Learning Design Engines as Remote Control to Learning Support Environments

1. Learning Design Engines as Remote Control to Learning Support Environments Andreas Harrer, Nils Malzahn,Kay Hoeksema, Ulrich Hoppe COLLIDE research group Institut für Informatik und interaktive Systeme, Universität Duisburg-Essen

2. Outline of the Talk • Motivation: „Unscripted“ Learning Support Environments and „Scripting“ with Learning Design • The Remote Control Approach • Example Scenario • Implementation Prototype • Further Work

3. Learning Environments and Learning Flow Models • A wide variety of Collaborative Modelling, Argumentation and Inquiry Learning Environments are already existing • Belvedere (Suthers 1995 passim) • CoLab (de Jong, van Joolingen et al.) • ModellingSpace, Synergo (Avouris et al.) • CoolModes, FreeStyler (Hoppe et al.) • Most of these environments do not explicitly follow or offer a process structure

4. Using Process Structures for Learning Environments • Introducing explicit Process Models provides • Students a scaffold for their learning • Teachers support in setting up their intended process (e.g. with different group settings, roles and tools) • Researchers opportunities to evaluate efficiency of scripts

5. Implementation Alternatives • For existing Learning Environments there are two options for introducing the process model • Implementing a (proprietary) process modell within the learning environment, i.e. „Build an own engine“ • Using existing engines as external control to the learning environment, i.e. „Engine as remote controller“ • The first option has to be developed completely separate for each learning environment, the second can be re-used for several

6. The Engine as Remote Controller (ERC)

7. An Example Process

8. Modelling the Scenario in LD • Map each phase to a learning activity • Properties for • Current activity • Voting_demanded • Voting_active • Voting_result • Consensus_achieved • On each state transition a Cool Modes workspace is shown or hidden

9. The Process within Cool Modes • Communication Primitive „Show workspace for Voting Phase“

10. „Remote Control Architecture“

11. First Implementation of the „ERC“ Approach • CopperCore as Learning Design Engine • Cool Modes as Learning (Support) Environment • Creation of events in the engine extension • Remote Control Component encapsulates mapping from LDE events to general communication primitives • uses the Java Message Service (JMS) to publish the primitives to the translators subscribing to the Remote Control • Mapping of primitives to Cool Modes functionality by a “Cool Modes translator” providing the remote interface • „Show workspace for Voting Phase“ ::=„Add Voting Plugin“ „Initialize Workspace“ „Provide Result“

12. One step further: protoype of ISIS – Integrated Science Inquiry System

13. CoLab and Cool Modes integrated

14. Outlook • At the moment we are in the process of generalizing and extending the vocabulary of communication primitives useful for different LSEs • Mapping of primitives to concrete LSEs, like Cool Modes and CoLab. • Abstract direct (low-level) interoperation of LSEs to define mode of interoperation at LD level

15. Wrapping it up… • Collaborative Learning Environments and Learning Design can and should be used in combination • Model Learning Designs in the Collaborative Tools with different levels of specification (that‘s a different story about LD editors…) • Use the Learning Design and Engines to introduce process support in „non-scripted“ learning environments

16. Thank you! Please feel free tocomment and ask…