Showing papers in "Journal of e-learning and knowledge society in 2012"

Computer-Mediated-Communication and Foreign Language Education

Abstract: Since the early 1990s, the increasing availability of the computer and the advent of the Internet have led to a new form of communication which helps overcome the limits of time and space, namely that which researchers and scholars refer to as Computer-Mediated-Communication (CMC). The aim of this paper is to provide a brief description of CMC, its distinctive features and its potential benefits for foreign language learning. The paper begins with a brief historic perspective on CMC in relation to Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) practices and Network-Based Language Teaching (NBLT), i.e. language teaching activities carried out by means of local or global communication networks. It then looks at the potential benefits of CMC in foreign language education.

Semantic Web and Internet of Things Supporting Enhanced Learning

Abstract: This paper outlines possible evolution trends of e-learning, supported by most recent advancements in the World Wide Web. Specifically, we consider a situation in which the Semantic Web technology and tools are widely adopted, and fully integrated within a context of applications exploiting the Internet of Things paradigm. Such a scenario will dramatically impact on learning activities, as well as on teaching strategies and instructional design methodology. In particular, the models characterized by learning pervasiveness and interactivity will be greatly empowered.

A Case Study of Teachers’ Open Educational Practices

Abstract: This article presents an exploratory study of the digital practices used by teacher educators regarding Open Educational Resources and Open Educational Practices. Despite the growing diffusion of OER repositories, the results of this research reveal that teachers’ practices are still tied to traditional models, and that they are only slightly open to the sharing and reusing of digital materials and to the employment of open license resources in the manner made available by web 2.0.

From proprietary to personalized higher education-how OER takes universities outside the comfort zone

Abstract: Present trends in the mainstream adoption of educational technology coupled to the increased acceptance and adoption of openness in terms of sharing resources and open access force higher education into a radical rethink of its structures and educational strategies. This article examines the current shift in focus from the simple production and sharing of open educational resources (OER) towards wider concepts such as open educational practices (OEP) and cultures (OEC). OER involves mostly educators whereas OEP and OEC demand the commitment of management, administrators and politicians. This openness is already spawning alternative types of peer-based collaborative learning both inside and outside the formal education system. In particular the increased awareness of the importance of informal learning has raised a clear need for some kind of certification model and the current open badges initiative lead by Mozilla and several US authorities is examined and discussed. In 2011 the OER university partnership announced an innovative approach to combining formal and informal learning by planning to offer credible credentials for students who have acquired the necessary skills through their own learning paths. The road to future higher education may not be entirely behind the campus walls.

Semantic Technologies and e-Learning: towards an entity-centric approach for Learning Management Systems

Abstract: In the past, the application of semantic technologies to educational settings attracted a lot of attention, in particular regarding those approaches and software tools able to enrich, categorize and retrieve learning objects. In this paper we present a different perspective, specifically the evolution of a traditionally engineered learning platform into a semantic-enabled application. The semantic enrichment addresses two issues: a) the unique identification of entities inside the contents and b) adding new features to the platform without refactoring it through the usage of semantic representation of information. We believe that these two modifications are missing elements for semantic learning, and in order to apply these changes, we integrated our Virtual communities platform with the entity-centric tools developed in the Okkam EU-funded project. Okkam tools provide a solution to uniquely identifying entities inside data and contents, specifically using the Entity Name System (ENS), which supplies a persistent identifier, called OKKAMid, to any entity included in the dataset and advanced entity matching methods for detecting the occurrence of the same entity in different contexts. This allows a deeper connection between entities’ information available inside content, inside the platform and outside the platform. Once the entity in the LMS has been profiled, it is possible to connect any content where the different occurrences of the same entity have been used, and also to connect any other content outside the learning platform where that entity has been identified, for example web pages or social networks. Furthermore, we extended a domain ontology (SIOC) for the conceptual representation needs of the application, and created an RDF graph mapped onto the database in order to add new functionalities to our virtual community platform, taking advantage of the inference processes available through a reasoner and substituting some parts of the business logic of the application.

Interlinking e-Learning Resources and the Web of Data for Improving Student Experience

Abstract: The Web provides not only several data sources with useful and relevant information with e-Learning purposes, but also information that is not easy to retrieve. The web of linked data is a repository based on semantic technologies. Several researchers have been oriented to this kind of interoperable e-Learning repositories and establish that the Linked Data approach has the potential to fulfill the e-Learning vision of Web-scale interoperability of e-Learning resources as well as highly personalized and adaptive e-Learning applications. The paper presents an automatic concept extraction system used to improve personalized searching framework. It could be considered as one possible instance of a more general concept concerning the transition from the Document Web to the Document/Data Web and the consequent managing of these immense volumes of data.

Semantic Wiki: a collaborative tool for instructional content design

Abstract: The rapid evolving of web technologies has brought to the increasingly diffusion of applications making the Web an interactive social network environment. The World Wide Web Consortium and several research centers are working on the integration of such technologies into the project of a Semantic Web. Consequently, e-learning systems and tools supporting instructional content design could take advantage of these advancements. In this scenario, according to a social-constructivist approach, the authors discuss the adoption of Semantic Wiki as a collaborative environment to design educational contents. The paper will outline the application perspectives and the strategies to adopt, in order to facilitate meaningful learning processes, and the potential advantages that Semantic Wikis would bring from the point of view of knowledge management, as well as for the re-use of learning resources.

Leadership in multimodal computer-mediated second language communication for reciprocal learning

Abstract: This study investigates interactional leadership in Teletandem conversations, in which two speakers communicate employing instant messaging and VoIP software (eg Skype), each alternately using her L2, ie the partner's native language The research focuses on the impact of language competence (native/non-native) and content expertise (familiarity with the topic at hand) on the role assumed by each interlocutor in structuring conversation The subjects are four female university student volunteers forming two Teletandem pairs Two participants were Italian native speakers, one was a native speaker (L1) of English and one a native German speaker For each pair, video-recorded and transcribed data were collected during 3 different meetings, in two of which the L2 speakers chose the topic for conversation Findings show that L2 partners have the opportunity to manage the conversation in terms of topic initiatives and interaction space and L1 speakers produce more topic moves and leave L2 partners to practice the target language during long turns

Sharing and collaborating between an online community of novice teachers: CMC in language teacher education

Abstract: New and emerging technologies have transformed the classroom (Mishra and Koehler, 2006) and continue to do so, and it has been reported that teachers and teacher educators now work in ever evolving environments (Elliott, 2009). Research indicates that varied forms of CMC can be implemented to foster collaborative and social learning (Arnold and Ducate, 2006), and the formation of communities of practice (CoPs) (Arnold et al., 2005). Therefore, this paper investigates the implementation of online and face-to-face (F2F) communication in an English Language Teaching (ELT) teacher education programme, with the aim of illuminating the potential such modes have for sharing and collaborating, for providing a space for situated learning and open communication. Results are analysed using a corpus-based methodology, drawing on three aspects of community membership, namely a joint enterprise, mutual engagement and a shared repertoire (Wenger, 1998). This paper closes with a discussion of the implications of such data for Language Teacher Education (LTE) in a technologically-oriented world.

Qualitative research methods to analyze Learning 2.0 processes: Categorization, recurrence, saturation and multimedia triangulation

Abstract: The developments of the Web have generated new modalities and contexts of learning, shaping what is nowadays called “Learning 2.0”. Within this new phenomenon it arises a trend of moving out from the linearity of written word toward new multimedia complexities, that lead to a parallel semiotic complexity lying behind them. Understanding the above mentioned complexities implies to preserve and make explicit the collaboratory construction of knowledge through the identification of events, instruments, signs. This identification is in fact an analytic process, where the researcher divides the raw data into units of meaning making that must be read both in the specific contribution made by every mode (text, images, audio) as well as a whole. This is possible through an inverse process of analysis and interpretation that depends on specific instruments regarding the qualitative methodological approach. These last must be, in fact, appropriated to the new environments and phenomena. In this work the authors introduce several examples of educational research practice where categorization and triangulation were implemented on data collected from interactive processes in online learning environments, to further obtain recurrences and saturation of data. In second place, going a step further on the discussion of appropriated methods to Learning 2.0 analysis , the so called “multimedia triangulation” is presented, on the basis of analysis of data collected inside the same case study.

Case study investigation of CMC with young language learners

Abstract: By providing authentic experiences with the world outside the classroom, CMC seems to enhance the learning potential of conventional lessons (Pritchard et al. , 2010, p. 211). The assumption underlying the use of videoconferencing to teach and learn a second language is that it will help learners develop their oral and socio-cultural skills. However, when using CMC with young language learners, primary teachers’ relatively limited expertise both in the linguistic and technological fields represents some of the challenges they have to face. Following Pritchard et al. (Ibidem), who show that students who have experienced video-conferenced lessons have more confidence to experiment with language and, in general, produce language of a higher quality, our work examines the impact of CMC on students' communicative skills and teachers' actions in primary education. In this paper, we analyse a bi-national session that involves videoconferencing between young learners of French and English as a foreign language as they play a well-known game Cluedo. In our analysis, we first examine some of the constraints teachers have to face when using videoconferencing to teach an L2. Secondly, we present a few extracts that aim to probe the impact of CMC on the way students use both L1 and L2 and on its possible effect on the development of their linguistic repertoires.

Educational Robotics: Robotics from fantasy medium to medium for fantasy

Abstract: Educational Technologies can be used both as mediators for didactic activities in different specific contexts, and as self-sustaining tools in various settings, acquiring a relevant role in competence building and in developing an attitude to a scientific approach In this contribution we propose a systematic overview of theorical assumptions in order to activate some Robotic experiences and didactic paths in which students act as researchers, continuously discovering and verifying if their intuitions are valid Robotics shows a fantasy dimension which motivate the students and engage them in skill acquisition processes

A blended practice-enterprise course for language learning in an international business community

Abstract: This paper presents the experiences and results from the LLP-project PELLIC. The aim of the project was to make full use of the learning potential of practice enterprise methodology for communicative language learning by organizing and supporting virtual international business interaction within a blended learning scenario. “Practice enterprise” is a practical-oriented teaching method with a strong focus on authenticity, which is conceptually related to task-based learning approaches (e.g. Willis and Willis, 2008). Results are based on the project’s piloting phase during which learners in four European countries became “virtual entrepreneurs”. The target language of the course was English, the lingua franca of international business. Learners’ interactions were supported by a customized virtual learning environment (VLE), based on the open source course management system Moodle, enhanced and adapted to suit the pedagogic needs of the scenario by integrating additional collaboration tools (Google Applications, Skype, etc). Along with a range of openly accessible e-learning contents, focus activities and resources, e-learning tasks were developed as “blueprints” to guide educators in adapting, re-purposing and extending materials and methodology for their own teaching. The article highlights the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in creating opportunities for learner output, the teacher’s role as a facilitator of the learners' project work, and the function of re-usable e-learning contents and activity formats for authentic autonomous and collaborative language learning.

Conversation-based Learning in the Social Semantic Web

Abstract: The collaborative approaches based on concepts of Knowledge construction and knowledge creation consider the learning as a direct function of processes of social participation and dynamic argumentative talk between peers. These approaches justify the Social Semantic Web’ success as a theoretical and technological model which establishes a synergy between an Ontology-based approach to knowledge (suitable for defining, structuring and sharing knowledge) and collaborative software environments (utilized to create and share knowledge socially). The above mentioned approaches make reference to Semantic Web and Social Web respectively. If the Ontologies are an effective mechanism for the formal representation and sharing of knowledge, the social/collaborative activities adopt pedagogical theories of Social Constructivism. Recently, the scientific community has promoted the Educational Social Semantic Web, where activities and educational content are easily created, shared and used by teachers and students even without possessing brilliant engineering knowledge skills or technological know-how. The purpose of this work is to model, according to Social Semantic Web’s principles, an adaptive environment able to support Instruction-based Conversation learning processes in a work environment. In such an environment, the conversational process is guided by a collaborative script automatically generated basing on the explicit representation of a disciplinary domain, a knowledge goal to be achieved, as well as learner’s characteristics (cognitive state) and corporate resources available at a given time. The environment maintains the learner's cognitive balance, minimizes the extraneous processing, appropriately manages the essential processing and maximizes the generative processing.

A semantic approach implemented in a system recommending resources for cultural heritage tourism

Abstract: In the last few years the tourism industry has profoundly changed. Today, a large number of tourists use the internet to find destinations, itineraries, services or travel packages, rather than asking experts in the field. For this reason, Information and Communication Technologies play an important role in tourism promotion. In particular, recommendation systems are interesting because they are able to offer more appropriate support than traditional search engines to the user seeking places to visit. Recommendation systems, in fact, are able to suggest a personalised set of options according to the user’s needs and preferences. But, as widely recognized in the literature, with these systems the quality of the recommendation is closely linked to the description of both resources and users. For them to become effective tools for promoting the knowledge, culture and traditions of a territory, it is necessary to integrate semantic information into the descriptions of resources, that can capture relationships among them. In this way, it is possible to enrich the list of recommendations by adding those resources which, although not explicitly related to the user's request, have some semantic relationships with those included in the list. This can help to promote the discovery of new scenarios and the spread of knowledge about the cultural heritage of a territory. In this scenario, the paper presents a semantic approach amplifying cultural resources recommendations. This approach was used to enrich the list of recommendations of CulTuRek, a system that promotes the exploration of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in the Apulia Region.

The experience of L2L (Live to e-learning) at the University of Turin

Abstract: This paper describes the experience of introducing new technological services within the e-learning activities of the University of Turin, in collaboration with CINECA. Specifically it describes the design choices, the technology implementation and integration of new tools and new types of content with the activities and e-learning platform already in use at the University. The service L2L (Live to e-Learning) has allowed to meet the University of Turin's need to create educational digital content from lecture recordings with little expenditure of time and costs. Turin was the first university of the CINECA consortium to adopt the L2L solution. The experience of these two years confirms the validity of the service and opens perspectives for further development. L2L allows live lectures to be semi-automatically transformed into e-learning activities ready for publication and delivery through an e-learning platform. It has been realized using a Digital Asset Management (DAM) system based on the open source platform MediaMosa, which has been integrated into Moodle with a special plug-in. The overall architecture is open and modular, allowing both the deployment of different service models and the seamless re-use of digital content in different contexts (e.g.: e-learning platforms, web portals, WebTV).

A framework for user modeling in QuizMASter

Abstract: This paper presents an approach to user modeling in QuizMASter, a multi-user educational game shows that uses multi-agent systems to create a personalized learning environment. To keep the students motivated during the games, the system creates, maintains, and uses models of all attending contestants (i.e., learners). Taking advantage of prominent student modeling techniques with some novel ideas, we propose a structure and procedure to create student models and combined student models in QuizMASter. These models are used to create an adaptive environment in the quiz games, selecting and posing questions whose levels of difficulty closely match the knowledge levels of game contestants in certain areas of knowledge; meaning that the game questions for each game are adjusted to the knowledge levels of the learners and the game does not provide too easy or too difficult questions for the contestants. By selecting properly challenging questions for each game show, students are expected to stay motivated and continue benefiting from using the game show, increasing their knowledge through game-based learning.

E-learning nell’Università: quale strada percorrere?

Abstract: At the recent SIe-L Congress, researchers and teachers from over thirty Italian Universities presented initiatives in the field of e-learning. On the basis of these contributions, we can state that most Universities in Italy have recently developed activities in this field or are planning to do so. Apart from local experiences, does an «e-learning strategy exist for all Italian Universities»? And what should the University do in view of the newly- established «on-line Universities» (should traditional universities follow this model or go a different way)? In order to draw some concise guidelines so as to include e-learning in a more organic manner in the Italian University context, we propose herewith to focus on three main dimensions: the «concept of e-learning» (specifying what we mean and what we can expect of it), the «institutional mechanics» (making the organizational machine run efficiently), and the «scenario» (clarifying up aims and possible pursuable paths). Currently, the blended solution is the reference scenario for the Italian University system. Yet, this concept needs to be better described, analysed and supported by an adequate organizational and normative reference framework, shared by Academia.

Metacognition, motivation and self-efficacy in a socio-cognitive online environment. First results of a survey at the University of Pisa

Abstract: In the knowledge society the processes of learning and of knowledge management take place, very often, online and in social online environments, thus producing issues of complexity and sustainability, related to cognitive processes of learning, that students - even at university level - are not always able to understand and / or to deal with. As a matter of fact, although many universities are beginning to introduce them into their courses, social networks are not yet perceived as learning tools and the use that students make of them is still limited to entertainment and to communicative tasks. This study reports the case of a Management course at the University of Pisa, where the institutional VLE – based on Moodle – has been integrated with a student support group hosted on Ning. A survey has been administered to a sample of 220 Management Engineering students, in order to study the role of metacognitive, motivational and socio-cognitive variables in student self-efficacy perception towards academic success and in their ability to make an ‘effective’ use of ICT for learning. The first results of the survey are reported and discussed.

Social Attitude Recognition in Multimodal Interaction with a Pedagogical Agent

Abstract: Conversational agents have been widely used in pedagogical contexts They have the advantage of offering to users not only a task-oriented support, but also the possibility to relate with the system at social level Therefore, besides endowing the conversational agent with knowledge necessary to fulfill pedagogical goals, it is important to provide the agent with social intelligence To do so the agent should be able to recognize the social attitude of the user during the interaction in order to accommodate the conversational strategy In this paper we illustrate how we defined and applied a model for recognizing the social attitude of the student in natural interaction with a Pedagogical Conversational Agent (PCA) starting from the linguistic, acoustic and gestural analysis of the communicative act

An integrated learning project in university context: students' voices

Abstract: Adult education - like instructive processes involving new generations - shows two important aims: improvement of professional competence and democratic process promotion as basis for a renewed pedagogical relationship between individual and society. Formative paths planned according to the point of view of a new educability are actions of promotion, increasing and development of the individual, of building a new thinkability, both individual and collective, through improvement, change and factivity of learning conditions along the whole life (lifelong learning). This paper refers to an experience of planning, managing, and supplying in blended modality of a course activated at the University of Padua leading to the master degree in “Scholastic planning and project management of educational formative activities” and it intends to describe the theoretical frame of reference, the methodology, the implemented tools, and the overall reached results.

Second Life for Virtual Communities in Education: Sharing Teaching Principles?

Abstract: How do expert educators perceive their teaching practice and professional identity in the openness of immersive virtual environments? This paper summarises some findings of a study of teaching practitioners’ narratives from the UK about the use of virtual worlds or MUVEs (Multi-User Virtual Environments) in higher education and adult language learning classes in the UK. The main questions addressed are whether it is possible in environments such as SL to identify socio-constructivist principles of education practice (in general and more specifically with regards to second language teaching) and whether there are grounds for critical teaching and «reflective practice» (Edge, 2011, Guichon, 2009) in virtual worlds used for higher education that have either been specifically designed for teaching or not. Within the theoretical framework of socio-constructivism and critical multimedia literacy, the data will be commented focusing on how the communities of practice are presented and how the process of teaching and learning is perceived. The analysis is qualitative and aims at revealing the positioning of expert practitioners vis-a-vis educational strategies implemented and advantages or disadvantages of using immersive virtual environments to achieve learning goals.

The SLA 2.0 Hypothesis

Abstract: Studies and research about second language acquisition (SLA) and Web 2.0 often regard how 2.0 tools (wikis, blogs, podcasts, etc.) are used to enhance and support language learning. However, little has been said on the theoretical side about how and why this adoption might be successful. This work, therefore, takes a theoretical approach to explaining why Web 2.0 should be adopted as a valid support to SLA, based on analogies between the nature of language and that of the Web and second language learning and software development. I demonstrate how an appropriate integration of Web 2.0 tools in language learning could truly offer a new approach to the whole discipline based on open practices, enriching the learning experience and supporting everyday teaching practice.

DELE framework: an innovative sight on didactics for deaf people

Abstract: Deafness is a "hidden" problem, which is only partially considered in the design of interactive tools. The E-Learning Environment DELE proposes an answer by exploiting the mechanism of conceptual metaphor, in particular the "learning story". In this way DELE creates an environment for a "friendly" learning, which is strongly based on the visual channel, through the use of a structural iconicity of navigation.

The role of e-tutors in the e-learning training paths: the experience of the Italian Revenue Agency

Abstract: A great number of studies and researches shows how crucial the role of tutors in the e-learning formative paths is to ensure both the obtainment of the formative objectives and the limitation of the dropout rate. But what strategy should an enterprise or authority adopt to select, train and support the tutors in order to allow them to exercise their assigned role? A potential answer is found by analyzing the experience of the Italian Revenue Agency, gathered in collaboration with CATTID-LABeL of the Sapienza University of Rome, which was aimed at introducing e-learning in the formative offering addressed to its employees.

Semantic Web and evaluation of learning

Abstract: The semantic web is an extension of the traditional web by introducing the meaning of the data and it adds new functionalities to machines which become able to understand and process the data, whereas now it simply displays the profile. The activities of selection, contextualization and rendering of unstructured content can’t be obtained from any computer. In other words, the information is readable but not understandable by the machine in order to make the meaning of the data web understandable by the computer, the data are combined with meta-information describing this content. Could the adoption of a forum in a semantic learning environment clear the way for the evaluation of learning that reflects a knowledge management in new ways?

Shared Practices amongst Teachers in Online Training Courses

Abstract: This paper researches some aspects of shared practices and social interactions amongst language teachers who took part in a modular in-service teacher training programme taught online in 2010. It evaluates whether and how the sharing of teaching practices took place in one of the courses and it investigates the sociocollaborative quality of the learning, looking for indicators of social and teaching presence based on the model of the community of inquiry (Garrison, Anderson and Archer, 2000). The main course activity used was the forum as a tool for asynchronous communication because discussion fora allow for reflection, feedback and extended comments, thus fostering peer collaboration (Lamy, M.-N. & Hampel, R., 2007: 40). The analysis explores patterns of participation, the tutor-learner interactions, the tutor behaviour and the interactions amongst the participants. Throughout the course, many posts were found which reflect on teaching practice and demonstrate the sharing of teaching expertise. However, it appears that collaborative communication in an online course is difficult to achieve. Most discussions follow a simple cue (task) – response (by participant) – feedback (by tutor) structure and fail to develop further feedback levels.

Open Intercultural Dialogue: educator perspectives

Abstract: While language educators are being encouraged to exploit the Web for authentic intercultural communication, research is showing that rather than bringing people from different backgrounds together, the Internet is offering a platform for people to express their opinions with those who share similar ideas. When intercultural contact does occur, it often appears to be highly conflictual. This paper begins with a brief discussion of the open Web and intercultural dialogue, followed by an overview of attitudes to conflict in education and foreign language teaching and learning. We then turn to our preliminary study of the perspectives of educators from European universities on disagreement and the discussion of sensitive topics in online intercultural exchange. Our data indicate a considerable divergence of views and a great need for dialogue amongst educators and further research into this topic.

Organizational well-being in prison

Abstract: The project deals with the issue of well-being in the penitentiary organizations and therefore the dynamics concerning relations between civil and prison professionals as well as between professionals and inmates. The approach that the partnership intends to adopt, in order to promote initiatives to support the improvement of intra-prison conditions, consists in the realization of working meetings. These allow the partners to start transferring information – such as exchanging and sharing experiences – acquired through previous experiences (projects, academic works and so on) based on the following topics: psychophysical health of professionals and inmates; training the professionals and inmates; communication between professionals and inmates; planning the space, the time in order to have the best use of them. The target of the project is aimed at: internal prison professionals, able to get through the exchange of best practices, the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills about the above topics; other human resources of training organizations already involved in issues concerning well-being in public administrations and, where possible, in prisons. In so doing, it is possible to share experiences and skills within the whole partnership.

Describe the documents from the search for the word to search for meaning

Abstract: The article aims to reflect, as much organic as possible, the relationship that has arisen between the applications of semantic web and educational technology. The choice set according to this line of work has as its origin the need, which seems crucial to think, ten years after the birth of the "Semantic Web Initiative" is a changed methodology by which information is shared on the network and whether these changes induce a real added value to educational technology by evolving their methodologies. The document with which the group of "Semantic Web Initiative" aimed to define their work says that "the goal of the Semantic Web is the Web the same: create a universal medium for data exchange", the universality of a support data exchange, but even better information must be based on a description logic that makes content "device independent". Only a real logic of semantic cataloging of documents will enable the application of semantic web to support the methodologies related to educational technology in recurrent dialogue with the evolution of the web. The ultimate goal is to see how educational technology, to benefit from applications of the Semantic Web is to provide tools for understanding and disambiguation of concepts to achieve shared documents that are "machine readable" to give answers to questions that users cannot make.