The Significance of Affective Issues in Successful Learning with ICT for Year One and Two Pupils and their Teachers: The Final Outcomes of the ICT and the Whole Child Project

This paper considers for the first time the final results of the ICT and the Whole child project sponsored by the Nuffield Foundation. Two classrooms of the future with high quality, ICT equipment and software chosen from a child-centred perspective were installed in a primary school near Leeds and the effects evaluated over two years with a special focus on self esteem. The year one and year two classrooms were designed to increase positive interaction and affect between teachers and children and to improve and equalise teacher/pupil relationships. A range of qualitative and quantitative data was collected and analysed including interviews with teachers and children, lesson observations on video, year 2 SATs data and self-esteem data which was compared with another class group with more usual facilities. As well as showing the establishment of highly successful interactive classrooms in which ICT is integrated into teaching and learning across the curriculum every day, the outcomes also reveal the conversion of anxious, sceptical teachers into ICT enthusiasts. The final assessment data (due in June/July) is expected to show improvements for achievement in literacy, numeracy and ICT skills for the year one and two pupils over the two years of the project and a preliminary interpretation of the data in relation to self esteem and other affective issues. Key words: ICT, early years achievement, affective issues

Commentary on: Allert, H. (2004) Coherent Social Systems for Learning: An Approach for Contextualized and Community-Centred Metadata

Abstract: Heidrun Allert's paper is, at least for this reader, a very interesting contribution to the debate over the future of the semantic web from an educational perspective. The main contribution is a proposal for a new form of metadata relating to the notion of a "Learning Role" which is used to provide a way of avoiding the static nature of many schemes for describing ontological structures. This is a constructive approach to a somewhat difficult situation in the world of educational metadata. At the very least, the proposal deserves to be fleshed out into a more substantial proposal and discussed by various interested parties. Paper: Allert, H. (2004) Coherent Social Systems for Learning: An Approach for Contextualized and Community-Centred Metadata. Editors: Terry Anderson and Denise Whitelock

The development of a fraction testing and tutoring system

One of the major areas in Computer Aided Learning (CAL) research has been the development of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) for tutoring individual subjects through the application of cognitive tutor technology. In parallel to the use of computer aided learning (CAL), Computer Based Testing (CBT) has also been widely used for a variety of purposes. Studies have shown that fractions are one of the most difficult subjects to learn due to the complexity of the concepts and skills involved. Although there are various fraction tutoring systems available, most of them lack user interactivity and do not provide intuitive insight into the many concepts and skills associated with fractions. Furthermore, these systems are generally intended for longer-term learning use (e.g. weeks or even longer) and the effectiveness of using such systems is therefore usually difficult to assess. This paper presents the development of an interactive computerised Fraction Testing and Tutoring System (FTTS) delivered through the World Wide Web that incorporates learning capabilities for the purpose of both tutoring and testing fractions for school students aged 10-12. The system implements the cognitive learning model proposed by Derry in 1990. This system can perform fraction tutoring and at the same time undertake fraction testing. Results obtained from the use of this system can therefore be used to assess the effect of tutoring on students’ performance

What is the Value of Virtual Reality for Conceptual Learning? Towards a Theoretical Framework

There is little principled empirical work that has been carried out on the effectiveness of Virtual Reality Environments for educational purposes. We briefly review recent work, and propose a theoretical framework for research into the relationship between Virtual Reality Environments and conceptual learning. The proposed framework suggests that experience obtained through working in a particular class of Virtual Reality Environments automatically improves both performance and conceptual understanding on a specific range of tasks. This framework is a contribution to providing a stronger theoretical basis for a rigorous approach to the selection of appropriate tools for training and education. Such foundational work is necessary for a more coherent approach to harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence and Educational Technology to provide more efficient and effective usage

Opening up the interpretation process in an open learner model

Opening a model of the learner is a potentially complex operation. There are many aspects of the learner that can be modelled, and many of these aspects may need to be opened in different ways. In addition, there may be complicated interactions between these aspects which raise questions both about the accuracy of the underlying model and the methods for representing a holistic view of the model. There can also be complex processes involved in inferring the learner's state, and opening up views onto these processes - which leads to the issues that are the main focus of this paper: namely, how can we open up the process of interpreting the learner's behaviour in such a manner that the learner can both understand the process and challenge the interpretation in a meaningful manner. The paper provides a description of the design and implementation of an open learner model (termed the xOLM) which features an approach to breaking free from the limitations of "black box" interpretation. This approach is based on a Toulmin-like argumentation structure together with a form of data fusion based on an adaptation of Dempster-Shafer. However, the approach is not without its problems. The paper ends with a discussion of the possible ways in which open learner models might open up the interpretation process even more effectively

Towards a learner modelling engine for the Semantic Web

We describe XLM, the learner modelling subsystem of LEACTIVEMATH, from the viewpoint of how it makes use of technologies associated with the Semantic Web. We discuss how a better usage of these technologies could make of XLM a more generic learner modelling engine to serve a variety of elearning systems. We try to foresee important issues to be addressed and difficult problems to be solved in the way to this goal

Clarissa: a laboratory for the modelling of collaboration

Abstract. There is a continuing debate about how to organise collaborative activities for them to be educationally valuable. This organisation can be analysed both in terms of how to set up the situation and how to arrange the interactions between participants. Here, we are interested in the different ways in which to organise the interaction, and in the consequences for effective collaboration. For example, what constraints might be usefully applied to 'unconstrained' collaboration? The work described here uses computational modelling to provide the tools for a systematic investigation. The approach taken is based on the assumption that students should learn through the adoption of different ways of using dialogue (dialogue roles). Very few, however, have sought to examine this assumption through the computational modelling of explicit dialogue role assignment within collaborative situations. The Clarissa (Collaborative Learning As Realised In Simple Simulated Agents) system allows the exploration of collaboration with respect to dialogue roles and different policies used for their allocation. A simple problem solving domain context is used, which exhibits many of the properties of more complex situations. The system is described, and selected results obtained from modelling a range of types of collaboration are presented. Findings from the analysis of a set of different collaborative arrangements indicate that there are more effective ways of organising collaborative situations than the free adoption of dialogue roles. In this paper, a pair of such policies are used to explore this issue using a baseline policy chosen as a representative of a commonly accepted form of collaboration. Clarissa itself provides a novel laboratory which has some implications for a new range of software agents capable of plausible collaborative behaviour

Searching for Examples with a Programming Techniques Editor

Searching through a library of examples for a similar task or similar solution is one way in which novice programmers learn to program. Providing help for novices to become more proficient programmers entails helping them both to see the significance of the \u27deep\u27 features of the current task and to take advantage of them both in searching a library of examples, and in selecting and using an appropriate case.In this paper the focus is primarily on the problem of accessing a suitable case. For detailed consideration, a programming environment is utilised that features an \u27intermediate description language\u27. This environment is SunTed, a Prolog Techniques Editor - which provides novice support of various types, including facilities to retrieve cases.The basic issues addressed are: whether or not an intermediate description language for cases is a suitable means of supporting novices in their learning to program; the nature of the fundamental constituents of an intermediate description language; what can be learned from a system that implements a specific example of such an approach; and the consequences for the design of systems that support learning