TuLiP- A Teacher’s Lesson Planning Tool

1. TuLiP- A Teacher’s Lesson Planning Tool Design of a tool for the rapid development of educational materials and instructional environments. R. Gabrielle Reed Fall, 2002

2. Topics • Motivation • E-commerce use of Web Technologies vs. E-learning • Teacher’s Challenges • Meeting the Challenge – A design for TuLiP- A Teacher’s Lesson Planning tool • A Proposed XML based language for Learning Environment and Planning (LEAP) • TuLiP Tool Components and Benefits

3. Motivation • In “e-learning: Putting a World Class Education at the Fingertips of All Students”, research in engineering and technology is mandated to provide tools for teachers to meet the “National Technology Goals” • “All students will have technology and information literacy skills. • Research and evaluation will improve the next generation of technology applications for teaching and learning. • Digital content and networked applications will transform teaching and learning." (US DEd, 2000)

4. E-commerce vs. E-learning • The use of Extensible Markup Language (XML), Web services and architectures has fueled recent changes in e-commerce. • Educational uses lag behind applications for e-commerce. • Tools can be developed that capitalize on advances in e-commerce, in particularly Internet Protocol (IP) Technologies.

5. Teacher’s Challenges • Recent Laws Impacting Workload • Barriers to the use Technology

6. Increased Workload Due to Recent Laws and Mandates: • Integrating technology in the classroom • Providing accessible information to parents of disadvantaged individuals • Using scientifically based teaching techniques • Accommodating disabilities and student diversity

7. Teacher’s Dilemma • A teacher may spend up to 20% of the time planning • Less than10% of teachers use technology for planning (NCES 2001) • Barriers to the use of technology, cited by teachers (NASA 1998) • time to learn • complexity of the software • lack of training • lack of support

8. Current Solutions: • Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) provides grants for equipment. • National Science Foundation (NSF) provides grants for research in determining effective teaching methods and technologies • Preparing the Teachers of Tomorrow to use Technology (PT3) provides grants for teacher education programs

9. Meeting the Challenge - The TuLiP Solution: • Lower the teacher’s technology hurdle • Simplify the teacher-centered application • Deal with the day to day requirement of planning and reporting. • “Write once, Automate Upon Request” with the use of Cocoon2 Web Architecture

10. TuLiP - A Lesson Planning Tool • Planning Process • Comparison of Lesson Planners • Structured Content using XML • Time-Saving Criteria • Teacher-Centered Tool • Cocoon 2 Web Architecture • Organizing Instructional Content • Portal/Repository Design • TuLiP Benefits

11. Planning Process • Prepare student activities, evaluations, homework, and the equivalents in alternative formats. • Assure instructional materials meet curriculum guidelines. • Provide copies to administration. • Provide parents with supplemental materials.

12. Comparison of Lesson Planners

15. Sample Lesson Planning Page Source: Ohio Schoolnet. Lesson Planning Template. http://tlcf.osn.state.oh.us/blueprint/index.html.

16. What If Teachers Could Use XML? • Use an XML language that uses educational terminology. • Fill in the educational content. • Use predefined XSL pages to display the plan content in a variety of formats. • Upload XML file to a designated location to be used as the source of the XSL transformations.

17. How Will This Help? • The content in one Lesson Plan can be transformed automatically to provide: • Administrative curriculum reporting requirements • Information for parents • Homework for children • Information in alternative modes for lesson or review • Instructional plan • Instructional web environment

18. Gains Using Structured Content • Same information across Print, WWW, and CD-ROM. • Rapid development with templates and consistent instructional design • More learner options by profile with multiple paths or views for learners • Re-purposing and updating of content • Portability and long-term use

19. Perceived Costs of Using Predefined Styles • Relinquish the desire to “publish”. • Customization is restricted to the defined structure of the elements. This would be an ongoing process to cover the need. • The widely accepted styles options.

20. Time-Saving Criteria: • Scope and functionality needs to be limited • Resources need to be readily accessible • Directory should be available by subject and age group • Portable Information can be bundled or "cut and pasted" • Internet technologies allow for sharing and distribution • Graduated help provided (demonstrations, FAQ, a community of users)

21. Teacher-Centered Tool • A simplified “minimal but sufficient” interface • Web based form • Teacher-centered design determined by user studies and surveys • Set up of custom plan template • Step by step completion • Assortment of templates with examples and • Adequate help including demonstrations of use

22. Cocoon 2 Web Architecture • Web interface and rapid-development web-site platform • Cocoon servlet uses sitemap to determine action. • Uses extensible Markup Language(XML), eXtensible scripting Language(XSL), eXtensible Server Pages (XSP), JAVA Servlets • Versatile output to various devices based on processing. • Stores the valuable educational content from the presentation. • Apply navigation, presentation to content at time of use.

23. Organizing Instructional Content • Review of current Markup Languages for Educational Content and Metadata • Use of Learning Objects(LO) • A proposed markup language Learning Environment and Planning (LEAP) for the planning and distribution of educational content • Templates for rapid development

25. LMML Example

26. Use of Learning Objects (LOs) • Learning Objects are packaged with logic, format and content that is difficult to modify and limits its reuse. • Problems with Aggregation of “Learning Objects” • lack of instructional control, • lack of a uniform navigation and • lack of cohesion in the presentation

27. Leap (Learning Environment and Planning Language) • Uses definitions for independent educational task components • Describes components to be created, edited, stored or retrieved for inclusion in plan • Includes Plan, FLO and KTT elements using namespaces • Allows aggregation of components to be used in creating the Web environment • Based on Categories of Use and a Grammer of use

28. Types of Template • Planning Templates facilitate complete teacher planning information • Fundamental Learning Objects (FLO) Component templates assists in producing complete components • Diverse Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) provide suggestions for different objectives

29. Planning Template • Metadata to allow retrieval • Calendar information • Lesson Sequence • Activity, Evaluation and Homework Lists • Resources needed for the Lesson • Locations of Information, Illustrations, Demonstrations, etc. • Applications to be used by students to complete lessons

30. FLO’s are defined as the smallest object containing educational information. Lesson Plan is categorized into classes, based on attributes and Instructional Functionality. Functionality: Informative Illustrative Collaborative Cognitive Evaluative Cooperative Adaptive Fundamental Learning Objects(FLO)

31. Based on the most common objectives by type of knowledge being taught. Aggregation of a variety of FLOs KTT’s include: Fact Event Skill Process Experience Analysis Experimentation Cognitive Process Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs)

32. KTT Aggregation • Assembling of FLOs • Differs from “cinclude” or “embed”; parts are processed then assembled. • Informative page followed by Illustrative, then Cognitive FLO’s

33. Portal • An adaptive, customized environment: • Displays information of interest • National, Core and State Curriculum Requirements • Planning Tools and Teacher Resources • Repository for storage and retrieval, with sharing options • Catalog and search of resources • Enhances teacher participation & collaboration through the supports a community of users • Communication tools for collaboration in Lesson Planning

34. Repository • A Physical/Virtual Data Store • Simplifies saving and retrieval of files • Set of Services • Naming, • Management, • Discovery and Recovery, • Security, • Migration, and • Reporting • Source: Harvard University Library Digital Initiative (LDI), <http://hul.harvard.edu/ldi/slides/repository/sld003.htm>

35. TuLiP - Benefits • Dynamic selection of files, files formats, logic sheets through a web interface using URI to control the display of content to meet the needs of different audiences, • Storage of information by descriptive metadata making it searchable and reusable, • Storage of content stored in the LEAP language based on the needs of the teacher, • Web access to resources, databases and files through a web portal, and • Web Forms and Services for easy upload to the server.