Educational Hypermedia Research Articles

Learning Objects' Architecture and Indexing in WELSA Adaptive Educational System

In this paper we present an intelligent way of organizing learning material in an adaptive educational hypermedia system. We describe the use of instructional metadata which facilitates both the detection of student learning style and the application of various adaptation techniques. The advantage of our approach is that it is independent of a particular learning style model. Furthermore, the author has to supply only the annotated learning content (the static description) while the adaptation logic (the dynamic description) is provided by the system. The approach is implemented in an adaptive educational system called WELSA and illustrated with a course module in the area of Artificial Intelligence.

Real users, real results

This paper examines the current state of AEH (adaptive educational hypermedia) research into explicit learning style modelling for user personalisation. It addresses the problem of non-naïve test subjects, who are often in user trials, thus contributing to experimental bias. Instead, the authors suggest using "real people", i.e. users with a range of backgrounds and abilities, in order to gain a truer insight into evidence-based research. We report on a study carried out with "real" users: around 80 children at a UK primary school. The study investigated sequential and global learning styles as a personalisation mechanism in an AEH system. The user trial involved matching and mismatching users and learning environments to see if learning improved. The AEH system used by the children was DEUS, a new e-learning platform that is conceptually similar to WHURLE, an AEH that also used learning styles as its user model. No statistically significant differences were found between experimental groups, learning style preferences or learning environments. We discuss the significance of this, and then critically analyse the use of learning styles in relation to this study and also in the wider context.

Advances in scaffolding learning with hypertext and hypermedia: theoretical, empirical, and design issues

Of the uses of globally distributed hypertext and hypermedia technologies in education, it might be said that we live in the best of times and the worst of times. Over approximately two decades, we have seen hypermedia technologies (i.e., hyperlinks between nodes of digitally encoded information such as text, images, video, simulations, animations, and so on) advance from obscure military and basic research projects on specialized computers to form the basis of a globally distributed networked hypermedia environment known as the World Wide Web. In addition, commonly available and inexpensive multimedia handheld devices, laptop, and desktop computers allow students and teachers to connect to this global hypermedia environment using wired and, increasingly, wireless networks, thus providing countless opportunities for access to educational hypermedia and information resources. On the negative side, however, a critical look at principled research into learning with hypermedia, in contrast to information dissemination and access, has been decidedly mixed. Many earlier hypermedia systems were criticized for focusing on the technology rather than cognitive and learning issues and for being atheoretical (Dillon and Gabbard 1998; Jacobson 1994; Tergan 1997). Of course, there has been research documenting factors associated with educationally effective hypermedia systems (including new adaptive hypermedia approaches), but there continues to be theoretical and methodological criticisms of much of the hypertext and hypermedia literature (Azevedo 2005; Shapiro and Niederhauser 2003). Given that research on the design of powerful and educationally effective hypermedia systems appears to have reached an impressionistic vista, how might work in this area advance? A central goal of this Special Issue of ETR&D is to illustrate how recent theoretical and research perspectives from the learning sciences and educational technology can provide a foundation upon which powerful and effective hypertext and hypermedia systems for learning may be designed, researched, and used to address significant learning challenges

Modeling Adaptive Educational Methods with IMS Learning Design

The paper describes a classification system for adaptive methods developed in the area of adaptive educational hypermedia based on four dimensions: What components of the educational system are adapted? To what features of the user and the current context does the system adapt? Why does the system adapt? How does the system get the necessary information? Based on this taxonomy several classical methods of adaptive educational hypermedia are classified. In a second step the paper gives an overview of key features in IMS-LD for implementing adaptive educational methods and gives some examples. In the last section the work is integrated and IMS-LD features are identified which can be used for the four dimensions of the classification system. Editors: Daniel Burgos.

Advances in scaffolding learning with hypertext and hypermedia: a summary and critical analysis

Hypermedia learning environments such as the World Wide Web and CD based multi media encyclopedias are extensively used in education, frequently with the intent of helping students learn challenging educational subjects. However, we caution educators, instructional designers, and researchers not to be seduced by design approaches for hypermedia environments that allow learners to access, manipulate, or restructure multiple representations of information while receiving little or no scaffolding during learning. As the authors of this special issue demonstrate, learning with hypertext and hypermedia is challenging for learners of all ages and that systematic and carefully designed research is needed in order to contribute to our understanding of how to promote learning with non linear systems such as these. We further argue that hypermedia design approaches should be informed by empirical research with multiple methodologies from various disciplines rather than adopting ad hoc or intuition-based approaches to designing and evaluating educational hypermedia. Furthermore, our conceptions and formulations of scaffolding have deviated from the original conception (i.e., Wood et al. 1976) of the construct so much that there is some confusion and a general lack of synthesis regarding the nature, role, and effectiveness of scaffolding in learning with hypermedia (see Azevedo and Hadwin 2005; Jacobson, this volume). What we need is a concerted effort by researchers from various fields to conduct theoretically-driven laboratory and classroom research from which to draw scientifically-based principles for the design of hypermedia-based learning environments intended to foster students' learning about complex and challenging topics. The papers in this special issue hopefully represent principled steps towards addressing such issues. The goal of this article is to summarize the papers in this volume, and to

A design framework for educational hypermedia systems: theory, research, and learning emerging scientific conceptual perspectives

This paper focuses on theory and research issues associated with the use of hypermedia technologies in education. It is proposed that viewing hypermedia technologies as an enabling infrastructure for tools to support learning—in particular learning in problem-based pedagogical environments involving cases—has particular promise. After considering research issues with problem-based learning related to knowledge transfer and conceptual change, a design framework is discussed for a hypermedia system with scaffolding features intended to support and enhance problem-based learning with cases. Preliminary results are reported of research involving a new version of this hypermedia design approach with special ontological scaffolding to explore conceptual change and far knowledge transfer issues related to learning advanced scientific knowledge involving complex systems as well as the use of the system in a graduate seminar class. Overall, it is hoped that this program of research will stimulate further work on learning and cognitive sciences theoretical and research issues, on the characteristics of design features for robust and educationally powerful hypermedia systems, on ways that hypermedia systems might be used to support innovative pedagogical approaches being used in the schools, and on how particular designs for learning technologies might foster learning of conceptually difficult knowledge and skills that are increasingly necessary in the 21st century.

Educational Technology Research with Older Adults: Adjustments in Protocol, Materials, and Procedures

To determine the optimal uses of educational hypermedia for older adult learners, it is prudent to conduct research focusing on this particular participant group. However, the value of research findings, especially in cross-sectional studies, may depend on attentiveness towards the specific needs of older adults. Ignoring these needs may lead to an underestimation of the capacity of older adults to use hypermedia applications for learning and communication. This paper describes the necessary changes in sampling, procedures, and protocols adopted to accommodate a sample of older adults in the testing of educational technology.

Adaptive hypermedia in secondary schools: from the teacher to the student

The support of diversity is a growing concern in public secondary schools in Spain. Adaptive Educational Hypermedia (AEH) technology provides tools well fitted for this task. Through three different experiences, this paper shows how AEH helps to improve student performance. However, the complexity of the design process for adaptive hypermedia is hindering a wider application of this technology. One possible solution is to apply the benefits of adaptive hypermedia to provide support to adaptive-course authors. In this way, teachers with no knowledge of adaptive systems, user models or formal languages would be able to produce rather complex adaptive courses, starting from course templates automatically selected according to their specific needs. In this paper it is also shown how an adaptive course on adaptive hypermedia design was used to help secondary school teachers to select and instantiate these templates.

Authoring adaptive educational hypermedia on the semantic desktop

Personalisation of information is a desired feature, but authoring and creation of adaptive hypermedia is a difficult endeavour. Especially, manual annotation is the bottleneck of such authoring. Thus it is vital to support the authoring process by reusing automatically generated metadata. Here, we show the integration of the generic AH authoring environment MOT into a semantic desktop environment, as well as its first small-scale evaluation. In this set-up, the semantic desktop environment provides the rich source of automatically generated metadata, while MOT allows enhancing this metadata manually, as needed for the authoring of an adaptive environment ? here, an adaptive course.

Adaptive educational hypermedia interoperability and content creation with a web service-based architecture

The take-up of Adaptive Educational Hypermedia (AEH) by the educators has been slow, in part due to the complexity of authoring and the often short 'lifetime' of the AEH software. AEH system interoperability can address these problems. This paper reports on a web services architecture for AEH interoperability that builds upon prior translation-based conversion processes between AEH systems. We describe a case study in the development of a web service using Web Services Description Language (WSDL) and SOAP that is capable of converting My Online Teacher (MOT) materials to Web-based, Hierarchical, Universal, Reactive Learning Environment (WHURLE). This web service is flexible and easily extensible, and represents the first step in developing an interoperable middleware for AEH conversions.

Semantic overlays in educational content networks – the hylOs approach

PurposeThe paper, aims to introduce an educational content management system Hypermedia Learning Objects System (hylOs), which is fully compliant to the IEEE LOM eLearning object metadata standard. Enabled through an advanced authoring toolset, hylOs allows the definition of instructional overlays of a given eLearning object mesh.Design/methodology/approachIn educational content management, simple file distribution is considered insufficient. Instead, IEEE LOM standardised eLearning objects have been well established as the basic building blocks for educational online content. They are nicely suited for self‐explorative learning approaches within adaptive hypermedia applications. Even though eLearning objects typically reside within content repositories, they may propagate metadata relations beyond repository limits. Given the explicit meaning of these interobject references, a semantic net of content strings can be knotted, overlaying the repository infrastructure.FindingsBased on a newly introduced ontological evaluation layer, meaningful overlay relations between knowledge objects are shown to derive autonomously. A technology framework to extend the resulting semantic nets beyond repository limits is also presented.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper provides proof of concept for the derivation and use of semantic content networks in educational hypermedia. It thereby opens up new directions for future eLearning technologies and pedagogical adoption.Practical implicationsThe paper illustrates capabilities of the hylOs eLearning content management. The hylOs is built upon the more general Media Information Repository (MIR) and the MIR Adaptive Context Linking Environment (MIRaCLE): its linking extension. MIR is an open system supporting the standard XML, CORBA and JNDI. hylOs benefits from manageable information structures, sophisticated access logic and high‐level authoring tools like the eLO editor responsible for the semi‐manual creation of meta data and WYSIWYG like XML–content editing, allowing for rapid distributed content development.Originality/valueOver the last few years, networking technologies and distributed information systems have moved up the OSI layer and are established well within application‐centric middleware. Most recently, content overlay networks have matured, incorporating the semantics of data files into their self‐organisational structure with the aim of optimising data‐centric distributed indexing and retrieval. This paper elaborates a corresponding concept of semantic structuring for educational content objects. It introduces and analyses the autonomous generation and educational exploitation of semantic content nets, providing proof of concept by a full‐featured implementation within the hylOs educational content management system.

Construção de conceitos de física moderna e sobre a natureza da ciência com o suporte da hipermídia

Apresentam-se os resultados de uma pesquisa sobre a construção de conceitos de Física Moderna e sobre a natureza da Ciência com o apoio da hipermídia, que envolveu a produção e avaliação de um software educacional. A proposta didática fundamentou-se na Teoria da Aprendizagem de Ausubel, em orientações para a implementação de sistemas hipermídia educacionais e em abordagens derivadas da pesquisa em Ensino de Ciências, dentre as quais o enfoque Ciência-Tecnologia-Sociedade, ponderações quanto à importância pedagógica da História e Filosofia da Ciência e considerações sobre a inserção de Física Moderna no Ensino Médio. O programa foi avaliado por pesquisadores de Ensino de Física e licenciandos de Física e, após a incorporação de algumas sugestões realizadas, foi testado por estudantes do terceiro ano do Ensino Médio de uma escola pública. Obtiveram-se indícios de que o uso do computador foi fator de motivação dos estudantes; a diversidade de elementos de mídia auxiliou-os a fixar a atenção sobre o conteúdo e favoreceu a visualização e interpretação dos fenômenos, facilitando ainda o raciocínio; o hipertexto estruturado em conformidade com princípios ausubelianos contribuiu para a percepção da relação entre os conceitos e ajudou no desenvolvimento de subsunçores para apoiar a aprendizagem subseqüente. Constatou-se que a proposta didática avaliada favoreceu a evolução das concepções da maior parte dos estudantes quanto ao conceito de equivalência massa-energia e suas implicações; às relações entre Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade, incluindo aspectos ambientais e políticos; ao papel da Ética no desenvolvimento e aplicação dos conhecimentos científicos; ao progresso da Ciência ao longo do tempo.

ICT in education

Extracted from text ... EDITORIAL 1 ICT in education The unifying theme of this edition of Education as Change is Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. This special edition finds itself amongst several other journals with this theme, including Computers & Education, The British Journal of Educational Technology, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Education and Information Technologies, Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, and Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia. In addition, several conferences are held annually, of which e-LEARN, ED-MEDIA and Online Educa are some of the largest. It is clear that the use of ICT for learning is deeply entrenched in ..

An approach for automatic generation of adaptive hypermedia in education with multilingual knowledge discovery techniques

This work describes a framework that combines techniques from Adaptive Hypermedia and Natural Language processing in order to create, in a fully automated way, on-line information systems from linear texts in electronic format, such as textbooks. The process is divided into two steps: an off-line processing step, which analyses the source text, and an on-line step, which executes when a user connects to the system with a web browser, moment at which the contents and hyperlinks are generated. The framework has been implemented as the W elkin system, which has been used to build three adaptive on-line information sites in a quick and easy way. Some controlled experiments have been performed with real users aimed to provide positive feedback on the implementation of the system.

Identification of learning styles online by observing learners’ browsing behaviour through a neural network

AbstractIdentification of individual learning style is important when developing adaptive educational hypermedia systems. Current systems ask learners to complete questionnaires to identify their learning styles, which might not be appropriate in some contexts. The goal of this research is to identify the learner's learning style by simply observing his/her browsing behaviour without asking the learner to answer any questions or filling out any form. It is implemented through a multi‐layer feed forward neural network (MLFF). Browsing behaviour, in this research, includes three factors, the use of embedded support devices (ESDs), the selection of link types, and the navigation between visited/unvisited nodes. The experiment results showed the proposed model performed well in identifying learning styles. Link type is the dominant factor and Time shift may not be a major factor in the identification of learning styles. Because of the fast execution property of neural networks and identification of learning styles online, it is possible to incorporate learning styles into online adaptive educational web‐based systems.

Fuzzy User Modeling for Adaptation in Educational Hypermedia

Education is a dominating application area for adaptive hypermedia. Web-based adaptive educational systems incorporate complex intelligent tutoring techniques, which enable the system to recognize an individual user and their needs, and consequently adapt the instructional sequence. The personalization is done through the user model, which collects information about the user. Since the description of user knowledge and features also involves imprecision and vagueness, a user model has to be designed that is able to deal with this uncertainty. This paper presents a way of describing the uncertainty of user knowledge, which is used for user knowledge modeling in an adaptive educational system. The system builds on the concept domain model. A fuzzy user model is proposed to deal with vagueness in the user's knowledge description. The model uses fuzzy sets for knowledge representation and linguistic rules for model updating. The data from the fuzzy user model form the basis for the system adaptation, which implements various navigation support techniques. The evaluation of the presented educational system has shown that the system and its adaptation techniques provide a valuable, easy-to-use tool, which positively affects user knowledge acquisition and, therefore, leads to better learning results.

Multimedia Based Medical Instrumentation Course in Biomedical Engineering

Computer assisted instruction in education, including biomedical engineering education, has been explored and changed dramatically for more than two decades. The Internet, with its capacity to transmit synchronous and asynchronous audio, text, and graphics, presents educators with tremendous opportunies for distance education and independent learning. In this work, we have developed a new educational hypermedia for medical instrumentation courses. It is designed to be suitable for biomedical and technical curricula where these courses are scheduled. The courseware provides support for the education of medical instrumentation. The work is presented herein to provide multimedia course material with animations to assist learning some key Medical Instrumentation topics on the World Wide Web.

A logical characterization of adaptive educational hypermedia

Currently, adaptive educational hypermedia systems (AEHSs) are described using nonuniform methods, depending on the specific view of the system, the application, or other parameters. There is no common language for expressing the functionality of AEHSs, hence these systems are difficult to compare and analyze. In this paper we investigate how a logical description can be employed to characterize adaptive educational hypermedia. We propose a definition of AEHSs based on first-order logic, characterize some AEHSs resulting from this formalism, and discuss the applicability of this approach.

EXAMINING THE USE OF CONCEPTUAL GRAPHS IN ADAPTIVE WEB-BASED SYSTEMS THAT AID TERMINOLOGY LEARNING

This paper discussed the use of Conceptual Graphs (CGs) for implementing tasks employed in web-based educational systems that aid terminology learning. Specifically, we focus on two critical issues in intelligent tutoring - student diagnosis and generation of adaptive explanations. Both tasks are demonstrated in terminological domains where learners have to familiarize themselves with concepts in a specific subject area (e.g. computing, finance, chemistry). Based on CG reasoning, robust and computationally tractable algorithms for student modelling and adaptive explanation generation are defined. Two intelligent systems are presented — STyLE-OLM and HYLITE+. STyLE-OLM is an interactive learner modelling system that extracts extended models of the learners' cognition. HYLITE+ is a natural language generation system that generates adaptive Web pages based on a learner model(LM). The two systems are complementary and have been implemented separately. However, considered together they cover most of the key tasks in adaptive web-based educational hypermedia that aid learning technical terminology. Based on evaluative studies of STyLE-OLM and HYLITE+, the use of CGs for interactive open student modelling and adaptive concept explanations is examined. The applicability of CGs in adaptive web-based systems that aid learning technical terminology is discussed.

Patterns for Designing Adaptive/Adaptable Educational Hypermedia

A number of studies in traditional class-based education show thatstudents whose learning styles match with the instructional approach“tend to retain information longer, apply it more effectively, andhave more effective post-course attitudes towards the subject thando their counterparts who experience learning/teaching mismatch