ICVL – 2008 Virtual Learning – Virtual Reality Proceedings of the 3 rd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON VIRTUAL LEARNING October 31 – November 2 , 2008, Constanta, ROMANIA EDITORS: Marin VLADA, Grigore ALBEANU, Dorin Mircea POPOVICI Bucharest Uni versi t y Press FP7 – INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES 2010 – Towards a Learning and Knowledge Society – 2030 The ICVL 2008 is held under the auspices of the INTUITION Consortium-The Network of Excellence in Europe and National Authority for Scientific Research UNIVERSITY OF BUCHAREST www.unibuc.ro National Authority for Scientific Research – www.mct.ro OVIDIUS UNIVERSITY OF CONSTANTA www.univ-ovidius.ro FACULTY OF MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE www.univ-ovidius.ro/math The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning VIRTUAL LEARNING – VIRTUAL REALITY VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH MODELS & METHODOLOGIES, TECHNOLOGIES, SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS www.icvl.eu/2008 www.cniv.ro/2008 ICVL 2008 Awards - Sponsored by Intel Corporation 1. Excellence Award "Intel®Education" - USD 500 2. Special Award "Intel®Education" - USD 500 The ICVL Award is offered in recognition of ICVL papers published within in "Proceedings of the International Conference on Virtual Learning" ICVL and CNIV Coordinator: Dr. MARIN VLADA The printing of Proceedings was sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Research, National Authority for Scientific Research, ROMANIA Proceedings of the 3 rd International Conference On Virtual Learning October 31- November 2, 2008 MODELS & METHODOLOGIES, TECHNOLOGIES, SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS , 2008 ICVL and CNIV Partners: Dr. Grigore Albeanu, Dr. Mircea Popovici, Prof. Radu Jugureanu www.icvl.eu www.cniv.ro © Bucharest University Press Şos. Panduri nr. 90-92, BUCUREŞTI- 050663; Tel.Fax: 410.23.84 E-mail:
[email protected] Web: www.editura.unibuc.ro Tehnoredactare: Emeline-Daniela AVRAM ISSN: 1844-8933 M MO OT TT TO OS S „ „The informatics/computer science re-establishes not only the unity between the pure and the applied mathematical sciences, the concrete technique and the concrete mathematics, but also that between the natural sciences, the human being and the society. It restores the concepts of the abstract and the formal and makes peace between arts and science not only in the scientist' conscience, but in their philosophy as well. .” ” G Gr r. . C C. . M Mo oi is si il l ( (1 19 90 06 6- -1 19 97 73 3) ) Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Bucharest, Member of the Romanian Academy, Computer Pioneer Award of IEEE, 1996 http://fmi.unibuc.ro/icvl/2006/grcmoisil ”Learning is evolution of knowledge over time” Roger E. Bohn Professor of Management and expert on technology management, University of California, San Diego, USA, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies http://irps.ucsd.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/roger-e-bohn.htm Welcome to ICVL 2008! The 3 rd edition of the International Conference on Virtual Learning continues bringing together scientists, teachers, students, managers and psychologists in order to present contributions or to find out the state of the art in the field of Virtual Learning. The logo for this edition is "VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH", and shows the increasing interest in methodologies, models, techniques, software tools, content development and quality evaluation of educational software based on virtual environments. Based on a two-stage selection of the papers, finally only 46 contributions were selected for oral presentation and publishing in the ICVL proceedings from 74 proposal received initially. This reveals the large effort of the Scientific committee in the double-blind reviewing process in order to keep only relevant, good and very good contributions. During ICVL event, an Workshop on EMULACTION project, coordinated by Dr. Jean-Pierre Gerval, ISEN-Brest (école d'ingénieurs généralistes des hautes technologies, L'Institut Supérieur de l'Electronique et du Numérique), France will present the stage of development of a Web Based Environment in order to enable distributed and co-operative practical activities: groups of students from different schools and different countries working together on the same activities. The partners of this important project are Ovidius University of Constanta, Moncton University in Canada, Viettronics Technology College in Vietnam, Libanese University at Tripoly - Liban and Technical University of Moldova at Chisinau, and they are working together to implement the concept of Distributed Virtual Room for the EMULACTION web based environment. As usually, the International Conference on Virtual Learning (http://www.icvl.eu) is part of an important project sponsored by Romanian Ministry of Education and Research and SIVECO SA Romania. For the second year, the organisers invite you at University of Constanta to attend to all the Conference events: presentations, exhibition, welcome party, and, also to meet people all around the world, including a lot of young people from Romania participating at The Seven Edition of the National Conference on Virtual Learning (http://www.cniv.ro) a jointly event in these days. 8 The organisers greatly appreciate the interest and the contribution of INTEL corporation which offers two awards for papers published in the ICVL proceedings which conforms with ICVL objectives and promotes new methodologies and information technologies in education. In respects with ICVL objectives to promote valuable research we mention the publication in extended version of some of the best papers having the focus on the convergence of the 3 "C" (Computing, Communication, Control) in the International Journal of Computers, Communications & Control, an ISI journal (http://journal.univagora.ro/). The We hope you will find valuable contributions to the field of virtual learning and you will enjoy the city of Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – 17 AD), the most widely read and imitated of Latin poets, known to the English- speaking world as Ovid, which in ten years of banishment by Augustus, he wrote five books of the Tristia, four of the Epistulae ex Ponto, and the long curse-poem Ibis. Welcome to Constanta, Romania! Dr. Marin Vlada and Dr. Grigore Albeanu, ICVL and CNIV Projects GENERAL CONTENTS About ICVL 2008 ................................................................ 11 About Intel®Education ....................................................... 29 About EMULACTION project .............................................. 31 Invited papers, Projects – Virtual Environments for Education and Research ................................................. 33 Section M&M MODELS & METHODOLOGIES ................................................ 99 Contents of Section M&M .................................................... 281 Sections TECH and SOFT TECHNOLOGIES and SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS ......................................................... 287 Contents of Sections TECH and SOFT ................................. 397 Section Intel® Education LEARNING, TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE ....................................... 401 Contents of Sections Intel® Education ................................. 437 News and Events ICVL 2008 Web site ............................................................. 439 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 11 About ICVL 2008 ICVL Project – www.icvl.eu 2010 – TOWARDS A LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY – 2030 VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH © Project Coordinator: Ph.D. Marin Vlada, University of Bucharest, Romania Partners: Ph.D. Prof. Grigore Albeanu, Ph.D. Mircea Dorin Popovici, Prof. Radu Jugureanu Sponsors: The Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, SIVECO Romania, Intel Corporation ICVL is held under the auspices of: – The European INTUITION Consortium – The Romanian Ministry of Education and Research – The National Authority for Scientific Research University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 12 Conference Organisation • General Chair Dr. Marin Vlada, Professor of Computer Science, University of Bucharest, Research Center for Computer Science (Romania), European INTUITION Consortium member • Technical Programme Chair Dr. Grigore Albeanu, Professor of Computer Science, Spiru Haret University, Research Center for Mathematics and Informatics (Romania) • Associate General Chair Dr. Dorin Mircea Popovici, Professor of Computer Science, Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania), CERV- European Center for Virtual Reality (France) • Associate General Chair Prof. Radu Jugureanu, AeL eContent Department Manager, SIVECO Romania SA, Bucharest, Romania Scientific Committee/Technical Programme Committee / Executive reviewers The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 13 Dr. Grigore Albeanu Professor of Computer Science, Spiru Haret University, Research Center for Mathematics and Informatics, Romania Dr. Adrian Adascalitei Professor of Electrical Engineering Fundamentals, Technical University "Gh. Asachi", Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Iasi, Romania Dr. Angelos Amditis Research Associate Professor (INTUITION Coordinator, http://www.intuition-eunetwork.net/), Institute of Communication and Computer Systems, ICCS- NTUA Microwaves and Optics Lab, ATHENS, GREECE Dr. Grigore Burdea Professor of Applied Science (Robotics), Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey, Director, Human-Machine Interface Laboratory, CAIP Center, USA Dr. Pierre Chevaillier LISYC – Laboratoire d'Informatique des Systèmes Complexes, CERV – Centre Européen de Réalité Virtuelle (European Center for Virtual Reality), France, European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Mirabelle D' Cruz Virtual Reality Applications Research Team (VIRART), School of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering (M3),University of Nottingham University, U.K., European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Steve Cunningham Noyce Visiting Professor of Computer Science, Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa 50112, USA Department of Computer Science Dr. Ioan Dzitac Professor of Computer Science, Executive Editor of IJCCC, Agora University,Oradea, Romania Dr. Victor Felea Professor of Computer Science, “Al.I. Cuza” University of Iasi, Faculty of Computer Science, Romania Dr. Horia Georgescu Professor of Computer Science University of Bucharest, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Romania Dr. Radu Gramatovici Professor of Computer Science University of Bucharest, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Romania Dr. Felix Hamza-Lup Professor of Computer Science at Armstrong Atlantic State University, USA Dr. Angela Ionita Romanian Academy, Institute for Artificial Intelligence (RACAI), Deputy Director, Romania Olimpius Istrate Intel Education Manager, Bucharest, Romania www.intel.com/education Prof. Radu Jugureanu AeL eContent Department Manager, SIVECO Romania SA, Bucharest, Romania www.siveco.ro Dr. Bogdan Logofatu Professor at University of Buchares, CREDIS Department Manager, Bucharest, Romania www.unibuc.ro Dr. Jean-Pierre Gerval ISEN Brest (école d'ingénieurs généralistes des hautes technologies), France, European INTUITION Consortium member University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 14 Dr. Daniel Mellet-d'Huart AFPA Direction de l'Ingénierie Unité Veille sur la Réalité Virtuelle MONTREUIL, European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Mihaela Oprea Professor in the Department of Informatics, University of Ploiesti, Romania Thomas Osburg Intel Education Manager, Europe www.intel.com/education Dr. Harshada(Ash) Patel Virtual Reality Applications Research Team (VIRART)/Human Factors Group Innovative Technology Research Centre, School of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, U.K., European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Dana Petcu Professor at Computer Science Department of Western University of Timisoara, Director at Institute e-Austria Timisoara, Romania Dr. Dorin Mircea Popovici Professor of Computer Science, Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania / CERV– European Center for Virtual Reality (France, European INTUITION Consortium member) Dr. Ion Roceanu Professor of Computer Science, Director of the Advanced Distributed Learning Department, "Carol I" National Defence University, Bucharest, Romania Dr. Maria Roussou Virtual Environments and Computer Graphics Lab., Department of Computer Science, University College London, U.K., European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Ronan Querrec CERV – Centre Européen de Réalité Virtuelle (European Center for Virtual Reality), Laboratoire d'Informatique des Systèmes Complexes, France Dr. Luca-Dan Serbanati Professor of Computer Science, University "Politehnica" of Bucharest, Romania and Professor at the "La Sapienza" University, Italy, European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Doru Talaba Professor, “Transilvania” University of Brasov, Product Design and Robotics Department, Romania, European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Leon Tambulea Professor of Computer Science, "Babes-Bolyai" University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania Dr. Jacques Tisseau CERV – Centre Européen de Réalité Virtuelle (European Center for Virtual Reality), LISYC – Laboratoire d'Informatique des Systèmes Complexes, France, European INTUITION Consortium member Dr. Alexandru Tugui Professor at “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iasi, FEAA, “Al. I. Cuza” University Iasi, Romania Dr. Marin Vlada Professor of Computer Science, University of Bucharest, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Romania, European INTUITION Consortium member The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 15 ICVL 2008 INVITATION 2010 – Towards a Learning and Knowledge Society – 2030 ICVL 2008 – The 3rd International Conference on Virtual Learning NEWS TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH 2010 – Towards a Learning and Knowledge Society – 2030 Virtual Environments for Education and Training, Software and Management for Education October 31-November 2, 2008 Constanta, ROMANIA Host: University OVIDIUS Constanta, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, ROMANIA Organizers: University of Bucharest and University OVIDIUS Constanta in cooperation with SIVECO SA company, Bucharest, Romania Sponsors: National Authority for Scientific Research, SIVECO SA company, Bucharest, Romania, Intel Coporation Homepage: http://www.icvl.eu/2008 Email: icvl[at]fmi.unibuc.ro Deadline for abstracts: June 30, 2008 Description: At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, Heads of State and Government set an ambitious target for Europe to become "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world" by 2010. They also placed education firmly at the top of the political agenda, calling for education and training systems to be adapted to meet this challenge. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 16 POST-CONFERENCE: The Organisation Committee will elaborate until the ICVL opening, the volume with the conference's papers and the CD (with ISBN). Extended versions of selected papers presented at ICVL will be offered for publishing in the International Journal of Computers, Communications & Control – http://www.journal.univagora.ro/ AIMS: – The implementation of the Information Society Technologies (IST) according to the European Union Framework-Programme (FP7) – The development of Research, projects, and software for E-Learning, Software and Educational Management fields; – To promote and develop scientific research for e-Learning, Educational Software and Virtual Reality; SECTIONS: MODELS & METHODOLOGIES (M&M); TECHNOLOGIES (TECH); SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS (SOFT) "Intel® Education" – Learning, Technology, Science (IntelEdu): Research papers - Major Topics The papers describing advances in the theory and practice of Virtual Environments for Education and Training (VEE&T), Virtual Reality (VR), Information and Knowledge Processing (I&KP), as well as practical results and original applications. The education category includes both the use of Web Technologies, Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Applications, New tools, methods, pedagogy and psychology, Case studies of Web Technologies and Streaming Multimedia Applications in Education, experience in preparation of courseware. Thank you very much for your attention and, please, circulate this call for papers. Thank you and best regards, Mail Address: Str. Academiei nr.14, sector 1, C.P. 010014, Bucuresti, Romania Tel: (4-021) 314 3508, Fax: (4-021) 315 6990, Submitted by: Dr. Marin Vlada Date received: February 08, 2008 Participate The Conference is structured such that it will: • provide a vision of European e-Learning and e-Training policies; • take stock of the situation existing today; • work towards developing a forward looking approach. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 17 The Conference will consider the perspectives and vision of the i-2010 programme and how this will stimulate the promotion, and development of e-Learning content, products and services and the contribution of these to lifelong learning. Participation is invited from researches, teachers, trainers, educational authorities, learners, practitioners, employers, trade unions, and private sector actors and IT industry. Research papers – Major Topics The papers describing advances in the theory and practice of Virtual Environments for Education and Training (VEL&T), Virtual Reality (VR), Information and Knowledge Processing (I&KP), as well as practical results and original applications. The education category includes both the use of Web Technologies, Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Applications, New tools, methods, pedagogy and psychology, Case studies of Web Technologies and Streaming Multimedia Applications in Education, experience in preparation of courseware. Thematic Areas / Sections • MODELS & METHODOLOGIES (M&M) • TECHNOLOGIES (TECH) • SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS (SOFT) • "Intel® Education" – Learning, Technology, Science (IntelEdu) General Chair Dr. Marin Vlada, Professor of Computer Science, University of Bucharest (Romania) / Technical Programme Chair Dr. Grigore Albeanu, Professor of Computer Science, Spiru Haret University, Research Center for Mathematics and Informatics (Romania) / Associate General Chair Dr. Dorin Mircea Popovici, Professor of Computer Science, Ovidius University of Constanta (Romania) ICVL 2008 – Announcements and call for papers • www.intuition-eunetwork.org/ – INTUITION Forum: Conferences, Workshops, Call for Papers • www.allconferences.com (E-Learning , Higher Education) • www.conferencealerts.com – Academic Conferences Worldwide • http://atlas-conferences.com/ – Database of academic conference announcements • http://www.xplora.org – The European gateway to science education • www.papersinvited.com – Powered by CSA / (CSA is a worldwide information company) • www.cncsis.ro, www.edu.ro, www.agora.ro, www.ad-astra.ro – romanian sites University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 18 Objectives 2010 – Towards a Learning and Knowledge Society – 2030 At the Lisbon European Council in March 2000, Heads of State and Government set an ambitious target for Europe to become "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge- based economy in the world" by 2010. They also placed education firmly at the top of the political agenda, calling for education and training systems to be adapted to meet this challenge. Relevant topics include but are not restricted to: • National Policies and Strategies on Virtual Learning • National Projects on Virtual Universities • International Projects and International Collaboration on Web-based Education • Dot-com Educational Institutions and their Impact on Traditional Universities • Educational Portals for education and training • Reusable Learning Objects for e-Learning and e-Training • Testing and Assessment Issues of Web-based Education • Academia/Industry Collaboration on Web-based Training • Faculty Development on Web-based Education • Funding Opportunities for Projects in Web-based Education Learning and the use of Information and Communication Technologies (I&CT) will be examined from a number of complementary perspectives: • Education – supporting the development of key life skills and competences • Research – emerging technologies and new paradigms for learning • Social – improving social inclusion and addressing special learning needs • Enterprise – for growth, employment and meeting the needs of industry • Employment – lifelong learning and improving the quality of jobs • Policy – the link between e-Learning and European / National policy imperatives • Institutional – the reform of Europe’s education and training systems and how I&CT can act as catalyst for change • Industry – the changing nature of the market for learning services and the new forms of partnership that are emerging General Objectives The implementation of the Information Society Technologies (IST) according to the European Union Framework-Programme (FP6, FP7) • The implementation of the Bologna Conference (1999) directives for the Romanian educational system. • The development of a Romanian Framework supporting the professional and management initiatives of the educational community. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 19 • The organization of the activities concerning the cooperation between the educational system and the economical companies to find out an adequate distribution of the human resources over the job market. • To promote and implement the modern ideas for both the initial and continuing education, to promote the team based working, to attract and integrate the young graduates in the Research and Development projects, to promote and implement IT&C for initial and adult education activities. Particular objectives The development of Research, projects, and software for E-Learning, Software and Educational Management fields • To promote and develop scientific research for e-Learning, Educational Software and Virtual Reality • To create a framework for a large scale introduction of the e-Learning approaches in teaching activity. • To assist the teaching staff and IT&C professionals in the usage of the modern technologies for teaching both in the initial and adult education. • To improve the cooperation among students, teachers, pedagogues, psychologists and IT professionals in specification, design, coding, and testing of the educational software. • To increase the teachers' role and responsibility to design, develop and use of the traditional technologies and IT&C approaches in a complementary fashion, both for initial and adult education. • To promote and develop information technologies for the teaching, management and training activities. • To promote and use Educational Software Packages for the initial and adult education. Thematic Areas/Sections Models & Methodologies (M&M): • Innovative Teaching and Learning Technologies • Web-based Methods and Tools in Traditional, Online Education and Training • Collaborative E-Learning, E-Pedagogy, • Design and Development of Online Courseware • Information and Knowledge Processing • Knowledge Representation and Ontologism • Cognitive Modelling and Intelligent systems • Algorithms and Programming for Modelling Technologies (TECH): • Innovative Web-based Teaching and Learning Technologies University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 20 • Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) technologies • Web, Virtual Reality/AR and mixed technologies • Web-based Education (WBE), Web-based Training (WBT) • New technologies for e-Learning, e-Training and e-Skills • Educational Technology, Web-Lecturing Technology • Mobile E-Learning, Communication Technology Applications • Computer Graphics and Computational Geometry • Intelligent Virtual Environment Software Solutions (SOFT): • New software environments for education & training • Software and management for education • Virtual Reality Applications in Web-based Education • Computer Graphics, Web, VR/AR and mixed-based applications for education & training, business, medicine, industry and other sciences • Multi-agent Technology Applications in WBE and WBT • Streaming Multimedia Applications in Learning • Scientific Web-based Laboratories and Virtual Labs • Software Computing in Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence • Avatars and Intelligent Agents Research papers – Major Topics The papers describing advances in the theory and practice of Virtual Environments for Education and Training (VEL&T), Virtual Reality (VR), Information and Knowledge Processing (I&KP), as well as practical results and original applications. The education category includes both the use of Web Technologies, Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality Applications, New tools, methods, pedagogy and psychology, Case studies of Web Technologies and Streaming Multimedia Applications in Education, experience in preparation of courseware. Topics of interest include but are not limited to: Virtual Environments for Learning (VEL): • New technologies for e-Learning, e-Training and e-Skills • New software environments for education & training • Web & Virtual Reality technologies • Educational Technology and Web-Lecturing Technology • Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) technologies • Innovative Web-based Teaching and Learning Technologies • Software and Management for Education • Intelligent Virtual Environment Virtual Reality (VR): • Computer Graphics and Computational Geometry • Algorithms and Programming for Modeling • Web & Virtual Reality-based applications The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 21 • Graphics applications for education & training, business, medicine, industry and other sciences • Scientific Web-based Laboratories and Virtual Labs • Software Computing in Virtual Reality Knowledge Processing (KP): • Information and Knowledge Processing • Knowledge Representation and Ontologism • Multi-agent Technology Applications in WBE and WBT • Streaming Multimedia Applications in Learning • Mobile E-Learning, Communication Technology Applications • Cognitive Modelling, Intelligent systems • New Software Technologies, Avatars and Intelligent Agents • Software Computing in Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals | Educational Technology Deploying Education Environments for the 21st Century (Robert Fogel and Steve Gish, Intel Corporation) (.pps) – http://www.intel.com/education Educational Technology that Talks – http://www.edtechtalk.com The Best Virtual Reality Information on Internet – http://vresources.org/ Kaleidoscope – the European research network shaping the scientific evolution of technology enhanced learning – www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/pub/ • Project Zero – Project Zero is an educational research group at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University | www.pz.harvard.edu • Project Zero eBookstore - Featured Publications from Project Zero | www.pz.harvard.edu/ebookstore For Gardner, intelligence is: – the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture; – a set of skills that make it possible for a person to solve problems in life; – the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which involves gathering new knowledge. Five Minds for the Future" (NEW BOOK) Harvard Business School Press Gardner's newest book, Five Minds for the Future outlines the specific cognitive abilities that will be sought and cultivated by leaders in the years ahead. They include: 1. The Disciplinary Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft. 2. The Synthesizing Mind: the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and tocommunicate that integration to others. 3. The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions and phenomena. 4. The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups. 5. The Ethical Mind: fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 22 • History of Virtual Learning Environments – "Integrated Learning Systems" (ILS), "Computer Assisted Instruction" (CAI), "Computer Based Training" (CBT),"Computer Managed Instruction" (CMI), "Interactive Multimedia Instruction" (IMI), "Technology Enhanced Learning" (TEL), "Technology Based Learning" (TBL), and "Web Based Training" (WBT) (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/) • Information Society Technologies – The four waves of information technologies (Reference: Vlada, M., Tugui, Al., The First International Conference on Virtual Learning – ICVL 2006, october 27-29, pp. 69-82, Proceedings of ICVL 2006 and CNIV 2006, 2006.) • The terminology used in the fields of Virtual Learning (Reference: Anohina A., Analysis of the terminology used in the field of virtual learning, Educational Technology & Society, 8 (3), 91-102, http://www.ifets.info/journals/8_3/9.pdf, 2005.) • The Evolution of Technological Knowledge (Bohn, Roger E. (2005). "From Art to Science in Manufacturing: The Evolution of Technological Knowledge." Foundations and Trends in Technology, Information and Operations Management 1(2): 1-82.) • Advanced Distributed Learning – ADL – Creating the knowledge environment of the future – www.adlnet.gov (This is an official Web site of the U.S. Government) • ADL Technologies: Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM); Content Object Repository Discovery and Registration Architecture (CORDRA); Simulations; Intelligent Tutoring • SCORM Technologies – Sharable Content Object Reference Model ("SCORM is a collection of specifications adapted from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive suite of e-learning capabilities that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Web-based learning content" – www.adlnet.gov) • AeL Educational, AeL Enterprise – Computer-assisted learning system (e-Learning for schools and universities): Learning Management – AeL LMS (Learning Management System); eContent Management – AeL LCMS (Learning Content Management System); Interactive Multimedia Educational Content – AeL eContent, eContent demo. AeL Enterprise: AeL Enterprise is a modern learning and management instrument dedicated to supporting personnel training within the company frame: it is devised for the direct Computer Assisted Learning (CAL), as well as for the remote / non assisted training (Computer Based Training) Resources Educational Technology That Talks – http://www.edtechtalk.com Kaleidoscope – the European research network shaping the scientific evolution of technology enhanced learning – www.noe-kaleidoscope.org/pub/ The Best Virtual Reality Information on Internet – http://vresources.org/ Career Opportunities in Academe/Research: University500 – http://www.university500.com Ad Astra – An Online Project for the Romanian Scientific Community – http://www.ad-astra.ro 1. Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) – http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/home.cfm 2. Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) – http://www.cordis.lu/fp7/ 3. European Research Area (ERA) – http://www.cordis.lu/era/ 4. Information Society Technologies (IST) – http://www.cordis.lu/ist/ 5. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) – http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ict/ The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 23 6. EPISTEP – EPISTEP is an innovative project supported by the EU "Research and Innovation" (FP6,FP7) – www.epistep.org | European Technology Platforms (ETP) – eMobility, ARTEMIS, ENIAC, NEM | Networked and electronic media platform – http://www.nem-initiative.org/ 7. Eupope's Information Society – http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ 8. Eupopean Institute for E-Learning (EifEL) – http://www.eife-l.org/ 9. eEurope 2005 – http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/ 10. eEurope+ – http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/plus/ 11. i2010 European Information Society in 2010 – http://europa.eu.int/information_society/eeurope/i2010/ 12. European e-Skills 2006 Conference – Towards a Long Term e-Skills Strategy: http://eskills. cedefop.europa.eu/conference2006/index.asp 13. Intuition Project-Network Of Excellence Focused on Virtual Reality and Virtual Environments Applications for Future Workspaces – http://www.intuition-eunetwork.net/ 14. European Mathematical Society (EMS) – http://www.emis.de/ 15. Integrating New Technologies intothe Methods of Education – http://www.intime.uni.edu/ 16. Xplora – European gateway to science education – http://www.xplora.org/ 17. European Schoolnet – http://www.eun.org/ 18. Virtual Learning Systems – http://eservices.nysed.gov/vls/ 19. Eastern Europe eWork – http://www.e3work.com/ 20. VResources – The Best Virtual Reality Information on Internet: Applications; Events; Discussion forums; Library; VR News | http://vresources.org/ 21. Advanced Distributed Learning – ADL – Creating the knowledge environment of the future – www.adlnet.gov (This is an official Web site of the U.S. Government) 22. ADL Technologies: Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM); Content Object Repository Discovery and Registration Architecture (CORDRA); Simulations; Intelligent Tutoring 23. SCORM Technologies – Sharable Content Object Reference Model ("SCORM is a collection of specifications adapted from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive suite of e-learning capabilities that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Web-based learning content" – www.adlnet.gov) 24. W3C – The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – www.w3.org | Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web 25. International World Wide Web Conference Committee (IW3C2) – http://www.iw3c2.org/ | 15th International World Wide Web Conference, Edinburgh Scotland 26. Moodle Services – Moodle is a course management system designed to help educators who want to create quality online courses; "Moodle is a real gift to forward thinking educators" – www.moodlle.com 27. Drupal – Drupal is a free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website; Drupal.org is the official website of Drupal, an open source content management platform – www.drupal.org University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 24 28. Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) – XML Graphics for the Web; SVG is a language for describing two-dimensional graphics and graphical applications in XML (Mozilla SVG Project) – www.w3.org/ Graphics/SVG/ | www.svg.org | www.adobe.com/svg/ | www.w3schools.com/svg/ 29. AJAX – Ajax (also known as AJAX), shorthand for "Asynchronous JavaScript and XML," is a development technique for creating interactive web applications (AJAX is a type of programming made popular in 2005 by Google) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AJAX | http://ajax.asp.net/ 30. FLEX – Adobe Flex is a framework that helps you build dynamic, interactive rich Internet applications (www.flex.org/) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flex | www.adobe.com/products/flex/ 31. KP (KnowledgePresenter) – Create fully interactive SCORM compliant e-learning lessons – http://knowledgepresenter.com/ 32. SOFTAKE – Software, programs, downloads (Windows, Linux, Mac) – http://www.softake.com/ 33. THE COMPUTER GRAPHICS SOCIETY ( C G S ) | International Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents – CASA 2005 | CASA 2006 34. ACM SIGGRAPH – Computer Graphics and interactive techniques – http://www.siggraph.org/ 35. CGAL – Computational Geometry Algorithms Library - http://www.cgal.org 36. The Human Interface Technology Lab (HITLab, University of Washington) – www.hitl. washington.edu/ | Virtual Environments in Education and Training (Research Projects) – Dr. William D. Winn (What We Have Learned About VR and Learning and What We Still Need to Study. In Proceedings of Laval Virtual 2005) 37. Online Educa Berlin – 12th International Conference on Technology Supported Learning & Training: http://www.online-educa.com/ 38. ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST) – The conference will take place in Cyprus 1st-3rd of November 2006 (Cyprus2006) | The first VRST was held in Singapore in 1994 and since then it has been held in Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan, England, Korea, Canada and the US.(www.vrst.org/) 39. How People Learn (the National Academy of Sciences, USA) – http://newton.nap.edu/ html/howpeople1/ 40. Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization (SISO) – http://www.sisostds.org 41. 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Commonwealth of Learning – COL is an intergovernmental organisation created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. | www.col.org The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 25 49. Innovative Educators – Innovative Educators is dedicated to providing superior conferences and training sessions focused on the most critical and relevant issues facing educators today | www.innovativeeducators.org/ 50. IIIS – the International Institute of Informatics and Systemics – www.iiis.org/iiis/ | Conferences and Symposia being organized by IIIS | http://www.iiis.org/iiis/IIISConferences.asp 51. IADIS – International Association for Development of the Information Society – http://www.iadis. org/es2005/ 52. ESPIT – eHealth and eInclusion – http://www.epist.org/ 53. 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CISSE 2006 Online E-Conference – The Second International Joint Conferences on Computer, Information, and Systems Sciences, and Engineering: http://www.cisse2006online.org 71. INSEAD – The Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies (CALT)-France, The Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies, is one of the well-established Centres of Excellence at INSEAD. Research focuses on advanced learning systems | http://www.calt.insead.edu/ | www.insead.edu 72. Laval Virtual ReVolution 2007 – 9th Virtual Reality International Conference, April 18-22th 2007, Laval, France (www.laval-virtual.org) | Demonstrations | Awards 2007 | Student competitions | VRIC-Virtual Reality International Conference University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 26 73. ACI – ACADEMIC CONFERENCES INTERNATIONAL (www.academic-conferences.org) | Conferences | e-Journals | Publications | Training&Seminars 74. ICEL 2007 – The International Conference on e-Learning (ICEL), Columbia University, New York, USA, 28-29 June 2007 75. ECEL 2007 – The European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL), 4-5 October 2007, Copenhagen Business School, Copenhagen, Denmark 76. Distance Teaching & Learning – The Annual Conference on Distance Teaching & Learning (LEARN), August 8-10, 2007, Madison Wisconsin, USA 77. ICTL 2007 – International Conference on Teaching and Learning (ICTL), November 15-16, 2007, Putrajaya , Malaysia 78. IVA 07 – International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents(IVA), 17 th -19 th September 2007, Paris, France 79. Scalable Vector Graphics – International Conference on Scalable Vector Graphics (SVGOPEN), September 4-7, 2007, Tokyo, Japan 80. mLearn 2007 – International Conference on mobile Learning (mLearn), 16-19 October 2007, Melbourne, Australia 81. ICE 2007 – International Conference on Education (ICE), 21 may 2007, Uniuversity Brunei Darussalam, China 82. KES 2007 – Artificial Intelligence Applications in Digital Content (KES), September 12-14 2007, Vietri sul Mare, Italy 83. EC-TEL 2007 – European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning (EC-TEL), 17-20 September 2007, Crete, Greece 84. CGV 2007 – IADIS International Conference on Computer Graphics and Visualization (CGV), 6-8 July, 2007 Lisbon, Portugal 85. CGI 2007 – Computer Graphics International (CGI), May 30th - June 2nd, 2007, Petropolis, Brazil 86. SIGGRAPH 2007 – The 34 th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH), 5-9 August 2007, San Diego, California, USA 87. ACVIT 2007 – International Conference on Advances in Computer Vision and Information Technology (ACVIT), 28-30 November 2007, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India 88. DC 2007 – International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications(DC), 27 to 31 August 2007, Singapore 89. ICWL 2007 – The 6th International Conference on Web-based Learning, 15-17 August 2007, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (www.hkws.org/events/icwl2007/) 90. Informatics Europe – The Research and Education Organization of Computer Science and IT Departments in Europe (www.informatics-europe.org/) 91. European Computer Science Summit – 3 rd Annual Informatics Europe Meeting 2007 (http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/ecss/), October 8-9 2007, Berlin 92. KCPR 2007 – The 2nd International Symposium on Knowledge Communication and Peer Reviewing (http://www.info-cyber.org/kcpr2007/), July 12-15, 2007 – Orlando, Florida, USA 93. CITSA 2007 – The 4th International Conference on Cybernetics and Information Technologies, Systems and Applications (http://www.info-cyber.org/citsa2007/), July 12-15, 2007 – Orlando, Florida, USA The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 27 94. CCCT 2007 – The 5th International Conference on Computing, Communications and Control Technologies (http://www.info-cyber.org/ccct2007/), July 12-15, 2007 – Orlando, Florida, USA 95. WCECS 2007 – The World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science 2007 | The WCECS 2007 is composed of the following 15 conferences (San Francisco, USA, 24-26 October, 2007) 96. ICEIT 2007 – The International Conference on Education and Information Technology 2007 | International Association of Engineers (IAENG) (San Francisco, USA, 24-26 October, 2007) 97. ICIMT 2007 – The International Conference on Internet and Multimedia Technologies 2007 (San Francisco, USA, 24-26 October, 2007) 98. ICMLDA 2007 – The International Conference on Machine Learning and Data Analysis 2007 (San Francisco, USA, 24-26 October, 2007) 99. VRST 2007 – ACM Virtual Reality Software and Technology, Nov 5-7, University of Irvine, USA | http://www.ics.uci.edu/computerscience/vrst/ 100. ICMLA 2007 – The 2007 International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications | www.icmla-conference.org/icmla07/ (Cincinnati, Ohio USA on Dec 13-15, 2007) | Association for Machine Learning and Applications (ALMA) | www.cs.csubak.edu/ 101. ASTD – American Society for Training & Development (www.astd.org/) | ASTD is the world’s largest association dedicated to workplace learning and performance professionals | ASTD 2007, ASTD 2007 International Conference & Exposition – June 3-6, 2007 102. mark steiner – www.marksteinerinc.com/ | mark steiner, inc. is a learning consulting company specializing in technology-based learning, Chicago, USA 103. LearnLab – The Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center's LearnLab (www.learnlab.org/) 104. i-math – What you need, when you need it (http://www.i-math.com/) | i-Math was incorporated in 2001 as an organization dedicated to delivering innovative high precision mathematical and control software solutions to the Educational, R&D, Engineering and Manufacturing industries in the ASEAN Region | http://www.i-math.com.sg/ 105. ICCMSE 2007 – The International Conference of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering 2007, Corfu, Greece , 25-30 September 2007 (http://www.iccmse.org/) 106. The Wolfram Demonstrations Project – The Wolfram Demonstrations Project is an open-code resource that uses dynamic computation to illuminate concepts in science, technology, mathematics, art, finance, and a remarkable range of other fields (http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/) 107. Mathematica Technology (Wolfram Research Inc.) – http://www.wolfram.com/ 108. 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World Summit on the Information Society – http://www.itu.int/wsis/ University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 28 Atlas Conferences – Atlas Conferences has a database of academic conference announcement www.conferencealerts.com – Academic Conference Worldwide www.confabb.com – The Conference Community www.papersinvited.com – Powered by CSA (CSA is a worldwide information company) AllConferences.Com – Directory of Conferences, conventions, exhibits, seminars, workshops, events, trade shows and business meetings. Includes calendar, dates, location, web site, contact and registration information. ICVL 2008 Web site: http://www.icvl.eu/20008 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 29 About Intel®Education Evolution of Education Environments Deploying Education Environments for the 21st Century WEB: www.intel.com/education | www.intel.com/worldahead | www.classmatepc.com Deploying Education Environments for the 21st Century (Robert Fogel and Steve Gish, Intel Corporation) (.pps) "In today’s economy, the most important resource is no longer labour, capital or land; it is knowledge.” Peter Drucker Classroom of Tomorrow Objectives Share Intel’s worldwide best practices for education; Education solution towards 21st Century challenges; Identify key ingredients of 1:1 education solution University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 30 • Develop 21st-century skills: media literacy, critical and systems thinking, problem solving, collaboration, self-direction, global awareness, and civic literacy • Develop ICT skills: Word processing, online collaboration, Internet research, multimedia production, etc. • Improve student access to information: Intranet and Internet connectivity • Enhance school productivity: Teacher and administrator efficiency • Improve teaching practice: Improve teachers’ subject knowledge and improve pedagogical practices, and assist in planning objectives, structuring lessons, etc. • Improve students’ conceptual understanding: Use dynamic audiovisual representations to explain concepts and complex information • Facilitate collaboration: Group projects and improve communication among teachers, students, parents, and administrators Education Objectives for the 21st Century In Terms of the Student: • Improve the education process • Improve the education environment • Prepare students for higher education • Prepare students thrive in today's global economy • 21st century skills development In Terms of a Country or Region: • Global economic competitiveness • Grow economy and retain talent pool • Improve social development Intel® Education - Learning, Technology, Science • Digital Curriculum, collaborative rich-media applications, student software, teacher software • Improved Learning Methods, interactive and collaborative methods to help teachers incorporate technology into their lesson plans and enable students to learn anytime, anywhere • Professional Development, readily available training to help teachers acquire the necessary ICT skills • Connectivity and Technology, group projects and improve communication among teachers, students, parents and administrators The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 31 About EMULACTION Project Human distributed activities through 3D virtual spaces ICVL Workshop – EMULACTION Project https://intranet.iseb.fr/emulaction/ Workshop event run in association with the ICVL 2008 (oct. 31-nov. 2, 2008, Ovidius University of Constanta, Romania). EMULACTION: Environnement MULtimodal pour Activités Coopératives Transnationales de formatION (Multimodal Environment for Transnational and Cooperative Training Activities) • This project aims at improving students engineering skills especially when the actors of the project, the tasks to be achieved and the knowledge are distributed on several different countries. • We propose to develop a Web Based Environment in order to enable distributed and co-operative practical activities: groups of students from different schools and different countries working together on the same activities. The architecture University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 32 of this Web based Environment will implement the concept of Distributed Virtual Room. According to the work to be carried out by students, a teacher configures one (or several) virtual room where a group of students will have to work. Project COORDINATOR: • Dr. Jean-Pierre Gerval, ISEN-Brest (école d'ingénieurs généralistes des hautes technologies, L'Institut Supérieur de l'Electronique et du Numérique), France, European INTUITION Consortium member, http://www.isen.fr Partners 1 – OVIDIUS University of Constanta, Constanta, Romania | http://www.univ-ovidius.ro 2 – Moncton University, Canada | http://www.umoncton.ca 3 – Viettronics Technology College, Haiphong – Vietnam | http://www.caodangvtc.edu.vn 4 – Libanese University, Tripoli - Liban | http://www.ul.edu.lb/ 5 – Technical University of Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova | http://www.utm.md/en/ Global goal • The most of the universities develop their international relationships, especially in order to assure their graduates mobilities. But in a modialisation context, which is synonim with international transfer of work-resources or knowledge, a very small part of institutions are able to sensibilise their graduates to the real chalenges brought by this kind of relationships. • This why the main goal of EMULACTION is to augment the competence of the graduates in technique enginee, especially at the project partners, by distributing the tasks to be completed as well as the knowledge for it. Specific goal(s) • In order to reach the main goal the teachers from the partners institution have to desing an develop some very specific practical works. This suppose the existence of some specific software tools and a very carreful observation of ergonomics and easy to use of the resulted training virtual environments. • In the near future, the EMULACTION project may became a valuable student- oriented behavioral DB for the future trainers. Contact persons • Jean-Pierre Gerval, ISEN-Brest, France • Dorin-Mircea Popovici, Ovidius University, Constanta, Romania • Habib Hamam, Moncton University, Canada • Song Phuong Nguyen, Viettronics Technology College, Haiphong – Vietnam • Ammar Assoum, Libanese University, Tripoli – Liban • Valeriu Dulgheru, Technical University of Moldova, Chisinau, Moldova The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 33 INVITED PAPERS Projects 2010 – TOWARDS A KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY – 2030 VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND RESEARCH Professional Learning and Knowledge Society University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 34 Number Paper and Authors Page 1. Virtual Lab: Discovering through Simulation Jean-Pierre Gerval, Yann Le RU Institut Supérieur de l’Electronique et du Numérique – Brest 20 rue Cuirassé Bretagne – CS 42807 – 29228 BREST cedex 2 – FRANCE 35 2. Simulation and Training with Haptic Feedback – A Review Simona Clapan 1 , Felix G. Hamza-Lup 1 (1) Computer Science, Armstrong Atlantic State University Savannah, GA 31419, USA 45 3 INTERGEO – Interoperable Interactive Geometry for Europe Christian Mercat 1 , Paul Libbrecht 2 , Sophie SouryLavergne 3 , Jana Trgalova 3 (1) I3M, LIRMM, Univ. Montpellier 2, France (2) German Research Center for Artif. Intel. (DFKI), Saarbrücken, Germany (3) National Institute for Pedagogical Research (INRP), Lyon, France 53 4 Simulation Models for Virtual Reality Applications Grigore Albeanu Spiru Haret University, 13, Ion Ghica Str, RO-30045, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] 63 5 Modeling of Errors Realized by a Human Learner in Virtual Environment for Training Thanh Hai Trinh 1, 2 , Cédric Buche 1 , Jacques Tisseau 1 Université Européenne de Bretagne – ENIB – LISyc – CERV Technopôle Brest-Iroise, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, FRANCE (2) Institut de la Francophonie pour l’Informatique 42 Ta Quang Buu, Ha Noi, VIETNAM E-mail:
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected] 71 6 Architecture and Working Principles of the Concept Map Based Knowledge Assessment System Marks Vilkelis 1 , Alla Anohina 1 , Romans Lukashenko 1 (1) Department of Systems Theory and Design, Riga Technical University 1, Kalku Str., Riga, LV-1658, LATVIA E-mail: {
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]} 81 7 Measurement and Control of Statistics Learning Processes based on Constructivist Feedback and Reproducible Computing Patrick Wessa K.U.Leuven Association, Lessius Dept. of Business Studies, Belgium E-mail:
[email protected] 91 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 35 Virtual Lab: Discovering through Simulation Jean-Pierre Gerval, Yann Le RU Institut Supérieur de l’Electronique et du Numérique - Brest 20 rue Cuirassé Bretagne - CS 42807 - 29228 BREST cedex 2 - FRANCE Tel: +33 (0)2 98 03 84 07, Fax: +33 (0)2 98 03 84 10 E-mail: {jean-pierre.gerval, yann.le-ru}@isen.fr Abstract This paper sets out the design and the implementation of a Virtual Tutor. This Virtual Tutor is an avatar that “lives” in a distributed virtual reality application dedicated to practical activities in electronics: circuit design and simulation. The simulation of the circuit is done using the SPICE programme that is a general-purpose circuit simulation programme for non-linear dc, non-linear transient, and linear ac analyses. The implementation is based on VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) and Java as languages and Cortona VRML plug-in from ParallelGraphics. The distribution of virtual worlds is obtained using DeepMatrix as environment server. Teachers use Concept Maps to design the behaviour of the Virtual Tutor. The control of the avatar is done using JESS (Java Expert System Shell). We describe in this paper a method that enables the creation of a Knowledge Base from a Concept Map. Keywords: Distributed Virtual Environments, Virtual Reality Modeling Language, Java, Concept Maps, Web-based Training. 1. Introduction Our Virtual Lab. has been experimented with a group of 40 students. This group represented half a class of 80. The target for this group was to prepare practical activities using the Virtual Lab. That is to say using virtual components and simulation by means of the SPICE programme (Gerval and Le RU, 2006). The other half was preparing practical activities as usual. That is to say using paper and pens! All these students were beginners in the field of electronics. The main functionalities of the Virtual Lab. had been laid out to students during a short lesson. Then they had to prepare the practical activity by themselves. The students were expected to study various circuits that implemented operational amplifiers. Our main goal through this experiment was to assess the relevance of the Virtual Lab. in the framework of the preparation of practical activities in electronics. Also, as we had split students into two different groups, we were expecting to make comparisons about the results of these two groups during practical activities. Benefits from Virtual Lab. vary according to the students’ behaviour. Students who are eager to work get better benefits from the Virtual Lab. while the others get only lower gains. Since the Virtual Lab. resource has been constantly available, well-motivated students have been encouraged not only to work the courses but also to look further. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 36 Using the Virtual Lab. is a real added value for these students. As regards the other students, the Virtual Lab. remains a working tool like others. In this case, the Virtual Lab. does not increase schoolwork motivation. On the other hand, this experiment emphasizes the fact that autonomous work using the Virtual Lab. cannot be applied so simply with the two types of student populations: naturally autonomous profiles and dependent profiles. This state of fact is confirmed by their results: Naturally autonomous profiles are those who succeed better; Dependent profiles try to get a benefit to escape teacher monitoring. In order to avoid that students who have a “dependent profile” escape teacher monitoring, we have decided to implement a Virtual Tutor. The main idea is to give students the feeling they are working in an autonomous way. But in the fact they are monitored and this way they can get a feedback about what they are doing. 2. Virtual world description 2.1. Basic components The implementation of the virtual world is based on VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) (VRML). Until now, we have implemented six different types of components (Fig. 1. and Fig. 2.), which are resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, transistors and operational amplifiers. Figure 1. Passive components Figure 2. Active components Students can choose a value for resistors or capacitors by selecting the right colours on the components according to colour codes. Concerning the other components, a menu has been implemented that enables students to choose a value. 2.2. Designing a circuit Components are inserted into the virtual world by clicking on the corresponding icon (Fig. 3.). Students can move (or rotate) components by means of virtual axis (Fig. 4.) that represent the directions of the movement. After they have put components on the virtual PCB (Printed Circuit Board), students can build their circuit by clicking on The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 37 components’ pins behind the virtual PCB (Fig. 5.). A link is created in the virtual world. A black line is drawn between components’ pin. This line symbolizes a connection between two components. Figure 3. Component choice Figure 4. Moving components Figure 5. Drawing the circuit 2.3. Devices and simulation Two types of virtual electronics equipments are available: generators and oscilloscopes. Generators (Fig. 6.) enable students to set up a signal in terms of frequency, voltage and waveform. This signal will be applied to the circuit on the inputs selected by the student. Oscilloscopes (Fig. 7.) enable students to view circuits’ outputs. That is to say: “simulation results”. For each oscilloscope two channels are available. Students can adjust voltage and/or time scale. 3. Virtual world distribution The server implementation is based on the DeepMatrix software (Reitmayr et.al., 1998) from GEOMETREK. This software enables users to enter 3D websites where they can interact with other users and objects. DeepMatrix implements client-server University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 38 architecture. On the server side, all messages are broadcasted in the same order to all clients. We have refined the proposed implementation from GEOMETREK, by introducing a filtering and pseudo dead reckoning mechanism (Singhal and Zyda, 1999) that permit a more friendly and flexible connection of users. Figure 6. Generator Figure 7. Oscilloscope Clients are Java applets running in a HTML Browser. The communication between VRML world and client applet is made by use of External Authoring Interface (EAI) (Fig. 8). On the client side the EAI permits to achieve complex tasks by connecting the VRML Web Browser plug-in with a Java applet within the same web page. Figure 8. Distributed Virtual Lab. software architecture EAI enables a two-way communication between the Java applet and the plug-in. The Java applet loads VRML content into the plug-in and adds avatar representation to the virtual world. The avatars were designed on an approximate-body approach (Capin et.al., 1999), which provides frequently position and orientation information to remote hosts, taking into account a minimal set of joint points. The plug-in updates the Java applet about users position and orientation in the virtual world. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 39 DeepMatrix offers network data structures, which enable clients to share data or to communicate together. Concerning the Distributed Virtual Lab., VRML and Java code of each client are similar (Fig. 8.). The main difficulty lies in the fact that these different clients must evolve in the same way according to users’ actions in the different virtual worlds. That means that we have to know at the level of each java application if an event is local (a local user action) or if it is an update from network (another user action). For example, when a user is changing the value of a resistor we have to change resistor’s colours in the virtual world of this user and broadcast the new value of this resistor on the network. If the value of the resistor is changing because of a network update we just have to change the colours of this resistor. We do not have to broadcast anything else. Another problem that is not solved by deepmatrix is the dynamic insertion of VRML code into a virtual world. For example, when students proceed to virtual welding a line is inserted into the virtual world. If a new client connect to the virtual world, it is necessary to know if there was any welding before its connection. The same problem arises when a user requests a simulation. Simulation results are drawn on the screen of the virtual oscilloscope by means of VRML code, which is automatically generated and inserted into the virtual world. Such data are saved into a file on the server side. This file keeps a trace of the state of the virtual world. This mechanism enables new clients to join old clients and share the same state. 4. Virtual tutor behaviour 4.1. Describing Virtual Tutor behaviour The first step is to find or to define a tool in order to describe the behaviour of the Virtual Tutor. This behaviour has to be designed by a teacher. The challenge is to provide a tool that is easy to use and easy to understand by users who are not specialized in computer sciences. This tool must also be “content independent”. That is to say that this tool must not be especially dedicated to the monitoring of practical activities in the field of electronics. The developed approach of virtual tutoring should be reused in various cases of practical activities. Concept maps are widely used to describe experts’ knowledge from various domains, for example in the field of electronics (Coffey et.al., 2003) or medicine (Michael et.al.). They can also be used to help students to integrate new concepts (Fernando Vega-Riveros et.al., 1998) even more they have been adapted with preschool children who can’t read yet (Figueiredo et.al., 2004). Concept maps are graphs that connect nodes with arcs. Nodes represent concepts and arcs represent relationships between nodes. It is an intuitive and visual representation University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 40 technique that seems to have “more computational efficiency” than any other forms of knowledge representation (Kremer, 1994). According to the fact that in our Virtual Lab. most of behaviours have been developed in java language, we are naturally guided in choosing the same tool as an implementation language for the Virtual Tutor. The behaviour of the Virtual Tutor is implemented by means of JESS (Java Expert System Shell). JESS is a Java implementation based on Clips (JESS). On the one hand, JESS has been used by other authors in order to control a virtual tutoring system and an architecture has been proposed in order to structure JESS rules (Gutl and Pivec, 2002). On the other hand, concept maps have also been used to formalize JESS rules (Ciffey et.al., 2003). But the originality of our work is to propose a generic approach (a content independent approach) that would enable the automatic generation of a Knowledge Base from a Concept Map. Figure 9. From Concept Map to Virtual Tutor behaviour The different steps of our approach are showed Fig. 9: 1. Teachers design a Concept Map that represents the behaviour of the Virtual Tutor. Of course, this design must fit with the exercise that students have to achieve. Teachers are using CmapTools (CmapTools). 2. Rules are extracted from the Concept Map in order to feed JESS Knowledge Base. 3. The Virtual Tutor is a VRML avatar that will interact with students according to their actions in the virtual world. JESS takes in charge the control of the avatar. 4.2. Translating a Concept Map into rules According to the fact that: “Concept maps are not computational unless they have an associated semantics. That is, the maps' node and link types and their interconnections must be constrained to allow for computer support.”(Kremer, 1994) The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 41 we have defined a basic semantics in order to be able to compute a Concept Map: − Maps’ nodes are predicates or actions. − Link type is unique and the meaning of the link is “implies”. An example of such a map is given Fig. 10. Figure 10. A map fragment on Operational Amplifier exercise CmapTools enables the generation of an XML file describing the map. This XML file contains information concerning the topology and the semantics of the map (Fig. 11). We use semantics data from the XML file in order to generate rules as following (Fig. 12): 1. Set up a 2D array with Linking-Phrases as row and Concepts as columns. 2. Assign weights to each connection. Weight = –1 if the connection goes from concept to linking-phrase. Weight = +1 if the connection goes from linking-phrase to concept. 3. Extract a rule from each row. 4. Write the rule in XML format for JESS: JESSML Language (JESS). Figure 11. XML fragment on Operational Amplifier exercise University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 42 Figure 12. From Concept Map to rules This method enables us to distinguish predicates and actions from the set of concepts. If there is a weight equal to -1 in a column that means this concept is a predicate. Otherwise it is an action. 5. Virtual tutor implementation The Virtual Tutor is represented in the virtual world by means of an avatar, which is not connected to any users. This avatar is controlled by JESS on the server side (Fig. 13). Thus all clients that share the same virtual world are sharing the same Virtual Tutor. Figure 13. Virtual Tutor implementation The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 43 DeepMatrix offers network data structures, which enable clients to share data or to communicate together. DeepMatrix collects users’ interactions. Events that are relevant to JESS rules are provided to JESS. Then JESS inference engine fires rules in order to select Virtual Tutor actions. Virtual Tutor actions are both text messages and sentences that are stored on server side by means of mp3 files. When a comment has to be provided to students the Virtual Tutor speaks to students and, in the same time, a text message is broadcast to all students. 6. Conclusions and future works This implementation of the Virtual Tutor has been experimented in the framework of an exercise dedicated to Operational Amplifier. On a pedagogical point of view, it is really easy for a teacher to create a Concept Map and to generate rules for JESS. Such an approach could be used in other context. But the integration of JESS to the Virtual Lab., on the server side, requires some hand works in order to link predicates to events collected by DeepMatrix. This point should be improved by means of a dictionary of events. The teacher could use this dictionary of events during the design phase of the Concept Map. Semantics of our Concept Map should also be improved by means of new relations associated to linking-phrases. The same method could be used in order to generate rules for each type of relation. On a technical point of view, DeepMatrix enables the use of avatar gestures. Experiments will help us to design and implement avatar gestures according to end-users’ needs. This would help us to improve Virtual Tutor behaviours (Popovici, et.al, 2003). We are also working on the integration of a speech synthesis module from MBROLA Project (MBROLA). This module will enable the Virtual Tutor to speak without needing any pre-recorded mp3 file. REFERENCES ANDERSON, R. E. (1992), Social impacts of computing: Codes of professional ethics. Social Science Computing Review 10, 2, 453-469. CAPIN, T. K., PANDZIC, I. S., MAGNENAT-THALMANN, N., THALMANN, D. (1999), Avatars in Networked Virtual Environments, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN: 0-471- 98863-4. COFFEY J. W., A. J. CAÑAS, T. REICHHERZER, G. HILL, N. SURI, R. CARFF, T. MITROVICH & D. EBERLE (2003), Knowledge Modeling and the Creation of El-Tech: A Performance Support and Training System for Electronic Technicians, Expert Systems with Applications, 25(4). CmapTools, official Homepage, http://cmap.ihmc.us/ FERNANDO VEGA-RIVEROS, J., GLORIA PATRICIA MARCIALES-VIVAS, MAURICIO MARTÍNEZ- MELO (1998), Concept Maps in Engineering Education: A Case Study, Global J. of Engng. Educ., Vol. 2, No. 1. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 44 FIGUEIREDO, M., LOPES, A. S., FIRMINO, R., SALOMÉ DE SOUSA (2004), “Things we know about the cow”: Concept mapping in a preschool setting, Proc. of the First Int. Conference on Concept Mapping, Pamplona, Spain. GERVAL, J-P., LE RU, Y. (2006), VELab: A Virtual Lab for Electronics Virtual Experiments, Advanced Technology for Learning, Volume 3, Issue 2, ACTA Press. REITMAYR, G., CARROLL, S., REITMEYER, A., WAGNER, M. G. (1998), DeepMatrix – An Open Technology Based Virtual Environment System, White Paper, October 30. GÜTL, CH., PIVEC M. (2002), Virtual Tutor, Proc. of ED-MEDIA 2002, Denver, USA, 668-672. JESS: The Java Expert System Shell, official Homepage, http://herzberg.ca.sandia.gov/ KREMER, R. (1994), Concept Mapping: Informal to Formal, ICCS'94, Proceedings of the International Conference on Conceptual Structures, University of Maryland. MBROLA, official Homepage, http://tcts.fpms.ac.be/synthesis/mbrola.html MICHAEL J., ROVICK A., GLASS M., ZHOU Y. and EVENS M., Learning from a Computer Tutor with Natural Language Capabilities, Interactive Learning Environments, 11(3): 233–262. POPOVICI, D. M., SERBANATI, L. D., GERVAL, J. P. (2003), Virtual Perception Based Agents in Virtual Theater, Technologies for Interactive Digital Storytelling and Entertainment, TIDSE 2003, Darmstadt, Germany, march 24-26. SINGHAL, S., ZYDA, M. (1999), Networked Virtual Environments, Addison-Wesley, ISBN: 0-201-32557- 8. VRML Standard Version 2.0, ISO/IEC CD 14772, 1996, http://vrml.org/VRML2.0/ The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 45 Simulation and Training with Haptic Feedback – A Review Simona Clapan 1 , Felix G. Hamza-Lup 1 (1) Computer Science, Armstrong Atlantic State University Savannah, GA 31419, USA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Recent advances in haptic technology have broadened the applicability spectrum of haptic devices and the potential of prototype development for commerce. This article provides a review of the available haptic technologies and associated hardware/ software characteristics. We compare haptic devices from the hardware perspective. We present the main features of existing haptic APIs as well as the trend in haptic applications development. We examine several case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of haptic devices. Keywords: haptic devices, virtual reality, simulation and training 1. Introduction The word “haptics” derives from the Greek haptesthai, meaning “to touch” (Wall, 2004). Haptics is the science enabling tactile sensation in computer applications for simulation and training purposes. The user can receive three types of touch sensations through a haptic device: force feedback, tactile feedback, and proprioception (from latin “proprius”, meaning “one's own” and perception, the sense of the relative position of neighboring parts of our body). Haptic devices apply small forces through a mechanical linkage (e.g. a stylus in the user’s hand) (Lamoureux, 2005). Devices such as the haptic glove (Sensable Technologies) allow the user to feel the shape and form of virtual objects, while others, such as the Screen Rover (www.abledata.com), enable visually impaired users to access computers almost as easily as users without visual impairments. Our presentation is organized as follows. In section 2 we categorize haptic applications based on their application domain. In section 3 we present a brief history of haptic research. Sections 4 and 5 examine haptic devices and their characteristics. Section 6 explores several Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and in section 7 we investigate the effectiveness of haptic augmentation through several case studies. 2. Application Domains The rapid growth of academic interest in haptic systems is stimulated by the decreased cost of haptic hardware and the growing interest in haptic applications in the private sector. Several haptic application domains follow. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 46 2.1. General Education Research in psychology proves that students have different styles of learning, based on their cognitive development and abilities. Many learners understand and memorize better when movement and touch are involved. Focused only on visual and auditory learning, the traditional school can be inefficient for this category of students. The classic method of teaching can be defective even for the visual and auditory learners as they often memorize the phenomenon or process without understanding its underlying mechanisms. Students can have a deeper understanding of the concepts when haptic feedback is incorporated into the learning material. The HaptEK16 simulator (Hamza-Lup, 2008) facilitates student understanding of difficult concepts (e.g. hydraulics) and has the potential to augment or replace traditional laboratory instruction with an interactive interface offering enhanced motivation, retention and intellectual stimulation. 2.2. Medicine One of the most active application domains for haptics in medicine is laparoscopic surgery training. Additionally, surgeons at remote locations may use haptic applications to practice surgical procedures. Several research groups worldwide currently have surgical simulation applications. In one demonstration a “surgeon” located in Australia guided a ”trainee” in Sweden in an operation to remove the gall bladder, using an Internet link between Australia and Sweden (Satava, 1998). The advancements in medical modeling and Virtual Reality enable medical training in a safer and more cost-efficient manner. A study by Chui (Chui, 2006) analyzes a surgical simulator for training students to perform spinal cement vertebroplasty. In this biomechanical model a haptic device is employed to capture the movement of the user’s hand, and the Cybergrasp™ device provides force feedback to the user’s finger during the insertion of the needle into the bone. The Haptic Cow simulator (Baille, 2005) is another haptic application designed for veterinary students performing fertility examinations. During training, the students palpate virtual internal organs via a haptic device that is positioned inside a fibreglass half-cow model. 2.3. Assistance for Visually Impaired Haptics-enabled systems can aid blind and visually impaired users at using computers or playing games (Brewster, 2001; Basdogan and Ho, 2002). For instance, Yu et al (Yu, 2003) developed a low-cost web-based tool which can be used by blind people to design virtual graphs without the help of a sighted person. The automatic graph generation works like the graph-plotting tool in Microsoft Excel that plots a graph according to the selected data. Based on the data inserted by the user, the tool renders a graph on the computer screen. Blind users can then explore the graph through Logitech’s The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 47 WingMan Force Feedback mouse with audio feedback. The interactive drawing gives blind users the opportunity to draw graphs manually. 2.4. Military Simulations and Training Haptic-enabled VR simulations across a network allow people in different locations to participate in military training exercises (Gun and Mettenmeyer, 2002). At the Army's National Automotive Center, the Simulation Throughout the Life Cycle program used haptics to test military ground vehicles under simulated battlefield conditions. For example, they simulated an environment where workers at remote locations can collaborate in reconfiguring a vehicle chassis with different weapons using instrumented force-feedback gloves to manipulate the 3D components. Haptic applications can be used to safely train aircraft and other complicated machinery operators. Flight training simulators are safer when teaching potentially dangerous tasks, such as taxiing down a runway (Menéndez and Bernard, 2001). 2.5. Architecture and Graphic Arts Haptics may be applied to designing virtual art exhibits, concert rooms, museums, and even individual or co-operative virtual sculpturing projects across the Internet (Brewster, 2001; Handshake VR News, 2004). Novint™ Technologies developed an architectural walkthrough for Sandia National Laboratories that allows users to load detailed architectural models and explore their design using Novint’s e-Touch technology. Haptic technology allows users to receive haptic feedback while feeling the digital models, or picking up and placing objects such as chairs. 2.6. Entertainment Haptics naturally fits in video games and simulators by enabling the user to feel and manipulate virtual solids, fluids, tools, and avatars (Handshake VR News, 2004). One example is a stock XBox controller (Basdogan and Ho, 2002) powered by Immersion’s force feedback technology. Players of “Star Wars” game have the opportunity to experience a heavy recoil effect when firing a rocket launcher and the rapid-fire vibrations from a machine gun. 3. Haptics Research Haptic research originates with the work of Heinrich Weber (Prytherch, 2002), a 19 th century professor at the University of Leipzig. In 1987 Lederman and Klatzky (Klatzky, 1985), summarized four basic procedures for haptic exploration, each one eliciting a different set of object characteristics: University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 48 • lateral motion (stroking) provides information about the surface texture of the object; • pressure gives information about how firm the material is; • contour following elicits information on the form of the object; • enclosure reflects the volume of the object. The development of several haptic devices in the early 1990s facilitated important experiments that involve human tactile perception, and improved the understanding of haptic human-computer interaction. The increasing number of researchers in the haptics domain in the late 1990s contributed to the appearance of a specialized Internet magazine. Haptics-e published haptics-related technical discussions and articles. Since the foundation of Haptics-e (2000) and Haptics International Society (2003), numerous conferences, symposiums, and publications were organized, indicating the expansion of the haptics research community. 4. Haptic Devices and Hardware Characteristics In this section we present the most novel haptic devices and we categorize the hardware device characteristics by comparing information from various manufacturers. As we mentioned earlier, blind users can then explore the graphs through Logitech’s WingMan Force Feedback mouse (figure 1) with audio feedback. Another successful initiative pursued by SensAble Technologies is their line of PHANTOM® devices. PHANTOM® Omni™ (figure 2a) is a six-degree-of-freedom portable device with a compact footprint and a removable rubber stylus. An alternative tool is the PHANTOM® Desktop™ (figure 2b), which is similar to the PHANTOM® Omni™, but provides better precision positioning control and higher fidelity force feedback output. The Mimic Mantis has a different design compared to other haptic devices: this tension-based device incorporates an on-board processor for faster computation of forces, allowing the haptics software to be embedded directly into the device. The user interacts with the system through an integrated keyboard and a two-button grip, which can be changed to satisfy the application requirements. The wireless CyberGlove® II from Immersion Corporation (figure 3) is a fully instrumented glove that provides up to 22 high-accuracy joint-angle measurements. It uses proprietary resistive bend-sensing technology to accurately transform hand and finger motions into real-time digital joint-angle data. Each of the incorporated sensors is extremely thin and flexible, being virtually undetectable in the lightweight elastic glove. Figure 1. Logitech’s WingMan™ mouse Figure 2a. PHANTOM® Omni™ Figure 2b. PHANTOM® Desktop™ Figure 3. Cyber Glove II The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 49 Novint Technologies, Inc. introduces a 3D game controller haptic device, Novint Falcon, which (figure 4) enables users to control a game in three dimensions. The device has three arms that are gathered in a handgrip with programmable buttons. The position and the forces rendered by each arm are updated 1000 times per second to create a real life experience for the user. Having developed a set of prototypes since 1997, Carnegie Mellon University proposed in March 2008 an innovative haptic device based on magnets. The device (figure 5), built into a bowl-shaped cavity in a desk, includes a levitating bar that, grasped by the user, makes the magnets exert force on the bar. Missing the mechanical linkages, the system responds instantly due to no latencies from mechanical force-feedback. The moving part of the device, which responds and exerts actions in six degrees of freedom, exhibits relatively high stiffness (25 N/mm at 1500 Hz) and allows appliance of forces up to 55N. The perception of very smooth movements of the bar (up to 5-10 microns) permits the feel of differences between textures and subtle effects of friction. The disadvantage of the system is the limited range of motion for the joystick: 25 mm in translation and 15-20 degrees in rotation. Figure 4. Novint Falcon Figure 5. Magnetic levitation (maglev) The following characteristics, also known as performance measures, are common to all haptic devices (Wall, 2004): • Degrees of Freedom (DOF) represent the set of independent displacements that specify completely the position of the body or system. • Workspace refers to the area within which the joints of the device will permit the operator’s motion. • Position resolution is the minimum detectable change in position possible within the workspace. • Continuous force is the maximum force that the controller can exert over an extended period of time. • Maximum force/torque is the maximum possible output of the device, determined by such factors as the power of the actuators and the efficiency of any gearing systems. Unlike continuous force, maximum force needs to be exerted only over a short period of time (e.g., a few milliseconds). • Maximum stiffness of virtual surfaces depends on the peak force/torque, but is also related to the dynamic behaviour of the device, sensor resolution, and the sampling period of the controlling computer. • System latency measures the time passed between the moment of changing the controller’s position and the moment when a resultant force can be calculated and University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 50 rendered by the device. Latency includes computation by the computer and therefore depends on the speed of the computer as well as the speed of the device. • Haptic update rate is the inverse of system latency, measured in Hz. • Inertia is the perceived mass of the device when it is in use. This should be as low as possible to minimize the impact of the device controller on rendered forces. 5. Haptic APIs Several APIs have evolved for the development of haptic applications. They include SensAble OpenHaptics Toolkit, Reachin API, Immersion Corporation’s API for automotive, and Sense Graphics’ H3D API. SensAble OpenHaptics Toolkit (www.sensable.com) enables software developers to add haptics and 3D navigation to a wide range of applications, from games and entertainment to simulation and visualization. The toolkit is familiar to graphics programmers because it is designed after the OpenGL API. Reachin API (www.reachin.se) is a modern development platform that enables the development of sophisticated haptic 3D applications in the user's programming language of choice, such as C++, Python, or VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language). The API provides a base of pre-written code that allows for easy and rapid development of applications that target specific needs of the user. UK Haptics, a newly established medical software development company, agreed to use Reachin API as the core haptic technology platform for their Virtual Veins application. Virtual Veins is a medical simulation package for training medical staff in catheter insertion. The Immersion API (www.immersion.com) is a software library for creating and assigning haptic effects to interact with haptic devices such as rotary controllers. It provides the code necessary for developers to design and incorporate haptic effects into their applications. Leading auto manufacturer, BMW, has licensed Immersion's TouchSense technology to create the automotive industry's first intuitive information and control system called iDrive. The iDrive features a single control dial mounted on the central console, which allows a driver to have instant and total control of every comfort element in the car through their sense of touch. H3D API is designed mainly for users who want to develop haptics applications from scratch, rather than for those who want to add haptics to existing applications. The main advantage of H3D API is that it makes it easy to manage graphics and haptics rendering. For this reason, H3D API is a vital extension to OpenHaptics. It allows users to focus their work on the behavior of the application and ignore the issues of haptics geometry rendering as well as synchronization of graphics and haptics. The API is also extended with scripting capabilities, allowing the user to perform rapid prototyping using the Python scripting language. 6. Effectiveness of Simulation and Training With Haptic Feedback In a study Moody et al (Moody, 2002) demonstrated the effect of a force feedback system in the training and assessment of surgeons. The PHANToM desktop unit, run on Windows NT 4.0, was used together with a suturing simulation. After the task was The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 51 demonstrated and explained to each subject by the experimenter, each of the 20 participants performed two test sutures to familiarise themselves with the task and the experimental setting. Participants were then asked to form one suture across the skin excision, with the specifications provided by the experimenter. Results revealed that force feedback resulted in a reduction of the time taken to complete the stitch. Cagatay Basdogan et al. (Basdogan, 2000) have conducted experiments to study the role of haptic feedback in performing collaborative tasks and in influencing the sense togetherness when working with a remote partner. For this purpose they designed a multimodal shared environment that included: one computer, two synchronized monitors, and two PHANToM devices. The 10 participants formed two groups. In one day one of the groups performed the task including only visual feedback, while for the other group visual and haptic feedback was included. In each of the 15 trials the participants collaborated with their partner to move a ring in virtual environment without touching a wire. The results of the experiment suggest a considerable enhancement of performance when the haptic feedback was present. The measurements also revealed that, depending on the age, the gender, and the level of computer usage of the participants, the haptic presence increased in some level the feeling of togetherness. The study (Caroline, 2007) analyzes the effects of network delay on users that are working in a collaborative environment. Thirty participants took part in the study, performing the experiment in pairs. For observing the differences between the visual and haptic latency, the experimental task consisted of two parts: in the first part the users, positioned in a simple environment at some distance one from another, had to get close to one another relying on visual feedback; in the second part they had to move to a target, without loosing contact, relying on haptic feedback. Pairs of participants performed 12 experimental sessions with random level of latency added for every trial. The negative effects of the latency were slowed movement and an increased number of errors. Virtual Haptic Back (VHB) Project (Williams, 2006) develops a series of haptic simulations of the human body parts, such as somatic dysfunctions, to help students learn the palpatory techniques. The project includes passive and active methods of study. The application has a multistage structure. The path and the movements of the expert performing the palpatory technique are recorded using PHANToM playback capabilities. The first stage allows students to follow the expert’s path, with no haptic feedback incorporated. In the second phase the haptic feedback is involved, and the student has to actively follow the correct path via visual cues. The results of the experiment show that the users from both groups improved their technique during the trials; however, the students from the group trained with passive trials performed significantly better then the other group. As confirmed in the above case studies, the use of haptic feedback in simulation and training seems to improve the user’s experience and efficiency of performed procedures at a cost of a more complex system. 7. Conclusion In this paper we provided a review of the available haptic technologies and associated hardware/software characteristics. Haptics is a fast-growing field with serious potential and a multitude of applications in entertainment, medicine, military and other fields. Several haptic APIs, stand out and enable faster development of haptic applications for simulation and training purposes. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 52 The efficiency of simulation and training with haptic feedback is demonstrated for several application domains. However designing a training tool with haptic feedback increases the complexity and the real-time processing requirements of the application. Significant progress has been made since the inception of the technology, and we believe that even more innovative haptic applications will be seen in the future. REFERENCES BAILLIE, S., CROSSAN, A., BREWSTER, S., MELLOR, D., and REID, S. (2005), “Validation of a Bovine Rectal Palpation Simulator for Training Veterinary Students”, in Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 13: The Magical Next Becomes the Medical Now, Vol. 111, pp.33-36. BASDOGAN, C., HO, C., SRINIVASAN, M. A, and SLATER, M. (2000), “An experimental study on the role of touch in shared virtual environments”, in the ACM Transactions of Computer-Human. Interaction, Vol. 7(4) , pp. 443-460. BASDOGAN, C., and HO, C. (2002), “Principles of Haptic Rendering for Virtual Environments” (network.ku.edu.tr/~cbasdogan/Tutorials/haptic_tutorial.html). BREWSTER, S. A. (2001), “The Impact of Haptic 'Touching' Technology on Cultural Applications”, in the Proceedings of EVA2001, Glasgow, UK, pp. 1-14. CHUI, C.-K., ONG, J. S. K., LIAN, Z.-Y., WANG, Z. and TEO, J. (2006), “Haptics in Computer-Mediated Simulation: Training in Vertebroplasty Surgery”. Simulation and Gaming, Vol. 37, pp. 438-451. GUNN, C. and METTENMEYER, A. (2002), “Virtual Surgery across the World”, CSIRO Media Release – Ref 2002/224 – Nov.13, 2002. HAMZA-LUP, F. G. and ADAMS, M. (2008), "Feel the Pressure: e-Learning System with Haptic Feedback", The 16 th Symposium on Haptic Interfaces for Virtual Environments and Teleoperator Systems, March 13-14, Reno, Nevada. HANDSHAKE V R News (2004), “Telehaptics for Training and Command and Control”, The MSIAC’s M&S Journal Online, Vol. 5. JAY, C., GLENCROSS, M., and HUBBOLD, R. (2007), “Modeling the effects of delayed haptic and visual feedback in a collaborative virtual environment”, in the ACM Transactions of Computer-Human Interactions, Vol. 14 (2). KLATZKY, R. L., LEDERMAN, J. and METZGER, V. A, (1985), “Identifying objects by touch: An expert system”, Perception and Psychophysics, Vol. 37, pp. 299-302. LAMOUREUX, M. (2005), “Making Sense of Human/Machine Interface Controls. Unmanned Systems”, (www.ultra-msi.com/company/news/2005_12_01.pdf). MENÉNDEZ, R. G. and BERNARD, J. E. (2001) “Advancing the State of the Art in Flight Simulation via the Use of Synthetic Environments”, Iowa Space Grant Consortium. MOODY, L., BABER, C. and ARVANITIS, T. N, (2002), “The Role of Haptic Feedback in the Training and Assessment of Surgeons”, in proceedings of Eurohaptics 2001, Birmingham, UK. University of Birmingham, pp. 170-173. PRYTHERCH, D. (2002), “Weber, Katz and Beyond: An Introduction to Psychological Studies of Touch and the Implications for an Understanding of Artists' Making and Thinking Processes”, in Research Issues Art, Design and Media, Vol.2. SATAVA, R. M. and JONES, S. B. (1998), “Current and Future Applications of Virtual Reality for Medicine”, in Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 86, pp. 484-489. YU, W, KANGAS, K and BREWSTER, S. A. (2003), “Web-based Haptic Applications to Allow Blind People to Create Virtual Graphs”, in Proceedings of the 11 th Haptic Symposium Los Angeles, CA. WALL, S. (2004), “An Investigation of Temporal and Spatial Limitations of Haptic Interfaces”. Department of Cybernetics, vol. Ph.D. Reading: University of Reading. WILLIAMS R. M. II, SRIVASTAVA, M, CONATSER, R. R, and HOWELL, J. N., (2004) “Implementation and Evaluation of Haptic Playback System”, http://www.haptics-e.org, 3. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 53 INTERGEO – Interoperable Interactive Geometry for Europe Christian Mercat 1 , Paul Libbrecht 2 , Sophie SouryLavergne 3 , Jana Trgalova 3 (1) I3M, LIRMM, Univ. Montpellier 2, France (2) German Research Center for Artif. Intel. (DFKI), Saarbrücken, Germany (3) National Institute for Pedagogical Research (INRP), Lyon, France Abstract Intergeo (http://inter2geo.eu/) is an eContent+ European project dedicated to the sharing of interactive geometry constructions. It will enable teachers and pupils all over Europe to participate from experiences made by pioneers in the field of interactive geometry as a tool for teaching, learning, and research. Educational contents that were hard to access are made available in a common interoperable format. Tagged with relevant topics and competency based metadata and categorised according to curricula, they will be searchable and easily (re)usable by everyone. It will impact the value chain in eLearning, by providing building blocks of quality controlled, semantically enriched interactive educational content, on all levels from K12 to university, for classrooms, online courses, or integrated digital education systems. This project will help a multicultural community, built around interoperable quality controlled eLearning standards, to emerge and sustain itself with a wider audience than the present days niche of dedicated experts, which would not happen by market forces alone. 1. Introduction The last decade has seen a bloom in tools that allow teachers to enrich their teaching with interactive data, whether in face to face or distant mode. This wealth has its drawbacks and teachers need support to navigate through this diversity: which software should I use, where can I find resources, will this resource work for my class? Indeed, apart from pioneer work by dedicated teachers, the actual practices in the classroom have not evolved much. The reasons are manifold. Here are the three main ones: – All the communities that have grown around the different technical solutions and software available have produced resources that they share in one way or another. They have all thought about their practice and produced different approaches. Currently these cannot be merged, because the data they produce is scattered, both physically and semantically. The resources need to be centrally visible and exchangeable. – As well as being difficult to find and analyse, the resources are usually diverse in quality and relevance to a specific need. Teachers are unsure in which situation a given resource, even if apparently interesting, could actually be used, and whether it adds pedagogical value to the learning experience. They wait for a bolder colleague to report on her attempt. The resources need to be tested, and published reports need to reflect these tests. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 54 – Mastering a piece of software is time-consuming, and very few teachers grow to become power-users of their tool. The resources need to be easy to use, share and adapt, in spite of software choices. In order to solve these issues at least for one specific subject, interactive geometry, we propose to centralize educational resources from this field on the Intergeo web platform. All resources will have clear Intellectual Property Rights, promoting open licences. And they will be there in an interoperable file format we are going to create, based on OpenMath [3]. This format will be supported by the most common software programs for interactive geometry, so teachers can keep on using their own. We proceed as follows. First, we defined an internationalized ontology describing our field of interest. Second, we annotated curricula of various countries with items from this ontology. Third, we let the users annotate their resources and browse through existing resources using the nodes of the ontology. Their use is reported through an online quality questionnaire that helps ranking the resources and identifying improvement axis. 1.1. Outline The introduction continues with explaining what interactive geometry is and who we are. Section 2 describes the aim of the project. Section 3 presents the metadata based on a multilingual ontology used for both representing the various European curricula, educational levels, and the competencies attached to the resources. Section 4 explains how this metadata allows to search and access the content, how queries are processed, by typing and explicitly selecting competencies and topics or by pointing in a curriculum or a textbook. Then, in section 5 we describe how the evaluation of the quality of the resources will be performed and used. The paper ends with a conclusion Sec. 6. 1.2. What is Interactive Geometry? The Intergeo project is driven by European leaders in interactive geometry software. We are going to explain what is understood by interactive or dynamic geometry, a way of doing geometry which is required of math and science teachers more and more often. Interactive geometry allows for the manipulation and the visualization of a construction (a figure) on a computer. The construction depends on some free parameters, like the position of one or several control points. The user manipulates the figure through the keyboard, the mouse or a tracking device, by changing one or more of these free parameters. The construction then changes accordingly. Let us give a simple example. One constructs in a dynamic interactive geometry system a triangle ABC with two perpendicular bisectors of two sides, then the intersecting point O of these two perpendicular bisectors. The third perpendicular bisector is then constructed and seems to pass through the point O. In a dynamic geometry system, it is possible to drag any vertex of triangle ABC and although the shape of triangle ABC is changing, the third perpendicular bisector is always passing through the point O as depicted in figure 1. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 55 Figure 1. Perpendicular bisectors The property of three perpendicular bisectors intersecting in a common point appears as an invariant when varying the triangle ABC. Being able to move screen objects around in space (and so over time) can add significantly to the user’s sense of the underlying concept as an object not just in itself but a something invariant amidst change. Interactive geometry is intended to manipulate scientific data relying on a hierarchical construction. The figure encodes not only the graphical illustration (a curve here, a picture there) but also the relations between the different entities that are drawn. Of course, the main entities and relations in interactive geometry are of geometrical type. You will find triangles, circles, lines and points, barycentres, tangents, secants with given angles and distances [14]. But it is much more general than antique Greek geometry – you can have functions, derivatives, colours, random variables, all sorts of constructs that allow you to visualise and manipulate concepts that arise in all sorts of contexts, inside mathematics as well as outside [1, 5, 7]. 1.3. Who we are Intergeo (http://inter2geo.eu) is a project funded by the European community under the eContent+ programme. It begun in October 2007 and will last for three years. Our consortium brings together partners from six different European countries. The geometry software that has been developed inside the consortium, however, covers almost all languages of the twenty seven countries of the European Union (and more). 1. University of Education Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany [Cinderella] 2. Université Montpellier 2, Sésamath association, GNU Edu, France [Geoplan/ Geospace/Tracenpoche] 3. German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Saarbrücken, Germany 4. Cabrilog SAS, France [Cabri II Plus/Cabri Junior/Cabri 3D] 5. University of Bayreuth, Germany [GEONExT] 6. Université du Luxembourg [Geogebra] 7. University of Cantabria, Santander, Spain University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 56 8. TU Eindhoven, Netherlands 9. Maths for More, Spain [WIRIS] 10. Jihoceská univerzita, Ceské Budejovice, Czech republic 2. Objectives The InterGeo project intends to ease the access to and thus enable the use and reuse of eLearning content based on interactive geometry tools. Development, generalisation and improvement of geometry content suffers from a scattering of the available software and resources and a lack of quality control. The answers we propose are: 1. Interoperability and metadata: We define and agree on a common description of metadata and basic structure of educational interactive geometry resources, through an ontology definition and an open file format. The resources will be easier to find, identify and use. The common metadata and interoperable OpenMath XML specification for describing figures in interactive geometry will permit a teacher to find, trust, open and adapt the available resources, according to licenses. The specifications will comply with the current standards for learning objects in order to ensure future use and sustainability. 2. Content: We will provide a wealth of own content to jump-start the exchange and evaluation of content. Due to the achieved interoperability, user communities from different countries have a chance to actively work together towards a better learning experience, although they have different general conditions, different backgrounds and pedagogical concepts. 3. Quality Assessment and User Reviews: We will help to build a common basis of quality standards that enables users to assess the quality of content with respect to teaching situations. To this end, we will build an equality framework able to produce, through an assessment protocol, metadata asserting the quality, the adequacy and the intended pedagogical use of a given resource in a given cultural context. Great expertise in eLearning and eQuality assessment has been gathered in recent years, in particular in some European networks such as UNFOLD or MINERVA eQuality projects. Our project builds on the reflection, quality specifications and good practices founded as a result of such projects. Interactive geometry is a playing ground for multilingual share of educational resources because its very objects are abstract and visual. Of course, pedagogical documents have to be translated and adapted for every specific Community of Practice, but this is not the major obstacle for a user once the genuine interactive geometry content (as provided by the consortium) is identified. Learning Object Repositories (LORs) are a traditional platform type to propose sharing of learning objects. This generality implies shallow annotation standards such as LOM, that failed at providing efficient retrieval mechanisms. Our ontology based mechanism is much more specific. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 57 3. Interoperability and Metadata The Intergeo project was facing the issue of cross-curriculum search which would be fine grained because the focus on mathematics asks for more specific identification. We give an example, review the issues and projects that addressed them and describe our solution. 3.1. A Simple Example of Cross-Curriculum Search Consider the competency (or skill) of constructing the division of a segment in n equal parts. This should be matched by queries using strings such as “divide in equal parts”, “diviser en parties de même longueur”, etc. Curriculum standards, however, do not all speak about this topic in the same way. The English curriculum only mentions the operation of enlargement, whereas the French national program of study mentions “connaître et utiliser dans une situation donnée les deux théorèmes suivants” and provides the formulation of the “Théorème de Thalès” and its converse [11]. All these should match in some way. Mismatching across some of the curriculum boundaries is easy: In French (théorème de Thalès) and Spanish (teorema de Tales) indicates the intercepting lines theorem. However, Thales’ Theorem in English or in German (Satz des Thales) refers to another theorem. 3.2. Similar Projects and Approaches Topical information in learning objects repositories is usually very broad like the WebALT repository [8], close to a curriculum standard. Another approach is free tagging but it needs unsustainable multi-cultural support. GNU Edu [12] provides topical information directly within the curriculum: learning objects are tagged by skills described in a curriculum, split into years and chapters. Skills have translated keywords to achieve cross-curriculum search. TELOS from the LORNET research network [13] aims at complete courses and not individual resources. England’s Curriculum Online [2], Microsoft Lesson Connection [10] and the ExploreLearning [4] enterprise, have annotated the curricula of England and the USA. The CALIBRATE project [18] provides annotated but too few curricula. 3.3. The GeoSkills Ontology The basis of our approach is to enrich usual LOM like metadata [16] with a list of mathematical competencies [9] (prerequisite or trained), topics, educational levels and programmes which have names in many languages and which can be tagged on each resource. These lists are arranged as an ontology so as to provide a knowledge management tool and standards-based interoperability with guaranteed computational results. Example of topics: Isosceles Triangle; of competencies: Calculate trigonometric ratio; of pathways: elementary-school; of levels: Gymnasium Saarland 7te. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 58 We are working on a competency editor web-based tool: it will complement the curriki-based platform to allow: graphically browsing the competencies, topics, levels, and their relationships (e.g. from a resource annotated with a given topic), translating, adding or editing various names, curriculum-encoding, creating and editing competencies and topics present in a given curriculum. 4. Content sharing 4.1. Resource model The model for a resource stems from the work of the SFoDEM project [6] at the genesis of the Intergeo project. A full fledged resource in the SFoDEM form is as a collection of sheets: a learner sheet, a teacher sheet, a technical sheet and some others. Only the learner sheet is visible to an unidentified visitor so that learners can be directed to the resource page for an online use of the resource. Each sheet consists of a wiki page where the insertion of interactive geometry constructions is done in an easy to use wiki syntax in the same way as static images. All sheets are exported, together with the construction files, in a downloadable bundle that can be used offline. 4.2. Resource browsing The Intergeo platform’s main goal is to allow sharing of interactive geometric constructions and related materials. Overall, sharing a resource is the execution of the following roles: the author provides content to the Intergeo platform; the annotator provides authoring, licensing, topical, and pedagogical information on it; the searcher navigates and searches through the platform’s database to find relevant resources to use in teaching; the curriculum encoder inputs and maintains the set of topics, competencies, and educational contexts; the competency translator maintains their formal as well as everyday names; the quality evaluator reports on her usage of the resource in the classroom through an online questionnaire [17]. Topics, competencies, and contexts are addressable through URLs identifiers, thanks to OWLdoc. A browser version can be seen from http://i2geo.net/ontologies/dev/. We designed two means to let the users easily designate tokens (topics, competencies, or educational contexts): by typing text or by pointing in a book. We extend the familiar autocompletion: both for search and annotation, users can type a few words in a text field and the autocompletion popup presents a list of matching tokens (see Figure 2). More information and tests at http://www.activemath.org/projects/SkillsTextBox/ . The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 59 Figure 2. Competencies triggered by "Thales conf" We will allow graphical browsing of curriculum standards or textbooks that users know well. The idea is that a user can then browse through a table of content, through pages he is graphically familiar with, and click on sections of interest. This click will trigger the selection of the competencies and topics associated with these sections, the search field. Although we shall mostly not be able to offer whole textbooks to browse through, we expect it to be unproblematic to display their tables of contents. 5. Quality assessment Quality assessment of eLearning has slowly evolved into a clear necessity. In the Intergeo project, the quality assessment is based on user’s evaluation reports in the form of a questionnaire to be taken by teachers to evaluate different aspects of the quality of their planned or passed teaching experience, in order to give a ranking score to resources and to identify directions of possible improvements. Our methodology stems from previous projects namely the JEM (Joining Educational Mathematics) network, the eQuality project and the IREM project SFoDEM. The first objective of quality assessment is searchability: we want the “good” resources to be ranked first by a search engine. The second one is reusability by improvement of resources and their metadata through quality cycles based on users’ feedback. In this second year 2008-2009 we will bootstrap these quality improvement cycles by organising tests of resources in the classroom and analysing quality reports from users’ evaluations. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 60 5.1. Processes We adapted the educational model proposed in the eQuality project [15] to our situation: Open Distance Learning provides a student with learning material from an ODL university course. Our objective is to provide a teacher teaching content using resources found on our web-site. The roles are somewhat shifted, as summarised in Table 1, but the need for emulation and support, feedback and analysis are strikingly akin. Table 1 The correspondence between eQuality and Intergeo models e-Quality in ODL Student Teacher Institution Course Learning event Intergeo Teacher Author Project Resource Teaching event 5.2. Author with hats The teacher using a resource goes around the cyclic process described in Fig. 3 and the resource itself follows a similar cyclic process. The author of a resource has several hats on her head to manage this cycle. Figure 3. Teacher's workflow 5.3. Licenses Unclear licenses are a real impediment to the use of resources found on the Internet. The Intergeo project aims at rising the awareness of the share holders in the value chain to this The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 61 issue. The author chooses a license contract for the content that she intends to share. The Intergeo project is promoting the use of open licenses that allow adaptation and reusability such as the Creative Commons Share Alike license. According to the licence, a teacher is encouraged to take on his own hand to improve a given resource and issue a new version of it, taking into account the users' feedback given by the questionnaire and the forums. 6. Conclusion The Intergeo project is reaching usability. We welcome participation from interested users, mainly secondary math teachers to try and report on the contents on our web site http://inter2geo.eu/. We are seeking participation of Textbooks Editors and Publishers, as well as officials from Education Ministries in order to get competencies and up to date curricula. The community in eLearning is welcome to enrich and use our curricula and ontology of competencies, as well as the tools that we developed. Our ontology GeoSkills can be tested at http://i2geo.net/ontologies/dev. The SkillsTextBox GWT project can be enjoyed at http://ls.activemath.org/ projects/SkillsTextBox. 7. Acknowledgements We wish to thank Odile Bénassy, Cyrille Desmoulins, Colette Laborde, Michael Dietrich, Maxim Hendriks and Albert CreusMir for their participation and contribution to this research. The Intergeo project is partially funded by the European Union under the eContentPlus programme and the authors’ institutions. REFERENCES [1] A. Ait Ouassarah. Cabri-géomètre et systèmes dynamiques. Bulletin de l’APMEP (433):223-232, 2001. [2] British Educational Communication and Technology Agency. Curriculum online, April 2008. http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/. [3] STEPHEN BUSWELL, OLGA CAPROTTI, DAVID CARLISLE, MIKE DEWAR, MARC GAËTANO, and MICHAEL KOHLHASE, The openmath standard, version 2.0. Technical report, The OpenMath Society, June 2004, http: //www.openmath.org/. [4] ExploreLearning. Correlation of gizmos by state and textbooks, 2005, http://www.explorelearning.com. [5] R. FALCADE, C. LABORDE, and A. MARIOTTI, Approaching functions: Cabri tools as instruments of semiotic mediation. Educational Studies in Mathematics (66.3):317-333, 2007. [6] D. GUIN, M. JOAB, and L. TROUCHE (eds), Conception collaborative de ressources pour l’enseignement des mathématiques l’expérience du SFoDEM (2000-2006), Technical report, CDROM INRP, ISBN 9782734210986 Réf. BD 151, 2008. [7] M. HOHENWARTER, GeoGebra: Dynamische Geometrie, Algebra und Analysis für die Schule. ComputeralgebraRundbrief (35):16-20, 2004. [8] JOUNI KARHIMA, JUHA NURMONEN, and MATTI PAUNA, WebALT Metadata = LOM + CCD, in Proceedings of the WebALT 2006 Conference. The WebALT project, jan 2006. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 62 [9] E. MELIS, A. FAULHABER, and S. EICHELMANN, A. and NARCISS, Interoperable competencies characterizing learning objects in mathematics. Intelligent Tutoring Systems, 5091:416-425, 2008. [10] Microsoft. Microsoft Lesson Connection Launched At Technology + Learning Conference, 1999, http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/ 1999/nov99/lessonpr.mspx. [11] Ministère de l’Education Nationale, Programmes des classes de troisième des collèges. Bulletin Officiel de l’Education Nationale (10):108, 1998. [12] OFSET. GNU Edu, 2008. http://gnuedu.ofset.org/. [13] G. PAQUETTE, An ontology and a software framework for competency modeling and management. Educational Technology and Society (10.3):1-21, 2007. [14] J. PHILIPPE, Exploiter les logiciels de géométrie dynamique. 4 constructions géométriques avec Géoplan. Les Dossiers de l’ingénierie éducative (54):35-37, 2006. [15] The eQuality consortium, http://www.equalityeu.org/, 2004. [16] The Intergeo Consortium. D2.4 metadata specification, 2008, http://www. inter2geo.eu/en/deliverables. [17] The Intergeo Consortium. D6.1 quality assessment plan, 2008. http: //www.inter2geo.eu/en/deliverables. [18] FRANS VAN ASCHE, Linking learning resources to curricula by using compotencies, in first International Workshop on Learning Object Discovery and Exchange, Crete, 2007. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 63 Simulation Models for Virtual Reality Applications Grigore Albeanu Spiru Haret University, 13, Ion Ghica Str, RO-30045, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract The paper describes some simulation models used to implement virtual reality applications, addressing the presentation of the architecture of VR systems, VR applications in different fields, including medicine, an introduction to simulation techniques and a set of mathematical models for creating virtual scenes. The material represents a significant development of the presentation given at the workshop VRRM 2007: Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation Medicine, with details on mathematical aspects. Keywords: Modelling, Simulation, VR applications 1. Introduction During last decades, many modelling methods were proposed not only for computer- aided design, multi-queueing systems design, scientific visualization, e-learning, but also for entertainment. Recently, more research was dedicated to modelling virtual worlds, to model the behaviour of objects belonging to virtual environments (Dimitropoulos et al, 2008; Pasc et al, 2007; arcă et al, 2008; Jung et al, 2005; Popovici, 2005; etc), and to simulate such a behaviour using computer graphics tools (Falcidieno & Kunii, 1993; Hagen et al, 1993; etc), virtual reality interfaces (Fuchs & Moreau, 2003; etc.) and languages, and augmented reality (arcă et al, 2008). This paper describes some of architectures suitable for VR applications (the second section) and illustrates appropriate simulation techniques (in the third section). In order to implement such techniques, not only information technologies are required but also a strong background in mathematical modelling. Some mathematical models based on recent developments are described in the fourth section. Examples from medical applications, computer-aided design, scientific-visualization, e-learning and computer games are provided along the presentation. The material represents a significant modification of the presentation given at the workshop VRRM (Albeanu, 2007), with details on mathematical aspects and the current state of the art. 2. Some architectures of VR applications Simulated VR applications can be developed for important fields, according to (Albeanu, 2006): virtual current activities (e-learning, training in different subjects, games), virtual “teleportation” (virtual tourism, the study of micro and nano-structures, fluid flow University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 64 visualization, volume visualization in medicine), virtual collaborative activities (network based games, teleconferences, virtual communities), virtual design (CAD, architecture, fashion), virtual management (urban management, workplace management, workstation usability, environmental protection), virtual exhibitions (antiquities, restoration, …), and virtual events (the study of different civilizations, old sites visiting, police investigation by replay, …). Mainly, all applications need the participation of humans. Only some of them are off-line simulations. Not only real humans, but also virtual characters will be parts of some VR applications. This is why human modelling and animation is an important topic. Hence such a conceptual model includes a human model and an environment model. Of course, an interaction model will be also considered. Some architecture of a VR application is based on hierarchical decision graph evaluated repeatedly during simulation or normal running. Other VR applications use state machine transitions (different kind of automata, including cellular), cybernetic architectures based on Human Virtual Environment Actuators Transductors / Sensors Sensorial Interface Actorical Interface Action/Body Commands Action/Tools Information Signals Information Figure 1. Virtual laboratory The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 65 feedback, etc. However, all VR applications have a modular structure. Let us show that IMHAP platform (Liang et al, 2007) is divided into three components: Model, Viewer, and Controller. Of course, the controller implements the interactions between user and the model. The architecture of a remote mechatronic virtual laboratory (useful for virtual training in robotics) is shown in Figure 1, based on the presentation from (Pasc et al, 2007) where the interaction is assured by commands and signals. Such architecture is suitable also for medical surgery at distance, or operation at distance, according to (Albeanu, 2007). Another kind of architecture is the one proposed by (Boulic et al, 2003) which consists in layers. For instance, the H-Anim architecture contains an walking engine having three layers: generic walk pattern, gait personification, and walking trajectory controllers. All of them are designed in order to maintain the coherence of the model. The applications designed in order to model some body parts for virtual bodies use different ideas based on: volume imaging technologies, surface rendering and hybrids models, and volume rendering, as (Waterworth, 1999) reviewed. Other architectures are behaviour oriented like those proposed by (Popovici, 2005), or component oriented like for VR based applications developed by (Haller, 2001). Anyway, our biographical research establish a large collection of contributions (not all mentioned in references), but the basic ideas are those already presented above. 3. Simulation techniques for VR applications Simulation is the second stage of every VR application, the first stage being the model development. The simulation techniques depend on mathematical models associated to the virtual model. The simulation models used for implementing the behaviour of different real/virtual actors/systems are based on discrete or continuous mathematical model. When considering the simulation technology, the VR project manager will consider both virtual and physical systems architectures and their integration. For some VR applications, like those of collaborative nature, are necessary distributed simulation methods. The final stage deals with the validation of the simulation model and comparison of different simulation areas (such as vehicle, weather, medical, industrial, and entertainment). Various mathematical methods are required in different simulation scenarios (matrix transformations, algebra, trig, complex numbers), as well as open-loop and closed-loop system theory, discrete versus continuous simulation, the use of databases in simulations, and the necessary real-world physics/biology/chemistry etc. The references (Bell and Fogler, 1997), (Dimitropulos et al, 2008), (Jung et al, 2005), (Metze et al, 2005), (Souza et al, 2007) and (Thelen and Anderson, 2006) are only some of a huge scientific literature dedicated to different aspects on simulation for different VR applications. In the following we establish the main steps of a any simulation scenario: (1) establish the unit of time or/and distance depending on application; (2) establish the simulation time (how long?); (3) simulation start clock and uniform/variable time-step length; (4) setting the objects behaviour (movement, collision avoidance, …), and (5) generation, analysis and storage of new information. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 66 Some VR applications use backward simulation. The backward simulation asks to start from a current or final state and to move backwards in time to an initial state in order to determine the sequence of actions (the trajectory, the path) for moving the system from the initial state to the current final state. Other VR applications use forward simulation based approaches that usually execute a single forward pass through time based on some dispatching rules to develop the sequence. These techniques can be used also for motion generation required by some VR applications by automated or interactive control. Both keyframing and procedural methods can benefit from backward/forward simulations. Keyframing asks for key positions of objects to be animated and then interpolation is necessary to identify the positions in-between frames. Inverse kinematics (Zhao & Badler, 1994; Badler et al, 1999; etc) and different kind of interpolation procedures (Albeanu, 1999; Badler et al, 1999; Magnenat-Thalmann & Thalmann, 2004); etc) are implemented during simulation and motion generation. For particle systems, procedural methods can be developed based on laws of physics to generate motion. Not only individual objects but also groups of objects can be moved together during motion generation. Capturing or graphical design can also be used as INMEDEA uses in its web-based medical simulator. If considering human walking, the simulator divides the simulation time in succession of phases: right takeoff (RT), right footstrike (RF), left takeoff (LT), left footstrike (LF), and its implementation will ensure that the body parts motion and contact with terrain or stairs looks realistic, and will solve pushing/collisions and other kind of interventions (Figure 2). (Thelen & Anderson, 2006) developed a powerful methodology based on forward dynamic musculoskeletal simulation model. According to (Multon et al, 1999) some methods will be mixed depending on the VR application type. Figura 2. Time rule during RT-RF-LT-LF cicle Of course, simulations models used for VR applications in chemistry (Bell & Fogler, 1997) or environment protection (Albeanu, 2007) are completely different from human walking simulation, but the main ideas about controlling the sequence of events remain. 4. Some mathematical models Mathematical modelling is important not only for scientific aspects in industrial and business applications, but also for virtual learning and entertainment. Not only geometric transformations (2D, 3D), viewing transformations (parallel or perspective projection), clipping and hidden line or surface removal, well known in computer graphics, but mathematical models dependent on the concrete applications are required in order to create realistic behaviour of the objects belonging to a simulated environment. In the following some models concerning trajectory generation, surface-terrain generation and object generation will be detailed. RT-RF LT-LF The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 67 4.1. Trajectory/terrain modelling For the modeling of a walking/evolutionary trajectory, curves interpolated from data, or approximation curves can be used. Special curves could be obtained using trigonometric interpolation as described in (Albeanu, 1999). However, interproximation can be used as a mixed interpolation-approximation methodology as described in (Falcidieno & Kunii, 1993) by Cheng and Barsky (pag. 359). This methodology can also be used to model closed shapes. Let D = {D i | i = 1, 2, …, n} be a set of 2D data (points described as D i[j] = P j (x j , y j ), or rectangles described as D i[j] = [a j , b j ]x[c j , d j ], j = 1, 2, …, n. A common interproximation scheme uses cubic B-splines to fit the data set D. The cubic B-spline curve is a piecewise curve of n+m-1 segments, requiring n+m+6 interpolating knots denoted by T = {t -2 , t -1 , t 0 , t 1 , …, t n+m+3 }, where t -2 = t -1 = t 0 = t 1 = 0, t n+m = t n+m+1 = t n+m+2 = t n+m+3 = 1, and t i = t i-1 + d i , where d i is given according to the centripetal model of Lee (cited in (Falcidieno & Kunii, 1993)): 1 - m n i 2 , 2 2 / 1 1 2 / 1 1 + ≤ ≤ − − = ∑ + = − − n m j j j i i i A A A A d , with A i being D i[j] (the point or the centre of the rectangle), j = 1, 2, …, n. The cubic B-spline defined on [0, 1] can be represented as , ) ( ) ( 1 2 3 , 2 ∑ − − − = − = n m i i i u N C u S [0,1] u Î , where C i are control points and N i,3 (.) are normalised cubic B-splines defined related to the sequence of knots T. Other trajectories can be obtained using trigonometric piecewise functions. If F i (.), i = 1, 2, 3, 4 are Hermite trigonometric polynomials having parameters α and β, the trigonometric curve with endpoints P α and P β , and derivatives P’ α and P’ β , has the representation: h α , β (t) = P α F 1 (t) + P β F 2 (t) + P’ α F 3 (t) + P’ β F 4 (t), t ∈[α, β]. A suitable representation of terrain regions in order to apply collision detection, or finding contact points with some objects is based on Bézier rectangles. Figure 3. Terrain generation by Bézier rectangles with texturing University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 68 A Bézier rectangle of degree mxn has the form ∑∑ = = ≤ ≤ = m i n j j i n j m i P v B u B v u S 0 0 , , , 1. v u, 0 , ) ( ) ( ) , ( where B i,m (.), respectiv B j,n (.) are univariate Bernstein polynomials of degree m, respectiv, n, and P i,j are the control points of the Bézier rectangle. For some applications a texture is applied in order to obtain a realistic view (Figure 3), but from many algorithmic tasks, only the skeletal of the terrain is required. 4.2. Object modelling Solid physical objects can be represented as a combination (union, intersection, difference) of primitives like cubes, spheres, cones, cylinders, tetrahedrons or quadratic pyramids, etc. according to the Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) based methodology. Other methods are: spatial enumeration, cell decomposition, boundary representation, and primitive instancing. Some useful models consider super-primitives like super-elipsoid and super-toroid objects and other entities obtained by mathematical transformations (translation along, rotations, …, etc) or sweep methods. The most natural way to represent a CSG model is the CSG tree: ::= | | where is an instance of one of the primitives of the primitive data base, is either a translation or a rotation, and is either ∪, ∩, or ÷ (setminus). To animate the scene, both a static description and information about object movement is required. The information about the movement is described in an articulated model (the objects are connected by joints in a hierarchical structure). For some objects the motion is determined by rules (for instance, the laws of physics), specified also for deformable entities. A special case for VR applications deals with trivariate data modelling, that means the construction of a function F(x, y, z) which interaproximates the relationship implied by the data (x i , y i , z i ; F i ). If (x i , y i , z i ) are interior points of some object, the model will provide information about attributes of other points belonging to the object. This information is useful for a realistic rendering of the animated scene. A common method to identify a model uses the distance function approach (least square). Piecewise Hermite form of the spline models can also be used, and the coefficients will be identified by solving the obtained linear system of equation. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 69 5. Conclusions This paper described the main principles of the simulation models used to implement virtual reality applications. There are presented the architecture of VR systems, VR applications in different fields, including medicine, an introduction to simulation techniques and a set of mathematical models for creating virtual scenes. The complexity of the subject is large and a strong mathematical background is necessary. Also, implementing VR applications asks for recent information technologies resources including virtual reality hardware and software tools. REFERENCES ALBEANU, G. (1999), On the Geometric Modeling of Curves by Trigonometric Polynomials, Annals of Bucharest University, Mathematics-Informatics Series 48, 1, 55-60. ALBEANU, G. (2007), Lecture on Simulation Models for VR Applications, VRRM-2007: International Workshop on Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Romania, September 24-25, 2007, Manuscript. ALBEANU, G. 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The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 71 Modeling of Errors Realized by a Human Learner in Virtual Environment for Training Thanh Hai Trinh 1, 2 , Cédric Buche 1 , Jacques Tisseau 1 Université Européenne de Bretagne – ENIB – LISyc – CERV Technopôle Brest-Iroise, 29238 Brest Cedex 3, FRANCE (2) Institut de la Francophonie pour l’Informatique 42 Ta Quang Buu, Ha Noi, VIETNAM E-mail:
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected] Abstract This study focuses on the notion of erroneous actions realized by human learners in Virtual Environments for Training. Our principal objective is to develop an Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) suggesting pedagogical assistances to the teacher. For that, the ITS must obviously detect and classify erroneous actions produced by learners during their realization of procedural and collaborative work. Further, in order to better support human teacher and facilitate his comprehension, it is necessary to show the teacher why learner made an error. Addressing this issue, we firstly model the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM). Then, we integrate the retrospective analysis mechanism of CREAM into our existing ITS, thus enable the system to indicate the path of probable cause-effect explaining reasons why errors have occurred. Keywords: Intelligent tutoring system, Erroneous actions, Retrospective analysis. 1. Introduction In order to simulate procedural and collaborative work, we previously developed the model MASCARET (Multi-Agent System for Collaborative Adaptive and Realistic Environment for Training) where human learners and agents collaborate to realize a mission (Querrec et al., 2004). Learners are gathered in team consisting of several predefined roles, every role contains a number of tasks to be realized by learners with accurate resources. During realisation of the tasks, it is essential to take into account that human learners could make erroneous actions in comparing to their predefined correct procedure. In (Buche and Querrec, 2005), we have proposed a model of Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS) whose principal objective is to suggest pedagogical assistances to the teacher adapted to the simulation context and to the learner’s behaviours (including erroneous actions). However, this works exclusively concerns errors detection and tagging. Once erroneous actions are detected in our existing ITS, it were be classified in different types (see Figure 1a) whose explications are based on a knowledge base on University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 72 classical errors. In order to better support the teacher and facilitate his comprehension, it lacks a model that could explain reasons why the learner made an error. Our approach bases on the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM) in Human Reliability Analysis field (Hollnagel, 1998). This approach proposed a classification scheme which makes a distinction between observations of errors (phenotypes, see Figure 1b) and its causes (genotypes) classified in three categories: M(an), T(echnology) and O(rganization). The causal links between phenotype-genotype are represented using a number of consequent-antecedent links. Finally, the scheme could be associated with both a method of retrospective analysis (the search for causes) and a performance prediction method. However, in our goal of erroneous actions detection and then searching for the causes, we interested in human learner’s performance analyses, in other words, in retrospective analyses. TeamError Error TeamProceduralError ProceduralError ActionError UsageError Erroneous action Timing Duration Sequence Object Force Direction Distance Speed Too early, too late, omission Too long, too short Reversal, repetition, commission, intrusion Wrong action, wrong object Too much, too little Wrong direction Too far, too short Too fast, too slow Figure 4a. Errors types in ITS (Buche and Querrec, 2005) Figure 1b. Dimensions of error modes (Hollnagel, 1998) Implementation of CREAM was object in the work of (El-Kechaï, 2006, 2007) which firstly proposed a task model named METISSE in order to recognize learner’s plans in Virtual Environments for Training (VET), then this model could be used to detect for erroneous actions according to classification of Hollnagel. Nevertheless, implementation of METISSE was not complete, and integration of CREAM into a really ITS was not performed. In this paper, we will firstly propose an approach to model CREAM (section 2). Next, in section 3, we will present the integration of retrospective analysis mechanism of CREAM into our existing ITS as well as our evaluation. Finally, section 4 summarizes the present work. 2. Implementation of CREAM 2.1. Classification Scheme Representation There are several graphic tools that permit to keep track of analyses processes such as CREAM Navigator developed by (Serwy and Rantanen, 2007). However, this navigator is completely closed in the sense that it does not maintain an explicit The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 73 representation of possible errors modes and probable causes. For that, (El-Kechaï and Després, 2007) proposed using a rules base for represent consequent-antecedent links, hence the search for the causes was executed by backward inferences. Limitation of this method obviously lies on the performance of inference mechanism, other problem maybe occurs in adding, removing another potential errors that will demand a considerable modification on the rules base. For our development, as suggested in (Hollnagel, 1998), we intent to separate the analysis method (cf. section 2.3 and 2.4) and the representation of errors modes using a group of four data files in format XML detailed below: – Questionnaire.xml: proposing to represent a list of questions from which we could evaluate the Common Performance Conditions (see section 2.2 in following) – Phenotype.xml: proposing to maintain the phenotypes and its antecedents Distraction Excessive demand Error in goal Inadequate training … University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 74 – Repartition.xml: proposing to determine repartition of specific antecedents in three factors (M,T,O) which serves to initialize the mass of each specific antecedent as a probable cause (cf. section 2.4) < Repartition > … Finally, in considering that CREAM is naturally a flexible method and adaptable to different analysis contexts, this strategy of classification scheme representation permits customize the scheme without any modification on analysis method. 2.2. Define the Common Performance Conditions (CPC’s) In CREAM, Hollnagel highlighted that the context strongly influence human actions. It is therefore essential to take into account the description of virtual environment in which the human learner is immersed. The objective is to determine how each factor (M,T,O) influences the training context. Here, we are inspired from the proposition presented in (El-Kechaï and Després, 2007) using a predefined questionnaire which will be answered by the teacher before training session: … Next, each factor will be assigned one coefficient calculated using formula below: [1] answers of number Total group to associated answers of Number i) ( Yes i Yes group t Coefficien = where group i is respectively in (Man, Technology, Organization). These values permit define the most probable factor leading to erroneous actions. 2.3. Modelling of Consequent-Antecedent Relations One advantage of CREAM lies on its recursive analysis approach, rather than strictly sequential in compare with other traditional analysis methods. So that, it also conducts to a non-hierarchical data structure to connect the direct as well as indirect links: The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 75 (i) between a phenotype and its antecedent; and (ii) between a consequent and its antecedents. Figure 2 shows our model to represent the connection between consequent – antecedent. +addAntecedent() +addConsequent() +calculateMass() -_name : string -_group : string -_category : string -_description : string -_mass : double -_terminal : bool -_list _antecedent -_list _consequent Node +getQuestionnaire() +getPhenotypes() +getSpecificAntecedents() +getGeneralConsequents() +getGeneralAntecedents() Util 1 0..1 0..1 0..* 1 1 «uses» Questionnaire.xml Phenotype.xml Genotype.xml Repartition.xml +getAntecedentFromPhenotype() +getGenotypeFromAntecedent() +findSpecificAntecedentRepartition() +createGraphFromPhenotype() +findListTerminal() +sortListTerminal() -_graph : string GenotypeAnalyzer Figure 2. Our UML diagram for modeling consequent-antecedent links Here, we are going to construct a causal graph where we use the term “node” to point to either a consequent or an antecedent. Each node is described by its name; the group of errors modes that it is associated and its category in group; the description in text helps better explain the error’s semantics in particular context. The boolean attribute terminal permit to identify if that is a terminal-cause or not. The most important is that, each node contains two lists: one includes its antecedents, other points to its consequents, in others words, they represent edges in/out one node in the causal graph. At last, each node must also include a value of mass which represent the certitude of choosing this node as a probable cause. The two methods addAntecedent() and addConsequent() serve for maintaining the two lists of antecedents and consequents of one node. Note that once a node calls the method addAntecedent() serving for adding a “parent” node like one of its antecedents, this node will also add itself to the consequents list of the “parent” node (using the method addConsequent() of the parent node) , the value of the attribute terminal then will be set to false. 2.4. Search for the Causes Finally, the retrospective analysis is executed by a GenotypeAnalyzer containing graph attribute which is initialized by pointing to the initiating phenotype (“root” node), then the analyzer calls accurate methods to find the “root” causes (the nodes with the attribute terminal having value false). This mechanism is presented below: Input: Phenotype of erroneous action Initialization: Construct the “root” node pointing to phenotype input University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 76 Step 1: Read from file Phenotype.xml, find all general antecedents of phenotype input For each antecedent Do Add it into antecedents list of “root” node Step 2: For each unvisited node in the graph Do – Find its antecedents from file Genotype.xml & add them to list – Return step 2. This recursive search terminates when the nodes selected is a specific antecedent node or a general consequent node without antecedents. With this algorithm, we finally attain a causal network where each node is associated with its antecedents and consequents. The “leaves” are terminal nodes (or “root” causes) whose antecedents list is empty. In order to calculate the certitude of choosing each node as a probable cause, we inherit the proposition presented in (El- Kechaï and Després, 2007) using Dempster-Shafer’s evidence theory: [2] ( ) ∑ ∑ ∈ ∀ ∈ ∀ | | | ¹ | \ | = ) ( } , , { x ) ( ) ( x )) ( ( ) ( a Cons c O T M i ic n i t coefficien c mass a g t coefficien a mass where: - mass(a): mass of antecedent a - g(a): group of a – coefficient (i): coefficient of group i calculated in formula [1] - Cons(a): consequents list of a – n ic : number of antecedents of c classified in group i 3.Integration of Retrospective Analysis into our existing ITS 3.1. Learner’s Plans Recognition In order to detect the erroneous actions realized by a human learner, it is indispensable to know: (1) the learner’s activities in the past; (2) his current action (in the meaning that the action has just been done); and (3) the actions that the human learner intents to do in according to a predefined correct procedure. Our existing ITS as proposed in (Buche and Querrec, 2005) bases on the model MASCARET (Querrec et al., 2004) where we used an approach using multi-agent system to simulate collaboration between human learners and agents during their realization of missions. Learners are gathered in team consisting of several predefined roles, every role contains a number of tasks associated eventually with accurate resources, every leaner also owns an epistemic memory containing all actions realized in the past, etc. Finally, we could retrieve from MASCARET following informations relating to learner’s plan in VET: The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 77 – action(s) before: learner’s action(s) in the past (note that, in MASCARET, every action is eventually associated with its accurate resource(s)) – current action: action has just been done by learner – action(s) correct (according to role): action(s) must be done by learner in his role(s) – action(s) correct (according to plan): action(s) may be done by learners in the context. Here, it is essential to make distinction betweens “action(s) correct according to role” and “action(s) correct according to plan”. In the first case, because the learner could play several roles, it represents all correct actions that the system expects from the learners. The second one concerns the cases where there are more than one learner in VET to realize together a mission. Therefore, in this case, it is possible that a leaner performs a correct action according to the plan but it is not correct in compare to his role. – next correct action(s) in the role: next action(s) must be done by learner in his role(s) – full correct plan: description of all accurate actions (associated with resources) in predetermined procedure that the learner must respect. In next section, we present our mechanism for mapping erroneous actions detected by our existing ITS with Hollnagel’s classification scheme of errors modes. 3.2. Classification of Erroneous Actions according to the Scheme of CREAM Erroneous Actions in Phenotype “Sequence” According to Hollnagel, performing an action at the wrong place in a sequence or procedure is a common erroneous action, and it is more realistic in our context of simulation of procedural and collaborative work. The “Sequence” problem consists of several specific effects: Omission (an action was not carried out); Jump forward/ Jump backwards (actions in a sequence were skipped/carried out again); Repetition (the previous action is repeated); Reversal (the order of two neighbouring action is reversed); Wrong action (an extraneous or irrelevant action is carried out). We present in following our mechanism to detect erroneous actions in phenotype “Sequence”: – If current action exists in action(s) correct according to role: this is a correct action (phenotype Sequence does not occur). Else: + If current action does not exist in action(s) correct (according to plan): specific effect = “Wrong action” Else: * If current action exist in last action before: specific effect = “Repetition” * Compare the relative order of current action to the order of next correct action(s) in the role using the full correct plan: – If id_current_action < id_correct_action_in_role: specific effect = “Jump backwards and/or Omission ” Else: specific effect = “Jump forward and/or Omission” – If id_current_action = id_correct_action_in_role +1: specific effect = “Reversal ” University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 78 Erroneous Actions in Phenotype “Wrong object” In (Hollnagel, 1998), the author clarified that “action at wrong object” is one of the more frequent error modes, such as pressing the wrong button, looking at the wrong indicator, etc. In our context, during realisation of collaborative work, it is possible that learner performs a correct action but on a wrong object. Therefore, the detection of erroneous actions in phenotype “Wrong object” must be implemented independently with the detection of phenotype “Sequence”. This phenotype is detailed into following specific effects: Neighbour/Similar object (an object that is proximity/similar to the object that should have been used); Unrelated object (an object that was used by mistake). In order to detect erroneous actions in phenotype “Wrong object”, we use the same principle presented in the case of phenotype “Sequence” by using following informations retrieved from model MASCARET: – current resource: resource associated with current action – resource(s) correct (according to role): resource(s) must be used by learner in his role(s) – resource(s) correct (according to plan): list of resource(s) associated with all action(s) in action(s) correct according to plan. Our algorithm is detailed in following: – If current resource exists in resource(s) correct according to role: this is a correct resource (phenotype Wrong object does not occur). Else: + If current resource does not exist in resource(s) correct (according to plan): specific effect = “Unrelated object” Else specific effect = “Neighbour and/or Similar object ” Erroneous Actions in Phenotype “Time/During” The phenotype “Time/During” is divided in several specific effects: Too early/ Too late (an action started too early/too late); Omission (an action that was not done at all); Too long/Too short (an action that continued/was stopped beyond the point when it should have been). Hollnagel noted that the error modes of timing and duration refer to a single action, rather than to the temporal relation between two or more actions. In our context, the realization of tasks in model MASCARET is sequential, therefore, an action is considered to be too early when it was realized before several actions in plan; also, action(s) are considered to be omitted when they were not carried out. Finally, in order to detect erroneous actions in phenotype “Time/Durring”, we propose that: – action having specific effect ““Jump forward” also has specific effect “Too early” – action described by specific effect “Omission”(in error mode “Sequence”) will be considered as an action having specific effect “Omission” (in error mode “Time/During”) The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 79 3.3. Experiment & Results In order to evaluate our integration of retrospective analysis into ITS, we take place in GASPAR application (Marion et al., 2007) whose objective aims at simulate aviation activities by virtual reality. We use the classification scheme of error modes proposed in (El-Kechaï and Després, 2007) which were particularly adapted to VET. Table 1 illustrates results of retrospective analysis for the phenotype Sequence. Table 1 Causal links of phenotype "Sequence" Coefficient (M,T,O) Causal links 1, Design failure (0.125) -> Inadequate scenario (0.125) -> Sequence 2, Adverse ambient condition (0.125) -> Inattention (0.125) -> Sequence 0.333 - 0.333 - 0.333 3, Long time since learning (0.042) -> Memory failure (0.125) -> Sequence 1, Other priority (0.2) -> Memory failure (0.2) -> Sequence 2, Error in mental model (0.067) -> Faulty diagnosis (0.2) -> Sequence 1 - 0 - 0 3, Erroneous analogy (0.067) -> Faulty diagnosis (0.2) -> Sequence 1, Equipment failure (0.1) -> Access problems (0.5) -> Sequence 2, Distance (0.1) -> Access problems (0.5) -> Sequence 0 - 1 - 0 3, Localisation problem (0.1) -> Access problems (0.5) -> Sequence 0 - 0 - 1 1, Noise (1) -> Communication failure (1) -> Sequence We change coefficients of three factors (M,T,O) for evaluating how CPC’s influence the analysis result. For each phase in analysis process, we select and display the most probable cause by ordering mass values. 4. Conclusion and Future Work In this paper, we proposed an approach to modelling the Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method (CREAM). We separated the representation of classification scheme of erroneous actions and the analysis method; therefore, our description of errors modes is adaptable to different training context without any modification on analysis method. We started by defining the Common Performance Conditions, then the direct and indirect relations between consequent-antecedent are modelled using a non-hierarchical data structure. Finally, the most probable cause-effect links could be found using Dempster-Shafer’s theory presented in (El-Kechaï and Després, 2007). In order to integrate the retrospective analysis described above into our existing ITS, we based on the model MASCARET to retrieve information concerning learner’s plans and then detect erroneous actions. Finally, we presented our proposition to mapping erroneous actions with Hollnagel’s classification. The experimental results in GASPAR University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 80 project are also presented. So that, in addition to the detection and tagging of erroneous actions, the ITS could furthermore indicate the path of probable cause-effect explaining reasons that the errors occur. In the future work, we will concentrate our attention on evaluation of MASCARET so that this model could permit to describe more complex tasks in taking into account other factors such as force, distance, speed, direction, etc. Hence, other different types of errors modes could be detected and then explained using the retrospective analysis. REFERENCES QUERREC R., BUCHE C., MAFFRE E., and CHEVAILLIER P. (2004), Multiagents systems for virtual environment for training: application to fire-fighting. International Journal of Computers and Applications (IJCA), June 2004, 25-34. BUCHE C. and QUERREC R. (2005), Intelligent tutoring system for MASCARET, in Simon Richir and Bernard Taravel, editors, 7th Virtual Reality International Conference (VRIC'05), April 2005, Laval, France, 105-108. HOLLNAGEL, E. (1998), Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method, Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd. EL-KECHAÏ N. and DESPRÉS C. (2007), Proposing the underlying causes that lead to the trainee's erroneous actions to the trainer, in EC-TEL: European Conference on Technology Enhanced Learning, September 2007, Crète (Grèce), 41-55. EL-KECHAÏ N. and DESPRÉS C. (2006), A Plan Recognition Process, Based on a Task Model, for Detecting Learner's Erroneous Actions, in Intelligent Tutoring Systems ITS 2006, June 2006, Jhongli (Taïwan), 329-338. MARION N., SEPTSEAULT C., BOUDINOT A. and QUERREC R. (2007), GASPAR: Aviation management on an aircraft carrier using virtual reality, in Cyberworlds 2007. SERWY R. D. and RANTANEN E. M. (2007), CREAM Navigator http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~serwy/ cream/v0.6beta/, [version 0.6, September, 2007] The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 81 Architecture and Working Principles of the Concept Map Based Knowledge Assessment System Marks Vilkelis 1 , Alla Anohina 1 , Romans Lukashenko 1 (1) Department of Systems Theory and Design, Riga Technical University 1, Kalku Str., Riga, LV-1658, LATVIA E-mail: {
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected]} Abstract The paper describes the concept map based knowledge assessment demonstrating its main functionality on the basis of screenshots and presenting the three-tier client- server architecture of the system in terms of components, their functions and interaction. Underlying conceptions and current development directions related to the implementation of learner’s supports are discussed as well. Keywords: Concept map, Assessment system, Learner’s support 1. Introduction Rapid development of information and communication technologies has led to the appearance of a new generation of young people who cannot imagine their life without the use of computers. The computer serves not only as an instrument of acquisition of necessary information or as an environment for communication and entertainment, but also as a tool for learning. This is a reason why the great part of educational institutions all over the world introduce different information and communication technologies, such as e-learning environments, videoconferences, intelligent tutoring systems, etc., in the process of teaching and learning. The Department of Systems Theory and Design of the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology of Riga Technical University has been developing the concept map based knowledge assessment system since the year 2005. The system has twofold goals in the context of the integration of technology into the traditional educational process: 1) to promote learners' knowledge self-assessment, and 2) to support the teacher in the improvement of the learning course through systematic assessment of learners' knowledge and analysis of its results. The goals are reached by the use of concept maps as an assessment tool. At the moment the system has reached the certain level of maturity concerning its architecture and working principles which are presented in this paper. The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 gives an overview of the system. The architecture of the system presenting its main components and technologies is described in Section 3. Section 4 demonstrates an example of the system’s operation by means of University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 82 screenshots. The current development directions related to the implementation of learner’s support are discussed in Section 5. The paper ends with Conclusions. 2. Overview of the System As it was mentioned in Introduction concept maps are used as an assessment tool in the developed system. According to (Cañas, 2003) they can foster the learning of well- integrated structural knowledge as opposed to the memorization of fragmentary, unintegrated facts and externalize the conceptual knowledge (both correct and erroneous) that learners hold in a knowledge domain. Concept maps are a kind of mental models based on a graph with labeled nodes corresponding to concepts in a problem domain and with arcs indicating relationships between pairs of concepts. Arcs can be directed or undirected and with or without linking phrases on them. A linking phrase specifies the kind of a relationship between concepts. A semantic unit of a concept map is a proposition. Propositions are concept-link-concept triples which are meaningful statements about some object or event in the problem domain (Cañas, 2003). Concept map based tasks can be divided in 1) “fill-in” tasks, where the structure of the concept map is given to the learner and he/she must fill it using the provided set of concepts and/or linking phrases, and 2) “construct-a-map” tasks, where the learner must decide on the structure of the concept map and its content by him/herself. In the context of the developed system both mentioned types of tasks are provided. Two kinds of relationships are used: 1) important relationships which show that relationships between the corresponding concepts are considered as important knowledge in the learning course, and 2) less important relationships which specify desirable knowledge. Arcs are directed and linking phrases are provided on them depending on the degree of task difficulty. Concepts are divided in 1) initial concepts which serve as a starting point for the learner in the filling or creation of the concept map, and 2) concepts, which the learner must insert or relate by him/herself. The system is used in the following way. The teacher defines stages of knowledge assessment and creates concept maps for all of them. The process of the creation of a concept map consists from the specification of relevant concepts and relationships among them. Moreover, the concept map for each stage is nothing else then an extension of the previous one because new concepts and relationships are added at each stage. Thus, the concept map of the last stage includes all concepts and relationships among them. Teacher's created concept maps serve as a standard against which the learners’ concept maps are compared. During knowledge assessment the learner solves a concept-map based task corresponding to the assessment stage. After the learner has submitted his/her solution, the system compares the concept maps of the learner and the teacher, calculates the score of the learner’s result, gathers statistical information and generates feedback which is delivered back to the learner. The system offers five concept-map based tasks, which are ranged from the easiest to the most difficult (Table 1) taking into account information given to the learner and workload needed to complete the task (Anohina et al., 2007). Eight transitions between The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 83 tasks are implemented allowing the learner to find a task which is the most suitable for his/her knowledge level. Four transitions increase the degree of task difficulty. They are carried out after the analysis of the learner’s solution, taking into account whether the learner has reached the teacher's specified number of points in the current assessment stage without reducing the degree of difficulty of the original task. So, this is a system’s adaptive reaction to the learner’s behavior. Other four transitions reduce the degree of task difficulty and they are carried out by the voluntary request from the learner during the solving of the task. Table 1 Tasks Offered in the Concept Map Based Knowledge Assessment System The type of the task The degree of task difficulty The structure of a concept map Linking phrases Concepts 1 Is given Inserted into the structure Must be inserted by the learner 2 Is given Not used Must be inserted by the learner Fill-in 3 Is given Must be inserted by the learner Must be inserted by the learner 4 Not given Not used Must be related by the learner Construct- a- map 5 The easiest The most difficult Not given Must be inserted by the learner Must be related by the learner An algorithm has been developed for the comparison of learner’s and teacher’s concept maps (Anohina et al., 2007). It is not based only on the isomorphism of both graphs, but is sensitive to the arrangement and coherence of concepts taking into account such aspects as existence of a relationship, locations of both concepts, type and direction of a relationship, correctness of a linking phrase, etc. Thus, the system supports knowledge self-assessment as it makes an analysis and evaluation of learners' concept maps, as well as provides feedback about the learner's errors. It promotes systematic knowledge assessment because it allows the extension of the initially created concept map for other assessment stages. Moreover, statistical information about differences between learners' concept maps and teacher's concept map is collected providing opportunities for the teacher to improve the learning course. 3. Architecture of the System The system is implemented as a Web-based application which has three-tier client- server architecture (Lukashenko et al., 2008). It has the following architectural layers (Figure 1): 1) a data storage layer, which is represented by Data Base Management System (DBMS); 2) an application logics layer, which is composed of two parts: the application server and the server side code running on it; a special persistence and query framework is used to communicate with the DBMS; and 3) the representation layer or graphical user interface (GUI). University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 84 Logical principles of the system are based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern (eNode, 2002). The representation layer of the system is responsible not only for the displaying of data, which is the task of the View part, but also it acts as Model. View part consists of various GUI components (buttons, text input fields, combo boxes lists, etc.). View handles any events generated by the user, for instance, clicking on a button, and redirects it to Model, which is located in a separate logical piece. Model, in its turn, collects data from GUI controls and interacts with Controller (server) by sending and receiving data and remotely invoking server’s services-methods, which signature is available on the client side. An action of Model depends on an event, which come from View. The representation layer is build using java open source graphical user interface library called swing. JGraph library is used for creation of concept maps. JGoodies library is included for building more complex GUI layouts. Figure 1. The Three-Tier Architecture of the System The application logics layer is implemented as a controller for the entire application. Apache Tomcat is chosen as an application server. It is a container of servlets. A servlet is a Java interface, which could be launched by Web server. Servlets receive clients’ requests and respond to them, usually across HyperText Transfer Protocol. There is a basic implementation of this interface (for example HttpServlet), but it can be extended by creating user’s defined event handlers and data transformation for concrete business logic. The application server receives remote calls from the client and redirects them to the appropriate servlet. The information about a servlet is included in the remote call. The servlet handles a call and launches the appropriate method needed for the communication with the database or for the execution of business logic. The application server does not use SQL queries to perform data manipulations. Instead of that, Java object oriented framework, namely Hibernate, is used. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 85 Hibernate is a high performance object/relational persistence and query framework. It allows programmers to develop persistent classes following object-oriented paradigm, including associations, inheritance, polymorphism, composition and collections. Hibernate provides opportunities to create queries by using SQL extension HQL, native SQL, or object-oriented criteria (Red Hat, 2006). To start working with Hibernate, it is necessary to define two major things: an entity and its xml mapping or annotation. The file “hibernate.properties” with the extension .xml describes a basic configuration, that is, how and with which database Hibernate will work: URL of a database, a user name, a password, presented entities, and so on. An entity represents a real world object with the set of simple attributes. Xml mapping represents this entity as a relational table in the database, and describes metadata of entity’s attributes and relations with other entities. Entities can reference each other, can have child collections of other entities, and so on. The structure and relations of an entity might be as complex and sophisticated, as it is needed for the modeling of real world objects. Hibernate provides handy and flexible API for any manipulations with persistent entities. So a programmer works with DBMS via Hibernate as with Java classes (tables) and objects (rows). The one of the most powerful feature of Hibernate is lazy loading. Lazy loading is a mechanism for comfortable work with large amounts of data even without loading them into computer memory, excepting cases, when it is necessary to perform some actions with a definite piece of data (Red Hat, 2006). There is one more thing to add about communication between Hibernate and DBMS. The framework performs any loading/saving/updating operations with data using its own generated SQL, because DBMS “understands” only this language. For the implementation of the data storage layer the Data Base Management System Postgresql is chosen. This software is open source and supports PL/SQL. As it is shown in Figure 1 the concept map based knowledge assessment system can be divided into three logical domains: administrator, teacher and student. Each domain has its own goal, but they are strictly linked together. Functionality of each domain can be used by one of three user roles which names correspond to the names of the domains. An administrator is responsible for the administration and maintenance of the whole system using such functions as input, editing and deleting of data about users (teachers and students), courses and student groups. Teacher domain provides all necessary functions for the creation of concept maps for any course and defining of their attributes, as well as for the viewing of learners’ results. Functionality of the student domain includes all things related to the completion of the concept map based tasks by learners and providing of feedback after the completion of the task. 4. Example of the System’s Operation First of all the teacher creates concept maps for chosen stages of knowledge assessment by defining relevant concepts and relationships among them. Figure 2 displays the partly created teacher’s concept map for the first assessment stage and a University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 86 dialogue window where data of a new concept must be provided. Only one concept, that is, New Year, is defined as an initial concept and its color differs from the color of other concepts. Three relationships (marked by thick line) are important relationships, and one marked by thin line is a less important relationship. After the creation of the concept map the teacher must define the publication data of the concept map, the initial degree of task difficulty, the relative number of points needed to move the learner to the higher degree of task difficulty and time for the completion of the task (if necessary). Let’s consider that the initial degree of task difficulty is the fourth degree, the relative number of points is 75%, and time for the task completion is not provided. The concept map presented to learners at the first assessment stage is displayed in Figure 3. During the solving of the task of the fourth degree of difficulty learners must create their own concept maps using the offered set of concepts. The technique of drag- and-drop must be used to move concepts from the concept palette to the working space. In order to relate concepts two buttons are provided at the top of the window. Assume that one of learners has related all concepts and submitted his/her solution without reducing the degree of task difficulty. Figure 4 shows the learner’s created concept map and an example of feedback provided for each relationship. Different colors are used to display different degrees of correctness of relationships. Figure 2. The Teacher’s Created Concept Map for the First Assessment Stage The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 87 Figure 3. The Task of the Fourth Degree of Difficulty Now, assume that another learner had partly created his/her concept map at the fourth degree of task difficulty and after that asked the system to reduce the degree of task difficulty. The learner receives the task of the third degree of task difficultly where the structure of the concept map is given and it is necessary to insert given concepts and to provide linking phrases (Figure 5). However, all propositions created by the learner at the fourth degree of task difficulty are kept. After the completion of the task this learner will receive the same form of feedback which is presented in Figure 4, but at the next assessment stage she/he will start to solve the task on the third degree of task difficulty because of the reduction of task difficulty of the original task. Figure 4. Feedback Provided After the Completion of the Task University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 88 Figure 5. The Task of the Third Degree of Difficulty 5. Learner’s support The knowledge assessment system has been experimentally evaluated in 7 learning courses with participation of 149 students. The results show that students positively evaluate the functionality and the user interface of the system. However, a part of students (about 60%) experience difficulties during the solving of the concept map based tasks. One of the reasons mentioned by students is the lack of learner’s support. Thus, the current directions in the development of the system are related to the implementation of different kinds of learner’s support especially help and feedback. The purpose of help is to balance the degree of task difficulty and learner’s knowledge level in order to help the learner to complete the task. In turn, feedback is aimed to give the learner information about the correctness of his/her actions and progress towards the goal, that is, towards the successful completion of the task. Three kinds of learner’s support (Table 2) are chosen for further implementation. In addition, there plans to use a student model for the provision of such type of explanations which are preferred by the learner or which the system recognizes as the most suitable for the learner taking into account learner’s characteristics. This will make support more adaptive increasing its overall usefulness. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 89 Table 2 Kinds of Learner’s Support Description of a support form Kind of support Helping nature Tutoring nature The system inserts the learner’s selected concept into the right node within the structure of the concept map, thus, decreasing the number of concepts which the learner must insert by him/herself Help + – The system gives an explanation (definition of the concept, short description or example) of the learner’s selected concept helping the learner to understand the concept and its relations with other concepts Help + + The system checks the correctness of the learner’s created proposition and in case of its incorrectness provides appropriate explanations of both concepts involved in the proposition Feedback + + 6. Conclusions The paper presents the architecture and working principles of the concept map based knowledge assessment system developed at Riga Technical University. The main components and technologies used for the implementation of the system are described and an example of the system operation is demonstrated. Despite of fact that the system has already reached the certain level of maturity and has been used successfully in practice authors continue to improve its functionality. One of the significant development directions is the implementation of different kinds of learner’s support inter alia adaptive mechanisms of help and feedback on the basis of a student model. REFERENCES ANOHINA, A., POZDNAKOVS, D. and GRUNDSPENKIS, J. (2007), Changing the Degree of Task Difficulty in Concept Map Based Assessment System. In Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference “e-Learning 2007”, Lisbon, Portugal, 443-450. CAÑAS, A. J. (2003), A Summary of Literature Pertaining to the Use of Concept Mapping Techniques and Technologies for Education and Performance Support. Technical report: Pensacola, FL. eNode, Inc. (2002), Model-View-Controller Pattern, http://www.enode.com/x/markup/ tutorial/mvc.html University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 90 LUKASHENKO, R., VILKELIS, M. and ANOHINA, A. (2008), Deciding on the Architecture of the Concept Map Based Knowledge Assessment System. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Systems and Technologies, Gabrovo, Bulgaria (in print). Red Hat, Inc (2006), HIBERNATE – Relational Persistence for Idiomatic Java, http://www.hibernate.org/hib_docs/reference/en/html/tutorial.html The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 91 Measurement and Control of Statistics Learning Processes based on Constructivist Feedback and Reproducible Computing Patrick Wessa K.U.Leuven Association, Lessius Dept. of Business Studies, Belgium E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract This article introduces a new approach to statistics education that allows us to accurately measure and control key aspects of the computations and communication processes that are involved in non-rote learning within the pedagogical paradigm of Constructivism. The solution that is presented relies on a newly developed technology (hosted at http://www.freestatistics.org) and computing framework (hosted at http://www.wessa.net) that supports reproducibility and reusability of statistical research results that are presented in a so-called Compendium. Reproducible computing leads to responsible learning behaviour, and a stream of high-quality communications that emerges when students are engaged in peer review activities. More importantly, the proposed solution provides a series of objective measurements of actual learning processes that are otherwise unobservable. A comparison between actual and reported data, demonstrates that reported learning process measurements are highly misleading in unexpected ways. However, reproducible computing and objective measurements of actual learning behaviour, reveal important guidelines that allow us to improve the effectiveness of learning and the e-learning system. Keywords: Reproducible Computing, Virtual Learning Environment, Communication, Statistics Education, Learning Processes. 1. Introduction and Literature In education-related research it is common practice to investigate learning processes through measurements that are based on questionnaires. Reported measures often reveal interesting information about a wide variety of aspects of computing-assisted learning such as: computer attitudes (Meelissen and Drent, 2008); computer emotions and knowledge (Kay 2008); learner experiences and satisfaction (Sun et al. 2008); etc. The importance of such measurements has been highlighted by many authors from various perspectives (Chen, 2008; Hilton et al., 2004; Galotti et al., 1999) – especially from the perspective of the constructivist pedagogical paradigm (Von Glasersfeld, 1987; Smith, 1999; Eggen et al., 2001; Mvududu, 2003). These reported measures, while intrinsically interesting, may not always provide us with the information we need to assess and improve systems that support e-learning. Moreover, the implementation of new learning technologies and data analysis tools opens up a wide array of measurement opportunities which leads to new areas of research. An University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 92 excellent example is the use of data mining tools in the open source e-learning environment called Moodle (Romero et al., 2008). Even though it seems to be very difficult to measure and empirically prove (O’Dwyer et al., 2008), there is no doubt in my mind that the introduction of computers in homes and classrooms has led to an improvement in overall learning productivity, educational communication mechanisms, social constructivism, and collaboration. However, the use of computers and software in statistics education may – unwillingly – result in several types of adverse effects because the complex processes that are required to learn and (truly) understand statistical concepts are often mystified by technicalities and a variety of practical problems that have nothing to do with mathematics or statistics. It is within this context that I argue that a system for Quality Control should be embedded into the e-learning environment which is not limited to the Virtual Learning Environment but extends to the statistical software, databases, and learning repositories. There is an important, additional benefit for implementing such a monitoring and control system – it is directly related to the problem of irreproducible research which has received a great deal of attention within the statistical computing community (de Leeuw, 2001; Peng et al., 2006; Schwab et al., 2000; Green, 2003; Gentleman, 2005; Koenker and Zeileis, 2007; Donoho and Huo, 2004). The most prominent citation about the problem of irreproducible research is called Claerbout's principle: An article about computational science in a scientific publication is not the scholarship itself, it is merely advertising of the scholarship. The actual scholarship is the complete software development environment and that complete set of instructions that generated the figures. (de Leeuw, 2001). Several solutions have been proposed (Buckheit and Donoho, 1995; Donoho and Huo, 2004; Leisch, 2003) but have not been adopted in statistics education because they require students to understand the technicalities of scientific word processing (LaTex) and statistical programming (R code). Based on a newly developed e-learning environment I propose a solution that is feasible for educational purposes and allows us to monitor, research, and control the learning processes based on the dynamics of between-student communication and collaboration. 2. Reproducible Computing 2.1. R Framework and Compendium Platform The R Framework allows educators and scientists to develop new, tailor-made statistical software (based on the R language) within the context of an open-access business model that allows us to create, disseminate, and maintain software modules efficiently and with a very low cost in terms of computing resources and maintenance efforts (Wessa, 2008a). The so-called R modules empower students to perform statistical analysis through a web-based interface that does not require them to download or install anything on the client machine. This permits students to focus primarily on the interpretation of the analysis – however, the R Framework also allows advanced students and scientists to inspect and change the R code that was coded by the original author. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 93 This results in the creation of so-called “derived” R modules that may be better suited for particular purposes. If a derived R module contains generic improvements or if a computation needs to be communicated to other students/scientists then it is necessary to have a simple, transparent mechanism that allows one to permanently store the computation in a repository of computational objects that can be easily retrieved, recomputed, and reused. Such a repository was recently created within the OOF 2007/13 project of the K.U.Leuven Association and is called the Compendium Platform. The main reason for creating the R Framework and the Compendium Platform, is that it allows anyone to create and use Compendia of reproducible research. A Compendium is defined as (Wessa 2008b): a research document where each computation is referenced by a unique URL that points to an object that contains all the information that is necessary to recompute it. Such documents can be easily created (even by students) and permit any reader to (exactly) recompute the statistical results that are presented therein. A few simple clicks are sufficient to have the R Framework reproduce the results and to reuse them in derived work (Wessa 2008b). The practical implications of this technology will become obvious in section 3 because the three figures that are presented can be recomputed and reused through the Compendium Platform. 2.2. Communication, Feedback, and Learning The concept of Reproducible Computing was implemented in several undergraduate statistics courses in order to test the new system and to measure key aspects of the educational activities and experiences. Two different student populations were investigated in detail: a group of (academic) bachelor students, and a group of so-called “switching” students. The second population is of particular interest because it consists of students who obtained a (professional) bachelor degree and decided to make the “switch” to an academic master which requires them to complete a preparatory year. On the one hand, switching students are highly motivated and more mature than the bachelor students. A priori, one would expect them to prefer practical activities (such as communication and computing) above theory and critical reflection. On the other hand, one might expect the bachelor students to have a more critical (scientific) attitude and better mathematical background than the switching students. Students from both populations took a similar statistics course which covered topics from introductory statistics, regression analysis, and introductory time series analysis. The main learning activities in both statistics courses were based on a weekly series of workshops where each student was required to investigate practical, empirical problems. At the end of each week, students submitted their papers electronically. During the lectures I proposed a series of solutions and illustrated commonly made mistakes. After the lectures, students had to work on the next assignment and complete a series of peer reviews (assessments) about the work that was submitted the week before. The assessment grades did not count towards the final score – however, each submitted peer review was accompanied by verbal feedback messages. I graded a random sample of these messages in order to provide students with an incentive to take the review process University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 94 seriously. There is strong empirical evidence that this approach had beneficial effects on non-rote learning of statistical concepts (Wessa 2008c). 3. Measurement and Control In Wessa (2008b) it is illustrated how the Compendium Platform's repository supports quality control of the statistical software and accompanying documentation for students. On the one hand, reproducible computing allows students to accurately communicate computational problems and questions without the need to understand the underlying technicalities. On the other hand, it allows the educator (and creator of the computational software) to analyse the reported problem (based on the detailed, raw output of the R engine that executed the request) and to transparently communicate the solutions to the students. In addition, the measurement of learning activities and experiences is a conditio sine qua non for controlling the overall quality of learning systems. This will be illustrated based on the data that was collected for both student groups. At the same time, the importance of objective (as opposed to reported) measurements is illustrated based on a simple, comparative diagnostic tool. The reported measurements were obtained through questionnaires on a 5-point Likert scale and should consequently be treated as ordinal data. The questions were based on well-known psychological surveys (Galotti et al. 1999; COLLES 2004) and an extended version of the IBM computer system usability survey (Lewis 1993). Useful data was obtained from a total of 111 bachelor students and 129 switching students – the response ratio was very high (between 82.9% and 92% depending on the questionnaire). All observations of actual learning activities were measured on a ratio scale (the number of archived computations and the number of submitted feedback messages). A total number of 34438 meaningful, verbal feedback communications and 6587 archived computations were registered. In order to compare the actual and reported data, all measurements were converted to ordinal rank orders. In addition, the Pearson's rho correlations and Kendall's tau rank correlations (Arndt et al. 1999; Arnd, Magnotta 2001) that represent the degree of linear association between the properties under investigation were computed (these can be consulted in the archived computations about the Figures). In electronic versions of this paper, one can simply (ctrl-)click the pictures to view the archived computation in the repository. Readers of the printed version of this document, are referred to the bibliography where three references can be found (including the URLs) about the statistical computations that have been stored at www.freestatistics.org. Figure 1 displays the bivariate kernel density (Lucy et al. 2002) between the rank order of the number of feedback messages that have been submitted in peer reviews (x- axis) and the rank order of the number of (reproducible) computations that have been archived in the repository (y-axis). The rank orders have been computed within the Bachelor population for the top panels, and within the Switching population for the bottom panels. This implies that the ranks that are attributed to female and male students are expressed on the same axes and can be compared. Figure 1 clearly demonstrates that female bachelor students are much more involved in feedback and computing than their The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 95 male colleagues. At the same time, female switching students are more computing- oriented whereas the male switching students seem to have a slight preference for feedback communication. This information has important repercussions for controlling the quality of the learning environment and it provides clear guidelines towards actions that should be taken (by me) to improve participatory incentives towards male bachelor students in future courses. Would I have been able to gain this insight based on reported measurements alone? The answer is clearly negative (as is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3). Figure 1. Submitted Feedback versus Reproducible Computations It is quite obvious that male bachelor students highly over-estimate their performance in terms of feedback submissions (see Figure 2) because the rank orders of reported measures (x-axis) are higher than the ranks of actual feedback submissions (y- axis). Female bachelor students however, underestimate their involvement (relative to their male colleagues) because they are concentrated above the diagonal line. In the male switching student population several clusters of high density can be detected which leads us to conclude that we cannot treat them as one homogeneous group. In Figure 3 the comparison between reported computing measures (x-axis) and actual computing (y-axis) leads to similar conclusions. Male bachelor students highly exaggerate their efforts, whereas female bachelor and switching students underestimate themselves. The group of male switching students is heterogeneous. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 96 Figure 2. Reported versus Actual Submitted Feedback Figure 3. Reported versus Actual Reproducible Computing The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 97 Overall, the testimony of students is extremely misleading and poorly correlated with actual observations. If we would have recomputed Figure 1 with reported measures then the conclusions would have been the opposite of what is true. The reader can try out this experiment by simply using the online R module at http://www.wessa.net/rwasp_icvl2008.wasp (specify a picture width and height of 800 for best results). The good news is that we now have a tool available to assess actual and reported learning activities for any student population that makes use of the new compendium technology. Ultimately, this allows us to take control and improve the e-learning environment, the statistical software, the course materials, and overall learning experiences of all students. REFERENCES ARNDT, S., TURVEY, C., ANDREASEN, N. (1999), Correlating and predicting psychiatric symptom ratings: Spearman’s r versus Kendall’s tau correlation, Journal of Psychiatric Research, 33, 97-104. ARNDT, S., MAGNOTTA, V. (2001), Generating random series with known values of Kendall’s tau, Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 65, 17-23. Attitudes to Thinking and Learning Survey, (n.d.), Retrieved December 22, 2004, from http://www.moodle.org/ BENSON, J. (1989), Structural components of statistical test anxiety in adults: An exploratory study, Journal of Experimental Education, 57, 247-261. CHAMBERS, J. M., CLEVELAND, W. S., KLEINER, B. and TUKEY, P. A. (1983), Graphical Methods for Data Analysis., Wadsworth & Brooks/Cole. CHEN, Z. (2008), Learning about Learners: System Learning in Virtual Learning Environment, International Journal of Computers, Communications & Control, Vol. III (2008), No. 1, pp. 33-40. COLLES (2004), Constructivist On-Line Learning Environment Survey, Retrieved December 22, 2004, from http://www.moodle.org/ EGGEN, P., and KAUCHAK, D. (2001), Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms (5th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. GALOTTI, K. M., CLINCHY, B. M., AINSWORTH, K., LAVIN, B. & MANSFIELD, A. F. (1999), A new way of assessing ways of knowing: the attitudes towards thinking and learning survey (ATTLS), Sex roles 40(9/10) p745-766. HILTON, S., SCHAU, C., OLSEN, J. (2004), Survey of Attitudes Toward Statistics: Factor Structure Invariance by Gender and by Administration Time, Structural Equation Modeling, Volume 11, Number 1. KAY, R. H. (2008), Exploring the relationship between emotions and the acquisition of computer knowledge, Computers & Education, 50, 1269-1283. LEWIS, J. R. (1993), IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaires: Psychometric Evaluation and Instructions for Use, IBM Corporation, Technical Report 54.786. LUCY, D., AYKROYD, R. G. & POLLARD, A. M. (2002), Non-parametric calibration for age estimation. Applied Statistics 51(2): 183-196. MEELISSEN M. R. M, DRENT M. (2008), Gender diferences in computer attitudes: Does the school matter?, Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 969-985. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 98 MILLER, JACQUELINE B., Examining the interplay between constructivism and different learning styles, Retrieved October 20, 2005 from www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~iase/publications/ 1/8a4_mill.pdf MVUDUDU, NYARADZO (2003), A Cross-Cultural Study of the Connection Between Students' Attitudes Toward Statistics and the Use of Constructivist Strategies in the Course, Journal of Statistics Education, Volume 11, Number 3. O’DWYER, L. M., RUSSELL, M., BEBELL, D., SEELEY, K. (2008), Examining the Relationship between Students’ Mathematics Test Scores and Computer Use at Home and at School, Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 6 (5). ROMERO, C., VENTURA, S., GARCÍA, E. (2008), Data mining in course management systems: Moodle case study and tutorial, Computers & Education, 51, 368-384. SMITH, ERICK (1999), Social Constructivism, Individual Constructivism and the Role of Computers in Mathematics Education, Journal of mathematical behavior, Volume 17, Number 4. 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(2008a), A framework for statistical software development, maintenance, and publishing within an open-access business model, Computational Statistics, www.springerlink.com (DOI 10.1007/s00180-008-0107-y) WESSA, P. (2008b), Learning Statistics based on the Compendium and Reproducible Computing, submitted to be presented and published in Proceedings of the International Conference on Education and Information Technology (ICEIT'08), San Francisco, USA. WESSA, P. (2008c), How Reproducible Research Leads to Non-Rote Learning Within a Socially Constructivist E-Learning Environment, submitted to be presented and published in Proceedings of the 7th European Conference on e-Learning (ECEL'08), Cyprus. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 99 Section MODELS & METHODOLOGIES • Innovative Teaching and Learning Technologies • Web-based Methods and Tools in Traditional, Online Education and Training • Collaborative E-Learning, E-Pedagogy, • Design and Development of Online Courseware • Information and Knowledge Processing • Knowledge Representation and Ontologism • Cognitive Modelling and Intelligent systems • Algorithms and Programming for Modelling The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 101 Development of Group Division Algorithm And Discussion Support System for Intra-class Discussions Ikuo Kitagaki Research Institute for Higher Education, Hiroshima University 2-12-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-hiroshima, 739-8512, Japan E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract I studied the computer system that was characterized by the algorithm for dividing one class of students into several groups for group discussion. This paper describes the configuration of the proposed computer system, the algorithm of the group division, and the execution process of actual group discussions, assisted by this system, about specific topics. Keywords: Group division, Discussion support system, Algorithm 1. Introduction With the development of e-learning systems, computer-assisted collaborative learning and group learning have become more popular. I studied the computer system that was characterized by the algorithm for dividing one class of students into several groups for group discussion(Akahori, 1997). This computer system is used for the group division, however, it is not used in the later group discussions because the actual discussions are made as traditional face-to-face communication activities. This computer system can be also called the computer-assisted, group discussion support system. Concretely speaking, this system divides one class into multiple groups according to students’ answers of a discussion topic by using a specific algorithm, and each student is notified of the names of the members who belong to the same group. The students then form groups according to the notified information, exchange opinions, and discuss the topic to increase understanding. As almost all students have their own cell-phones, the computer server collects information necessary from students and distributes information to students via cell-phones. This paper describes the configuration of the above computer system, and the algorithm of the group division. This paper also describes the execution process of actual group discussions, assisted by this system, about specific topics. There is a difference in the group division algorithm between this paper and the previous paper(kitagaki et.al., 2007). In the previous paper, we divided a student class based on the students’ answers to the test. That is, values 1 and 0 were assigned to the right and wrong answers of the test respectively, and the class was divided into groups according to these assigned values. On the other hand, in this new paper, we divided a University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 102 student class into groups according to the information on debater’s choices about the discussion topic instead of the above test answers. In the group dividing process, as the similarity of contents among these choices should be considered, we assigned values 0 and 1 to the choices, respectively. 2. Discussion Support System Discussion support system is implementing the system flow shown in Figure 1. (1)Registration of student’s attributes: The mail address of students, name and other information such as sex, generation can be inputted to the computer… Among these, mail address is necessary and their names are used for students to know all the group member. These registrations are done on a Web page. The URL of the page is informed to all students in advance. (2)Sending URL of a topic and its choices: The teacher selects a subject among prepared topics. Then the computer sends the URL for browsing the topic to all discussants. server (incl. local PC) Student attribute list D i s c u s s a n t ’ s c e l l p h o n e Topic of discuss. Assembl. Ans.data Group division Inform. of group member et.al. Regist. thru.Web Transmit. URL Brows. Web, transmit. answer p a r a m e t e r (4) Member, ans.data (1) (2) (3) (5) Figure 1. System configuration The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 103 (3)Browzing the Web of a subject and sending the student’s answer to the server: All students make an access to the URL mentioned above, then read the topic and the choices. They select a choice among the choices for the given topic then send it to the server. All the answer are gathered and stored in the server. (4)group division: The computer server makes the group division according to the student’s answer as transaction data. The basic idea of the group division is explained in the next section. In the actual administration, the following parameters and the necessary information ought to be inputted prior to the group division. 1. the value with which a topic is discussed. 2. the difference of choices in their contents. 3. the number of a group constituents When the information of group division is obtained as a processed result, it is possible for a teacher to add, to it, remarks to each group, remarks to each individual and remarks to the all. (5)sending the group division information to the students: The computer server sends to each student’s mail address the group members, each answer and the remarks above if any. Through the process above, each student is informed the name of all member which belong to the same group. Then, each group gathers somewhere inside or outside of the classroom and starts to deeply consider the topic by discussion. 3. Method of group division Group division can be made by two kinds of criterion as the followings. (a) difference: Groups are made so that choices of each member may be different from those of others as much as possible. (b) similarity: Group are made so that choices of each member are similar with those of others as much as possible. Two criteria are reverse in their evaluation of ‘goodness’. Thus it is enough only to explain criterion (a). As for the criterion (a), two methods have been proposed (Kitagaki, 1996; Kitagaki et. al., 1981). The proposed system in this material adopts the simpler method (Kitagaki et. al., 1981). The argorithm is outlined below. topic sets: M topic: ) ( M mi ∈ value of the topic: ) ( i m v group sets: G relevant group: ) ( G g ∈ bigness of group ‘g’: |g| discussant(student): ) ( g xj ∈ selected choice: a(m i ,x j ) difference of choices selected by discussant x j and discussant x k : d{a(m i ,x j ),a(m i ,x k )} University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 104 goodness of group division using criterion (a): α g goodness of group division using criterion (b): α’ g goodness per capita of group division: β In the definition above, both of ‘value of the topic’ and ’’difference of choices selected by discussant x j and discussant x k ’ are the value between 0 and 1. The ‘bigness of group ‘g’’ is the number of a group. The number is not always the same for all group. But its algorithm is abbreviated here. All the said variables have to be determined in advance. The ‘goodness per capita of group division β’ is determined as the following. [1] U k M m g x k i j i i j i g x m a x m a d m v )} , ( ), , ( { ) ( ∑ ∑ ∈ ∈ = α [2] ∑ ∑ ∈ ∈ = G g G g g g | | / α β In the equation [2], group division which makes the value maximum is the optimal solution. In order to get the optimum, however, it is necessary to administrate the calculation for all the combination of groups. It is actually difficult to get it because of time for its calculation. Thus a simple method is implemented (Kitagaki et. al., 1980) as the following. Its example deals with the case that thirty discussants are divided into ten groups with three discussants each. As the initial status, I suppose that the computer fix the discussants x 1 , …, x 30 as shown in ‘n = 1’ Figure 2, and define the value of β in eq.[2] as β 1 . Then I let it compare cell1 with each cell thereafter one by one. First, let it exchange cell1 x 1 for cell2 x 2 to obtain the pattern as shown in ‘n = 2’ then get the value β as β 1,2 . It is clear that β 1,2 is same as β 1 in their value. Thus there is no reason to exchange thus it ought to be withdrawn. Second, it is obvious that the exchange of x 1 and x 3 leads to the same result as above. It is cell1 and cell4 that has actual meaning of exchange because they belong to different groups in the initial pattern. If β 1 is bigger than(or equal to) β 1,4 , the computer regards the pattern of ‘n = 4’ as not better pattern than the one of ‘n = 1’ then the exchange ought to be withdrawn. On the other hand, if β 1 is smaller than β 1,4 , it regards the pattern of ‘n = 4’ better than the one of ‘n = 1’ then the exchange ought to be done to get the new pattern. Based upon the new pattern, it searches for a better pattern. The search for the better pattern is succeeded in the same way. Consequently, the exchange of two cells are done in the following order, and as a result, the number of exchange becomes 870 ( = 29*30) in all. (Actually the exchange of two cells in a group ought to be omitted.) cell1 and cell2, cell1 and cell3, cell1 and cell4,cell1 and cell5, …,cell1 and cell29, cell1 and cell30 cell2 and cell3, cell2 and cell4, cell2and cell5, …,cell2 and cell29, cell2 and cell30 cell3 and cell4, cell3 and cell5, …,cell3 and cell29, cell3 and cell30 ……………………………………………… cell29 and cell30 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 105 Supposing the number of discussant to be ‘n’, the number of the said exchange becomes ‘n (n – 1)’. For each exchange, the computer gets the value of β, then the optimal group division is obtained. n=1 cell1 cell2 cell3 cell4 cell5 cell6 … cell28 cell29 cell30 … x 1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 … x 28 x 29 x 30 n=2 cell1 cell2 cell3 cell4 cell5 cell6 … cell28 cell29 cell30 … x 2 x 1 x 3 x 4 x 5 x 6 … x 28 x 29 x 30 n=4 cell1 cell2 cell3 cell4 cell5 cell6 … cell28 cell29 cell30 … x 4 x 2 x 3 x 1 x 5 x 6 … x 28 x 29 x 30 g 1 g 2 g 10 g 1 g 2 g 10 g 1 g 2 g 10 Figure 2. The exchange of two cells(in the case that a classroom consists of thirty students) If method (b) shown in the beginning of this section is implemented for group division criterion, we have only to use eq.[3] instead of eq.[1]. [3] U k M m g x k i j i i j i g x m a x m a d m v )}} , ( ), , ( { 1 { ) ( ' − = ∑ ∑ ∈ ∈ α 4. The administration of discussion classroom As a topic for the proposed discussion, I raised a topic of career development to which most students might be relevant. The topic relates the consideration on the answer in an interview in job hunting. I administrated the classroom discussion four times. In every administration, the same topic was used. Two experimental administrations are discussed below. [experimental 1(E1)] Fifteen Hiroshima University students served as subject (twelve undergraduate students and three graduate students). Among them, nine students were science in major., Jul. 26, 2007. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 106 [experimental 2(E2)] Fourteen Hiroshima University students served as subject (seven undergraduate students and seven graduate students). Among them, nine students were science in major., Nov. 11, 2007. In both of E1 and E2, I used the same room and implemented the same topic which consists of two rounds, R1 and R2, that is, two ‘Question-Answer’ set. But the students were different in those two experiments. In either round, the question exemplified in Table 1 was used. In its actual administration, I let the students inform others in a group of the choice which each student has selected then discuss what would be a better answer for the given answer. Lastly I let them make and write a better answer then offer it as a report with of their consensus. As most students in a group were not acquainted with each other, it was assumed that, when the information of a group member were presented in the step of Figure 1(5), it gets difficult for them to make a group. Thus ID number proper to each group was informed all the classroom, leading to easier making groups. Addition to that, as group leaders is necessary in order to facilitate the discussion well, how to determine a leader in a group was also informed them. Discussion time was set to nearly fifteen minutes, which was also informed them as a comment. After each administration of R1 and R2, the following questionnaires have been examined to all the students. (Influence of selecting a choice on the discussion flow) 1. I don’t think that the information of a choice selection had an influence on the relevant discussion flow. In other words, discussion flow must have been the same as the one without selecting a choice. 2. I think that the information of a choice selection had an influence on the relevant discussion flow to some extent. Q: What worker do y ou want to be? A: As human is not working alone, I want to be a worker regarding communication with others in the actual work where I should say whatever necessary to say and listen to them whenever to do that . # As your remark for the underlined parts, select a choice that is nearest to it. 1. The expression is vague and fuzzy thus have little impact. 2. No fresh awareness as a new comer. can be felt. 3. Everybody can say that thus little impact are there. 4. It is the president of a company to say that. Thus, if the matter gets worse, it may give them a feeling of impoliteness. Table 1 A questionnaire and the answer (Nakatani, 1995) The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 107 3. I think that the information of a choice selection had an influence on the relevant discussion flow to great extent. In R1 and R2, presented topics were the same type thus those answers were added to have been statistically processed altogether. The result is shown in Table 2(a). There is also shown the result in the case that E1 and E2 were combined in their data. From the test result shown in the table, the average choice for the questionnaire is said to be 2 (or in-between 2 and 3). It means that their average remark is that selecting a choice has an influence on the discussion flow as their awareness. Besides the experiment shown in this material, I have done the questionnaire survey comparing criterion (a) with criterion (b) shown in the 3 rd section supposing the case that groups were divided according the criterion (b). As their awareness, it got obvious that they felt more fruitful in their discussion with variety of choices in a group than that with a similar choices. Table 2 Answer data processing of ‘ influence of selecting a choice’ (a)basic statistics number of students selecting a choice condition X σ E1R1&R2 0.30 0.57 0.13 1.90 0.65 E2R1&R2 0.07 0.46 0.46 2.39 0.61 E1&E2,R1&R2 0.19 0.52 0.29 2.10 0.69 Number of the students is fifteen 15 in E1, and fourteen in E2. X : average, σ : standard deviation (b) Z-test(using normalized distribution) m condition 1 2 3 (E1, R1&R2) – 7.42 * 0.86 9.13 * (E2, R1&R2) – 11.9 * – 3.37 * 5.20 * (E1&E2, R1&R2) – 12.2 * – 1.15 9.94 * * Hypothesis ’X=m’ has been rejected(p = 3.8 AND Nume_produs = Windows_Server_2000 AND Indice_de_exploatare > = 6.25 THEN Gravitate = High; – IF Indice_de_exploatare < 9.3 AND Indice_de_baza > = 3.8 AND Nume_produs = SuSE_Linux AND Indice_de_impact > = 8.45 THEN Gravitate = High; In this case, size of tree is 1231, root mean square error is 0.0014, relative absolute error is 0.0126% and root relative squared error is 0.3205%. After J48 execution with Weka, we obtain the following tree with 5 nodes: Figure 5. J48 tree The decision tree obtained provides three decision rules, as follow: – IF Indice_de_baza >6.8 THEN Gravitate = High; – IF Indice_de_baza 3.6 AND Indice_de_baza , > 0 a a V , learner's rate is high. If V a b £ £ V , learner's rate is normal and if V b > , he/she belongs to low rate learners class. The values of a and b are determined by teacher of course regarding to educational content. Increasing the number of sessions will lead to more precise result in learner's class detection. 3.2. Learner class computation according to learner emotionality For detecting that how much learner is effectible according to his/her emotions, system must estimate learner's current emotional state at first. For detecting emotions some researchers have utilized facial or vocal recognition (Ekman, 1999; Pantic and Rothkrantz, 2000; Gunes and Piccardi, 2006). Some others have utilized some special sensors for movement recognition (Osano, et al., 2006). Also, there are some researches about emotion recognizing by the other means. In this work, we request the learner to determine his/her emotional states at the start of the session, 10 minutes later and 20 minutes later. We have assigned a numeric value for each emotional state. Positive emotional state has positive value (+ 1) and negative one has negative value (– 1). After University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 234 each request sum of values is computed and after the session, average of this value is computed as overall emotional state. As it mentioned in previous section, mean time of doing exercises and number of mistakes is computed for each session. System should find two sessions that learner's emotional state value of them has most difference. Then system can use equation [2] for detecting class of learner based on his/her emotional affectability. [2] 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 1 2 3 1 1 ps ps ps ps i i i i F F F F T T T T CN CN EF − − ⋅ − − ⋅ = ∑ ∑ = = In the above equation, EF is learner's Emotional Factor. ∑ = 3 1 1 i i CN is overall emotional value for session by most overall emotional value. ∑ = 3 1 2 i i CN is overall emotional value for session by least overall emotional value. 1 T and 2 T are average times of doing exercises by learner, ps1 T and ps2 T are average of predicted time, 1 F and 2 F are average of mistakes for learner, ps1 F and ps2 F are average of predicted mistake probability related to session 1 and 2. If EF , 3 4 1 d d ³ £ £ , learner's affectability is low, if EF , 12 3 4 l d l £ < £ < , learner's affectability is medium, and if EF l < , he/she belongs to high effectible class. Determining exact values for d and l depends on educational content and is done by the teacher and a psychologist team. 4. Designing a teaching method for each class In (Mayer and Allen, 1995) it has suggested that system induces learner emotions to a suitable state. But for a learner by a little emotional affectability it could be useless. In this case more regarding to emotional states of learner may be damage the learning process. We propose that system behave by different classes of learners differently. We have represented a method for dividing learners in 9 classes by means of two metrics: learning rate and emotional affectability. We have focused on detecting classes of learners. Designing of teaching methods is out of our discussion. For designing of teaching methods according to each class we recommend that a psychologist team assist the development team. Using our proposed method we can estimate learner class by a high preciseness. Behaving by learners according to their classes will lead to more satisfaction and thus it can cause to more effective learning process. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 235 5. Evaluation of our proposed method As it mentioned above, our aim is detecting of learner's class. We have assigned a numeric value between 0 and 8 to each class. In fact, each class number is a topple for example (High, Low). If we consider High as 2, Medium as 1, and Low as 0 then previous topple will be (2, 0). We can represent it as 20 in ternary, and it is 6 in decimal. In the other words, the classes are illustrated by topples (0, 0) , (0,1) , …, (2, 2) that are correspondent by numbers 0, 1, …, 8. It means that if classes of learners are approximately same in characteristics, their decimal values are near as well. We will study a large number of learners to discover that how much their rate of doing exercises are variable by occurring emotional changes. It can lead to more precise values for d, l . Furthermore these values could be variable for different contents. 6. Conclusion In this paper we have proposed that system should behave differently by different classes of learners. We have classified the learners based on two metrics: learning rate and emotional affectability. Because of emotions play an important role in the cognition process, system should behave more carefully by emotional learners. Moreover, we have proposed a method for detecting the class of each learner based on our recommended metrics. We have proposed that teaching method should be adapted by learners' characteristics for each class. Also, a teaching method should be utilized for more than one class. Finally, we have explained the evaluation method. Future works could be in these contexts: obtaining more precise values for a , b , d, l and designing a suitable teaching method for each class. REFERENCES BRUSILOVSKY, P. and MILLÁN, E. (2007), User Models for Adaptive Hypermedia and Adaptive Educational Systems, The Adaptive Web, LNCS 4321, pp. 3-53. BRUSILOVSKY, P., HENZE, N. 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DANIŁOWICZ, C., and KUKLA, E., The Application of Adaptive Students’ Classification to the Determination of a Learning Strategy in an E-Learning Environment, World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education, 2003 UICEE. EKMAN, P., Facial expressions, in T. Dalgleish & T. Power (eds.), The Handbook of cognitIon and Emotion, Sussex, UK, Wiley, 1999, pp. 301-320. GUNES, H., PICCARDI, M. (2006), Bi-Modal Emotion Recognition from Expressive Face and Body Gestures, Journal of Network and Computer Applications, doi:10.1016/j.jnca.2006.09.007. KOPECEK (2000), “Emotions and Prosody in Dialogues: An Algebraic Approach Based on User Modeling”, in Proceedings of the ISCA Workshop on Speech and Emotions, Belfast, ISCA, pp. 184-189. MAYER, J., ALLEN, J., BEAUREGARD, K. (1995), Mood Inductions for Four Specific Moods, Journal of Mental imagery, vol. 19, 133-150. OSANO, M., MARASINGHE, A., and MADURAPPEUMA, A. (2006), A Computational Model for Recognizing Emotion with Intensity for Machine Vision Applications, Member, NonmembersIEICE TRANS. INF. & SYST., vol. E89-D, no.7. PANTIC, M., ROTHKRANTZ, L. J. M. (2000), Automatic Analysis of Facial Expressions: The State of the Art, IEEE Trans. on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, 22(12), 1424-1445 (2000). ROY, D., SARKAR, S. and GHOSE, S. (2008), Automatic Extraction of Pedagogic Metadata for Adaptive Learning, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 18, 2, 97-118. SONWALKAR, N., Adaptive Individualization (2007): The Next Generation of Online Education, in C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications, pp. 3056-3063. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 237 Learning Object Tendency: A New Concept for Adaptive Learning Improvement Ahmad Kardan 1 , Samad Kardan 1 (1) Advanced e-Learning Technologies Group, Computer Engineering and Information Technology Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), 424, Hafez St., Tehran, 15875-4413, IRAN E-mail: {aakardan, skardan}@aut.ac.ir Abstract Improving the learning quality in e-learning environments has received considerable attention from researchers. One of the methods to improve the understanding of the students in a learning process is adapting the content to their learning styles. The learning style models are used to classify the students in different groups based on their appropriate style of learning. In e-learning we can use the learning styles to categorize learning contents suitable for each group. In this paper we present a new concept called Learning Object Tendency. Considering this concept the learning objects are classified based on the learning styles of the students. Therefore, by determining the tendency of a learning object, we can present that the appropriate learning object to the learners .To determine the tendency of a learning object we proposed a method based on the assessment of the learner progress in a learning object. The Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model is used to determine the learning style of the students. The pre-tests and post-tests are taken before and after presentation of each learning object to estimate the level of learning progress. By applying the results of the tests to a probabilistic model we classify the learning object in a specific tendency. Keywords: Learning Object Tendency, Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model, Probabilistic Learner Knowledge Model, Adaptive E-Learning. 1. Introduction In virtual learning environments, one of the main purposes is to minimize the involvement of teachers during the learning process, while keeping the advantages of the real classes in new systems. Today, web-based virtual learning is not just presenting the learning content to learners by means of the web. The new Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) provide intelligent adaptivity for their users. The aim of ITS is to improve the learning process of the students without any human intervention. Learning style is an important issue in the pedagogical physiology. This issue has received attention from Learning Management System (LMS) developers (Mayo and Mitrovic, 2001; Karagiannidis and Sampson, 2002; Dagger et al, 2002; Arroyo et al., 2004). University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 238 In this paper, we defined the “Learning Tendency” of learning Objects concept that can be used to enhance the learning process of learners by presenting the most appropriate learning object to them based on their learning style. High quality learning materials are expensive to create. So it is very important to ensure reuse of learning content. Reuse is made possible by annotating learning content with metadata. Manual annotation is a time consuming and expensive process. It is also liable to human errors (Roy, 2006). One of the important possible metadata for learning content is the “Learning Tendency” introduced in this paper. The rest of this paper is organized as follows. In section 2, we will present an overview of the learning style models and their usage in virtual learning. Section 3 describes the structure used for scaffolding of the learning content and making a hierarchical structure based on learning objectives, and composed of learning objects. In the section 4, we describe the assessment methods, and the Bayesian network model that we used for estimation of the learner’s knowledge. In the section 5, the main process of determination of the Learning Object Tendency and the proposed Bayesian model used for it, is explained. The section 6 demonstrates the related works in the literature. Finally, in the section 7 the conclusion and future works is presented. 2. Learning Style Model Different adaptations have been applied in different systems. One of the methods to improve the understanding of the students in a learning process is adapting the content to their learning styles. The learning style models are used to classify the students in different groups based on their appropriate style of learning. The learning style of a student determines what type of information he prefers, what channels he desire for perceiving the new information, how a student processes new information and how does he progress toward understanding. 2.1. Usage of Learning Styles in Virtual Learning There are many different learning style models proposed for different usages. For a list of more important learning style models, you can refer to (Karagiannidis and Sampson, 2002). Since the population under study are engineering students, we used Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model in this research. In the following section, we will have a closer look at this model. 2.2. Felder-Silverman Learning Style Model This model was proposed in 1988 by Felder and Silverman (Felder, Silverman, 1988) for engineering students. Since then it has been used by researchers in the e-learning field (e.g. Graf and Kinshuk, 2006; Liu et al., 2007; Sun et al., 2007). It has been revised on The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 239 2002 by Felder. We used the revised version that has four dimensions. These dimensions are Sensory/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, Active/Reflective and Sequential/Global. They address the preferred knowledge perception, data input, processing and understanding for the learner respectively (Felder, Silverman, 1988). 2.3. Normalization of the Learning Style Data The proposed tool for determining the students learning style in this model is a questionnaire called Index of Learning styles (ILS) (Felder, Soloman, 1996). To help the students in answering this questionnaire we provided a translated version of the questionnaire, and presented to them. The ILS results are four numbers ranging from – 11 to 11 for each dimension. We mapped these results to the range of 0-1 by the equation [1] where i is the ILS result for a dimension and ns is the normalized style value. [1] 22 11 + = i ns 3. Learning Objectives and Learning Objects Learning content scaffolding helps creating more adaptable and reusable learning contents. Assigning a particular structure to a learning content needs some pedagogical knowledge; this introduces the interdisciplinary research between information technology experts and learning psychologists. For knowledge assessment, researchers used different knowledge structures. The Knowledge Space Theory was used by the Knowledge and Data Engineering Group of Trinity College in their works (Conlan et al., 2006). Collins used Granularity Hierarchies, which had been used with Bayesian belief network for Computer Adapted Testing (Collins et a.l, 1996); in this Granularity Hierarchies, the concepts and skills are aggregated to form levels of details. In our research, we used the learning objective hierarchy. In this hierarchy, a learning objective is assigned to each Learning Object. Each learning objective consists of 1 to 3 skills. A set of questions is assigned to each skill. A question may require up to three skills. This hierarchy is very similar to the Bayesian model shown in Figure 1. 4. Estimating learner’s progress Determination of the “Learning Object Tendency” introduced in this paper, is based on learner’s progress during the usage of a specific learning object. This progress is evaluated by learner assessment before and after taking the content related to a specific learning object (Pre-test and Post-test). Therefore, we need to accomplish a precise University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 240 knowledge assessment for each user. In this section, we will discuss the problems in this process and the solution using Bayesian networks. 4.1. Learner’s Knowledge Estimation Problems There are two common problems in assessments, when explicit tests are being used to determine the knowledge of learners. These problems have been addressed before e.g. (Conati et al., 2002; Pardos et al., 2006). 4.1.1. Credit-Blame Problem This problem happens when a learner answers a question with more than one objective being assigned to it. If the answer is not correct then, normally the blame goes to all the skills needed for that question. Let us consider a question Q1 with two objectives (OB1 and OB2). Prior to this question learner has answered three questions related to OB1 and all of them are answered correctly; conversely she only answered one of the four questions related to OB2 correctly. According to the conventional scoring system, the blame will be divided equally between the OB1 and OB2 and the result will be: 3 of 3.5 = 86% OB1 and 1 of 4.5 = 22% OB2 However, considering the prior scores of the OB1 and OB2, it is more likely that the learner lacked the skill of OB2 when answering this question, so the more blame must be assigned to OB2. Prior Scores: ¹ ´ ¦ = = = = ⇒ ) ` ¹ → → 8 . 0 ) 125 / 100 ( ) 2 ( 2 . 0 ) 125 / 25 ( ) 1 ( OB2 25% OB1 100% OB Blame OB Blame With this approach the scores will adjusted as follows: 3 of 3.2 = 94% OB1 and 1 of 4.8 = 21% OB2 4.1.2. Guess-Slip Problem When a learner is faced to a test question, he/she may either have the required knowledge for it or not. However, having the knowledge does not necessarily lead to correct answer. On the other hand, if the question is multiple-choice he/she may give a correct answer to a question by chance without having the required knowledge. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 241 4.2. Using Bayesian Networks to Deal With the Problems In general, Bayesian network models have been used for assessment since mid 90s (Martin and Vanlehn, 1995; Conati et all., 1996; Vanlehn and Martin, 1997; Conati et al., 2002; Pardos et al., 2006). The Bayesian belief network was used for estimating the student mastery in Computer Adapted Testing (CAT) as well (Collins et al., 1996; Linacre, 2000; Desmarais and Pu, 2005). The Bayesian networks have been used to address Credit-Blame in (Conati et al., 2002). In (Pardos et al, 2006) the authors assigned a fixed chance for Guess and Slip in answering the questions and used a Bayesian model to handle the Guess-Slip Problem. 4.2.1. Prior Probabilities Different methods have been used to assign prior probability to nodes in the Bayesian network model. For example, the average of former students is used as an initiating value for the model of each new student in PKOS (Desmarais and Pu, 2005). In a CAT algorithm suggested by Halkitis, an initial value for the ability estimate is provided by an initialization mechanism. In this mechanism, each student is awarded one success and one failure on two dummy questions (Linacre, 2000). In this work, to calculate the prior probabilities we used a set of tests specifically designed so that it requires just one skill to solve. These tests were provided to learners as pre-tests. The scores of the tests for each skill was calculated and then mapped to a range of 0-1. This value is assigned to the designated node for that skill in the model. 4.2.2. The Proposed Model and Methods In order to estimate the learner’s knowledge of each Learning Objective, a Bayesian network model as shown in Figure 1 is used. In this model, the leaf nodes represent the questions designed for this Learning Object. To handle the credit-blame problem, the following strategy was used: • For the correct answers, the credit is dispatched between the parent nodes (skills) relative to their current mastery probability. • For each wrong answer, the blame is dispatched between the parent nodes in reverse proportion of their current mastery probability (section 4.1.1). University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 242 Figure 1. The Proposed Learner Knowledge Model For the guess-slip problem, instead of a fixed guess probability for the multiple- choice questions (e.g. 0.25 for tests with 4 choices), a new approach was used. In this approach, the prior probability of the parent node is also considered in calculating the guess chance. Three levels for the prior probability of the parent node were defined (less than 0.5, between 0.5 and 0.8 and above 0.8). In the first level, the knowledge of the learner is considered very low, so the basic guess chance is doubled. In the second level, the learner’s knowledge is considered low, and the basic guess chance is multiplied by 1.5. Finally, in the third level the basic guess chance is used. If the question node (Q) has more than one parent (e.g. P1 and P2), then equation [2] is applied to calculate the conditional probability of Q, and this conditional probability is used in the levelling system. [2] 2 1 ) 2 , 1 | ( P P True P True P True Q p × = = = = To adjust the slip chance, a similar levelling system is used, but this time the values are less than 0.7, between 0.7 and 0.9 and above 0.9. In accordance, the slip chances of 0.05 for the first level, 0.1 for the second level and 0.2 for the third level are used. The guess and slip chances are used in the conditional probability tables of the question nodes. Table 1 shows the probability values of the question node “Question i”. It is a 5-choice question shown in the model presented in Figure 1. The values are related to the probability values of the node’s parents (S1 and S2). These values reflect the guess chance for a “correct” answer and slip chance for a “wrong” answer to this question. Table 1 Different Values of the Node Question i Answer to the Question Node value Correct if (p(s1)*p(s2))>0.8 = 0.8 else if (p(s1)*p(s2))>0.5 = 0.7 otherwise = 0.6 Wrong if (p(s1)*p(s2))>0.9 = 0.2 else if (p(s1)*p(s2))>0.5 = 0.1 otherwise = 0.05 Learning Objective Skill 1 Skill 2 Skill 3 Question 1 Question 2 Question n Question i Question j Question k The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 243 5. Determining the Learning Object Tendency In order to determine the Learning Object Tendency for a particular Learning Object (LO), we compare learning progress of different learners in study of that LO, considering their learning style. To do so, first we take a pre-test to evaluate the prior knowledge of the learner for the learning objective related to this LO. Then we let the learner to study the LO through the LMS. When the learner thinks that he/she has understood the LO (and not before a determined time span, set in the LO itself) he/she will proceed to the post-tests. We used the method and the model described in section 4 to estimate the learner’s knowledge. The next step is to calculate the progress of the learner. Here we used the difference between the prior knowledge estimate (calculated statically from the pre-tests) and the final value of knowledge estimate of the relevant Learning Objective, as the indicator for learner progress. In this wok, we left out the negative progress, and we placed zero progress instead. To utilize the progress data, we found the minimum and maximum of the progress data, and then we mapped this range to the range of 0-1. This progress data is used in the progress nodes in the proposed Bayesian model. The other leaf node-type is the learner’s learning style, normalized to the range of 0-1 (refer to section 2.3). After updating of the relevant nodes, the LO Tendency is estimated as four probability values which are further interpreted to form the LO Tendency. The proposed Bayesian model is shown in Figure 2. The tendency is determined based on the values according to the Table 2. Figure 2. The Tendency Classification Model LO Sensory/Intuitive Sequential/Global Visual/Verbal Active/Reflective Student Impact Student Impact Student Impact Student Impact Student Progress Student Seq/Glo Student Act/Ref Student Vis/Ver Student Sen/Int University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 244 6. Related Works Automatic learning content labelling or classification is a new approach. A similar approach is taken by Roy et al., (Roy, 2006; Roy et al., 2007; Roy et al., 2008). They used natural language processing methods to annotate the learning content with some predefined metadata. Compared to it our method is also a feature extraction from learning content, but we use the experimental data for it. 7. Conclusion and Future Works The tendency classification of learning objects can be used practically by labelling the learning objects with the assigned tendency values; this can be added to the learning content ontology or learning content models used in different Intelligent Learning Management Systems to enhance the effectiveness of adaptation and improve the learning process of the learners. Table 2 The Tendency Classes 0-0.25 0.25-0.75 0.75-1 Sensory/Intuitive Sensory No preference Intuitive Visual/Verbal Visual No preference Verbal Active/Reflective Active No preference Reflective Sequential/Global Sequential No preference Global The Learning Object Tendency defined here can be thought as a metadata, which makes the adaptation to learning style of learners achievable, and subsequently improves the learning progress of the learners. There is an undergoing research project done in the Advanced E-Learning Technologies Lab in Amirkabir University which utilizes the methods presented here to determine the LO Tendency for a set of contents. Another aim of this project is the utilization of the Tendency in learning content adaptation and observation of its positive effects in the learning progress of a virtual course. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 245 REFERENCES ARROYO, I, BEAL, C., MURRAY, T., WALLES, R. and WOOLF, B. (2004), Wayang Outpost: Intelligent Tutoring for High Stakes Achievement Tests, in Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS2004), Springer Berlin/ Heidelberg, 468-477. CONATI, C. and VANLEHN, K. (1996), POLA: A Student Modeling Framework for Probabilistic On-Line Assessment of Problem Solving Performance, in Proceedings of UM-96, 5th International Conference on User Modeling, User Modeling, Inc., 75-82. CONATI, C., GERTNER, A., VANLEHN, K. (2002), Using Bayesian Networks to manage Uncertainty in Student Modelling, User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction 12, 4, 371-417. CONLAN, O., O'KEEFFE, I., HAMPSON, C. and HELLER, J. (2006), Using Knowledge Space Theory to support Learner Modeling and Personalization, in T. Reeves and S. Yamashita (eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2006, Chesapeake, VA: AACE, 1912-1919. DAGGER, D., WADE, V. and CONLAN, O. (2002), Towards a Standards-Based Approach to E- Learning Personalization using Reusable Learning Objects, in G. Richards (ed.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2002, Chesapeake, VA: AACE, 210-217. DESMARAIS, M. C. and PU, X. (2005): A Bayesian Inference Adaptive Testing Framework and its comparison with Item Response Theory, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 15, 291-323. FELDER, R. M. and SILVERMAN, L. K. (1988), Learning and Teaching Styles in Engineering Education, Engineering Education 78, 7, 674-681, proceeded by a preface in 2002. FELDER, R. M. and SOLOMAN, B. A. (1997), Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire, http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ ilsweb.html GRAF, S. and KINSHUK (2006), An Approach for Detecting Learning Styles in Learning Management Systems, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies (ICALT 06), Kerkrade, Netherlands, 161-163. KARAGIANNIDIS, C. and SAMPSON, D. (2002), Accommodating Learning Styles in Adaptation Logics for Personalised Learning Systems, in P. Barker and S. Rebelsky (eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2002, Chesapeake, VA: AACE, 1715-1726. LIU, F., KULJIS, J. and LINES, L. (2007), Breaking the Traditional E-Learning Mould: Support for the Learning Preference Approach, in Human-Computer Interaction. HCI Applications and Services, Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, 294-301. LINACRE, J. M. (2000), Computer-Adaptive Testing: A Methodology Whose Time Has Come, MESA Memorandum, no. 69, http://www.rasch.org/memo69.pdf MARTIN, J. and VANLEHN, K. (1995), Student Assessment Using Bayesian Nets, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 42, 6, 575-591. MAYO, M. and MITROVIC, A. (2001), Optimising ITS Behaviour with Bayesian Networks and Decision Theory, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 12, 124-153. PARDOS, Z. A., HEFFERNAN, N. T., ANDERSON, B. and HEFFERNAN, C. (2006), Using Fine-Grained Skill Models to Fit Student Performance with Bayesian Networks, On-line Proceedings of the Workshop on Educational Data Mining at the Eighth International Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems, Taiwan, 5-12. ROY, D., SARKAR S. and GHOSE, S. (2007), Learning Material Annotation for Flexible Tutorial Systems, Journal of Intelligent Systems 16, 4, 293-305. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 246 ROY, D., SARKAR S. and GHOSE, S. (2008), Automatic Extraction of Pedagogic Metadata for Adaptive Learning, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education 18, 2, 97-118. ROY, D. (2006), Automatic Annotation of Learning Materials for E-learning, PhD Thesis: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. SUN, S., JOY, M. and GRIFFITHS, N. (2007), The Use of Learning Objects and Learning Styles in a Multi-Agent Education System, Journal of Interactive Learning Research 18, 3, 381-398, Chesapeake, VA: AACE. VANLEHN, K. and MARTIN, J. (1997), Evaluation of an Assessment System Based on Bayesian Student Modeling, International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Education 8, 2, 179-221. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 247 Communication Models Used in the Online Learning Environment Gabriela Moise 1 (1) Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, no. 39 Blvd. Bucuresti, Ploiesti, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract The inter-human communication is a continuous process: a person receives, decodes and interprets messages (according to his/her own semantics) and encodes information in his/her answers. In 1954, Schramm and Osgood defined the circular communication model, according to which feedback is the most important. Communication is described as a continuous process consisting in messages sending and receiving feedback. Starting from the circular communication model, it is proposed a model of communication that can be used in the online learning environment. Keywords: multi-modal semantic communication, conversation theory, e-learning. 1. Introduction New informational technologies permit the students to learn using computer-based collaborative models. The computer-based collaborative techniques are relatively new. The preoccupations of the researchers in the field of instructional design have focused on the collaboration models among learners. In this paper it is emphasised the communication model as support to both collaborative and unintentional learning. “What children can do together today, they can do alone tomorrow.” (Vygotsky, 1962). The computer-based collaborative learning does not replace the classroom collaboration; much more it offers new opportunities to learn. The frontiers caused by distance, cultural education, age differences, emotional states, and so forth are beyond. Theories such as the communication theory and the conversation theory establish expandability as a new feature of learning. The expandability of learning refers to the fact that learning can appear anyplace, anytime, in different ways, even unintended. The objective of this paper is to propose a model of communication that can be used in computer-based collaborative learning combining the communication theory and the conversational theory. 2. Communication and Conversation Theory The communication theory was developed in 1940 in the same time with the instruction theory. Shannon and Weaver realised an approach of the quantification and measuring information developing the general model of communication system as University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 248 support of communication. (Shannon, 1948) Schramm adopted the linear model of Shannon and Weaver to human communication, including a new concept of field of experience, like parameter of message understanding. (Schramm, 1965) The inter-human communication is a continuous process during which human beings encode and decode the signals and information is encoded in answers. The main components of online communication used in the learning process are the context of communication, the background of knowledge, experiences, and a positive attitude towards learning. The term of feedback in inter-human communication was issued in the circular model of Schramm and Osgood, presented in the figure no. 1. (Schramm, 1954) The participants on the communication process assume both the role of transmitter and the role of receiver. Figure 1. The Circular Model of Inter-human Communication (Schramm and Osgood) In essence, there are two types of communication: direct communication between two ore more persons and mass communication. Mass communication refers to the process of producing and freely delivering messages to a large and heterogeneous audience. The online learning process implies a mass communication with or without restrictions and a personalised communication. The consequence of issuing the new communication channels is Schramm’s model of mass communication. The Schramm’s model of mass communication is described by McQuail and Sven, as presented in the figure no 2. (McQuail and Windahl, 1981) Feedback Encoder Interpreter Decoder Decoder Interpreter Encoder Message Feedback Transmitter Receiver Message The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 249 Figure 2. Mass Communication defined by Schramm Summarizing, there are more perspectives of the communication theory: • The technological perspective: the transmission mechanism is significant and the effect of transmission is not essential – Shannon and Weaver model; • The psychological perspective: the messages are filtered and processed – Schramm and Osgood model; • The social and cultural perspective: concerned with social interactions and building collaboration groups. Gordon Pask developed the conversation theory and that was used to develop educational programmes. (Pask, 1975) The fundamental idea of the Pask’s theory is that learning occurs through conversations about a topic. All these conversations have a finality: knowledge building. The method of learning, according to the conversation theory is “teachback”, i.e. a person teaches another what he/she has already learned. Pask observed a conversation and defined the “skeleton of a conversation”. The term used to express the learning as effect of conversation is conversational learning. Conversational learning is viewed “as the experiential learning process as it occurs in conversation” (Baker et all., 2002). A dialectical approach to the conversational learning can be found in (Baker et all., 2002). Face-to-face communication is a multi-modal process, if we take into consideration the fact that one communicates using verbal, visual, kinesthetic expressions. In the virtual spaces the communication must be multi-modal. The models of communication used in the online-learning environments needs to incorporate multi-modality and Connection at a group, where messages are reinterpretated and it will act in consequence Encoder Interpreter Decoder Mass audience A lot of receivers, decodifications, interpretetions, owner codifications Identical messages Inferential feedback University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 250 conversational spaces. In the virtual spaces, the multi-modal communication emulates face-to-face communications. In the paper entitled Multimodal approaches (Project I Curriculum: The knowledge and Information skills needed for living in the digital age http://promitheas.iacm.forth.gr/i-curriculum/), it is shown the necessity of the multi-modal approaches in the education: “the skills needed in the digital age might incorporate all modes that are now possible (combining voice, audio, text, images, …) and that a new literacy approach is necessary to allow the students to use not only mode by mode, but a combination of different modes, thus approaching outcomes to a more natural and holistic interaction”. 3. Communication Models Used in the Online Learning Environment The model developed by Laurillard entitled “Conversational Framework” facilities learning as an iterative dialogue between teachers and students. The interactions proposed in (Laurillard, 2002) operate at two levels. The former is the theoretical and conceptual level and the latter is the practical level. This approach enables students to link theory to practice and allows teacher to evaluate whether he/she has set or not the adequate tasks for the learning outcomes. The Laurillard’s model “captures the essence of university teaching as an iterative dialogue between teacher and student(s), operating on two levels: (1) the discursive, theoretical, conceptual level and (2) the active, practical, experiential level—the two levels bridged by each participant engaged in the processes of adaptation (practice in relation to theory) and reflection (theory in the light of practice).” (Laurillard, 2002) The model developed by Salmon has five stages: stage one is named Access and Motivation; stage two is named Online Socialization, stage three is the Information Exchange stage, stage four is the Knowledge Construction and stage five is the Development stage. (Salmon, 2000, 2002) The model proposed by Salmon is presented in detail at http://www.atimod.com/e-tivities/5stage.shtml. In this paper it is proposed a model considering the theories presented in the previous section. The model has to integrate two perspectives: the technological perspective and the pedagogical one. The technological perspective has three dimensions: the human-machine communication, the machine-machine communication, and human- human communication. The pedagogical perspective has to incorporate conversational spaces (in this model, collaborative techniques are included in the conversational spaces). The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 251 Figure 3. Perspectives of Communication in Online Learning Environment Technological model assures the technological base of communication (hardware and software). Some technologies that can be used to support communication are (Rosenberg, 2006): • E-mail; • Mailing list; • Discussion threads, chatrooms, forums; • Web conferencing; • Audio conferencing; • Knowledge network building tools; • News groups; • Response pads; • Whiteboard; • Shared screen; • Weblogs. A detailed description of the way in which these technologies supports collaboration is described in book Beyond e-Learning (Rosenberg, 2006). In this paper, it is presented a communication model taking in consideration the aspects from above. Communication in the online learning environment Technological model Pedagogical model University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 252 Figure 4. A Communication Model Proposed to Use in Online Learning Environment The model presented in the figure no. 4 (Moise, 2008) has three components: the teachers group’s component, the learner’s group component and the machine’s group component. The forms of transfer and sharing information allowed in this model are: one- to-one, broadcast, somebody-to-somebody and everybody-to-everybody. identical messages individualized messages individualized messages identical messages identical messages feedback decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder student student student decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder teacher teacher teacher decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder decoder translator encoder machine machine machine individualized messages The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 253 The communication is realized within each component and between components. The messages can be personalized or identical. The reactions are obtained on the basis of logical deductions that confer the inferential feature to the feedback. The major problem in this model is the communication within machines group and the communication with the machines group component. A solution to solve it is to use the intelligent agent technology. In this case, the messages have to be more or less “arbitrary”, more or less “standardized”. All messages have to be understood by the participants in the communication process. A semantic communication protocol has to be defined according to the instructional goal of communication in online learning environment. Semantic communication can be defined using three types of ontology: ontology of the delivered course, ontology of online learning environment and an ontology of the e-course’s specified domain. The model has to achieve semantic interoperability between machines and between machines and human beings. The communication process can be both verbal and non-verbal. The problem of interpretation of multi-modal messages is a difficult problem. In the figure no. 5 it is shown a multi-modal communication schema between two enitites. The entities A and B can be both transmitter and receiver and the entity B is a machine. Figure 5. Multi-modal Communication 4. Conclusions The paper presents a multi-modal communication model that can be used in the online learning environment. Work of the author is currently underway to explore the paradigm of multi-modal semantic communication. The research directions are to define an interpretation mechanism of multi-modal messages in an online learning environment. REFERENCES Books LAURILLARD, D. (2002), Rethinking University Teaching, 2nd ed., London, Routledge Falmer. MCQUAIL, D., WINDAHL, S. (1981), Communication Models for The Study of Mass Communications, London, UK: Longman. PASK, G. (1975), Conversation Cognition and Learning, Elsevier, Amsterdam. Entity A (Human being or machine) Entity B (Machine) Multi-modal message Multi-modal message Ontologies Inference engine to interpret multi-modal messages University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 254 ROSENBERG, M. J. (2006), Beyond E-Learning, Approaches and technologies to Enhance Organizational Knowledge, Learning, and Performance, Pfeiffer, U.S. SALMON, G. (2000), E-moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online (2nd edition), New York: RoutledgeFalmer. SALMON, G. (2002), E-tivities. The Key to Active Online Learning, Taylor & Francis. SCHRAMM, W. (1965), The Process and Effects of Mass Communication, 6th ed. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. VYGOTSKY, L. (1962), Thought and language, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Book Chapters BAKER, A., JENSEN, P. J., & KOLB, D. A. (2002), Conversational Learning: An Experiential Approach To Knowledge Creation, Westport, Connecticut: Quorum Books. Journal Articles LAURRILARD, D. (2002), Rethinking Teaching for the Knowledge Society, EDUCAUSE Review, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 16-25. SHANNON, C. E. (1948), A Mathematical Theory of Communication, Bell System Technical Journal, vol. 27, pp. 379-423, 623-656. Theses MOISE, G. (2008), Contributions to the Modelling and Controlling the Online Instructional Process Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti. Internet Sources http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/index.html http://promitheas.iacm.forth.gr/i-curriculum http://www.atimod.com/e-tivities/5stage.shtml The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 255 Differential Geometry of Space Curves with Mathcad Nicolae DăneŃ Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest 124, Lacul Tei Blvd., Bucharest, RO-020396, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract The Frenet trihedron is the most important topic in the differential geometry of space curves. The paper presents an example of a lecture about the Frenet trihedron developed using Mathcad. Keywords: Differential geometry, Space curves, Frenet trihedron, Mathcad. 1. Introduction In 2005/2006 academic year Romania adopted the new higher education structure base on three cycles (Bachelor, Masters’ and Doctoral studies) according to the Bologna Program. In technical universities the standard length of studies in the first cycle (Bachelor’s degree) is four years. During these years students take mathematics courses only in the first year (with some exceptions). At the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, Faculty of Railways, Roads and Bridges, the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science delivers courses only to the students in the first year. The course Linear Algebra, Analytical and Differential Geometry is scheduled in the first semester together with Mathematical Analysis (I) and Using Computers. In this context the differential geometry of curves, a very important chapter of mathematics for the future designers of highways and railways, must be taught in a very short time (two weeks). In my opinion, in this situation a solution for increasing the students’ understanding of mathematical concepts is to use computer technology not only for teaching and graphical visualizations but also for solving problems. The paper presents an example of lecture about the Frenet trihedron, one of the most important topics in the study of space curves. Teaching this subject traditionally is a difficult task because not every student can imagine this moving system of coordinates attached to a curve in each of its points. Using Mathcad worksheet presented in Section 3 the teacher can quickly show the image of this trihedron and the student can use it at home to study alone different space curves and to solve problems. Among many others mathematical programs I chose to use Mathcad because this software closely resembles with a worksheet. Having a well-designed graphical user interface based on what-you-see-is-what-you-get feature, Mathcad is easy to learn and easy to use. Equations in Mathcad look like the way we write them on the paper or on the blackboard. In Mathcad it is easy to combine text regions, graphical representations and University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 256 math equations obtaining complex mathematical documents. The students are initiated to use Mathcad during the Using Computers course in the first part of the first semester. In Section 2 some basic facts about space curves are recalled. The aim of this section is to establish the notations and to write the formulas used later in the Mathcad implementation. Section 3 presents a Mathcad worksheet about how to plot the Frenet trihedron. The reader is invited to observe carefully how the formulas from Section 2 are written in the Mathcad worksheet. Since the plotting of a space curve and a surface in the same drawing is not always an easy task in Mathcad, we present in detail the formatting of the graph region at every step. Section 4 contains conclusions. 2. Space Curves. Some Background Notions In this section we establish notation and terminology used throughout the paper and recall the basic notions about space curves, especially about the Frenet trihedron. By a space curve we shall understand the image of a vector-valued function 3 : R R r → ⊂ I r , k j i r r r r r ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( t z t y t x t + + = , (1) which is one-to-one and continuously differentiable on the interval I . (The mathematical correct definition of a space curve is not the subject of this paper.) The relation (1) is referred to as a parametric equation (representation) of the curve ) (t r r . The vector k j i r r r r r ) ( ' ) ( ' ) ( ' ) ( ' t z t y t x t + + = is directed along the tangent to the curve at all regular points, i.e., the points where 0 r r r ≠ ) ( ' t . A regular curve is a curve that has only regular points. In what follows we shall consider only regular curves that have triply continuously differentiable equations and satisfy the condition 0 r r r r r ≠ × ) ( ' ' ) ( ' t t for all I t ∈ . At every point ) (t M on a curve having an arbitrary parameterization (i.e., the parameter t is not the arc length) we can construct a moving trihedron, called the Frenet trihedron or Frenet frame, formed by three mutually orthogonal unit vectors ) ( ' ) ( ' ) ( t t t r r τ r r r = , ) ( ' ' ) ( ' ) ( ' ' ) ( ' ) ( t t t t t r r r r β r r r r r × × = , ) ( ) ( ) ( t t t τ β ν r r r × = . (2) The vectors ) ( ), ( t t ν τ r r and ) (t β r determine, respectively, the directions of the straight lines called the tangent, the principal normal and the binormal to the curve at the point ) (t M . The vectors defined in (2) are called the unit vectors of the Frenet trihedron at the point ) (t M . The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 257 These three vectors ) ( ), ( t t ν τ r r and ) (t β r specify a coordinate system (for which they are the base vectors) at each point ) (t M of the curve, the system varying as the point moves along the curve. The axes of this coordinate system are: 1) the tangent (its direction is determined by the vector ) (t τ r ). 2) the principal normal (which goes along the vector ) (t ν r ). 3) the binormal (its direction coincides with that of the vector ) (t β r ). The coordinate planes of the system are: 1) the normal plane; it is the plane drawn through the point ) (t M perpendicularly to ) (t τ r . 2) the rectifying plane; it is the plane passing through the point ) (t M perpendicularly to ) (t ν r . 3) the osculating plane; it is the plane passing through the point ) (t M and perpendicularly to ) (t β r . To write the equations of these axes and planes we use their vector form. We recalled that the vector equation of a straight line passing trough a point 0 M which has the position vector 0 r r in the direction of a vector a r is a r ρ r r r λ λ + = 0 ) ( , R ∈ λ . (Here k j i ρ r r r r ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( λ λ λ λ z y x + + = denotes the position vector of an arbitrary point on the straight line.) Then the equations of the axes determined by the unit vectors of the Frenet trihedron to the curve ) (t r r at the point ) (t M are: Tangent line ) ( ) ( ) ( t t τ r ρ r r r λ λ + = , R ∈ λ , (3) Principal normal ) ( ) ( ) ( t t ν r ρ r r r λ λ + = , R ∈ λ , (4) Binormal ) ( ) ( ) ( t t β r ρ r r r λ λ + = , R ∈ λ , (5) The vector equation of a plane passing trough the point 0 M , which has the position vector 0 r r and is parallel with the directions of two non-collinear vectors a r and b r is b a r ρ r r r r v u v u + + = 0 ) , ( , 2 ) , ( R ∈ v u . (Here k j i ρ r r r r ) , ( ) , ( ) , ( ) , ( v u z v u y v u x v u + + = denotes the position vector of an arbitrary point on the plane.) The equations of the planes determined by the axes of the Frenet trihedron at the point ) (t M are: University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 258 Normal plane ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , ( t v t u t v u β ν r ρ r r r r + + = , 2 ) , ( R ∈ v u , (6) Rectifying plane ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , ( t v t u t v u β τ r ρ r r r r + + = , 2 ) , ( R ∈ v u (7) Osculating plane ) ( ) ( ) ( ) , ( t v t u t v u ν τ r ρ r r r r + + = , 2 ) , ( R ∈ v u , (8) The shape of a space curve in the vicinity of its point ) (t M is characterized by two real numbers: ) (t K , the curvature, and ) (t T , the torsion, defined below 3 ) ( ' ) ( ' ' ) ( ' ) ( t t t t K r r r r r r × = , 2 ) ( ' ' ) ( ' ) ( ' ' ' )) ( ' ' ) ( ' ( ) ( t t t t t t T r r r r r r r r r r × ⋅ × = . (9) For other unexplained terminology about space curves see, e.g., (Lipschutz, 1969; Budak and Fomin, 1973; Rovenski, 2000). The readers interested in developing their Mathcad skills for drawing curves and surfaces can consult the e-books (Lorczack, 2001; Birkeland). 3. Frenet Trihedron. A Mathcad Implementation In this section we provide a full Mathcad worksheet for plotting the Frenet trihedron to a space curve in a fixed point. The space curve is defined by its vector equation since this form permits to express the formulas, especially for curvature and torsion (9), in a simple manner using vector calculus. First we define the vector equation of the curve and its first tree derivatives which are necessary for all the calculations in the entire worksheet. To compute the derivatives we use symbolic calculation. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 259 The formulas for curvature and torsion at each point of the space curve are given below. In order to obtain a fixed point M0 on the curve we give a value to the parameter t, for example t0 1 := Then we define the point M0 and compute symbolically its Cartesian coordinates For graphical representation of the point M0 it is necessary to define each Cartesian coordinate of the point thus Then open the 3D plot operator following the path: Insert, Graph, 3-D Scatter Plot, and complete the placeholder with (x0,y0,z0). To obtain a visible point, double-click the graph region to open the multi-tabbed dialog box 3-D Plot Format, click on the Appearance tab and at Point Options tab define the dots’ size of the point 4 and choose the color red in the box to the right of Solid Color (Figure 1). The result is presented in Figure 2. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 260 Figure 1. Figure 2. To plot the space curve type a coma after (x0,y0,z0) in the graph region and complete the new placeholder with the name of the vector-valued function, r. Surprising, we will obtain a surface and not a curve (Figure 3). To obtain the plot of a curve and not of a surface, double-click on the graph to appear again the 3-D Plot Format multi-tabbed dialog box, press the General tab for Plot 2 and select in the tab named Display As the option Scatter Plot. Thus we obtain a curve, but this is plotted with few points (Figure 4). To change the number of points used for plotting the curve, double-click again the graph, press the QuickPlot Data tab for Plot 2, and change the # of Grids from the default value 20 to a bigger one. Note that this value must be an integer between 1 and 200. Set this value 200. The plot obtained is showed in Figure 5. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. Now we define the unit vectors of the Frenet trihedron for tangent, principal normal and binormal (see the formulas (2) in Section 2). The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 261 Using these vectors we define the vector equations of the tangent, principal normal and binormal denoted by ρt, ρn and ρb in order to distinguish between them. In Mathcad we can not have the same names for different objects. (Compare these equations with the formulas (3), (4) and (5) from Section 2.) To plot the tangent line we must add the name of the vector equation of the tangent ρt in the graph region shown in Figure 5. In the first step we obtain a surface like in Figure 6. To obtain a line double-click the graph and make the following changes in the 3-D Plot Format multi-tabbed dialog box: (i) In General tab, Plot 3, mark Scatter Plot. (ii) In QuickPlot Data tab, Plot 3, at # of Grids increase the number from 20 to 200. (iii) In Appearance tab, Plot 3, at Point Options, choose Solid Color Blue. See the result in Figure 7. Proceed analogously for principal normal and binormal. Choose different colors for different lines. For example, plot the principal normal with magenta and the binormal with green. Figure 8 shows all the axes of the Frenet trihedron at the point M0. Figure 6. Figure 7. Figure 8. Now we define the vector equations of the planes determined by the unit vectors ν τ r r , and β r of the Frenet trihedron at the point M0. We use the notation PN for normal plane, PR for rectifying plane and PO for osculating plane. In Mathcad it is mandatory University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 262 to have different names for different planes. Compare the formulas (6), (7) and (8) of Section 2 with the formulas below. Evaluating symbolically every vector equation we show which are the Cartesian components of every plane. To draw the normal plane double click the graph and add the name of the vector equation of the normal plane, PN. Then double-click again the graph and make the following changes in the 3-D Plot Format multi-tabbed dialog box: (i) In General tab, Plot 6, mark Surface Plot. (ii) In Appearance tab, Plot 6, at Fill Options, mark No Fill, and (iii) At Line Options choose Wireframe and at Solid Color choose Light Blue. The result is showed in Figure 9. Proceed in the same way for the rectifying plane (Figure 10) and for the osculating plane (Figure 11) choosing for each of them a light color in concordance with the color of the unit vector perpendicular on the corresponding plane (magenta, respectively green). Figure 9. Figure 10. Figure 11. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 263 Finally, we put together all the axes and the planes in the same drawing. The Frenet trihedron to the given curve at the point M0 is showed in Figure 12. Figure 12. We end the worksheet by computing the curvature and the torsion of the curve at the point M0. 4. Conclusions The differential geometry of space curves is an important topic for civil engineering students, especially if they will be the future designers of highways and railways. Unfortunately, there is insufficient time to teach this chapter together with linear algebra and analytical geometry in the first semester. A solution can be the use of computer technology, and this paper shows how to use Mathcad to visualize the Frenet trihedron to a space curve. Using the Mathcad worksheet presented in Section 3 the students learn to plot space curves and points on these, to relate graphical objects to their analytic definitions, and to see the graphical effects of varying parameters. The use of Mathcad can help students to develop their mathematical skills and to deeper understand the theoretical concepts. The Mathcad capability to do symbolic calculations allows students to focus their attention on understanding mathematics concepts and not on hard computations. REFERENCES BIRKELAND, B., Creating Amazing Images with Mathcad, Mathcad E-Book; http://www.ptc.com/ appserver/mkt/products/resource/mathcad/ University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 264 BUDAK, B. M. and FOMIN, S. V. (1973), Multiple Integrals, Field Theory and Series. An Advanced Course in Higher Mathematics, Mir Publishers, Moscow. LIPSCHUTZ, M. M. (1969), Differential Geometry, Schaum’s Outline Series, McGraw-Hill, New York, San Francisco. LORCZAK, P. R. (2001), 3D Plotting from the Mathcad Treasury. Updated to Mathcad 2001, MathSoft Engineering and Education, Inc. ROVENSKI, V. (2000), Geometry of Curves and Surfaces with MAPLE, Birlhäuser, Boston, Basel, Berlin. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 265 Safety in Web 2.0 Dumitrescu Marina 1 , Dumitrescu Bogdan 2 , Daniel Raduta 3 (1) Technical College of Telecommunication „Nicolae Vasilescu-Karpen”, Bacau,
[email protected] (2) Dumitrescu Bogdan – University of Bucharest,
[email protected] (3) Daniel Raduta – Security Department of Bitdefender AntiSpam, Softwin – Bucharest,
[email protected] Abstract The Internet is no longer a tool for information as it was in the past. Now it has it’s own personality, complexity and raises serious problems to those who under estimate it. Keywords: BlackHat, Manipulation, Social Networks. 1. Introduction In a study conducted by the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles, social sciences researcher Peter J. Richerson tried to bring on the critical list, the man and his interraction with the multi-media phenomena. He started from the assumption that "unlike other organisms, the man receives information in a complex format, from others through social learning techniques such as imitation. This information is captured by human in a consciously maneer or subconsciously level, a level of the human behavior." “A behavior is always to be taken transactionally: ie., never as of the organism alone, any more than of the environment alone, but always as of the organic-environmental situation, with organisms and environmental objects taken as equally its aspect. “ (Dewey si Bentley, 1949) 1.1. Web 2.0 The concept of Web 2.0 was born along with the beginning of new era of the Internet market when intelligent technologies concerning advanced online programming were developed, technologies like Ajax and Php5, technologies that together with the advantages offered by the Java platform revolutioned this field of information. The pages are not only sources of information in an environment free of connections just like in the beginning, now they have a high degree of interactivity thanks to the Ajax system because now they can identify and run separate and personalized processes. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 266 Gaining this degree of freedom, Web 2.0 offers a number of advantages and disadvantages, allowing on one hand, interaction with the human user, but also leaving access to certain sensitive information placed on the machine had in posession. 1.2. Psychologic complexity Since the XXI generation, multimedia resources available for masses, determined an accelerated evolution of the knowledge and now, humans can capture information starting from an early increasingly age. The society, as it is today and especially in the industrialised countries, has developed a wide range of multi-media industry to conquer all areas of the market and to "catch" all categories of age in this game and trend of the so called „new generation”. 0 20 40 60 80 100 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 General Traffic Traffic on social networks Traffic on grey locations Chart 1. Traffic from 2002 to 2007 A series of statistics provided by Google Analytics conducted on the large engines of social networks reveal a colosal traffic from the highly developed countries on a comprehensive range of services, which covers 90% of the current topics. Statistics made in accordance with ISP’s and a series of market analysis, reveals that the social networks are filled preponderently with children and young people in search of new. The graph shows how, since 2002 when the phenomena was registered for the first time, and the evolution of this, the traffic on social networks and locations grey had been alarmingly increasing from year to year. This represents an average graphic report of all countries surveyed, but only those under or in developing and developed ones. 1.3. Tipization As time flows, conception and human mentality had gradually diversified. Current technology allows "tasting" all the sensations offered by life and the freedom to choose his own lifestyle. Unlike the media channels available for the population 20 years ago, The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 267 when all the content and the ideas were censored, the Internet was used in small circles and in certain limits, now this has been exceeded, the Internet is a fully free medium and without limited data areas. The only limits are those that the user defines, but they can be easily avoided, by techniques of social engineering. If 20 years ago the society offered individual's a lifestyle, a mentality and unity, now inflow data allows them to leave this area and choose a unique path in life. We can no longer talk in the 21st century about a mass of people who can be included in a pattern. 1.4. Patterns Although the paths chosen by individuals, allow them to be different in all aspects of life, analyses, however, from the dedicated deparment in San Francisco University which is studying human behavior (focused especially on Informatics), states that they still can be classified. Regardless of religion, social status, even listened music and conception of life, teenagers have certain features that identify them in any situation, features which handled in a proper manner can be used for handling masses. 2. Psichological reports “Unlike other organisms, humans acquire a rich body of information from others by teaching, imitation, and other forms of social learning, and this culturally transmitted information strongly influences human behavior. Culture is an essential part of the human adaptation, and as much a part of human biology as bipedal locomotion or thick enamel on our molars. My research is focused on the evolutionary psychology of the mechanisms that give rise to and shape human culture, and how these mechanisms interact with population dynamic processes to shape human cultural variation. I have done much of this work in collaboration with Peter J. Richerson.” (Dept. of Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095) Psychological reports carried out on students in last years reveal that they are exposed to the greatest dangers they society may "provide" since their very early age. This is materialized, in various "attacks" on the part of phisics, when a person tries to have a direct contact with them, either through derived methods using the computers. Internet through the Web 2.0 concept that tries to promote it now, throught its social structures in full development provides an environment for both the victim as well as for the hunter, to get in touch very easily. The solutions available to the public by the promoters of social media do not offer any protection and easely makes victims. In a study conducted by the University of Los Angeles on peoples, peoples classified by age, region of the world and levels of education reveals the deficiencies of each category. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 268 2.1. Classified by ages Study shows that predisposal to danger is primarily influenced by the age of the victim. Age classes for study were grouped into 3 categories: children between 10-14 years, young people between 14 to 18 years and adults from 18 -21 years. There were no reports and statistics made on subjects which ages cross this limits because they no longer represent a major danger for the Web 2.0. On the categories studied we observe that the first class, between 10 and 14 years, has a primitive behavior, a point of view and understanding of environmental information very very low. Therefore, at this age the child does not understand the exact nature of the attacks and dangers and he asimilates them as they are, direct as well as the discrete, attacks provided by the informatics network. He is vulnerable from the simplest attacks called SPIM (SPAM on protocols as IM [see ymsgr and gmail]) which attract the child through messages "tempting" to access or to disclose certain information contained in a confidential area, or a more complex attack which involves creating of an environment and with advanced solutions to manipulate the child during longer periods. Problems of this kind are likely in the mind of a child to change optics about life and to initiate a new lifestyle, or waiver certain "procedures" needed only on the basis of mentalities induced. In terms of mental development of children, this is the period when the trends dictate his life and any attempt to over-write them has a very high succes rate. His neurological center acts, at this age, as a sponge and if it is exposed at regular time to harmful information, it may have iremediabile changes in behavior, not only changes of the perspective, but conception, a change is aspirations and mentality. Between the ages of 14 and 18 years we meet other specific problems. The specialized education appears, conducted by schools and colleges where teachers usually raise alarm signals to the potential dangers to students, about the iminent dangers. The signs are more aware of the cause, if the teacher has children at home. During hours, an eye endorsed, may decelate, among a group of students, any type of behaviour 'addiction' which then, together with family, class master, teachers or psihopedagogs should try to correct them. The level of training and interaction with the personal development of student and the institution is in a inversely proportional report to the development of culture. In countries in development the system tries to maintain the "subject" between certain well-defined limits, but in industrialized and developed countries, they avoid this behavior to "allow freedom of expression". Researchers from San Francisco confirm the reverse proportionality, but they put the blame on the conceptions and mentalities unanimously adopted by them. Social networks generally refers to this category of people because they are quite mature in the eyes of society to have certain rights to confidential data of the family, but still in the phase in which the "boom" generated by a hoax to be perceived and treated with a seriously enough trust to achieve the final goals. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 269 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Under developed In development Developed Under surveilence Deviated cases Chart 2. Analyzed cases Once major (between 18 and 21 years) and a well-defined personality they begin to have dreams and aspirations. It no longer represents a potential victim of social networks because they experience life and social environment they have educated and prevented from these dangers. Now it is attacked in other means well defined and discrete that are interested in various organization, organizations as Blackhat and are motivated by various advantages of a material to start their activity in this area. They use a series of social engineering methods and hoax sites to initiate and feed the mentality of the young a a new concept then, by means of social engineering offered the Web 2.0 is exploited. The miraje created by these BlackHat companies has a large and deep impact among young people because they are the result of lengthy analysis of traffic and therefore were perfectly moulded on the psychological profiles targeted. 0 10 20 30 40 50 2005 2006 2007 2008 Hoax Social Engineering BlackHat Chart 3. Manipulation ratio University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 270 2.2. On regions In the developing countries which posses new technology, but still do not have a maturity of these services and have a specific culture to see that young children are tempted by various tricks offered in advantageous conditions. After some polls, it was found that the information called "tentations" spread across all channels of information used. Due to the advance that it promotes the Web 2.0 concept this information and tentations "can be easily extracted from specialized services to make available systems like" trends "and as Google trends. In under-developed countries, the tentation level is not at an alarming level. These countries do not represent a "good" in the eyes of evil-intentioned people and therefore did not promote specific content, and when I say here are the specific reference to a language and a culture that are not interesting on the Internet, because the percentage of young owners of a connection to study the conditions proved to be 8-9%. In general, and where there is a proportion so small, they have a management-level content filters dangers humans with a high performance automated security systems. In developed countries, the problem is more pregnant and a more complex search for solutions is initiated to stop the spread of the problem. Hereby young children provide a system mature and complex that it provides all the advantages and benefits included with the system Web 2.0. IT systems can not cover and block all the traffic and therefore harmful actions can commit due to a lack of human operators to support the problem. Everything is left to the machines which often have major leaks in security. Highly evolved countries and in evolution thus companies starting to produce products which are integrated in the standard Web 2.0 and growing as a consequence of that fact occur overnight a number of third party products that do not benefit from an advanced test and a security system inside and it can be used fraudulently for the purpose Blackhat. 2.3. Societies and education levels On education levels we can distinguish: With a high level of education, for which the computer is a common medium of communication with friends and everyone is just like leaving the daily routine. It is predisposed to attacks of any kind, because culture and the social status gives them the feeling of invulnerability and do not consider any possible threat in a virtual environment. Real life cannot provide the necessary amount of adrenaline and therefor threy are trying to gain some by playing a game extremely violent, with an index HSRB over 10 points or try to integrate into Blackhat networks for a new experience. With an average level of education, the tipe that takes part in various games with friends and finds these parties as the only "out" with friends. It is very confident in their The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 271 power and gives them a credibility beyond the normal limit. He lives the life between these walls and it doesn’t have a wider vision. It is a fan of virtual social environment and through it is manipulated. This represents an environmental incubator ideal for the most rudimentary mass attacks. With a low level of education, generally those with a low intellectual level and therefore are not predisposed to attacks in the range of Web 2.0. They are marginalized by the society and do not use social services like MySpace or FaceBook because the don’t find identity on the internet as being important. They are users of computers mechanised by other people from outside and defended by any problems that may arise in case of DSET (Distributed Social Engineering Technics) 3. Fighting methods These behavior considered derivatives under analysis and expertise on a sample of subjects, modularized and can be programmed so that a program that integrates a network neuronale be able to learn and to detect any problems. The solution built on the theoretical level and raised at a global level oriented individual tries to monitor all quantifiable factors using various algorithms. If in the case of applications for Web 2.0 type they are supported by advanced technologies like AJAX who can make an identification and reporting at the server side, the problem appears to applications which are not yet integrated, or the concept does not allow them to reach Web 2.0 techologies, therefor no sensors are included. Here at the client side, where particularities are more problematic, trying to implement and program a neuronal compared to monitor the subject of a long period of time and report anomalies that appear later. Since subjects can not be predetermined, the network must be trained before to enhance learning so that the product prove it’s performance. The sensors used in the client side should be integrated into an application that will operate on a rating system and case a complex decision, which will follow the application implementation as following: The rate analysis of the topic for a well-defined content, which is measurable in the virtual environment, should be analyzed in: – In a normal time for loading a page will be marked with an X – Abnormal conditions of time will be x, considerably lower because of the psychological point of view has installed a "blood rush" to induce a state of aggitation. So x ≤ i gr i gr THEN i gr AND i r IF R This system has been built using the following software resources: PHP server-side scripting language (is combining the Perl, Java and C concepts), MySQL (Structured Query Language) and the Web Server Apache HTTP. The feedback regulator of the proposed system determines the command in a way that after the process is resumed the system is achieving the target which is the objective evaluation of students’ knowledge to a specific discipline. 4. Conclusions The present time requirements in higher educational process involve the re-ordering in the teachers’ ability to create, acquire, assimilate and share the knowledge to and with University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 334 their students. Knowledge sharing methods and techniques will be improved significantly in the next short term future and all these transformation, in the author opinion, will leave no room to another option than to follow this mega-trend. Development and continual improvement of the knowledge base at individual level, for each student, independently but in same time without moving outside from the modern society requirements is the next major challenge for the higher education. Today the knowledge is one of the key resources for the human society and the higher education institutions are playing a critical role in developing this valuable asset (Bender, 2003). The author believes that integrating learning and assessment by sharing the responsibility of the educational process goals achievement is the proper solution for these incoming transformations. Also, the author believes that a true value assessment of the student learning begins always with the educational values. As more and more institutions from higher education environment incorporate online courses in their curriculum, the teachers need to determine and implement better methodologies and techniques for students’ knowledge evaluation. The system proposed is just another solution trying to integrate successfully a web-based education integrated system for learning and assessment with the today requirements in higher education environments. REFERENCES Books ALEXANDRU, A. (2002), Sisteme Expert – Concepte şi AplicaŃii, Matrix Rom, Bucureşti. BENDER, T. (2003), Discussion – Based Online Teaching to Enhance Student Learning, Stylus Publishing LLC, Virginia. MAGOULAS, G. and CHEN, S. (2006), Advances in Web-Based Education: Personalized Learning Environments, Information Science Publishing, London. OPREA, M. and NICOARĂ, S. (2005), InteligenŃă Artificială, Editura UPG, Ploieşti. Journal Articles Dobre, I. (2007) Evaluation of Students Knowledge – An Experiment in E-Learning. Buletinul UniversităŃii Petrol-Gaze din Ploieşti LIX, 2, 43-48. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 335 Timetable Planning using Intelligent Agents Irina Tudor 1 , Mădălina Cărbureanu 1 (1) Department of Informatics, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti, 39, Bd. Bucureşti, 100680, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract At the beginning of each semester a frequent problem appears regarding the timetable planning. It is not an easy task for the person responsible with solving this problem because he/she must take into consideration many constrains such as: teaching stuff timetable options, elaboration rules (number of lectures, number of seminars, number of practical activities per day, etc.) and the number of students which determines the allocated lecture/seminar hall. In this case, an adequate method for reducing the execution effort and time is the designing a multi-agent system (MAS) using ZEUS software, developed by British Telecom. Our work consists in identifying and implementing the necessary agents with their tasks for sharing the resources, establishing the communication ontology and coordination. This paper highlights the opportunity of multi-agent systems application in the superior education field. Keywords: Intelligent Agent, Ontology, Multi-Agent System, Education. 1. Introduction In recent years, a major research effort in artificial intelligence domain has been invested in designing and building intelligent agents-software or hardware entities that interact with an external environment in an intelligent way. In computer science, an intelligent agent (IA) is a software agent that assists users and acts on their behalf, in performing non-repetitive computer-related tasks, in the sense of a representative agent. Intelligent agents are used for operator assistance or data mining. The intelligence implies the ability to adapt and learn (Wikipedia, Software agents, 2008). In artificial intelligence, an agent is used for intelligent actors that observe and act upon an environment, in the sense of a rational agent. In our paper we present an application of intelligent agents in the superior education field. A solution for timetable planning in the framework of a department is given. 2. About Intelligent Agents In literature, an agent is known as an entity that perceives, reasons and acts. In computational terms, that which is perceived is an input, to reason is to compute, to act is to output the result of computation. An agent is equipped with objectives and the rational quality consists in acting optimally with respect to its objectives. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 336 Intelligent agents perform a wide range of services, including automatic searching, answering specific questions, providing information and updates about events, running programs and presentations, reporting current news, comparison shopping, and tutoring (Baylor, 1999). This technology combines artificial intelligence (reasoning, planning, natural language processing, etc.) and system development techniques (object-oriented programming, scripting languages, human- machine interface, distributed processing, etc.). An intelligent agent can be used to perform various activities such as: searching for information automatically, answering to the specific questions, informing users when an event has occurred, providing custom news to user on a just-in-time format, intelligent tutoring, automatic services, such as checking web pages for changes or broken links. An intelligent agent can be applied successfully in various fields, as follow: workflow management, network management, air-traffic control, business process engineering, command and control, education, digital libraries, information management, data mining, electronic commerce. An agent runs if two conditions are met. The former is a common language, called Agent Communication Language (ACL), that must exist in order to enable software to recognize the intention behind a request of an agent and, as a latter condition, there must be an architecture, where a piece of software can describe its abilities and needs. Various special languages have been developed to facilitate the communication between agents and the most common are: FIFA ACL, Actor, Tcl/Tk, Telescript, Linda (mostly for mobile agents), Agent0, Concurrent Metaterm, KQML, etc. Communication protocol is not a low-level protocol but a protocol establishing possible actions of agents in every moment of communication with other entities. A FIPA ACL message contains a set of one or more message parameters. Precisely which parameters are needed for effective agent communication will vary according to the situation. The only parameter that is mandatory in all ACL messages is the performative one, although it is expected that most ACL messages will also contain sender, receiver and content parameters. If an agent does not recognize or is unable to process one or more of the parameters or parameter values, it can reply with the appropriate not-understood message (FIPA Abstract Architecture Specification. Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents, 2000). 3. Multi-Agent System Design In this application there are defined four agents, capable to interact in order to minimize the effort and time for timetable planning process. The above-mentioned agents are the following: Timetable administrator, Timetable teacher, Environment and Restriction. Also, one may use utility agents that are automatically generated by Zeus: Broker, Visualiser and ANS (Agent Name Server). Various roles and tasks are associated to each agent. For instance, the functions for Timetable_admin agent are: 1. Requesting the teachers their timetable options; 2. A new timetable option solicitation, when the current option is not valid; 3. The timetable supplying; 4. The supplying of the laboratories loading. For the Timetable_teacher agent, the associated functions are: 1. Verifying the laboratory’s state; 2. Delivering laboratory activities; 3. Sending the solicited timetable option; 4. Sending a new timetable option. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 337 The role of the Environment agent is the laboratory information supplying and the only role of the Restriction agent is to assure restrictions application. For having a good image upon the information flux, the representation of the information flux and interaction diagram is necessary (figure 1, figure 2). Figure 1. Information flux Figure 2. Interaction diagram University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 338 An agent PAGE (Perception, Actions, Goals and Environment) description consists in the perceptions, actions, goals and environment (in which the agent interacts with other agent/agents) identification. The table below displays the PAGE description for the proposed agents in our application: Table 1 PAGE description Agent Perception Action Goal Environment Timetable_admin Receiving options Asking options Generating timetable Laboratory Timetable_Teacher Receiving tasks Answering tasks Timetable establishing Laboratory Environment Laboratory state Supplying laboratory information Supplying laboratory information Laboratory Restriction – Restrictions applying Restrictions discharging Laboratory 4. The Multi-Agent System Implementation with Zeus Agent Toolkit An essential step in MAS developing process is the knowledge modelling, consisting in the ontology representation. In the context of computer and information sciences, ontology defines a set of representational primitives with which one can model a domain of knowledge or discourse. The representational primitives are typically classes (or sets), attributes (or properties), and relationships (or relations among class members). The definitions of the representational primitives include information about their meaning and constraints on their logically consistent application (Gruber, 2008). In our application the agent’s ontology is composed from the terms used in the communication process. The figure below presents the developed ontology: Figure 3. Agent ontology The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 339 The next step consists in the agent’s development and identification of associated tasks. The development of agents for our application is presented in the figure below: Figure 4. The agents in Zeus The development of an agent, for instance Timetable_admin, implies the realization of the next intermediary steps: the Zeus implementation of the agent tasks, establishing of the relation of the agent with other agents (peer to peer, subordinate or superiority relation), establishing the coordination protocols (for the respondent or initiator agent role), allocating the initial resources and establishing the maximum number of simultaneous tasks. All these are established in the following panels: Agent Definition Panel, Agent Organization Panel, Agent Coordination Panel and Value Restriction Panel. The implementation of the Supply_timetable task associated with Timetable_admin agent is presented in the next figure: University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 340 Figure 5. Task Preconditions and Effects Zeus software provides a batch of utility agents: Agent Name Server (ANS), Facilitator and Visualiser. These agents are implicitly generated by Zeus and they form, beside the user-developed agents, the application agent society. The resulted agents society is presented in the figure below: Figure 6. Agents society Using the proposed ontology and the ACL as a communication language (Agent Communication Language) for reaching the application goal, the agents start to change messages (i.e. sending call for proposals (cfp), sending proposals, proposals’ acceptance/refusal, sending information, etc.),as presented in the figure: The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 341 Figure 7. Interactions between agents As a result of agents communication a timetable is generated in a primary form represented by attributes with values which can be interpreted to obtain a useful timetable form. Figure 8. The results table University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 342 REFERENCES FIPA Abstract Architecture Specification, Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents, 2000, http://www.fipa.org/specs/fipa00001 BAYLOR, A. L. (1999), Intelligent Agents as Cognitive Tools, Educational Technology, 39(2), 36-40. COLLINS, J., NDUMU, D. (1999), The Application Realisation Guide, Intelligent Systems Research Group, BT Labs. COLLINS, J., NDUMU, D. (1999), ZEUS Technical Manual, Intelligent Systems Research Group, BT Labs, 1999. COLLINS, J., NDUMU, D. (1999), The Role Modelling Guide, Intelligent Systems Research Group, BT Labs. GRUBER, T. (2008), Ontology to Appear in Encyclopedia of Database Systems, Ling Liu and M. Tamer Özsu (eds.), Springer-Verlag, 2008, http://tomgruber.org/writing/ontology- definition-2007.htm Wikipedia, Software agents, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_agents The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 343 Hypermedia System for Online e-Learning and e-Testing in Project Management Eugen Zaharescu 1 , Georgeta-Atena Zaharescu 2 (1) "OVIDIUS" University of Constanta 124, Mamaia Blv., Constanta 900527, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] (2) "DECEBAL" High School, Constanta Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to present a flexible hypermedia system for online e-learning and e-testing in the domain of project management education. This virtual learning environment uses the newest open source web technologies available for the moment: PHP, MySQL, AJAX, XML and XSLT. The paper describes the implementation principles of this e-education system structured on two functional sections: hypermedia-based e-learning and online dynamically adapted e-testing. In the first section, a powerful database system allows online access to a very well organized video tutorial, covering the main aspects of project management e-learning. In the second section, tests are automatically generated and adapted for each student as they are presented as shuffled sequence of questions and alternative answers, using a web-based interface. Keywords: e-Learning, e-Testing, Distance Learning, Hypermedia, Computer-Assisted Education, Educational Platform, Virtual Learning Environment. 1. Introduction The hypermedia system for project management education, presented in this paper belongs to the wide domain of e-learning and e-testing (or e-assessment). The most important feature of this modern education domain is the emergence of the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) use in knowledge production, diffusion, consultation and automatic assessment. The generalization of the use of ICT in e-learning, leads to an explosion of LU (Learning Units) on the internet. Indeed, many studies [3; 6; 7] reveal hundreds of LMS (Learning Management System) able to provide LU for e-learning, but these are not always reusable by other LMS. In the last decade, two approaches have tried to answer to this problem of LU reuse. The first approach is to create repositories of LU shared on internet like research projects ARIADNE, COLIS, Edusource, DLESE and MERLOT. The second approach is to reuse the educational scenario as a whole. Also, new educational languages, standards and specifications, like IMS (Instructional Management Systems), EML (Educational Modelling Language) and MISA (Méthode d’Ingénierie des Systèmes d’Apprentissage), propose models for educational scenarios design and reuse. The emergence of the ICT leads to an explosion of the web based tools and services (forum, chat, LMS, etc.) which are not always interoperable. The new web technologies and W3C recommendations represent a solution for the interoperability of these tools and services and the development of a virtual exporting/importing space. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 344 The architecture of our hypermedia system for project management education is structured in two sections: 1. The first section is a LMS (Learning Management System), based on a set of web services. The hypermedia catalogue developed in this section is able to share the HLU (Hypermedia Learning Units) located in local or distant hypermedia repositories. 2. The second section is an AMS (Assessment Management System) based on a dynamic tests generator and a statistical evaluator. This proposed e-learning and e-testing (e-assessment) management system can perform automatic test generation and grading from a wide variety of question types supported. It is a data driven system which can dynamically adjust e-test contents and parameters and fast reorder the whole e-test form by random number generation. The structure of this paper is as follows: section 2 presents the concepts and principles upon learning management system is based on; section 3 describes the functional architecture of learning management system; section 4 shortly presents the implemented learning unit catalogue and repository; section 5 presents the concepts and principles of this web based e-testing system; section 6 describes Web based e-testing system architecture; in the end the experimental and statistical results followed by final conclusions are revealed in section 7 and 8. 2. Learning Management System. Concepts and Principles The modelling language, proposed by the IMS (Instructional Management Systems) Global Learning Consortium is widely inspired from R. Koper works [2]. It provides a rich terminology which allows to describe in a formal way and to implement reusable educational scenarios. Also, it offers an educational flexibility because the designer can describe every type of LU (Learning Unit) (e.g. lessons, problem based learning, etc.). An LU is introduced by IMS (Instructional Management Systems) Global Learning Consortium as an abstract item which makes reference to an element of learning or education as for example a lesson or a module [1]. It is to note that an LU represents more than an orderly collection of resources; it also includes a variety of prescribed activities (e.g. search activities, evaluation activities, training activities, etc.), the services, the tools and the resources produced by the learners and the staff. The activities, the roles, the resources and the workflow depend of the ones from the others in the educational scenario. Conceptually, an LU is modelled as a content package containing the educational scenario. The content of LU is built according to the IMS content package. It is composed of the following two major components [1]: 1. The first important component of LU is the manifest which describes the content structure and the associated resources. It is an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) file, called “imsmanifest”. The element is the root of the manifest file. It contains three direct children elements: 1.1. The first child is an optional element, called metadata. It describes the manifest as a whole and uses the IEEE-LOM [4] metadata scheme. 1.2. The second child is called organizations. It describes how the content is organized to be delivered to the learners. To create the educational scenario for the LU, the element includes the element. This last one contains the elements which describe the educational scenario. It summarizes the idea according to which the educational scenario takes place as a theatre play. The educational scenario is organized in acts in which the activities are proposed to the roles in a computer environment consisted of learning objects and of services (chat, forum, e-mail, etc.). It is designed to allow reaching the learning objectives. It is described according to the hypothesis of some prerequisites which a learner must have to realize the activity. The educational scenario is organized in A, B and C three levels [1]. The level A is constituted by the general description elements of the educational scenario. While the B level, adds to the A level, the elements of the educational scenario personalization (conditions and properties). Finally, the level C, adds the notification mechanism which allows making dynamic the educational scenario. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 345 1.3. The last child is called resources. It is a collection of references to resources. The element consists of several (zero or more) element. A resource is not necessarily composed by a single file. It can be also constituted by a set of files. Each file of element is represented by element. These files can be internal files referenced by relative address or external files referenced by URL (Uniform Resource Locators). 2. The second important component of LU is represented by the physical files (local or external files) associated to the very contents of LU, itself. They are electronic representations of media, such as text, sound, images, animations, graphs or any piece of data that can be rendered from the Internet and presented to learning subjects. Each of these media may have multiple digital formats (e.g. WAV, MP3 or WMA for sound files, .AVI, .WMV, .MPG or .SWF for video files). A physical file can be created by the LU designer or reused from a repository. The internal files must be included inside the PIF (Package Interchange File) file. The manifest file and all other XML control files (DTD, XSD) identified by the manifest must be placed at the root of the PIF file, which is a concise web delivery zip format. The use of a concise zip format facilitates and accelerates the transport of the PIF file over the Internet. 3. Functional Architecture of Learning Management System The most important architectural elements of Learning Management System are: • the actors representing the persons who play the various administrative, educational, technical roles. • the LMS representing the learning management and the organization sub-system or core system. It will realise management of the learners, individualization of the learning, evaluation of the learners, etc. • the CMS (Content Management System) representing the LU management system. It helps to create, to updates and to manage the LU. These two sub-systems are based on two principles. The first principle is the separation of the contents and the form. It allows the designers to concentrate on the design and the creation of contents without worrying by the form. Some CMS proposes predefined models which the designer uses to insert their contents. The contents consist from the existing resources (reuse) or created from the new resources. The second principle is the import and the export of the LU. A LCMS offers both LMS and CMS combined functionalities (LCMS = LMS + CMS). • The LU repositories are data bases containing LU. They also implement web services which allow their interoperability with the catalogue, the LMS and the CMS. • The catalogue is the tool which allows sharing of the LU on the network. Also, it allows searching the LU on LU repositories according to some search criteria. The LU which answers to search criteria is downloaded from the LU repositories. They are then used by the CMS or by the LMS. Figure 1. The functional architecture of LMS (Learning Management System) University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 346 4. Learning Unit Catalogue and Repository There are two types of LU repositories: local and distant. The local repository is a data base which is on the system server and contains the LU created by actors. They can be imported or modified by LMS or CMS. The distant LU repository is a data base containing LU located on another web server. The LU belonging to this data base is downloadable by the LU catalogue module, only. Figure 2. Learning unit catalogue and repository during training process 5. Web Based e-Testing System. Concepts and Principles Definition 1 Question bank is the core of every e-testing system and is represented by a database of unique questions with parameters, from which the test generation module will make simple selections. The necessary question parameters may be: • question type according to possible answer/answers; • question weight/value for final summarized grading; • question domain/area/section following the theory classification etc. The architecture of e-testing systems should have the following modules: • question input module with special forms for question entry process; • question importing module from other similar e-testing systems database; • question removing module from own database. In order to create a an exchanging space for importing/exporting questions and to provide compatibility between different systems, several standard structuring forms have been developed for the elements from question banks. Among them, the most important and promising standard is developed by IMS (Instructional Management Systems) Global Learning Consortium, Inc. http://www.imsglobal.org [1]. These system standard specifications are defined in XML, following W3C Consortium recommendations. The IMS Question & Test Interoperability (QTI) specification describes a data model for the representation of questions and test data and their corresponding results reports. Since 2005 starting with version 2.0, QTI supports parameterized questions via assessment item templates [1]. The e-testing system question bank may have two different types of questions: • fixed answer question (objective question) and • free answer question (unobjective question). The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 347 The fixed answer question (objective question) is made up of a text body for problem description and a list of possible answers, where the student must choose from, the correct one/ones. Most of the e-testing systems use this type of questions in assessment process. The taxonomy of fixed answer questions may be subsequently defined like this: • multiple answer question is the most used type in automated assessment. • short answer question requires an short text answer to be provided; • short text or numerical value answer question requires a computed result; • hot-spot question or visual/interactive answer question requires an object/position identification, graphical element connections, etc. Furthermore, for multiple answer question category we may have several variations: • Yes/No or True/False answer question has only two opposite alternative answers; • MC/SA(Multiple-Choice/Single-Answer) question has only one correct answer; • MC/MA(Multiple-Choice/Multiple-Answer) question has more correct answers; • Priority Setting/Selection answer question require items ranking. The free answer questions (unobjective questions) have no predefined answer. They are usually used when assessing higher levels of learning domains or Bloom's taxonomy: Cognitive(Knowledge)-mental skills, Affective(Attitude)-growth in feelings or emotional areas and Psychomotor(Skills)-manual or physical skills. The free answer question (unobjective question) category may be divided in two sub-types/sub-categories: program code answer question and essay answer question. In the end, it may be concluded that using question banks instead of static test creation method, we obtain significant advantages in e-testing system: • a wide set of possible learning objects to choose from in assessing process; • test generation time is decreased very much. Definition 2 Test creation algorithm represents the questions selection process from the question bank (system core), followed by the generation of student’s presentation form. There are 5 different test delivery models [8], depending on the characteristics of the tested subject knowledge: linear, dynamic linear, testlets, mastery models, adaptative: Figure 3. Test delivery models Linear tests are not adaptive to users and consist of predefined questions and predefined order. Assessment can be done automatically and results be summarized. Adaptive tests depend on student’s knowledge. The parameters of test generation are defined dynamically during the test according to given answers. Definition 3 Grading and results reporting are the final actions of the automatic e-testing system which will display the results of the assessment immediately after the end of assessment process, when all answers of all questions are definitely entered. The evaluation of the entered answers can be made in two different moments of time: at the end of the entire test if the system let the subject the possibility to change the entered answers or after each answer is entered otherwise. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 348 6. Web Based e-Testing System Architecture The design approach of TestManager system is based upon a three layer architecture: database layer (it stores the question bank on a database server and communicates with web server to generate dynamic web pages), application layer (it receives requests from user interface layer and generates appropriate answer to every user request; it is executed on web server) and user interface layer (used by users to submit requests through application logic layer; it is executed on every client station). Figure 4. E-testing system question bank and database tables structure (database layer) Figure 5. The three layer architecture of TestManager system Figure 6. Assessment process and final statistical results reports (user interface layer) User interface layer Application layer Database layer The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 349 7. Experimental and Statistical Results The e-testing system implements automatic evaluation at the end of the test, when the knowledge tested subject finalize himself the answer entry process. The system displays subject final results compared with the complete set of correct answers. We have implemented negative grading, in order to eliminate intelligent or lucky guessing. So, the number of points given for any true answer selection (m T ) and the number of points taken for any false answer selection (m F ) will be given by the expressions: [1] T T n m m = , ) ( T A F n n m m − − = where n A = total number of possible answers, n T = total number of true answers and m = maximum grade or total number of test points. The final calculated grade will be: [2] ) ( * ) ( * * ) ( * ) ( T A T T T T F T T T T T n n m n N n m N m N n m N N M − − + = − + = where N T = total number of true answer selections. The final grade of every test will be displayed as either, absolute value and relative value (percentage of possible points). We have repeatedly evaluated a sample of 10 subjects with randomly generated tests using both normal and negative grading. Number of incorrectly passed test by intelligent or lucky guessing, instead of real knowledge, tends to lower with the increasing number of questions per test and with the negative grading, as shown in the table 1: Table 1 Number of incorrectly passed test by intelligent or lucky guessing Number of questions / test Grading Type 40 questions 50 questions 60 questions Normal Grading 9 % 6.7 % 4.5 % Negative Grading 4 % 1.7 % 0.9 % 8. Conclusions This paper presents and analyses the main features of TestManager, a hypermedia system for e-learning and e-testing dedicated to project managers. The design of TestManager conforms to the models and specifications provided by IMS (Instructional Management Systems) Global Learning Consortium. Therefore, the system can be easily adapted to any education domain because it produces reusable LU (Learning Units). The Web based e-assessment section of TestManager has a data driven system design as the main concept behind this system is the question bank. In fact, this represents the system core, where questions are selected from, during test generation process. The test creation algorithm dynamically generates equally weighted tests according to previously predefined strategy. Finally, the negative grading method statistically eliminates intelligent or lucky guessing answers. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 350 REFERENCES [1] IMS Content Packaging Information Model, Learning Design Information Model: http://www.imsglobal.org/content/packaging http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign [2] KOPER, R. (2005), Modelling Units of Study from a Pedagogical Perspective, the pedagogical metamodel behind EML, http://eml.ou.nl/introduction/docs/ped-metadodel.pdf. [3] LMS Open Source, https://fnl.ch/LOBs/LOs_Public/OpenSourcePlatf.htm [4] LOM metadata official web page, http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/files/LOM_Final.pdf [5] MERRILL, M.-D. (1994), Principles of Instructional Design, New Jersey Educational Technology Publications. [6] Oravep Study, http://www.educnet.education.fr/superieur/plateforme.htm [7] Thot official web page: http://thot.cursus.edu/ [8] PATELIS, T. (2006), An overview of computer-based testing. The college board: http://www.collegeboard.com/research/html/rn09.pdf [9] PETTIGREW, M. (2001), Random guessing on multiple choice tests, http://www.shu.ac. uk/services/lti/people/mp/mcq/ [10] Web Page of LORNET project, http://www.lornet.org/index.htm The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 351 The Miracle of the Age: Internet in classrooms Gülen Onurkan Aliusta, Zehra Unveren, Fatma Basri Eastern Mediterranean University, English Preparatory School, North Cyprus E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Today, web-based projects are widely used in most language learning institutions. In web-based projects, students are usually required to do research on a given topic by using the Internet in order to accomplish a given task. In EMUEPS, students are assigned web-based projects for their portfolios which constitute a part of the continuous assessment system. Dealing with web-based projects seems to be hard work for students as they struggle with using a computer and also the Internet resources at the same time. Teachers also have hard times trying to help students use the Internet resources effectively and efficiently and also to evaluate and give feedback to their students’ project drafts and final copies. The main aim of this research study was to investigate students’ perceptions of web-based projects. The findings of this study looked for improvement in English language learning as a result of integrating web-based projects in the curriculum. 60 students participated in this study. Two sets of data were collected: Internet use survey and student interviews. The results gathered both from the interviews and the survey revealed a positive attitude towards the use of the Internet for portfolio projects. Keywords: Internet, Web-based projects, Language learning. 1. Introduction Today, web-based projects are widely used in most language learning institutions. In web- based projects, students are usually required to do research on a given topic by using the Internet in order to accomplish a given task. “The procedure for educating students has shifted from providing them with information to opening doors for them to explore topics and to create meaningful learning experiences for themselves” (Smaldino, S, E. and et al, 2005, p. 118). In English Preparatory School of the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMUEPS) in North Cyprus, students are assigned web-based projects for their portfolios which constitute a part of the continuous assessment system. The EPS has integrated web-based projects into the curriculum in order to enable the students to use the web resources effectively and efficiently for their academic studies and also help them improve their English language. 2. Statement of the Problem Dealing with web-based projects seems to be hard work for students as they struggle with using a computer and also the Internet resources at the same time. For example, students who have limited previous experience with the web either find it difficult to retrieve the information they University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 352 need or can make no sense of the results of the search. The teachers also have hard times trying to help students use the Internet resources effectively and efficiently and also to evaluate and give feedback to their students’ project drafts and final copies. Therefore, using the web requires additional effort from both parties. 3. Aim of the Research The teachers and the administrators at the EPS need to know students’ perceptions of using the Internet for their portfolio projects because students’ attitudes towards the Internet directly affect their motivation and interests in using the Internet for their assignments and projects (Tsai as cited in Peng et al, 2006). Therefore, this study will address the following research question: What are the students’ perceptions of web-based projects at the EMUEPS? 4. Importance of the Research Using web-based projects is an area which needs further investigation as it takes considerable amount of students’ and teachers’ time that can be devoted to other instructional goals and objectives. These web-based projects constitute a part of student portfolio, meaning that that they have an effect on students overall success at the EPS. Both the administration and the teachers will benefit from this research as the results obtained from it will help them gain further insights on the web-based projects and take necessary actions accordingly. 5. Literature Review 5.1. The Use of the Internet in Education Today, almost all students in all educational settings have a certain experience in using the Internet for academic purposes. According to Peng et al. (2006), the use of the Internet may affect students’ learning outcomes in learning environment. The Internet enables students to reach the recent information in a short time. It also provides students with instant access to an enormous amount of information and thus it enhances their curiosity and desire to learn more (Yumuk, 2002). 5.2. Students’ Perceptions of the Internet Previous research studies suggested that students’ attitudes towards the Internet directly affect their motivation and interests in Internet-based learning. The students may have different perceptions of the Internet, and these perceptions tend to shape their attitudes and their online behaviors as well (Johnson and Johnson, 2006). According to a study done in Sheffield University on students’ perceptions of the Internet and its use, the most significant findings were related to gender differences. This study revealed that, female students were unable to find their way around the Internet effectively, thus they often got lost and felt not in control of what they were doing. (D’Esposito and Gardner, 2000). Hong, Ridzuan and Kuek (2003) found that, students who have better computer skills in using the The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 353 Internet and who perceive Internet as a supportive tool for their studies, have better attitudes towards using the Internet to improve themselves in their academic studies. 5.3. Internet – based Projects According to Shiveley and VanFossen (2005), using the Internet in education can serve different purposes. Internet 1. can be used to access to information, 2. enables students to use critical thinking skills while using it, 3. can help facilitate collaboration and communication both within the class and around the world, 4. increases availability to diverse resources and different perspectives and thus lead to more challenging research projects. 5. can help students to construct meaning for themselves. 6. Research Methodology 6.1. Identification of the Population The population under investigation included students who were enrolled in different levels of the EMUEPS during fall 2007-2008. 6.2. Sample The sample was selected randomly from class roasters of 2200 students The participants of this study were 60 students studying at various levels at the EPS. 6.3. Data Collection Two sets of data were collected for this research study: Internet use survey and student interviews. 7. Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings 7.1. Internet Use Survey Findings The main purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of web-based projects based on gender, their English level, computer literacy level, having access to a computer at home, having internet access at home, the aspects of the Internet they usually use and the frequency of using the Internet. The data collected from the Internet use survey were analyzed quantitatively through using Independent T-Test and ANOVA on the SPSS program. The quantitative data examined demographic data and frequencies for all the items in the survey Demographic Data The first seven items of this survey were designed to collect “Personal Data”, including gender, English level, computer literacy level, having access to a computer at home, having internet access at home, the aspects of the Internet they usually use and the frequency of using the Internet. An analysis of the characteristics of the target population for the study indicated that 61.7 University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 354 % (37) male and 38.3 % (23) female responded to the questionnaire. According to the results of the descriptive statistics, 16.7 % (10) of the students were enrolled in elementary level, 35 % (21) in pre-intermediate level, 23.3% in intermediate level and 25% (15) in upper-intermediate level. In terms of computer literacy level, the results indicate that only 5% (3) of the students identified themselves as beginner level, 55% (33) as intermediate level and 40 % (24) as advanced level. The data also reveals that, 83.3 % (50) of the students either have or can access to a computer at home and 75% (45) of the students have Internet access at home. In terms of the aspects of the Internet they usually use, using e-mails was marked 36 times, accessing websites 17 times, search engines 40 times, downloading programs 32 times, playing audio or video 25 times, chat rooms only 6 times. According to the results, the search engines is ranked to be the first, e-mail is the second and downloading programs is the third widely used aspects of the Internet. For the frequency of using the Internet, 63.3% (38) of the students stated that, they use the Internet daily, 26.7% (16), 1-3 times a week and 10 % (6) stated that they use the Internet a few times a month. Frequencies of Individual Items According to the frequencies of individual items, it is seen that the students who participated in this study were strongly agree, agree, unsure, disagree and strongly disagree with the survey items. The frequencies and the percentages of individual items are shown on Table 1 below. Table 1 Frequencies and Percentages of individual Items Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree Strongly disagree ƒ % ƒ % ƒ % ƒ % ƒ % 1. I feel very confident of my abilities to use the Internet for my projects. 1 7 28.3 36 60 5 8.3 1 1.7 1 1.7 2. Using the internet for my projects is time consuming 7 11.7 32 53.3 9 15 5 8.3 7 11.7 3. I can easily access to any kind of information when I use the internet 3 0 50 24 40 5.1 8.3 1 1.7 – – 4. I prefer using other sources for my projects than the internet 5 8.3 16 26.7 8 13.3 21 35 10 16.7 5. I get very nervous when I use the internet 3 5 7 11.7 10 16.7 23 38.3 17 28.3 6. It is fun to use the internet for my projects 1 4 23.3 30 50 10 16.7 3 5 3 5 7. Finding appropriate information for my project on the internet is difficult 2 3.3 9 15 17 28.3 21 35 11 18.3 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 355 8. There is no need to use printed materials when you have the internet for your projects 9 15 14 23.3 13 21.7 19 31.7 5 8.3 9. I always have problems with computers when I use the internet 4 6.7 8 13.3 8 13.3 23 38.3 17 28.3 10. I don’t know how to make best use of search engines for my projects 4 6.7 12 20 11 18.3 26 43.3 7 11.7 11. Using the internet helps me improve my English 2 5 41.7 26 43.3 4 6.7 1 1.7 4 6.7 12. I don’t like using the internet for my projects because there are lots of unknown words 4 6.7 7 11.7 8 13.3 20 33.3 21 35 The data gathered from individual items indicate that the 88.3 % of the students feel confident of their abilities to use the Internet for their projects, 65 % of the students agreed that using the Internet for the projects is time consuming, 90 % stated that they can easily access to any kind of information when they use the Internet. 66.6 % of the students disagreed with the idea that they feel very nervous when they use the Internet, 73.3 % said that it is fun to use the Internet for their projects. 53.3 % stated that finding appropriate information for their project on the Internet is not difficult for them. 38.3 % of the students said that there is no need to use printed materials when you have the Internet. On the other hand, 40 % of the students disagreed with this item. 66.6 % of the students said that they do not have problems with computers when they use the Internet. Only 20 % stated that they have problems with the computers. 55 % disagree with item 10 which is ‘I don’t know how to make best use of search engines for my projects’. Only 26.7 % of the students agreed with this item. For item 11, nearly all, 85 % of the students stated that using the Internet helps them improve their English. For the last item, only 18.4 % of the students stated that they don’t like using the Internet for their projects because of so many unknown words and 68.3% stated that they disagreed with this idea. In this research, the independent t-test and ANOVA were used in order to be able to analyze the differences between dependent and independent variables. T-test of Individual Items The results of the t-test indicates that there is no significant difference between male and female students in the way they perceive the use of Internet for their projects as all obtained values are higher than the standard value which is 0.05 The results of the independent variable which is ‘having computer at home’, reveals that there is no significant difference between the dependent statements and ‘having computer at home except the values of ‘I feel very confident of my abilities to use the internet for my projects’ (.040) and ‘I don’t like using the Internet for my projects because there are lots of unknown words’ (.027) because all the other obtained values are higher than the standard value: 0.05. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 356 For question 5 which is related to ‘having Internet access at home’, the results indicate that there is no significant difference between this item and the dependent variables except for the three items which are ‘I feel very confident of my abilities to use the Internet for my projects’ (.012), ‘I don’t know how to make best use of search engines for my projects’ (.034), ‘Using the Internet helps me improve my English’ (.040) as all these three values are below the standard value: 0.05. ANOVA of Individual Items According to ANOVA results which was done for the English level of the students, there is significant difference between students’ English level and the dependent items 2 ‘using the internet for my projects is time consuming’ and 3 ‘I can easily access to any kind of information when I use the internet’ as both values are .038 which is smaller than the standard value 0.05. In terms of computer literacy level, all the values are above the standard value 0.05, except item 9 ‘I always have problems with computers when I use the Internet’ because the obtained value .000 is far below the standard value 0.05. Thus, we can say that there is significant difference between the students’ computer literacy level and item 9. The results of using different aspects of the Internet reveal no significant difference as all the obtained values are higher than the standard value, 0.05. For the last independent item which is the frequency of using the Internet, the results of the ANOVA indicate that there is meaningful difference only for items 8 (.050) ‘There is no need to use printed materials when you have the internet for your projects’ and 9 (.024) ‘I always have problems with computers when I use the internet’. The first value is equal to the standard value and the second one is below it. 7.2. Student Interviews The data collected from the interviews were analyzed based on the theme being investigated. The data gathered from the interviews reveal that, all students have used the Internet to complete at least three projects on various topics. When approaching research on the Internet, they used search engines mainly ‘Google’. The data gathered from the interviews can be grouped under three headings: a. Students’ feelings towards the Internet The results of the Internet indicate that most of the students were happy with using the Internet for their portfolio projects. 48 students out of 60 stated that using the Internet is more enjoyable than using books. 55 students out of 60 stated that using the Internet enables them to practice reading and learn new words. According to the data gathered, the students who are enrolled in higher levels i.e. intermediate and upper-intermediate have less difficulty in searching the web for their projects. 8 students out of 10 elementary students said that they cannot understand the materials on the web because of their low level of English. Some of them even confessed that they access to Turkish sites, find appropriate materials and then try to translate them into English. Some of the student responses were as follows: Student 1: “…I don’t understand anything from these web pages I prefer to use books than the Internet.” Student 12: “…All my resources are in Turkish and now I need someone to translate them into English” The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 357 b. Difference between male and female students According to the data collected from the interviews, the female students seemed to have more difficulties in using the computers especially when they encounter with some technical problems. Some female students responded in the following way: Student 23 : “…my boyfriend always helps me because he is good at using the computer” Student 39: “… whenever I access to the Internet, something happens and the computer stops working.” On the other hand, the male students seemed to be more confident in using a computer and also using the Internet. c. Having experience in using a computer and the Internet Also, the students who had previous knowledge and experience on the use of computers and the Internet seemed to have the self-confidence and the ability to navigate around the web to reach the relevant information they need. On the other hand, the ones who have recently got acquainted with the computers and the Internet had difficulty in using the search engines effectively. Only 7 out of 60 students said that they had not had any experience on the use of the computers and the Internet before they came to study at the EPS. Some of the student responses are as follows: Student 4: “…I hadn’t known how to use a computer before I came here, we didn’t have computers in our high school in Van” Student 23: “…I don’t know how to use a computer but my friends are trying to teach me” 8. Conclusion and Recommendations The data collected from the interviews complement the data collected from the survey. The results gathered both from the interviews and the survey reveal a positive attitude towards the use of the Internet for portfolio projects. The data clearly indicate that the computers and the Internet play an important role in their daily and academic lives of the students as most of them have access to a computer and the Internet at home. The results also reveal that the students can use computers and the Internet effectively and efficiently. Most students participated in the study identified themselves as intermediate level in terms of using a computer. Moreover, only a few said that they have problems in using the Internet. The interview results indicate that Elementary level students have problems in understanding the sources and materials because of their low level of English. Some of the Elementary students said that they use Turkish sources from the Internet and try to translate them into English. This is an issue that has to be considered by the teachers and the administration at the EPS. One solution of this problem could be to refer low level students to certain websites which are specially designed for English language learners. The students participated in this study have positive perceptions of the usefulness of the Internet. Since students have very positive perceptions of using the web for their projects, more Internet-based assignments and tasks could be inserted into the EPS curriculum. Previous research studies suggested that students’ attitudes towards the Internet directly affect their motivation and interests in Internet-based learning. The students at the EPS seem to be ready for the Internet- based instruction. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 358 The results of the statistical tests which are frequencies, independent t-test and ANOVA indicate no significant difference between female and male students in the way they perceive the Internet. The results reveal no meaningful difference between the most statements and the questions: “do you access to a computer at home?” and “do you have Internet access at home?” Only a few values show significant difference between the statements and the two questions. The results of the ANOVA reveal no significant difference between English level of the students, their computer use levels, different aspects of the Internet and frequency of using the Internet and the statements. However, there are some values which are below the standard value 0.05. REFERENCES D’ESPOSITO, J. & GARDNER, R. (1999), University students’ perceptions of the Internet: An Exploratory study, The Journal of Academic Librarianship 25(6), 456-461, Retrieved December 27, 2007 from ScienceDirect database. HONG, K-S., RIDZUAN, A. A. & KUEK, M-K. (2003), Students’ attitudes toward the use of the Internet for learning: a study at a university in Malaysia [Electronic version], Educational Technology and Society, 6(2), 45-49. JOHNSON, G. E. & JOHNSON, J. A. (2006), Personality, Internet experience and e- communication preferences, paper presented at the Annual Conference at the International Association for Development of the Information Society (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED494002). PENG, H., TSAI, C. & WU, Y. (2006), University students’ self-efficacy and their attitudes toward the Internet: the role of students perceptions of the Internet [Electronic version], Educational Studies, 32(1), 73-86. SMALDINO, S. E., RUSSELL, J. D., HEINICH, R & MOLENDA, M. (2005), Instructional Technology and Media for Learning. Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, New Jersey. VAN FOSSEN, P. J & SHIVELEY, J. M. (2005), Towards assessing Internet use in the social studies classroom: developing an inventory based on a review of relevant literature, Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education Journal (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED490637). YUMUK, A. (2002), Letting go of control to the learners: the role of the Internet in promoting a more autonomous view of learning in an academic translation course, Educational Research, 44(2), 141-156. Retrieved December 21, 2007, from Routledge database. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 359 Benefits of Using Self-Study Centres on Language Learning Zehra Unveren, Gülen Onurkan Aliusta, Fatma Basri Eastern Mediterranean University, English Preparatory School, North Cyprus E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Self-study centres play an important role in language learning. In these centres, students have the opportunity to practice the target language through a wide variety of software on the Internet. Since classroom time is limited, students do not have much time to use and practice the target language adequately in class. Therefore, self-study centres enable students to study at their own pace and according to their individual needs outside the class. In the English Preparatory School of Eastern Mediterranean University, it has been observed that some students continually make use of the available resources and technology offered in these centres while others are not aware of the benefits. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between students’ achievement and the amount of time spent in these centres. The participants of this study were 50 students studying at the Intermediate level of the EPS program. For this research study, it was necessary to collect two sets of data: student interviews and test results. The results collected from the data clearly indicated that there is a positive correlation between student test results and the amount of time spent in the centres. According to the data, the students who regularly use the self-study centres performed better in the tests. Keywords: Self-study centres, Independent learning, Autonomy. 1. Introduction Recently, self-access centres in higher education institutions have become popular throughout the world. In these centres, students are expected to supplement limited class contact time with independent study through the use of technology such as satellite television, Internet access, CALL materials, on-line dictionaries etc. Students in higher institutions usually receive 3 to 5 hours of taught classes a day and are expected to work in these centres in order to be able to extend and enhance what they have been taught in class. Self-access centres give students the opportunity to study at their own pace according to their weaknesses and needs. As Carbone (2000) puts it, these centres enable students to develop the capacity to make decisions, reflect, manage and extend their learning beyond the classroom. However, although self-access centres are well-resourced in terms of educational technology and materials, they are generally under-used (Souto and Turner, 2000). 1.1. Teaching/learning environment at the EPS Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU) is an English medium university in North Cyprus. Students who are not proficient in English are required to study at the English Preparatory School University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 360 (EPS) in order to be able to study in their chosen departments. Therefore, the EPS aims to equip students with necessary skills and strategies which will help them survive in their departments. In the English Preparatory School of the Eastern Mediterranean University (EMUEPS) in North Cyprus, there are two Student Self-Study Centres which are equipped with lots of educational materials that enable students to study English outside the classrooms. Students can have access to these centres any time between 8.00 and 17.00 during weekdays. In these centres, there are full-time English language teachers who are always available to guide and help students with the activities/materials they want to work on. These centres are comprised of a multi-media section, a library, a listening section, a TV room and a speaking section. Multi-media sections are the most popular and most widely used sections by students. In the multi-media section, students are provided with a good selection of software such as Moodle to assist them in practicing grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing and listening. Other software such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and documentaries are also available. The main aim of these centres is to encourage students to take responsibility for their learning and lead to learner autonomy which is an essential requirement of higher institution. According to Chia (2005) autonomy is an important educational goal and there is a close connection between learner autonomy and effective learning. 2. Statement of the Problem The majority of Turkish students undergo the process of learning through traditional educational methods (Yumuk, 2002). Most of the students at the EPS are mainly Turkish who are from the traditional educational background where students sit in rows and teacher is the sole authority in class. They think teacher is the only source of information and they expect to learn everything from the teacher. “The teacher-student relationship is mainly limited to one-way channels of communication in which teachers transfer information to learners” (Yumuk, 2002: 143). Moreover, students are not aware of their weaknesses in language learning and most lack the necessary learning skills and strategies required for them to be autonomous and self-independent learners in the learning process. Majority of the students at the EPS are from traditional educational background and are often far from being autonomous. They have teacher dependent learning habits and thus they expect to learn everything during the class hours from the teacher. They are not aware of the benefits of working independently and adopting the strategies that will help them to become autonomous learners. Because of the students’ educational background, it has been observed that while some students in the EPS continually make use of the self-study centres, most do not seem to be aware of their benefits. 3. Aim of the Research The main aim of this research study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between student progress in language learning and their regular use of these centres. This study will address the following research question: Is there a correlation between student progress in language learning and their regular use of the Self-Study Centres? The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 361 4. Importance of the Research The results of this study play an important role in foreign language learning as it will inform both students and teachers about the impact of independent learning through the use of self-study centres on language achievement. Also, this is an area which needs further investigation in order to be able to encourage and train students to use these centres more effectively. It is discouraging for the teachers and the administration to observe that, although there are two fully equipped centres in the EPS, students do not seem to make use of these centres for academic purposes. The results of this study will be beneficial both for the administration and teachers, and the students in the EPS as it will help students gain further insights into becoming autonomous learners through the use of these centres regularly, and thus, it will enable the EPS administration to take necessary actions accordingly. 5. Literature Review 5.1. The Importance of Self-Study Centres in Language Learning “Self-access centres (SACs) are playing an increasingly pivotal role in supporting the (self-) study of languages” (Reinders and Lewis, 2006: 272). Kell and Newton suggested that the main aim of the Self-Study Centres is to provide “pathways” in order to guide learners on how to use these centres.(1997: 48). “… the pathways encouraged students to develop the skills needed to organize their own learning and would help move them on to more autonomous learning methods” (Kell and Newton, 1997:52). Self-Study Centers enable students to take responsibility for all the decisions regarding language learning such as determining the objectives, selecting materials and activities, deciding on the place, time and pace of learning (Chia, 2005). 5.2. Use of Technology in Self-Study Centres In the Self- Study Centres, use of computers, mainly for its software and the Internet, plays an important role in language learning (Chia, 2005). “Inspired by rapid development of technology from the 1980s, computer has now become an influential component of second language learning pedagogy” (Lai and Kritsonis, 2006: 1). Lai and Kritsonis (2006) pointed out that computers enable second language learners to develop their linguistic skills, affect their attitude towards language learning and also build their self-instruction strategies and self-confidence through the use of various communicative and interactive activities. As Carbollo-Calero (2001) mentioned, language teachers should consider the use of computers as an important supplementary tool for learning and bear in mind the role of the teacher as a facilitator rather than the only source of information (as cited in Ayres, 2002). Lai and Kritsonis (2006) further stated that it is important to explain the advantages of computer technology to teachers and students because without giving the necessary guidance it would be difficult for teachers and students to become aware of the benefits of computer technology for language learning. 5.3. The Reasons for not Using the Self-Study Centres It has been observed that most students in the EPS do not seem to use self-study centres regularly because of various reasons. According to Souto and Turner (2000) the following are the main reasons: • working independently is unfamiliar; students need time to adapt; University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 362 • working alone is unnatural in language learning; the human and social dimension is missing, as are the immediate feedback and encouragement from the teacher; • students need preparation and training to become independent learners; • students need convincing that learning take place without the teacher; • students need training in study skills (p. 388). 6. Research Methodology 6.1. Identification of the Population The population under investigation included students who were enrolled in the intermediate level of the EPS during spring 2007-2008 academic year in Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus. 6.2. Sample The sample was selected by the method of random sampling from class roasters of students studying at the intermediate level at the EPS. The participants of this study were 50 students who are currently enrolled in the intermediate level of the EPS program. 6.3. Data Collection Two sets of data were collected for this research study: student interviews and students’ test results. The researchers decided to use more than one data collection method in order to be able to reach more accurate, valid and reliable data. Student Interviews The main aim of the student interviews was to find out the frequency and purposes of students using these centres. The students were asked the amount of time they spent in the centres and what they used this time for. Test Results In the final exams, the students were tested on four language skills plus language features and vocabulary, and the test scores that the students obtained from their final exams were used in this study. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 363 7. Data Analysis and Presentation of Findings The main purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between student progress in language learning and the frequency of their use of the Self-Study Centres. For this study, it was necessary to gather two types of data: test scores and student interviews. 7.1. Test Scores The data collected from the student test results were analyzed quantitatively through using correlation coefficient on the SPSS program. According to the result obtained from the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r = 634.), there is positive correlation between students’ test results and the frequency of their use of these centres. The scatter diagram was also prepared to determine the degree of correlation between the two variables. The scatter diagram also shows that there is moderate positive correlation. The results of the correlation between the two variables: test scores and frequencies and the scatter diagram, are displayed on table 1 and table 2. Table 1 The Result of the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient test scores frequency test scores Pearson Correlation 1 .634 Sig. (2-tailed) . .000 N 50 50 frequency Pearson Correlation .634 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 . N 50 50 ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Table 2 The scatter Diagram frequency 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 t e s t s c o r e s 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 364 7.2. Student Interviews All 50 participants were interviewed and they were asked the following three questions: 1. How often do you use Self-Study Centres? 2. How many hours do you usually spend there? 3. What do you use these centres for? Why? Later, the answers were analyzed based on the theme being investigated. a. Frequency of Students’ Using the Self-Study Centres: According to the results obtained from student answers, out of 50 students, 21 students stated that they visit these centres 3 or more times a week for academic purposes. 25 of the students said that, they occasionally visit the centres and their main aim is to check their mails or learn the exam results on student portals. Only 4 students stated that they never go and study in these centres. b. The Amount of Time Students Spend in the Self-Study Centres Students who make use of these centres said that they spend there about one hour each time they visit these places. c. Students’ Aim for Using Self-Study Centres The results of the student interviews reveal that only 31 students out of 50 use these centres for academic purposes. They mainly use educational technology offered in these centres: satellite TV, online dictionaries, CALL, Internet, etc. The most commonly used ones are the software and the Internet. Software such as Moodle and Eagle (an inhouse program) are the most popular ones. These programs enable students to work independently at their own pace for the purpose of improving their weak areas. The Internet is also used by the students for a variety of reasons such as doing research for their projects, reading online newspapers, chatting and for entertainment. Exam practice is another area which receives lots of attention from students usually during exam week. Students do exam practice such as listening, reading and vocabulary through using related websites. 8. Findings and Conclusion The data gathered from both test results and student interviews indicate that regular use of these centres has a positive effect on student progress in English language learning. When the test results and the interviews are compared, it is clearly seen that the students who had regularly visited these centres for academic purposes outperformed others who had only visited these places occasionally. It was also noticed that the students who use these centers once or twice a week do not seem to use these centers effectively, and thus do not achieve their purposes which demotivates them to spend more time in these places. The reasons pointed out by the students for not using these centres regularly and effectively are as follows: 1. As they are teacher dependent students, they are not used to studying independently. They prefer to be directed by a teacher in their studies and receive feedback for the outcome of their study. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 365 2. They do not know what resources are available in these centres. 3. They are not happy with the atmosphere. The centres are not very appealing to them. 4. They lack the necessary orientation and training for the centres. 5. They do not have the necessary computer skills. 6. They prefer working in collaboration with their peers. In fact, all these reasons arise from the fact that a considerable amount of students in the EPS are not aware of the benefits of using the self-study centres in language learning. 9. Suggestions 9.1. Orientation on the use of the resources in the centres At the beginning of each academic year, students should receive orientation on the use of educational resources available in these centers. It is important to give students hands on tasks to familiarize them with these resources rather than giving pure theoretical information. 9.2. Training Training should be given in two different areas: 1. Training on the use of educational technology such as using computers and the Internet. 2. Training on the benefits of using self- study centers. Students should be informed about the importance of being autonomous in language learning. Classroom time is limited so students should know that they need to get exposed to the target language as much as possible if they want to be self-sufficient in their academic studies. They should be able to identify their weaknesses and use the resources in these centers to do extra/remedial practice outside formal language learning environment. 9.3. Allocated class hour In order to give the required training and to encourage the students to use these centers effectively and regularly, each class should be allocated one class hour a week to spend with their teachers in these centers. This will enable students to get used to studying in these places and realize the advantages of using these centers REFERENCES CARBONE, A. (2000), Transforming students into self-directed, independent adult learners, retrieved April 21, 2008, from http://www.ala.asn.au/commentaries/Carbone0111.pdf. CARRIER, M. (1997), ELT online: the rise of the Internet, ELT Journal 51,3, 279-301. CHIA, C. S. C. (2005), Promoting independent learning through language learning and the use of IT, Educational Media International42, 4, 317-332. KELL, J. & NEWTON, C. (1997), Roles of pathways in self-access centres, ELT Journal 51, 1, 48-53. LAI, C. & KRITSONIS, W., A. (2006), The Advantages and disadvantages of computer technology in second language acquisition, retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.nationalforum.com/ University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 366 Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Cheng-Chieh%20Lai%20The%20Advantages%20and%20 Disadvantages%20of% 20Computer%20Technology.pdf. REINDERS, H. & LEWIS, M. (2006), An evaluative checklist for self-access materials, ELT Journal 60, 3, 272-278. SOUTO, C. & TURNER, K. (2000), The development of independent study and modern languages learning in non-specialist degree courses: a case study, Journal of Further and Higher Education 24, 3, 385-395. YUMUK, A. (2002), Letting go of control to the learners: the role of the Internet in promoting a more autonomous view of learning in an academic translation course, Educational Research 44, 2, 141-156. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 367 Web Based Simulator for Virtual Company-Market Game Idehara, Norimichi 1 (1) Department of Management and Information Sciences Tama University 4-1-1, Hijirigaoka, Tama, Tokyo 206-0022, JAPAN E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract In this paper I describe our virtual company management game simulator. The simulator is used as a tool for lecturing basic economy and accounting in our university. The system is characterized by two points. One is that the participants are public customers as well as company workers, and their behavior construct the market. Researching behavior of others is required to determine the company strategy. The game will not result in a predefined success / failure, but in more dynamic market situation; sometimes such as inflation / deflation. The other point is that each participant defines his/her own preference vector at the beginning of the game, and each product has its feature vector. These vectors introduce the market positioning. With this system, students can learn (1) the relationship between consumers, companies and market, (2) the importance of company strategy, (3) to understand financial statements, and (4) the management of team. The system is based on a multi-user web database system. Each participants is given the ID and the password, with which we can track the participant's behavior. The participants can change the price of their product and purchase products at anytime, anywhere with a web browser. Keywords: company simulator, market simulator, web based learning. 1. Introduction Tama University Business Game (TamaBG) is a tool for lecturing basic economy and accounting to freshmen in our university. The participants is a company worker in a virtual world with monetary unit Tim(T). The system has been used for nine years [Saito], and each year about 200 to 300 students take the program. The program is a combination of lecturing basic theories and practice in the simulation game. In this paper, the unique feature of this simulation system is described. Before introducing TamaBG, most freshmen suffered from lacking in the understanding what market is and how companies are really working. This system aims to enable the participants to reach practical understanding in market mechanism, company strategy, financial statements and team management. There are many company simulators for lecturing company management or economy. Most of them have a well-defined external market [Kobayashi]. Because our system aims to make the participants to have more practical understanding in the dynamic relationship between market and consumers, such market model is not suitable. In TamaBG, the participants are consumers as well as company workers. The compilation of participants' decision to purchase a product is the market. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 368 Virtual Enterprise Australia (VAE) is a similar system to TamaBG, such that participants can play both roles, though VAE focuses mainly on improving the abilities as business workers. There is no reward to take part in the simulation as a consumer. In TamaBG, the participants as consumers are required to maximize their benefit point (Bp) that is gained through the purchase of products. Each participant defines preference vector at the beginning of a game. Companies simultaneously design their product position as the product feature vector. Bp is gained best when preference vector and product feature vector are parallel. Thus, the benefit for a product varies from players to players, which leads students to realize the importance of market research and product positioning strategy. We implemented the system with a database server and a web interface server. The participants can access to the simulation system at anytime from anywhere to purchase products. The price of the product can be changed as well, so dynamic pricing strategy is important for company. 2. Program Schedule The standard game of TamaBG consists of eight terms each of which lasts for a week. At the beginning of a term, participants have lectures in two periods: three hours. In the first period, a lecture for the topic of the week is given. In the second period they access to the simulator as company workers to find out the result of the previous term and start discussing on the strategy for the new term. After the discussion and producing a new product, they start their role of consumers. They spend the rest of term purchasing and checking the price of competing products with their web browser. In our university, every students are supplied their own notebook computers. The simulator will stop on the last day of the term to commit the term rotation procedures. At the beginning of the program they have an experimental game for two terms. At the end of program, the stockholders' meeting to which all the participants must attend is held and each company must explain their strategy (Figure 1). Figure 1. Program Schedule The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 369 3. Consumers Role A consumer aims to maximize his/her benefit point (Bp). Through the process, they are lead to understand the relationship between consumer and market, the effect of economical decline and the role of investment. At the beginning of the game, a consumer determines his/her preference vector. Purchasing a 'good' product at low price is the best way to gain Bp, though the definition of 'good' varies with the preference vector. The salary for the consumer is paid automatically from the company account. The company benefit may be distributed as a bonus. To gain the bonus, a participant must seek for more benefit for their company. A consumer may also invest to a company and expect the benefit distribution as well. Self investment to their own company is not prohibited, and in many cases it is a good choice. Because the system can be accessed through web interface, consumers can, and encouraged to, check and purchase products at anytime from anywhere. Most students tend to make the choice at the first two days of the term, though. (Figure 2. Note that a term begins on Wednesday). The rank of Bp is continuously updated on a web page, so that students are highly motivated to gain the point. 4. Company Workers Role A company consists of 4 to 7 participants. Discussing about the financial and marketing strategy enables the students to understand practical decision making process, financial report, market analysis, product positioning, pricing strategy, advertisement, product life cycle and compliance. Each company worker should be one of the positions: president, product manager, financial manager, and sales manager. Different assignments are placed to each position. At the company foundation, a product category must be chosen from eight categories. In 2006 they are: house, fine art, car, furniture, computer, leisure, clothing and book. The category determines the base unit cost and the maximum number of production, though they are tuned to be simultaneous condition. A company may change its category by disposing half of its product equipment and buy a new product line. Excessive competition is inevitably observed in some Figure 2. Sales Ratio (%) in Each Category University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 370 categories. Furthermore, the consumers have maximum affordable unit count for each product category. Therefore a company should carefully analyse the maturity of the market. At the beginning of each term, the workers of each company have a meeting to decide the strategy. Each term they can produce only one product. At the meeting they have to decide: Benefit distribution Determine sales and general administrative (SGA) expense: research and development(R&D), advertisement, and product line improvement Product positioning SGA has sigmoid improvement effects on the three base parameters: unit production cost, maximum productive count and satisfaction (Figure 3) Each expense has minimum value of 70 Tim(T) and maximum value of 210T. Expense for R&D and product line improvements can be applied to either of two parameters, so there are many alternatives to compare (Table 1). Product positioning is determined by setting the product feature vector. There is no cost for the positioning. The length of the vector is normalized. Some students try to gain Bp by suddenly reducing the price of their own product, purchasing them and restoring the price. Some students try to give themselves the bonus more than the benefit or under the passive balance. Those actions which are semi-automatically inspected by the system result in breach of trust (BOT) penalty to the student and are announced. Table 1 Improvement Effects of SGA Unit Production Cost Max. Productive Count Satisfaction Advertisement O R&D O O Product Line O O Figure 3. Satisfaction Improvement Factor to Ad Expense The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 371 5. Preference / Feature System Most unique feature of TamaBG is the preference/feature system. The system is introduced to TamaBG in 2007. Earlier games resulted in a speed race to find the potential market category often with some luck, to produce “best” satisfaction product because of diminishing improvement effect, and to win. Such unfavourable situation is improved by this system modification. Each participant defines his/her own three dimensional preference vector (P) at the beginning of a game. P is fixed throughout the game. The element of the vector represents “functionality”, “design” and “celebrity”. Companies simultaneously design their product position in these three features as the product feature vector (F). Bp that is gained by a consumer with preference vector P with a product of satisfaction value S and product feature vector F is as follows: ) ( 3 F P S B p • = The constraint of P and F are different. Note that the constant length of F justifies its costless determination by the company, while the length of P varies: ( ) ( ) 1 1 1 00 . 1 ) ( 57 . 0 ) ( 1 1 = = = = = = = = = + + c d f c d f c d f P or P or P P Max P P P P Min F P P P A consumer must consider to have whether general interest or special interest. Moderate Bp is gained by any products with general interest, while with special interest some products give high Bp and some gives nearly no Bp. Bp is gained best when P and F are parallel. Thus, the benefit for a product varies from players to players. Consumers must consider not just price and satisfaction value of a product, but whether the product matches their P as well. 6. Software / Hardware Implementation Table 2 Sample of Preference/Feature Factor Products Consumers Bp Product Fc Ff Fd S A ( .3, .3, .4 ) B (1, 0, 0) C (0, 0, 1) A 0.6 0.6 0.6 100 90 100 100 B 0.1 1 0.3 100 71 24 47 C 1 0.2 0.1 100 69 167 21 The system has been suffering stability problem due to the concentrated access during the lecture period. After the improvement both on software and hardware, current system is stabilized. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 372 The system consists of two servers; one is a database server c5.tama.ac.jp with FileMaker Pro 7 (FMP7) / FileMaker Server 7 Advanced (FMS7A) and the other is a Apache web interface server iis.edu.tama.ac.jp. The lecture is also supported by a bulletin board system XOOPS. Originally all the system was running on a server and all program was coded in FileMaker script. Separating the web service and exporting built-in FileMaker script to PHP on web interface server improved the stability. The web server accesses FMS7A with PHP library: FX.php. The database server is still the bottleneck of the system. It gets unstable at the peak access of 30 requests per second during the lecture period. The response would be close to 30 second per request at worst, and many students are observed to reload the page. After the frequent reload actions, the database server is observed to stop responding. Recent setting modification that prohibits another request from an IP address while processing one request improved the stability problem. For this purpose, Apache module: mod_limitipconn is introduced. Further optimization to decrease the query between the web server and the database server are planned. 7. Next Goal Next goals are as follows. Improvement of response: this is done by upgrading the database server to multi-core, multi-CPU and server software to FileMaker Server 9. The FileMaker script procedures should exported to the web server. Introducing incentive for market operation on other days: the operation is now practically limited to two days and dynamic pricing strategy is not effective. Introducing incentive for “special interest” preference: the students are observed to have the tendency to choose “general interest” preference such as (.3, .3, .4). The tendency spoils the market research experiment. More beneficial tune for “special interest” preference is required. Creating stock market, so that company can raise its capital: when a company wishes to raise its capital, there is no way other than self investment and self purchase. REFERENCES KOBAYASHI, K. (1992), A Business Game in a New Style, Journal of Commerce 41, 2, 23-44. SAITO, H. (1999), System for Business Game in Virtual Market: Basic System for TamaUniversity Business Game, Tama University journal of management and information science, 3, 39-49. Virtual Enterprise Australia: http://www.anpf.cit.act.edu.au/ FX.php: http://www.iviking.org/FX.php/ FX_charset.php, FX.php Japanese Library: http://msyk.net/fmp/fx_ja/ The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 373 Virtual Learning Space with Semantic Web Technologies Ioana Andreea Stănescu 1 , Antoniu Ştefan 1 , Veronica Ştefan 2 (1) Advanced Technology Systems, 222 Calea Domneasca Târgovişte, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Valahia University of Târgovişte 2 Carol I Street, Târgovişte, ROMANIA Abstract The learning process enables us to participate successfully in life, work and relevant communities. In the last decades, most applications that were developed sustained mainly the formal learning within educational institutions and training centres. As the core of practice and the place where we test our knowledge is the workplace environment, the purpose of this paper is to present the virtual learning space within a company and how learning can sustain and increase its efficiency. While formal learning is strongly needed as it sets the foundation landmarks of our education, informal learning builds practical experience, which translates in skills and abilities adapted to the workplace environment. Informal learning is the unofficial, unscheduled way people learn to do their work. In a networked economy, companies need to understand that learning is the competitive advantage. Learning is a productive adaptation to change. This represents learning with a purpose, learning that can extract the earning out of learning. EDU.PROJECT developed by Advanced Technology Systems, sustains the lifelong learning process by creating new learning spaces with semantic web technologies. In this paper we shall explore how the Web evolution can make workplace learning adaptable and flexible and how it has the potential to increase revenues, cut costs, accelerate innovation and develop the flexibility of a company. Keywords: Informal Learning, Semantic Web Technology, Uniform Resource Identifier, Resource Description Framework. 1. Virtual learning space within a company Industries increasingly rely on research and innovation. Innovation is characterized by an intense, collaborative process of generating and exploring ideas meant to contribute to the solution of particular problems. Innovators go through cycles of divergence, in which new ideas are generated and explored, and convergence, in which new ideas are valued and detailed. These cycles are built on knowledge elicitation (formal learning) and knowledge sharing (informal learning). In this respect, we propose herein to analyze the virtual learning space within an organisation to identify the strengths of efficient learning modelling. Education, whether formal or informal, implies complex combinations of interactions between learners, instructors and technologies. At the present, the Internet can be defined as a University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 374 hard-working provider of information that lacks efficiency because it delivers information it cannot comprehend. The “Semantic Web”, a term coined by Tim Berners-Lee, refers to a vision of the next dramatic evolution of web technology where intelligence and meaning is being added to the display and navigational context of the current World Wide Web. Semantic Web developments can be used to build attractive and more successful educational infrastructures that facilitate access to content. 1.1. Learning Alternatives within Organisations People are designed to never stop learning and exploring (Medina, 2008). Learning is what enables people to participate successfully in life and work. It is a knowledge-age survival skill (Cross, 2006) and companies have to consider the importance of its sustainable development. Most learning doesn't occur during formal training programs, but through processes not structured or sponsored by a school or an employer. To truly differentiate between formal and informal, we also find it valuable to examine what is learned intentionally or accidentally. Formal learning includes the hierarchically structured school system that runs from primary school through the university and organized school-like programs created in business for technical and professional training. Informal learning describes a lifelong process whereby individuals acquire attitudes, values, skills and knowledge from daily experience and the educative influences and resources in his or her environment, from family and neighbours, from work and play, from the market place, the library and the mass media. Figure 1. Learning Alternatives (Conner, 2008) Intentional learning is the process whereby an individual aims to learn something and goes about achieving that objective. Accidental learning happens when in everyday activities an individual learns something that he or she had not intended or expected. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 375 1.2. The Informal Learning Perspective Informal education is a lifelong process by which every individual acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences and exposure to environment. We learn at work, in house, en route, on the run, in context, in situ, through search, by accident, from children, in press, across TV, by mistake, ah ha! (Conner, 2008). We learn by reading, talking with experts, talking with peers, email or other written correspondence, and through a coach or mentor. Generally, informal education is unorganized, unsystematic and even unintentional at times, yet accounts for the great amount of any person’s total lifetime learning – including that of a highly ‘schooled’ person (Coombs and Ahmed, 1974). Within this context, informal learning can be identified as intentional learning and a valuable resource we should learn how to use. Although in the filed of lifelong learning and of the learning society the focus remains on formal provision, qualifications and accountability (Smith 1999), we should also consider the importance of learning beyond classroom (Bentley, 1998), of the necessity of informal learning (Coffield, 2000) and of the informal and incidental learning in the workplace (Dale and Bell, 1999). Many state that informal learning and formal learning are at the opposite ends of the learning spectrum (Cross 2006), but we believe that learning should be regarded as a lifelong process, even if we are more or less aware of it, where informal learning is consolidated through formal learning. While formal learning provides a sustainable framework for our professional development, informal learning is a continuous process that composes the mass amount of our knowledge and it needs to be seen as fundamental, necessary and valuable in its own right (Coffield, 2000). According to Atos KPMG Consulting, informal learning accounts for over 80% of learning that occurs in organisations today (Cross, 2006): 55% 38% 4% 3% Experiencing on the job Networking Mentoring & coaching Manual & instructions Figure 2. Informal Learning in Organisations However, most corporations over-invest in formal training while leaving the more natural, simple ways we learn to chance. 2. The Business Case Things change very fast. Everything is faster, more interconnected, and less predictable. Getting aligned with this new world is the road to profit and longevity for organizations, well-being and fulfilment for individuals. Knowledge is embedded in people and unlike information, knowledge creation occurs in a process of social interaction. As our service-based society is evolving into a knowledge-based society, there is an acute need for more effective collaboration and more effective knowledge sharing systems (Hamza&Stefan, 2007). The job environment has changed. Now corporate learning means keeping up with new things you need to know to do the job, maybe University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 376 even daily. The traditional barriers separating training, development, knowledge management, performance support, informal learning, mentoring, and knowing the latest news have become obstacles to performance. They are all one thing and for one purpose: performance. If learning used to focus on obtaining a degree or a certificate, the new learning focuses on what it takes to do the job right. The workplace is an open-book exam. What worker does not have a cell phone and an Internet connection? Using one’s lifeline to get help from colleagues and the Internet to access the world’s information is encouraged. Besides, it’s probably the team that must perform, not a single individual. The new learning means having great connections sources that know, advice that helps and alerts to what’s important and ready answers to questions. Capital Works reported that we learn at work through the following means (Conner 2008) 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Company provided training On-the-job experience Interaction w/ co-workers Mentored by peer or manager Formal education Publication Contact w/ outside professionals Internet or intranet Conferences Knowledge networks Intellectual capital database Figure 3. Means of Learning Informal learning is the unofficial, unscheduled way most people learn to do their jobs. It is like riding a bicycle: the rider chooses the destination and the route. The cyclist can take a detour at a moment’s notice to admire the scenery or help a fellow rider. Formal learning is like riding a bus: the driver decides where the bus is going; the passengers are along for the ride. People new to the territory often ride the bus before hopping on the bike. Traditional training departments put almost all of their energy into driving busses. For experienced workers, most bus rides are as inappropriate as kindergarten classes. Mature learners, typically a company’s top performers, never show up for the bus. They want pointers that enable them to do things for themselves as executives want execution. They want performance. Informal does not mean unintentional. Informal learning is a profit strategy. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 377 2.1. The Technological Perspective of Learning One of the objectives of Learning is the delivery of individualized, comprehensive, dynamic learning content in real time (Devedzic, 2006). People and organizations need to keep up with the rapid changes and advancements of knowledge related to different disciplines, as well as to keep ahead of the rapid changing global economy. The working place is an incentive, yet demanding environment that requires expertise. Real-time, accurate information is essential in a rapid changing world and the web technologies facilitate access to a diverse and complex structure of acquiring information. The convergence of the Internet and learning translate in using the Internet technologies to create, foster, deliver, and facilitate learning, anytime and anywhere (Obringer, 2005). To comprehend the full potential of the Internet resources and how we can better their usability in virtual learning spaces, we need to follow their evolution, and analyse their impact. The Internet growth can be represented on four main level of development (Davis, 2008). If Web 1.0 was the web that connected and assured accessibility to information, Web 2.0 is the Social Web, focused on connecting people, “putting the “I” in the user interface and the “we” in the Web. Web 3.0 is the Semantic Web that aims to represent meanings and to connect knowledge, and Web 4.0 is the Ubiquitous Web will connect intelligence and will help people and things to reason and communicate with each other. We are now in the era of the transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 when semantic technologies for consumers and enterprise applications emerge. How does this transition impact upon the virtual learning space within a company? 2.2. Building the EDU.PROJECT Emerging technology has changed the focus of corporate learning systems from task-based, procedural training to knowledge-intensive problem-solving with deep conceptual learning. The learning space has to provide a viable construct for making sense of the array of systems designed to support knowledge management, document management, eLearning and performance support. A learning environment with a well-defined architecture can guide the convergence of multiple systems into a seamless environment providing access to content, multimedia learning modules, elegant access to content, ubiquitous virtual spaces, and authoring tools that enable content vendors, guilds, and universities to rapidly develop and deliver a wide range of learning artifacts. Advanced Technology Systems – ATS promotes the development and application of Semantic Web standards to improve its ability to use data for generating new knowledge to improve future outcomes. In addition, expressiveness and versatility of formats that can be used has been leveraged to provide an appropriate terminology and accessible view of data. EDU.PROJECT addresses the challenge to promote education driven alignment of EU RTD and Innovation efforts towards fostering Take-up of Semantic Technologies (ST) in business environments and contribute to a faster and widespread adoption of ST within enterprises by offering semantic solutions. It aims to provide a clear definition of benefits and opportunities of ST, i.e.: producing through technology educational content; identifying and understanding drivers and inhibitors for the uptake and deployment of new solutions in workplace environment and to facilitate community building, by promoting interdisciplinary exchange of knowledge, as well as shared visions for future coordination and development of the virtual learning space. EDU.PROJECT provides new technologies for lifelong learning and creates next- generation support services to enhance competence building and knowledge creation in organizational settings. It introduces the notion of computer-aided semantic annotation of multimedia learning content. Starting from the acknowledgment of the weak points of fully University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 378 automatic annotation, and the observed gap between manual and automated annotation approaches, this proposal sets the new goal of combining human and machine intelligence to maximize the performance and benefits in a semi-manual annotation scheme. Therefore, instead of trying to substitute human intelligence, the machine will complement it. Hence the novelty of EDU.PROJECT lies in the difficult task of online aggregating human and machine knowledge with the ultimate target of minimizing human involvement in the annotation procedure. 2.3. Semantic Web Value Much of the Informal Learning content is provided via the Internet. The demand for accurate content is constantly increasing. We have rapidly become accustomed to a wide network in which search engines provide potential hits numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands for many relevant and important terms. Daily, tens of thousands more web pages of information are added to the net, yet our capacity to find and retrieve, much less manipulate and organize this material is only at a very rudimentary state. The Semantic Web deals with this challenge by allowing content to become aware of itself. This awareness allows humans and agents to query and infer knowledge from information quickly and in many cases automatically. Through the use of metadata organized in numerous interrelated ontologies, information is tagged with descriptors that facilitate its retrieval, analysis, processing and reconfiguration. Innovation within organisations has been partially affected by the fragmented gathering and storing of data, reflecting the compartmentalization of science and practice in each domain of activity. It has also been affected by the programmatic necessity of keeping up with advances, which has led within every discipline to a multiplicity of special-purpose databases. Another issue relates to knowledge being expressed in ambiguous, idiosyncratic terminology specific to many domains. At the moment, knowledge is housed in modules that need to be integrated. Neither seamless integration nor simple extensibility of data stores is the norm. Without aid of a well-defined, standardized knowledge representation, the expense of ad hoc integration is formidable to impossible. Semantic Web technology, and its various engineering specifications, seeks to remove some of these barriers, by combing a highly-distributable addressing and naming mechanism (Uniform Resource Identifiers: URIs) with a formal knowledge representation (RDF and OWL), a mechanism for rendering document dialects in this knowledge representation (GRDDL), and a common query language (SPARQL). The multifaceted nature of URIs alleviates some of the accessibility challenges associated with physically separated components. The common knowledge representation empowers domain experts with a language for capturing terminology formally and with little ambiguity. Assertions can be added at a later point with no impact to the organization of physical storage and minimal impact on existing terminology. SPARQL provides a common query language for accessing assertions expressed in such terminology. Finally, GRDDL bridges gaps between messaging dialects and more expressive terminologies. 2.4. Simple Data Modelling: Semantic Web Made Easy The Semantic Web is generally built on syntaxes which use URIs to represent data, usually in triples based structures: i.e. many triples of URI data that can be held in databases, or interchanged on the World Wide Web using a set of particular syntaxes developed especially for the task. These syntaxes are called "Resource Description Framework" syntaxes. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 379 A URI is simply a Web identifier: like the strings starting with "http:" or "ftp:" that we often find on the World Wide Web. Anyone can create a URI, and the ownership of them is clearly delegated, so they form an ideal base technology with which to build a global Web on top of. A triple can simply be described as three URIs. A language which utilises three URIs in such a way is called RDF. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed an XML serialization of RDF. The RDF XML is considered to be the standard interchange format for RDF on the Semantic Web, although it is not the only format. For example, Notation3 is an excellent plain text alternative serialization. The first layer of the Semantic Web above the syntax is the simple datatyping model. RDF Schema was designed to be a simple datatyping model for RDF. The three most important concepts that RDF give us are the “Resource” (rdfs:Resource), the Class (rdfs:Class), and the “Property”. We can create a class called “Dog”, which contains all the dogs in the world: :Dog rdf:type rdfs:Class. Then we can say that “Happy is a type of Dog”: :Happy edf:type :Dog. We can also create properties by saying what term is a type of rdf:Property, and then use those properties in our RDF: :name rdf:type rdf:Property. :Happy :name “Happy”. Why did we have to say that Happy’s name is Happy? Because the term “:Happy” is a URI, and if people can guess what we refer to the name of a dog, machines cannot. RDF Schema has other properties we can use. If we want to say that the class “Dog” is a subclass of the class “Animal”, we simply say: :Dog rdfs:subClassOf:Animal. Thus, when we say that Happy is a dog, we are also saying that Happy is an Animal. We can also say that there are other subclasses of animal: :Duck rdfs:subClassOf:Animal. :Bear rdfs:subClassOf:Animal. Then we can create new instances of those classes: ::Quacky rdfs:type :Duck And so on. You can see that RDF Schema is very simple, and yet allows one to build up knowledge bases of data in RDF very very quickly. The next concepts which RDF Schema provides us, which are important to mention, are ranges and domains. Ranges and domains allow us to say what classes the subject and object of each property must belong to. For example, we might want to say that the property ":bookTitle" must always apply to a book, and have a literal value:- :Book rdf:type rdfs:Class . :bookTitle rdf:type rdf:Property . :bookTitle rdfs:domain :Book . :bookTitle rdfs:range rdfs:Literal . :MyBook rdf:type :Book . :MyBook :bookTitle "My Book" . rdfs:domain always says what class the subject of a triple using that property belongs to, and rdfs:range always says what class the object of a triple using that property belongs to. RDF Schema also contains a set of properties for annotating schemata, providing comments, labels, and the like. The two properties for doing this are rdfs:label and rdfs:comment, and an example of their use is:- :bookTitle rdfs:label "bookTitle"; rdfs:comment "the title of a book" . University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 380 Once information is in RDF form, it becomes easy to process it, since RFD is a generic format, which already has many parsers. With Semantic Web it becomes easier to publish data in a repurposable form that can be processed by anyone. 3. Conclusion Although the most valuable learning takes place serendipitously, by random chance, most companies, however, focus only on formal learning programs, losing valuable opportunities and outcomes. It is time to consider that informal learning is the driving force of the real learning culture of the organisation, and if managers can influence this, they will radically change the way their organisation learns. To truly understand the learning in an organization we need to recognize the informal learning already taking place and put in practices to cultivate and capture more of what people learn. This includes strategies for improving learning opportunities for everyone and tactics for managing and sharing what you know. Semantic Web developments can be used to build attractive and more successful educational infrastructures to facilitate access to content. REFERENCES COFFIELD, F. (2000), The Necessity of Informal Learning, The Policy Press, Bristol. COOMBS, P. H. and AHMED, M. (1974), Attacking Rural Poverty. How non-formal education can help, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. CONNER, MARCIA L. (2008), Informal Learning, Ageless Learner, Staunton. CROSS, J. (2006): Informal Learning: Rediscovering the Natural Pathways That Inspire Innovation and Performance, Pfeiffer, San Francisco. DALE, M. and BELL, J. (1999), Informal Learning in the Workplace. DfEE Research Report 134, Department for Education and Employment, London. HAMZA-LUP, FELIX G. and ŞTEFAN, V. (2007), Web 3D & Virtual Reality – Based Applications For Simulation and e-Learning, in Proceedings of The 2nd International Conference on Virtual Learning, Bucharest University Press, ConstanŃa, 71-80. MEDINA, J. (2008), Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School, Pear Press, Seattle. OGBUJI, C., BLACKSTONE, E, and PIERCE, C. (2007), Case Study: A Semantic Web Content Repository for Clinical Research, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland. VLADA, M. and łUGUI, Al. (2006), “Information Society Technologies – The four waves of information technologies”, in Proceedings of The 1st International Conference on Virtual Learning, Bucharest University Press, ConstanŃa,, 69-82. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 381 Online Tests for Applications Mechanics Simona Marilena Ilie 1 , Cristian Pavel 1 (1) Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 124 Blvd. Lacul Tei, RO-020396, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract In the e-Learning, the methods of creating the tests are încadreaza in the same category with the creation of courses. Construction is diferenŃiaza tests through the creation, support and reporting the tests. The testing will be aimed at students of the faculties of engineering technical profile, most of the tests presented containing specific elements of preparing future specialists in the field of technological equipment for construction. Keywords: virtual learning environment, online tests, HTML (HyperText Markup Language), applications mechanics. 1. The concept of e-Learning Usually translated e-Learning through Teaching online is synonymous with Online Learning, Web Based Learning – WBT, Internet Based Learning, Technology Based Learning, Open Distance Learning, Distributed Learning. In defining the date European Community, e-Learning refers to the use of new technologies and the Internet to improve the quality of learning through access to resources and collaboration. The meaning we accept for e-learning is synonymous with online education courses online, Web-Based Learning, we honor the Computer Based Learning (which we consider a one component e-Learning), which does not imply an interaction, constantly communicating with one c and other students during learning. e-Learning could be defined as: 1. process of learning is done in a virtual class; 2. course material is available on the Internet, including text, images, references to other online resources, audio presentations, video; 3. virtual class benefit from a shift teacher plan activity of the group of participants, subject to debate these issues in the course of the conference asynchronous (discussion forums) or synchronous (Chat), provides resources ancillary themes comments, indicating the subjects on which everyone must insist may; 4. learning becomes a socialization process, through interaction and collaboration, group participants and the teacher, formed during the course, often after completing the course, a community; 5. course material is a component static – Prepared by the teacher together with a team specialized in instructional design – and a dynamic, resulting from the interaction of participants, suggestions, clarificarile, comments, made to their resources; University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 382 6. most media e-Learning allow monitoring activities of participants and some simulations and, working on subgroups, the interaction of audio, video. e-Learning is a form of distance education, whereas the participants and the teacher can be in different locations, and the interaction is more or asincrona. Unlike distance education, e-Learning is highly interactive, interaction is done on the following levels: – participant – participant, – participant – material, – participant – teacher. e-Learning means access to the latest information, acquire new knowledge, learning continues, new and effective methods of learning and collaboration. The goal of online courses is to learn how to learn, to prepare you for learning throughout life, to gain skills management knowledge, such as search, selection and synthesised information and solutions. Those four factors that influence the development of e-Learning to be considered are: – connectivity – the quality and expansion of Internet infrastructure; – the capability – the role, instead, to accept e-Learning in education and training in the country said; – content – the quality of materials online; – culture – educational policy, which supports organizations and certify this field. e-Learning is presenting a series of advantages: access to real-time knowledge, anywhere and anytime; are not necessary travel expenses, any interruption of current professional activity; participants collaborate and learn together; learning is a social act and learn better collaborating, communicating in a group; material is often customized knowledge and experience prior to the student; offers continuous training; monitoring progress of students, automatic testing. 2. Virtual Means of Learning A virtual environment is just the tool through which the access to the course material is assured, the teacher-participants’ interaction is made, as well as the management of content and of the course activities. Not even the most sophisticated environment can’t replace the teacher and his art to engage and motivate participants in a learning and collaboration process. In the specialized literature there are some terms that refer to the learning environments: – LMS – Learning Management System – complex system, with the above mentioned facilities, for all the four categories of users; other met denominations are Knowledge Management System, Course Management System, Academic Management Systems, Student Management Systems; – LCMS – Learning Management Content System – system that allows the editing, but also the access to the E-Learning materials; – CMS – Content Management System – system for editing materials. 3. Instructional Design The methodology used to develop educational programs, instructional design is called. Instructional design – ID – refers to participants' needs analysis, planning and evaluating the effectiveness of training programme. ID is a systematic approach to development course to achieve the objectives. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 383 To ID is used in literature names Instructional Systems Design – ISD, Instructional Systems Design & Development – ISDD or Systems Approach to Training - SAT. 3.1. Model ADDIE Develop an online course materials requires that steps be taken to a design process. The model most commonly used model is ADDIE: – Analysis – to determine the objectives of the course, the group which is addressed, the initial competency necessary discussions with potential participants are given, they learn and analyze as many similar projects. It should be known facilities and technical particularities of the environment chosen. – Design – is given structure and interface material, what tools will be used for the material; – Development – the rate components are produced text, graphics, animation, sound. In parallel, and testing is done. Are set ways of interaction with the material. It creates planning activities. – Implementation – putting material online the conduct of course, technical assistance for the smooth progress. – Evaluate – in a course to assess the usefulness of course, the involvement of participants, measuring the course material that generates interaction. Observations resulting course, feedback from participants lead changes, adaptations of the material, facilitating improvement. ADDIE is a iterativ process, which requires a continuous evaluation and feedback. The material of a course must fulfill requirements such as: – contain useful information, well organized, in news, interactive, motivating; – to constitute the support necessary to achieve the objectives of the course; – to use previous experience of the participants; – to be oriented practice; – lead to reflection, searches in news; – to provide a basis for discussion, activities, themes. 4. Tools for Evaluating Knowledge The tests, as well as many other methods to assess the results users are used by teachers to assess the knowledge gained. The tests represent an items of the module or course. There are many methods that simplify ways of testing online. In the e-Learning, the methods of creating the tests are part of the same category with the creation of courses. As a result, they are created in pages made with the same Web technologies and can be added courses or any other objects e-Learning created with the LCMS or LMS. Tools for building the tests are different in how they work, but following a course jointly creating, supporting and reporting the tests. 4.1. Generators Tests The following are some of the most popular tools to create tests. Some are separate products, others are components of more complex systems, and some of them are based on Web services. Hot Potatoes – was designed by the company Half-Baked Software for the purpose of creating tests to be integrated into Web pages. Among the categories of questions that can be created with Hot Potatoes, are those with special supplement response, producing pairs and mixed sentences with the University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 384 words. The Masher is called, which automatically sets of questions grouped into units, providing a uniform appearance questions, links for navigating between them and an index page, which is home to the test. Hot Potatoes are not facilities management too well developed, making excellent opportunity by sending e-mail results. Using a template for questions with multiple answers, the author defines a question with the possible answers and the message displayed when selecting them. The test is saved as a Java Applet, which can be added in a web page. Questions can be displayed on one page or all on the same page, is not mandatory their completion in a certain order, in the version with a single question on there buttons for navigation. Questionmark Perception – is perhaps the best known program for the tests, there is in two variants. Perception for Windows allows creating, administering tests, using Windows applications and a local network. The Web server includes a component which allows creating, editing, management and use of questionnaires via a web browser. Perception allows the creation of questions with different formats, called types of questions. They are true-false type, with multiple answers, with one possible answer, drag-and-drop, producing pairs or ordering answers. These questions can be organized in various topic and subtopic-sites can be selected according to theme, the topic or by a combination of items discussed during the course. Also there are about choices a design for questions. Windows applications automatically check registered tests and results in a database created specially for this purpose. To use this soft is necessary to install Oracle or SQL Server. CourseBuilder for Dreamweaver – is a free extension for Macromedia Dreamweaver. Immediately after installing them in Dreamweaver, you can add questions page created. Also, there are several types of questions that can be chosen CourseBuilder menu. It can set an option whereby the results of students can be tracked and sent directly to a compatible standard LMS AICC (example: Lotus LearningSpace), or you can save the information in a database, together Microsoft Access, SQL Server or Oracle 9i. RandomTest Builder Pro – is a Windows application that allows the creation of tests using questions selected at random from a database Microsoft Access. There are different types allowed for questions: multiple answers, with a single response possible, a true-false, with the completion of the lack of words or essay-type answers. The questions may be used images, animations, sounds. HostedTest.com – can edit and use tests, such questions can be reused later to the creation of other tests. And here meet various types of questions. Concentata attention has been more than other programs on how to display the test. The tests may also be a site on their own or can create links to them, these being hosted on the site hostested.com 4.2. Useful Functions for the Tests. Options for a useful tool for testing are grouped according to the level at which occur: Creating tests All tests have a time limit imposed by the teacher (Fig. 1). If that time is short, being about a quick test, the student can see the precision of a few minutes elapsed time and/or the left. In some cases it may be necessary to set an item that allows the allocation of time further, if students ask him. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 385 Figure 1 The number of questions for a test is a problem which depends on the complexity, but especially the type of course followed. Some tests may be made of questions selected at random from those already in the database or just displayed in different order every new call of the questionnaire. The one who completes the test to be given an opportunity to fix mistakes and in the case of a failure. Each test should be given multiple times. However, this number încercari be limited. On display there may be test option to choose the color, size of the text. Administration The tests are divided on groups, as well as those studying. Such a test should be assigned to a group of people. Security will be done on several levels: for the administrator, teacher and for students (Fig. 2). University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 386 Figure 2 An important property must be the interoperability. The data from the database should be easily transportable in one or another LMS management system. Also the utility of creating questionnaires should be able to use communication standards SCORM and AICC to report test results to LMS, LCMS or another system. Creation of questions It is necessary to have the opportunity to more types of questions, such as those mentioned above, the most important being: true-false, one possible answer (Fig. 3), several possible answers. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 387 Figure 3 The questions whose answer involves text to be considered all possible synonyms of response properly searched. You still held account the fact that such an evaluation is not very accurate. Author questionnaire must be allowed to select a particular type of question that could be used throughout the test, without the choice of type is required at each step, he was elected by default. It should be taken into account the possibility of including in question elements audio, video, display of explanations (feedback). It should be ensured how to display the results in both situations, or that the answer was correct, or that it was wrong. It is necessary to find a way to fix errors or by their explanation, either by sending onto the course. Often, who edits the questions could provide clues in choosing response. The completion of tests Questionnaire should be integrated into the structure of the course, but it can be placed in and outside of it. The tests must be corrected automatically or sent by e-mail to the professor that he was able to note, in which case it will be at which will record the results, which will then be sent to students. The results are confidential, being sent by mail or password-protected or public. Should be considered a way to display that allows the listing. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 388 Saving the results It is necessary to incorporate a component of the server's questions for storing, managing and analyzing the results of tests, safety is very important. If you use an LMS, it is necessary to transfer the results. On the other hand, if the tests are used only for self, are sufficient elements for the achievement test, and evaluate its completion, without using a database. 5. Conclusions Checking the level of understanding of information can be presented by means of self-tests or score. Depending on the results of this mechanism can clean up the courses online. To become a solution performată, subsequent developments should consider adding features such as: diversifying the type of questions for questionnaires, including questions to which the user can reply through completion of a text field and the possibility of working jointly more teachers to achieve lists of questions. REFERENCES Books 1. HOLOTESCU, CARMEN (2005), Ghid eLearning, Universitatea Politehnica Timişoara. 2. Introduction to Programming (2004), Microsoft, U.S.A.. 3. LEGENDI, AMELITTA, PAVEL, CRISTIAN (2007), Dinamica Mecanismelor, Editura MATRIX ROM, Bucureşti. 4. Microsoft® Security Guidance Training for Developers (2002), Microsoft, U.S.A. 5. Microsoft® Security Guidance Training for Developers II (2004), Microsoft, U.S.A. 6. MORRISON, MICHAEL (2001), HTML & XML for Beginners, Microsoft Press, Redmond, Washington. 7. PAVEL, CRISTIAN, CONSTANTINESCU, AEXANDRU (2004), Probleme de mecanică, Editura MATRIX ROM, Bucureşti. 8. SAVITCH, WALTER (2001), Java-An Introduction to Computer Science & Programming, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. 9. SPELL, BRETT (2000), Professional Java Programming, Wrox Press, Chicago. Internet Sources 10. http://www.atl.ualberta.ca 11. http://www.elearningcentre.co.uk 12. http://www.halfbakedsoftware.com 13. http://www.icvl.eu 14. http://www.timsoft.ro 15. http://www.unap.ro The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 389 Distance Education and Videoconferencing Zlatko Nedelko 1 , Carmen Elena Cirnu (ENE) 2 (1) Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Focsani Regional Distance Learning Centre Distance Learning Department Spiru Haret University Bucharest Dimitrie Cantemir 14, 620094 Focsani, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] Abstract Mainly due to the advancement in information and communication technology, coupled with increased usage of internet, education is not anymore limited to same place/same time framework. This type (and/or form) of education is known under common term – distance education. At the early beginning distance education was organized with help of traditional post, but nowadays it is almost exclusively supported with modern information and communication technology. Distance education therefore could be considered as education in virtual environment. In that context, physical separation of participants in distance education (i.e. students and teacher) is commonly emphasized obstacle in practice. In that frame are often addressed lack of face-to-face interaction with other participants and inability to perceive non- verbal communication. There are many different communication channels, thought which participants in distance education can communicate/collaborate. One among most important is videoconferencing. Using a videoconference can help to overcome obstacles of physical separation among participants in distance education, since it simulates very closely face-to-face interaction. The main objective of a paper is to provide an insight into participant’s interest for learning in virtual environment and in that frame we are focusing on participant’s readiness for using videoconferencing in distance education. Results from survey among Slovenian and Romanian undergraduate students are presented. Keywords: Virtual environment, Distance education, Video-conferencing. 1. Introduction Distance education (DE) has been in existence for more than a century (Keegan, 1996). At the early beginning it was supported with traditional post, but nowadays is mainly supported with modern information and communication technology (ICT) (Keegan, 1996; Ponzurick, et al, 2000; Lee et al, 2007). This type (and/or form) of education is often addressed also with term e-learning. A simple definition defines DE as any education where the learning group (e.g. learners and teachers) is separated geographically (i.e. participants are not at same place at same time) (Keegan, University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 390 1996; Lee et al, 2007). Therefore DE could be considered as education which takes place in virtual environment (VE) (see: Shekhar, 2006). In comparison to traditional (i.e. face-to-face) learning, where participants are at same place at same time, DE represents a radical change in education process (Lee et al, 2007). Therefore several issues arise (Sherry, 1996; LaBay and Comm, 2003; Gonc, 2007; Nedelko, 2008): lack of face-to-face contact, participant’s readiness for participation in DE, materials and electronic literature, skills for using computers, technology and software for supporting DE. In the framework of selected problematic is very commonly addressed obstacle in DE lack of face-to-face contact and inability to perceive non-verbal communication of participants in DE process. There are many different ways (i.e. communication channels) through which participants in DE process can communicate (See: Daft, 2000). Those channels differ significantly in many aspects (e.g. ability to perceive non-verbal communication, amount of information transmission, feed back possibility, record keeping). For the purpose of our discussion we are focusing on videoconferencing, which could be considered as one among most important communication channel. Videoconferencing stimulates very close face-to-face interaction. Its usage could help eliminate (and/or reduce) obstacles of physical separation among participants in DE. In that frame, videoconferencing enable (and/or make) communication among participants in DE more like (and close) to face-to-face communication. According to above presented starting points and in the frame of selected problematic, is the main purpose of paper to provide an insight into the participant’s interest for learning in VE (i.e. DE) and in that frame usage of videoconferencing in DE. For the purpose of our discussion we have done a survey among Slovenian and Romanian undergraduate students. 2. Distance Education and Virtual Environment Most common and comprehensive definition of DE, emphasizes (Keegan, 1996): (1) quasi permanent physical separation of participants in DE process (e.g. teacher and learners); (2) use of modern ICT and media for supporting DE process; (3) the provision of two way communication (e.g. videoconferencing); (4) the influence of an educational organization in providing participant support (e.g. library services) and (5) the quasi permanent absence of learning groups. For the purpose of our discussion we are emphasizing that there exists different typologies/classifications of DE (Keegan, 1996; Gonc, 2007). A common characteristic of all forms/types of DE is use of ICT and internet to support and deliver instruction (Gonc, 2007). For the purpose of our discussion we define several different formats of DE which are supported by modern ICT (Keegan, 1996; Ponzurick et al, 2000; Gonc, 2007; Nedelko, 2008): (1) Web supported – a DE format which is complementary to traditional learning, where all participants are collocated. A web site (i.e. portal for DE) is provided which, contains course materials, assignments, goals, exercises and short tests; (2) Blended (mixed-mode) DE – course is structured so that part of the class sessions are held in a traditional setting (i.e. classroom) and part of them are held with usage of modern ICT over internet (i.e. DE). Thus mixture of face-to-face mode and distance mode has become commonly used in education practice; (3) Fully online DE format – every class session is held in distance mode in comparison to previously mentioned formats, when face-to-face mode is complementary to distance mode. Based on definition of DE and above presented cognitions, we can conclude that DE is a type and/or form of education which takes place in VE (Drüeke, 2005; Shekhar, 2006). In paper we will emphasize some important consideration about VE and put focus on issues which arise when education (i.e. DE) is carried out in VE. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 391 The body of literature about virtuality is large and growing, but a great proportion of discussions about virtuality have dealt separately with different facets of virtuality (Davidow and Malone, 1995; Chudoba et al, 2005). Most common facets of virtuality in practice are ((Drüeke, 2005; Shekhar, 2006): (1) outsourcing the partner relationship; (2) relationships with supply chain partners; (3) e-business; (4) DE; (5) virtual communities; (6) telework; (7) distributed teams (i.e. virtual teams); and (8) off-shoring. Since, different authors have discussed about different manifestations independently (e.g. DE, e-business) there is no clear definition of VE (see: Chudoba et al, 2005; Shekhar, 2006). Therefore for the purpose of our paper, we define VE as any environment in which collaboration among entities (i.e. peoples) is enabled and supported with the modern ICT. Therefore VE is comprehended form all previously mentioned facets of virtuality (See: (Drüeke, 2005; Shekhar, 2006). Several key characteristics of VE are mainly (Dawidow and Malone, 1995; Chudoba et al, 2005; Shekhar, 2006): (1) Collaboration occurs between people at different locations (e.g. work at home, distance education) and there is no need to relocation; (2) Collaboration with people who speak different native languages and from different cultural backgrounds; (3) Collaboration (i.e. work, learning) is enabled and supported by modern ICT; (4) Differences in access to ICT could affect interactions among different entities (e.g. organizations, individuals) in virtual environment; and (5) Often emphasized (main) obstacle in virtual environment is lack of face-to-face communication among people who collaborate with support of ICT and inability to perceive non- verbal communication. In that frame most commonly emphasized problems in DE are mainly (Sherry, 1996; LaBay and Comm, 2003; Gonc, 2007; Nedelko, 2008): lack of facial contact and eye contact, felling of isolation, destroyed work-life balance, communication problems, inability to perceive non-verbal communication, readiness for learning at distance, additional stress and inappropriately selected communication channel. For the purpose of our discussion is most important cognition that communication among participant in DE occurs outside traditional (i.e. face-to-face) communication, using technologies such as electronic mail or a videoconferencing system (Ponzurick et al, 2000; Ohlhorst, 2002; Nedelko, 2006). Therefore several different communication channels exist thorough which participant in DE can communicate (for details see: Daft, 2000; Nedelko, 2006): (1) formal reports, bulletins, (2) electronic mail; (3) telephone; and (4) videoconference. Based on above presented cognitions, we can assume that using videoconferencing in DE process could help eliminate (and/or reduce) above mentioned problems, especially lack of face-to-face communication and ability to perceive non-verbal communication, since videoconferencing closely simulates face-to-face talk. In next section we will examine videoconferencing more closely. 3. Videoconferencing Videoconferencing is an interactive tool that uses video, computing, and communication technologies in order to enable people in different locations to meet almost face-to-face and perform tasks in the same manner as they would perform them if all participants were in the same room or at the same site (Purdue, 2007). Videoconferencing transmits audio and video simultaneously between two or more sites in both directions. Therefore participants in videoconferencing can hear, speak, and interact with people scatted around the globe. Videoconferences are most commonly used for meetings. Other possibilities include telemedicine, University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 392 telecommuting, teleEducation (e.g. DE), judicial applications, remote laboratories, and emergency response applications (Purdue, 2007; Picturephone, 2007). In the literature about videoconferencing there exist various typologies proposed by different authors according to different criterions (PennState, 2007). Most common typology distinguishes videoconferencing between two sites and between three or more sites. Each type of videoconference can then choose between these two additional options (see: Ohlhorst, 2002; PennState, 2007; Texas State Library, 2007; Purdue, 2007): (1) Desktop videoconferencing (a camera is attached to personal computer) and (2) Room-based videoconferencing, where videoconferencing takes place in room. Traditionally, room-based videoconferencing has dominated the videoconferencing set-up. However, advances in technology – especially transmission over IP – have enabled videoconferencing from one personal desktop computer to another (desktop videoconferencing). This type of videoconferencing is now becoming more widely used in companies as well as in DE (Texas State Library, 2007). Several important issues about videoconferencing are also issues dealing with (Nedelko, 2006; Purdue, 2007): (1) needed equipment for videoconferencing; (2) requirements for connecting sites involved in videoconferencing; and (3) protocols used for videoconferencing. Using videoconferencing can result in several key benefits (Ohlhorst, 2002; Picturephone, 2007): (1) reduced travel costs and associated accommodations expenditures since participants in DE do not have to be at same palace at same time; (2) reduced time spent for commuting; (3) participants morale can be enhanced, due to the less commuting and consequently more time for other obligations (e.g. family, job); (4) videoconferencing equipment has become more mature and affordable; (5) videoconferencing closely simulates face-to-face meetings as participants can see facial expressions and body language of other team members, gaining the benefits often acquired from non-verbal communication. However, videoconferencing has also several disadvantages that must be addressed (Picturephone, 2007; Purdue, 2007): (1) participants in DE may feel uncomfortable in videoconferencing situations because they do not like speaking in front of a camera; (2) slow internet connection and requirement for basic equipment at all involved sites; (3) compatibility of systems protocols; (4) participants in DE are not familiar with using modern ICT, computers and videoconference software; (5) establishing session with multiple sites involved could be very time consuming; and (5) low-quality images can be a serious obstacle for videoconferencing. According to above presented cognitions we can conclude that videoconferencing closely simulates face-to-face collaboration and brings participants in DE the benefits of non-verbal communication. Therefore videoconferencing could be considered as most suitable (and/or appropriate) tool, which could make DE (held in VE) more close to traditional (the face-to-face) education. Due to the limited size of a paper and according to the purpose of our paper, we are focusing on participant’s readiness for using videoconferencing in DE. For that purpose we conduct a survey. 4. Results from a Survey The primary aim of our survey was to assess student’s readiness for using videoconferencing in DE. The research is a part of a research in which we assessed participant’s readiness for incorporation in DE process. Research was conducted among Slovenian and Romanian undergraduate students. There were 155 Slovenian and 151 Romanian participants. Slovenian participants are students of 2 nd and 3 rd year of undergraduate bologna process study; average age of Slovenian participant is 21.6 years; and 58.1 % of Slovenian participants are The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 393 females. On the other hand Romanian participants are mainly students of 1 st and 2 nd year in undergraduate study program, with average age of 27.52 years. 55 % of Romanian participants in sample are females. According to questions related to information literacy in our research, we can conclude that an average participant in research is relatively good prepared for working with modern ICT and computers and have sufficient level of skills for working with computers. Skills were assessed on Likert’s scale from 0 to 5. Average value for Slovenian participants is 3.66 and for Romanian 3.46 (See for details: Nedelko, 2008). Romanian students are already incorporated in DE. Fully online DE is now in its early stages at Romanian university. On the other hand Slovenian students are involved in highly developed web-supported DE. Practically means that Romanian students do not have any traditional (face-to-face) lectures, on the other hand Slovenian students have regularly lectures. For testing significant differences we are using commonly used chi-square test since our data are categorical and Cramer’s V test for association between variables (see: Cramer, 1998). Only some results are presented, due to the limited paper length. Participants were asked about their interest for working/learning in VE. 73.5 % of Slovenian participants, in comparison to 78.8 % of Romanian participants, are willing to work/learn in VE. On the other hand 26.5 % Slovenian participants and 21.2 % Romanian participants are not willing to work/learn in VE. Perceived differences among Slovenian and Romanian participants in their willingness to work/learn in VE, are not statistically significant (Chi-Square result = 1.165, significance level = 0.280). Therefore we can conclude that a little higher interest for working/learning in VE among Romanian participants is not a consequence of participant’s nationality. Participants were asked what is in their opinion main (and/or most important) obstacle for more mass usage of virtual work/learn in practice. Findings are summarized in table 1. Table 1 Obstacles for more mass usage of Virtual work/learning by Country Country Slovenia rank Romania rank Destroyed balance between work/study and family 4.5 % 4. 6.6 % 4. What is in your opinion main obstacle for more mass usage of virtual work (in business practice and also in studying) Lack of face-to-face contact and inability to perceive non-verbal communication from peers 78.1 % 1. 24.5 % 3. New (and changed) way of work/study and possible work from home 10.3 % 2. 39.1% 1. Inaccessibility of basic equipment for virtual work/study 7.1 % 3. 29.8 % 2. Total 100 % 100 % From table 1 is seen that for majority of Slovenian participants is most important obstacle for more mass usage of DE lack of face-to-face contact and inability to perceive non-verbal communication. On the other hand, for Romanian participants is most important obstacle new and University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 394 also changed way of study. Almost 30 % of Romanian participants perceive needed equipment as an important obstacle for more mass usage of DE. According to above presented general findings from a survey we can suggest, that difference exists also due to the level of involvement and experiences with DE classes, age of participants and their readiness for working with modern ICT and computers. Table 1 shows, that there are differences between Slovenian and Romanian participants concerning the issues about most important obstacle for more mass virtual work/learning. Differences are statistically significant since Chi-square result of 90.447 has a significance level of 0.000. There also exists fairly moderate association between participant’s opinion what is most important obstacle for more mass virtual work/learning and participant’s nationality (Cramer’s V test is 0.544). Next we examined the issue about felling of loneliness when work/learn in VE. Students were asked if they (will) fell lonely when they (will) study at distance, therefore in VE. Results are summarized in table 2. Table 2 Felling of loneliness in DE Country Not fell lonely (0) 1 2 3 4 Fell very lonely (5) Slovenia 6.5 % 7.1 % 12.9 % 27.1 % 31 % 15.5 % Romania 26.5 % 15.2 % 20.5 % 21.9 % 9.3 % 6.6 % Probably the differences in student’s perceptions about felling of loneliness are mainly (also) due to the different experiences with DE. Slovenian participants are involved in web supported DE, on the other hand Romanian participants are involved in fully online DE courses. Mean value for Slovenian participants is 3.15 and for Romanian 1.92. This lead to conclusion that Slovenian participant will miss social interaction, face-to-face contacts in greater extent then Romanian counterparts. Table 2 shows that there exist differences between Slovenian and Romanian participants, regarding perceived felling of loneliness in DE. Only a small proportion of Romanian students fell very lonely when learning in VE. Participants were asked which tool (and/or technology) used in DE process will make it more similar to traditional learning. Results are summarized in table 3. Table 3 Making DE in VE more similar to traditional education Country Electronic mail Voice mail Audio- conference Video- conference File exchange Total Slovenia 12.9 % 5.8 % 7.7 % 68.4 % 5.2 % 100 % Romania 33.8 % 2.6 % 4.6 % 41.1 % 17.9 % 100 % From table 3 is seen that a great proportion of participants in both countries consider videoconferencing as tool, which could make learning in VE more similar (and like) traditional, face-to-face education. One third of Romanian participants consider also electronic mail as a tool which could makes DE more close to traditional education. Table 3 shows, that there are some differences between Slovenian and Romanian participants concerning about most appropriate tool for making learning in virtual environment alike traditional, face-to-face learning. Differences are statistically significant since a Chi-square The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 395 result of 38.566 has a significance level of 0.000. There also exists a weak association between participant’s opinion which tools will make DE in virtual environment more similar to traditional learning and participant’s nationality (Cramer’s V test is 0.355). 5. Discussion and Conclusions Education which takes part in VE (i.e. DE) has become widely accepted practice for transferring knowledge from educational organizations to interested participants. Since this way (and/or type) of education is very different in comparison to traditional (face-to-face) education several issues arise. One among most important is lack of social interaction, lack of face-to-face contact and inability to perceive non-verbal communication. In that frame videoconferencing could be used in DE, since it very closely simulates real face-to-face interaction, of course with certain limits. Therefore general readiness for leaning in VE and in that frame readiness for usage of videoconferencing in DE was examined. We can conclude that there exist differences between Slovenian and Romanian students on selected issues about learning in VE, perceived obstacles for mass usage of DE in practice (and also work) and perceived felling about loneliness when learning in VE. Perceived differences could be a consequence of different age groups, experiences with DE classes, personal values, general readiness for learning, etc. Above presented results therefore present state on selected issues and are important starting points for more detailed and deepened investigation on factors, which lead to the differences between Slovenian and Romanian students in their readiness and preferences for learning in VE in the frame of DE process. 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G., RUSSO FRANCE, K., LOGAR, C. M. (2000), Delivering Graduate Marketing Education: An Analysis of Face-to-Face versus Distance Education, Journal of Management Education, 22, 3, 180-187. PURDUE, (2007), http://p3t3.soe.purdue.edu/faqvideoconf.htm#terms [12.01.2007]. SHEKHAR, S. (2006), Understanding the virtuality of virtual organizations, Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 27, 6, 465-483. SHERRY, L. (1996), Issues in Distance Learning, International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 1, 4, 337- 365. Texas State Library, (2007): http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/distancelearning/videoconferencing/index.html [14.01.2007]. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 397 Contents TECHNOLOGIES & SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS No Paper and Authors Page 1 Learning Distributed Activities Inside 3D Virtual Spaces Dorin Mircea Popovici (1,2) , Jean-Pierre Gerval (3) , Felix Hamza-Lup (4) , Norina Popovici (1) , Mihai Polceanu (1) , Remus Zagan (1) (1) OVIDIUS University of ConstanŃa 124, Mamaia Bd, 900527, ConstanŃa, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected],
[email protected] (2) European Virtual Reality Center, Brest, France E-mail:
[email protected] (3) Institut Superieur de l’Electronique et du Numerique – Brest 20 rue Cuirassé Bretagne – CS 42807 – 29228 BREST cedex 2 – FRANCE E-mail:
[email protected] (4) Computer Science, Armstrong Atlantic State University Savannah, GA 31419, USA E-mail:
[email protected] 289 2 SVG Language (Scalable Vector Graphics) For 2D Graphics in XML and Applications Marin Vlada University of Bucharest, 14 Academiei Street, RO-010014, Romania E-mail:
[email protected], Web:www.ad-astra.ro/marinvlada 297 3 Interactive Informative Unit Based on Augmented Reality technology Dorin Mircea Popovici (1,2) , Mihai Polceanu (1) (1) OVIDIUS University of ConstanŃa 124, Mamaia Bd, 900527, ConstanŃa, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected] (2) European Virtual Reality Center, Brest, France E-mail:
[email protected] 307 4 Online Education Platform: Experior Andreea Teodorescu, Ciprian Badescu, Radu Ungureanu Arnia Software, No. 61 Icoanei Street, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] 317 University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 398 5 Intelligent Systems for Students Knowledge Automatic Evaluation Iuliana Dobre 1 (1) Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti 39, Bdv. Bucureşti, Ploieşti-100680, ROMĂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] 327 6 Timetable Planning using Intelligent Agents Irina Tudor 1 , Mădălina Cărbureanu 1 (1) Department of Informatics, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploieşti, 39, Bd. Bucureşti, 100680, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] 335 7 Hypermedia System for Online e-Learning and e-Testing in Project Management Eugen Zaharescu 1 , Georgeta-Atena Zaharescu 2 (1) "OVIDIUS" University of ConstanŃa 124, Mamaia Blv., ConstanŃa 900527, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] (2) "DECEBAL" High School, ConstanŃa 343 8 The Miracle of the Age: Internet in classrooms Gülen Onurkan Aliusta, Zehra Unveren, Fatma Basri Eastern Mediterranean University, English Preparatory School, North Cyprus E-mail:
[email protected] 351 9 Benefits of Using Self-Study Centres on Language Learning Zehra Unveren, Gülen Onurkan Aliusta, Fatma Basri Eastern Mediterranean University, English Preparatory School, North Cyprus E-mail:
[email protected] 359 10 Web Based Simulator for Virtual Company-Market Game Idehara, Norimichi 1 (1) Department of Management and Information Sciences Tama University 4-1-1, Hijirigaoka, Tama, Tokyo 206-0022, JAPAN E-mail:
[email protected] 367 11 Virtual Learning Space with Semantic Web Technologies Ioana Andreea Stănescu 1 , Antoniu Ştefan 1 , Veronica Ştefan 2 (1) Advanced Technology Systems, 222 Calea Domnească Târgovişte, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Valahia University of Târgovişte 2 Carol I Street, Târgovişte, ROMÂNIA 373 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 399 12 Online Tests for Applications Mechanics Simona Marilena Ilie 1 , Cristian Pavel 1 (1) Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 124 Blvd. Lacul Tei, RO-020396, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected] 381 13 Distance Education and Videoconferencing Zlatko Nedelko 1 , Carmen Elena Cirnu (ENE) 2 (1) Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor Razlagova 14, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Focşani Regional Distance Learning Centre Distance Learning Department Spiru Haret University Bucharest Dimitrie Cantemir 14, 620094 Focşani, Romania E-mail:
[email protected],
[email protected] 389 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 401 Section "Intel® Education" – Learning, Technology, Science (IntelEdu) • Digital Curriculum, collaborative rich-media applications, student software, teacher software • Improved Learning Methods, interactive and collaborative methods to help teachers incorporate technology into their lesson plans and enable students to learn anytime, anywhere • Professional Development, readily available training to help teachers acquire the necessary ICT skills • Connectivity and Technology, group projects and improve communication among teachers, students, parents and administrators The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 403 Intel Education Initiative. Focus: Romania Thomas OSBURG 1 , Olimpius ISTRATE 2 (1) Education Manager, Intel Europe, Munich, Germany E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Education Manager, Intel Romania, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Most of the world states recognise the importance of education for social and economic development. Examples offered by countries such as Japan, Finland, Ireland or United States constitute the best reason to properly appreciate the benefits of long-term, thoughtful and coherent investment in human resources development towards an authentic Knowledge Society. Responsibility for education is a share responsibility. Therefore, complementing governmental and other corporate initiatives, Intel Education programmes are set to help teachers teach, students learn and universities around the world innovate. Since recently, Intel initiative has start bringing added value for education in Romania. The pedagogical use of new technologies in education gained therefore a strong and committed supporter. Keywords: Instructions, Format, Submitting papers, Proceedings. 1. Intel Education Initiative The Intel ® Education Initiative is a large-scale, sustained commitment to accelerate education improvement for the knowledge economy – as a trusted partner to governments and educators worldwide. Intel’s education programs focus on: improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology; advancing math, science, and engineering education and research; advocating for and celebrating 21 st century educational excellence. 1.1. Improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology Intel Teach Program The Intel® Teach Program (www.intel.com/education/teach) is a professional development program that helps classroom teachers effectively integrate technology to enhance student learning. It is the most successful professional development program of its kind. • More than 5 million teachers in over 40 countries trained since 1999. • Results: 89 percent of teachers report using technology with their students as a result of the Intel Teach Program. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 404 Intel Computer Clubhouse Network The Intel Computer Clubhouse Network (www.intel.com/education/icc) is an after-school program that enables youth in underserved communities to access cutting-edge technology and become self-confident, motivated learners. • There are over 100 Intel Computer Clubhouses in 20 countries serving over 25,000 youth annually. • Based on a learning model created by the Boston Museum of Science and MIT Media Lab. Intel Learn Program The Intel ® Learn Program (www.intel.com/education/learn) is a community-based program in emerging markets designed to help learners (8-16 years) develop 21 st century skills (technological literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration). The curriculum uses an engaging project-based approach and is delivered in community technology centers. • Currently offered in Brazil, Chile, China, Egypt, India, Israel, Mexico, Russia, and Turkey. • The program was launched in 2004 and to date has already reached more than 662,000 learners. 1.2. Advancing math, science and engineering education and research Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Intel ISEF (www.intel.com/education/isef) is the world's largest pre-collegiate science fair; Intel has been the primary sponsor for 11 years. • The 2007 fair drew more than 1,500 young scientists from 51 countries, regions, and territories to compete for USD 4 million in scholarships and awards. Intel Science Talent Search (STS) The Intel Science Talent Search (www.intel.com/education/sts) is America's oldest and most highly regarded pre-college science competition. • In 2007, more than USD 1.25 million in scholarships were awarded. Intel Higher Education Program The Intel ® Higher Education Program (www.intel.com/education/highered) focuses on advancing innovation in key areas of technology and developing a pipeline of diverse world-class technical talent for Intel and the broader industry. • Efforts focus on research, curriculum, student opportunities as well as entrepreneurship. • Intel's higher education support extends to more than 150 universities in 34 countries. Intel Schools of Distinction Awards The Intel Schools of Distinction Awards (www.schoolsofdistinction.com) recognizes U.S. schools who demonstrate excellence in implementing innovative, replicable programs supporting positive educational outcomes in the areas of math and science achievement. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 405 • Schools receive grants of USD 10-25,000 from the Intel Foundation as well as additional prizes. skoool Learning and Teaching Technology Program The skoool™ Learning and Teaching Technology Program (www.skoool.com) provides secondary level teachers and students access to science and mathematics resources and tools set in an engaging, multimedia environment to help improve learning. • Currently offered in Australia (New South Wales), Ireland, Nigeria, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Africa. Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and United Kingdom • Available in multiple languages: Arabic, English, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, and Turkish. • During 2007, the program has reached more than 3 million students and teachers. 2. Intel Teach Program: Powering the Magic of Teachers Technology is a powerful tool, but ultimately, it is only as valuable as society’s ability to harness it. Helping students develop and strengthen the skills to help them succeed in the global economy lies at the heart of Intel’s global commitment to education. Because one teacher can reach generations of students, training teachers is an important way Intel fulfills this commitment. For close to a decade, Intel Teach Program has been helping teachers around the world integrate technology into classrooms. To date, the program has trained more than five million teachers in more than 40 countries, including Vietnam, Ukraine, South Africa, China and the United States. In January 2006, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett announced plans to expand Intel Teach to an additional 10 million teachers by 2011. This reach and impact have led Intel Teach to be called the most successful professional development program of its kind. 2.1. Background In the early 1990s, independent research revealed that U.S. teachers were struggling to understand how best to incorporate technology into their classrooms. Intel and other technology companies worked together to address this gap between available technology and its application in the classroom. In 1998, the Intel program reached more than 1,200 teachers in six U.S. states; in 1999 the program expanded to three more states and 2,400 more teachers. By the time the program concluded in 2000, Intel’s program had trained nearly 4,300 teachers. The training worked: 97 percent of participants said they developed new skills that would help them incorporate technology into their curricula; 94 percent thought the training would benefit their students [2]. In 2000, Intel decided to significantly expand its teacher training program – and Intel Teach was born. Based on research and developed by teachers with expertise in curriculum development for teachers, Intel Teach is provided at no cost to elementary and secondary school teachers around the world. By 2011, Intel Teach will have reached 13 million teachers in more than 40 countries – and their 1 billion students. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 406 2.2. How it Works Intel Teach uses a “train the trainer” model to provide both face-to-face and online instruction to help teachers around the world integrate technology into their classrooms. Teachers create lesson plans that can be immediately implemented and that meet local and national education goals and standards. Working with governments – national, regional or local – worldwide, Intel introduces the program in interested countries and communities, which are selected based on the strength of their commitment to the program. Intel then works with an initial group of teachers to help them become Intel Teach trainers themselves. These trainers in turn are responsible for sharing their new skills with other teachers in their region. To ensure that program curriculum maintains relevancy and reflects lessons learned from feedback and research, Intel regularly provides updated material to the Intel Teach trainers. Supporting material to supplement classroom courses is available at www.intel.com/education for all teachers. 2.3. Impact and Validation Reviewed by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Intel Teach was found to “clearly support implementation of the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards” by providing objective, third-party validation of the program’s value and impact. Intel Teach has so far provided professional development to more than four million teachers in more than 40 countries and is committed to reaching 13 million teachers by 2011. 3. Intel Education Programs and Initiatives in Romania Several education programs have started to be developed by Intel in Romania since a couple of years ago, in an effort to connect Romanian teachers and learners to global education communities and to wider initiatives aimed to raise the quality of the education systems. 3.1. Background In Romania, the emergence of a knowledge-based economy and the need to assure conditions of social inclusion to all for the 21 st century have brought into light the necessity to enhance the continuous development of the human capital according to a lifelong learning perspective. In these regards, innovative education policies supporting the integration of ICT in learning can represent an effective and viable way to provide methods and resources for inclusive lifelong education. After undertaking several significant initiatives in the area of implementation of computers in pre-university education, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Education and Research are in the process of developing a coherent educational policy related to the integration of the ICT tools and resources in the education process for the primary and secondary school level. Therefore, ICT implementation in education system is the next two years’ the most significant education reform component, which, along with the efforts towards raising the quality of the education process, will be in the focus of all the future relevant education policies. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 407 3.2. Supporting National Programs The support offered by Intel programs in Romania complements the demarches of implementing ICT in education, creating the premises for adequate education reform. The areas of support shows the concern and the added value provided by Intel to Romanian education system in the last years: development of education policies towards implementing education solutions for XXI century, teacher training programmes, access of teachers and students to reliable IT equipments, access to Internet and knowledge, support for education process through pedagogical materials for teachers, establishing a common arena for elearning stakeholders: education policy makers, researchers, teachers, education software developers, opinion leaders. Some achievements are constantly being brought into light as examples of good practices: • Under the name “Classroom of Tomorrow”, a series of consultation meetings was initiated by Intel in December 2007. The first seminar – 1:1 Education Environments for the XXI Century – gathered representatives of the most significant institutions active in the field of elearning in Romania: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Communication and IT, companies, NGOs and research institutes, universities. The key-points of the first consultation meeting revealed the need for sustainable initiatives towards building an authentic Romanian Knowledge Society, but mostly the need for common public-private efforts in weaving a quality agenda for the education system in the next years. • Intel Teach Essentials programme was accredited by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth in 2007. Implemented by SIVECO Romania and with the support of the County Teachers’ Houses, the Teach Essentials course is run all over the country and the Romanian teachers can now have access to a successful global initiative which trained 5 million teachers around the world. • 1:1 education solution for XXI century was piloted in Horia village, giving rural pupils the opportunity to take classes using education software and to access information on the web for homework and for non-formal education projects. 20 Classmate PCs with Internet access were used for an entire semester by 4 grade learners. The education software was ensured by Intel (Skoool) and by SIVECO Romania (AeL eContent). This pilot project is currently under continuous development, as convergence with new education research objectives pushes further the teaching practice, the learning experiences and the education software developers’ knowledge. • Intel is supporting the localisation of two significant packages of support-materials for teachers: Designing Effective Projects and Assessing Projects. Romanian teachers will now have access to pedagogical instruments, education projects templates and examples, in an extended range of curricular domains and levels. • ICT Competency Standards for Teachers, launched by UNESCO in January 2008, were translated into Romanian with the support of Intel Education Romania. The national education policy documents are therefore benefiting from the international expertise and experience. 4. Four Decades of Educational Excellence Intel believes all students, everywhere, deserve to have the tools they need to become the next generation of innovators. From local schools to global universities, Intel works to help improve the quality of education around the world. Over the last four decades, Intel has invested significant resources to help teachers teach, students learn and universities innovate – particularly in the areas of math, science and technology. Since recently, Romania is part of this global education initiative which brings closer innovation, creativity, competence and commitment, in an effort to raise the quality and the equity University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 408 of the education system and to complement the governmental steps towards developing an authentic Romanian Knowledge Society. REFERENCE [1] *** Intel Education Knowledge Base – Available Online: www.intel.com/education [2] WENDY MARTIN, KATHERINE MCMILLAN CULP, ANDREW GERSICK, and HANNAH NUDELL, „Intel Teach to the Future: Lessons learned from the evaluation of a large-scale technology-interpretation professional development program”, Education Development Center’s Center for Children and Technology, 2003. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 409 USING ICT IN THE ROMANIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: S.E.I. PROGRAMME Olimpius Istrate University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract SEI programme is a national-wide initiative whose objective is to implement ICT in the education system by providing schools with the necessary equipment, by developing a wide range of computer applications meant to ensure the interaction between students and curricular contents, by training teachers in using ICT for education, and by establishing the premises of a IT-based network in support of modern management. The present paper present the results of a recent evaluation research on SEI programme, developed by the University of Bucharest in collaboration with research institutions and education NGOs. Keywords: elearning in formal education, SEI programme, evaluation results. 1. SEI Programme Launched in 2001, the SEI governmental programme (from Sistem Educational Computerizat – IT-Based Education System) is a national-wide initiative whose objective is to integrate ICT into the education system by providing schools with the necessary equipment, by developing a wide range of computer applications to ensure the interaction between students and curricular contents, by re-professionalising teachers from a psychological and pedagogical point of view in a student-centred vision, and by establishing the premises of a IT-based network in support of modern management [1] [4]. SEI is not an alternative solution to traditional teaching (teacher-centred); it is rather a complementary one, with teachers making the decision on the educational process – strategy/method, resources – so as to enable as many students as possible to meet curricular objectives [3]. AeL is an integrated teaching/learning and content management system that facilitates the activities of the actors involved in the educational process and its design – teachers, students, content developers, evaluators, managers etc. The system has a flexible knowledge centre, which plays the role of a content and management solutions storage device. The knowledge base offers the following possibilities to its users: content creation: HTML editors incorporated; mathematical formulas editors incorporated; test and tutorial editors; glossary/dictionary editors; text import and export from files, archives/resource folders, format based on such standards as SCORM, MathML, SVG, ChemML; content adaptation and modification; content organisation in courses; creating new lessons from standard content components; directed teaching and monitoring of educational content; student testing. AeL offers HTML editors, mathematical formulas editors, editors for chemistry, geometry, physics, and tutorials for the on-line content. The educational software is designed so as to respect a methodology which is continuously improved based on data obtained from school practice. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 410 For the Romanian education system, the educational portal http://portal.edu.ro was established within the project. The portal has different components for students, teachers and parents, as well as elements of connection with higher education. The portal has over 80.000 registered users and a collection of incorporated web sites. These are the stages in the SEI implementation: SEI-1 (2001-2002): the pilot period – design and experimental use of the main components, adjustments at different levels based on the data that were obtained. SEI-2 and SEI-3 (2003-2004): the transition period – the communication lines and technical support were established, the general methodology for implementation was developed and the favourable area was covered at high-school level; the methodology for construction, approval and distribution of multimedia educational contents. SEI-4 (2005-2008): period of the construction and generalisation of ICT in the education system. The results of this process are presented here in a synthetic form (data from December 2006): a) equipment: 76.000 computers and servers; 4.780 laboratories, auxiliary equipment included; b) IT labs at the Ministry of Education and the 42 county school inspectorates and teacher centres; c) computers for administrative use, d) educational software in every laboratory for teaching, testing and assessment, school management, educational content management. The multimedia educational content distributed in each school includes 1650 lessons for grades 5-8 (gimnaziu) and for 9-12 (high-school), 8500 RLOs for: Biology, Mathematics, Computer science, Languages, History, Geography, Chemistry, Physics, Technologies etc.; encyclopaedias, dictionaries, glossaries [3]. Some 25.000 high-school teachers and 40.000 lower secondary teachers have been trained in the use of ICT. The results of the 4 th stage: 3.270 laboratories in schools; 42 laboratories for the teacher centres; updates for the laboratories established in 2001; 1.255 multimedia lessons; multimedia English lessons for grades 1-8; 40.000 teachers included in the training programmes. The SEI programme will continue to support the development of education in Romania, to contribute to the democratisation of the education system trying to meet the objectives for the rural, vocational and primary areas, to support the consolidation of the e-learning community developed through SEI, the complex pedagogical re-professionalization for teachers and the provision of modern technologies to the Romanian schools. 2. Investigation A comprehensive evaluation research was developed by the University of Bucharest in collaboration with the Institute for Education, with TEHNE – Centre for Innovation and Development in Education, and with Association for Education Sciences (ASTED) during May 2007-June 2008. The research was designed by Prof.Dr. Dan Potolea and by Dr. Eugen Noveanu, from the University of Bucharest. The investigation reveals the following aspects: (a) to what degree different types of schools are provided with computers and other equipment, (b) students’ and teachers’ access to the new technologies, (c) to what degree these technologies are used (d) the impact the use of the new technologies had in the beneficiaries’ view (managers, teachers, students), including different kinds of problems which require interventions/ solutions, as well as human/technological/ financial resources. From a methodological point of view, the investigation was carried out with the help of specific questionnaires for each of the main three categories of beneficiaries (students, teachers and school managers), that were applied to a representative sample in each category. 1. School manager’s questionnaire – 195 valid questionnaires; 2. Teacher’s questionnaire – 1588 valid questionnaires; 3. Student’s questionnaire – 3953 valid questionnaires. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 411 3. Some interesting findings The research report is focused on the way in which the new ICT are used in the Romanian education system for teaching and learning activities, for school collaboration and for development to students of competencies for the XXI Century. The results reveal a positive impact on the education system, both on teaching staff and on learners. Regarding the teachers’ activity, ICT have the greatest role in the facilitation of the learning objectives achievement, followed by the discharge of teaching activities. Regarding the organisation of the education process, the value of using ICT is pointed out by teachers especially concerning active and participative learning, as well as concerning cooperative learning. Seven teachers out of ten (70,2%) reveal a positive impact of ICT on the learning performance at their discipline and 65% declare that they use a computer well or very well. Another aspect releaved by the study indicates that teacher training in Computer-Assisted Instruction has a significant importance. 83% of the teachers which have followed a specialised course relate a positive impact of using ICT on students, comparing to only 65% of teachers which have not participated to courses focused on ICT in education. At their turn, students consider that the most important effect of using the ICT for school lessons is the fact that they learn easier, followed very shortly by an easier understanding of content and by the fact that they learn to better use the computer. Only 0,9% of the students do not use the computer; 63% use the computer at school and 83% use the computer at home. 95% of the students declare they would want to use more the computer and the Internet for lessons of various disciplines. They consider, in a proportion of 90%, that those of them which do not have access to a computer will be disadvantaged later in their professional and social lives. 4. Conclusions and recommendations 4.1. Conclusions The data gathered from the sample and the methodology we described allow the formation of a synthetic, general image on the state of implementation of the SEI Programme which reveals the following elements: a) the implementation process is running in accordance with the Programme objectives, both with regard to the provision of schools with computers and equipment, and the users’ training; b) in comparison with the data from the first evaluation report (2004), we can see a significant increase in the number of teachers who have started to use ICT in the educational process, facilitating the structuring of a common pedagogical culture (organizational) for the majority of the teachers in a school, representing “the common factor” of the entire education system; c) in the implementation process, there are many problems related to the provision of material resources which cannot be solved at a local level. In the four sequences that have been investigated – provision, access to new technologies, the use of ICT and the impact of using ICT – the results of data analysis lead to the following conclusions: 1. The provision of schools with computers and equipment represents a very different range of situations due to the conditions in the period before the SEI Project. At this moment, the process is marked by a sensible equalising trend/ uniformity thanks to the SEI laboratories. The conditions in the schools from urban areas are better than in rural areas from this point of view, as they have more experience in looking for and asking for funds, finding support from communities with better financial possibilities. In the last two years, there has been a faster progress with regard to the schools’ connection to the Internet, which still remains an unsolved issue for 40% of computers in rural areas. The most important problem (indicated by more than 50% of the school managers is the lack of qualified personnel for the maintenance of the network; the current situation – when the computers and the networks are administered by computer science teachers, by network University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 412 administrators or by a specialist firm – should be re-evaluated, opting either for a unitary solution, or for differentiated solutions based on local conditions. 2. Access to new technologies is differentiated according to the specific categories of the “beneficiaries” in the system. For the category of “teachers”, the first important issue in point of “access” is the “technical” training – the initiation courses for the use of AeL. Although the number of teachers who can use a computer has significantly grown in the last years (approximately 50%, with explicable differences between high-school and gimnaziu), the large number of teachers who still cannot use a computer is concerning. The same conclusion is valid for the number of teachers who have not participated in ICT training courses, although the data show an increase in teachers’ participation in such courses. Students’ access to ICT is stimulated by the special interest of this category of beneficiaries, the overwhelming majority (95%) saying that they would like more lessons in which they use ICT. This affirmation is supported by the significant percentage of students who use a computer at home (83%) or in other places outside school (21.5%), with a difference between urban and rural as main location. The most frequent independent use of computers by students is for communication purposes (chat, forum, email), but knowledge building activities (learning for school subjects, computerised initiation, information/research) have a greater share in the total of activities included in the questionnaire. Students’ access to ICT is ensured most during the school hours, but there are already many schools where students have unlimited access outside school hours or based on a schedule (for classes), high-schools and the urban areas being advantaged. The educational software for school subjects is mostly obtained through the SEI Programme (free of charge), being completed by software downloaded from the Internet or bought with the school’s funds. These are completed by software created by teachers and students, a stimulating action supported through the competitions organised by SIVECO at a national level. In this process, the teachers from urban areas are advantaged compared to the teachers from rural areas due to the greater number of those who own a computer (85.1% U compared to 69.4% R), the difference remaining also for the access to the Internet. 3. The extent to which teachers are familiar with ICT and their use in the educational process is confirmed by the following findings: a) more than 95% of the teachers in high-school and gimnaziu education, as well as almost 70% of the teachers in primary education use the SEI laboratories; b) 17% of the teachers organise more than 6 lessons per semester in the laboratory, the most frequent situation being that of the lesson (in gimnaziu) in a SEI laboratory with AeL installed. With regard to the number of students per a computer, the situations vary a lot: if a little past half of high-school students work one on a computer at a time, approximately 35% of them work in groups of 2, 7% in groups of 3, and approximately 1.3% in groups of 4. Obviously, this situation (with smaller indicators in gimnazii and SACs) justifies the insistence of the headteachers who are asking for supplementary provision for the SEI laboratories. The order of the first 5 “advantaged subjects” with regard to the use of AeL, except for the computer science, remains that revealed also in the 2004 Report: biology, physics, chemistry, geography, and mathematics. This situation is determined on one hand by the quantity and the quality of available software and on the other hand by the “local” conditions – the teacher’s capacity and interest in designing and creating software, his ability of looking on the Internet for educational resources, and to engage his school in projects, collaboration, partnerships. The types of learning activities carried out in the SEI laboratories cover a more large and diverse area than in the traditional teaching system, especially with regard to the development of skills required by the guidelines of education for the knowledge society. Therefore, there are many sequences of individual work, cooperative and collaborative activities, problem-solving tasks, tasks for editing, Internet browsing, exploring and creation, product/document presentation, report etc. This extremely large range of curricular activities offers new possibilities for teachers to know better their students, and to involve them in stimulating extra-curricular activities: projects, collaboration with other schools, participation in competitions, publications, initiating contacts with the issues of local communities. This openness of the horizon beyond the limits of the formal curriculum may be a valuable starting point for school counselling and students’ professional pre-orientation. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 413 4. The school managers’ and teachers’ opinions converge, although with some minor differences, with regard to the impact of ICT on beneficiaries. They think that the main beneficial effects of using the SEI laboratories are the facilitation of the design activities and of the educational process, the assessment of learning outcomes (for students) and the cooperative learning/the development of team work abilities (for students). We should mention the impression of headteachers’ optimism with regard to the potential of the new technologies for attracting students, developing their interest in studying and, implicitly, improving school achievement, as a counterpart to the main argument formulated by teachers – the facilitation of the understanding of subject contents. Underlying the positive impact of ICT on school achievement, more than 50% of the teachers included in the sample consider that ICT has a substantial contribution to differentiated education, mentioning also that more effort is needed for the development of appropriate tools. At the same time, we should say that more than one tenth of the students encounter difficulties when interacting with subject specific software due mostly to their low training level. We also remark the opinion (expressed by almost as many students as for the one before) that working/interacting with the software not only does not help weak students at all, but it rather confuse them. Among the difficulties encountered by teachers during lessons in the SEI laboratories, besides the main, general problem of “insufficient computers/ laboratories”, there are also in order: a) insufficient time for preparing the lesson/ test; b) insufficient educational software; c) specific training in the use of ICT. In students’ view, the inconveniences with these lessons are ranked as follows: a) insufficient time for interacting with the computer/software; b) more students working on a computer; c) the characteristics of some work tasks; d) some software graphics (low clarity of pictures, inappropriate colours and fonts). 4.2. Recommendations The integrating elements (synthesised in the Conclusions) and the anecdotic sequences (detailed in the Annexes) can represent landmarks for different solutions based on the concrete characteristics of each situation. Considering that the SEI Programme is a product of the education policy promoted by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth, we think that the recommendations resulting from the investigation into the implementation of the programme should be placed at the same level, offering to the ministry suggestions for measures/actions which will open new ways/ opportunities for increasing the efficiency of the education process and linking up Romanian education with the European reference framework. 1. The development of a coherent strategy for the computerisation of education – under debate organised by the Ministry of Education – the most urgent action at the moment, can be successful only if the reference framework is clearly formulated, and suitable to be translated in operational measures, without ambiguities and without labile limits of its scope. This means that the main document of educational policy should define in a clear way the goals to pursue, the strategies and the resources which will be used in order to meet the established objectives. The computerisation of education being one of the strategies for reaching the goals, any major decision should be guided by the essential elements of the education policy. This is particularly important in this difficult period, when the education system is confronted on one hand with the shift in the educational paradigm from teacher/teaching- focused to student/learning-focused, and on the other hand with the linking up with the EU education coordinates. A detailed formulation of a fundamental document of education policy would allow the re-thinking of syllabuses and curricular documents following an appropriate vision both with regard to subject contents, and the typology of student-content-teacher interaction, also outlining the ICT mission in the knowledge-building process. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 414 The development of a complex strategy for the computerisation of the education system can be done only in congruence with the positions/principles formulated in these documents. 2. The second urgent action at the moment is the pedagogical re-professionalization of teachers. Besides the general initiation in the use of computers and the specific one for the use of the SEI laboratories, which involved a large number of educators, their experience being visible in the various ways they adjust the educational software to the particularities of their school/classes, the new strategies determined by the requirements of student-centred education which should facilitate students’ building of their own knowledge as well as trans-disciplinary or social skills (such as collaborative abilities), imply a new vision of the educator’s roles, roles for which they are not ready yet. Only when teachers are aware of the difference between teaching-focused and learning-focused education and only when they will design a strategy for the student-content- resources interaction based on a validated position for knowledge-building, the potential of information and communications technologies will be achieved. In order to reach this desired state, there is a need to develop (by an expert group – pedagogues, psychologists, sociologists, computer science specialists, and teachers) a hierarchical structure for the issues, actions and necessary resources for solving each problem. A public debate will bring us closer to possible solutions. 3. With regard to the pre-service teacher training, it’s necessary that all institutions that train education staff – kindergarten teachers, primary and secondary education teachers, school managers – include in their syllabuses sufficient courses related to the issues of the change in the educational paradigm, the use of ICT and the new roles of educators. The best solution would be a common curriculum (with the EU documents as reference for the skills to be developed), with particular versions for 3-4 types/levels of institutions. Reconsidering the entire range of education issues at a national level and the development of fundamental documents of education policy based on the realities of the present and the requirements of the future could provide a coherent framework for investigative actions (particularly for research & development), for the experimentation, validation and implementation of specific solutions for the student population. At the same time, the coherent framework of education policy fundamental documents could be a landmark and a criterion for solutions, initiatives, local actions, facilitating the establishment of development strategies by school managers. REFERENCES [1] ILIA, F. (2003), AeL – O tehnologie de vârf a sistemului educaŃional românesc (AeL – A Top Technology in the Romanian Education System), în CNIV, Noi tehnologii de eLearning (New eLearning Technologies), University of Bucharest. [2] JUGUREANU, R. (2005), Proiectarea pedagogică a soft-ului educaŃional. Taxonomia lui Bloom şi Bloom-Anderson (Pedagogical Design of Educational Software. Bloom Taxonomy and Bloom- Anderson), în: e-Learning Technologies and Virtual Reality. University of Bucharest Publishing House, Bucharest. [3] JUGUREANU, R. et al, Componente didactice (Didactic Components), în Virtual learning. Virtual Reality, Software & Management educaŃional, University of Bucharest Publishing House, Bucharest. [4] Ministry of Education and Research (2006), Programul SEI, Sistem EducaŃional Informatizat – De la reformă la dezvoltare 2001-2008 (The SEI Programme – From Reform to Development 2001-2008), Bucharest. [5] NOVEANU, E., ISTRATE, O.. (2004), Impactul formativ al utilizării AEL în educaŃie (The Formative Impact of AEL in Education), TEHNE, Bucharest. [6] Potolea, D., Noveanu E. (coord.) (2008), Informatizarea sistemului de învăŃământ: Programul S.E.I. (Using ICT in the Romanian Education System: SEI Programme), Agata Publishing House, Bucharest, available online: http://www.elearning.ro/resurse/EvalSEI_raport_2008.pdf The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 415 Intel® Teach - Innovative, modern and Competitive e-Learning solution Liliana Şerban Senior Teacher, Intel® Teach Program, “Ioan Alexandru Bratescu-Voinesti” School, Targoviste, ROMANIA E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract Our modern society requires a new vision of pedagogical use of ICT, which can radically change the development of the modern process of e-Learning methods. The Intel® Teach Program proposes an innovative concept, providing an authentic and real-world context for connecting learning activities and incorporating higher-order thinking skills to promote a student-centred learning environment. This paper proposes concrete solutions, new methods and technologies promoted by Intel® Teach Essential Course that allows to raise the level of excellence in the classroom, encouraging the understanding of important concepts and developing essential skills for 21st century. Keywords: Education, e-Learning, digital technologies. 1. Introduction Developed since 2000, in more than 40 countries, the Intel® Teach Program proposes an innovative concept in e-Learning solutions, being “a worldwide initiative to provide teachers with the skills to effectively integrate technology into existing curriculum to improve student learning”(http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign) [1] . The Intel® Teach Program encourages students to pursue advanced technical degrees and offers in the same time innovative technological tools that help them to develop their creative potential. 1.1. The fundamental goal of Intel®Teach Program In today’s knowledge society, the digital technology is the key of global competitiveness. So, the goal of the Intel® Teach Essential Course (http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/Design/) is “to help classroom teachers develop student-centered learning through technology integration and project-based approaches” [2]. Thanks to inclusion of information and communication technologies in education, the students and the teachers have today the opportunity to access a lot of resources and most of the information from wherever they are. The new technologies propose by the Essential Course have changed our classes because the students are building their own knowledge, enjoying the school more; in the same time, the teachers have the opportunity to integrate technology into their teaching – learning process, designing modern and attractive lessons. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 416 2. Focus on Intel® Teach Essential Course Being an innovative, modern and competitive e-Learning solution, the most important themes of Intel® Teach Essential Course [3] are: • Using technology effectively in the classroom to promote 21st century skills • Identifying ways students and teachers can use technology to enhance learning through research, communication, collaboration, and productivity strategies and tools • Providing hands-on learning and the creation of curricular units and assessments, which address state and national academic and technology standards • Facilitating student-centered classrooms that encourage student self-direction and higher- order thinking • Collaborating with colleagues to improve instruction by problem solving and participating in peer reviews of units.(www.intel.com/education/teach ) The Intel® Teach Essential Course is structured in eight curricular modules: • Module 1: Teaching with Projects (Project-Based Learning and unit design); • Module 2: Planning My Unit (Curriculum-Framing Questions and ongoing student-centred assessment); • Module 3: Making Connections (The Internet to support teaching and learning); • Module 4: Creating Samples of Learning (Project outcomes from a student perspective); • Module 5: Assessing Student Projects (Formative and summative assessments); • Module 6: Planning for Student Success (Student-support and self-direction); • Module 7: Facilitating with Technology (Teacher as facilitator); • Module 8: Showcasing Unit Portfolios (Sharing Learning). 3. The innovative character of Project-Based Learning The Project-Based Learning- promoted by Intel® Teach Essential Course is a “student-centred, instructional model. It develops content area knowledge and skills through an extended task that promotes student inquiry and authentic demonstrations of learning in products and performances”. In the project-based curriculum, technology is used to support learning, offering many attractive and modern tools (such blogs, wikis for collaborative learning, for example). The Curriculum-Framing Questions tie content standards and higher-order thinking to a real-world context. Project-based units” [4] include varied instructional strategies to engage all students regardless of their learning style” and many types of assessment who “are embedded to ensure that students produce high quality work” [5]. There are a lot of advantages of using a Project-Based Learning in classroom: • Students are at the centre of the learning process. • Projects focus on important learning objectives that are aligned with standards • Projects are driven by Curriculum-Framing Questions • Projects involve on-going and multiple types of assessment • The project has real-world connections • Students demonstrate knowledge through a product or performance • Technology supports and enhances student learning • Thinking skills are integral to project work • Instructional strategies are varied and support multiple learning styles [6]. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 417 3.1. Not to stop questioning: Curriculum-Framing Questions – Strategy for Engaging All Learners in Classroom “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing” [7], said Einstein. "I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others” [8], said Socrates (www.philipcoppens.com/socrates). Figure1. Detail of “The School of Athens”, by Rafaello Sanzio, showing Socrates (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Sanzio_01_Socrates.jpg) One of the most important key of the Essential Course are the Curriculum-Framing Questions. The dialect method of inquiry, known as the Socratic Method or method of '"elenchus" is a very important concept of this course, because this is a better way to stimulate the curiosity, the critical thinking and the creativity. The students learn to think, considering multiple perspectives, developing their thinking skills and communicating their opinions to others. So, a few good questions can transform a classroom into a truly thinking classroom :”Creating this kind of environment is the biggest challenge teachers face, but teaching in such an atmosphere is not only rewarding, but enjoyable for students and teachers alike” [9]. But what means a very good question? For example, questions like “why” and “how” may help students to improve their thinking abilities much better that classical questions “what” and “when”. Or maybe so-called deeper questions, asking from students a subjective judgment; for example: “What did you think about…?”, “What reasons do you have?”, “What about this other point of view?” etc. This kind of questions help the students to understand a really connection between the subject matter and their own lives, encouraging the research, discussions, inquiry. Around this good questions who encourage thinking skills, the teachers can build a thoughtful classroom and the students shift from passive to active learning, developing a new understanding. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 418 So, integrating the Curriculum-Framing Questions, teachers can help their students to become more motivated and self-directed: “Curriculum-Framing Questions provide a structure for organizing questioning throughout projects and promote thinking at all levels. They give projects a balance between content understanding and exploration of intriguing and enduring ideas that make learning relevant to students”. The Essential Course proposes three classes of Curriculum-Framing Questions: • Essential Questions • Unit Questions • Content Questions The Essential Questions are open questions, with many answers, introducing big ideas who capture students’ attention and requiring high-order thinking skills. They are moral, philosophical questions and cross many units and subject areas. The Unit Questions engage also the critical thinking, promoting curiosity, but they are specific to a topic or unit of study, requiring creative answers. They encourage exploration and promote curiosity. The Content Questions are closed questions, because requires specific answers, knowledge and comprehension skills. Content Questions and Unit Questions support Essential Questions. For example: Table1 Curriculum-Framing Questions, Examples selected from http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/ Essential Questions Unit Questions Content Questions How can math help me understand my world? Why might you need to know the metric system? What difference does it make if you use inches or centimetres? What are the different metric measurements? How is measurement used in the real world? How does measurement help you solve a problem? What is a hero? What meanings do the Greek myths have for us today? How do you write a myth? Who were the ancient Greek heroes and what were their stories? What are the qualities of a Greek hero? Who are modern heroes? Why should words be chosen carefully, and why do people tell you to be careful what you say? Why do people interpret books differently? How did the book impact you or change your outlook on life? How are the events and characters in the book similar to events and characters you have known or experienced? How did the author use dialogue to depict the characters? How did the author play around with time to tell his story? What techniques did the author use to develop the characters, setting, and plot? In conclusion, incorporating Curriculum-Framing Questions, the project-based learning provides the ideal structure to building an authentic cognitive process of thoughtful learning, The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 419 because this is the better way to promote student inquiry, but targeting higher-order thinking: “Essential and Unit Questions provide the rationale for learning. They help students to recognize the "why" and "how" and encourage inquiry, discussion, and research. They involve students in personalizing their learning and developing insights into a topic. Good Essential and Unit Questions engage students in critical thinking, promote curiosity, and develop a questioning approach to the curriculum. In order to answer such questions, students must examine topics in depth and construct their own meaning and answers from the information they have gathered” [10]. 3.2. Samples of Learning How it’s looking the process of learning from a student perspective? Are the requirements of the final project appropriate for the students? How will the teachers ensure that the final project will show that students have thought deeply about the Curriculum-Framing Questions? How can the teachers know that the students will achieve the learning objectives when creating their projects? The Essential Course has the answer to these questions: samples of learning, created by teacher, but from a student perspective. The student sample is one of the most important concept-key of the Essential Course. The student sample must answers to the unit’s Curriculum-Framing Questions, demonstrating in the same time understanding of knowledge, concepts and skills, but which real world-connections: the student sample must be authentic, representative of different kinds of work in real life. The student sample must offer to the student the possibility to demonstrate higher-order 21st century skills, connections concepts across varied disciplines, using the technology appropriately (the technology must help students to analyze, evaluate or synthesized the information, showing them understands of concepts and making meaningful connections). The student sample must meet the learning objectives and expectations for student learning, For creating the student sample, teachers might choose one of the following tools: • Presentations Power-Point • Publications (brochures, newsletters, newspaper, posters) • Web-based Resources: Wikis, Blogs For example: Figure 2. Student Sample – Publication Ppt University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 420 Figure 3. Student Sample – brochures, newspapers Figure 1. Student Sample, Wiki Figure 2. Student Sample, Blog http://eminescu.wik.is/ http://lilianaa.21classes.com 3.3. Using the Internet for Research, Communication, Collaboration “The first decade of the 21st century started by the consolidation of the great achievements in ITC” [11] (Marin Vlada, Alexandru ługui, Information Society Technologies – The four waves of information technologies, The 1st International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2006): • the appearance of the operating system Windows XP – the version from 2001has brought important facilities regarding Internet, multimedia, USB services; • the diversification of technologies for creating and maintaining Websites – CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programs, ASP platform (Active Server Page), PHP (Hypertext PreProcessor) platform; Languages XML (eXtensible MarkupLanguage), Perl, TCL, VBScript, JavaScript, My SQL; graphical editors for Web pages development (Netscape Composer, Macromedia Dreamweaver/Flash, Adobe GoLive, ContentWare, Content Management Server), Oracle9i platform; • significant achievements regarding Virtual Reality, e-Learning and educational software technologies, electronic trade, electronic libraries” . [12] The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 421 Technology can play a big part in project-based units, because it offers students many resources to find information ant to create work products. Due to Internet‘s flexibility, students can access many on-line resources for research, but they also can use Internet for communication and collaboration. Including the Internet resources in our units, the students can meet much better the learning goals and standards. For discussions and sharing ideas, very useful are Internet communication tools: E-mail, Online Chats, Instant Messaging, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) who allow students to communicate with people all over the world. To support communication and to encourage student’s collaboration, it can be also used online tools: wikis and blogs. Using the Online Collaborative Web Sites (for example, www.google.docs ) the students can also work together on documents, spreadsheets and presentations. All this resources help us to building an authentic cognitive process of thoughtful learning process: the online thinking tools support collaborative student-centred learning because they are places where students discuss, investigate, analyze and solve problems: "With the help of technology, teachers will be leaders in the transformation of education around the world." – Craig R. Barrett – Chairman, Intel Corporation [13] Figure 1. Wiki created by students Figure 2. Blog created by students http://genulliric.wik.is/ http://intelprogram.21classes.com 3.4. Using Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning Essential Course proposes a special modern vision about student-centred assessment. Focus on content of the unit as well on 21 st century skills, the strategies instruction and formative assessment have the power to motivate students to become engaged in their own learning. All the assessments are student-centred, providing information to help improve the teaching and the students’ learning. The assessments must also match all the targeted standards and objectives. Effectively integrating a variety of kinds of assessment into everyday classroom activities, teachers are possibility to gauge student needs, encourage self-direction and collaboration, monitor the students’ progress and encourage metacognition. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 422 Examples of Assessment Strategies [14]: • Strategies for Gauging Student Needs: Graphic Organizers , Concept Maps, Sequencing Activities, Classification Charts, Prioritized Lists, Know-Wonder-Learn (K-W-L) Charts, Question or prompt , Form for recording summaries and questions etc, such as samples of products or assessments from different students • Strategies for Encouraging Self-Direction and Collaboration: Checklists, Prompts or Forms for self-assessment and reflection or for peer feedback, Questions, Reflections, Checklists for observation of groups. • Strategies for Monitoring Progress: checklists with milestones, due dates, and approval stages or to help focus expected behaviours, notes collected in individual or group folders. • Strategies for Checking for Understanding and Encouraging Metacognition: Journal, Conference Questions, Observation by teacher, observation by students, Oral Tests, Quizzes • Strategies for Demonstrating Understanding and Skill: Rubrics, Scoring Guides, Checklists, Reflection Questions, Forms, Prompts. All this tools and assessment strategies help both the teachers and the student to shift on a modern learning process: “In the past, standards were taught through activities, learning was assessed with tests and exams, and teaching was geared to standardized tests. With this shift, standards are used to help design the project, assessment is planned ahead of time and embedded throughout, and tests are just one of many types of assessment. Performance tasks, rubrics, checklists, and tests are used as assessment tools. These multiple forms of assessment, implemented throughout learning, account for learning as a process, instead of a single event. Through ongoing assessment, teachers can feel confident that they have reached their objectives and that students understand the content”. [15] 4. Conclusion For building a knowledge society, we must believe in innovation: the Project-Based Learning- promoted by Intel® Teach Essential Course gives us an innovative, modern and competitive solution. REFERENCES [11], [12] VLADA, MARIN, ALEXANDRU łUGUI, Information Society Technologies – The four waves of information technologies, (2006), in Proceedings of The The 1st International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2006, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bucharest, Romania, 69-82. [1], [3], [13]. www.intel.com/education/teach [14], [15] http://educate.intel.com/en/AssessingProjects [2], [4,] [5], [6], [9], [10] http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign [8] www.philipcoppens.com/socrates [7] www.citate.ro , http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Sanzio_01_Socrates.jpg The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 423 Science e –learning @ portal.moisil.ro Mihaela Garabet 1 , Ion Neacşu 1 (1) Theoretical High School “ Grigore Moisil” 33, Timişoara Bvd, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] Abstract A few months ago, the Theoretical High School Grigore Moisil from Bucharest won a Grant Competition for scholar development, with the goal to pilot a Microsoft Learning Gateway application for educational use, in order to facilitate the communication between all the educational actors: students, teachers, managers, parents, local community. Our main goal is to promote experimental teaching of Science as a way of improving in-school scientific education and Science literacy in our society. That’s why we are developing and using hands-on experiments in our classrooms so that students “do” science rather than merely being “exposed” to it. We have also prepared a set of data acquisition experiments that could be performed from distance by logging on our computers and work in our lab. Keywords: e-learning, e-portfolio, data acquisition experiments. 1. Introduction or portal.moisil.ro A few months ago, the Theoretical High School Grigore Moisil from Bucharest won a Grant Competition for scholar development, with the goal to pilot a Microsoft Learning Gateway application for educational use, in order to facilitate the communication between all the educational actors: students, teachers, managers, parents, local community. It can be accessed at: http://portal.moisil.ro, username: vizitator, password: vizitator. In the figure 1, you can see the homepage of the portal. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 424 Figure 1. portal.moisil.ro – home page Microsoft Learning Gateway (MLG) is a powerful, extensible suite of features designed to help schools meet their priorities and to give students personalized learning portals that bring together everything they need to support their classes. Password-protected access can be extended to parents, providing up-to-the-minute information on students’ attendance, grades, assignments, timetables, and upcoming events. Administrators are provided with a secure, personalized interface from which they can improve planning and follow-through and make effective decisions. You can explore the tabs from figure 2 and you will see the content of the portal. Figure 2. The sections of the portal The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 425 As a ‘Virtual Learning Environment’ (VLE), Learning Gateway simply breaks down barriers of location and time to offer pupils and staff the ability to communicate and interact as if they were sharing the same space. Indeed web-based communication and collaboration via email, messaging, chat rooms, bulletin boards, videoconferencing, web pages, presentations, written documents, notes, is at the core of Learning Gateway. But the next step is to have access to and share online workspaces, where coursework, homework, reference materials and the like can be uploaded. No longer can the dog eat the recalcitrant child’s homework! There are ample opportunities for supporting pupils, with online discussions, tutorials, background materials, revision resources and two-way interactions. The Table 1 shows the major benefits for teachers, learners and parents. Table 1 MLG benefits Teachers Learners Parents • Plan lessons • Tests and marking • Allocate home work to learners • Class registration • Add content • Communicate • Access from anywhere • Collaborate with other learners • Tests online • Research resources • Personalize pages • Keep up to date • Access from anywhere • More involved • Follow children’s development • Aware of school news and events • Access from anywhere We will try to illustrate all of these features using the description of the Science e-portfolio. 2. Natural Science between real and virtual In order to valorise the possession of the portal, we, the teachers of Natural Science, are intending to realize an e-portfolio named Natural Science between real and virtual. It will contain all kind of experiments and projects made by the students and the Science Teachers and it will be hosted on the portal of our school. For the beginning, let’s see the tutorial named Natural Science between real and virtual- data acquisition, processing and presentation, by Mihaela Garabet and Ion Neacşu, elaborated in partnership with Center for Science Education and Training, Microsoft Partners in Learning, National Instruments and Vernier International. The tutorial has as a the major goal to bring our students closer to the real world, to give them a chance to apply their theoretical knowledge in practice in an integrated manner and from a different point of view comparing to the outcomes of the curricular standards. On the other way we find it is a good way to develop the general competences prefigured in the Romanian curricular standards like: understanding and explain natural phenomenon and technological processes in everyday life, the applying of scientific investigation in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and the environmental protection. So, click on tab Hands on Science, than click on the link Hands on Science – Real si virtual in Stiinte Naturale and you can explore the themes we are proposing: movements, sounds, light, electric circuits, Global Warming, everyday life solutions, human cardiovascular system, plants, etc (figure 3). All of them are treated with data University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 426 acquisition experiments which are described in the tutorial and all the registered signals are given in xls format for free. Any visitor can download and use them for processing. Figure 3. The tutorial’s content The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 427 Figure 4. Aspects from the tutorial 3. Students projects The students projects are uploaded on their personal sites. I am the teacher, at my home, and I want to check Andrei Erghelegiu’s work.. So I will access the portal using my username and my password and I will search by the student name, using the tab Cautare, like in the figure5. The results are two: the parent Erghelegiu and the student personal sites. Figure 5. Searching by the name of the student I will click the student site for checking his works! I will find what you can see in the figure 6! University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 428 Figure 6 And an example of a result of a project developed by a student from 9A: the study of car moving down an inclined, using a camera for register the movie, Movie Maker for analyzing the movement frame by frame and Microsoft Excel for making the graph you can see in the figure 7. Figure 7. Exemple of Physics Homework Another collaborative Science project started in 2006 because the students from 10th have discovered that the Earth has a great problem: the phenomenon called Global Warming. It happened during a documentary project proposed by the Physics Teacher Mihaela Garabet: the students had to illustrate the phase transitions in a PowerPoint presentation. After that, the students, helped by the teacher and the technician engineer, Ion Neacsu are projecting and developing experiments to investigate the way we contribute to the Earth warming. The Center for Science Education and Training gave them last generation instruments for data acquisition. They have tested the role of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere warming, the role of the oceans in carbon dioxide consumption, the role of the plants and trees in maintaining the atmosphere equilibrium. After a brainstorming they formulated some ideas for reducing Global Warming. The students want to sensitize the people to fight with Global warming, so in June 2007 they organized a poster exposition named Message for Terra. A team of 3 students created Message to ourselves witch is an electronic self statement about what to do in order to slower the Global Warming and to protect the environment. This statement was posted, in 2007 on the school web page and everybody was asked to sign the self agree for respecting it for ever! This section of the portfolio, The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 429 named Against Global Warming, was presented at the Innovative Teachers Forum, held in Zagreb, on 6-8 Mars, 2008. You can find more about it by searching the tab Against Global Warming! We hope our students will learn a lot in this project because the manner of developing the activities is very different from the classic lessons of Science, now they can integrate their knowledge and they can act like the adults in the real life. 4. The online data acquisition experimental platform Now we are intending to integrate an online experimental platform on the Moisil portal. We have some experience in conducting data acquisition experiments and more important, we have the necessary equipment and we can share it via Internet with different users. They will have to receive a user name and a password which grant them limited access to make real experiment from distance. The online laboratory will be set up to perform science experiments covering a vast array of fields including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Sciences, Mechanics and Electricity. Students using the LabVIEW software will be able to operate real equipment throughout the experiment directly via the Internet. We have also prepared a set of data acquisition experiments that could be performed from distance by logging on our computers and work in our lab. When I am writing this paper the platform is not integrated ready yet on the portal by I will try to describe the way I can do a simple experiment from distance. I am at home and the experiment of raising the Current-voltage characteristic of a light bulb will take place on the table of our lab, but will be conducted by me, from the distance. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 430 Figure 8. Experimental set-up The experimental set-up is shown in the figure 8: the bulb, the current probe and the conductors for registering the bulb’s applied voltage from the AO of the data acquisition board. The last one is connected to the computer and works together with LabVIEW 7. In this experiment the user will manually modify (from the distance), the apply voltage to the bulb and register the current and the voltage on different channels (Analog Input) of the data acquisition board. The user can plot the graph I = I(U) directly in the VI (Virtual Instrument) he is using or he can save the registered data in a xls datasheet. I am at home. I will authentify myself to grant access on PC21 Physics Moisil Laboratory, where I can only use the VI for the study of the electric bulb. In the figure 9 you can see theVI for the bulb characteristic I=I(U) and an web-cam image of the experimental set-up. Figure 9. The results of the distance experiment In the future, a student from anywhere (in Romania) could be able to do the same. And many other experiments we are hoping now! REFERENCES Internet Sources http://www.microsoft.com/education/LearningGateway.mspx http://education.inflpr.ro http://www.ni.com The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 431 http://www.vernier.com University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 432 E-learning – THE WAY OF THE FUTURE Lieutenant Colonel Lecturer Doina Mureşan Carol I National Defence University, Romania
[email protected] ABSTRACT: “We are evolving more and more towards a universe where the television describes- prescribes the social world while the cultural world is ruled by information and communication technologies. The internet is turning into the referee of the access to existence for culture. These complex systems of communication set in motion enormous sums, sophisticated technical equipment, tremendous human resources and benefits billions of people offering them a vital position in the political, economic and social realms of any society.”[1] The socio-economic development has undergone a series of stages representing as many technological revolutions, culminating at the threshold of the third millennium with the informational society, based on knowledge, whose physiognomy tends to become mainly digital. The evolution of the economy is driven by education. One argument is the paradigm according to which the increase in the individual knowledge leads to the development and the coming of age of his/her complementary systems: family, community, region, society. All these are possible in the informational era by means of continuous education, distance learning, on-line learning or e-learning. The concern for education is the greatest challenge for most governments in their effort to promote democratic ideals of freedom, peace, responsibility and social justice, in their attempt to generate greater prosperity and competition on a free global market. It is clear that the education system has experienced numerous and profound transformations governed by the idea of renewal, successive rapid changes which have affected all the structural, functional and contextual components defining modern education. The limited room available in institutions and the various drawbacks encountered by some students, corroborated with the necessity of learning throughout one’s entire life, lead to considering open learning and distance learning as a viable alternative. This falls into the newly defined paradigm of role fluidity, centred on the student, distributed resources, virtual facilities and asynchronous lessons. The traditional axioms of school functioning is thus ground shaken and the metaphor of the all-knowing teacher and the spoon-fed student remains just a memory. Therefore, updating the teaching/learning procedures ahs become of the major objectives of the educational reform everywhere. Consequently, it is justifiable this growing demand for acquiring better more efficient working tools meant to substantially contributing to a better quality in the teaching and learning efforts. The new communication formats modify the traditional pattern of the didactic communication (teacher-student) and computer-based learning is a work method integrated in the above mentioned system teacher-student. E-learning is a new concept which can be understood as an innovative, interactive approach centred on the learner and turns the informational realm into an excellent ally. The new informational and communicational technologies change the outlook on the educational practice, and implementing is considered one of the most important issues at the beginning of this century, raised to the level of national policy. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 433 The first suggestion pursuant to the analysis of the accumulated experience points to the necessity of giving priority to researching all problems related to introducing the computer in education and of the emphasis falling on forming and recycling the teachers. In "DeclaraŃia" (Statement) at Stanford [2], the essential element of the relationship between education and new informational technologies is the fact that citizens must be formed to live in an informational society. The extensions brought by the technological environment, insufficiently explored and used, refer to centring on the student by personalizing the forming stages (differently elaborating the educational objectives depending on the requirements of each beneficiary), by individualizing the formation (the non-linear structure of information, with the possibility of returning to more difficult content when lacks are automatically identified), autonomy (eluding a set rhythm), special independence and asynchronous seminars. They also refer to the distributed resources, by using/integrating/accessing electronic libraries and multi-media materials, by engaging specialists in student talks and smoothing the roles via a continuous balance of the teacher-student role in the learning group ("symmetric knowledge advancement" – Scardamalia, 1995), by on-going restructuring of the learning teams depending on the interests or efficiency criteria. Starting from the e-learning definition – as the totality of educational situations where informational and communicational technology means are significantly used – we can talk about the characteristics of electronic learning. E-learning is a generic term which does not have a universally accepted definition but which is broadly accepted as covering an extensive array of applications and processes supported by the information technology and are used in the educational practice. This term identifies both aspects related to the form and content of the didactic process and the methods and organization of transmitting knowledge. At the concrete level of the transformations produced by the new technologies of information and communication, multiple and interesting transformations take place, as follows. Mutations in the social realm are determined by the complexity of the phenomena in the modern society which demand ever more extensive knowledge, by the speed information travels in bulk and by the capacity of the receptor to interpret it in due time and by the current demand for information which needs to be analyzed and semi-processed. Because of the new communication media, the relevant realm is extended to the “global status” level. In between us and the world, a mediator emerges, an institution which collects information, selects it, breaks it into accessible forms and distributes it facilitating, by its very mediating effort, our access to reality. Each technology of transmitting information has its own way of structuring our perception and understanding of the surrounding world [3]. The informational flow is rapid, builds up considerably in volume and diversifies its sources. Individuals comprehend easier messages, transform them into cultural concepts about the world, and create new interdependencies and solidarities. The step to the real “global communities” is done by the digital media integrated in the world web. The information becomes ubiquitous and gains new characteristics. The knowledge sent is structured on efficiency criteria (Lyotard); the truth is no longer taken as explicit criterion and reason for producing and storing information, as in the case of the Gutenberg product. Presenting and covering content is done linearly and the causality simple, which makes way for a multi-structural organization of knowledge with profound implications on the psyche. The implications for education relate to the fact that its issues are changing deeply, the alternative to the strategies of an insufficient and costly knowledge being the identification of approaches that enable learners to have unlimited access to culture. From another point of view, one can say that countless ways of representing information, of simulating interactions, and expressing ideas are being developed, thereby extending the implications of intelligence, and University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 434 altering the requirements of the participation to culture. Therefore, educators will find it more and more difficult to favour the use of the verbal language at the expense of other ways of expression. Nowadays, people are converting various current abilities, e.g. computing, writing correctly, memorizing, visualizing, comparing, selecting, etc. into digital tools with which they operate, thus acquiring excellent command of skills that used to be the result off education. In conclusion, one can say that the digital technologies foster one’s own potentialities. Education, as an essential activity in the development of a society, cannot remain outside the reach of the technological phenomena: it will undergo essential changes, resulting in the new methods, patterns, and paradigms of modern education. Access to the internet removes geographical and time barriers, enabling collaboration of users far away from each other, speeding up the pace of getting and sharing ideas and results. The new educational technologies yield different result and propagate through the internet in order to be used in teaching. Most of the well-known universities have made it compulsory to introduce courses on the web, i.e. the topics, contents, and bibliography, providing on-line all of the course materials within their own intranet. Specialized program products have been drawn up and are being developed to help achieve electronic interactive courses. In this context, the Romanian market exhibits a remarkable openness. Apart from the large number of universities and organizations adopting such a solution, the internet infrastructure is promising a spectacular development, and beyond the technological support, the key factor is the psychological aspect involved, i.e. by applying a clear and professional approach, the implemented projects will be widely welcomed by users. The new requirements of becoming a professional consist in the fact that the information and communication technology, in particular the computer, will become tools of universal use, leading to the development of a new way of thinking and behaving, which will enable us to cope with these new challenges. Each educator will have to acquire basic training in the field, which involves a series of objectives, such as: • Acquiring the common principles governing the implementation of information, knowledge of its nature, information structure and properties; • Developing a general view of the scope and impact of implementing computer science and its social and economic effects on the individual and the community; • Developing the skill of identifying the situations in which the use of computer science is advisable and designing adequate solutions, with particularization in drawing up curricular strategies; • Developing the skill of implementing the new technologies in such activities as storing and searching for information, processing it for communication, supervising and controlling it; • Knowing the current means of communication with a computer; • Establishing co-operation relations with teams working in the field but in other countries; • Retrieving the latest information from world wide information networks. The implementation of the latest information technology in the educational systems entails a change of focus as regards setting target priorities and allocating resources. We can say that new priorities are being considered, such as the one of learning how to learn and using this competence one’s entire life, the one of learning to experiment, correct and solve problems, the one of learning to cope with an enormous and diversified amount of information and to display discernment in selecting it, the one of learning to live in an environment of change and to co-operate with others in carrying out research tasks. Distance learning has as its main characteristics the available resources and means of contact between tutor and student or among students. These characteristics require that both educators, i.e. tutors and course authors, and students have specific communication competences in writing and in using the means for transmitting the information used in the program. The requirements for efficient communication, which enable users to understand a written message The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 435 without difficulty, focus on the following aspects that will be taken into account in acquiring and/or using the communicative competence [4]: • Noticing the different levels of abstract use of the various types of language varieties; • Understanding the relationships between the lexical and syntagmatic values of words; • Knowing and acknowledging the value of punctuation marks, and of the other graphic means; • Knowing and acknowledging the contextual meaning correctly; • Distinguishing the essential information from the non-essential one, in a written text; • Acquiring the work methods used in written information, i.e. dictionaries, books, graphs, cards, etc.; • Having a good command of the proper way of asking questions, starting from a piece of information; • Being able to summarize and draw a conclusion; • Integrating in one’s own experience the knowledge acquired from written information. The efficiency of the instructor is closely connected with his/her ability to use all the possible forms of interaction in the context of distance learning, together with a good command of the technological means involved. He/she should change the way of approaching courses, adopting a deeper approach. With this type of educational process, students and teachers should cope with numerous challenges, such as: acknowledging each other’s strengths and weaknesses; gaining, keeping, and even increasing one’s self-confidence; learning to communicate with colleagues that cannot be met face to face; making clear what has and what has not been learnt. In the e-learning system there ought to be created a well-suited educational framework, which should involve both instructors and students. Three subsystems have been identified: the individual who studies (student), teacher (instructor) and the communication method. The relationship student-instructor is accomplished through new information and communication technologies – especially through the Internet. Internet fulfils two roles: it represents both the appropriate environment for supply of information as well as the channel of communication among the involved actors. Nevertheless it seems to be an unexpected opportunity for poor and small nations and for the research and discovery situated outside the main academic centres. The internship permits the rapid building and breaking of some research teams, irrespective of the place where partners act. Let us analyse the involved actors in this type of instruction. The first, and the most important ones, are the educated people – taken as individuals – who can benefit from the virtual educational resources kept at distance, by signing up to diverse means of instruction. Learning groups, made up by taking into account the various motivations, represent the second actor involved in the e-learning process (I refer to thematic groups, projects that are achieved by the group, open or closed groups). E-learning allows the students to access on-line the information without being present in a study room and, on the other hand, it permits students accessing the information by using existing modern instruments in a study room. Of course, by working at distance students should be more selective and more focused on the learning process in order to master the new information. Instructors – the teachers or the resources suppliers as well as other different groups of individuals situated beyond the school’s perimeter (study engineers, experts, tutors, study mates), represent other categories that evolve in this framework of virtual education. From the point of view of the contents, their essential elements will be introduced in the virtual system at different levels: lessons, study units or chains of linked lessons and adjacent, complementary and optional contents are used so that the educated people will be able to access them. Pedagogical materials will be guided mostly towards single cases, individual study biographies, referential texts or projects, and regarding the instruction courses one could say that they will be individualised or created by having in mind a target audience. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 436 New instruments of formative evaluation have been imposed, they ensure and stimulate learning. Here we can mention exercises, tests, questionnaires, reflective activities or even topic- based questions. Of course, virtual examinations, essays and portfolios have been imposed too, as well as the online information evaluation. Functional only at the high education level and in adult education, the teaching system through the Internet replies and adapts the traditional educational components/face to face: planning, specific content and methodology, interaction, support and evaluation. By comparing the two systems, some advantages of the distance education through the Internet can be underlined, considering it applicable to, at least for now, high education and in permanent education, following the open universities and at distance pattern with complete technological development. The learning at one’s own rhythm is facilitated in this system, in one’s own style, thus the covering or the courses’ audition can be made step by step and repeatedly. At the same time, the course resources can be effortlessly accessed to. Computers have in their composition various software programs that can be run easily; thus the student is in charge of the information’s contents. The technologies are interactive, allowing the student to get complete feed-back in real time, and also formative or concise evaluations, quantitative or qualitative ones given smoothly by the most suitable evaluators. The displayed information is modular and permits the students to learn progressively, one the one hand, and the large stocking capacity permits users to access to more products, on the other; thus being able to see introduction slides for a series of courses from which they can choose at least one. The curriculum’s aim will be more comprising than the present one; it will offer manifold possibilities of acquiring the highest level in all cultural fields. The access to local, regional and national networks link the students coming from different social, cultural and economic background each of them having accumulated diverse experiences; these are students that cannot take part in courses in the traditional system. What is to be underlined here is the possibility of building a pedagogical group (team teaching) in order to transmit the knowledge in one specific field and to get instructors involved, instructors that normally are not available because of various reasons. The high costs of the system’s development, the difficulty in supporting its implementation by paying consistent and unceasing effort on the students’, instructors’, the administrative personnel’s and agents’ part, the last ones are the those who offer technical support, and the necessity of having computing skills are only some of the limits of this educational system. The e-learning education has become the common vision of more and more analysts and professionals of the educational domain, a relevant way of increasing one’s knowledge. We witness a phenomenon of dissemination of the education worldwide (especially the high education) by putting into practice as many values as we can from the point of view of structure, process and action. Universities have become "pioneers" of globalization by adjusting some convergences concerning knowledge, by enlarging an organizational structure inspired by the business setting, by absorbing in the educational system the information and communication technologies and by increasing the degree of changeableness and the connections among the actors involved in training and teaching. The main problem of the system remains change. The control over this change process, its guidance, the assurance that the new concept embracing is a clean process is the factor that provides the success of this change process. On-line education does not represent only technology; this is merely the instrument that facilitates the objectives’ attainability, a simpler means of communication, more efficient having in mind the durable development of the organization. The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 437 BIBLIOGRAPHY [1] COMAN, M., Introducere în sistemul mass-media, Iaşi, Editura Polirom, 1999. [2] CARNOY, M., LOOP, L., Informatique et education: quel est la role de la recherche internationale?, Rapport sur le Colloque Stanford – UNESCO, 10-13 mars 1989, Stanford University School of Education. [3] BOURDIEU, P., Despre televiziune, Bucureşti, Editura Meridiane, 1998, p. 22. CERGHIT, I., Metode de învăŃământ, ediŃia a III-a, Bucureşti, Editura Didactică şi Pedagogică, 1997. [4] NEACŞU, I., Metode şi tehnici de învăŃare eficientă, Bucureşti, Editura Militară, 1990, pp. 276-277. CUCOŞ, C., Informatizarea în educaŃie, Bucureşti, Editura Polirom, 2006. EURYDICE – ReŃeaua de Informare despre EducaŃie în Comunitatea Europeană. Formarea continuă a cadrelor didactice în Uniunea Europeană şi în statele AELS/SEE, Bucureşti, Editura Alternative, 1997. ISTRATE, O., Pregătirea educatorului pentru şcoala de mâine. Impactul noilor tehnologii în educaŃie. [online] http://pedagogica.gq.nu/resurse/ppd/nti.htm, POL, 1999. University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 438 Contents Intel® Education" – Learning, Technology, Science No Paper and Authors Page 1 Intel Education Initiative. Focus: Romania Thomas OSBURG 1, Olimpius ISTRATE 2 (1) Education Manager, Intel Europe, Munich, Germany E-mail:
[email protected] (2) Education Manager, Intel Romania, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] 403 2 USING ICT IN THE ROMANIAN EDUCATION SYSTEM: S.E.I. PROGRAMME Olimpius Istrate University of Bucharest, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Bucharest, Romania E-mail:
[email protected] 409 3 Intel® Teach – Innovative, modern and Competitive e-Learning solution Liliana Şerban Senior Teacher, Intel® Teach Program, “Ioan Alexandru Brătescu-Voineşti” School, Targovişte, ROMÂNIA E-mail:
[email protected] 415 4 Science e-learning @ portal.moisil.ro Mihaela Garabet 1 , Ion Neacşu 1 (1) Theoretical High School “ Grigore Moisil” 33, Timişoara Bvd, Bucharest, România E-mail:
[email protected] 423 5 E-learning – THE WAY OF THE FUTURE Lieutenant Colonel Lecturer Doina Mureşan Carol I National Defence University, Romania
[email protected] 431 University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 440 News and Events ICVL 2008 Web site September 20, 2008 • LOCATION OF THE CONFERENCE – The conference will be held in the "OVIDIUS" University of CONSTANTA Campus [1 University Street, Address: MAMAIA , BUS 100 (head line), Constanta-Mamaia] | MAMAIA is very closed to Constanta and there is a bus from railway station to the entrance in Mamaia, or you can use a taxi | LINK • Proceedings of ICVL – The Conference Proceedings is in preparation and will be sent for printing, Bucharest University Press • ICL 2008 – Conference in Villach, International Conference – Carinthia Tech Institute Villach, Austria, September 24-26, 2007 | www.icl-conference.org • INSEAD – The Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies (CALT) – France, The Centre for Advanced Learning Technologies, is one of the well-established Centres of Excellence at INSEAD. Research focuses on advanced learning systems | http://www.calt.insead.edu/ | www.insead.edu • VRMI – Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Europe – Brussels, Belgium – http://www.vrphobia.eu/ | Journal of CyberTherapy and Rehabilitation (JCR), Annual Review of CyberTherapy and Telemedicine: The International Association of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation [ Publications ] September 2, 2008 • Review Process – Accepted papers: 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62 (Total = 44 from 64 received) August 12, 2008 • WSEAS – The World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society – http://www.wseas.org | Journals | Books | Conferences • World Scientific – The World Scientific Publishing – http://www.worldscientific.com | eBooks | Innovation • HR4 Europe – World : Contact – http://www.hr4europe.com/ July 14, 2008 • News – please visit Keynote Speakers | Dr. Jean-Pierre GERVAL, European INTUITION Consortium member - Brest, FRANCE | Wessa P., (2008), ICVL 2008 (v1.0.0) in Free Statistics Software (v1.1.23-r1), Office for Research Development and Education The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 441 • WRI – The World Research Institutes (WRI): Promoting Global Innovation and Networking | http://world-research-institutes.org/ • UB-RO – University of Bucharest (Romania) has 144 years (Wednesday, July 16). This is Established by Decree no. 756, 4 / 16 July 1864 of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, as the successor to higher education structures dating back to the Princely Academy founded in 1694. In the 144 of existence here have taught outstanding personalities of science and culture in Romania, which have enjoyed a wide international recognition and appreciation in the fields of basic science. | http://www.unibuc.ro July 07, 2008 • Did You Know 2.0 – For more information, or to join the conversation, please visit http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com – Content by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, design and development by XPLANE | http://www.youtube.com/ • Education Today and Tomorrow – This video was created by Tom Woodward of Henrico County schools in Virginia | http://www.youtube.com/ • FaceySpacey.com Web 2.0 – http://www.youtube.com/ • Web 2.0 Mentor – http://www.web2mentor.com • The list of accepted abstracts – The list contains about 58 selected proposals from 74 received ( LINK ); We invite you to complete and to send the full version paper no later than July 30, 2008; All submissions will be reviewed on the basis of relevance, originality, significance, soundness and clarity; [read more][ EVALUATION REPORT FOR PAPER (.pdf, The report file for authors)] • NEWS – ICVL Speakers – LINK | ICVL Awards | ICVL Workshop June 17, 2008 • News – ICVL Speakers - LINK | ICVL Awards | ICVL Workshop • BbWorld '08 – Blackboard Developers Conference | http://www.blackboard.com • VLG – Virtual Learning Group of Florida | www.virtuallearninggroup.com • JCESC – Jefferson County Educational Service Center | www.virtuallearningacademy.net • MMVR17 – Medicine Meets Virtual Reality 17, 19 to 22 January 2009 Long Beach, California, United States | http://www.nextmed.com May 17, 2008 • RoboCup 2008 – Pittsburgh, May 24-27, 2008 at the Carnegie Science Center | LINK • News – ICVL Speakers - LINK | ICVL Awards | ICVL Workshop • EPISTEP – EPISTEP is an innovative project supported by the EU "Research and Innovation" (FP6,FP7) – www.epistep.org | European Technology Platforms (ETP) – eMobility, ARTEMIS, ENIAC, NEM | Networked and electronic media platform – http://www.nem- initiative.org/ April 29, 2008 • Octacube Sculpture – Animation, Octacube design and 4D projection method by Adrian Ocneanu, professor of mathematics at Penn State | Link1 | Link2 | Department of Mathematics • PENN STATE – The Pennsylvania State University | Eberly College of Science University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 442 • VLACS – Virtual Learning Academy Charter School | http://www.vlacs.org • Xtalks – Xtalks' goal is to make the exchange of ideas more accessible | http://www.xtalks.com • TEKsystems – TEKsystems Education Services | http://training.teksystems.com/ April 19, 2008 • ICPC 2008 – The 32nd ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest | University of Alberta's 2008 World Finals • eLSE 2008 – The 4th International Scientific Conference "eLearning and Software for Education", BUCHAREST, April 17-18, 2008 | Advanced Distributed Learning Department – http://adl.unap.ro/ • SITE 2008 – Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education | Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) - http://www.aace.org/ | AACE (founded in 1981) is an international, educational, and professional organization dedicated to the advancement of the knowledge, theory and quality of learning and teaching at all levels with information technology • Learning World 2008 – Advanced Learning Solutios, 19 June 2008 Berlin Germany | http://www.imc-learningworld.com/ • ICALT 2008 – The 8th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies | http://www.ask4research.info/icalt/2008/ • EdITLib – Digital Library for Information Technology and Education | http://www.editlib.org • AACTE – The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education | http://www.aacte.org | To promote the learning of all PK-12 students through high-quality, evidence-based preparation and continuing education for all school personnel http://cinderella.de • InterGeo – Interoperable Interactive Geometry for Europe http://www.inter2geo.eu/en/ (I2G) | Interactive Geometry is a way to improve mathematics education with the help of a computer | Project Member | Associate Partner • Cinderella – The Interactive Geometry Software Cinderella – http://cinderella.de (Authors: Jürgen Richter-Gebert and Ulrich Kortenkamp) | Examples | Documentation • GeoNext – The dynamic mathematics software | http://geonext.uni-bayreuth.de • GeoGebra – Free and multi-platform dynamic mathematics software for schools that joins geometry, algebra and calculus (It received several international awards including the European and German educational software awards) | http://www.geogebra.org • Geoplan/Geospace – TracenPoche is a software of dynamic geometry usable on Internet or offline thanks to technology Flash | TracenPoche • OpenMath – OpenMath is a new, extensible standard for representing the semantics of mathematical objects | http://www.openmath.org/ The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 443 • ActiveMath – The ActiveMath group works at the frontiers of e-Learning and intelligent learning environments | http://www.activemath.org/ • Cabri 3D – A simple and comprehensive software to understand 3D geometry in the classroom | http://www.cabri.com/ • WIRIS – WIRIS is a software family of products dedicated to mathematical calculation and formulas designing mostly used as education tools for learning mathematics | http://www.wiris.com/ • Virtual Museum – Virtual Math Museum (Fractels&Chaos, Curves, Surfaces ...)| http://virtualmathmuseum.org • 3D-Xplor Math – 3D-XplorMath is a Mathematical Visualization program (projects by The National Science Foundation-NSF)| http://3d-xplormath.org | Consortium • Xah Lee Web – Computer Graphics Toy Surfaces, Images and Surface, A Visual Dictionary of Special Plane Curves | http://xahlee.org/ April 14, 2008 • JournalSeek – 94.049 titles – http://journalseek.net (Genamics JournalSeek) | Computer and Information Science (1452) | Education (2522) | Mathematics (1072) • SoftwareSeek – Genamics SoftwareSeek (1.300 titles) | Graphing and Statistical Analysis (55) | Molecular Modeling (169) • Genamics – Genamics is a software and web development firm dedicated to empowering researchers with modern and innovative solutions. We are committed to producing professional tools and resources to accelerate research in the 21st century | www.genamics.com • Alexa – The Web information (Search, Traffic Rankings, Directory, Blog) | www.alexa.com • AboutUS – Search website | http://www.aboutus.org April 10, 2008 • Computer History – www.computerhistory.org (Stanford University) | Department of Computer Science | About | Faculty Profiles • Macromedia – DreamWeaver | DEVELOP WEBSITES AND APPLICATIONS | FLASH | CREATE AND DELIVER INTERACTIVE CONTENT| About| Adobe: History of innovation • DarkBasic – DarkBASIC is a programming language for Windows | http://darkbasic. thegamecreators.com/ | 3D Modeling| About • YourHotSearch – Your Hot Search | http://yourhotsearch.com | Educational Software • Virtual Reality – Advertising in Virtual Reality | www.virtualrealityad.com/ March 22, 2008 • News at ICVL 2008 – ICVL Awards (sponsored by Inel Corporation); ICVL Workshop (EMULACTION Project) • EeLS 2008 – The European eLearning Summit | www.elearningsummit.eu/ • ECEL 2008 – The 7th European Conference on e-Learning | ECEL08 • CGVR '08 – The 2008 International Conference on Computer Graphics and Virtual Reality | CGVR08 • SWWS '08 – The 2008 International Conference on Semantic Web and Web Services SWWS08 March 14, 2008 • Howard Gardner – Dr. Howard Gardner Harvard Graduate School of Education: "Multiple Intelligences and Education", "The theory of multiple intelligences", "Frames of Mind", "Technology and Multiple Intelligences", "Five Minds for the Future" | University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 444 www.pz.harvard.edu/PIs/HG.htm | www.howardgardner.com | www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm | www.indiana.edu/~intell/gardner.shtml • Project Zero – Project Zero is an educational research group at the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University | www.pz.harvard.edu • Project Zero eBookstore – Featured Publications from Project Zero | www.pz.harvard. edu/ebookstore For Gardner, intelligence is: – the ability to create an effective product or offer a service that is valued in a culture; – a set of skills that make it possible for a person to solve problems in life; – the potential for finding or creating solutions for problems, which involves gathering new knowledge. „Five Minds for the Future” (NEW BOOK) Harvard Business School Press Gardner's newest book, Five Minds for the Future outlines the specific cognitive abilities that will be sought and cultivated by leaders in the years ahead. They include: 1. The Disciplinary Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of at least one professional craft. 2. The Synthesizing Mind: the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and tocommunicate that integration to others. 3. The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems, questions and phenomena. 4. The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among human beings and human groups. 5. The Ethical Mind: fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a citizen. March 7, 2008 • VRC – Virtual Reality Centre, UK | http://vr.tees.ac.uk/; Virtual Reality Centre, Canada | http://www.virtualrealitycentre.ca/ • VRAC, JCVR – Virtual Reality Applications Centre, USA | http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/; Johnson Center for Virtual Reality | http://www.jcvr.org/ • MVRC, CeRVA-Ro – Medical Virtual Reality Center, USA | http://www.mvrc.pitt.edu/; Virtual and Augmented Reality Research Laboratory, Romania | http://www.univ- ovidius.ro/cerva/ • CERV, ENIB-EU – European Center for Virtual Reality, France | http://www.cerv.fr; ENIB-Fr | http://www.enib.fr March 2, 2008 • News at ICVL 2008 – Commitees | Executive reviewers ; Intel®Education | Evolution of Education Environments • Ad Astra – An Online Project for the Romanian Scientific Community | www.ad-astra.ro | LINK • ICNC '08 and FSKD'08 – The 4th International Conference on Natural Computation, The 5th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery, 25-27 August 2008, Jinan, China | www.icnc-fskd2008.sdu.edu.cn/ February 24, 2008 The 3 rd International Conference on Virtual Learning, ICVL 2008 445 • WSCG – Winter School of Computer Graphics (Co-chairs: Steve Cunningham, California State University Stanislaus, USA and Vaclav Skala, University of West Bohemia, Plzen, Czech Republic) | http://wscg.zcu.cz/ | http://herakles.zcu.cz/ • ETHZ – The Computer Vision Laboratory, ETH Zurich (Prof. Luc Van Gool and Prof. Gabor Székely) | http://www.vision.ee.ethz.ch/ • 3DPVT – 3D Data Processing, Visualization and Transmission (General Chairs: Frank Dellaert and Jarek Rossignac, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA) | http://www.3dpvt.org/ February 23, 2008 • New Section at ICVL 2008 – "Intel® Education" – Learning, Technology, Science (IntelEdu) | Link • I-SEMANTICS 2008 - International Conference on Semantic Systems at Triple-I 2008 in Graz, Austria, 3-5 September 2008 | http://triple-i.tugraz.at/i_semantics | TRIPLE-I '08 • PISTA 2008 – The 6th International Conference on Politics and Information Systems, Technologies and Applications | www.socioinfocyber.org/pista2008 • CHAOS 2008 – CHAOTIC MODELING AND SIMULATION International Conference, 3-6 June 2008 Chania Crete Greece | www.asmda.net/chaos2008/ • Online Learning – 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning 5 to 7 November 2008, Orlando, United States | www.ce.ucf.edu/asp/aln/ February 22, 2008 • ICVL Project – ICVL 2008 (www.icvl.eu) | The ICVL site have been actualised (www.icvl.eu/2008/) | Location: OVIDIUS University of Constanta, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, ROMANIA • First Call for Papers – ICVL 2008 | http://atlas-conferences.com | http://www. conferencealerts.com | Link University of Bucharest and Ovidius University of Constanta 446 Sponsors • Main Sponsor University of Bucharest – www.unibuc.ro • Main Sponsor SIVECO Romania SA – www.siveco.ro • Main Sponsor Intel Corporatiuon – www.intelcom • Main Sponsor M.Ed.R. – National Authority for Scientific Research – www.mct.ro/ • Media Partners: o Agora Media – www.agora.ro o The International Journal of Computers, Communications & Control – http://www. journal.univagora.ro/ o Market Watch – IT&C. Informational solutions for management – www. marketwatch.ro o Modern professor's portal – www.didactic.ro o MEdC – SEI educational portal – portal.edu.ro o CNCSIS – http://www.cncsis.ro/ SIVECO Romania S.A. - www.siveco.ro INTEL Corporation – www.intel.com Ministry of Education and Research National Authority for Scientific Research www.edu.ro - www.mct.ro AGORA Media News - www.agora.ro www.icvl.eu and www.cniv.ro GENERAL OBJECTIVES • The development of Research, projects, and software for E-Learning, Software and Educational Management fields • To promote and develop scientific research for E-Learning, Educational Software and Virtual Reality • To assist the teaching staff and IT&C professionals in the usage of the modern technologies for teaching both in the initial and adult education • To improve the cooperation among students, teachers, pedagogues, psychologists and IT professionals in specification, design, coding, and testing of the educational software CONFERENCE TOPICS • M&M – MODELS & METHODOLOGIES - Research, Development, Strategies, Objectives, Quality, implementation and applications • TECH – TECHNOLOGIES - Innovative Web-based Teaching and Learning Technologies • SOFT – SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS - New software environments for education & training • INTEL® EDUCATION – LEARNING, TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE - Professional Development, readily available training to help teachers acquire the necessary ICT skills • EXHIBITION – Projects and Applications, Educational Software, Training and Educational Management http://www.intuition-eunetwork.org In association with