Gridifying IBM's Generic Log Adapter to Speed-Up the Processing of Log Data
Problem determination in today's computing environments consumes between 30 and 70% of an organizationÂ’s IT resources and represents from one third to one half of their total cost of ownership. The first step to cutting down costs in this area and to enable autonomic computing systems is to have all parts of the system report status in a common log data format and semantics in order to be able to exploit the status information of the system as a whole. The Generic Log Adapter (GLA) is a generic
Exploring Semantic Description and
Matching Technologies for Enhancing the
Automatic Composition of
In the implementation of e-learning frameworks, a problem still unsolved is how to use and integrate low-level learning services to compose more complex high-level services or tools that make sense to both tutors and learners. In that sense semantic description of Grid learning Services appears like a powerful tool to be used for discovering and matching learning services depending of a set of parameters inside the learning framework. These parameters must represent significant functional charac
An Experimental Study on Peer Selection in a P2P Network over PlanetLab
Peer selection is an important aspect in many P2P applications
requiring efficient assignment and execution of
jobs to peer nodes and search and file transfer, among others.
Due to increasing interest of using P2P systems for distributed
computing, peer selection is taking relevance and
several models have been proposed in the P2P literature.
Yet, there are very few experimental studies for peer selection
in P2P networks deployed in real large scale networks.
In this work we present an experimen
Semantic Description of Grid Based Learning Services
Grid technology has emerged as a powerful tool to increase the
capabilities of e-learning frameworks. Learning services are fundamental
components representing functionalities that can be easily reused without
knowing the details of how services have been implemented. On the one hand, a
problem that still remains unsolved is how to use and integrate low-level
learning services to compose more complex high-level services or tools that
make sense to both tutors and learners. On the other hand, the
Enabling Efficient Real Time User Modeling in On-line Campus
User modelling in on-line distance learning is an important research
field focusing on two important aspects: describing and predicting studentsÂ’ actions
and intentions as well as adapting the learning process to studentsÂ’ features,
habits, interests, preferences, and so on. The aim is to greatly stimulate
and improve the learning experience. In this context, user modeling implies a
constant processing and analysis of user interaction data during long-term learning
activities, which produces l
Collaboration Activity Function: An interaction analysisÂ’ tool for Computer Supported Collaborative
During the last years, an increased interest has been observed on tools analyzing collaborative interactions that could be useful for researchers, teachers, or even students. The paper presents such a tool, based on the formally defined collaborative activity function (CAF). The empirical evaluation of CAF is also presented. The evaluation is focused on teachers using CAF during and after sessions of synchronous collaborative problem solving among students.
E-learning environments in medical education: how pervasive computing can influence the educational
As pervasive computing is integrated incrementally with all facets of everyday life, it is reasonable to expect that its further proliferation may influence educational activities as well. Several such arguments have been thoroughly discussed in literature and several projects have been developed. However, little work has been done to investigate how pervasive computing can influence the medical educational process using e-learning platforms, and the prerequisites for such endeavours. In this pi
Obstacles to the development of conceptual understanding in observational astronomy: the case of spa
Simple everyday phenomena like the day - night cycle and the sequence of four seasons are taught at the higher level of elementary education and the lower level of secondary education in Cyprus. Even though there is no specific subject dedicated to Astronomy or spatial reasoning, the day – night cycle, the sequence of the four seasons and the sequence of the lunar phases are part of the national curriculum of Geography. For this reason, the construction of conceptual understanding in basic Astr
Using Case-Based Reasoning in Instructional Planning.Towards a Hybrid Self-improving Instructional P
This paper presents a new approach, based on the Case-Based Reasoning technique, which is useful to enhance Intelligent Tutoring Systems with learning abilities. Case-Based Reasoning is a recent paradigm for problem solving that has an inherent learning capability. So we integrate a Case-Based Instructional Planner within existing Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) to enhance the pedagogical component with learning capabilities. In this way, the enhanced tutors combine the Case-Based Instruction
Aspects of Speech Act Categorisation: Towards Generating Teachers' Language
In this paper we examine a possible method for classifying speech acts produced by human teachers, with a view of informing the designs of intelligent natural language tutors and of providing the basis for a formal analysis of the effects that teachers' language has on students' learning. We argue that traditional means as initiated by the Ordinary Language Philosophers such as Austin (1962), Grice (1975) and Searle (1979) are not sufficient to account for all types of linguistic phenomena occur
The “Blakkat” Software for Tagging Online Language Learner Corpora: Issues in SLA Assessment and R
This paper aims at showing, through a case study, one possible application of Computer Learner Corpus (CLC) to Network Based Language Teaching (NBLT). Research has shown how CLC can be used both for Second Language Acquisiton (SLA) research and Foreign Language Teaching (FLT), especially if they are tagged, that is, if interpretative annotations are added to the corpus (e.g. error annotations). Online learning generally takes place inside virtual environments where learners exchange mainly writt
Learning History by Playing a Mobile City Game
Digital games seem to be excellent tools for facilitating and supporting situated learning. This unbinding of knowledge from a specific context fosters its transfer to new problems and new domains. Additionally, childrenÂ’s attitude towards computer games is the very attitude we would like all our learners to have. Therefore, it makes sense to try to merge the content of learning and the motivation of games. The objectives of this paper are to generate insights into the practicalities and the ef
ActiveMath: A Generic and Adaptive Web-Based Learning Environment
ActiveMath is a generic web-based learning system that dynamically generates interactive (mathematical) courses adapted to the student's goals, preferences, capabilities, and knowledge. The content is presented in a semantic XML-based format. For each user, the appropriate content is retrieved from a knowledge base and the course is generated individually according to pedagogical rules. Then the course is presented to the user via a standard web-browser. One of the exceptional features of Active
LaCOLLA: Middleware for Self-Sufficient Online Collaboration
The LaCOLLA middleware makes it possible for collaborators to interact using their own resources and not depend on a centralized regime. By contributing their own resources, group members can organize and communicate using a federated peer-to-peer model. Utilizing LaCOLLA middleware, the group can function regardless of whether a member removes resources and despite network or node failures or disconnection. This capacity for self-organization, together with location transparency, lets applicati
A Generic Platform for the Systematic Construction of Knowledge-based Collaborative Learning Applica
This study aims to explore the importance of efficient management of event information generated from
group activity in collaborative learning practices for its further use in extracting and providing knowledge
on interaction behavior. The essential issue here is how to design a platform that can be used for real,
long-term, complex collaborative problem-solving situations and which enables the instructor to both
analyze group interaction effectively and provide an adequate support when needed.
Narrative Evolution: Learning from Students' Talk about Species Variation
Learners do not always enjoy productive interactions with Multimedia Interactive Learning Environments. Their attention can be distracted away from the educational focus intended by designers and teachers through poor design and operational inadequacy. In this paper we describe a study of groups of learners using a multimedia CD-ROM research tool called Galapagos. This tool was developed to enable us to observe groups of learners interacting with different versions of the same multimedia content
MArCo: Building an Artificial Conflict Mediator to Support Group Planning Interactions
The emphasis on building co-operative/collaborative environments has brought out the matter of group interactions. This, in its turn, has highlighted the issue of conflicts, inherent to group problem solving. If well employed, conflicts can act as triggers of cognitive changes, and thus help to refine the group's solution to the task. In this paper, we present a computational framework for detecting and mediating Meta-Cognitive conflicts. The theoretical framework presented here enables a comput
Going Beyond the Problem Given: How Human Tutors Use Post-Solution Discussions to Support Transfer
Two studies investigated the role and effectiveness of post-solution, reflective dialogues in physics tutorials. The first study investigated the instructional roles of post-solution discussions, their relationship to problem-solving discussions, and features that predict learning. Seven tutors individually guided 15 students as they worked on problems in the Andes physics tutoring system. Tutors adapted the post-solution discussions to students' ability levels and their performance on the curre
Benefits of Virtual Characters in Computer Based Learning Environments: Claims and Evidence
Pedagogical theory of today gives high priority to social components of learning. Within the field of computer supported learning there are many attempts to acknowledge this. One approach involves the addition of virtual characters to electronic learning environments. Such character enhanced systems are the focus of the present article. Firstly, a systematic overview is given of pedagogical benefits that have been proposed in the literature regarding character enhancement of electronic learning
Synchronous computer mediated collaborative activities among collocated students: Conditions that ma
Synchronous collaborative activities are usually studied in conditions where teachers and students are physically separated. Is there any possibility to apply these activities when all participants are collocated? Does this collocated collaboration setting seems meaningful and for what reasons? Is the quality of learning and teaching process satisfactory high? Under what conditions? The present research explores the previous questions. More
specifically, it explores synchronous computer mediated
