Teacher algorithms for curriculum learning of Deep RL in continuously parameterized environments

International audienceWe consider the problem of how a teacher algorithm can enable an unknown Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) student to become good at a skill over a wide range of diverse environments. To do so, we study how a teacher algorithm can learn to generate a learning curriculum, whereby it sequentially samples parameters controlling a stochastic procedural generation of environments. Because it does not initially know the capacities of its student, a key challenge for the teacher is to discover which environments are easy, difficult or unlearnable, and in what order to propose them to maximize the efficiency of learning over the learnable ones. To achieve this, this problem is transformed into a surrogate continuous bandit problem where the teacher samples environments in order to maximize absolute learning progress of its student. We present a new algorithm modeling absolute learning progress with Gaussian mixture models (ALP-GMM). We also adapt existing algorithms and provide a complete study in the context of DRL. Using parameterized variants of the BipedalWalker environment, we study their efficiency to personalize a learning curriculum for different learners (embodiments), their robustness to the ratio of learnable/unlearnable environments, and their scalability to non-linear and high-dimensional parameter spaces. Videos and code are available at https://github.com/flowersteam/teachDeepRL

Teach LLMs to Personalize -- An Approach inspired by Writing Education

Personalized text generation is an emerging research area that has attracted much attention in recent years. Most studies in this direction focus on a particular domain by designing bespoke features or models. In this work, we propose a general approach for personalized text generation using large language models (LLMs). Inspired by the practice of writing education, we develop a multistage and multitask framework to teach LLMs for personalized generation. In writing instruction, the task of writing from sources is often decomposed into multiple steps that involve finding, evaluating, summarizing, synthesizing, and integrating information. Analogously, our approach to personalized text generation consists of multiple stages: retrieval, ranking, summarization, synthesis, and generation. In addition, we introduce a multitask setting that helps the model improve its generation ability further, which is inspired by the observation in education that a student's reading proficiency and writing ability are often correlated. We evaluate our approach on three public datasets, each of which covers a different and representative domain. Our results show significant improvements over a variety of baselines

Enriching e-learning metadata through digital library usage analysis

Purpose: In this paper we propose an evaluation framework for analyzing learning objects usage, with the aim of extracting useful information for improving the quality of the metadata used to describe the learning objects, but also for personalization purposes, including user models and adaptive itineraries. Methodology: We present experimental results from the log usage analysis during one academic semester of two different subjects, 350 students. The experiment looks into raw server log data generated from the interactions of the students with the classroom learning objects, in order to find relevant information that can be used to improve the metadata used for describing both the learning objects and the learning process. Findings: Preliminary studies have been carried out in order to obtain an initial picture of the interactions between learners and the virtual campus, including both services and resources usage. These studies try to establish elationships between user profiles and their information and navigational behavior in the virtual campus, with the aim of promoting personalization and improving the understanding of what learning in virtual environments means. Research limitations: During the formal learning process, students use learning resources from the virtual classroom provided by the academic library, but they also search for information outside the virtual campus. Not all of these usage data are considered in the model we propose. Further research needs to be done in order to get a complete view of the information search behavior of students for improving the users’ profile and creating better personalized services. Practical implications: In this paper we suggest how a selection of fields used in the LOM standard could be used for enriching the description of learning objects, automatically in some cases, from the learning objects usage performed by an academic community. Originality: Ever since the beginnings of libraries, they have been a “quiet storage place”. With the development of digital libraries, they become a meeting place where explicit and implicit recommendations about information sources can be shared among users. Social and learning process interactions, therefore, can be considered another knowledge source

Education Reform for the Digital Era

Will the digital-learning movement repeat the mistakes of the charter-school movement? How much more successful might today's charter universe look if yesterday's proponents had focused on the policies and practices needed to ensure its quality, freedom, and resources over the long term? What mistakes might have been avoided? Damaging scandals forestalled? Missed opportunities seized

Application of Technology Resources to Library Information Processing in Academic Libraries in Nigeria

The paper is about Application of Technology Resources to Library Information Processing in Academic Libraries in Nigeria. The electronic age has made users search beyond print media while looking for information resources. Latest research work are sent across the world through electronic means and no serious researcher of this age ever depends solely on print media rather the use of internet, websites, e-mail etc are the language of the day. Functionally, university libraries of the current dispensation provide access to both print and electronic resources to serve users and to increase the visibility of their institutions, and as a measure of prestige. In other words, they must go beyond the border of print collection in information delivery. It must extend to computer resources and other non-print format. The paper concluded that technology resources is indispensable in the 21st century for global access to information materials. Therefore academic libraries in Nigeria must strive to apply these resources to their information processing for total production and distribution of information contents in a quality manner

The use of public Web portals by undergraduate students

The study explored how and why 144 randomly selected undergraduates’ from a large university in the U.S. use public Web portals such as Yahoo! or MSN. Demographic and use variables regarding information about particular portal features were collected with a standardized questionnaire including open-ended and closed questions from June to October 2002. All but two respondents were users of public Web portals. A second phase consisted of eight tape-recorded focus groups with 42 participants. In addition, 39 individual follow-up interviews were conducted. The questionnaire data were analyzed using Chi-Square (α = 0.05) to test hypotheses for statistical significance. The focus groups, interviews, and open-ended questions were content analyzed and identified a variety of problems that undergraduates faced using portals. The study provides empirical data about undergraduates’ characteristics, e.g., gender, major, classification, GPA, computer and network experience, times of portal use, and use of personalization in relation to the use of public Web portals and the possession of personal home pages. The study sheds light on why and how undergraduates seek information on public Web portals, what they do on these sites, and reasons for using and not using portals and particular portal features. According to the introduced Popularity Index of Public Web Portals, Yahoo! and MSN were the most popular portals, while searches, e-mail, world and national news were the most popular features for undergraduates using these sites. About 50% of the participants used personalization. Personalizers used portals to a greater extent and were satisfied. Lack of personalization and other factors were a reason for limited use of portals. Demographic variables such as gender, age, and major did not show statistical significance for the use of public Web portals, while use variables such as Internet access at home, frequency of portal use, and the possession of a personal home page showed significant relationships. Frequent redesign, privacy concerns, and unsolicited advertising were among reasons for limited use. The study’s results contribute to a better understanding of undergraduates’ information needs and behavior on public Web portals. The findings have implications for libraries, universities, governments, Web content developers, and marketers.Informatio

Digital Personalization in Early Childhood

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. Digital personalization is an emerging interdisciplinary research field, with application to a variety of areas including design, education and publication industry. This book focuses on children’s education and literacy resources, which have undergone important changes with the ‘personalization revolution’ in the early 21st century. The author develops original insights from educational research and her own studies concerned with digital and non-digital personalization, to discuss in a clear and critical way the thinking, research issues and practical implications of this new field. She scrutinises the character of technology-based personalized education to substantiate the claim that the current models of personalized education tend to be technology- and business-driven, with little pedagogical understanding of the social value of personalization. Research involving touchscreens, personalized books and 2-8-year olds is interrogated for its impact on children’s development of language, creativity, identity, as well as family dynamics and classroom dialogue. The literature available on digital and non-digital personalization is discussed in relation to five key themes of personalized education, the so-called 5As: autonomy, authorship, aesthetics, attachment and authenticity. It is argued that the 5As need to be anchored in humanist principles for a sustainable pedagogy and practice. Based on the insights from research with typically and atypically developing children, Kucirkova proposes personalised pluralisation, as a pedagogical framework of personalized education for the future. The book aims to help scholars and professionals understand the connections between personalization and literacy, personalization and education, and personalization and wider socio-moral issues