ALE-1 Unit 2: assignment, seminars, and seminar topics list

There are two parts of unit 2: another round of student seminars, and an assignment. Each has a separate PDF of instructions, linked from the page below. YOU SHOULD READ THEM BOTH AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Completing assignment 2 will require you to include some of the content from seminar series 2.

Assignment 2: Compare, contrast, design

Officially assigned February 25th, due March 13th 4pm. Feedback due to be returned by March 27th.

FULL PDF INSTRUCTIONS HERE
Assignment 2 marking guide (rubric) to be posted by February 25th

Summary:
The second assignment has two parts. The first part (A) asks you to compare and contrast various aspects of two systems already discussed in this course. The options are the "core" systems (Crystal Island, Betty's Brain or other teachable agents, Autotutor or Autotutor Emotions, Cognitive Tutors) plus the Andes physics tutor (see lecture 1).

Based on the literature about your two chosen systems, you must recommend one of the two as the basis for developing a new system (part B). You will have a choice of two possible new design problems. You will need to comment in detail on how and why your chosen system would be adapted for the new problem. The proposed design must also incorporate at least one of the specialist techniques discussed in student seminar series 2 (SSS2; possible techniques include use of simulations, consulting human experts, eye-tracking hardware, etc.). Note that the discussion of the new design, including the addition of a new specialist technique, should still remain fairly high-level. This assignment is not meant to be about addressing implementation details.

In summary, assignment 2 has two parts, each of which should be separately presented and clearly labelled in your document:
A. The evaluation and comparison of two existing systems
B. Discussion of adapting one system from part A to solve a new design problem, with the addition of at least one SSS2 specialist technique

This is just the summary of the assignment.There are detailed, written instructions about what you need to do and how to submit your finished work. READ THE PDF INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE. We will also discuss the assignment further in class.

Student seminar series 2 (SSS2): Mapping the range of ALE techniques

Seminar work officially assigned February 14th. Topic sign-up opens on the 14th (see below, with the topics list). Presentations are on February 28th and March 4th.

FULL SSS2 PDF INSTRUCTIONS HERE
Assignment 2 marking guide: Student version of marking guide as PDF here

Summary:
In part 2 of the seminar series, small groups of students will present an overview of some of the approaches available to researchers developing ALEs/ITSs. Example approaches could include simulation-based learning, the use of avatars, and design sessions with human tutors or domain experts. These are some of the "tools" of the discipline, though a tool could be:
A method or technique (e.g. mining data from learners' log files)
A theory or philosophy (e.g. inquiry learning)
A physical object (e.g. an eye-gaze tracker, a sensor)
Any combination of these things!

Each group's job is to construct a "working definition" of the relevant term(s) or methods, and give examples from the literature of where, how, and why the method was used. This should be at a higher level than discussing specific systems, domains, or user groups. Students should point out connections to theory and other areas or disciplines where relevant (e.g. using method X implies a constructivist view of learning, technique Y was borrowed from commercial video games, etc.).

The current plan is to have six groups with 3 to 4 students each. Presentations will be on February 28th and March 4th, with about 15 minutes allocated per group.

This is just the summary of SSS2. There are full, detailed instructions about what you need to do and what materials you can submit in order to receive formative feedback. READ THE SSS2 PDF INSTRUCTIONS ABOVE. We will also discuss the seminar instructions further in class.

Topics list for SSS2

Topic assignment:
Students can sign up for seminar topics via an online (Doodle) poll starting on Friday, February 14th. If any topic seems deeply unpopular (based on a highly scientific show of hands in class on the 14th), we will bin it and choose a topic from the back-up list instead. The link to the sign-up poll will be sent out AFTER the class on that day, and all sign ups will be first-come, first served. You do not need a Doodle account to sign up for a seminar group. All you need to do is follow the link provided and click a few things-- very easy!
A maximum of 4 students are permitted per group; the sign-up will automatically close after that time. Any student who has not chosen a group by Wednesday, February 19th, will be assigned to a group with open space(s). It is definitely in your interest to hurry up and sign up!
Do not begin the seminar work or the assignment until you have officially chosen or been assigned to a group!

Topics list as a PDF here

Provisional topics list (to be confirmed!)
A) Use of agents and avatars
B) Simulations (simulation-based learning)
C) Use of/ consultation of human domain experts (including teachers/tutors)
D) Collaborative learning (either real or simulated collaboration)
E) Sensors, cameras, eye-tracking, tangibles, and other non-traditional hardware
F) Use of Bayesian modelling, Markov models, and/or data mining

Backup topics--we did not end up using these
G) Case-based learning
H) Vicarious learning
I) Use of the semantic web

Group slides and materials

Group A slides
Group A short handout
Group A more detailed handout
Group B members re-assigned: no presentation or materials for this topic
Group C completely missing in action and decided not to participate: no presentation or materials for this topic
Group D slides
Group D bibiliography of topic sources
Group E slides
Group E handout
Group F slides
Group F handout

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