Research
on Ubiquitous CSCL
Links
Mpeg movie is downloadable from here. (20 M byte)
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Back ground and motivation |
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The
challenge in an information-rich world is not only to make information
available to people at any time, at any place, and in any form, but
specifically to say the right thing at the right time in the right way
(Fischer, 2001). A ubiquitous computing environment enables people learning
at any time and any place. But the fundamental issue is how to provide
learners right information at the right time in the right way. This paper
tackles the issues of right time and right place learning (RTRPL) in a
ubiquitous computing environment. Especially,
we focus on language learning as an application domain of this research. That
is because language is much influenced by situations. The user of this system
is an overseas student of a University in |
Objectives |
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In order to induce collaborative learning,
this paper proposes Knowledge Awareness (KA) map that visualizes KA
information for ubiquitous learning environments. The map helps learner to
mediate and recognize collaborators in the shared knowledge space. On this
map, the system identifies learning-companions who can help solving a
problem. The characteristics of the map are: -
Visualization of the objects in the map and expressions as educational
materials, -
Visualization of the links between expressions and learners to induce
collaboration, -
Recommendations of appropriate collaborators on KA map to help find suitable
partners. We
are developing an open-ended collaborative learning support system, which is
called CLUE (Collaborative-Learning support-system with an Ubiquitous
Environment). CLUE is a prototype system for KA map, and facilities to share
individual knowledge and to learn through collaboration. |
Features of Ubiquitous Learning |
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The main characteristics of ubiquitous learning are shown
as follows (Chen et al., 2002; Curtis et al., 2002): - Permanency: Learners can
never lose their work unless it is purposefully deleted. In addition, all the
learning processes are recorded continuously in everyday. - Accessibility: Learners have
access to their documents, data, or videos from anywhere. That information is
provided based on their requests. Therefore, the learning involved is
self-directed. - Immediacy: Wherever learners
are, they can get any information immediately. Therefore learners can solve
problems quickly. Otherwise, the learner may record the questions and look
for the answer later. - Interactivity: Learners can
interact with experts, teachers, or peers in the form of synchronies or
asynchronous communication. Hence, the experts are more reachable and the
knowledge is more available. - Situating of instructional
activities: The learning could be embedded in our daily life. The problems
encountered as well as the knowledge required are all presented in the nature
and authentic forms. It helps learners notice the features of problem
situations that make particular actions relevant. - Adaptability: Learners can
get the right information at the right place with the right way. Moreover,
ubiquitous learning can be Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL)
environments that focus on the socio-cognitive process of social knowledge
building and sharing. |
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Acknowledgements |
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This project is partly supported by the grant-in-aid for
Young Scientific Research (2) No. 15700516from Japan Society for the
Promotion of Science. |