An experiment with enhanced learning in engineering education.
Svetstky, Stefan ; Moravcik, Oliver ; Stefankova, Jana 等
Abstract: Knowledge represents a key element in a framework of any
teaching and learning activity. Within the implementation of technology
enhanced learning the pre-programmed desktop environment has been
developed which enables a teacher or student a personalised working with
knowledge. When using the environment a set of the informatics tools has
been produced (e.g., Writing pad--standalone, e-learning material
WEB-pages, templates, tests) and tested for active learning in the
diverse courses of study. The first experiences showed that a various
content (courses of study) requires a various approach and an
informatics tools combination.
Key words: technology of enhanced learning, active learning,
knowledge processing, informatics tools
1. INTRODUCTION
Knowledge represents a key element in a framework of any teaching
and learning activity. Within the implementation of technology enhanced
learning the pre-programmed desktop environment has been developed which
enables a teacher or student to have a personalised working experience
with knowledge. In this context, the desktop environment works as the
"Batch Information and Knowledge Editor" (BIKE). At the
beginning (Svetsky, 2007), the desktop environment was used at the
detached university's workplace mostly in conditions analogical to
blended and distance learning. Afterwards (Svetsky et al, 2008, 2010),
by using the BIKE, the further off-line and online learning materials
were created (tutorials, forums, e-libraries), including a set of
outcomes. The pre-programmed environment that works on a teacher's
computer enables him the building of both adaptive learning material and
also the ability to select tailored informatics tools (programming
codes, optional menus, and tailored applications).
2. THE INFORMATICS SUPORT FOR ACTIVE LEARNING
The teachers and bachelor's students, in general, need any
personalised informatics tools applicable to information and knowledge
processing. In addition, today's teacher or individual user must
work on their computers with a huge amount of knowledge in conditions
which are characterised by attributes such as multipurpose,
multilingual, multi format and multiwindow. This state-of-the-art
automatically requires working with "knowledge packages" which
are to be batch processed. In terms of this, however, an actual ICT tools level is too low, including software for personal computers. It
must be emphasised that the BIKE is neither a learning/course management
system nor content management one. This universal environment exploits
"knowledge tables" for batch knowledge processing and provides
for browsable outputs or study material (readable with common internet
browsers). It also enables internet batch retrieving, text processing,
and many other pre-programmed actions in order to enhance and automate
teaching and learning. In this paper, there is not enough space to
explain a basic principle of active learning. It must be noted that the
main focus of the active learning techniques are aimed at the students
(they do something). In addition, from a practical point of view, as
mentioned in a page of California State University (Paulson, Faust,
2010), this reference describes approximately 30 techniques of active
learning,, e.g., "One Minute Paper, Active Review Sessions, Concept
mapping, Quotations". Thus, if we want to solve ICT support for
active learning in general, we need engineering content (to be taught),
students (learners), classrooms with computers (offline or/and online),
and then we can select one or more from the 30 techniques. The core of
the solution is then to investigate which steps in common active
learning techniques are repeatable, and what can be "automated via
computer".
In this context, the BIKE provides for a large "active"
area with supporting elements, as a portfolio which can support students
to be "cognitive active". From an informatics point of view,
the system support for active learning is briefly illustrated in figure
1. As shown, such informatics support is based on the BIKE (as a
database application) by which a large palette of outcomes can be
produced in cooperation with the operating system (Windows), common
browsers (Internet Explorer, OPERA), internet applications (php/mysql),
and freeware or other commercial software (e.g. MS Office, Text To
Speech applications within language support).
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
3. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTIVE LEARNING INTO ENGINEERING COURSES
The developed informatics tools were tested in some engineering
courses of study (Environmental protection--Occupational health and
safety--Semester projects I-II-III--General Chemistry). In this case,
the combination of the informatics tools was used by teachers and
students for performing many tasks of technology enhanced learning. Some
of them were also investigated as the "active elements" for
active learning, especially for writing semester projects and works
which included their language support.
It must be emphasised that the described informatics tools
(scripts, menus, tailored applications) are different than other ones
when using common learning course management systems (LCMS) or
e-learning tools. In these tools, there are features preferred that are
typical for file managers, Intranet or WEB 2.0 technologies, however,
the BIKE or its stand-alone version Writing pad (geniusV1.exe) work as
desktop applications on teachers' computers and on computers in the
classroom.
Technology enhanced learning is based on two levels--informatics
(tools) and pedagogical (content). After providing the bachelor's
students with the set of informatics tools the next steps were focused
on content processing. The practice showed, from an active learning
point of view, that the engineering content is especially important. If
there is no pedagogical content appointed, then no action can be made by
the students. Further, the practice also showed that if some computers
in the classroom were online the bachelor's students did not
concentrate enough on solving their tasks. They had a tendency to have
unruly behaviour (e.g., they visited other WEB-sites on the Internet
during teaching). Likewise, the students were not able to employ the
tailored internet forums in an efficient manner although the forums were
programmed for each course of study due to better feedback between
teacher and students.
Naturally, these problems wouldn't have arisen in the case of
simple computer aided support. For instance, the traditional method
"one minute paper" can be simply performed by using a
"forum". On the other hand, now, that there are developed
informatics tools at our disposal one does not know which of them are
convenient for active learning support. Thus, the generalisation was
made that a shared element of the engineering's courses of study
could be the semester work with fixed content. This was then unified
with the MS Word template together with detailed off-line/online
instructions, e.g., with document structure, how to write English and
German abstracts, etc. Likewise, the directions for applying internet
batch retrieving were given.
The first results showed that by comparison with the traditional
active learning methods the other methods could be developed when
applying the computer enhanced learning support. Such active learning
can consist from the various methods, e.g., inclusion of batch retrieval
when being applied by students within writing their semester works. For
example, for batch retrieving, the five keywords were given in the
Writing Pad, as follows: occupational health and safety--risk assessment
machinery--glossary risk assessment--risk assessment ppt--OHSA risk
assessment. The batch internet retrieval made by a stand--alone resulted
into twenty opened windows within the OPERA browser
It must be also underlined, that the informatics skills of the
bachelors students were not sufficient enough for using the
self-developed informatics tools. Thus, their testing in the classroom
was very time consuming. Therefore, for the next development it is very
important to prepare students for routine handling and mastering the
informatics tools in order to process the pedagogical content within the
required time for active learning. Likewise, they should enhance their
skills for engineering content processing. With respect to this issue, a
bilateral collaboration regarding ICT support was also performed
(Divjak, Begicevic, Moravcik, Svetsky, 2010).
4. CONCLUSION
The set of the informatics tools has been developed within the
implementation of personalised technology enhanced learning for
engineering education at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology
of Slovak University of Technology. Some of these tools were selected
and tested for active learning. Basically, there are two ways for the
active learning informatics support.
Firstly, it can be selected for any common active learning
technique and investigated as to which of the informatics tools within
the BIKE (knowledge editor and generator) can be applied. For instance,
if the "one minute paper" technique was chosen as the active
learning method, then it would be automated by selecting the feedback
forum from the menu of the active informatics tools.
However, such an approach has not been implemented in the field of
ICT support yet, because the informatics tools commonly described and
used are mostly internet applications focused on content management, or
learning and course management systems (CMS, LMS, LCMS). In addition,
only the technology--driven approach is preferred nowadays. Hence, they
are not convenient for active learning support.
In context with this, many developed "active" informatics
tools were tested for some engineering courses of study (used by
approximately 200 students this year). The practice showed that the
testing of issues such as the semester work writing, the reading room,
the use of internet batch retrieving and multilingual support can result
in an innovative active learning practice. This means that due to a
synergic effect entirely new material and techniques can be created. It
would not be possible to do it without computers (this is the second way
for the active learning informatics support).
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