The use of animated agents in e‐learning environments: an exploratory, interpretive case study

There is increasing interest in the use of animated agents in e‐learning environments. However, empirical investigations of their use in online education are limited. Our aim is to provide an empirically based framework for the development and evaluation of animated agents in e‐learning environments. Findings suggest a number of challenges, including the multiple dialogue models that animated agents will need to accommodate, the diverse range of roles that pedagogical animated agents can usefully support, the dichotomous relationship that emerges between these roles and that of the lecturer, and student perception of the degree of autonomy that can be afforded to animated agents

Faculty learns curriculum and teaching capacities: online training evaluation

This article addresses the choice of an appropriate procedure for the assessment of digital portfolios used in academic  staff development at the two Canarian universities. The study includes a comprehensive definition of Curriculum and Teaching Capacities (CTC)  in higher  education and a formative assessment of a Professional Development of University Faculty  (PDUF)  programme as a model for  faculty  training. Using purposive sampling, twenty­nine university teachers were involved in an online course over  an 11­week  period. Criteria used for  analysis were measures of instructors' attitudes and learning tests. Overall, faculty reported a change in their  acquisition of CTCs, heading towards  a more comprehensive and quality teaching. Examining the learning experiences of faculty has university  significance for PDUF and CTC

Metodologías de análisis de los big data en las plataformas educativas

La proliferación de nuevas plataformas educativas por Internet y el avance de la educación online ha abierto nuevas posibilidades de análisis debido al gran volumen de datos generados y almacenados en los servidores. Los usuarios dejan trazas de su actividad, y esta actividad posibilita nuevos análisis del comportamiento de estudiantes y de los contenidos compartidos, difícilmente realizables en la educación cara a cara tradicional. Este trabajo aporta un resumen de las diversas metodologías aplicables a los grandes volúmenes de datos generados por las plataformas educativas, clasificables dentro de los Big Data, así como los diversos campos en los que podrían aplicarse y las mejoras que podrían introducir en el desarrollo de las propias herramientasConsejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia referencia P12-SEJ-328)

Instructional Logistics and Chunque-Based Learning Systems

Existing instructional design and curriculum design strategy components were synthesized to provide a comprehensive set of design models for the development of learning systems. The term instructional logistics was coined to define the management of student progress through a series of customized learning experiences. Strategies were developed for the design of student-centered learning systems by partitioning a curriculum into meaningful and manageable pieces (called chunques) and by manipulating those pieces to create personalized and individualized paths through a series of self-contained learning experiences. Strategies were developed to organize a collection of chunques into a path based on initial simplified mental models designed specifically to make the subject matter more appropriate for novice learners. Two types of paths were proposed: paths created prior to instruction based on the best guess at what is optimal for the particular circumstances (anticipatory paths) and paths modified on the fly based on diagnostic information gathered during the learning process (adaptive paths). Curriculum design decisions were based on two propositions: that curriculum decisions can be categorized as value-laden decisions, based on some conception of worth, or as technical decisions, based on instructional needs. The three souls proposition was developed, which proposes that educational goals can be categorized as education-to-be, sagacity-to-know, or training-to-do

Open educational resources : conversations in cyberspace

172 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.Libro ElectrónicoEducation systems today face two major challenges: expanding the reach of education and improving its quality. Traditional solutions will not suffice, especially in the context of today's knowledge-intensive societies. The Open Educational Resources movement offers one solution for extending the reach of education and expanding learning opportunities. The goal of the movement is to equalize access to knowledge worldwide through openly and freely available online high-quality content. Over the course of two years, the international community came together in a series of online discussion forums to discuss the concept of Open Educational Resources and its potential. This publication makes the background papers and reports from those discussions available in print.--Publisher's description.A first forum : presenting the open educational resources (OER) movement. Open educational resources : an introductory note / Sally Johnstone -- Providing OER and related issues : an introductory note / Anne Margulies, ... [et al.] -- Using OER and related issues : in introductory note / Mohammed-Nabil Sabry, ... [et al.] -- Discussion highlights / Paul Albright -- Ongoing discussion. A research agenda for OER : discussion highlights / Kim Tucker and Peter Bateman -- A 'do-it-yourself' resource for OER : discussion highlights / Boris Vukovic -- Free and open source software (FOSS) and OER -- A second forum : discussing the OECD study of OER. Mapping procedures and users / Jan Hylén -- Why individuals and institutions share and use OER / Jan Hylén -- Discussion highlights / Alexa Joyce -- Priorities for action. Open educational resources : the way forward / Susan D'Antoni

Factors shaping the evolution of electronic documentation systems

The main goal is to prepare the space station technical and managerial structure for likely changes in the creation, capture, transfer, and utilization of knowledge. By anticipating advances, the design of Space Station Project (SSP) information systems can be tailored to facilitate a progression of increasingly sophisticated strategies as the space station evolves. Future generations of advanced information systems will use increases in power to deliver environmentally meaningful, contextually targeted, interconnected data (knowledge). The concept of a Knowledge Base Management System is emerging when the problem is focused on how information systems can perform such a conversion of raw data. Such a system would include traditional management functions for large space databases. Added artificial intelligence features might encompass co-existing knowledge representation schemes; effective control structures for deductive, plausible, and inductive reasoning; means for knowledge acquisition, refinement, and validation; explanation facilities; and dynamic human intervention. The major areas covered include: alternative knowledge representation approaches; advanced user interface capabilities; computer-supported cooperative work; the evolution of information system hardware; standardization, compatibility, and connectivity; and organizational impacts of information intensive environments