2011 11th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies
Supporting Self-Regulated Learning within a Personal Learning Environment: The OpenLearn case study Alexander Mikroyannidis Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, United Kingdom
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LabSpace has an experimental and developmental nature; users can submit their own content, as well as remix and reuse the resources available. Both LearningSpace and LabSpace feature a collection of learning tools that fall under two main categories: (i) tools for supporting social interactions, e.g. videoconferencing, forums, blogs, and (ii) tools for supporting sensemaking, e.g. creating knowledge maps. In the context of the ROLE project, we have analysed the current state of OpenLearn in terms of the services provided to learners, and we have identified the following 3 main areas for further improvement: 1. Tools and personalisation: The tools available in OpenLearn are generally not associated with any particular learning content. This can be improved by linking content with tools and allowing users to bring in their own tools, so that they personalise their learning environment and gain more control over the manipulation and production of content. 2. Collaborative learning: The learning content provided by OpenLearn is comprised of standalone units, which are generally not being studied in a social context. Despite the existence of some social tools within OpenLearn, there is still a gap in supporting collaborative learning. An improvement in this case is providing support to learners for fostering communities, aiming to a shared learning experience instead of a lone study. 3. SRL support: OpenLearn was originally built around units of study and not the personal profiles of learners; hence a learner-centric approach is missing. Learners do not get any guidance about how to learn on their own, neither from technology, nor from peers. There is therefore a lack of support for self-regulated learning and competency-based guidance for the learning journey. A formal user model is also missing; only the standard Moodle profile is used for all OpenLearn users. The application of a PLE-driven approach will address the limitations of OpenLearn in the above listed areas and will enable its transformation from an LMS into a PLE. Compared to an LMS, where the learner is restricted by the lack of adaptability and responsiveness of the learning environment, a PLE follows a learner-centric approach. It allows the use of lightweight services and tools that belong to and are controlled by individual learners. Rather than integrating different services into a centralised system, a PLE provides the learner with a variety of services and hands over control to her to select and use these services the way she deems fit [2].
Abstract—The rising demand of learners for multi-sourced content and learning environments customisable to their needs, has brought Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) to the forefront. This paper presents a case study regarding the PLE transformation of an existing open educational resources (OER) platform. A model for supporting self-regulated learning (SRL) is used to demonstrate this transformation in the learning process. Keywords-personal learning environment, self-regulated learning, open educational resource
I. INTRODUCTION Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) are gradually gaining ground over traditional Learning Management Systems (LMS) by facilitating the lone or collaborative study of user-chosen blends of content and courses from heterogeneous sources, including Open Educational Resources (OER). Self-regulated learning (SRL) comprises an essential aspect of PLEs, as it enables learners to become “metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviourally active participants in their own learning process.” [1] The European project ROLE (Responsive Open Learning Environments - www.role-project.eu) is aiming at empowering learners for lifelong and personalised learning within a responsive open learning environment. One of the ROLE test-beds is provided by the Open University (OU) and concerns the transition from formal learning, where courses are exclusively prepared and delivered by the OU, towards informal learning, where the learner is in control of the whole learning process. This transition is being implemented within this test-bed as a transition from the traditional LMS towards the PLE paradigm. The remainder of this paper is organised as follows: Section 2 introduces the OpenLearn case study and the rationale behind the PLE transition. Section 3 discusses the application of the ROLE SRL model within OpenLearn. Finally, the paper is concluded and the next steps of this work are briefly outlined.
II. THE OPENLEARN CASE STUDY The OpenLearn project (http://openlearn.open.ac.uk) is the main OU channel for delivering OER to the public. It is essentially a Moodle-based LMS, consisting of two distinct learning areas: LearningSpace and LabSpace. LearningSpace includes OER organised in standalone learning units, plus social software to enable collaboration and group work.
978-0-7695-4346-8/11 $26.00 © 2011 Crown Copyright DOI 10.1109/ICALT.2011.184
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Jane’s profile in order to reflect her progress in accomplishing her learning goals. A new iteration of this process is then initiated by providing Jane with new recommendations about content, tools and peers, according to her updated profile.
In the following section, we investigate the transformation of the learning process within OpenLearn, induced by the transition towards the PLE paradigm. In particular, we examine this transformation by modelling the OpenLearn learning process according to a SRL psychopedagogical model. III.
SUPPORTING SRL WITHIN A PLE
SRL research within the ROLE project has produced a psycho-pedagogical integration model (PPIM) [3]. The ROLE PPIM divides the learning process in 4 learnercentred phases: (i) the learner profile information is defined or revised, (ii) the learner finds and selects learning resources, (iii) the learner works on selected learning resources, and (iv) the learner reflects and reacts on strategies, achievements and usefulness. It is assumed that the learner will implicitly or explicitly perform these phases during learning, with support from ROLE tools and services. We showcase the application of the ROLE PPIM on the OpenLearn learning process, by analysing the “taster learner” scenario. According to this scenario, a student (we will call her Jane) has enrolled with the OU for a course that has not yet started. In the meantime, Jane uses OpenLearn in order to prepare for this course. She gets a taste of what the course will be like by studying sample learning content belonging to the course she has enrolled for. In addition, she uses discussion forums, learning clubs and videoconferencing tools in order to communicate with other students that are in the same situation, or have taken this course in the past. The main objectives of this scenario are to enable Jane to prepare for attending an OU course, get to know other OU students that are in the same situation, and possibly discover other courses she might be interested in. Figure 2 shows the learning process associated with the “taster learner” scenario, modelled according to the ROLE PPIM. The 4 rectangles represent the 4 phases of the PPIM, while the surrounding oval shapes depict the learning activities associated with each phase. According to this model, Jane registers in OpenLearn, creates a profile, and provides information about herself, such as her competencies and learning goals. Based on this information, she then receives recommendations by the system about content and tools that suit her profile. She also receives recommendations about connecting with other learners that have a profile similar to hers. Jane starts building her personal network of fellow learners and receives additional recommendations from them about content and tools. Based on these recommendations, she builds her PLE, using tools provided by OpenLearn and other repositories, such as the Google gadget directory (http://www.google.com/ig/directory). Jane uses her PLE in order to study the recommended content in a collaborative fashion with other learners from her personal network. She interacts with them through social tools and shares with them the outcomes of sensemaking activities, i.e. the knowledge maps she has created. Jane then gets feedback both from the system and her peers about her performance. She also provides her feedback to the system and her peers. The learning process is completed by updating
Figure 1. Modelling the OpenLearn learning process according to the ROLE PPIM [3]
IV. CONCLUSION AND FURTHER WORK The OpenLearn case study demonstrates the application of a SRL psycho-pedagogical model within a personalised and collaborative learning environment. We are currently working towards implementing the transformation of the OpenLearn learning environment according to this model. We are also investigating the use of ontologies for modelling various aspects of the learning process and facilitating the production of recommendations to learners [4]. Piloting the transformed OpenLearn with OU students will allow us to validate and evaluate our SRL approach. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The research work described in this paper is partially funded through the ROLE Integrated Project, part of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) of the European Union in Information and Communication Technologies. REFERENCES [1]
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