Minimalist instruction for learning to search the World Wide Web.
This study examined the efficacy of minimalist instruction to develop self-regulatory skills involved in Web searching. Two versions of minimalist self-regulatory skill instruction were compared to a control group that was merely taught procedural skills to operate the search engine. Acquired skills were tested on Web search tasks and search tasks in an online library catalogue. Self-regulatory skill instruction was found to increase practice time by 25%. However, it did not enhance search perfo
The ZAP Project: Designing interactive computer tools for learning psychology
In the ZAP project, a set of interactive computer programs called 'ZAPs' was developed. The programs were designed in such a way that first-year students experience psychological phenomena in a vivid and self-explanatory way. Students can either take the role of participant in a psychological experiment, they can experience phenomena themselves, or they can take the role of researcher and learn by discovery. ZAPs provide added value to existing learning materials about psychological topics and c
CIEL: setting the stage for integrated inquiry learning
We present an integrated framework for the design, authoring, and evaluation of innovative learning scenarios for Collaborative Inquiry and Experiential Learning (CIEL). This framework has been designed to promote interoperability in environments for productive, open-ended learning, such as inquiry learning, but also learning by design and experiential learning.
The CIEL framework centers around a repository of learner generated learning objects that can be saved, and retrieved in standardized f
Logiciels de construction de cartes de connaissances: Des outils pour apprendre
This article examines the possible uses of concept mapping software in a university or continuing education context. Concept mapping applications allow the student to graphically represent compiled information as a network of nodes and vectors. The article looks at several applications that may be used to make different kinds of maps, but mainly reviews teaching strategies that incorporate these tools as well as providing a number of planning pointers. It also summarizes the main advantages and
Herzberg : une simulation multimédia à interactivité variable
Herzberg est un environnement de simulation multimédia permettant de visualiser et d’explorer la vibration et la rotation des molécules. Il permet de créer des documents formés d’un ensemble de pages affichant une ou deux molécules dans des configurations prédéfinies; un texte et une voix d’explication peuvent être associés à chaque page. Il est possible de fixer pour chaque document le niveau d’interactivité. On peut également, sans effectuer de programmation, ajouter de nouvell
Inside Theory-Aware and Standards-Compliant Authoring System
In their paper [14], Bourdeau and Mizoguchi foresaw a framework for ontology-based intelligent systems. Although it took longer years than their expectation, the ontology they have been developing is now released for evaluation with the help of the second author. Ontology building is a labor-intensive process and it is rarely perfect. Our enterprise is not an exception. The current ontology is still very preliminary because it has been completely reconstructed from the existing one with a few ne
Quality in the New Learning Space: Ongoing Process of Teacher and Staff Training
Quality in the new learning space: ongoing process of teacher and staff training,Proceedings with reading panel
Construction d’un protocole expérimental avec un logiciel dédié : apprentissages visés et diffi
Les travaux de recherche présentés ici concernent l'évaluation d’une séance de Travaux Pratiques (TP) de chimie qui a la particularité de pouvoir être réalisée intégralement à distance. Au cours de cette séance, les apprenants doivent concevoir un protocole expérimental permettant de doser le colorant E124 d'un sirop de grenadine. Pour cela, ils utilisent un logiciel dédié, accessible par internet. La manipulation est effectuée à distance par un robot manipulateur, selon le prot
Transformative communication as a cultural tool for guiding inquiry science
Inquiry-based science instruction offers great promise as a means of actively engaging students in authentic scientific problem solving, including consideration of research design issues. At the same time, inquiry introduces some difficulties. In particular, familiar "cultural tools" for classroom discourse, such as Initiation-Reply-Evaluation sequences, are no longer appropriate because they are premised on known answers and teacher-driven activity. To help support productive open-ended science
Children's mental models of recursive logo programs
Children who had a year of Logo programming experience were asked to think-aloud about what brief Logo recursive programs will do, and then to predict with a hand-simulation of the programs what the Logo graphics turtle will draw when the program is executed. If discrepancies arose in this last phase, children were asked to explain them. A prevaient but misguided "looping" interpretation of Logo recursion was identified, and this robust mental model persisted even in the face of contradiction be
Symbol Systems and Thinking Skills: Logo in Context
not available
Networked ComputersÂ’ Incorporated Role in Collaborative Learning
Networked computers are increasingly being used in collaborative learning. To understand what roles networked computers have in collaborative learning over distances, systems developers need conceptual frameworks that address the triadic complexity of knowledge construction, social interaction and technical issues. Some theoretical accounts of this relationship exits, but in terms of usefulness for systems design and how the role of networked is regarded, they have shortcomings. Based on activit
Computational Mathetics: Towards a Science of Learning Systems Design
The aim of this report is simply to help put the design of computer-based systems to support learning on a more scientific footing. The aim is simply stated, but its achievement is more difficult. For one thing, it is not at all obvious what "more scientific" means in this context. However, it is essential for AI-ED research to take better account of the concepts of 'situation', 'context', 'community', 'discourse', 'social learning', and so on, but these terms need to be defined, not used as man
Randomness and LEGO robots
This paper reports on a long term experiment concerning the introduction of 7th grade pupils to the concept of randomness. Pupils are involved in activities with Lego robots, and in the joint enterprise of writing an Encyclopaedia. The main lines of the experiment are provided, together with experimental data, highlighting how some specific elements of the chosen educational approach influenced the evolution of pupils' mastery of the concept of randomness.
A device helping learners to self-assess themselves
In this paper, we introduce the architecture of an environment, which aims at helping learners in their self-assessment process. We show how we integrated three systems to build an experimental device based on this architecture. We then present the experiment we conducted to
show the utility of this device and also to validate our hypothesis that it is easier for learners to self-assess themselves from an exercises-point of view than from a knowledge-point of view.
Elearning: Bringing Reflective Practice and Self-Development Learning Activities Online
Reflective practice is in vogue as a tool in many parts of the educational economy, though the efforts to support its development often lag behind the promotion of the practice itself. Some of the issues relating to the development of this competency, and barriers to the same, are covered in my Teaching and Learning Optional Paper "Teaching and Supporting the Development of Reflective Practice". As momentum builds for the introduction of reflective practice, the educational and management worlds
Reusing IMS-LD Formalized Best Practices in Collaborative Learning Structuring
Designs of CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) activities should be flexible, effective and customizable to particular learning situations. On the other hand, structured designs aim to create favourable conditions for learning. Thus, this paper proposes the collection of representative and broadly accepted (best practices) structuring techniques in collaborative learning. The paper also proposes the formulation of these techniques as patterns: the so- called CLFPs (Collaborative Le
First version of Amaya offering a template mechanism
This deliverable is the first release of the Amaya authoring tool that supports template-driven editing based on the XTiger-language. Its purpose is to demonstrate the main features of this nex editing mode.,PALETTE deliverable - report number D.INF.02
Teaching and Learning: Research Briefing
An important aspect of schooling is to enable students to enter new knowledge worlds, such as the world of history, of English, of foreign languages, of science, of music, or of mathematics. In the InterActive Education project we have worked in partnership with
primary and secondary school teachers, to investigate ways in which information and
communications technology can be used to enhance learning, with a particular focus
on improving subject knowledge.,Research briefing
