METOD Meta Tool for Educational Platform Design Mateja

METOD – Meta. Tool for Educational Platform Design Mateja Verlič University of Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

Contents n n n About project METOD paradigm Adaptive learning in METOD Data collection Supporting technologies Meta. Tool ¨ Meta-information ¨ User interface

About project Leonardo da Vinci programme n Motivation: n ¨ Lack of adaptiveness of current Learning management systems ¨ Static platforms ¨ Ease of knowledge transfer ¨ Lack of support for special groups of people (elderly, vision and hearing impaired. . . )

METOD paradigm 1/2 n Enabling educators to: Develop computerized educational platforms ¨ Supporting individual educational and training approaches ¨ Experiment with various platforms and innovative educational methods with ease ¨ Supporting and accelerating creativity ¨ n Educators: Teachers ¨ Non-professional educators (parents, family members) ¨ n Self-adaptation

METOD paradigm 2/2 n n Long term aim: improve the skills and competence of people by the integration of new computer supported educational platforms Paradigm is: ¨ Collection of theoretical and practical findings ¨ Providing repository of: n n various training environments description of trainees' characteristics possible pedagogical goals different pedagogical and communication strategies

Adaptive learning in METOD 1/ n Considering: ¨ Various styles of learning – learning through: n n n ¨ Different student types and skill levels: n n n ¨ seeing, listening, moving, doing and touching Basic Intermediate Advanced Different learning paths

Adaptive learning in METOD ¨ Preferred learing styles ¨ Learning theories ¨ Learning and teaching methods, approaches, processes ¨ Life-span learning

Data collection n Direct feedback: ¨ Surveys ¨ Questionnaires ¨ Polls ¨ Grades n Indirect feedback ¨ Observing use of LMS resources ¨ Observing use of tools

Supporting technologies n n Analysis and evaluation of collected data User classification and student types Prediction of user’s behavior Suggested learning path Predefined paths ¨ Effective path by other users ¨ n n Suggested links of alternative learning styles and levels Intelligent behavior Data-mining ¨ Machine learning - Multimetod approach ¨

Meta. Tool n n Meta-tool = Tool of tools Output of Meta. Tool = input to LMS Customizable multi-user type support Input of Meta. Tool: ¨ Topics ¨ Materials ¨ Meta-information ¨ Collected data from LMS

Meta. Tool meta-information n Why meta? ¨ Information n about using materials Not part of the material ¨ User types ¨ Learning styles ¨ Suggested learning path n n n Teacher defined Machine generated Possibility of peer review

Meta. Tool user interface n Basic user interface: Parents ¨ Other family members ¨ Learners ¨ Wizard-based creation of courses ¨ n Advanced user interface: ¨ Skilled professional teachers

User interface

Defining topics

Assigning materials to topics

Output of Meta. Tool n SCORM package ¨ Standard for exchange of e-learning units between LMSs ¨ Compatibility support n Only static structure ¨ Additional integration of meta-information n Enabling dynamic content ¨ Add-on module for LMS needed n n Static web pages Moodle package

Add-on for LMS n n Data collection module Machine learning module ¨ On-line machine learning n n ¨ Off-line machine learning n n Statistics Minor adjustment of the learning path Better analysis More processing resources available Can be peer reviewed Inference module ¨ Application of extracted knowledge

Advantages of METOD Adaptiveness on different levels n Integration of learning theories and intelligent systems n Accessibility n ¨ Support for people with special needs Support for life-long learning n Meta. Tool - not limited to single LMS n

Disadvantages of METOD n Adaptiveness ¨ User does not get the same learning path every time Can be confusing for adult users n Can be overridden (predefined static view of the content) n LMS module needed for intelligent support n Additional effort for teacher n

Current status of METOD Currently in active development phase n First user-feedbacks n Expected deployment at the end of the year n Not yet publicly available n

Summary Advantages > disadvanatges n Why? n ¨ Less effort needed for learner ¨ Alternative materials and learning paths n More interresting? ¨ Improving the quality of learning process ¨ Next logical step in LMS development

Thank you! Questions?