Eline Westerhout

Enhancing the learning process: qualitative validation of an informal learning support system consisting of a knowledge discovery and a social learning component

In a Lifelong Learning context, learners often rely on informal learning materials to access and process information. There is a growing interest in accessing educational material on the social web. We have created a system that facilitates learners and tutors in accessing informal knowledge sources in the context of a learning task and describe the results of a summative and formative evaluation of this system. The system consists of a knowledge discovery component and a social learning component. The evaluation shows that with our system informal resources can successfully enhance the learning process within a Lifelong Learning context. The knowledge discovery component assists the learner in identifying relevant concepts, discovering relations between concepts, and mastering the correct vocabulary. In addition the social learning component offers relevant and trusted documents and contacts on the basis of a learners social network.

Extraction of Definitions Using Grammar-Enhanced Machine Learning

In this paper we compare different approaches to extract definitions of four types using a combination of a rule-based grammar and machine learning. We collected a Dutch text corpus containing 549 definitions and applied a grammar on it. Machine learning was then applied to improve the results obtained with the grammar. Two machine learning experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, a standard classifier and a classifier designed specifically to deal with im-balanced datasets are compared. The algorithm designed specifically to deal with imbalanced datasets for most types outperforms the standard classifier. In the second experiment we show that classification results improve when information on definition structure is included.

Supporting Formal and Informal Learning through Domain Ontologies

One of the objectives of the Language Technology for LifeLong Learning project is to develop services that facilitate learners and tutors in accessing formal and informal knowledge sources. We show that ontologies enriched with social tags play a crucial role in achieving this goal. Ontologies are central to the knowledge discovery process and they facilitate reuse of course material through semantic search of annotated learning objects, supporting thus formal and informal learning.

Integrating social media and semantic structure in the learning process

This paper presents the validation of an in Formal Learning Support System (iFLSS) that integrates social media and semantic structure within the learning process. The validation has shown that the system supports the learning process and results in an improved domain understanding.