"Use of the Semantic Web to Solve Some Basic Problems in Education”
Rob Koper, Open University of the Netherlands
http://www-jime.open.ac.uk/2004/6/
Highly relevant article from the special issue on the Educational Semantic Web in Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME).
What is the semantic web? A new layer on the existing web that enables advanced automatic processing of web content so that data can be shared and processed by both humans and software. This definition derives from recent work of Tim Berners-Lee, so its pedigree is outstanding.
Educational needs that must be met:
• Challenges of lifelong learning (global and national)
• Learner-centric education (driven by student demand)
• Shift in traditional faculty roles (institutional level change, occurring slowly)
In very general and grand terms, we need to increase
• Effectiveness
• Flexibility
• Accessibility
• Attractiveness of education for all!!
Well, we certainly all agree with that. However, Roper adds a practical, realistic touch by pointing out that none of this will happen until we find a way to utilize the technology to decrease
• Staff workload
• Institutional costs
Ask any instructor about her experiences with adding an online course to her workload. Statistics as well as anecdotal evidence indicate that a sizeable increase in workload occurs at once, for a variety of reasons. Who’s working on decreasing this workload so that master teachers will be drawn to the field of distance education?
Behind the scenes, the international standards groups are working hard to develop and standardize those foundational elements that will facilitate those magical increases as well as those essential decreases. A regular university instructor is not interested in the IMS Learning Design model but someday, the results of this model may make online teaching enchantingly creative and attractive to experts in their field.
IMS’s LD uses a “semantic conceptual model of the teaching-learning process” and this model can offer an instructor some insight into how the future will emerge from current face-to-face practices. This model states that “in any instructional design”
“A person is assigned to a role in the teaching-learning process… in this role he or she works towards certain outcomes by performing more or less structured learning and/or support activities within an environment. The environment consists of the appropriate learning objects and services to be used during the performance of the activities. Which roles gets which activities at what moment in the process, is determined by the learning design method or by a notification (a triggering mechanism).”
http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign/index.cfm
A major concern which definitely needs further exploration is Koper’s concern that this inevitable process doesn’t overburden or abandon the learner in the quest for scalability and cost savings. Here, I’d like to recommend another article, “Adding (Negotiated) Learning Management to Models of Teaching and Learning” by Steve Draper of the University of Glasgow. Very practical, very thoughtful, very basic. Steps we can take NOW to assist both students and teachers.
http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/TLP.management.html
Relevance to learning objects and knowledge management?
The author identifies some core themes, areas which need additional thought and research:
Can we analyze re-usable patterns in units of learning?
What principles and facilities allow the sharing of artifacts/resources in learning networks?
Questions worth pondering.
