Case studies of personalized learning

Deliverable 4.1, Literature review of personalised learning and the Cloud, started with an evaluation and synthesis of the definitions of personalized learning, followed by an analysis of how this is implemented in a method (e-learning vs. i-learning, m-learning and u-learning), learning approach and the appropriate didactic process, based on adapted didactic theories. From this research a list of criteria was created needed to implement personalised learning onto the learner of the future. This list of criteria is the basis for the analysis of all case studies investigated. – as well to the learning process as the learning place. In total 60 case studies (all 59 case studies mentioned in D6.4 Education on the Cloud 2015 + one extra) were analysed. The case studies were compared with the list of criteria, and a score was calculated. As a result, the best examples could be retained. On average most case studies were good on: taking different learning methods into account, interactivity and accessibility and usability of learning materials for everyone. All had a real formal education content, thus aiming at the core-curriculum, valuing previous knowledge, competences, life and work skills, also informal. Also the availability of an instructor / tutor or other network of peers, experts and teachers to guide and support the learning is common. On the other hand, most case studies lack diagnostics tests as well at the start (diagnostic entry test), during the personalized learning trajectory and at the end (assessment at the end). Also most do not include non-formal and informal learning aspects. And the ownership of personalized learning is not in the hands of the learner. Five of the 60 case studies can as a result be considered as very good examples of real personalized learning

Automatic detection of accommodation steps as an indicator of knowledge maturing

Jointly working on shared digital artifacts – such as wikis – is a well-tried method of developing knowledge collectively within a group or organization. Our assumption is that such knowledge maturing is an accommodation process that can be measured by taking the writing process itself into account. This paper describes the development of a tool that detects accommodation automatically with the help of machine learning algorithms. We applied a software framework for task detection to the automatic identification of accommodation processes within a wiki. To set up the learning algorithms and test its performance, we conducted an empirical study, in which participants had to contribute to a wiki and, at the same time, identify their own tasks. Two domain experts evaluated the participants’ micro-tasks with regard to accommodation. We then applied an ontology-based task detection approach that identified accommodation with a rate of 79.12%. The potential use of our tool for measuring knowledge maturing online is discussed

Interaction protocols for human-driven crisis resolution processes

This work aims at providing a crisis cell with process-oriented tools to manage crisis resolutions. Indeed, the crisis cell members have to define the crisis resolution process, adapt it to face crisis evolutions, and guide its execution. Crisis resolution processes are interaction-intensive processes: they not only coordinate the performance of tasks to be undertaken on the impacted world, but they also support regulatory interactions between possibly geographically distributed crisis cell members. In order to deal with such an interweaving, this paper proposes to use Interaction Protocols to both model formal interactions and ease a cooperative adaptation and guidance of crisis resolution processes. After highlighting the benefits of Interaction Protocols to support this human and collective dimension, the paper presents a protocol meta-model for their specification. It then shows how to suitably integrate specified protocols into crisis resolution processes and how to implement this conceptual framework into a service oriented architecture

Process-oriented design principles for promoting self-regulated learning in primary teacher education

Many recent studies have stressed the importance of students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) skills for successful learning. Consequently, primary teacher educators are stimulated by their policy makers to increase their students’ SRL opportunities in the educational pre-service program. However, primary teacher educators often find it difficult to implement these innovations in their teaching. In the present study, a literature search concerning SRL was conducted. Based on this search, seven process-oriented design principles were formulated, resulting in a SRL model for primary teacher education. This SRL model provides more insight into relevant SRL aspects and can support SRL implementation in pre-service teacher education

Analysis domain model for shared virtual environments

The field of shared virtual environments, which also encompasses online games and social 3D environments, has a system landscape consisting of multiple solutions that share great functional overlap. However, there is little system interoperability between the different solutions. A shared virtual environment has an associated problem domain that is highly complex raising difficult challenges to the development process, starting with the architectural design of the underlying system. This paper has two main contributions. The first contribution is a broad domain analysis of shared virtual environments, which enables developers to have a better understanding of the whole rather than the part(s). The second contribution is a reference domain model for discussing and describing solutions - the Analysis Domain Model

Buckingheist. Addressing ADHD's Social Skills in the EFL Classroom through the BreakoutEdu

Social skills are a fundamental part of the successful development of adolescents. Yet, the diverse circumstances within the classroom context, may provoke that social relationships are not always positive. In the case of the students diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), it is frequent that they have poor-developed social skills due to the symptomatology they present. Regarding the combined type, the inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity of these students often cause their inadequate integration within the classroom, resulting in rejection by the rest of the group. These constraints need to be attached in the secondary education setting, including the foreign language classrooms. Contemporary active methodologies such as Communicative Language Teaching, Cooperative Learning, and Gamification endorse features that contribute to the addressing of ADHD necessities’ when establishing interpersonal relationships. Therefore, throughout this dissertation, it is proposed an educational breakout to enhance and improve the social skills of ADHD students through cooperative participation in the English classroom.Las habilidades sociales son fundamentales en el óptimo desarrollo de los adolescentes. Sin embargo, las relaciones sociales no siempre son positivas en aulas con diversidad, como ocurre en el caso del alumnado con Trastorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad/Impulsividad (TDAH) debido a la sintomatología que caracteriza este síndrome. En el caso del tipo combinado, condicionantes como la falta de atención, impulsividad, e hiperactividad suele provocar su falta de integración y rechazo, algo a tratar también en el aula de lengua extranjera. Metodologías activas contemporáneas como el Método Comunicativo, Aprendizaje Cooperativo, y Gamificación, recogen estrategias que permiten atender las necesidades del alumnado con TDAH, y consecuentemente el desarrollo de sus habilidades sociales. Por ello, en este Trabajo Fin de Máster se ha planteado el diseño de un breakout educativo que permite potenciar y mejorar las habilidades sociales a través de la participación cooperativa en el aula de lengua extranjera inglésDepartamento de Filología InglesaMáster en Profesor de Educación Secundaria Obligatoria y Bachillerato, Formación Profesional y Enseñanzas de Idioma

Towards an Expert Network in Open Standards and Open Source Software: Research, Expertise and Synergy for Open and Libres Standards and Software (RESOLL) - Version 2.0

CIRANO and its partners are proposing the creation of an Expert Network in Open Standards and Open Source Software (Research, Expertise and Synergy for Open and Libres Standards and Software-RESOLL), which would be a partnership between information technology research centres, government and private user organizations, and businesses working in the field. The network will conduct studies and pilot projects that integrate computer solutions based on open standards and open source software, mainly in e-government fields such as health, education, and scientific research, as well as municipal and quasi-public services and business processes for SMEs. The knowledge, expertise and tools thus developed will be disseminated in a number of ways in order to Quebec and Canadian expertise in the field. RESOLL will also have economic and strategic benefits in that it will put the new economic model to the test in terms of open standards and open source software as well as the reuse of software components by organizations. Background The development of on-line government services and e-business is a priority for governments and businesses of all sizes. It requires considerable spending and significant strategic and organizational changes. Of the many information technology solutions available, the use of open standards and open source software is often brought up by those in the know. Although the Internet and many world-renowned software programs were developed largely from open standards and open source software, there is still a need to study, and above all prove the advantages of this approach for public and quasi-public organizations as well as small to medium-sized businesses. It is essential to identify the needs of these organizations, document best practices, experiment with open source software solutions, evaluate the performance of the software and share the knowledge and know-how of Quebec and Canadian research centres and businesses. RESOLL Goals he main goal of the Expert Network on Open Standards and Open Source Software (RESOLL) is to give people an understanding of the benefits of open standards and open source software and suggest an intelligent and advantageous use of them for public and quasi-public organizations and SMEs. More specifically, the goals are as follows: Document and share government and industry policies, strategies, and practices with respect to the use and development of adaptive software and open source software, defining open standards, open source software, adaptive software, and proprietary software; Adapt these practices and share the different methods with partners and the IT management and development communities in government and business; Establish innovative prototypes and pilot projects in order to test and demonstrate the advantages and features of this approach; Develop the expertise of Quebec and Canadian organizations in the field and create synergy between them and their users; P ublish and share the findings of the work, contribute to the enrichment of a collective software asset base available to public and quasi-public organizations and SMEs while explaining the legal issues involved in the various types of licences and electronic services. Process ESOLL is a multilateral partnership founded on the excellence of partners in their respective field. The RESOLL process will be based on the needs of its partners and users. Once these needs have been identified, research will be conducted to identify available solutions, adapt them through an integration process and alpha test them. This would be followed by a pilot project as required by the organizations and businesses. The pilot project will be implemented and evaluated in order to learn from it and ensure that necessary adjustments are made. Solutions thus obtained will be implemented as electronic services either by the client organization’s IT department or by a business partner. It is up to each organization to select their service provider. RESOLL will encourage the transfer of developed tools and services to partners for complete autonomy. Each project will have its own budget, funded by client partners. RESOLL will use part of its operating budget to start projects and develop a start-up asset base for its activities. Expectations and Deliverables The expectations of RESOLL partners and the team can be expressed by the achievement of their goals. RESOLL’s actions will quickly lead to concrete results. The deliverables will be: Policy and position papers to help partners make clear and informed decisions; Needs analyses and suggested solutions; Software solutions based on open standards and open source software integrated into experimental electronic services; Pilot project experiments that combine strategies, plans, software solutions, project support, evaluation and recommendations; Studies and interpretation documents for different types of licences and software; Collaborative Web site for sharing documents and open source software developed in the context of RESOLL projects or available on the Internet, with comments and explanations; Information and knowledge sharing activities for RESOLL and its partners (conferences, workshops, training, etc.). Partners RESOLL is a multilateral partnership. The partners that have been asked to become involved are: CIRANO, CRIM, RISQ, the governments of Quebec and Canada, Industry Canada, university researchers, Canadian and Quebec software and information technology companies, and not-for-profit user organizations from the software and information technology fields. Budget ESOLL’s master infrastructure budget will make it possible to establish a small coordination team involving part-time resources seconded from their parent organizations. We plan to obtain general financing from government and the businesses involved. The individual projects will provide their own financing. Other Benefits RESOLL will contribute to Quebec’s and Canada’s world leadership by sharing the results of its work. It will contribute to the eventual creation of resources that will enable partner companies to commercialize services based on open source software.Open standard, free software, open software, FOSS, e-government, business process, small and medium enterprises,

Campus-based publishing partnerships: A guide to critical issues

Campus-based publishing partnerships offer the academy greater control over the intellectual products that it helps create. To fully realize this potential, such partnerships will need to evolve from informal working alliances to long-term, programmatic collaborations. SPARCâ s Campus-based Publishing Partnerships: A Guide to Critical Issues addresses issues relevant to building sound and balanced partnerships, including: Establishing governance and administrative structures; Identifying funding models that accommodate the objectives of both libraries and presses; Defining a partnershipâ s objectives to align the missions of the library and the press; Determining what services to provide; and Demonstrating the value of the collaboration. SPARCâ s Campus-based Publishing Partnerships will help libraries, presses, and academic units to define effective partnerships capable of supporting innovative approaches to campus-based publishing

Contributions to outlier detection and recommendation systems

Le forage de données, appelé également "Découverte de connaissance dans les bases de données" , est un jeune domaine de recherche interdisciplinaire. Le forage de données étudie les processus d'analyse de grands ensembles de données pour en extraire des connaissances, et les processus de transformation de ces connaissances en des structures faciles à comprendre et à utiliser par les humains. Cette thèse étudie deux tâches importantes dans le domaine du forage de données : la détection des anomalies et la recommandation de produits. La détection des anomalies est l'identification des données non conformes aux observations normales. La recommandation de produit est la prédiction du niveau d'intérêt d'un client pour des produits en se basant sur des données d'achats antérieurs et des données socio-économiques. Plus précisément, cette thèse porte sur 1) la détection des anomalies dans de grands ensembles de données de type catégorielles; et 2) les techniques de recommandation à partir des données de classements asymétriques. La détection des anomalies dans des données catégorielles de grande échelle est un problème important qui est loin d'être résolu. Les méthodes existantes dans ce domaine souffrnt d'une faible efficience et efficacité en raison de la dimensionnalité élevée des données, de la grande taille des bases de données, de la complexité élevée des tests statistiques, ainsi que des mesures de proximité non adéquates. Cette thèse propose une définition formelle d'anomalie dans les données catégorielles ainsi que deux algorithmes efficaces et efficients pour la détection des anomalies dans les données de grande taille. Ces algorithmes ont besoin d'un seul paramètre : le nombre des anomalies. Pour déterminer la valeur de ce paramètre, nous avons développé un critère en nous basant sur un nouveau concept qui est l'holo-entropie. Plusieurs recherches antérieures sur les systèmes de recommandation ont négligé un type de classements répandu dans les applications Web, telles que le commerce électronique (ex. Amazon, Taobao) et les sites fournisseurs de contenu (ex. YouTube). Les données de classements recueillies par ces sites se différencient de celles de classements des films et des musiques par leur distribution asymétrique élevée. Cette thèse propose un cadre mieux adapté pour estimer les classements et les préférences quantitatives d'ordre supérieur pour des données de classements asymétriques. Ce cadre permet de créer de nouveaux modèles de recommandation en se basant sur la factorisation de matrice ou sur l'estimation de voisinage. Des résultats expérimentaux sur des ensembles de données asymétriques indiquent que les modèles créés avec ce cadre ont une meilleure performance que les modèles conventionnels non seulement pour la prédiction de classements, mais aussi pour la prédiction de la liste des Top-N produits