Explorations in graphical argumentation:The use of external representations of argumentation in collaborative problem solving.

Van Bruggen, J. M. (2003). Explorations in graphical argumentation The use of external representations of argumentation in collaborative problem solving. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Open University of the Netherlands. The Netherlands

Introducing the SAPS System and a Corresponding Allocation Mechanism for Synchronous Online Reciprocal Peer Support Activities

While student populations in higher education are becoming more heterogeneous, recently several attempts have been made to introduce online peer support to decrease the tutor load of teachers. We propose a system that facilitates synchronous online reciprocal peer support activities for ad hoc student questions: the Synchronous Allocated Peer Support (SAPS) system. Via this system, students with questions during their learning are allocated to competent fellow-students for answering. The system is designed for reciprocal peer support activities among a group of students who are working on the same fixed modular material every student has to finish, such as courses with separate chapters. As part of a requirement analysis of online reciprocal peer support to succeed, this chapter is focused on the second requirement of peer competence and sustainability of our system. Therefore a study was conducted with a simulation of a SAPS-based allocation mechanism in the NetLogo simulation environment and focuses on the required minimum population size, the effect of the addition of extra allocation parameters or disabling others on the mechanism\'s effectiveness, and peer tutor load spread in various conditions and its influence on the mechanism\'s effectiveness. The simulation shows that our allocation mechanism should be able to facilitate online peer support activities among groups of students. The allocation mechanism holds over time and a sufficient number of students are willing and competent to answer fellow-students\' questions. Also, fine-tuning the parameters (e.g. extra selection criteria) of the allocation mechanism further enhances its effectiveness.Peer Support, Peer Allocation, Computational Simulations, System Dynamics, Distance Learning

Students and recorded lectures: survey on current use and demands for higher education

Online recordings of lectures provide students with anytime-anyplace access to lectures. Research shows that students prefer courses accompanied by online recordings and an increasing number of universities provide recorded lectures. This paper presents the results of a study into the use of recorded lectures at two universities in the Netherlands. The goal of the study is to gain a better understanding of the way that this group of students use recorded lectures. This understanding will enable the creation of usage scenarios that need to be supported. Our results show that students use recorded lectures as a replacement for missed lectures and for study tasks, like preparing for an exam. A large proportion of the students report that they watch 75–100% of a recorded lecture when the view one. The fact that students did not mention the quality of the actual lectures appears not to influence the use of the recorded lectures. Recorded lectures for courses that only use the blackboard are viewed less often. There are also interesting differences in the use of recorded lectures of the different groups of students at the two universities. To increase the credibility and validity of the results, we need a more direct way to measure the use of recorded lectures by students. Methodological triangulation using the log data for the recorded lectures can provide this

Giving According to Agreement

We propose an axiom that we call Agreement to deal with changing preferences and derive its empirical implications. The resulting revealed preference condition generalises GARP when preferences are different but preferences in one context are informative about preferences in another context. We apply this idea to a social choice experiment, where a player can respond to another player being kind or relatively unkind. We find that people have a consistent preferences for each case, but that preferences depend on the kindness of the other player, and that subjects act in line with Agreement. We thus provide support for modelling and interpreting responses to the intentions of other players as a preference for reciprocity

Working Format: Connect The Dots! Reflection Exercise

Rajagopal, K., Van Bruggen, J., & Sloep, P. B. (2012). Working Format: Connect The Dots! Reflection Exercise. Heerlen, The Netherlands: Open Universiteit in the Netherlands (CELSTEC, TELLNet).This is a working format used at the eTwinning workshop "Networking for Creative School Teams", on 30th March 2012. The purpose of this working format is to exercise social networking in a blended context, from face-to-face to online networking. It can be used in the same way or in an adapted format as an exercise with groups to train linking up face-to-face with online social networking.This workshop was conducted within the scope of the TELLNet project

Do you want to connect? Recommendation strategies for building Personal Learning Networks

Recommender systems in social networking sites make users of these sites aware of various resources and people that otherwise they may have missed. In Personal Learning Networks, recommendation is used to create new connections by creating opportunities for interaction and conversation between learners. This article describes the outcomes of a workshop held at the PLE Conference 2013 on the design of recommender systems and on the concepts that determine how they work