An Intelligent Tutoring System for Situation Awareness
Ellen Bass and Samuel Ernst-Fortin
Search Technology, 4960 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Suite 230
ellen@searchtech.com

Some accidents in complex systems have been attributed to a lack of situation awareness. Despite increased use of automation and improvements in display design, accidents of these types have not been eliminated. One option is to train operators to acquire and to maintain situation awareness. This exhibit demonstrates progress on an instructional design, human-computer interface, and the computational architecture for implementing an intelligent tutoring system for situation awareness. The system furnishes detailed guidance in the early practice stages of training and provides performance feedback in the reinforcement stages of training. The system includes a debriefing capability to structure the review after performance and aid in evaluation.

Keywords: design and interface issues

A Prototype Web-Based Health Promotion Learning Environment
Anita Zijdemans, Bruce D. Homer, & Dan P. Keating
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
bhomer@oise.utoronto.ca

One of the major challenges of integrating information technology (IT) into the school curriculum is to find ways of using the unique opportunities afforded by this technology to support higher-level cognition and learning. One method of approaching this issue is to create electronic learning environments whose designs are informed by the latest research in the cognitive sciences in order to scaffold or support users' learning activities.

An interest in this approach to IT and its possible benefit to health promotion brought together a group of researchers, educators, and health professionals, called KidsTrack, and a Toronto community group that consisted of an intermediate and senior school, the public health office and the local library. This partnership had the common goals of using electronic environments for researching and developing indicators around the health and well-being of the community's youth and enhancing collaboration and linkages within schools and between schools and their community.

The result was the formation of the Parkdale Schools Project and the development of a prototype health unit called the Health Promotion Learning Environment (HPLE). Lotus Notes Domino was used to create a web-accessible learning environment that was integrated into the health studies unit of a physical education class. The design of the environment allowed students to take advantage of web- and community-based resources and drew on principles derived from current research in the cognitive sciences to promote higher-order learning and cognition about health issues. HPLE will be demonstrated and examples of student activities in the environment will be given.

Keywords: computer-supported collaborative learning, instructional strategies and approaches, design of educational technology, connecting school and community

Astronomy Village: Investigating the Solar System
Steven McGee, Bruce Howard, Steven K. Croft, and Stephen M. Pompea
Wheeling Jesuit University
mcgee@cotf.edu

The NSF-funded Astronomy Village program presents a virtual, mountain-top research facility in Hawaii that middle school students use to investigate the search for life, planetary surfaces, or the effects of the Sun. Each main topic area contains multiple, week-long investigations that allow students to experience the cyclical nature of scientific investigation. Astronomy Village contains a variety of buildings where students conduct their investigations. Some of the buildings include a Visitors Center, a Project Center, a Control Center, a Resource Center, and a Cafeteria.

There are two main educational features based on theoretical work in educational psychology that we will highlight in our demonstration. First, each investigation presents students with at least two competing hypotheses. Having multiple hypotheses will support debate activities in the classroom, which has been shown to be an effective cooperative learning technique. Second, Astronomy Village provides scaffolding in the form of a Research Path Diagram and a structured notebook that support a balance between learning content and learning problem solving.

In spring 1998, we completed an alpha test of Astronomy Village using investigations in the search for life topic area. At ICLS, we will be demonstrating the beta version of the software, which will be tested in January and February, 1999.

Keywords: tools for open-ended or termless learning, problem solving, multimedia development, curriculum design

KidCode: Communicating through Math
Michelle Baker, Intellinet, Inc.
Babette Moeller, Education Development Center
Judith Cohen, Judith Cohen MED
Catherine Evans, Intellinet, Inc.
Susan Ribek, New York University
BMoeller@edc.org

KidCode is a an interactive software prototype system designed to help young children between the ages of 5 and 10 years of age to develop an understanding of symbolic representation through communication. The software prototype consists of a sequence of two-person games which are set within the context of an electronic mail system. The ideas for KidCode grew out of research studies that indicate that children''s difficulty with mathematics in school arises from the lack of opportunities they have to develop conceptual links between mathematics as a symbol system and mathematical concepts that can be used to describe the physical world. The KidCode games are designed for children to construct, translate, and manipulate symbols for "math talk". KidCode is among the first software offerings for elementary school children that takes advantage of a networked computing environment and the Internet. Formative research has accompanied the development of the KidCode software from the initial design phases and has included studies of its use in the lab and in school. We will discuss formative research findings and how they have shaped the design of the software as part of the demonstration.

The KidCode project is a collaboration between Intellinet, Inc., EDC's Center for Children and Technology, and New York University, and is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Keywords: problem solving, design and interface issues, research in technologically-mediated communication, K-12 collaborative learning strategies, guidelines for education and technology

Knowledge Forum
Jim Hewitt and Marlene Scardamalia
OISE/University of Toronto
jhewitt@oise.utoronto.ca

Knowledge Forum is a second-generation version of CSILE (Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environments), a problem-centered, collaborative knowledge medium that operates over a computer network. Released in late 1997, Knowledge Forum is the culmination of two decades of research in the fields of writing, intentional learning, and expertise. The heart of the system is a student-generated database of multimedia notes within which participants define collective problems of understanding and work together to advance communal knowledge. Unlike other electronic discourse systems, Knowledge Forum provides unique and distinctive supports for a wide range of high-level cognitive operations. Some of the program's advanced features include:

•  drag-and-drop note referencing;
•  note co-authoring;
•  advanced search functionality;
•  the ability to arrange notes in multiple configurations and against different backdrops using the view facility;
•  a collection tool that allows the learner to cluster notes around core concepts;
•  contribution folders that learners use to solicit ideas from others;
•  "rise above" functionality for synthesis and summary operations;
•  drag-and-drop quotations with an automatic footnote facility.

Keywords: computer-supported collaborative learning, research in technologically-mediated communication, k-12 collaborative learning strategies, theories of collaboration and learning

Rappin' Reader and Say, Say Oh Playmate: Using Popular Music Lyrics to Build Beginning Literacy Skills
Nichole Pinkard Ph.D.
University of Michigan
pinkard@umich.edu

Rappin' Reader and Say, Say Oh Playmate are two applications designed to improve children's beginning reading skills by using children's knowledge of music lyrics as a scaffold in the building of their sight vocabulary in culturally authentic learning environments. Both systems draw from research in the areas of beginning reading instruction, computer-based learning environments, culturally relevant pedagogy and constructivist theories of learning and teaching. Rappin' Reader and Say, Say Oh Playmate attempt to merge research findings in these disparate areas into one instructional methodology that serves as the umbrella for the reading instruction that children receive when using both applications.

Rappin' Reader uses rap lyrics and Say, Say Oh Playmate uses the context of well-known clapping games to scaffold children's acquisition of beginning reading skills. Data collected consisted of sight vocabulary tests, interviews, computer traces and video transcripts. These studies produced positive findings documenting the effectiveness of both applications. Preliminary findings have shown a 21 percent increase on average in students' sight reading of the words in the study songs from pre to post sight vocabulary test for Rappin' Reader and a 24 percent increase for Say, Say Oh Playmate. Analysis of video transcripts revealed that students consistently used their prior knowledge of song lyrics to reconstruct the lyrics to existing songs. In addition, both systems appear to have positive motivational effects. When students were asked to compare Rappin' Reader and Say, Say Oh Playmate to leading educational software applications, the majority of students ranked both systems as their favorite applications.

Keywords: design of learning contexts, multimedia development, design of educational technology, design and interface issues, cultural factors in learning and teaching

SMILE: Supportive Multi-User Interactive Learning Environment
Kristine Nagel and Janet Kolodner
Georgia Institute of Technology
kris@cc.gatech.edu

SMILE, Supportive Multi-User Interactive Learning Environment, has been developed to support learning by design components of collaboration, reflection and scaffolding. SMILE's development as a computer-based tool has been influenced by LBD classroom experiences gained from paper and pencil tools and prototype computer tools. This integrated suite of tools records collaborative solutions for design challenges spanning an entire curriculum unit. Computer tools prompt students through the design solution cycle and support iterative solutions by making available past solutions, alternatives considered, justifications, and observed data. SMILE's scaffolding provides explicit representations of the process students use when solving a design challenge; this coaches students and teachers. Embedded questions, hints and examples in each tool model to teacher and student inquiry process, encouraging reflection and justification. SMILE is comprised of three components. Portfolio Design Diary is an electronic version of the collaborative paper and pencil design diary for each group. Design Discussion Area provides support for pin-up presentations and associated discussions. Lessons Learned provides opportunity for the group to reflect on both science concepts and project skills learned in solving this design challenge. SMILE provides several representational formats in a suite of complementary tools scaffolding collaboration and reflection through design processes.

Keywords: design of educational technology, design of learning contexts, computer-supported collaborative learning

Techno-Logic: A Dynamic Invention Micro-World for Science & Technology Learning
Dr. Nira Krumholtz, Moshe Lahav
Tel-Aviv University
nira@idea.eng.tau.ac.il

"Techno-Logic" is a name of a micro-world that allows the learners to explore and innovate in a challenging environment. The learning of Science and Technology involves the students in both cognitive and social aspects of learning.

In a dynamic class setting, students go through collaborative learning processes of designing and constructing physical models (e.g., using LEGO constructing bricks, motors and sensors). "TechnoLogica" control software is then used to control and program the models' operation. "Leonardo" - a programmable controller that was specially designed for education - allows both:

• Wireless on-line control - that is, running commands or programs from the PC.
• Independent control - that is, running programs that were previously downloaded.

In the demonstration, "Techno-Logic" micro-world will be presented and the participants will be invited to experience challenging activities of learning.

Keywords: problem solving, instructional strategies and approaches, microworlds, muds, and multi-user simulation, design of educational technology

CoNoteS: A Software Tool for Promoting Socially Situated Self-Regulating
Philip H. Winne, Allyson Fiona Hadwin, John K. McNamara
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
allysonh@sfu.ca, jkm@sfu.ca

CoNoteS, a multi-component software tool, developed using an authoring system for building adaptive learning systems is a collaborative notetaking system designed to support students to (a) analyze task requirements and resources, (b) set goals strategically, (c) monitor the implementation and utility of study tactics used to approach goals, and (d) metacognitively adapt studying methods. CoNoteS' features include methods for organizing information, hyperlinking and indexing material, and tracking successive updates to course content and projects. It records traces of students' and each action occurs when, to the nearest second. This data provides feedback for students to revise notebook settings and for the interface to adapt to students studying needs. CoNoteS' design is strategically grounded in theories of socially situated self-regulating to support students' engagements in collaborative discourse by providing an environment for sharing expertise. Students can share notes, and other structures of information (e.g. indexes) by email to become active collaborators in discussions about content and to address how they assemble, index, and organize that content. Thus, conversations about content and studying tactics commingle as students collaboratively construct understandings.

Keywords: computer-supported collaborative learning

Grand Central Science: Centralized Access and Adaptive Querying of Scientific Data
Cecilia Lenk, Amara Cohen, Nancy Gadzuk Drexler
Lenk & Associates
acohen@webivore.com

The Internet is full of excellent collections of scientific data that have been primarily found and used by professionals in the field. This data, on earthquakes, weather, fossils, whales, astronomical observations, etc., is of interest to children and has great potential to get them excited about learning and doing science. However, most of the data is presented in a format that makes little sense to children.

Grand Central Science, an NSF-funded project, will be a centralized locale on the web for students to do and learn science by accessing and analyzing real scientific data from existing online databases and newly created databases. By developing easy-to-use graphical queries for these database systems, students will find and use the information they are interested in. Students can choose the way they want to display their results as graphs, maps, tables, spreadsheets, etc. Multiple query forms for different types of searches, different grade levels, and different learning styles are under development. Students also can participate in the scientific process by publishing the results of their analyses at GCScience, and can seek supplementary, background material through web libraries.

Keywords: design of educational technology, tools to support teaching, design and interface issues, tools for open-ended or termless learning

Learning Algorithms by Visualization: A Novel Approach using Animation-embedded Hypermedia
Steven Hansen, Daniel Schrimpsher, N. Hari Narayanan
Auburn University
hansensr@eng.auburn.edu

If a "picture is worth a thousand words," then why have attempts over the past decade to use pictures and animations to replace or supplement traditional instructional methods for teaching algorithms produced such disappointing results? The accumulated empirical evidence is mixed at best, and could easily lead one to abandon the premise that animations are powerful vehicles for effectively conveying the dynamic behaviors of algorithms. However, we report on a research project based on the premise that a rethinking of algorithm animation design is required in order to harness its power to enhance learning. The key insight is that for algorithm animations to be effective, they have to be "chunked" and embedded within a context and knowledge providing hypermedia information presentation system. The theoretical foundations of our approach, architecture of the resulting hypermedia algorithm visualization system, and empirical studies that show a significant advantage for the system over learning from text are described in this paper. We conclude with a discussion of why hypermedia visualizations may be superior to plain animations and future research plans.

Keywords: multimedia development, design of educational technology, tools to support teaching, design and interface issues

Learning by Building Interactive Web-based Simulations
Andri Ioannidou, Alexander Repenning
University of Colorado at Boulder, Center of LifeLong Learning & Design
andri@cs.colorado.edu

Interactive simulations provide powerful means of learning about complex topics. To be most effective learners should not just passively use but actively build simulations. This demonstration illustrates some of the simulation building issues trading off the depth and engagement of learning experiences with the cost of learning about simulations building technology as well as the efforts required to comprehend the benefits of simulations. These issues are presented in the context of two studies using the AgentSheets environment in class rooms: elementary school kids learning about food webs by collaboratively designing sustainable ecosystems; and high school girls learning about protest and reform by creating interactive simulations and publishing them on the web. After a brief introduction to the AgentSheets environment a number of simulations created by kids will be presented.

Keywords: authoring tools, multimedia development, distance education, tools to support teaching

Project KID DESIGNER: Collaborating with children in the design of educational computer games
Lloyd P. Rieber, Nancy Luke, Jan Smith, David Noah, Morgan Nolan, Mike Matzko, Priya Sharma, Gretchen Bourdeau
The University of Georgia
lrieber@coe.uga.edu

The purpose of project KID DESIGNER is to enhance the natural tendency of children to explore their environment through play. In this project, children have designed their own educational computer games that embed content from subjects they are studying at school. Rather than considering a game as a mere entertaining diversion for children, we consider games, and especially the act of game design, to involve sophisticated intellectual skills. Having children design and play games to learn about subjects in school is simply asking them to call upon the same strategies that they naturally use to learn about the world outside of school.

The project has been conducted in five separate classrooms over the past four years. Each game was designed by a team of students with an adult assigned to support them and facilitate the design process. Students designed the games and also constructed each of games elements (e.g. directions, graphics, etc.), though the actual programming of the games was done by the University of Georgia personnel using Authorware, a multimedia authoring tool by Macromedia. The project followed five design stages: 1) Orientation; 2) Identification of game design teams and brainstorming; 3) Generating a project idea; 4) Preliminary design; and 5) Final Design Stage. This demonstration will show the games designed by the students in light of the theoretical and philosophical framework (psychological, epistemological, and social) which guided the project.

A web-based article (Rieber, Luke, & Smith, 1998) has been published describing this project. Using Macromedias Shockwave technology, many of the games designed by the children can be accessed at this article's web site and played over Internet.

Rieber, L. P., Luke, N., & Smith, J. (1998). Project KID DESIGNER: Constructivism at work through play. Meridian: Middle School Computer Technology Journal [On-line], 1(1). Available http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/index.html

Keywords: theories of collaboration and learning

Tools to Support an Interactive World Wide Web-Based Science Curriculum
Kadira Belynne-Buvia, Cynthia Mayfield and the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV)
Learning Technology Center, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Belynnk@ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu

Our proposed demonstration will provide hands-on experience with two technology tools developed to support the SMART (Special Multimedia Arenas for Refining Thinking) Science curriculum. This curriculum is based on the Stones River Mystery- a science video anchor that asks students to learn about water ecosystems in order to solve a mystery involving water pollution. One of the technology tools we will demonstrate is an interactive World Wide Web site, the other a piece of interactive software. Both tools support formative assessment and provide students with an opportunity to revise their work. The curriculum and tools have been implemented in many Metro Nashville Public School classrooms in a successful collaboration between classroom teachers and Vanderbilt University researchers.
The SMART Science curriculum supports teachers in creating an innovative learning environment based on the latest research into cognition while recognizing the social context of learning. The design of the WWWeb support tool utilizes the Web as more than a big library. Instead, it is a tool that provides feedback to students about their thinking and an avenue for students to connect with a larger community of learners. Our demonstration will also include a brief overview of the entire curriculum and our findings with regard to student learning.

Keywords: instructional assessment issues, curriculum design

Collaborative Websites and Active Documents
Mark Guzdial, Steven A. Spoon, Bolot Kerimbaev
Georgia Institute of Technology
guzdial@cc.gatech.edu

The most flexible collaborative space is almost certainly a shared blank notepad, with the ability to create new pages and links between pages. Briefly, that is what the CoWeb is -- a Collaborative Website where anyone can edit any page. While the freedom and lack of security could lead to anarchy, our experience has been instead that students and teachers use the tool to create collaborative spaces specialized for classes, domains, and projects. What's more, students and teachers take ownership of the pages in very different ways than in more traditional threaded discussion spaces. We will demonstrate some of the CoWebs in actual use, some new kinds of CoWebs that allow for more flexibility in what is shared in the space, and a new kind of browser that allows for creation of interactive CoWebs.

Keywords: design of educational technology, design of learning contexts, computer-supported collaborative learning

MOOSE
Amy Bruckman, Rodney Walker, Jason Elliot
Georgia Institute of Technology
asb@cc.gatech.edu

MOOSE Crossing is a text-based virtual reality environment (or "MUD") designed to be a constructionist learning environment for children 8 to 13. It includes a new programming language (MOOSE) and client interface (MacMOOSE, JavaMOOSE) designed to make it easier for kids to learn to program. Children on MOOSE Crossing build new places, creatures, and objects that have behaviors--and in the process learn reading, writing, and computer programming in a self-motivated, peer-supported fashion. In this demo, we'll show some of the children's creations and discuss issues of community support for learning in an Internet environment.

The Turing Game
Josh Berman, Amy Bruckman
Georgia Institute of Technology
berman@cc.gatech.edu, asb@cc.gatech.edu
http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~berman/turing

Do men and women behave differently online? Can you tell who is a man and who is a woman based on how the communicate and interact with others on the Internet? Can you tell how old someone is, or determine their race or national origin? In the online world as in the real world, issues of personal identity affect how we relate to others. However, identity in the online world is still poorly understood by both the general public and the research community. Furthermore, it's difficult to explain the complexity of these issues; they are much more readily understood when directly experienced.

The Turing Game is a participatory, collaborative learning experience about issues of online identity. A panel of users all pretend to be a member of some group such as a specific gender. Some of the users, who are that gender, are trying to communicate that to their audience. Others are trying to masquerade as being a member of that group. An audience of users try to discover who the true members are, by asking questions and analyzing the panel members' answers. In this way, the participants in The Turing Game learn about themselves, about others, and about issues of online identity in general. At the same time, they have a fun and personally engaging collaborative experience, either within a classroom or over the Internet.