Setsuko Otsuki

Educational Effectiveness Of An Interactive Multimedia Communications Environment

The goal of this study is to consider an effective environment to instruct and learn how to use interactive multimedia communications on the Internet. In this paper, we describe several experiments of interactive distance learning. In our experiments, we used a high-speed ATM network with Internet collaboration (video, audio and whiteboard combined), called as the Mbone (Multicast Backbone) tools and present the results of the questionnaires on distance learning to evaluate its effectiveness. We show good evaluation to our proposal environment to keep quality as ordinal lectures for learners and teachers from these results. Also, we get positive results for distance learning in the viewpoints of effective experience to learn on networks and familiarity with distance learning. This means that interactive distance learning is effective not only to solve time and geographic restrictions but also to learn/instruct multimedia communications. Finally, we discuss a new literacy education defined as Multimedia Communications Literacy (MCL) which is different from the existing computer or network literacy. The MCL must be required for teachers and learners to attend distance learning, and for everyone communicating on multimedia networks.

Support System for Analysis of Student’s Motivation in Group Learning

This paper proposes a support system for analysis of student’s motivation in group learning. A teacher may select a learning form, where students talk mutually about exercises with a chat system. In order for students to learn it more effectively, the teacher should analyze the learning conditions (e.g. the learning goal, the exercise, the group member, and so on), evaluate the learning effect, and improve the learning conditions. However, it is a very time-consuming and difficult job. We consider that student’s emotions toward the learning conditions have some relations to his/her motivation. The system visualizes students’ emotions under various learning conditions. According to these visualizations, the teacher can analyze and improve the learning conditions.

A study on assistance in acquiring meta-cognition through assorting support methods for comprehension

So far, various support methods for comprehension have been studied, each of which has its own strong and weak points. We have developed a practical multi media learning environment for e-learning by assorting these support methods, aiming that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks on the whole. In this paper, we discuss how the assorted support methods work effectively in assisting for acquiring meta-cognition. Especially, it is shown that the method of the mutual complement by assorting texts, ITS and micro worlds is effective for assisting learners in acquiring meta-cognition such as self explanation, reasoning, picture drawing, problem solving, error correction, etc.

A study on assisting in Prolog program comprehension by using stepwise execution and stepwise comparison

Reading a program, learners must understand syntax, semantics, and usage, which are characteristics of each individual programming language. Moreover, they must acquire typical writing art through understanding various good programs. In order to obtain good programming methods, learners must also know the execution flow of programs, which is difficult to explain statically. In this paper, as a learning environment for Prolog programs, an animation tree is proposed, which allows learners to interactively manipulate program execution back and forth in a stepwise manner. The effect of the animation tree in the problem solving process and the contents of finding through comparison of two programs with the same structure are investigated.

A network intelligent educational system for arithmetic word problems

This paper proposes an intelligent support method for solving arithmetic word problems and a method to build a learning environment on a network. Our system solves arithmetic word problems written in Japanese in the same way as humans do, by syntax analysis, mathematical semantic analysis, formulation, and calculation. Using data generated during these processes, computers support learners by adapting to each individual learners comprehension level through Q & A with animation. The fundamental ideas and a few examples of solving word problems, supporting learners by using animation, and building the environment on a network are described.