Luca Botturi

Cognitive effectiveness of visual instructional design languages

The introduction of learning technologies into education is making the design of courses and instructional materials an increasingly complex task. Instructional design languages are identified as conceptual tools for achieving more standardized and, at the same time, more creative design solutions, as well as enhancing communication and transparency in the design process. In this article we discuss differences in cognitive aspects of three visual instructional design languages (E^2ML, PoEML, coUML), based on user evaluation. Cognitive aspects are of relevance for learning a design language, creating models with it, and understanding models created using it. The findings should enable language constructors to improve the usability of visual instructional design languages in the future. The paper concludes with directions with regard to how future research on visual instructional design languages could strengthen their value and enhance their actual use by educators and designers by synthesizing existing efforts into a unified modeling approach for VIDLs.

Essential Use Cases for Pedagogical Patterns.

Coming from architecture, through computer science, pattern-based design spread into other disciplines and is nowadays recognized as a powerful way of capturing and reusing effective design practice. However, current pedagogical pattern approaches lack widespread adoption, both by users and authors, and are still limited to individual initiatives. This paper contributes to creating a shared understanding of what a pattern system is by defining the key terms. Moreover, the paper builds upon and extends a set of existing functional and non-functional requirements for pattern systems, adds structure to these requirements, and derives essential use cases following a goal-based approach for both pattern maintenance and pattern application. Finally, implications concerning the pedagogical use of pattern-based design are drawn, concluding that a stronger focus on the underlying (pedagogical) value system is required in order to make a pattern system a meaningful tool for effective educational design.

Editorial: Visual instructional design languages

Submission Deadline: December 14, 2009 The Journal of Visual Languages and Computing (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jvlc, impact factor: 0.863) invites authors to submit papers for the special issue on Visual Instructional Design Languages. This special issue follows up the VIDLATEL 2009 workshop (http://elearn.pri.univie.ac.at/vidlatel/) on the same topic, but it is open also to contributions that were not presented in the workshop. The special issue is scheduled to appear in December 2010. Background Many human activities are supported by the use of visual representations, which enable us to manage complex problems by enhancing our limited cognitive capabilities. Architects, musicians, surgeons and engineers use visual artifacts in their daily practice to plan, design and carry out their endeavors, in the form of music scores, images, diagrams, charts, etc. Visuals can support imagination, creative thinking, communication, discussion, organization, documentation, and formalization of ideas, plans or anything related to the tasks to be accomplished. Similarly, learning experiences, and in particular the difficult process of design and implementation of learning environments could be supported by the appropriate use of visual artifacts. Achievement of learning is pursued through activities using learning objects, resources and tools. The ever increasing number of existing Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) tools, standards, and applications (e.g., Moodle, dotLRN, RELOAD, LAMS, to name a few) provide academic staff with lots of useful functionalities to design their TEL environments. There are a number of specifications that allow formal representation of learning processes and contents (e.g., SCORM, IMS LD, IMS CP, IMS QTI, etc.) intended to facilitate reuse and interoperability of solutions. Nevertheless, it is well known that these specifications are complex and difficult to work with by the average practitioners, i.e., teachers, instructional designers, facilitators. This special issue intends to explore the use of visual design methodologies and artifacts (languages, notation systems, standards, frameworks, tools, metaphors, applications) to support teaching practitioners in their daily work, and to enhance the quality of TEL systems, facilitate sharing ideas, collaboration, reuse, and learning from experience. Topics We solicit manuscripts that provide original contributions to advance practice and/or theory of visual instructional design languages. Submissions are expected in, but not limited to, the following topics: • Visual design languages and notation systems for instructional design • Visual design applications and editing/authoring tools for instructional design • Narrative techniques and instructional design • User studies and case studies involving visual instructional design languages and applications • Computational modeling in visual instructional design languages • Human factors using visual instructional design languages • Pattern-based visual instructional design • Meta-models for visual instructional design languages • Other topics of relevance to the special issue theme Please notice that the special issue will not include papers about the use of visuals in learning (e.g., related to image-text relationship or cognitive load). Also note that manuscripts are not limited to any particular category, i.e., submissions may be empirical studies, case studies, state-of-the-art reviews, methodological or theoretical, etc. However, each submission must clearly demonstrate its (a) practical value to the practitioner community or (b) sound advancement of theory. Submissions Only original papers will be considered. Manuscripts are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has not been, will not be, nor is at present submitted elsewhere, and that its submission for publication has been approved by all of the authors; further, that any person cited as a personal communication has approved such citation. If your submission is an extended version of one or more conference/workshop papers, please include the original publication(s) in your submission and indicate the changes/improvements made for this special issue. Manuscripts and inquiries should be sent electronically to vidlatel@gmail.com, indicating in the subject headers that the submission is intended for the Special Issue on Visual Instructional Design Languages. Manuscripts should be in PDF and follow the formatting instructions of the Journal of Visual Languages & Computing as indicated at http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622907/authorinstru ctions. We limit the length of the articles submitted to this special issue to 40 double-spaced pages with 3 cm (1.18 in) margins, including figures, tables, references, etc. To help us organize the review process, please indicate your intention to submit a manuscript by sending an abstract to vidlatel@gmail.com by 14 December 2009. Schedule Prospective authors are invited to make themselves known to the editors ahead of time by sending an abstract of the planned manuscript to facilitate the management of submissions and ensure that the authors will be informed of any change. • Abstract submission: December 14, 2009 • Full manuscript submission: March 1, 2010 • Notification of review results: April 30, 2010 • Revised manuscripts due: June 14, 2010 • Notification of final decisions: July 9, 2010 • Camera ready submissions due: August 9, 2010 • Papers sent to publisher: August 15, 2010 The special issue is scheduled to appear in Journal of Visual Languages and Computing, Vol. 21, No. 6, December 2010. Further Information Please, contact the special issue editors at vidlatel@gmail.com for any inquiries.

A systematic methodology to use LEGO bricks in web communication design

This experience report presents a case study and the lessons learned from using Real Time Web (RTW) in the design of a corporate website. RTW is an innovative methodology to effectively elicit and plastically represent requirements in the design process of a web application. RTW adopts a playful approach to collaboratively elicit requirements and strategic web design issues, and extends the experience of LEGO Serious Play (LSP), a team collaboration methodology. The basic tenet of LSP is that LEGO bricks are simple to use and provide ready-made, powerful and multi-purpose symbolic pieces, known to most people and used in different cultures. RTW exploits this potential to elicit communication requirements, create a share vision for high-level design, and build team commitment.

Playful Holistic Support to HCI Requirements Using LEGO Bricks

This paper presents Real Time Web (RTW), a holistic method for eliciting HCI requirements and strategic design issues of web applications based on the systematic use of LEGO bricks. Capturing, understanding and expressing the requirements for the design of complex web applications can be a daunting task. This is due both to the complex nature of the tasks, and to the biased alignment of stakeholders, who often do not have an analytical understanding of their own needs and goals, and the current, mainly analytical, requirement analysis methods. The paper presents the method, its relationship with existing requirements analysis methods, and some case studies.

Introducing a Moodle LMS in Higher Education: the e-Courses Experience in Ticino (Switzerland)

The University of Lugano (USI) and the University of Applied Sciences of Italian Switzerland (SUPSI) adopted in May 2004 a Moodle LMS as a support for their educational activities. This article describes how the eLearning platform was chosen, installed, integrated into the different existing universities’ systems, customized and enhanced according to both institutions’ needs. It shows also how the new platform (e-Courses) was then communicated and promoted among the faculty members of USI and SUPSI, and how it impact on the learning activities of the two institutions was evaluated through an online questionnaire, which showed high satisfaction levels with e-Courses.

Handbook on information technologies for education and training (2nd ed.)

Taylor and Francis CDIE_A_402498.sgm 10.1080/01587 10903023256 Distance Education 0158-7919 (pri t)/1475-0198 (online) Origi al Article 2 09 pen and D st nce Learning Association of Australia Inc. 3 000 ug t 20 Luc Miao e ntlBotturi luca.botturi@lu.unisi.ch Handbook on information technologies for education and training (2nd ed.), edited by H.H. Adelsberger, P. Kinshuk, J.M. Pawlowski, and D. Sampson, Heidelberg, Germany, Springer-Verlag, 2008, xxviii + 466 pp., US

Once Upon a Game

199.00 (hardcover), ISBN 9783-540-74154-1

Digital storytelling for social and international development: from special education to vulnerable children

In view of the recent interest in using videogames for learning, many teachers and parents have begun to question the place of videogames in the classrooms. In this chapter, we attempt to explore the very idea of playing and learning by trying to rediscover the hidden meanings in usual words, like “game,” “play,” “school” and “education” through a lexical and conceptual analysis within the Western culture, roaming among ancient and modern languages. It is through the rediscovery of our roots that we as educators can be better informed to either embrace or discard the call to integrate play into education for game-based instruction.

Beyond notification: Filling gaps in peer production projects

This paper presents the digital storytelling for development model (DSD). DSD is a process model for supporting the implementation of digital storytelling activities within the broader framework of social and international development projects. DSD blends storytelling, visual arts and digital media to make a difference for vulnerable children, including children with special needs, and in development and integration projects. Vulnerable and special needs children often experience difficulties in communication with adults and peers, both as language difficulties and as inability to focus on personal feelings and thoughts, and consequently to express them properly. Removing such barriers is one of the main goals of special and social educational projects, and a key step towards integration and personal development. Digital storytelling offers an opportunity to tackle the issue, and DSD provides guidelines for implementing projects in this context by focusing on fiction, engaging all stakeholders and providing a high degree of flexibility. The paper presents DSD, and illustrates it with real cases, discusses its evaluation, and indicates ways to adapt it to different project settings.