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

Applying Recommendations to Align Competences, Methodology, and Assessment in Telematics, Computing, and Electronic Engineering Courses

The alignment between competences, teachinglearning methodologies, and assessment is a key element of European higher education. This paper presents the efforts carried out by six telematics, computer science and electronic engineering education teachers toward achieving this alignment in their subjects. In a joint work with pedagogues, a set of recommended actions are identified. A selection of these actions are applied and evaluated in the six subjects. The cross analysis of the results indicates that the actions allow students to better understand the methodologies and assessments planned for the subjects, facilitate (self-) regulation, and increase students’ involvement in the subjects

Design-aware analytics supporting teachers’ monitoring of blended learning scenarios: Two experiences in higher education

From the conceptualization to the evaluation of blended learning scenarios, teachers address multiple tasks, sometimes being overwhelmed on account of the required time and associated burden. To support teachers in this endeavor, we propose to connect the pedagogical decisions made at design time with the analysis of the participants’ interactions. In this paper, we evaluate the proposal in two authentic scenarios where we analysed whether the script-aware monitoring process provided the participant teachers with relevant information for the orchestration of blended learning scenarios. The participant teachers valued the proposal positively in terms of representativeness, novelty, relevance, required effort, and perceived usefulness. Additionally, they stated that it was helpful for the orchestration of the learning scenarios

Collaborative Learning Models on Distance Scenarios with Learning Design: A Case Study

6 págs, 1 fig.-- Publicado en la Sección: "Artículos seleccionados de IEEE ICALT" (ICALT'2008 - Eighth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, Jul 1-5, 2008).Previamente publicado como ponencia (en inglés) en: Proceedings ICALT'08 - Eighth IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 2008, p. 278-282, http://e-archivo.uc3m.es/handle/10016/8964Collaborative learning models are widely used in educational institutions. These models require a high interaction level among students and are mainly oriented towards in-class scenarios. But when collaborative models are deployed in a distant scenario, user expressiveness is significantly reduced thus creating a gap that hinders the effectiveness of this collaboration. A computer-supported model provides a set of tools to compensate for the distant scenario and reduce this gap. This paper presents the issues and solutions derived from the design and deployment of a complex collaborative model in a distant scenario. The course structure was captured using the Learning Design specification, and an architecture based on Virtual Network Computing was used to provide the required collaborative tools. The course was included as part of a regular undergraduate program in three higher educational institutions.Trabajo parcialmente financiado por el Programa Nacional de Tecnologías de la Información y de las Comunicaciones, Proyectos MOSAIC (TSI2005-08225-C07-02/04) y LEARN3 (TIN2008-05163/TSI).Publicad

The Data Flow Problem in Learning Design: A Case Study

A teaching-learning process formalized through the IMS-Learning Design specification (IMS-LD) comprises a sequence of learning activities (learning flow) as well as a sequence of artifacts between tools or services (data flow) used to support the learning activities. According to the literature, the collaborative learning flow specification has been successfully achieved; however the automation of the collaborative data flow is still an open issue in IMS-LD. Nevertheless, no case studies have been reported in the literature in order to show with real data why the automation of the data flow is an important issue in Learning Design (LD). In this paper an authentic case study which is significative and relevant to the problem is analyzed. Supported with real data, several findings related to the data flow problem in collaborative learning emerged: data management is error-prone for the users; data flow specification is error-prone for the course designer; users suffer an additional cognitive load during the data management; the course designer suffers an additional cognitive load during the data flow specification; and the need to include instance-level data flow specification within the learning design has also been identified. Furthermore, these findings also help us to understand the relevance of the problem: a data flow approach which is error-prone for both the users and the course designer may potentially affect the accomplishment of the users’ learning objectives; and a learning design which merge declarative-level learning flow with instance-level data flow affects the reusability of the whole unit of learning (UoL). Based on the relation among these findings and literature, three dimensions of the IMS-LD data flow problem have been identified: the data flow automation problem already reported in the literature, which is related to the user’s data flow management issue; the data flow consistency problem, which is related to the issue of matching the different parts that comprise the data flow specification; and the UoL reuse problem, which is related to the instance-level collaborative data flow specification issue. Furthermore, these dimensions also help us to determine the necessary requirements in order to tackle these problems. Since IMS-LD fails to specify the data flow in collaborative learning, we propose a separation of the data flow from the learning flow. For this purpose, a standard workflow language such as BPEL is used and a unit of data flow (UoDF), which is just a business process archive (BPR) understandable by a BPEL-compliant engine is created. Then, the learning design is specified in a unit of learning flow (UoLF), which is actually a UoL understandable by an IMS-LD compliant engine that follows the best practices in collaborative data flow specification, which means not specifying the data flow at all. Finally, for coordination of both engines, a coordination model has been developed and a prototype is currently under test and evaluation. Future work includes evaluation of more case studies in order to validate the proposal solution, and identify limitations and drawbacks. Interestingly is that our proposal which is based on a composition-based approach may be thought as the in-between approach that will provide a framework for future integration of LD and workflow streams

Scripting and monitoring meet each other: Aligning learning analytics and learning design to support teachers in orchestrating CSCL situations.

From the conceptualization to the evaluation of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) scenarios, teachers address multiple tasks, sometimes being overwhelmed on account of the required time and associated burden. To support teachers in this endeavor, we propose to connect the pedagogical decisions made at design time with the analysis of the participants' interactions. Thus, teachers would be provided with relevant and coarse-grained information that could help them manage their CSCL scenarios. This paper synthesizes the main contributions obtained from a 3-year design-based research process, and presents the findings obtained from the evaluation of the current proposal in two authentic CSCL scenarios. The participant teachers valued the proposal positively and stated that it was helpful for their orchestration of CSCL scenarios

InstanceCollage: a tool for the particularization of collaborative IMS-LD scripts

Current research work in e-learning and more specifically in the field of CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) deals with design of collaborative activities, according to computer-interpretable specifications, such as IMS Learning Design, and their posterior enactment using LMSs (Learning Management Systems). A script that describes such collaborative activities is typically designed beforehand in order to structure collaboration, and defines the features that determine the behavior of the LMS, for instance, the sequence of activities or the groups/role distribution. In CSCL settings, group management and composition are especially relevant and affect the chances of achieving the expected learning outcomes. This paper presents a software tool, named InstanceCollage, which aims at facilitating the configuration and population of groups for IMS-LD scripts created with the authoring tool Collage, and discusses the implications of the IMS-LD specification with respect to this task. InstanceCollage is designed to process collaboration scripts based on CLFPs (Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns). Using this type of patterns, InstanceCollage focuses on the importance of understanding the function of groups within the learning strategy of the script. This paper describes the approach taken in InstanceCollage to facilitate this understanding for non-expert users. Additionally, two case studies are presented, which represent complex authentic collaborative learning scenarios, as a proof of concept of the functionality of this tool. The case studies are also used to illustrate the requirements of group configuration tools and to show that InstanceCollage complies to such requirements

Monitoring-Aware Learning Design Process: Pilot Studies in Authentic CSCL Scenarios

ICT tools offer the possibility to store, analyse and visualise large amounts of educational data. However, in order to make sense of these analyses, teachers need meaningful information connected to their pedagogical intentions. We envision an enriched learning-design process, which supports the integration of the issues related to monitoring in the script. This paper presents a study where the first author and a teacher iteratively co-designed two authentic learning scenarios with the aim of defining and evaluating a monitoring-aware design model and process. These two proposals, the model and the process, were positively evaluated by the participant teacher, and are the basis for the future implementation of an authoring tool that will support the proposed monitoring-aware design process

Towards a Script-Aware Monitoring Process of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning Scenarios

The increasing complexity of CSCL scenarios makes the classroom management highly demanding. Teachers invest considerable effort to design the learning scenario and to be aware of what happens during the enactment. We hypothesise that providing monitoring information closely related to the teachers' pedagogical intentions will help them to understand the unfolding of the learning situation, empowering them to intervene. This article presents a script-aware monitoring process which uses the knowledge about the learning design to guide the analysis of the educational data generated throughout the learning processes. The proposal is illustrated by an example based on a real CSCL scenario in an university course. This example shows how the script-aware monitoring provides useful feedback for the teacher and reduces the effort devoted to management tasks

Scripting and monitoring meet each other: Aligning learning analytics and learning design to support teachers in orchestrating CSCL situations.

From the conceptualization to the evaluation of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) scenarios, teachers address multiple tasks, sometimes being overwhelmed on account of the required time and associated burden. To support teachers in this endeavor, we propose to connect the pedagogical decisions made at design time with the analysis of the participants' interactions. Thus, teachers would be provided with relevant and coarse-grained information that could help them manage their CSCL scenarios. This paper synthesizes the main contributions obtained from a 3-year design-based research process, and presents the findings obtained from the evaluation of the current proposal in two authentic CSCL scenarios. The participant teachers valued the proposal positively and stated that it was helpful for their orchestration of CSCL scenarios