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CREDIT Seminars and Workshops/Readings

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Title: Learning about Predator-Prey models with a Multi-Representational Instructional Simulation

ABSTRACT:

Software that employs multiple external representations (MERs) such as tables, diagrams and pictures has become widespread at all levels of education. However, research provides a mixed account of its success. In this project we use an analytic framework called DeFT (Design, Functions Task) which provide an analysis of learning demands, a functional taxonomy and an identification of key design parameters in order to address the question of when and why learning with MERs is effective. The research has involved designing, implementing and evaluating DEMIST, an Instructional Simulation Environments which capture novel process of measure of learners' use of MERs.

With DEMIST, we can quickly and easy author a range of multi-representational scenarios that differ in terms of informational redundancy, form, automatic translation, sequence of presented representation and number visible at any one time. For example, systems can be created which only include representations that have exactly the same information (full redundancy) to ones in which each representations conveys unique information (no redundancy). Authors can create systems that include representations of many different forms (multiple modalities, levels of abstraction, etc). There is no theoretical limit to the number of representations that can be presented at any given time, although we can set this limit in authoring mode. Representations can be co-present, can be switched between under learner control or learners can be given a predetermined sequence of representations. Finally and, uniquely amongst simulation environments to our knowledge, translation between representations can be varied from full dyna-linking through to complete independence.

This seminar will focus on the evaluation of DEMIST, according to the experiments we ran last month. I will describe the environment, the experimental protocal we followed (instructional simulation design, pre and post-test design, learners' traces, ...) and I will conclude with the results and the first conclusions we can draw from that first broad experiment.

Title: To the DynaBook and Beyond: The Design of Mobile Technologies for Lifelong Learning

ABSTRACT

In the early 1970's Alan Kay at Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre formed a vision of a "personal computer for children of all ages". This device, which he named the DynaBook, would be a "self-contained knowledge manipulator in a portable package the size and shape of an ordinary notebook" . Learners, of any age, would augment their learning by creating and sharing and interacting with "reference material, poems, letters, recipes, records, drawings, animations, musical scores, waveforms, dynamic simulations, and anything else you would like to remember and change". The Xerox DynaBook project led indirectly to the modern personal computer, but along the route its original educational aims were lost, to be replaced by mobile office systems and personal digital assistants.

The aim of our HandLeR (Handheld Learning Resource) project has been to revive the original spirit of the DynaBook project. The convergence of mobile communications and handheld computers offers the opportunity to develop mobile technology that will assist people and groups to learn anytime,anywhere. I shall describe the design of a "learning organiser" to support learners in capturing everyday events such as images, notes and sounds, to organise these into visual knowledge maps and share them with other learners, and to manage personal learning projects. I shall present some prototype systems, as exemplars of personal mobile technology for life-long learning.

Title: TBA

Title: TBA

CANCELLED

Title: Making probability theory easy to learn: Using representational epistemology to explain and ameliorate conceptual and cognitive obstacles.

ABSTRACT

Why is probability theory notoriously hard to use and to learn? Numerous reasons have been proposed which focus either upon the inherent conceptual difficulty of the notions of randomness and chance or upon the complexities of probabilistic relations. As an alternative we propose a 'representational epistemological' explanation: the representations currently used to express knowledge of probability theory create major conceptual and cognitive hurdles that compound the basic conceptual obstacles and structural complexities. Therefore, it should be possible to substantially enhance comprehension and learning by re-codifying probability theory within a more effective representation. Using principles of representational design derived in our previous work, we have engineered such a representation, Probability Space Diagrams. PS diagrams will be described and the findings of a learning experiment will be discussed, which shows that PS diagrams effectively support learning compared to the conventional representations.

Title: Interpreting Images of Line Drawings

ABSTRACT

Line drawings arise in a wide variety of disciplines and situations. As the ability of computer systems to create, represent and manipulate graphical data increases, a need has arisen to convert existing paper drawings into appropriate digital formats. Workers in image analysis, machine vision and pattern recognition have addressed this problem and there is now a substantial literature on the automatic interpretation of images of line drawings. Engineering drawings and maps have perhaps received most attention.

This talk will review the classic bottom-up and top-down approaches to line drawing interpretation, using examples drawn from work on images of mechanical engineering drawings. Current research issues in the field will be outlined and some suggestions for future directions made.

Title: TBA

Title: How to mark 4000 programs without really trying

Abstract

While teaching in all its forms can sometimes be fun, for most people marking student work is tedious, boring and in general hard work. A courseware system is presented that not only provides on-line support for courses, but importantly can automatically assess student work.

CourseMaster can mark several types of coursework in a non-trivial manner. That is, criteria can be set against which the work is thoroughly assessed. Specifically, the system is particularly effective at marking computer programs in several languages including Java and C++. It can also mark diagrams and assist in the marking of essays.

In addition to marking, the system also supports the provision of lecture notes and web pages and links. It can be used to collect any on-line work and enforce deadlines. Finally, it provides a suite of web- based tools that allow the easy management of courses. CourseMaster has been used "live" at Nottingham with great success for three years and is based on the earlier Ceilidh system which was developed and used over the preceding ten years.

Title: The Return of the Nativist

Abstract

Radical Concept Nativism is the doctrine that most of our concepts are innate. The debate concerning the viability of RCN has recently returned to prominence in the philosophical community yet despite having some high-profile champions RCN is widely viewed as an implausible position. I will attempt to develop a speculative account of concept acquisition that has considerable nativist credentials and can be defended against the most familiar anti-nativist objections, particularly those that have recently been presented by Fiona Cowie in her book What's Within.

Title: TBA