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Learning from e-Learning Initial experiences from the European Learning Grid. Rosa Michaelson University of Dundee Colin Allison, Stuart Purdie,Tim Storer University of St Andrews. ELeGI Project.
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Learning from e-LearningInitial experiences from the European Learning Grid Rosa Michaelson University of Dundee Colin Allison, Stuart Purdie,Tim Storer University of St Andrews
ELeGI Project • European Learning Grid Infrastructure is a 4 year EC FP6 funded “Integrated Project” which started in February 2004 • 23 partners • 12 universities • 2 open universities (OU and HOU) • 4 research institutes • 4 commercial technology companies
ELeGI: Motivation • “Information transfer” learning model issues • Assumed/supported by most e-learning products • About content management • Easy to achieve with simple use of Web • Lecturer selects/produces content • Little scope for exploratory, interactive or collaborative learning
ELeGI Motivation • Interested in “knowledge construction” • Learning Modes required: • Collaborative • Experiential • Personalised • Realistic • Contextualised • Ubiquitous
Technologies and Standards Learning and Collaboration Models Service Elicitation and Exploitation Scenarios (SEES) Analysis and Synthesis Software Architecture Design Prototype Infrastructure Implementation Feedback Deployments and Evaluations ELeGI Approach
Content sharing Presentation mark-up Product/download Producer/consumer bolt-on security Ad hoc identity management (cookies) Secure transactions (awkward..don’t press that button…) Authentication – ad hoc, no cross domain Resource sharing Semantic mark-up Dynamic service Virtual communities detailed security model PKI Certificate based identity management Cross domain trust models Secure transactions Why Grid? Grid Web
Two sides to the Grid • Anatomy of the Grid • Original GRID -> distributed supercomputing • Shared resources - high performance processing, networking and storage facilities • Physiology of the Grid • OGSA: Open Grid Services Architecture
What have we done? • Prototypes • re-engineered learning tools/facilities/environments • Explored: • What it means to be “OGSA conformant” • Issues in implementing Grid learning services, without worrying about pedagogical goals and models
GRID-Aware Prototypes • Finesse -> Finesse Grid Services • BuddySpace -> BuddySpace Grid Interface • GRASP (OGSI.Net) -> GRASP (WSRF.Net) • IWT -> IWT “Grid Aware” • VCLab -> VCLab Grid Services
Exploring Learning Models • Formal Learning models • Virtual Scientific Experiments • Maps onto IMS-Learning Design • Output feeds a virtual control laboratory • “Personalised” • Informal Learning models • Social learning; learning as a side effect; collaborative environments, “enhanced presence”
Standards and Specifications • Interoperability • W3C, IETF, GGF, IEEE, IMS, etc. • Globus Toolkit 4 (GT4) • open source, public domain, multi-platform • WSRF.NET • Microsoft Windows only
OASIS • Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards • Web Services Resource Framework (WSRF) • Universal Description, Discovery and Integration (UDDI) protocol • Web Services Description Language (WSDL) • Security: X.509 certificates, https, etc.
CurrentDemonstrators • Interoperability of Grid services • Finesse Grid Services (FIGS) + Buddyspace Grid Service Interface (BUGSI) • flexible learning environment with enhanced presence for: • Business finance • Financial modelling • Supports group decision making
Evaluation Framework • A deployment is a set of ELeGI learning events for an identified group of users for a specific period • A case file is organised into inputs and outputs • Inputs: the D&E document, evaluation materials, questionnaires, completed questionnaires, system logs • Outputs: analyses, summary reports • Deployment and Evalauation Templates
Conclusions 1 • A promising approach • Grid offers a resource sharing model • Resources are virtualised as services • Resources/services are described using semantics for description and discovery • Web is still important for delivery of services and user interfaces – but multiple interfaces now possible
Conclusions 2 • Standards and specifications support interoperability • But will current OASIS standards give the flexibility or interoperability needed for an e-learning framework?