Facilitating Knowledge Convergence in Videoconferencing Environments: The Role of External Represent
The study analyzed how two types of graphical representation tools influence the way in which dyads use shared and unshared knowledge resources in different collaboration scenarios, and how learners represent and transfer shared knowledge under these different conditions. We varied the type of graphical representation (content-specific vs. contentunspecific) and the collaboration scenario (videoconferencing vs. face-to-face). 64 university students participated. Results show that learning partne
Analyzing Sequential Data in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning
Representations and changes between them play a major role in cognitive development (e.g., Vosniadou, & Brewer, 1992) and education (e.g., Hewson, Beeth, & Thorley, 1998). By definition, change of representations is also indispensable for collaborative work since a common understanding or shared knowledge can only be achieved by a partial convergence of the knowledge structures of the collaborating subjects. This articles presents and discusses knowledge tracking (KT), viz., an approach to analy
Using the Internet to Improve University Education: Problem-oriented Web-based Learning with MUNICS
A principled approach to the design of problem-oriented, web-based learning at the university level is presented. The principles include providing authentic contexts with multimedia, supporting collaborative knowledge construction, making thinking visible with dynamic visualisation, quick access to content resources via ICT, and flexible support by tele-tutoring. These principles are used in the MUNICS learning environment, which is designed to help students of computer science to apply their co
Intelligent CALL: The magnitude of the task
The quality of most CALL programs is not well balanced with respect to the use of computer technology and of language content and processing. This imbalance can be explained by a number of constraints pulling CALL developers in diverging directions. For commercial CALLware the poor learner fit and lack of feedback is a serious impediment. So far ICALL approaches trying to overcome this have not been of a sufficiently high quality due to the vast distance between most learner language and the tex
Effective Teaching and Learning: Using ICT
Findings and recommendations on effective teaching practice - with the aim of providing material for improving the quality of teaching and learning and for informing developments in initial teacher education and continuing development.,Research report for NRDC
Using Interaction Analysis to reveal Self-Regulated
Learning in Virtual Communities
Aim of this paper is to analyse whether Interaction Analysis can help
investigate the practice and development of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) in Virtual Learning Communities (VLC). Interaction analysis is increasingly used to study learning dynamics within online activities. It proceeds by searching expressions that reveal the aspects under study in the written messages exchanged by the learners. To this end, we devised and classified a number of indicators suggesting the existence of self-re
A Programming by Demonstration Authoring Tool
for Model-Tracing Tutors
Model-tracing tutors have consistently been among the most effective class of intelligent learning environments. Across a number of empirical studies, these tutors have shown students can learn the tutored domain better or in a shorter amount of time than traditionally taught students (Anderson et al., 1990). Unfortunately, the creation of these tutors, particularly the production system component, is a time-intensive task, requiring knowledge that lies outside the tutored domain. This outside k
Using A Simulated Student for Instructional Design
In this paper, I describe how a cognitive model was used as a simulated student to help design lessons for training circuit board assemblers. The model was built in the Soar cognitive architecture, and was initially endowed with only an ability to learn instructions and prerequisite knowledge for the task. Five lessons, and a total of 81 instructions for teaching expert assembly were developed by iteratively drafting and testing instructions with the simulated student. The resulting instructions
Elaborating new arguments through a CSCL scenario
The CSCL community faces two main challenges with respect to learning and argumentation. The scientific challenge is to understand how argumentation produces learning, that is to discover which cognitive mechanisms, triggered by argumentative interactions, generate new knowledge and in which conditions. The engineering challenge is to determine how to trigger productive argumentation among students. These two challenges are often investigated in parallel, but this contribution focuses on the lat
Learning to collaborate: Designing collaboration in a 3-D game environment
To respond to learning needs, Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) must provide instructional support. The particular focus of this paper is on designing collaboration in a 3-D virtual game environment intended to make learning more effective by promoting student opportunities for interaction. The empirical experiment eScape, which encourages learners to solve problems collaboratively, is also presented. eScape is a design experiment, comprising both the process of designing a collab
Designing and evaluating collaboration in a virtual game environment for vocational learning
Especially in vocational education, attention should be paid not only to the use of new technological solutions but also to collaborative learning and cooperative working methods in order to develop studentsÂ’ skills for their future jobs. This study involves a design experiment including the design process of a new game environment, description of the script developed for this game, as well as the empirical study with multiple data collection methods, data analysis, results and conclusions for
An approach to distance learning curriculum appropriation
The work presented aims at supporting distance learning students in their appropriation of a curriculum. We propose an approach that consists in helping students to construct individual projects. We dissociate different aspects (planning, evaluation and regulation) that can be useful for this purpose, propose a technological approach (epiphyte system, ontology-based model) and example of tools currently provided by the Saafir framework.
Redefining the Turn-Taking Notion in Mediated Communication of Virtual Learning Communities
In our research on social interactions taking place in forum-type tools that virtual learning communities use, we have found that the users have the following particular temporal behavior: they answer generally some messages situated in different threads in a very short time period, in a digest-like way. This paper shows this work pattern through a quantitative study and proposes an integration of this work pattern in a Forum-type tool developed for supporting the interactions of virtual learnin
From MASK Knowledge Management Methodology to Learning Activities Described with IMS – LD
In this paper we present how the way knowledge capitalized using the Knowledge Management Mask methodology can be used to design E-learning activities by matching Mask models and the concepts proposed by the IMS-Learning Design modelling language. Our study consists in highlighting the e-learning aspects encapsulated in these MASK models carried out around a domain of activity, via a writing these elements in the description language IMS - Learning Design; in a preoccupation of reusability and r
Structural Awareness for Collaborative Learning Environments
In this paper we propose a peer-to-peer support approach that we call structural awareness support. The structural awareness aims to support the communication that takes place in virtual learning communities. Its emphasis is on revealing the group structure to its participants in order to promote collaborative interactions. This support has been implemented on a forum type tool called Mailgroup. It has been tested twice in different contexts, obtaining initial feedback of its pertinence accordin
The Competence of Learning Companion Agents
One recent approach in developing computer-based learning environments advocates the idea of creating a social context inside the computer. It is claimed that when the learner is engaged into a meaningful dialogue with the software actors his/her learning will benefit. In this paper we concentrate on the collaboration with artificial social actors as peer learners. How äableä should the learning companion agent be in order to maintain the motivation of the human learner to collaborate? It has
Directions to Acknowledge LearnersÂ’ Self-organization in CSCL Macro-scripts
In this article we present a conceptual analysis of the notion of learnersÂ’ self-organization in CSCL macro-scripts. We highlight that taking into account self-organization as an emergent feature of activity requires considering issues such as conceptual and technological tools to support learnersÂ’ self-organization, maintenance of coherence between the script pedagogical objective and the emergent organization and between the technological setting and the emergent activity.
Reflections on Success: A retrospective of the mLearn conference series 2002-2005
mLearn is now in its fifth year. Although mobile learning has a much longer history, the
inauguration of a conference for learning in the mobile age marked an important point in its
development. This paper takes a retrospective look at the mLearn conferences from 2002
through to 2005; reflecting on our progress in order to facilitate the transition of mobile learning from a novel research concept into a viable means of providing meaningful learning
opportunities “across generations and cultures
The role of guidance in computer-based problem solving for the development of concepts of logic
The effect of two instructional variables, manipulation of objects and guidance, in learning to use the logical connective, conditional, was investigated. Instructions for 72 first- and second year social science students were varied in the computer-based learning environment Tarski's World, designed for teaching first-order logic (Barwise &Etchemendy, 1992). Guidance, which was operationalised by giving the learners problems that guided them to all different types of basic problem situations th
Promoting Self-Directed Learning in Simulation Based Discovery Learning Environments Through Intell
Providing learners with computer-generated feedback on their learning process in simulation-based discovery environments cannot be based on a detailed model of the learning process due to the "open" character of discovery learning. This paper describes a method for generating adaptive feedback for discovery learning based on an "opportunistic" learning model that takes the current hypothesis of the learner and the experiments performed to test this hypothesis as input. The method was applied in
