Katherine Maillet

PLEM: a Web 2.0 driven Long Tail aggregator and filter for e-learning

Chatti, M. A., Anggraeni, Jarke, M., Specht, M., & Maillet, K. (2010). PLEM: a Web 2.0 driven Long Tail aggregator and filter for e-learning. International Journal of Web Information Systems, 6(1), 5–23.

Consequences of the declining interest in computer science studies in Europe

Official European statistics of education indicate that the number of students entering tertiary education have significantly increased between 2000 and 2006 [1], and indicate a trend that will continue. However, this increase is not reflected in every field of study; computer science and engineering are among those that have decreased each year, evidence of a decline of interest in following this career on the part of students. As a response to this disturbing fact, this paper aims to identify some of the possible consequences that this trend could produce in Europe. It will highlight the impacts in economic, social, political and pedagogical fields and explain how these segments will be affected if the decline in computer science persists. Supported by previous investigations and official reports, this analysis provides some examples of the problems already produced by the declining interest in computer science in Europe and proposes solutions such as teaching methods and learning strategies to attract more students to this field and therefore limit the negative effects in a near future.

Search and Composition of Learning Objects in a Visual Environment

This paper presents a complete visual environment which supports the search and composition of learning objects (LOs). It focuses on the end user, learner or teacher. Learners search for LOs in order to learn a new concept or to follow a lesson. Teachers search for LOs for direct use during their lessons or in order to reuse and assemble them with others, thus creating their own, novel LO. Nevertheless, the inner complexity of an LO makes searching for and reusing composed LOs a complex task as well. The end user has to be assisted during this task. The core of our environment is built with a navigational and iterative query language, and a composition model. An iterative, navigational, query language is a complex language. The end user cannot express search queries directly in such a textual language. In the same way, the teacher cannot use a complex textual language to compose a new LO. Our environment is a suite of visual interfaces, supporting interaction with the end user while hiding the inner complexity of the system. Last, a validation module validates the consistency of a composed LO and provides for the dynamic annotation of metadata.

Towards a Strategy to Fight the Computer Science (Cs) Declining Phenomenon

European students have give reasons why they reject computer science (CS) as a program of study in higher education (Porta et al. 2010). The constant decrease in the number of students choosing to study this subject has had consequences in different European sectors, such as the economic sector or the education sector, among others (Maillet and Porta 2010). Some of the reasons for this rejection are related to the degree of difficulty of the skills that are needed to master CS. This study aims to identify these skills by firstly comparing CS curricula across several European universities and then comparing these curricula with same level programs in other areas of study. It will highlight some misconceptions students have concerning CS programs and will demonstrate that Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) may have a major role to play in combating the decline of CS professionals by providing dynamic learning environments; where students can acquire the knowledge and skills which are unique to the field of CS.

Towards the Development of a New Model for Best Practice and Knowledge Construction in Virtual Campuses

Executive Summary This paper reports on the work of a European Commission DG Education and Culture cofinanced project PBP-VC, Promoting Best Practice in Virtual Campuses, which is aimed at providing a deeper understanding of the key issues and critical success factors underlying the implementation of virtual campuses. The paper outlines a tentative model of issues underpinning best practice in virtual campuses derived from an initial literature-based investigation of existing virtual campus initiatives within the European Union. It is proposed that the tentative model will build upon key principles that have been identified for the development of an online constructivist learning environment based on problem-based learning and on a suitable model for knowledge construction and evolution.