E-Learning Application Requirements Kevin Keenoy, Birkbeck, Part I Don Peterson, Institute of Education, Part II

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Part I: Learning Objects and Metadata Standards

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November What is a Learning Object? The most general definition is very broad - anything that can be referenced during technology supported learning This includes everything that has ever existed in the history of the world! An important subset for SeLeNe is re- usable components of courses.

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Working Definition of Learning Objects May be useful to define a more specific usage of the term for within SeLeNe: Electronic, sharable chunks of re-usable learning content, available on the Web. These are the kind of thing that the metadata we plan to deal with will generally describe.

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Existing Metadata Standards The Dublin Core (more general) –Metadata standards for a wide range of domains. –Good basis of core elements applicable to any internet-based object. IEEE LOM (more educational) –Builds on Dublin Core –Basis of many other Learning Object Metadata specifications. –Basis of SeLeNe metadata?

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November User Profiles Some existing standards for user profiles: –vCard (electronic business card information) –IEEE PAPI (Personal And Private Information) –IMS LIP (Learner Information Package) –Universal Learning Format

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Some Current Metadata Activities ARIADNE & IMS –These recommendations formed the basis of IEEE LOM specifications. –Now promote their own metadata specifications, based on LOM. CEN/ISSS LT –European Committee for Standardisation –Interested in multi-lingual IEEE LOM, and setting up an e-Learning Technology Standards Observatory.

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November E-Learning: User Expectations and Requirements Very little requirements analysis for e- learning systems is available. Advice tends to be anecdotal and focused on web-design principles (ergonomics) We need: –personalised search over LOs –theoretical models which bridge learning theory (pedagogy) to this requirement.

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Part II: Learning Theory and Application Requirements

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Theories of Learning Anamnesis (Plato) Behaviourism (Skinner) Cognitivism (Piaget) Constructivism (Pappert) Assisted (Vygotsky) Experiential (Kolb) Trail based (Bush) Ampliative (Levene & Peterson)

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Assisted Learning I (Vygotsky) Learner + assistant (parent, teacher etc) => performance The assistant is a guide to action (not a source of knowledge) Gradually the learner internalises the contribution of the assistant This is the zone of proximal development

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Assisted Learning II learner assistant performance

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Assisted Learning III Requirements on the assistant: Adaptive Personalised Informed by a trusted community Monitored by a trusted community

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Ampliative Learning I (Levene and Peterson 2002) We learn not isolated facts but trails of learning objects (cf Bush) E.g. in museums, libraries, or any space of learning objects A trail has 2 aspects: –a navigation history –a cognitive structure (cf schemas in Piaget, Bartlett)

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Ampliative Learning II In phase 1, we acquire a trail In phase 2, we expand, refine and personalise it (ampliative learning) In phase 3, we return again to the original experiences (cf Kolb)

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Ampliative Learning III Requirements on support: Representation of trails Storage, retrieval, editing of trails Assistance in expanding and refining trails

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Synthesis These frameworks combine to identify a particular need --- assisted ampliative learning. learner assistant performance = trail refinement

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November System Requirements adaptive, personalised, community- based support for expansion and refinement of trails of learning objects user needs + profile + metadata => filtered search through LOs => support for assisted ampliative learning.

SeLeNe Startup Meeting, Crete, November Design Contexts Cognitive load --- support in an Age of Complexity (Reeves, Barnett) EU Integration --- use of LOs across national, curriculum and other boundaries Re-enchantment --- the arts (meaning, understanding, interpretation), and perspectival technologies (cf Snow). End.