Developing Open Source Web Services for Technology Enhanced Learning

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Developing Open Source Web Services for
Technology Enhanced Learning

• Jürgen Mangler, Renate Motschnig, Michael Derntl
• Research Lab for Educational Technologies
• University of Vienna, Faculty of Computer Science
• renate.motschnig_at_univie.ac.at

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Goal of research and presentation

• Make learning more meaningful, effective,
  persistent
• Approach
• theory-guided action and design research
• basis experience
• Presentation
• Sharing of experience
• Discussion of initial, coop. framework for TEL
• Discussion of challenges and open questions

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Structure

• The essence in 6 slides
• Several questions, examples, experiences,
  reactions, and some preliminary responses and
  solutions
• Our initial framework for TEL
• Where to go? - Challenges for the future

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Web Services the visible part

• What Is an XML Web Service?
• XML Web services are the fundamental building
  blocks in the move to distributed computing on
  the Internet.
• Applications are constructed using multiple XML
  Web services from various sources that work
  together regardless of where they reside or how
  they were implemented.
• Open standards and the focus on communication and
  collaboration among people and applications have
  created an environment where XML Web services are
  becoming the platform for application integration.

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Web Services

• XML Web Services expose useful functionality to
  Web users through a standard Web protocol (SOAP)
• XML Web services provide a way to describe their
  interfaces in enough detail to allow a user to
  build a client application to talk to them.

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Open Source Web Services the Vision

• develop a pool of highly usable support modules,
  based on promotive action
• others will join the effort
• community for sharing of experience and
  expertise
• consider levels of sharing
• web service
• model/pattern

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Technology Enhanced Learning the immediate part
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Didactic Baseline Participative, Person-Centered
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Technology Enhanced Learning the Vision

• Students and educators will find
  learning/facilitation an inspiring, meaningful,
  growthful experienceBasis Person Centered
  Learning
• Combine facilitation of courses with research on
  progress, quality, added value
• Allow for active participation,
  self-organization, critical thinking, team
  workpromotive activities Rogers, 1983
  Tausch/Tausch, 1998

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Overview of Questions

• What is the role of content in TEL? Will good
  content do the job?
• If not, what else do we need?
• What is the goal of TEL (education)?
• Can we make good practices explicit and reusable?
  If so, how can we do it?
• Course practice platform How to bridge the
  gap?
• Do we need open source Web Services?What can
  they accomplish what a commercial system cant
  (yet)?

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What is the role of content in TEL? Will good
content do the job?
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Content

• Identified as the primary factor for e-learning,
  but
• high drop out rates in pure e-learning
• students usually lack motivation
• recent study in industry (Konzett, 2005)
  provision of content is not enough!
• industry requires social competence, personality
  and good interpersonal relationships (GetProfile,
  2002)
• Consequence pure provision of content, in
  general, is not enough

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Content in CEWebSCooperative Environment Web
Services

• Lecture Notes
• Resources
• Upload of files
• in construction content pools based on semantic
  web representations and WIKIs

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Bitte screenshot zu Skriptum u. Resources
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• e.g. WE or PZK

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• If content is not enough, what else do we need?
  depends on
• What is the goal of TEL (education)?

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getProfile Top Ten requirements from Industry
Top 10 Requirements
Social competencies
Ability to work in teams
Analytical thinking
Communication
Project management
Self-directed work
Customer orientation
Motivation to learn
Finding solutions,Problem analysis
Abstract thinking
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Significant Learning

• Significant learning combines the logical and
  the intuitive, the intellect and the feelings,
  the concept and the experience, the idea and the
  meaning. When we learn in that way, we are
  whole. (Rogers, 1983) S. 20.
• Our goal Significant, technology enhanced
  learning (PCeL)

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Person-Centered Learning (Rogers 1983)

• Can unfold itself best, if facilitator provides a
  working climate based on
• openness, transparency, realness
• acceptance, respect
• understanding, empathy

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Expressions of PC core conditions (Motschnig)

• Realness
• authentic problems
• open, shared reflection, multiple perspectives
• transparent communication and processes
• Acceptance
• learner participation in all aspects of course
• self-initiated learning goals and processes
• blended evaluation of students projects
• Understanding
• course design takes whole situation into account
• individual group active listening, co-create
  meaning

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Examples of Expressions of Person-Centered core
conditions in TEL

• Reaction sheets,
• Authentic problems learning contracts
• Team workspaces
• Peer and self evaluation

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screenshot with reaction sheet submission from
Web Engineering
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screenshot with reaction sheets
Display of reaction sheets from Person-Centered
Comm.

• facilitator view, e.g. KNM/2 WS04/05 2nd reaction
  english part

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Authentic problems from Web Engineering - Context

• Goal competence in WB-systems design
• technically soft skills
• Platform usage
• Lecture Notes on homepage,
• Students projects on homepage, forum, ,
  learning contracts, peer-evaluation,
• team workspaces
• reaction sheets

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Web Engineering Learning Licence WELL-contract

• about 84 (of about 330 students)
• topic to suit the theme and the interest of the
  team as well as group of learners
• blended evaluation
• knowledge bases via topic maps

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WELL Contract Structure
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screenshot(s) zu WELL submission

• Group
• Team
• files per team
• ...

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screenshot for peer evaluation
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results from online survey on WELL
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Evaluation of WE module

• ...correlate with students' motivations to
  participate
• comprehensive evaluations are available at
  http//elearn.pri.univie.ac.at/pca/research

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• Can we make good practices explicit and reusable?
  If so, how can we accomplish this?? Visual
  Models, Patterns

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Web Engineering Scenario
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Web Engineering Scenario
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Project-based Learning
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WELL Patterns
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• Course practice platform How to bridge the
  gap?

?
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Blended Learing System Structure (BLESS)
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• Do we need open source Web Services?What can
  they accomplish what a commercial system cant
  (yet)?

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Characteristics of Open Source Web Services
for TEL

• Independence on platform vendor
• Cooperative, distributed development and
  application
• Highly modular structure, open architecture, tool
  and platform integration
• Flexibility, adaptability, customization
• Derivation from actual practice intent and
  pedagogy drive technology and not vice versa

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CEWebS Applicationssome numbers

• In use for the 5 th term
• Proven design scalable and stable
• courses with more than 300 students
• Avg. of 500 students per semester
• gt 1 GB of Data accumulated gt 20 GB transfered
• 18 functional components (WSs), parts
  distributed over 3 OSs
• Praktická pezentace v sekci D3 (SCO) v 15h

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getProfile on Learning

• What is you major source of learning?
• Select 0 to two fields. (208)

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Goal Improve (learning) processes by employing
techology
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Summary Initial Framework for Technology
Enhanced Learning
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Overview on research context
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Challenges for Organizational Development

• Strategies on how to specify, achieve and assess
  added value and how to propagate it.
• How to capture, communicate, expand wisdom from
  TEL experience?
• Longer term staff development strategies and
  valuing of facilitation efforts are required for
  moving forward!
• First step towards international cooperation
  virtual community PCA/HE http//elearn.pri.univi
  e.ac.at/pca

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Finally ...

• Every viewpoint is welcome
• ... as is international cooperation
• renate.motschnig_at_univie.ac.at

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AppendixCurrent CEWebS Architecture
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CEWebS Sample architecture at the Universtiy of
Vienna
XML Tools
Business Process Visualizer
DKE
RPD/SSM Modelling
BIS
Sematic Web Tutor
QA Practical Example
Common Repository
SMILE SVG Playground
Administration Reports
MIS
LOM Editor
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Some learnings from practice

• From a technical point of view
• First Web Computing infrastructure
• Now elements of Grid Computing(Blackboard
  Messaging System)
• The services cooperate transparently(exchange
  pieces of information)

Blackboard Messaging
Service
Service
Service
Platform
Platform

• From a users point of view KISS
• Simplification of the activities involved in
  certain tasks
• One step to submit a contribution the
  contribution is placed automatically in the
  correct container
• Focus on the workflow of a course aggregated
  views of the progress
• Efficient UI only relevant parts visible
• Reports - qualitative and quantitative analysis

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