Maurice Hendrix

CS411 seminar, 22/10/2009

maurice@dcs.w/arwick.ac.uk

Adaptation languages for learning: the CAM meta-model

Outline

• Why personalisation (in educational systems)?• Adaptive Hypermedia (AH)• Course creation (authoring) by non-technical

users• Proposed solution• Try it for yourself

Why personalisation (in educational systems)?

• Students benefit from personalised attention

• Teachers are unable to provide this for every student

• Systems that can offer this could improve the learning outcomes

Adaptive Hypermedia

• Hypermedia • Set of nodes and links, e.g. web page

• Adaptive• What to adapt : presentation,

navigation• What to adapt to : user (e.g.

preference, knowledge), environment (e.g. device, connection)

• Can deliver personalised attention

• Has potential to improve learning outcome

Course creation (authoring) by non-technical users

• AH course creation more complex than normal web-sites; involves writing adaptation strategy

• Trade off between expressivity and ease of use by teachers crucial for success of AH

• Re-usability often limited

Solutions up to now

• System specific (XML) formats

• Graph based e.g. AHA! Graph author, without separation into layers (conceptual domain, adaptation strategy, course)

• Layers based e.g. MOT with LAG. But based on tree structure and separate strategy ‘program’

Proposed solution:Conceptual Adaptation Model

Implications for Adaptation Languages

• Visual language for DM, (CRT) and CAM

• XML language for internal repr. DM, CRT, CAM

Visual language

DM visual language

Visual languageCAM visual language

XML language• Common header, with name, description,

creation date and date last updated

• DM: IMS-VDEX based

• CRT: UM variables in use, constraints on combining CRTs, adaptive behaviour in adaptation language e.g. LAG

• CAM: contains DM and CRT and instantiation or CRTs with Concepts from DM

CAM based authoring tool

Try it for yourself

• Grapple Authoring tool (GAT) available at:

http://prolearn.dcs.warwick.ac.uk/GAT/

• Your honest (anonymous) opinion is appreciated, let us know at

http://tinyurl.com/yduw4ze