Ana Arruarte

Acquisition of the Domain Structure from Document Indexes Using Heuristic Reasoning

Domain Module is essential for many different kinds of Technology Supported Learning Systems. Some authors have pointed out the need of tools that may develop the domain module in an automatic or semi-automatic way. Nowadays, a lot of information of any domain, which can be used as the source for the target domain module, can be easily found in different formats. The work here presented describes a domain independent method based on Natural Language Processing techniques and heuristic reasoning to acquire the domain module from documents and their indexes.

From Human to Automatic Summary Evaluation

One of the goals remaining in Intelligent Tutoring Systems is to create applications to evaluate open-ended text in a human-like manner. The aim of this study is to produce the design for a fully automatic summary evaluation system that could stand for human-like summarisation assessment. In order to gain this goal, an empirical study has been carried out to identify underlying cognitive processes. The studied sample is compound by 15 expert raters on summary evaluation with different professional backgrounds in education. Pearson’s correlation has been calculated to see inter-rater agreement level and stepwise linear regression to observe predicting variables and weights. In addition, interviews with subjects provided qualitative information that could not be acquired numerically. Based on this research, a design of a fully automatic summary evaluation environment has been described.

Using CM-ED for the generation of graphical exercises based on concept maps

CM-ED is a concept map editor developed with the aim of being useful in different contexts and uses of the educational agenda. This paper describes the use of CM-ED to create graphical exercises based on Concept Maps. CM-ED integrated in an intelligent tutoring system authoring tool will allow teachers to include this new set of exercises in the new tutor. In this way, the more complete the set of exercises, the greater the potential of the tutor.

A template-based concept mapping tool for computer-aided learning

In this paper, the authors study the use of concept maps as support resources useful for different tasks in the computer-aided learning area. These applications include an auxiliary cognitive tool for the student, the design of new knowledge presentation and evaluation activities as well as the gathering of the domain knowledge. In addition, a generic concept mapping tool designed for these aims is presented.

Automatic Generation of the Domain Module from Electronic Textbooks: Method and Validation

Technology-supported learning systems have proved to be helpful in many learning situations. These systems require an appropriate representation of the knowledge to be learned, the Domain Module. The authoring of the Domain Module is cost and labor intensive, but its development cost might be lightened by profiting from semiautomatic Domain Module authoring techniques and promoting knowledge reuse. DOM-Sortze is a system that uses natural language processing techniques, heuristic reasoning, and ontologies for the semiautomatic construction of the Domain Module from electronic textbooks. To determine how it might help in the Domain Module authoring process, it has been tested with an electronic textbook, and the gathered knowledge has been compared with the Domain Module that instructional designers developed manually. This paper presents DOM-Sortze and describes the experiment carried out.

The IRIS Authoring Tool

IRIS is an authoring tool developed to help human instructors to build intelligent teaching-learning systems in a wide variety of domains. The instructor/designer is required to produce a set of pedagogical requisites, which, in turn, are used to automatically configure a generic tutor architecture and produce an intelligent tutoring system. In order to provide IRIS with a sound basis for producing systems, a theory of instruction that integrates cognitive processes, instructional events and instructional actions has been considered. In this chapter we explain, through the analysis of the cognitive theory, the generic architecture. We present several system components, the requirements of the different components, and show how we integrate these components in IRIS. Moreover, we embed requirements, cognitive principles, and design requisites in an authoring tool in order that human instructors can follow them easily. Various design issues, an example of building a tutor for mathematical differentiation by using IRIS, and some experiences of use and evaluation are also presented.

ErauzOnt: A Framework for Gathering Learning Objects from Electronic Documents

Retrieving and reusing Learning Objects can lighten the workload of constructing new on-line courses or Technology Supported Learning Systems. The paper presents ErauzOnt, a framework for the automatic generation of new Learning Objects from electronic documents using domain ontologies and Natural Language Processing techniques.

The use of concept maps in Computer Engineering education to promote meaningful learning, creativity and collaboration

Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge. The fundamentals of concept mapping are in Ausubels learning theory which is based on the assumption that meaningful learning occurs when the new concepts are linked to familiar concepts existing in the learners cognitive structure. Creativity can be seen as a very high level of meaningful learning. Database Principles is a compulsory subject studied in the second year of the Computer Engineering degree at the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU. The study presented in the paper was designed pursuing a twofold goal: (1) to introduce engineering students the Concept Mapping technique as a way to promote meaningful learning, and (2) to involve engineering students in both a creative and collaborative learning experience using concept maps. Final exam marks showed significant statistical differences among the experimental group and the control group. In addition, participants admitted that the use of the concept mapping technique to fulfill the objectives of this study is applicable to other domains, situations and problems.

Observing lemmatization effect in LSA coherence and comprehension grading of learner summaries

Current work in learner evaluation of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs), is moving towards open-ended educational content diagnosis. One of the main difficulties of this approach is to be able to automatically understand natural language. Our work is directed to produce automatic evaluation of learner summaries in Basque. Therefore, in addition to language comprehension, difficulties emerge from Basque morphology itself. In this work, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) is used to model comprehension in a language in which lemmatization has shown to be highly significant. This paper tests the influence of corpus lemmatization while performing automatic comprehension and coherence grading. Summaries graded by human judges in coherence and comprehension, have been tested against LSA based measures from source lemmatized and non-lemmatized corpora. After lemmatization, the amount of LSA known single terms was reduced in a 56% of its original number. As a result, LSA grades almost match human measures, producing no significant differences between the lemmatized and non-lemmatized approaches.

Collaborative concept mapping activities in a classroom scenario

The aim of this study is to test collaborative concept mapping activities using computers in a classroom scenario and to evaluate the possibilities that Elkar-CM offers for collaboratively learning non-technical topics. Elkar-CM is a multi-lingual and multi-media software program designed for drawing concept maps (CMs) collaboratively. Concept mapping is a widely accepted technique that promotes meaningful learning. Graphically representing concepts of the learning domain and relationships between them helps students integrate new knowledge into their current cognitive structure. This study was carried out with Social Education degree students at the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). The experiment included two learning activities. First, all students collaboratively constructed in the classroom a CM on the subject of Moral Development. Second, students were organised into groups to complete the CM generated in the first part.