The eBac distance learning platform - Getting your baccalaureate via the net
EBac covers the 3 year upper cycle of the Luxembourg secondary school system, beginning with 11th class, and thus prepares pupils for their baccalaureate.
Interactive Collaborative Books
Books are one of the most important tools to convey knowledge, they survived to be a convenient and portable source of information. On the other side, Electronic books (e-books) are playing a big role in attracting a huge number of readers, but still paper books are preferable by many people due to some drawbacks in e-books. Yet, Interactive books combines all positive features in ordinary books as well as e-books, the author is introducing a new Interactive Collaborative book that might change
The human side of e-learning: Real people subjective experiences in virtual classrooms
This paper is based on a study of the subjective aspects of the student/e-learning platform tutor relationship. To find out how people feel in the role of e-students or e-tutors, we have analyzed a set of testimonies collected through fifty five interviews. The interviewees were invited to speak and write about what they feel as e-learning subjects. Through their discourse, we could identify what kind of virtual-human relationships they have developed in this kind of environment. As well
Collaborative Multi-professional Narrative Based e-learning. An application to teaching Medical Stat
The present paper describes e-CNA (e-Collaborative Narrative Analysis), a web based multi-agent environment where different agents contribute to the exploration and social co-construction of the meanings of a set of narratives. The paper also describes an action-research e-learning experiment aimed to involve the students of different courses and a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals in a blended online educational project on qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in hea
Awareness of the capabilities and use of social software attributes within and outside the education
This paper reports early findings of an ongoing study to determine the use and impact of social educational software at undergraduate level. It summarizes the theoretical background to the educational use of social software and suggests directions for future research. The primary aim of the study was to capture and describe the extent and patterns of use of educational software and Web 2.0 technologies among first year undergraduate technology students taking the Web Development module. Results
XML and Databases for E-Learning Applications
XML has become a standard format in information exchange and integration on the Web. Much research has been conducted in recent years on XML technology, which has led to new developments in this field. The effective combination of XML and relational databases for portable Internet data exchange and data management is the technology platform of choice for the Internet Applications. Our paper describes the relationship between XML and relational databases and its potential as an enabling technolog
To set up pedagogical experiments in a virtual lab: methodology and first results
This paper concerns a methodology for setting up web based experiments by distinguishing two perspectives: the learning perspective (which tasks will be scheduled for pupils and tutors, how they are planned and what learning objectives they may attempt), and separately, the experiment perspective (how teachers or researchers may use trails of this experiment, the first to improve their teaching, the last to various research objectives). The both are described by computable scenarios expresse
Introduction of Computer Studies to non-science university students: The Sri Lankan experience
Introduction of computer studies as a subject to students in the Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences in Sri Lankan universities is a relatively recent experience. University of Kelaniya was the first university in Sri Lanka that offered computer studies as a subject to its Bachelor of Arts Degree programme starting in 2001. This paper attempts to analyze the relative performance of science and non-science students offering the same module under the new computer studies curriculum.
Designing and Supporting Collaborative Modelling Activities in the Classroom
Over the last ten years, we have observed an increasing interest of the computers in education and other related research communities in supporting not only individual learners but also learning groups. The most prominent scenarios in this line of research and development have certainly been centred around virtual learning groups using computerised communication and cooperation facilities. From a technology point of view, the focus of this work has been on synchronous and asynchronous inform
Analysis Methods for Collaborative Models and Activities
A classification of analysis methods for CSCL systems is presented which uses as one dimension the distinction into summary analysis and structural analysis and as another distinction different types of raw data: either user actions or state descriptions. The Cool Modes environment for collaborative modeling enables us to explore the whole spectrum of analysis methods. Action logging is based on the MatchMaker communication server underlying Cool Modes. Example instances for several analysis met
Air - Is It Really There?
By watching and performing several simple experiments, students develop an understanding of the properties of air: it has mass, it takes up space, it can move, it exerts pressure, it can do work.
Cowos: A Model of Collective Work Situations to Support Modelling and Simulation Based Approaches of
This paper describes an operational model of collective work situations. This model is rooted in the CHAT theory. It allows creating multi-agent simulations where the agents behaviour is defined in terms that make salient organization issues, and allows building learning situations that focus on making students consider explicitly these issues.
Using mobile technologies for multimedia tours in a traditional museum setting
Mobile technology was used to deliver learner-centred experiences to visitors at a geology museum without compromising the museums aesthetic appeal. Two Flash-based multimedia tours were developed for the Hypertag Magus Guide system and trialled with 25 visitors in November 2005. Trial participants found the system fun and easy to use, though they requested headphones in order to hear the audio clearly. Several suggestions were provided to improve the tours including creating stronger links b
Δραστηριότητες Μοντελοποίησης με χρήση Η/Υ στη Βθμια
Η εργασία αυτή επιχειρεί να αναδείξει την επιστημολογική αξία των μοντέλων, το
ρόλο των Η/Υ στη σύγχρονη επιστημονική μοντελοποίηση και τις δυνατότητες διδακτικής
αξιοποίησής τους. Σημειώνεται η έλλειψη σαφούς ανάδειξης της έννοιας του μοντέλου στη
διδασκαλία των θετικώ
Internet Scout Project
This Topic in Depth explores the science behind predicting the weather. First, the United States Search and Rescue Task Force describe the basic tools and knowledge used to create weather forecasts (1). Students can find concise, clear explanations of weather, fronts and air masses, high and low pressure, precipitation, and water vapor and humidity as well. By performing the activities presented in the second website, fourth grade students can learn about weather instruments and data collection
Physics learning with a computer Algebra systems: Towards a learning environment that promotes enhan
To become proficient problem-solvers, physics students need to form a coherent and flexible understanding of problem situations they are confronted with. This is important both for solving problems and for interpreting solutions. Still, many students have only a limited representation of the problems they are working on. Therefore, we devised an instructional approach to promote students' understanding of these problems, and to support them in forming associations between problem features and so
Combining heuristics and formal methods in a tool for supporting simulation-based discovery learning
This paper describes the design of a tool to support learners in simulation-based discovery learning environments. The design redesigns and extents a previous tool to overcome issues that came up in a classroom learning setting. The tool focuses on supporting learners with experimentation to identify or test hypotheses. The aim is not only to support learning domain knowledge, but also learning discovery learning skills. For this purpose the tool uses heuristics and formal methods to assess the
Internet Scout Project
Dartmouth College's introductory chemistry course program has a Web site that is worth a look by students and professors of chemistry at other institutions. Visitors to the site can ignore the exam and grading sections and head straight to the Java applets. With these nine, nifty mini-tutorials, students can create a custom periodic table, play fill-in-the-blank periodic table puzzles, run virtual labs on anions and cations, construct a visible spectrum, practice least-squares regressions, and m
Designing integrative scripts
Scripts structure the collaborative learning process by constraining interactions, defining a sequence of activities and specifying individual roles. Scripts aim at increasing the probability that collaboration triggers knowledge generative interactions such as conflict resolution, explanation or mutual regulation. Integrative scripts are not bound to collaboration in small groups but include individual activities and class-wide activities. These pre- and poststructuring activities form the dida
