Sergio Gutiérrez

Implementation of a Learning Design Run-Time Environment for the .LRN Learning Management System

The IMS Learning Design specification aims at capturing the complete learning flow of courses, without being restricted to a particular pedagogical model. Such flow description for a course, called a Unit of Learning, must be able to be reproduced in different systems using a so called run-time environment. In the last few years there has been several tools implementing such functionality, but most of them are standalone and do not benefit from the integration with a Learning Management System. This paper describes GRAIL, an IMS Learning Design run-time environment supporting all three levels of the specification and fully integrated with the .LRN Learning Management System. The paper describes its functionality, explains how each level is implemented, shows the differences with other CopperCore based environments, and analyzes its integration with the rest of .LRN services and other specifications such as QTI and SCORM. Editors: Daniel Burgos.

A Swarm Approach for Automatic Auditing of Pedagogical Planning

This paper describes a possible application of swarm intelligence techniques in e-learning: an auditing tool for pedagogical planning. Swarm intelligence techniques can be applied to a web system thanks to the fact that the available online material can be organized in a graph by means of hyperlinks. In this case, the swarm that moves on the graph is composed of students who unconsciously leave pheromones in the environment depending on their success or failure. The paper presents the system and shows its capacity to serve as an auditing tool for courses designed by a pedagogical team.

Issues in the Design of an Environment to Support the Learning of Mathematical Generalisation

Expressing generality, recognising and analysing patterns and articulating structure is a complex task and one that is invariably problematic for students. Nonetheless, very few systems exist that support learners explicitly in the process of mathematical generalisation. We have addressed this by developing a novel environment that supports users in their reasoning and problem-solving of generalisation tasks. We have followed a stakeholder-centred design process, integrating feedback and reflections from twenty-four children, five teachers and a variety of other stakeholders. This paper focuses on several inter-related design issues that have been informed by this iterative process and demonstrates how the system can be used for a typical generalisation task to foster an appreciation of generality and indeed algebra.

A Learning Environment for Promoting Structured Algebraic Thinking in Children

Although the notion of generality is central in mathematics and science, beingable to identify and express general patterns and/or articulate structures is one of the main difficulties for children when they learn mathematics. This paper presents a step towards a set of tools that addresses this problem by encouraging students to connect between actual activities within the task and expressions of generality. The paper introduces a novel tool - ShapeBuilder - and describes how it can be used in the context of a well-known generalisation activity: tiling a pond. Insights gained from various small-scale exploratory studies with children are discussed followed by a description of how we expect this tool to develop in future work.

Sequencing in Web-Based Education: Approaches, Standards and Future Trends

Web-based education (WBE) has seen in recent years a significant increase both in its functionality as well as possible scenarios. After a first stage in which these systems offered mainly content management and course management capabilities, systems now offer solutions that cover pedagogical aspects such as activity sequencing. This chapter presents several approaches to the problem of adaptive sequencing. They are representative of the main initiatives for defining sequences of learning units that can be adapted to different users, with different capabilities and needs. All of them have some graphical background, but they focus on different issues use of well-known tools, use of simple metaphors like graphs, etc. The main two initiatives of standardization related to the sequencing problem (IMS Simple Sequencing and IMS Learning Design) are also examined. Finally, two approaches to social sequencing, an emerging trend inspired by the behaviour of social insects, are depicted.

An Adaptive Tutoring System Based on Hierarchical Graphs

An adaptive tutoring system is presented based on hierarchical graphs that capture the sequencing of a set of learning objects depending on how students interact with them. The use of hierarchy allows the definition of complex transition structures over arbitrarily large sets of objects. Using this approach a tutoring tool has been designed and tested in the context of an introductory course in Computer Architecture. Experimental results clearly show the positive impact of the proposed content adaptation over how students learn concepts.

Guaranteeing the Correctness of an Adaptive Tutoring System

This paper presents an approach to create adaptive web-based educative systems that can be automatically audited by means of standard web testing tools. The auditing tool takes the role of a learner interacting with the system, checking that no errors are present. The tool can communicate with the exercises to know the correct answers to them; a configurable ratio of correct to incorrect answers allows the tool to behave as a range of different students. More complex checking techniques will be tested in the future using this architecture.

A modular architecture for intelligent web resource based tutoring systems

In this document a platform for the development of ITSs is presented. The objective of this architecture is to provide a tutoring platform with a modular structure suitable to accommodate different sequencing paradigms through a common functional interface. The platform has been tested with positive results.

Supporting Reasoning and Problem-Solving in Mathematical Generalisation with Dependency Graphs

We present a brief description of the design of a diagram- based system that supports the development of thinking about mathematical generalisation. Within the software, the user constructs a dependency graph that explicitly shows the relationships between components of a task. Using this dependency graph, the user manipulates graphical visualisations of component attributes which helps them move from the specific case to the general rule. These visualisations provide the user with an intermediate representation of generality and facilitate movement between the specific details of the task, the appropriate generalisations, verbal descriptions of their understanding and various algebraic representations of the solutions.

Sequencing Parametric Exercises for an Operating System Course

An adaptive tutoring system for an Operating System course is presented. The architecture, based on sequencing graphs, that supports an adaptive sequencing of the learning units is described. The content structure is presented as well. The system is now in use in regular university courses and results of this experience will be published in the future.