Educational modeling language
Definition
A Educational modelling language (or educational modeling language) formally describes educational materials and contents. It is a kind of design language to describe a pedagogical scenario
See also learning object (since these can be modeled with such languages).
Purposes of modeling languages
Dessus and Schneider (2006) identify four kinds of objectives:
- Define pedagogical scenarios
- Exchange learning units (learning objects, scenarios)
- Execute a unit in a platform (see LMS)
- Sketch, design, plan and discuss pedagogical scenarios
Typology of modeling languages
Modeling languages are developed by differents sorts of institutions:
- Real standardization bodies
- De facto standardization bodies like IMS or SCORM
- International research networks like Ariadne or Kaleidoscope
- Various research laboratories
Categories that might be used to describe a modeling language:
- Formality: Stricly formal (e.g. an XML grammar) vs. semi-formal (e.g. ideas on how to make use of UML or verbal description)
- Executability: Modelling only / execution (or compilation in executable code / or both
- Status: Formal standard / standard-like / experimental (see standards.
- Scope: Global / specialized / in between (Note: DSchneider doesn't think that there is a single language that has truly global scope)
- Pedagogic orientation (see pedagogic strategy).
Executable "standardized" languages
- IMS Simple Sequencing incarnates typical behaviorist/cognitivist aproach (e.g. mastery learning)
- IMS Learning Design and its ancestor EML (Educational Modelling Language) incarnates a cognitivist main-stream instructional design model
- IMS Content Packaging implements simple tell or tell-and-ask strategies by default. An IMS Content Pack (in theory) also can contain IMS SS and IMS LD elements (but on DSchneider 19:22, 22 November 2006 (MET), there was no player supporting these and that could be used in production).
Other design languages
Such languages formally describe a pedagogical design, usually with a visual language. Some (e.g. MISA) can then be compiled into an executable format, e.g. MISA to IMS LD, Level A. Yet others are integrated within an LMS
- MISA / MOT (Paquette et al.). Note that MOT can export to IMS LD Level A.
- UML, the modelling language for software engineering is sometimes used, e.g. Roku et al. (2004).
- CPM, a UML Profile to design cooperative PBL situations (Nodenet et Laforcade,
- E2ML - Education Environment Modeling language (Boturi et al.)
- Merrill's ??
- EML - Educational Modelling Language
- eLML is an open source XML framework for creating eLessons using XML. It is a "spin-off" from the GITTA project: GITTA is a Swiss e-Learning project about GIS and it is the abbreviation for Geographic Information Technology Training Alliance. For more information about GITTA have a look at www.gitta.info., a Swiss GIS e-Learning project.
- LMML - Learning Material Markup Language Framework LMML based on the PTM - The Passau Teachware Model.
Vocabularies used in research systems
(there are many more, ... to be inserted)
- PALO
- LDL - Learning Design Language (Martel et al., 2006), an EML-like language adapted to modeling collaborative activities.
Packaging languages
- By definition, packaging languages are not educational modeling languages per se, but can wrap up for distribution "executable" bricks defined with modeling languages.
- However, IMS Content Packaging for example does include some simple sequencing information.
Discussion
Both general utility and utility of currently popular modeling is of hotly debated. E.g. According to Rodríguez-Artacho (2004), “a) Firstly, current specifications do not provide authors of learning material with a pedagogical authoring layer based on instructional elements, originating -therefore- a tight dependence between the learning content and the final delivery format, mainly internet-based technology; b) secondly, specifications themselves are currently isolated representational frameworks, which provide a fragmented view of certain aspects of learning material; c) Thirdly, there is no room for cognitive approaches or instructional and pedagogical knowledge representations;”
There are also more principled interrogations, like interrogations about situatedness of teaching (good teachers decide a lot of things on the fly)
In brief, DSchneider believes (see also Dessus & Schneider, 2006) there are several advantages and disadvantages:
- Advantages
- Rationalization, formalization and standardization of design processes
- Information and materials sharing between teachers and content producers
- Reuse on different platforms (no vendor lock-in)
- Disadvantages
- Political and ethical problems (fear of industrialization of the school system, recolonization of developping countries through content domination, dumbing down of teachers)
- Cost (unless production and distribution is large scale, nothing can be gained by investing a lot of time into formalization)
- Technical (adaptability, lack of good implementations and tools for most standards)
- Pedagogical (tools are not neutral, lack of affordances can kill design goals)
- Teachers create while they teach and this "situated act" can not as easily be transcribed into a formalism as some instructional designers believe.
- Break downs. Formal computerized systems tend to break down when unplanned events occur. Current execution environments are not flexible enough to allow for quick and easy run-time modifications.
Links
- EML, at Learning Networks
References
- Botturi, L., Derntl, M., Boot, E., & Figl, K. (2006). A Classification Framework for Educational Modeling Languages in Instructional Design. Proceedings of The 6th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 1216-1220 PDF.
- Botturi, L., Stubbs, T. (eds.) (forthcoming in 2007). Handbook of Visual Langauges in Instructional Design: Theories and Pratices. Hershey, PA: Idea Group.
- Botturi, L. (2006). E2ML. A visual language for the design of instruction. Educational Technologies Research & Development, 54(3), 265-293.
- Botturi, L. (2005). A Framework for the Evaluation of Visual Languages for Instructional Design: the Case of E2ML. Journal of Interactive Learning Research. 16 (4), pp. 329-351. Norfolk, VA: AACE. Abstract/PDF
- Brabazon, T (2002) Digital Hemlock: Internet Education and the Poisoning of Teaching, Sydney: University of New South Wales Press
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- Conole, Gráinne and Karen Fill (2005). A learning design toolkit to create pedagogically effective learning activities. Journal of Interactive Media in Education (Advances in Learning Design. Special Issue, eds. Colin Tattersall, Rob Koper), 2005/08. ISSN:1365-893X Abstract (PDF/HTML open access)
- Dessus, Philippe et Schneider, Daniel Scénarisation de l'enseignement et contraintes de la situation, In J.-P. Pernin & H. Godinet (2006). (Eds.), Colloque Scénariser l'enseignement et l'apprentissage : une nouvelle compétence pour le praticien ? (pp. 13-18). Lyon : INRP. PDF
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- Merrill, M. D. (2001) "The instructional use of learning objects, chapter "Knowledge objects and mental-models" D. Wiley, Ed. AIT Publishers ISBN: 0-7842-0892-1
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