributed Infrastructure for Learning in Groups
This paper describes the experiences of learning and working in groups on the Computer Science studies at Virtual Campus of the Open University of Catalunya. Two communities have used a web based shared workspace tool to a) coordinate the task of tutors of a computer architecture course, and b) a problem based collaborative learning project with software engineering students. These experiences have lead to the design of WWG: a distributed infrastructure for distance learning in groups at Interne
Gridifying IBM's Generic Log Adapter to Speed-Up the Processing of Log Data
Problem determination in today's computing environments consumes between 30 and 70% of an organizationÂ’s IT resources and represents from one third to one half of their total cost of ownership. The first step to cutting down costs in this area and to enable autonomic computing systems is to have all parts of the system report status in a common log data format and semantics in order to be able to exploit the status information of the system as a whole. The Generic Log Adapter (GLA) is a generic
An Experimental Study on Peer Selection in a P2P Network over PlanetLab
Peer selection is an important aspect in many P2P applications
requiring efficient assignment and execution of
jobs to peer nodes and search and file transfer, among others.
Due to increasing interest of using P2P systems for distributed
computing, peer selection is taking relevance and
several models have been proposed in the P2P literature.
Yet, there are very few experimental studies for peer selection
in P2P networks deployed in real large scale networks.
In this work we present an experimen
Improvement of JXTA protocols for supporting reliable distributed applications in P2P systems
In any distributed application, the communication between the distributed processes/nodes of the distributed systems is essential for both reliability and efficiency matters. In this work we address this issue for distributed applications based on JXTA protocols. After a careful examination of the current version of JXTA protocols, we observed the need for improving the original JXTA protocols, such as pipe services, to ensure reliable communication between peer nodes and the discovery and prese
KMsim: A Meta-Modelling Approach and Environment for Creating Process-Oriented Knowledge Management
This paper presents a new approach to modelling process-oriented knowledge management (KM) and describes a simulation environment (called
KMSIM) that embodies the approach. Since the beginning of modelling researchers have been looking for better and novel ways to model systems and to use appropriate software to create simulations. The application of the approach and KMSIM make it possible to create realistic business models (BMs) and simulate the consequences of KM interventions and events. The
Collaboration Activity Function: An interaction analysisÂ’ tool for Computer Supported Collaborative
During the last years, an increased interest has been observed on tools analyzing collaborative interactions that could be useful for researchers, teachers, or even students. The paper presents such a tool, based on the formally defined collaborative activity function (CAF). The empirical evaluation of CAF is also presented. The evaluation is focused on teachers using CAF during and after sessions of synchronous collaborative problem solving among students.
Giving teachers a hand(book) to develop ict-enhanced skills
Shared web-based knowledge bases, enriched with the possibilities of discussing about their content and of proposing new one, seem to offer the opportunity to diffuse pedagogical innovation. To this aim, the knowledge base should enable teachers to put their own ideas at colleaguesÂ’ disposal; and moreover, to improve their pedagogical knowledge by availing themselves of colleaguesÂ’ proposals and suggestions. Thus, personal growth evolves in shared knowledge and vice-versa, facilitating the for
