The Project MuSIK

Telematics-supported Informatics Education

Enschede, 28 January 2000

Peter GornyCarl von Ossietzky Universität OldenburgFachbereich Informatik

Medien-unterstütztes Studium der Informatik

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg2

THE IDEA (1996)

A grassroots approach to introduce computer-based self-study

material into traditional academic teaching:

• Introducing computer-based presentations of simulations and

animations into lectures - thus enhancing the possibilities to improve

understanding of processes and algorithms.

• Accompagnying the lecture with interactive material to allow students

to investigate the simulations and algorithms by self-organized open

learning.

• Embedding the interactive material into tutorials to allow self-study

and distant education.

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg3

THE DEVELOPMENT (1997-99)

Design decisions

• Platform independence WWW

• Interactivity Java Applets

• Context language and terminology of accompagnied lecture

• Application area various lectures in Informatics

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg4

THE PENETRATION (1999)

Web-based learning software for open self-organised exploratory learning has been developed for many Informatics lectures

• Many students in Oldenburg use our software as self-study material.

• and in several other universities and technical colleges.

•Modules have been implemented for approx. 14 Informatics lectures, involving their lecturers in the design process.

(but not all of this software meets quality criteria)

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg5

THE EFFECTS (1999)

The impact in the Informatics courses is clearly visible:

• lecturers and students give positive feedback.

(But not all the software meets quality criteria)

• Many students use it as selfstudy material in Oldenburg and in several other universities and technical colleges.

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg6

• The Graphics lecture material will be integrated into the project Virtuelle Fachhochschule (ongoing negotiations)

(with 16 participating technical colleges)

• Other departments in Oldenburg will use the concept for their lecture reorganisation (already started: Chemistry)

• The study organisation for Informatics will be changed to small lecture modules (26. January 2000)

(The new organisation will start in the winter term

2000/2001)

THE FUTURE

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg7

Examples (of good practice)

http://www-cg-hci.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~musik/lp_musik.html

Web-based learning software

Its concepts• allow concrete experience of theoretical concepts and models,• allow to work with dynamic systems,• allow to design dynamic models,• allow to simulate the dynamic models.

A typical structure:• A tutorial framework (html)• with embedded interactive components (Java-applets)

THE SOFTWARE

• Computergrafik interaktiv - Grafiti,• The Binomial Heap Algorithm,• The Espresso-Algorithmus zur Logikminimierung,• LALR-Parsergenerierung,• Editor und Simulator für Petri-Netze - PetriEdiSim.

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Example

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Individualization of learning processes

Organisational attributes

Presentation und Interaction

• Integrative presentation in various symbol systems,• The learners are in a dialog with the software, • Possibility to control the mixed use of various media.

CAL features

• Individual learning,• Learning in direct communication within a given social context,• Telelearning.

• Individual accessability,• Individual learning speed,• Individual learning paths and methods,• Individual learning success feedback.

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg10

Collaboratives learning

Exploratory learning

• Self-organized learning.

• The learner has to search, retrieve and structure information.

• The exploration is driven by the learner`s curiosity and motivation.

• Objective: the ability for problem solving.

DIDACTICAL CONCEPTS

• The learner is member of one or more real or virtual groups.

• The individual creativity is the input into the group.

• Each participant develops own positions and has to explain and

defend them in the group.

• In an active dialog each member experiences the others`

feedback, reactions and contradictions.

Peter Gorny – Carl v. Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg11

Document specific navigation

General tools

• Bookmarks (Favorites),

• History,

• Markings,

• Breadcrumps.

Navigation support

• List of Contents,

• Hierarchical structure (dynamic list of contents),

• Index,

• Site maps,

• Guided (tutorial) tours,

• Document specific search functions.

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SITE STRUCTURE

Book metaphore

Dynamic list of contents

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Metaphores

GUIDED TOURS

Concept• A network of threads,• As an arbitrary subset of

site pages,• Local coherence,• Global coherence

Screenshot

The design of study Materials

overview constructivism

HCI on the Web

introduction

overview

2 4

3

2

Web design

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Concept

• A site map can serve as contents.

• It offers spatial orientation.

• It sets a page into its context.

• It offers clues about the complete

number of pages on the site.

SITE MAPS

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Concept

• Semantically related pages,

• Search for unexplored parts,

• Discover the relations.

EXPLORED PART OF A SITE

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... support group work and group learning

• Annotations for Webpages without change of media

• Fine granularity of annotated objects

• Typed annotations

• Asynchronous discussion between remote group members

• Asynchronous commenting of annotations

• Flexible group concepts for annotations

ANNOTATIONS....

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ANNOTATION TOOL

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GUIDELINES

Side effects of the project:

• Guidelines for the didactical design of web-based learning

material (2001).

• Guidelines for restructuring and transforming printed

„readers“ into hypermedia learning material (2000). Example: Reader for the lecture „Informatics and society“,

Chapter „Informatics and gender“.

• Guidelines for the visualization of algorithms (2001).

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The MuSIK grassroots approach

has accelerated the reorganisation of teaching and learning:• Extension and improvements in present study possibilities,

• Flexibilization and enrichment of course offers,

• Modularization of the course system,

• Coordinated course systems for several universities,

• Joint exploitation of resources,

• Mapping real group structures into the software.

CONCLUSIONS

The individual student has gained advantages by

• individualization of learning speed and style,

• possibility for learning on demand,

• more independence in time and location.

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T H E E N D