tulip

A Teacher’s Tool for Lesson Planning (TuLiP) : A Teacher’s Tool for Lesson Planning (TuLiP) Design of a tool for the rapid development of educational and instructional environments. R. Gabrielle Reed Fall, 2002


Topics : Topics Call for Research E-commerce vs. E-learning Web Technology Teacher’s Challenges Meeting the Challenge – TuLiP


Call for Research to Support the Use of Technology in Education : Call for Research to Support the Use of Technology in Education In 'e-learning: Putting a World Class Education at the Fingertips of All Students', research in engineering and technology is mandated to provide tools for teachers to meet the 'National Technology Goals' (US DEd, 2000)


Observations: : Observations: Tools designed for educational uses lag behind applications for e-commerce. Tools can be developed that capitalize on advances in e-commerce.


Definitions: : Definitions: Template: Empty markup page Object: Self-contained archive file with markup pages, resources, metadata to allow use. XML: Extensible Markup Language XSL: Extensible Scripting Language Product: Automatically generated Web pages Cocoon2: Web publishing framework project under the Apache/Jakarta


Advances in Technology : Advances in Technology XML allows semantic content storage and retrieval. XSL allows the presentation of content in a wide variety of output formats. Portal Technology allows relevant storage, retrieval and community services within a web-based environment. Web frameworks allow rapid development of web environments.


Teacher’s Challenges : Teacher’s Challenges Recent Laws Impacting Workload Existing Responsibilities Tools Available Hurdles to Technology Observed Problems with Learning Environments


Teacher’s New Responsibilities : Teacher’s New Responsibilities Federal laws and mandates: 'Leave No Child Behind Act' [PL 107-110, 2002] 'National Education Technology Plan' [e-Learning, 2000] 'Individuals with Disabilities Education Act' [IDEA - PL 105-17, 1997]


Recent Requirements : Recent Requirements Integrating technology in the classroom Providing accessible information to parents of disadvantaged individuals Using scientifically based teaching techniques Accommodating disabilities and student diversity


Professional Development : Professional Development


Existing Responsibilities : Existing Responsibilities Writing and submitting lesson plans Teaching core curriculum Grading Papers Supervising halls and classrooms Assessing disabilities Keeping abreast of new teaching strategies Encouraging parental participation


Teacher’s Dilemma : Teacher’s Dilemma A teacher may spend up to 20% of the time planning Less than10% of teachers use technology for planning (NCES 2001) Barriers to the use of technology, cited by teachers (NASA 1998) time to learn complexity of the software lack of training lack of support


Current Solutions: : Current Solutions: Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF) provides grants for equipment. National Science Foundation (NSF) provides grants for research in determining effective teaching methods and technologies Preparing the Teachers of Tomorrow to use Technology (PT3) provides grants for teacher education programs


Proposed Solution: : Proposed Solution: Lower the teacher’s technology hurdle by developing simplified teacher-centered applications to help with the day to day requirement of planning and reporting. Automate the dissemination of information, with 'write once, automate display' when and how it is needed.


Proposal : A Lesson Planning Tool : Proposal : A Lesson Planning Tool Characteristics Comparison of Existing Tools Benefits


Characteristics: : Characteristics: Simplified interface with sufficient but minimal functionality. Sharing and reusing Lesson Plans. Sharing and reusing components of the Plan. Automating routine parental and administrative reporting requirements. Automating alternative student materials.


Teacher Activities in Lesson Planning : Teacher Activities in Lesson Planning Prepare student activities, evaluations, homework, and the equivalents in alternative formats. Assure instructional materials meet curriculum guidelines. Provide copies to Administration. Provide parents with supplemental materials.


Available Planning Tools and Characteristics in Sharing and Reusing Lesson Plans : Available Planning Tools and Characteristics in Sharing and Reusing Lesson Plans


Sample Lesson Planning Page : Sample Lesson Planning Page Source: Ohio Schoolnet. Lesson Planning Template. http://tlcf.osn.state.oh.us/blueprint/index.html.


What If Teachers Could Use XML? : What If Teachers Could Use XML? Use an XML language that uses educational terminology. Fill in the educational content. Use predefined XSL pages to display the plan content in a variety of formats. Upload XML file to a designated location to be used as the source of the XSL transformations.


Perceived Costs of Predefined Styles : Perceived Costs of Predefined Styles Customization of the use forms are restricted to the defined structure of the elements. A compliant template form uses existing style templates. Foremost importance is the use of research based style and presentation methods to facilitate information distribution. Teachers have to give up the desire to 'publish'- to 'control the way things look'. The functionality to customize a product is a cause of increased complexity of a tool. To offset this, the style must be a widely accepted design


How Many Different Products Are Needed? : How Many Different Products Are Needed? The content in one Lesson Plan may be transformed to meet various needs: Administrative curriculum requirements Evaluation of technology effectiveness Information for parents Homework for children Information in alternative modes for lesson or review Instructional plan Instructional web environment


Effectiveness of Structured Content : Effectiveness of Structured Content The 'structured' approach is seen to have the following benefits: allows the same courses to be delivered across multiple media and delivery environments (Print, WWW, CD-ROM) supports a consistent instructional design and development process provides a definitive view, including meta-data, of the components of well constructed educational resources responsive to different learner profiles provides opportunities for learners to approach the course material through multiple paths or views facilitates the re-purposing and updating of content conforms to Information Technology standards to ensure portability and long-term use' Paille, G., Norman, S., Klassen, P. and Maxwell, J. 'The effect of using structured documents (SGML) in instructional design' source: http://naweb.unb.ca/proceedings/1999/paille/paille.html


TuLiP Components : TuLiP Components Web Architecture Portal/Repository Design Fundamental Learning Objects Teacher-Centered Tool


Technological Components of the Tulip Tool : Technological Components of the Tulip Tool Cocoon 2 Web Architecture Uses XML, XSL, XSP, Java Servlets Portal Design facilitates catalogue and search of resources enhances teacher participation andamp; collaboration Learning Objects packages metadata and files for sharing Repository simplifies saving and retrieval of files


Designs in the Full Implementation of the TuLip Tool : Designs in the Full Implementation of the TuLip Tool A simplified 'minimal but sufficient' interface A markup language designed for Learning Environments And Planning (LEAP) A set of Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) for the types of knowledge based on objective Components that facilitate reuse, sharing, completeness and orthogonality (FLOs)


Simplified “Minimal but Sufficient” Interface : Simplified 'Minimal but Sufficient' Interface Teacher-centered design Set up of custom plan template Web based form Step by step completion Templates


Characteristics of a Simplified Interface : Characteristics of a Simplified Interface Minimal but sufficient functionality Teacher-centered Includes examples and demonstrations of use Provide an assortment of templates for use. The needs of the teachers are to be determined by user studies and surveys through the use of the Portal


Types of Template : Types of Template Planning Templates facilitate complete teacher planning information FLO Component templates to assist in producing complete components Diverse KTT Component templates provide suggestions for a range of objectives


Rapid Development of Web Sites using the Cocoon2 Framework : Rapid Development of Web Sites using the Cocoon2 Framework Web interface for administration of lesson plans and learning environment


Cocoon2 : Cocoon2 Uses an architecture that allows dynamic generation of webpages: a script describes the servlets, sources and transformation information needed to process a certain request. A generator converts the text input into the XML using the Simple API for XML (SAX) creating events, which are then processed and transformed according to XSL script to serialize the output.


Cocoon2 Sitemap Example : Cocoon2 Sitemap Example


Cocoon2 Pipeline : Cocoon2 Pipeline Source at the right is an XML page. Style sheet is in XSL. Multiple sources of XML may be used in 'one page'. Output is specified format like html, pdf, WML or Vox ML.


Learning Environment And Planning (LEAP) Markup Language : Learning Environment And Planning (LEAP) Markup Language XML Language development Current Markup Languages for Educational Content Characteristics of LEAP


XML Markup Languages : XML Markup Languages Data Type Definitions (DTDs) define the Elements and Attributes to be used in the files. Modularization and Namespace DTDs are used to assure uniqueness of element names.


Existing Markup Languages : Existing Markup Languages Publication Languages Learning Material Markup Language (LMML) [http://www.lmml.de] Tutorial Markup Language (TML) [http://www.ilrt.bristol.ac.uk/netquest/about/lang/] These are incomplete languages with respect to the 'Lesson Planning Process'.


What Are XML’s Advantages? : What Are XML’s Advantages? Plan is coded with semantic elements. Reusable translation instructions are used to filter, format and display information for each product. XML content can be catalogued and searched. Plan can be designed with reusable parts. Translation instructions are used for instructional control and sequencing. Instructor has more instructional control.


Characteristics of Leap (Learning Environment and Planning Language) : Characteristics of Leap (Learning Environment and Planning Language) Uses definitions for independent educational task components Describes components to be created, edited, stored or retrieved for inclusion in plan Includes Plan, FLO and KTT elements Allows aggregation of components to be used in creating the Web environment Categories/ and Grammer


Document Type Definition (DTD) : Document Type Definition (DTD) A DTD is a file (or several files to be used together), written in XML, which contains a formal definition of a particular type of document. It sets out what names can be used for element types, where they may occur, and how they all fit together. For example, if you want a document type to be able to describe andlt;Listandgt;s which contain andlt;Itemandgt;s, part of your DTD would contain something like andlt;!ELEMENT List (Item)+andgt; andlt;!ELEMENT Item (#PCDATA)andgt; This fragment defines a list as an element type containing one or more items (using the plus sign), and items as element types containing just text. XML is the formal specification language which processors read to automatically parse the DTD and then use that information to identify where every element type comes and how each relates to the other, so that stylesheets, navigators, browsers, search engines, databases, printing routines, and other applications can be used. The above fragment lets you create lists which get stored as: andlt;Listandgt; andlt;Itemandgt;Chocolateandlt;/Itemandgt; andlt;Itemandgt;Musicandlt;/Itemandgt; andlt;Itemandgt;Surfingandlt;/Itemandgt; andlt;/Listandgt; How the list appears in print or on the screen depends on your stylesheet: you do not normally need to put anything in the XML to affect formatting in the way that had to be done with HTML before stylesheets. In effect, a DTD provides applications with advance notice of what names and structures can be used in a particular document type. Using a DTD means you can be certain that all documents which belong to a particular type will be constructed and named in a conformant manner. Source: http://xml.coverpages.org/xmlFAQ15.html#FAQ-DOCTYPE


Fundamental Learning Objects (FLOS) : Fundamental Learning Objects (FLOS) Classes of FLO’s Metadata Requirements


Fundamental Learning Objects : Fundamental Learning Objects FLO’s are defined as the smallest object containing educational information. Educational Lesson Information is categorized into classes, based on Instructional Functionality. The classes contain content described as: Informative Illustrative Collaborative Cognitive Evaluative Cooperative Adaptive


Lesson Plan Objects : Lesson Plan Objects Characteristics


Characteristics : Characteristics Contains Descriptions of: Metadata to allow retrieval Calendar information Lesson Sequence Activity, Evaluation and Homework Lists Resources needed for the Lesson Locations of Information, Illustrations, Demonstrations, etc. Applications to be used by students to complete lessons


Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) : Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) Templates for the most common objectives by type of knowledge being taught


Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) : Knowledge Type Templates (KTTs) Aggregation of a variety of FLOs The proposed KTT’s include: Fact Event Skill Process Experience Analysis Experimentation Cognitive Process


XSP and XSL Pages : XSP and XSL Pages Logic and display formats need be designed only once: pages are reusable with different content. Examples are: Test Logic may be re-used for many tests Practice/homework sheets may be designed to provide immediate feedback Lesson Plans use teacher-preferred format Administrative or Parental information can be provided by date


Components : Components Facilitate Reuse, Sharing, Completeness and Orthogonality (FLOs) Learning Objects, MetaData, Portals, Web Communities and Repositories


Definitions: : Definitions: Learning Objects: Educational materials in various formats Repository: Location for storage and retrieval of Learning Objects, Plans and Teacher Materials Reusability: The object can be easily used or incorporated into an existing learning environment. Sharability: Sufficient information is provided for confirmation of validity and allows use. Orthogonality: Components are independent of others. Completeness: The educational intent of one basic objective is contained in one object. MetaData: Information stored to describe an object


Examples of Learning Objects Uses(LOs) : Examples of Learning Objects Uses(LOs) Instructional Architect (IA) currently uses the LO’s stored in SMETE and other repositories to produce web pages. (reusabiltiy.org) Learning Objects, however, are packaged with logic, format and content that is difficult to modify and limits its reuse.


IEEE Learning Object (LO) Initiatives : IEEE Learning Object (LO) Initiatives Standardize the metadata associated with LO’s LOs are limited to objects containing educational content. LOs can be readily shared and reused in whole, due to the metadata markup language used in describing the content.


Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (The Dublin Core) : Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (The Dublin Core) 'a 15 element metadata set that is primarily intended to aid resource discovery on the Web … The metadata elements fall into three groups which roughly indicate the class or scope of information stored in them: elements related mainly to the Content of the resource Title, Subject, Description, Type, Source, Relation, Coverage, elements related mainly to the resource when viewed as Intellectual Property Creator, Publisher, Contributor, Rights elements related mainly to the Instantiation of the resource Date, Format, Identifier, Language.' Source: http://dublincore.org/documents/1999/07/02/dces/ Qualifiers are documented in : http://dublincore.org/documents/2000/07/11/dcmes-qualifiers/


SCORM : SCORM 'The SCORM spec is going to be successful almost by default, but unless all e-learning specifications turn the focus from infrastructure to pedagogical soundness, they are in danger of becoming instructionally irrelevant.' So says Thor Anderson, director of developer support at the Instructional Management System Global Learning Consortium (IMS) in Burlington, Mass. Source: Welsch, Edward, 'SCORM: Clarity or Calamity?' Online Learning Magazine, August, 2002 http://www.onlinelearningmag.com/onlinelearning/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1526769


Portals : Portals An adaptive environment: Displays information of interest, which is gathered and made available for use. National, Core and State Curriculum Requirements Planning Tools and Teacher Resources Provides a facility for sharing, using a Repository Enables collaboration in Lesson Planning


Web Communities : Web Communities Learnitivity BlackBoard Moose Crossing ERIC


Educational Repositories : Educational Repositories ERIC SMETE


References : References LMML (lmml.org) TML( Instructional Architect ( reusabiltiy.org) Steps (UWF) IEEE Learning Object Initiative XML, XSLT Cocoon2 web development framework http://www.saxproject.org