The added value of implementing the Planet Game scenario with Collage and Gridcole

This paper discusses the suitability and the added value of Collage and Gridcole when contrasted with other solutions participating in the ICALT 2006 workshop titled “Comparing educational modelling languages on a case study.” In this workshop each proposed solution was challenged to implement a Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning situation (CSCL) posed by the workshop’s organizers. Collage is a pattern-based authoring tool for the creation of CSCL scripts compliant with IMS Learning Design (IMS LD). These IMS LD scripts can be enacted by the Gridcole tailorable CSCL system. The analysis presented in the paper is organized as a case study which considers the data recorded in the workshop discussion as well the information reported in the workshop contributions. The results of this analysis show how Collage and Gridcole succeed in implementing the scenario and also point out some significant advantages in terms of design reusability and generality, user-friendliness, and enactment flexibility

On the use of an IMS LD ontology for creating and executing Units of Learning: Application to the Astronomy case study

This paper describes how the Astronomy case study is modelled, created and executed, using a IMS LD ontology. The ontology was aimed at overcoming the expressiveness limitations of the IMS LD XML Schema by means of a taxonomy of concepts and a set of formally defined axioms. With regard to the authoring (creation) stage, the ontology has been used to enable the automatic validation of IMS LD documents in WebLD, a web authoring tool to create IMS LD Units of Learning. With regard to the execution stage, a service-oriented architecture was developed to allow the execution of IMS LD Units of Learning, whose learning processes have been modelled through Petri Nets.Editors: Laurence Vignollet (Universitè de Savoie, France

Modelling a case study in Astronomy with IMS Learning Design

Burgos, D., & Tattersall, C. (2008). Modelling a case study in Astronomy with IMS Learning Design [Electronic Version]. Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2008 from http://jime.open.ac.uk/2008/19/.IMS Learning Design provides a counter to the trend towards designing for lone-learners reading from screens. It guides staff and educational developers to start not with content, but with learning activities and the achievement of learning objectives. It recognises that learning can happen without learning objects, learning is different from content consumption and that learning comes from being active. It recognises, too, that learning happens when learners cooperate to solve problems in social and work situations. In all this, it stresses that focus should fall on the learning in eLearning. This paper examines how IMS Learning Design (IMS-LD) and the current generation of IMS-LD based tooling can be used to model an eLearning case study in Astronomy, hosted by a workshop at ICALT 2006

Supporting authoring of adaptive hypermedia

It is well-known that students benefit from personalised attention. However, frequently teachers are unable to provide this, most often due to time constraints. An Adaptive Hypermedia (AH) system can offer a richer learning experience, by giving personalised attention to students. The authoring process, however, is time consuming and cumbersome. Our research explores the two main aspects to authoring of AH: authoring of content and adaptive behaviour. The research proposes possible solutions, to overcome the hurdles towards acceptance of AH in education. Automation methods can help authors, for example, teachers could create linear lessons and our prototype can add content alternatives for adaptation. Creating adaptive behaviour is more complex. Rule-based systems, XML-based conditional inclusion, Semantic Web reasoning and reusable, portable scripting in a programming language have been proposed. These methods all require specialised knowledge. Hence authoring of adaptive behaviour is difficult and teachers cannot be expected to create such strategies. We investigate three ways to address this issue. 1. Reusability: We investigate limitations regarding adaptation engines, which influence the authoring and reuse of adaptation strategies. We propose a metalanguage, as a supplement to the existing LAG adaptation language, showing how it can overcome such limitations. 2. Standardisation: There are no widely accepted standards for AH. The IMSLearning Design (IMS-LD) specification has similar goals to Adaptive Educational Hypermedia (AEH). Investigation shows that IMS-LD is more limited in terms of adaptive behaviour, but the authoring process focuses more on learning sequences and outcomes. 3. Visualisation: Another way is to simplify the authoring process of strategies using a visual tool. We define a reference model and a tool, the Conceptual Adaptation Model (CAM) and GRAPPLE Authoring Tool (GAT), which allow specification of an adaptive course in a graphical way. A key feature is the separation between content, strategy and adaptive course, which increases reusability compared to approaches that combine all factors in one model

A Transversal Analysis of Different Learning Design Approaches

The goal of the ICALT workshop "Comparing Educational Modelling* Languages on a Case Study" was to compare different Learning Design approaches. Various teams were asked to design and implement a common case study and to answer common given challenges. Then, a special issue on "Comparing Educational Modelling Languages on the "Planet Game Case Study"" was proposed to give the workshop challengers the opportunity to describe their solution in more detail. It is now time to make the comparison. Based on an in-depth analysis and many exchanges with the teams involved, this paper introduces the approaches and highlights current challenges in the Learning Design field in connection with the pitfalls included in the case study and the given challenges.Editors: Laurence Vignollet (Université de Savoie, France)

A Visual Ontology-Driven LD Editor and Player: Application to the Planet Game Case Study

This article first summarizes our previous work on Educational Modelling and Visual Editors, to provide the context for our more recent work within the LORNET [1] research network that has led to the development of TELOS, an ontology-based system to support the design, development and delivery of Semantic Web learning environments. Within that system, a central piece is the Scenario Editor that enables the aggregation of resources (actors, activities, operations, documents, tools) into a visual multi-actor workflow/learnflow, which is the central model defining the environment. Another piece is the Ontology Editor that is used to associate execution and domain knowledge semantics to entities in the scenario. Using these tools, a new version of the Planet Game scenario has been build as a case study including an IMS-LD design at level A, B, C. We will analyze the case study to underline how it addresses some difficulties in the use of the IMS-LD specification. Finally, we will discuss the generality of this ontology-driven approach and this contribution to the field of educational modelling.Editors: Laurence Vignollet (Université de Savoie, France).Interactive elements: Collage authoring tool is published in SourceForge and can be also downloaded from http://gsic.tel.uva.es/collage</a

A hybrid e-learning framework: Process-based, semantically-enriched and service-oriented

Despite the recent innovations in e-Learning, much development is needed to ensure better learning experience for everyone and bridge the research gap in the current state of the art e-Learning artefacts. Contemporary e-learning artefacts possess various limitations as follows. First, they offer inadequate variations of adaptivity, since their recommendations are limited to e-learning resources, peers or communities. Second, they are often overwhelmed with technology at the expense of proper pedagogy and learning theories underpinning e-learning practices. Third, they do not comprehensively capture the e-learning experiences as their focus shifts to e-learning activities instead of e-learning processes. In reality, learning is a complex process that includes various activities and interactions between different roles to achieve certain gaols in a continuously evolving environment. Fourth, they tend more towards legacy systems and lack the agility and flexibility in their structure and design. To respond to the above limitations, this research aims at investigating the effectiveness of combining three advanced technologies (i.e., Business Process Modelling and Enactment, Semantics and Service Oriented Computing – SOC–) with learning pedagogy in order to enhance the e-learner experience. The key design artefact of this research is the development of the HeLPS e-Learning Framework – Hybrid e-Learning Framework that is Process-based, Semantically-enriched and Service Oriented-enabled. In this framework, a generic e-learning process has been developed bottom-up based on surveying a wide range of e-learning models (i.e., practical artefacts) and their underpinning pedagogies/concepts (i.e., theories); and then forming a generic e-learning process. Furthermore, an e-Learning Meta-Model has been developed in order to capture the semantics of e-learning domain and its processes. Such processes have been formally modelled and dynamically enacted using a service-oriented enabled architecture. This framework has been evaluated using a concern-based evaluation employing both static and dynamic approaches. The HeLPS e-Learning Framework along with its components have been evaluated by applying a data-driven approach and artificially-constructed case study to check its effectiveness in capturing the semantics, enriching e-learning processes and deriving services that can enhance the e-learner experience. Results revealed the effectiveness of combining the above-mentioned technologies in order to enhance the e-learner experience. Also, further research directions have been suggested.This research contributes to enhancing the e-learner experience by making the e-learning artefacts driven by pedagogy and informed by the latest technologies. One major novel contribution of this research is the introduction of a layered architectural framework (i.e., HeLPS) that combines business process modelling and enactment, semantics and SOC together. Another novel contribution is adopting the process-based approach in e-learning domain through: identifying these processes and developing a generic business process model from a set of related e-learning business process models that have the same goals and associated objectives. A third key contribution is the development of the e-Learning Meta-Model, which captures a high-abstract view of learning domain and encapsulates various domain rules using the Semantic Web Rule Language. Additional contribution is promoting the utilisation of Service-Orientation in e-learning through developing a semantically-enriched approach to identify and discover web services from e-learning business process models. Fifth, e-Learner Experience Model (eLEM) and e-Learning Capability Maturity Model (eLCMM) have been developed, where the former aims at identifying and quantifying the e-learner experience and the latter represents a well-defined evolutionary plateau towards achieving a mature e-learning process from a technological perspective. Both models have been combined with a new developed data-driven Validation and Verification Model to develop a Concern-based Evaluation Approach for e-Learning artefacts, which is considered as another contribution

Telecommunications Networks

This book guides readers through the basics of rapidly emerging networks to more advanced concepts and future expectations of Telecommunications Networks. It identifies and examines the most pressing research issues in Telecommunications and it contains chapters written by leading researchers, academics and industry professionals. Telecommunications Networks - Current Status and Future Trends covers surveys of recent publications that investigate key areas of interest such as: IMS, eTOM, 3G/4G, optimization problems, modeling, simulation, quality of service, etc. This book, that is suitable for both PhD and master students, is organized into six sections: New Generation Networks, Quality of Services, Sensor Networks, Telecommunications, Traffic Engineering and Routing