Integrated learning systems: where does the management take place?

For the last four years of the UK national investigation into the effectiveness of integrated learning systems (ILSs) we have been monitoring the educational contexts within which ILSs are used. Management issues related to ILS use are a significant factor in that educational context. In this paper some of the key management issues related to the effective use of ILSs are outlined. These will include: styles and levels of management of the learning by the ILS; management of the ILS as a learning tool (models of ILS usage); partnership or subservience (‘who’ manages ‘who’ and does it matter?). For some schools, however, the introduction of an ILS has had more profound impacts than this, in that we have recorded changes in teachers' pedagogy. Where such profound changes have been reported then those factors and processes now clearly modelled in school effectiveness and improvement debates have been shown to be operating     

Integrated learning systems: An application linking technology with human factors and pedagogical principles

The development of integrated learning systems (ILSs) holds great promise for enhancing the instructional process and for improving student learning. This article describes an application of an ILS that takes into account learning theory research, principles of instructional design, and other factors related to human learning. The application presented utilizes IBM's Advanced Technology Classroom to verify the efficacy of integrated learning systems from both a student-user perspective and the perspective of instructors in a university setting.She has also been the Research Director for the IBM Advanced Technology Classroom at the university.     

Course evaluation: reconfigurations for learning with learning management systems

The introduction of online delivery platforms such as learning management systems (LMS) in tertiary education has changed the methods and modes of curriculum delivery and communication. While course evaluation methods have also changed from paper-based in-class-administered methods to largely online-administered methods, the data collection instruments have remained unchanged. This paper reports on a small exploratory study of two tertiary-level courses. The study investigated why design of the instruments and methods to administer surveys in the courses are ineffective measures against the intrinsic characteristics of online learning. It reviewed the students' response rates of the conventional evaluations for the courses over an eight-year period. It then compared a newly developed online evaluation and the conventional methods over a two-year period. The results showed the response rates with the new evaluation method increased by more than 80% from the average of the conventional evaluations (below 30%), and the students' written feedback was more detailed and comprehensive than in the conventional evaluations. The study demonstrated the possibility that the LMS-based learning evaluation can be effective and efficient in terms of the quality of students' participation and engagement in their learning, and for an integrated pedagogical approach in an online learning environment.     

Framework for designing context-aware learning systems

Today people learn in many diverse locations and contexts, beyond the confines of classical brick and mortar classrooms. This trend is ever increasing, progressing hand-in-hand with the progress of technology. Context-aware learning systems are systems which adapt to the learner’s context, providing tailored learning for a particular learning environment. Existing context-aware learning systems often utilize sui generis systems, which require extensive work to develop and implement, can be difficult to re-use, and do not necessarily facilitate collaboration. In an effort to alleviate problems found in existing context-aware learning systems, this paper proposes a framework, and subsequent evaluation, for the development of context-aware learning systems. The proposed framework allows for the design and develop learning systems for different types of learning scenarios, with the ability to adapt to the context in which the learner is situated.     

Designing computer systems to support peer learning

This article begins with a review of the various roles which computers have played in supporting collaborative learning and argues that, whatever role it plays, technology is not neutral with respect to interactions with and between users. Interfaces to learning environments embody particular representational schemes which have the potential either for competing with representations of the learning domain or for giving access to it. In this respect, the learner-machine interface has ‘Epistemic significance’ and its design is as important as the design of the materials and activities to which it interfaces.     

A systems view of learning in education

As the sophistication of technology has increased, so has public demand for quality. This expectation of quality has occurred across a broad range of products and systems, including education. To meet the demand for quality, many products and systems (including educational ones) have become increasingly complex. Within education there are also other factors which have driven up levels of complexity. These factors include increased diversity in the student body, a greater emphasis on collaboration and the drive to replace simple “delivery models” of teaching. It is well known from other fields, though, that as systems become more complex, they become more vulnerable to failure. For this reason, a formalised methodology known as “systems engineering” is often applied in industry to the management of large systems. The author argues that the use of systems engineering concepts in education would be likely to reduce failure rates and improve quality. This is particularly so in large-scale complex learning systems. The paper also discusses some implications of trying to use systems engineering methodology in modern educational systems.     

Creating systems for lifelong learning in asia

This paper investigates the formation and establishment of lifelong learning support systems in six Asian countries, including Korea, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong(SAR), Thailand, and the Philippines. The countries included in this research are quite diverse and unique in their basic characteristics. Despite the divergent values, systems, and social roles, since the 1990s, the basic ideas and trends have been toward a somewhat integrated model in which each component of the system was geared to function for serving the global knowledge economy. In this paper, the process of recent lifelong learning system development in the selected six Asian countries was traced in two ways: global aspects and local peculiarity. I argued in this paper that the cases in Asia mostly follows the ‘global trends’, especially with the ‘business mind’ of global capitalism. I also suggest that Asian experiences can provide several distinctive characteristics rarely observed elsewhere: new role in mitigating diploma-disease, building centralized supporting system between central and local governments, the impact of colonial legacy, unbalance between HRD and humane-orientations, and preservation of the emphasis of adult basic education.     

Information technology systems and the learning organization

Several authors have depicted the learning organization as a model of organization survival in the global economy. Learning organizations are able to adapt to their environments and learn effectively from their actions. This article explores the relationship of information technology systems to learning organizations. The article discusses ways that information technologies may be used to enhance individual, team and strategic‐learning.     

Cognitive-operative model of intelligent learning systems behavior

In this paper behavior during the teaching–learning process is modeled by means of a fuzzy cognitive map. The elements used to model such behavior are part of a generic didactic model, which emphasizes the use of cognitive and operative strategies as part of the student–tutor interaction. Examples of possible initial scenarios for the teaching–learning process are developed, along with the results provided by the model.     

Mindless or mindful use of integrated learning systems

This chapter presents the results of a study of computer-based integrated learning systems at two elementary schools using different vendors' ILS software. The research design incorporated same-classroom pretest-matched controls in which one-half of each class used the ILS for mathematics while the other half used it for reading. Overall effects at both schools were not strongly different from zero. However, a curvilinear pattern of effects occurred at one school in math and at the other in reading. In these situations, students at the top and the bottom of their school's prior achievement distribution did better when using ILSs, and students in the middle did better with only traditional instruction provided to them. The results are interpreted as challenging the practicality of individualized instructional approaches. Such approaches require teachers to be attentive to many different learning activities simultaneously. To accomplish a greater integration of ILS and teacher-directed activity, ILS use should incorporate several features: some teacher-directed lessons followed by whole-class (not individualized) computer use, teacher-led remediation of small groups based on system-supplied information making the formation of such groups easily done, and the establishment of heterogeneous student teams that provide motivation for accomplishment and for peer assistance.     

User-design in the creation of human learning systems

Systems theory and thinking are fundamental for the effective application of human performance technologies and instructional design to organizational and educational change efforts. One of the cornerstones of systemic change is the involvement of all stakeholders in what is termed participatory- or user-design. While the value of including the users in the creation of large systems of education and human performance (such as training, computer systems, and curriculum) is apparent, the reality of such inclusive efforts has a history of failure. Meeting the challenge of shifting power dynamics, empowering stakeholders and educating for design must, at some level, fall to the leaders of any dynamic organization. This paper describes systemic change as a context for user-design and defines user-design in that context. Approaches to user-design are explored, including ethnographic field methods, cooperative design, and action research-based user-design as applied to the creation and implementation of new technologies. A proposed research plan for the advancement of user-design practice concludes the work.     

Threshold concepts,systems and learning for sustainability

This paper presents a framework for understanding the role that systems theory might play in education for sustainability (EfS). It offers a sketch and critique of Land and Meyer’s notion of a ‘threshold concept’, to argue that seeing systems as a threshold concept for sustainability is useful for understanding the processes of learning for sustainability. With an understanding of systems approaches as a key part of the practice of sustainability, educators do well to focus on ways to facilitate learners’ internalisation of systems thinking through EfS. This is particularly relevant given that sustainable development requires learners to go out into the world and apply sustainability theory to create change. The capacity to do this, it is argued, depends on learners’ understanding and internalisation of the core concepts of sustainability, such as systems.     

Knowledge based systems for teaching and learning maths

The main task of an educational system is to generate instructional situations which induce students to learn knowledge and problem solving abilities as applied to a cognitive domain.
To this end, an instructional dialogue must be seen as a process aimed at making student and teacher learn from each other: the student has to learn the subject matter from the teacher, while the teacher has in turn to learn from the student how to regulate instructional interaction. The process relies on different kinds of expert knowledge: experience of the domain, about the actual student, and of teaching methods and objectives. This means that an instructional dialogue cannot be realised without an explicit representation of all the kinds of knowledge involved.
Research has established that Knowledge Based Educational Systems (KBESs) can be the keystone in building effective learning tools, but because of the difficulty in realising a system of this kind, most existing systems are prototypes and are intended only as workbenches for the computational analysis of educational processes.
This paper analyses the main problems which underlie the realisation of such systems, with reference to research into knowledge based systems intended for use with teaching/learning mathematics.     

Embedding cooperative learning into the design of integrated learning systems: Rationale and guidelines

An Integrated Learning System (ILS) is an advanced computer-based instructional system, generally consisting of a set of computerized courseware covering several grade levels and content areas, and complex classroom management and reporting features. Although ILSs have become increasingly popular in schools over the past five to ten years, they introduce several potential factors that could have negative effects on students' academic and social growth. These factors include: (a) de-emphasis of affective outcomes and increased student isolation, (b) lack of teacher involvement in curriculum planning and delivery, and (c) disparate effects on student achievement based on students' academic level. One possible strategy for addressing these concerns is integrating cooperative learning with ILS instruction. This paper will examine the research dealing with integrating cooperative learning strategies and computer-based instruction and provide guidelines and strategies for designing ILS instruction that enhances opportunities for cooperative learning.Thomas A. Brush is Assistant Professor of Educational Technology at Arizona State University where he can be reached at Educational Media and Computers, Arizona State U., Box 870111, Tempe, AZ 85287-0111     

Transformative learning in designing algorithms for reporting information systems

This paper describes a teaching method that enables students to design efficient and effective algorithms for reporting information systems applications. Adopting the general principles of transformative learning, students are immersed in a series of activities and interventions to enable learning. The activities provided opportunities for students to design algorithms, also using knowledge gained during the interventions. The interventions allowed students to gain knowledge about the output data structures such as list, table, and cube; the sequence control structures that may take different execution times; and the assumptions such as source data tables and mapping rules—all of which can contribute to the design of efficient and effective algorithms. 88 undergraduate business students in an advanced information systems course learn the principles of designing algorithms through critical reflection and reinterpretation consistent with the principles of transformative learning. The algorithms designed by students reveal that attention to the output data structures, sequence control structures, and assumptions enables the design of efficient and effective algorithms.