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
A methodological alternative to media comparison studies: Linking information utilization strategies
Literature reviews on hypermedia learning have yet failed to show consistent positive effects of learner-controlled nonlinear information access. We argue that a possible reason for this lack of evidence in favor of hypermedia learning results from the fact that not sufficient attention is paid to the strategies of information utilization learners deploy. The few studies that do analyze these strategies fail to link them to an instructional approach, which hampers a deeper interpretation of stra
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
Towards Web 2.0 Schools: Rethinking the Teachers Professional Development
This paper aims at analyzing the Web 2.0 based distance education in the K-12 schools as an emerging phenomenon that catalyzes a new educational reform all over the world. Some pre-Web 2.0 best practice examples are analyzed in order to draw the main findings in the paper. The teacherÂ’s professional qualification designed to meet the new challenges is considered as a key problem for a successful penetration of this phenomenon in the schools. It is emphasized on the importance of designing a lif
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
Embedding email in primary schools: developing a tool for collective reflection
Reflection is an important aspect of learning in groups. In collective moments of reflection, learners can share and compare their ideas with others, and by doing so can reach an articulated and personal understanding of a learning task and domain. In the research presented here, e-mail is examined as a means for reflection in the context of group learning. In two design experiments, an e-mail tool is developed that seeks to (1) support collective reflection, and (2) overcome practical problems
Problems and Opportunities of Learning together in a Virtual Learning Environment
This chapter explores new ways of collaborative learning in a virtual learning environment based on our acquisition of knowledge from previous experience. We identify both the problems faced in real collaborative learning practices and the ways these problems can be overcome and become opportunities for more efficient learning. These issues concern pedagogical, organisational and technical elements and constraints that influence the successful application of collaborative learning in distance ed
Collaborative distributed environments for learning design tasks by means of modelling and simulatio
The Simulation discipline has to face new challenges such as the incorporation of Collaborative Technologies for professional use as well as for teaching purposes. This integration permits the creation of new kinds of support for collaborative learning processes. In this paper, we explore the potential of this synergy with DomoSim-TPC, a synchronous distributed collaborative environment for the teaching and learning of Domotics. The system supports an active, simulation-based and problem-based a
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
Computerized scripts for enhancing collaborative learning
Free collaboration does not systematically produce learning. One way to enhance the effectiveness of collaborative learning is to structure interactions by engaging students in well-defined scripts. A collaboration script is a set of instructions prescribing how students should form groups, how they should interact and collaborate and how they should solve the
problem. In computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL), the script is reified in the interface of the learning environment. This co
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
Mechanisms of common ground in case-based web-discussions in teacher education
Previous studies suggest that before the participants in Web-based conferencing can reach deeper level interaction and learning, they have to gain an adequate level of common ground in terms of shared mutual understanding, knowledge, beliefs, assumptions, and presuppositions (Clark & Schaefer, 1989; Dillenbourg, 1999). In this paper, the main purpose is to explore how participants establish and maintain common ground in order to reach deeper level interaction in case-based Web-discussions. The s
Grid and Peer-to-Peer middleware for Cooperative Learning Environments
This paper presents the work done by the research group of the Open University of Catalonia within the coordinated project towards the definition of adequate grid and peer-to-peer middleware for cooperative learning environments. The main results of our research consist in designing a layered framework for modelling online collaborative learning interactions which in turns leads to the development of a computational platform, called Collaborative Learning Purpose Library (CLPL), that can be used
