DESIGNING AND DEVELOPING NEW STUDENT RESPONSE SERVICES FOR IPOD AND IPHONE

The new Activity Based Training (ABT) methodology was exclusively developed in order to facilitate and strengthen industrial production process training in Vocational Education and Training. Practical training always follows theoretical training, and the training follows the industrial production process closely by using work order descriptons.

The existing ABT learning process is extended by developing a flexible, open and low-cost problem based framework that introduces iSelect learning objects. The infrastructure utilizes widely available mobile, wireless multi touch pressure sensitive hand held devices (e.g. iPod Touch or iPhone), such that students may interact with the teacher through online questionnaires and voting systems. The teacher collects and visualizes the responses from class at the digital blackboard, by utilizing state of the art iSelect decision process solutions. Thus, these tools extend the (traditional) teaching and learning dynamics from vertical transmission of information and knowledge from the instructor to the students, by exploring a novel horizontal two-way learning environment where it is easy and flexible for the instructor during a lesson on a just-in-time basis to foster inquiry and problem based learning approaches.

The instructor lead educational process includes:
• Short sequential mini-lessons
• iSelect questionnaires that exploits ICT enhanced learning assets
• Structured, critical thinking iSelect creative problem based learning activities that collect individual or group responses anonymously
• A flexible in class discussion sequence, that in some cases may end up with a new iSelect decision process
• Summary and explanation, reflecting the profile of the response from class
• The system solution is generic, whereby it may be utilized in all kind of process and product oriented instruction and training activities.

The iSelect Quality Assurance tools are based up on XML-based standards and web authoring facilities for the contents available on web pages, by providing XML-based universal notation and interface including visualization of scientific and engineering drawings and graphs. The search facilities retrieve the postulates of the instructor through a service-oriented architecture that integrates semantic web into the system for retrieval of information from the knowledge base system. The iSelect decision process solution system is open, flexible to achieve maximum interoperability.

iSelect learning objects i) initiate problem based cognitive processes and discussions targeting “How to do” and “How NOT to do” working processes, ii) offer engaging and vivid discovery based learning approaches that serve as illustrations that help explaining complex theoretical relations, iii) use services that provide anonymous answers that don’t display the lack of competence and knowledge from a single student to the group of students, and iv) develop iSelect learning services that help promoting presence at distance in order use distance training solutions in the training. Furthermore, it is matter of engaging the viewer in a “lean in” attitude where the viewer adopts a reflective and an attentive posture towards the medium.

This paper will outline the design of the new student response services for iPOD and iPhone, keeping in mind the pedagogical challenges in the new learning environment.

European Community supports the work presented in this paper as a pilot project under the KA3 ICT program.