Vol. 14, No. 2, June 1998

Special Issue: Meeting the challenge of new technologies

Design issues of a distance learning course on Business on the Internet

K. Stefanov, S. Stoyanov* & R. Nikolov

Department of Information Technologies, Sofia University and *Institute of Education and Science, Sofia

Email: krassen@fmi.uni-sofia.bg

The paper presents the main design issues of a distance learning course on Business on the Internet. The instructional design is based on a learner-centred instructional strategy which allows learners to construct their own knowledge while solving real business problems and transferring their knowledge to other learners. They learn autonomously taking the responsibility for their learning and following their individual cognitive styles, interests, preferences. The learners have access to the Internet being members of a global, cooperative learning community. The learning community involves students and tutors who collectively take responsibility for the design and evaluation of the course content and the teaching methods to be applied. Both students and tutors inhabit a virtual learning environment that offers different virtual places and services: virtual university, virtual enterprise, auditoriums, workshop rooms, cafes, libraries, etc. where students from different locations can meet, interact, learn and work together, as if they were face-to-face.

Keywords: Curriculum design; Instructional design; Telematics-based distance learning; Virtual communities; Virtual learning environments

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Monitoring the on-line behaviour of distance learning students

T. Wilson & D. Whitelock*, Centre for Educational Software and *Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University

Email: m.e.wilson@open.ac.uk

Projects using Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) are becoming of interest to all academic institutions world-wide. STILE (Students' and Teachers' Integrated Learning Environment) is one such project which used a CMC environment with one hundred and ten students and nine tutors in the United Kingdom and Europe. The participants were on-line for a period of ten months in 1995. The course selected was Fundamentals of Computing (M205) which catered for both technical and non-technical students. The provision of these facilities enabled distance learning students to avail themselves of better communication with their tutor and fellow students and to download extra electronic course materials. They could also send their computer code, created for the course, around electronically. This paper discusses student reactions to the on-line collaborative experience and reports on their collaborative behaviour with respect to the conferencing environment.

Keywords: Computer-mediated communication; Collaboration; On-line exercises; Participation

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Collaborative information filtering in cooperative communities

K. Miyahara & T. Okamoto, The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo

Email: miya@ai.is.uec.ac.jp

Recently, large amounts of on-line information broadcast from private persons/corporations are available via the Internet. In particular, there are large amounts of on-line resources useful for learning which are currently underutilised due to the sheer volume of information available. The purpose of the study reported in this paper is to develop an information filtering system, which gathers, classifies, stores various kinds of information found on the Internet. The approach taken has been to create filters through the collaboration of members of a community. In this paper, a representation of personal interests and its acquisition method in the system are described.

Keywords: Collaborative filtering; Distributed learning environment; Information filtering; Multi-agent system

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Why observing a dialogue may benefit learning

J. McKendree, K. Stenning, T. Mayes*, J. Lee & R. Cox, University of Edinburgh and *Glasgow Caledonian University

Email: jeanmck@cogsci.ed.ac.uk

The Vicarious Learner project is investigating the fundamental role of dialogue for learning. More specifically, the project is exploring the benefits to learners of being able to observe others participating in discussion. Such opportunities are becoming fewer with the proliferation of computer-based courses and distance learning, as well as growing student numbers. This paper presents the theoretical aspects of the work. A high-level 'process model' of learning is presented and then a more detailed model of what happens in educational dialogues. This 'logic model' of dialogue breaks discussions into two parts: the introduction of new premises and the derivation of new premises by the application of rules of reasoning in the domain. It is argued that in ordinary conversation the first aspect dominates while in educational dialogues, many misunderstandings arise from the need for more emphasis on explicit demonstration of use of rules.

Keywords: Argumentation; Dialogue; Learning; Logic, Reflection

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Fostering superficial learning

R. Ramberg & K. Karlgren, Department of Computer and Systems Science, Stockholm University

Email: robban@dsv.su.se

Different views of learning and what it means to follow rules are discussed. The activities, the language and context of expertise and knowledge have traditionally often been neglected and underestimated as something ancillary to the real knowledge which lies 'beyond' such surface manifestations. The primacy of 'superficial' aspects are argued for. It is further argued that these should be more emphasised and fully appreciated. The goal of fostering 'superficial' learning is suggested, i.e. an emphasis on practical activities, the use of the language of the domain to be learned and getting familiar with the new culture. A case study is presented and discussed in terms of this theoretical viewpoint.

Keywords: Cognitive science; Instruction; Knowledge; Learning; Rule-following.

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Cognitive strategies observed during problem solving with LOGO

F. Lowenthal, C. Marcourt & C. Solimando, Sciences Cognitives, Université de Mons-Hainaut

Email: francis.lowenthal@umh.ac.be

The present paper is devoted to a clinical preliminary analysis of the strategies used during one school year by 280 9 to 12 year olds, working in pairs and engaged in LOGO related problem solving activities. The data are grouped as a function of the type of strategies used by the pupils for a given problem and these strategies are defined as a function of the complexity level of the LOGO procedures created and measured on the basis of a hierarchy based upon actual observations. The types of solving processes and the types of mistakes most often encountered are also analysed. The evolution of the strategies used by different groups are compared. All these data show the relevance of a multilinear and contextual vision of problem solving strategies as opposed to the rigid vision described by some authors. The results presented here are especially relevant for teachers engaged in remedial activities.

Keywords: Cognition; Education; LOGO; Psychology

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Training for strategic decision making in professional contexts

D. Leclet & G. Weidenfeld, Groupe Nouvelles Technologies Educatives, Université de Picardie Jules Verne

Email: dominique.leclet@ca.u-picardie.fr

The main new result reported in this paper is a computer-based approach for training strategic competences in practical jobs such as salesmen or waiters. The environment represents job situations in which the students may act from basic principles. The interaction is similar to that in simulations or microworlds, but there is no underlying model of the activity. In order to provide feedback to the learner, a model has been built which is based on the analysis of a large set of cases provided by experts. This model uses formal knowledge and contextual knowledge in order to build an explanation mechanism providing textual comments and multimedia illustrations.

Keywords: Context; Knowledge representation; Microworlds; Multimedia; Objects; Simulations

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

Computer-networks in education - a better way to learn?

M. Ådnanes & W.M. Rþnning*

Faculty of Psychology, The Norwegian University of Science and Technology and * The Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy

Email: marian.adnanes@sv.ntnu.no

In the period 1992-1994 a project on the use of computer-networks in education was carried out in five secondary schools in Norway (SIRNET). An important goal was to provide an environment to facilitate quality control in the learning process with a special focus on active student learning. Two different models were explored: completely distributed classes and courses, and partly distributed courses. The results presented here are based on the last year of the project. The main results of the evaluation of SIRNET demonstrated that the first model was the most successful in promoting student responsibility. In this model, the teachers had to rely completely on the technology and on the student's ability to work more independently. The paper concludes that a necessary prerequisite for a successful connection between pedagogy and computer-technology, requires a common pedagogic view amongst the teachers involved. It is suggested that a certain set of criteria should serve as a 'check-list' in the development and accomplishment of such projects in the future.

Keywords: Computer; Distributed education; Evaluation; Learning environment; Pedagogy; Technology

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.

The roles of gaze, gesture and gender in CSCL

D. Whitelock & E. Scanlon, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University

Email: d.m.whitelock@open.ac.uk

This paper investigates the role of gaze and gesture when subjects are collaboratively solving physics problems with a computer. The results from the study indicate that females interacting together as pairs do use gaze significantly more than male pairs or those of mixed gender. There is evidence that gaze occurs during the planning stages of the problem solving activities and occurs more frequently by the speaker rather than the hearer during this phase. Mutual gazing occurs at this time too. The main finding is that differences in non-verbal communication strategies with respect to gender grouping effect not only the strategies that progress the collaborative process but more importantly also those that influence the understanding of the problem space. These results suggest the quality of video linkage will play an important role in collaborative problem solving for distance learners.

Keywords: Collisions; Computer supported collaborative learning; Gaze; Gender; Gesture

Meeting the Challenge of New Technologies, the PEG'97 Conference, Sofia, June 1997 - a paper based on one selected from the Conference.