Bridging the divide in language and approach between pedagogy and programming: the case of IMS Learning Design

Even though the IMS Learning Design (IMS LD) specification has offered a way for expressing multiple-learner scenarios, the language thus provided is far from the language, teaching practitioners use. To bridge this divide, we have developed IMS LD authoring software that translates from the learning designer perspective to the technical perspective. To aid adequate software developments, an analysis was performed to identify uses of level B properties in expert units of learning. In a second analysis, which is described in this paper, these uses were matched with demands of typical pedagogical methods. Some restrictions of the IMS LD specification are pointed out in this regard. As an outcome of the analyses, interfaces employing pedagogical language were integrated in the IMS LD authoring software in order to provide teaching practitioners access to level B functionalities despite their highly technical nature

A group learning management method for intelligent tutoring systems

In this paper we propose a group management specification and execution method that seeks a compromise between simple course design and complex adaptive group interaction. This is achieved through an authoring method that proposes predefined scenarios to the author. These scenarios already include complex learning interaction protocols in which student and group models use and update are automatically included. The method adopts ontologies to represent domain and student models, and object Petri nets to specify the group interaction protocols. During execution, the method is supported by a multi-agent architecture

An IMS-Learning Design Editor for a Higher Education Blended Learning Scenario

The IMS-Learning Design has been developed to support the creation of reusable and pedagogically neutral learning scenarios and content. Although it is especially suitable for eLearning, there is a lot of interest on using it in higher education blended learning scenarios. However there are some related key issues which must be managed such as cultural bias and the need for expensive human resources to design and develop specification compliant units of learning. They can be addressed by the design of ad-hoc editors supporting concrete learning design units of learning. We suggest some solutions to overcome these limitations, based on our experience designing the user interface of an IMS-LD compliant editor, GDUS+. We also explain our user centering approach, and give some conclusions about the benefits of using IMS-LD

Co-authorship in the age of cyberculture: Open Educational Resources at the Open University of the United Kingdom

Locating Open Educational Resources (OER) as a phenomenon of cyberculture, this paper presents a reflection on the possibilities of co-authorship that are entailed in OER initiatives of different natures and settings within a large organisation. A selection of OER-related projects and activities carried out at the Open University of United Kingdom (UKOU) are examined from the perspective of a comparative framework proposed by Okada (2010). The framework identifies key features and differences between ‘Closed’ and ‘Open’ Education, that is, respectively, formal education, which takes place within the constraints of institutional Virtual Learning Environments, and informal education, which is gradually taking place more widely in cyberspace. The paper is introduced with a succinct discussion of the connection between cyberculture and the emergence of OER, followed by a presentation of the comparative framework adopted. The UKOU´s structure and methods are then presented, and various projects are discussed. The article concludes by proposing a brief commentary on the creative potential that is being unleashed at the very boundaries between formal and informal educational spaces that cyberculture is challenging

Technology for social work education

The intention of this paper is to examine aspects of the role of information technology in social work education in relation to existing developments within an international context, conceptual issues concerning the application of CAL to the teaching of social work, and the implication of these issues for the development of integrated teaching modules in Interpersonal Skills and Research Methods, together with some of the practical issues encountered and solutions being adopted The context for the paper is joint work by the authors as members of the ProCare Project, a partnership between Southampton and Bournemouth Universities, and part of the UK Government‐funded Teaching and Learning Technology Programme (TLTP) in Higher Education. ProCare is developing courseware on Interpersonal Skills and on Research Methods for use in qualifying‐level Social Work and Nursing education. While the emphasis is on the social work version of the Interpersonal Skills module, limited reference is made to the nursing component and the differential approaches that proved necessary within the subject areas under development

Knowledge Cartography for Open Sensemaking Communities

Knowledge Cartography is the discipline of visually mapping the conceptual structure of ideas, such as the connections between issues, concepts, answers, arguments and evidence. The cognitive process of externalising one's understanding clarifies one's own grasp of the situation, as well as communicating it to others as a network that invites their contributions. This sensemaking activity lies at the heart of the Open Educational Resources movement's objectives. The aim of this paper is to describe the usage patterns of Compendium, a knowledge mapping tool from the OpenLearn OER project, using quantitative data from interaction logs and qualitative data from knowledge maps, forums and blog postings. This work explains nine roles played by maps in OpenLearn, and discusses some of the benefits and adoption obstacles, which motivate our ongoing work

A persistent infrastructure for augmented field trips

This paper describes an approach to the provision of pervasive field trips where a persistent infrastructure is provided, upon which teachers can easily create novel pervasive experiences for children. The physical infrastructure is briefly described along with the underlying information infrastructure, which enables the tools for authoring the content and designing the orchestration of the experience to be placed in the hands of teachers. A literacy experience and initial trials of the system are discussed, conclusions drawn, and future directions outlined

Authoring with Retudisauth adaptive dialogues for text comprehension

AbstractIn this work is presented the process of authoring adaptive dialogues for informatics text comprehension using the authoring tool of ReTuDiS (Reflective Tutorial Dialogue System), which is based on text comprehension theories. Previous study resulted in student's profiles depending on their prior knowledge and students were given the appropriate text with text activities according to their profiles. Students organized text representations with different structure: relational, transformational and teleological. The purpose of this study is to design and test educational material of personalized dialogue activities for text comprehension appropriate for each student, depending on student's text representation. Dialogues are tested by groups of participating students before the authoring tool is used to incorporate the material in ReTuDiS. Feedback provided by the system, in the form of personalized dialogues, promotes reflection and is expected to help students improve their text comprehension skills. The system is accessible throughout the web and can be tested in real classroom conditions

Language engineering - a champion for European culture

Language is key to culture. It is a direct cultural medium as well as a means of recording and providing access to non-lingual elements of culture. Language is also fundamental to a sense of cultural identity. For this reason, it is vital, in a changing Europe, that we preserve the multi-lingual character of our society in order to move successfully towards closer co-operation at a political, economic, and social level. Language engineering is the application of knowledge of language to the development of computer software which can recognise, understand, interpret, and generate human language in all its forms. The paper provides a high level view of the ‘state of the art’ in language engineering and indicates ways in which it will have a profound impact on our culture in the future. It shows how advances in language engineering are an important aid in maintaining cultural diversity in a multi-lingual European society, while enabling the development of social cohesion across cultural and national divides. It addresses issues raised by the prospect of the Multi-lingual Information Society, including education, human communication with technology and information management, as well as aspects of digital cities such as tele-presence in digital libraries, virtual art galleries and electronic museums. The paper raises the issue of language as a factor in cultural domination, showing the contribution that language engineering can make towards countering it. The paper also raises a number of controversial issues concerning the likely benefits arising from the ways in which language is likely to influence the culture of Europe