Design Considerations for an ELeGI Portal
ELeGI, the European Learning Grid Infrastructure, has the ambitious goal of fostering effective learning and knowledge construction through the dynamic provision of service-based contextualised and personalised learning environments.
The success of this venture will depend to a considerable extent on the usability of such environments, and their usability in turn will depend on a successful strategy for the dynamic integration and maintenance of sets of services.
The concept of the portal is t
Literature Review of E-assessment
The authors of this review provide a compelling argument for the central role of assessment in shaping educational practice. They outline the challenges and opportunities posed by the changing global world around us, and the potential role of technologies in our assessment practices. Both optimistic and practical, the review summarises existing research and emergent practice, and provides a blueprint for thinking about the risks and potential that awaits us in this area.,A NESTA Futurelab Resear
Students' activity in computer supported collaborative problem solving in mathematics
The purpose of this study was to analyse secondary school students' (N=16) computer-supported collaborative mathematical problem solving. The problem addressed in the study was: What kinds of metacognitive processes appear during computer-supported collaborative learning in mathematics? Another aim of the study was to consider the applicability of networked learning in mathematics. The network-based learning environment Knowledge Forum (KF) was used to support students' collaborative problem sol
Studying participation networks in collaboration using mixed methods
This paper describes the application of a mixed-evaluation method, published elsewhere, to three different learning scenarios. The method defines how to combine social network analysis with qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to study participatory aspects of learning in CSCL contexts. The three case studies include a course-long, blended learning experience evaluated as the course develops; a course-long, distance learning experience evaluated at the end of the course; and a synchron
Domain Modelling To Support Educational Web-based
authoring
This paper describes an approach to web-based authoring of educational material. We define a model for the class of subjects of our interest (those including both theoretical and practical issues). From this model, specific content outlines can be derived as subclasses and then instanced into actual domains. The last step consists in generating interactive documents, which use the instanced domain. Students can explore these documents through a web browser. Thus, an interactive learning scenario
Is there a way to e-Bologna? Cross-National
Collaborative Activities in University Courses
This article describes a study of distance collaborative activities that
have been conducted in a cross-national setting between a Greek and a German
university. We discuss issues related to organization, technology, and curricula
considerations. In addition, we analyze the modes of cooperation that have been
chosen in the students' work on creative problem solving tasks and conclude
that for complex learning scenarios succesful collaboration and peer tutoring in
advanced learning support enviro
Making Distance Education Collaborative through Internet
The research presented in this thesis is located within the concept of Computer Supported distributed Collaborative Learning (CSdCL). CSdCL, developed by Annita Fjuk and Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld, is a focused study within the field Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL). One approach to CSdCL, in particular practiced under the conditions of distance education, focuses on communication processes between distance learners and distance learners and teachers. The pedagogical model in this a
Personal Digital Assistants - teachers prefer the personal
This paper was presented at the Mlearn 06 conference in Banff October 2006. It presents the results of a small-scale project, funded by the UK Teacher Development Agency, where 13 teachers and 3 trainee teachers in one secondary school science department were given handhelds (Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs) with cameras and internet access for the academic year. The aims were:
* to build capacity - enabling trainee teachers to share their mlearning practice;
* to enable school based associa
The roles of models in Artificial Intelligence and Education research: a prospective view
In this paper I speculate on the near future of research in Artificial Intelligence and Education (AIED), on the basis of three uses of models of educational processes: models as scientific tools, models as components of educational artefacts, and models as bases for design of educational artefacts. In terms of the first role, I claim that the recent shift towards studying collaborative learning situations needs to be accompanied by an evolution of the types of theories and models that are used,
NLP-based scripting for CALL activities
This article focuses on the development of Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools for Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL). After identifying the inherent limitations of NLP-free tools, we describe the general framework of Mirto, an NLP-based authoring platform under construction in our laboratory, and organized into four distinct layers: functions, scripts, activities and scenarios. Through several examples, we explain how Mirto's architecture allows to implement state-of-the-art NLP fun
Insight into Practical Utilization of Knowledge Management Technologies
The focus of knowledge management (KM) has shifted in the last few years towards the ways in which knowledge is created and shared. Nevertheless, KM technologies continue to be an important issue in KM practices. The present paper focuses on the technological solutions applied in the organizations at different stages of the knowledge management life cycle. On the bases of an overview of the knowledge management tools and technologies, the paper emphasizes on the most popular KM applications foun
How internal and external scripts guide argumentative knowledge construction in a web-based collabor
Collaboration scripts are a powerful means to improve collaborative inquiry learning. More
specifically, they can be designed to support argumentative knowledge construction, a core
activity in inquiry learning. However, not only externally induced collaboration scripts but
also the learners’ internal scripts on collaborative argumentative knowledge construction
influence the way they argue with scientific concepts and evidence, thereby affecting what
kind of knowledge is acquired during colla
Designing to see and share structure in number sequences
This paper reports on a design experiment in the
domain of number sequences conducted in the course of
the WebLabs project. We iteratively designed and tested a
set of activities and tools in which 10-14 year old students
used the ToonTalk programming environment to construct
models of sequences and series, and then shared their
models and their observations about them utilising a webbased
collaboration system. We report on the evolution of
a design pattern (programming method) called ‘StreamsÂ
Tutorial planning : Adapting course generation to todayÂ’s needs.
Most of today's course generation does not allow an in-depth, generic representation of pedagogical knowledge. However, supporting
individual learners with different goals requires an elaborate representation
of pedagogical expertise. In this paper, I describe a framework that adapts existing approaches for representing and using pedagogical knowledge to meet today's needs. Furthermore, I will show how in this
framework several of today's problems are solved, such as the integration of distribut
The Metaphor of Networks in Learning: Communities, Collaboration and Practice
This paper explores the use of the network metaphor and the way in which it relates to Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and Communities of Practice. The idea of networked learning stresses the interactopn of learners, tutors and their resources through networks. The arguments put in this article are firstly that learning technology needs to take account of the wider debate about networks and secondly that research in this field needs to address the theoretical and practical issue
Understanding and analysing activity and learning in virtual communities
The purpose of this study is to provide a preliminary framework
to observe, analyse and evaluate both activity and learning in virtual
communities. So various types of virtual communities will be studied by
examining their relationship to socialisation and learning. After a
presentation of the main ideas of Wenger’s social learning theory, the
principal components of the social context of the emergence and evolution
of virtual communities will be described. It will show how taking this
context
Report on theoretical framework on selected core issues on conditions for productive learning in net
This report contains three parts. Part one presents the conclusions from the work in the JEIRP and contains the following chapters: - Identification of core issues, theoretical approaches and empirical findings - State of the Art - CSCL The next ten years - a European perspective - A theoretical framework for analysing conditions for productive learning in networked learning environments Part two presents all the case studies brought into the JEIRP by the participants, and part three presents ar
Integration of virtual players into a pedagogical simulator
The development of learner activity is a key element in the improvement of ITS (Intelligent Tutoring Systems). In business simulation, the learner is stimulated by competition with other learners. In practice, it is not always possible to find enough participants, hence the idea of virtual player participation. The SIMPLUS system proposes a generic approach to this end and creates virtual players within a business simulation without modifying the simulation itself.
Problem-solving and Web resources at tertiary level
We organised two experimental teaching designs involving web resources in two different French universities. In this paper, we describe these experiments and analyse the students' behaviours. Our aim is to observe whether the use of specific online resources favours the development of problem-solving activities.
New Types of Careers in the Knowledge Economy ? Networks and boundaryless jobs as a career strategy
Over the last few decades, many countries have found themselves in a context characterized by the spread of the knowledge-based economy (OECD, 1996; Foray and Lundvall, 1995; Soete, 1996; Storper, 1995). The Knowledge Economy implies a farreaching transformation of the labour market, particularly in terms of job mobility and career development (Christensen, 1989). In this context, careers are increasingly fragmented, and people are more mobile in the labour market, with social networks playing a
