LEARNING WITH SUPPORT OF THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

1. LEARNING WITH SUPPORT OF THE VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT Frank Schindler Dept. of Applied Computer Science FEI STU Bratislava e-mail: frank.schindler@stuba.sk

2. Education over the Internet • online sign up of students • usage of LMS Systems (WebTycho, WebCT,…) • virtual classroom for limited number of students(15 up to 35 students) • usage of Electronic Study Materials • online support by study groups • electronic testing of acquired knowledge (multiple choice, fill-in, true/false …) • electronic grade submissions • support through other kinds of communications: e-mail, chat, mobile phone,...

3. My Experience withE-Learning • since 1999 I teach at the University of Maryland University College, European Division, Heidelberg, Germany • WebTycho used as an LMS System • blended learning: Face-to-Face & DE over Internet (DE not more than 50%) • proctored final exams

4. WebTycho • modern web-based software system designed for distance education over the Internet • supports creation and usage of hypertextual and multimedia study documents • supports creation of web-based discussion forums as conferences and study groups • contains gradebook for evaluation of students • supports online class archiving • supports other means of communication: e-mail, chat

5. Problem-Based Learning • learning is not a straightforward process • learning based on presentation of facts is not efficient • students should perform various activities to master covered topics • discussions are needed in a group • dialog allows to share knowledge and its stepwise refinement

6. Problem Based Learning– Cont. • creation of knowledge model should be facilitated via effort needed to solve appropriate problems • student learns easier if he enters new knowledge into existing knowledge database • relations needed between new information and those gained earlier e.g. by experience or by solving problems • newly gained knowledge must be so established that it is indistinguishable from old knowldege

7. Discussion Groups • should be managed by the teacher/tutor • can be mandatory or optional • active participation as a complement to self study • integration into virtual classroom • need for proper scheduling • they can support problem-based learning

8. Discussion Groups – Cont. • they should reflect actual happing in the online class • feedback should be quite speedy • participation can be counted toward the final grade • help to create virtual communities

9. Advantages of Study Groups • allow to avoid communication blockage • speed and art of communication • allow to provide feedback to students • reduction of grading for the teacher • psychological support for students • creation of personal and social relations • feeling to be part of a community

10. Management of Study Groups teacher/tutor • creates a new study group • supervises and guides actions • provides feedback to student • evaluates contributions verbally • changes mode fromread+write to read-only

13. Online Testing • machine testing (true/false, multiple choice, fill-in, …) • self-testing– sample solutions provided • electronic tests written in a text editor (MS Word,… )

14. Examples of Electronic Study Materials • subject “Introduction into Computer Science” • simulation of basic concepts • interactive dialog with student • immediate output • questions accompanied by correct answers

19. PROBLEMS WITH ELECTRONIC STUDY MATERIALS • student does not create in his brain an appropriate structure to understand the topic • necessity to concentrate on the model creation allowing to comprehend the topic • electronic study materials often do not support creation of such structures • this can be made by solving problems

22. Example of Learning by Solving Problems ... int main() { … A(); B(); C(); … return 0;// code of main.c provided }

23. Example – Cont. void A() { // specification of function A() } void B() { // specification of function B() } void C() { // specification of function C() }

24. Example – Cont. students should code all three C functions A, B a C according to the given specification Tools: main.c is given and also a.obj, b.obj, c.objcan be given Output: functions: a.c, b.c, c.c and the program main.exe satisfying given specification and duly tested

25. Example – Cont. • given program can be given to a group of three or more students • it is possible to use collaborative documents • virtual collaboration should be supported • each student can be graded separately, or the whole team together

26. Conclusions • an average student can not learn everything by self-study only • online education must be based on variety of activities • learning by solving problems is appropriate for virtual learning environment • necessity to solve online problems to get a better understanding of covered topics

27. Conclusions – Cont. • multiple-choice, true/false and fill-in questions are not sufficient for online education over the Internet • continuous testing of students necessary • need for a feedback from the teacher – machine evaluation of tests is not enough • learning in a team should be supported

28. Thank you for your attention!e-mail: frank.schindler@stuba.sk