Showing papers by "Marco Ronchetti published in 2003"

Where is Mobile Learning Going

Abstract: M-learning is a quite new, exciting and promising field. Papers on this domain are spread through several conference and workshops proceedings, so it is rather difficult to have a complete view of the field. This paper aims at helping, by reviewing the existing work, and classifying the research directions that try to answer the questions of how m-learning will help reaching the goals of a better learning, and how it will be different from the rest of e-learning. Finally, we try to foresee some directions for successful m-learning research.

A general architecture for m-learning

Abstract: With the advances in mobile technologies it is already possible to support learners and teachers activities on the move. Nevertheless the interoperation between a Learning Information Systems and mobile technology is still weakly explored. We analyzed the functionalities that should be provided by e-learning and m-learning and present them in a general mobile learning platform. It is extension to traditional LMS and thus able to provide all possible e-learning services and additional specific services to the mobile users. Such a system should have three main functionalities Context Discovery , Mobile Content Management and Presentation Adaptation and Packaging and Synchronization .

Towards a Multi-Vendor Mobile Learning Management System

Abstract: The paper presents Porta-bile, a project under development in our University that intends to investigate the use of mobile computing technologies to support the learning processes in an educational context. The project focuses on the technological aspects of mobile learning, and on their integration with e-Learning systems, and more generally, with the information systems of the academic institutions. The project has its foundations in the availability of significant experience on e-learning real processes, and on the availability of the source code of an e-learning system developed in previous projects at the University of Trento and presently in production at the Economics school, and of the newer platform for the whole University of Trento that gathers the experience obtained in the past. 1. Introduction In this paper we will present Porta-bile, a portal for mobile learning that is under development at our University. The main goal of the project is to experiment m-learning technologies in real learning processes taking place at a University. The use of ICTs for learning has been studied in various ways, but in the recent years quick advance of mobile technologies a new term has appeared – mobile learning. Mobile learning is a field which combines two very promising areas – mobile computing and e-learning. Mobile learning is intended as any form of learning and teaching that use mobile devices (like cellular phones, Personal digital assistants (PDA), smart-phones, tablet PC etc.) in a mobile environment. On the other side of mobile learning, we have e-learning, i.e., every educational process assisted by computers through the use of networks, and Internet in particular. M-learning is often considered as the future of learning, or as an integral part of any other form of educational process in the future. A mobile learning educational process can be considered as any learning and teaching activity that is possible through mobile tools or in settings where mobile equipment is available. In the first part of this paper, we shall briefly overview the state of research in the m-learning field. In fact, ass m-learning is quite a new domain, there is a lot of work and research that is presently going on. People are trying to understand: • Which learning models can help obtaining better learning processes when communication is mediated by mobile devices, and how the student mobility affects her/his learning process . • How it is possible to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness of learning processes based upon mobile technologies, given the physical limitation of mobile devices. • Which services are useful for mobile devices, and which is the enabling technology that can affect the wide diffusion of mobile learning. In the second part of the paper we shall discuss our approach to the problem: we intend to develop methodologies and tools for the design, the analysis and the prototyping of services for mobile computing. The coupling of advanced technologies, like the ones involved in mobile computing, with learning and assessment models represents an advanced point of research. We will propose a system that will integrate a traditional Learning management system with extensions that allow to face with infomobility, thus allowing users of a LMS to interact with the other actors through the use of mobile devices. This integration will be realized with web services technology, in order to be free from platform, operating systems and development framework constraints. The objective will be pursued through: • Adoption of a well tested e -learning platform adapted to the usage of mobile devices • Implementation of mobile computing services by using widespread mobile devices, on the client side, and web services on the server side. • Study of learning models linked to mobile technologies, in order to understand in which way the use of limited devices impact the learning processes • Design and development of Learning Objects suited to mobile learning, together with services for evaluating their effectiveness • Experimentation of prototypes built in real learning processes Another interesting aspect of the project is the experimentation of the integration between the two most used development frameworks for web application available on the market today, i.e., SUN J2EE and Microsoft .NET. The core of the Learning management system is in fact built on J2EE and java-related technologies, while the mobile extensions will be built on .NET framework. The interaction between the two will be granted once again by web services technology. We want to deeply test the most branded advantage of the web services technology, i.e. interoperability between platforms.

Using the Web for diffusing multimedia lectures: a case study.

Abstract: The typical teaching approach, at least when classes are large, is still the classical lecture. By using the new high-speed Internet lines reaching the homes, it possible is to limit some of the drawbacks of this approach. We run an experiment by diffusing via Internet a whole university course. The course was web-cast (synchronously) and delivered on-demand (asynchronously). We also produced CD’s for simulating fast connections for the students who did no have one. We based our experiment on a software developed at the University of Toronto: ePresence. We report here the indications we were able to extract after the end of the experiment.

Designing Models and Services for Learning Management Systems in Mobile Settings

Abstract: The paper presents the guidelines of a project of three Italian Universities (Bologna, Siena, Trento) which aim is to investigate the use of mobile computing technologies to support the learning processes in a University context. The project covers three main areas. The first area is concerned with finding effective models for mobile learning. The second regards the evaluation of learning processes in mobile learning environments. The third focuses on the technological aspects of mobile learning, and on their integration with e-Learning systems, and more generally, with the information systems of the academic institutions. The project has its foundations in the availability of significant experience on e-learning real processes, and on the availability of the source code of an e-learning system developed in previous projects and currently used by different faculties, and of the newer platform that gathers the experience obtained in the past.

Deriving Ontology-Based Metadata for E-Learning form the ACM Computing Curricula

Abstract: Using metadata is very important for achieving best results in finding and reusing e-learning material. Metadata are howe ver effective only if there is a common agreement on the terminology used. Defining an ontology is a way out, but creating a good ontology and reaching a consensus on it is a non trivial task. In this paper, we claim that an ontology for Computer Science can be extracted as a side-result from the work made by an ACM committee on Computer Science curricula. We extracted the ontology, and we suggest that it could/should be used for defining metadata on e -learning material that is concerned with the Computer Science domain. We provide both an XML and a DAML+OIL representation of the ontology. Also, we suggest a possible way to navigate the metadata that allows enriching each lesson with a set of related material automatically extracted from the repository of e-learning material. Finally, we discuss possible additional uses of the ontology, and the exportability of our approach to other disciplines.

De-Fragmenting Knowledge: Using Metadata for Interconnecting Courses

Abstract: E-learning systems are often based on the notion of "course": an interconnected set of resources aiming at presenting material related to a particular topic. Course authors do provide external links to related material. Such external links are however "frozen" at the time of publication of the course. Metadata are useful for classifying and finding e-learning artifacts. In many cases, metadata are used by Learning Management Systems to import, export, sequence and present learning objects. The use of metadata by humans is in general limited to a search functionality, e.g. by authors who search for material that can be reused. We argue that metadata can be used to enrich the interconnection among courses, and to present to the student a richer variety of interconnected resources. We implemented a system that presents an instance of this idea.

Supporting Mobile Learning with Location-Aware Printing Service

Abstract: Learning and studying are very often connected with reading printed materials. In this paper we describe some implementation issues of a common task – printing a document, when applied in a mobile environment. In a non-mobile context this task is simple and is usually taken for granted, but the introduction of a palmtop/laptop equipped with a wireless-LAN card makes the task less trivial. To fulfil the requirements placed by the mobility a system should consider some location-time-dependant data.