The Development of Personalized Educational Software and CSCL Approach within the STEM Education

Abstract

There are many scientific papers related to ICT integration into teaching. However, authors of this contribution consider the actually used educational technology and software to be only modifications of general IT solutions. In practice, this results in such a paradox that teachers and students use operational systems or office packages instead of having a tailor made software at their disposal. In other words, in the Engineering education, there is an absence of approaches that would be based on understanding of the teaching process as a knowledge based one. Authors bring such an approach by a systemic development of a personal educational software BIKEE and a supportive IT infrastructure (as was also presented by them within the previous WEEF conference). In this context, this contribution explains certain aspects of solving the research on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) within the STEM education both from pedagogical (didactic) and informatics point of view. These aspects relate first of all to the personal development of IT support of teachers. Thus, for this purpose an educational technology was designed (Svetsky) while teaching bachelors student STEM-courses of study. As regards the “originality” of the presented approach, basically three interdisciplinary methodologies were combined to model and implement the CSCL into teaching. To the best of authors' knowledge, it seems to be the first attempt to systematically analyze the synergy of didactics and informatics algorithms when solving the complex CSCL integration within the STEM education.