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Reusing Experiences for an Effective Learning in a Web-Based Context Elder Bomfim1, Jonice Oliveira1, and Jano M. de Souza1,2 1 COPPE/UFRJ

– Computer Science Department, Graduate School of Engineering/Federal, University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2 DCC-IM/UFRJ – Computer Science Department, Mathematics Institute, Federal, University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil {elderlpb, jonice, jano}@cos.ufrj.br

Abstract. Human learning does not take place on a single level, but is a stratified process. This means that there is a sequence that is to be observed in teaching and learning. One of the possibilities for improving teaching and learning processes, and consequently, the knowledge flow, is to explore successful past experiences, resulting from the modeling and execution of previous processes. This work presents Thoth, a web-environment which aims at knowledge reuse, during the planning, design and execution of teaching and learning activities. This approach is integrated with a Case Based Reasoning approach, also described in this paper, with workflow systems and the use of ontologies.

1 Introduction In the educational context, we face with continuous modeling and execution of processes. We can exemplify the educational context with learning, teaching and scientific scenario. Human learning does not take place on a single level, but it is a stratified process. This characteristic is worldwide accepted as a didactic principle. The way in which the educational system throughout the whole world is organized is an acknowledgement of this. One cannot send a child to university first. He must start in the first class and then progress year after year to the higher levels of education. Research and scientific organizations have the aim of creating and to disseminating knowledge. For the construction of scientific knowledge, research work is carried out which can be described as a discovery process, an investigation of a fact or confirmation of hypotheses. Scientists plan their research by designing sequential steps that utilize models, data, tools and other artifacts. It can be concluded that the use of the past experiences offers a learning opportunity and expedites activity planning and execution. Knowledge about previous research can increase work efficiency and quality so as to allow for successful practices being reused, the notion about how the data had been acquired and previously handled. A workflow management system, in this environment, aids activity planning and allows for control and coordination of these activities. Besides, the information generated during the planning and execution of the work can be considered as X. Zhou et al. (Eds.): APWeb 2006, LNCS 3841, pp. 961 – 966, 2006. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006

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documentation of the activities. However, the workflow system does not have as its objective supporting the collaboration among the professionals, faster knowledge identification and creation, nor facilitating reuse of the best practices. That is the Thoth objective. The paper is organized as follows. The second section describes how we can reuse educational processes and its advantages. The third section explains the workflow management system and the way it is used in the educational environment. Section four presents the Thoth and how the CBR was implemented, while section 5 presents conclusions and future work.

2 Reusing Educational Process Reusing processes is a manner of reducing errors, improving already known processes and execute processes in a faster way. We find several approaches related to reuse educational content, as the learning objects, which are defined as any entity, digital or non-digital, which can be used, reused or referenced during technology supported learning. In spite of the success of proposals in reuse educational content, little attention was given to reusing educational processes. In this section we will talk about two kind of educational processes: the scientific and the teaching process. To accomplish their scientific work, a researcher collects and analyses a great amount of data and information from many sources, such as text and spreadsheet documents, database tables, besides executing simulations, and constructing or adapting models. An important phase to completing these activities satisfactorily is planning. During planning, researchers define the strategies to obtain the answers and solutions to the problems which motivated the research. Planning, in a scientific context, means establishing which and how simulations need to be done; locating, constructing or adapting models and data, defining documents that should be consulted and finally defining adequate sequence for activities which need to be executed. This task is normally complex because of many factors. Sometimes research demands knowledge from different domain areas or a high degree of specialization. The multidisciplinary character makes it necessary to consult information sources from other domains or collaborate with specialists from these domains. Besides, it is common to find a great amount of data and information without use; in these cases, location of more adequate items becomes harder, extra effort being necessary to filter it. On the other hand, little-explored domains have little information, which renders work execution harder, it being necessary to adapt models for the amount and quality of existing data and information. Also, it is important to observe that activities are normally experimental; thus it is possible perform modifications in those activities even when they are already in execution. When unexpected results come from simulations, for example, new activities can be necessary or subsequent activities can be discarded. In scientific procedures, the reuse of processes, and sometimes only the observation of information about these processes, prevents mistakes to be repeated and allows doubts to be eliminated, providing economy of time and resources.

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Related to the teaching context, new teachers receive little guidance about what to teach or how to teach it. Learning to teach well is slow, is a difficult work. Managing a classroom, choosing or creating curriculum, developing sound instructional strategies, accurately assessing student understanding, and adjusting to student needs are complex tasks, and new teachers need time and support to develop the necessary knowledge and skills. However, a way of help novices is the possibility of they watch the experts and develop their craft under guidance. That is, analyze and reuse successful teaching process of experienced colleagues.

3 Workflow Management System on Educational Context Educational workflow has the function of aiding the control, execution and documentation of scientific work. The differentiation of these systems in relation to the traditional workflows lies in the way that educational activity is accomplished, which demands functionalities not supported by a traditional system. As described in [1], the following aspects should be supported so as to support the scientific activity, but can be interpreted to support educational activity too: − Incompleteness: educational workflows can be executed even when their definition is incomplete, being built progressively during their execution, they do not need to be entirely defined before they are executed. − Partial Reuse: educational workflows differ from traditional ones because they are considered as construction blocks, and processes can be grouped to create another process. − Dynamic modification: educational workflows can be redefined during their execution. For example, when an activity fails, it may be necessary to execute other activities to compensate for the problematic activity or to fall back to a previous activity. Our approach, called Thoth, was conceived on the premise that this information is, in fact, an important resource of organizational learning and an important aid for the design and the execution of the educational processes. However, this resource is subused due to lack of appropriate interfaces and strategies for search, filtering and visualization [2].

4 Thoth The Thoth has as its purpose allowing for the reuse of the existing knowledge in the educational activities stored in the Workflow Management System. A researcher can use the system to consult and reuse the definition of the model of the past processes performed when he/she plans his/her own activities, to consult information of similar activities during the execution of his own activities, to interact with other users that have participated in the design or execution phases in similar processes and activities.

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The Thoth environment is detailed in Figure 1.

Fig. 1. Thoth Environment

Fig. 2. Ontology based model

During process design, the user uses the system defining a set of parameters, for search processes, and then he/she obtains, as result of search, a set of processes related with the selected parameters. From the moment processes are located, the user can navigate to each one, choosing activities, documents and other artifacts to use in his/her own processes. Then, after the user chooses the activities that will be reused, it is possible to identify some search parameters automatically. Thus, it is possible to refine the search with specific properties coming from activities and processes, refining the search process further. Factors as the position of the activities in the process (previous activities and successors activities), needed competences to execute these activities, documents manipulated in them and tools used can be employed in the definition of the appropriate processes that should be returned. The Thoth provides an instant messaging tool allowing for this communication. Communication allows that issues about some process or doubts raised after the process browse can by debated with an activity performer. 4.1 CBR Approach in Thoth The Thoth uses the CBR approach (Case Base Reasoning) [3] to search for information from activities and processes, which could be useful for the accomplishment of educational work. In Thoth, the approach is performed by raising the analogy between process instances and the cases. The reasoning process executed in Thoth is accomplished with the aid of ontology which allows for the identification of the concepts related with processes and activities. Ontology allows, in similarity reasoning, for semantic aspects to be identified and considered during the calculations in a computationally-feasible manner. 4.2 Classification Process The approach for classification and search used in Thoth is similar to one the usually found in information retrieval systems [4] [5]. Classification is done when process information is stored in the Workflow System and it has, as a result, a set of ontology concepts that can be associated to the process being classified. For the identification

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of these concepts, the analysis of the resources(documents used, manipulated data, etc) attached to each activity from the processes to be executed. This allows for first the activities and then the process being associated with the ontological concepts. This analysis is possible because the user can identify what ontological terms are related to each resource type. This process is aided by automatic classification strategies. When the resource is a text, the latter could be mined looking for the identification of ontological terms related to it. For other types of attributes, such as images, maps, tables, etc., metadata analysis allows for the same kind of association. The identified concepts work as process and activity descriptors. The storage of these descriptors is accomplished in a similarly to the proposal for [6]; in this approach, the descriptors are stored with an id for the classified objects (in the case of Thoh, activities and processes) in a group of database tuples, as can be seen in the figure 2. 4.3 Search Process The search process starts with the selection of the descriptors as user request or by the automatic capture of these characteristics in a modeled process. During the search, the descriptors are analyzed in order to define the similarity degree with the processes previously executed and stored in the workflow system database. 4.3.1 Similarity Definition Several approaches were analyzed for the similarity definition among ontological concepts for the definition of similar concepts. Two works are selected as a guide for the definition of our strategy: one developed by Rodriguez [7] and the other developed by Bergmann [8]. In both, calculation is performed through the computation of intra-class similarity and of inter-class similarity. Intra-class similarity is calculated through the common properties of the classes compared. These properties can be identified in the immediate super-class that subsumes the classes being compared. Inter-class similarity has the objective of exploring the existent semantics in class hierarchy. 4.3.2 Performing the Search As result of search requisitions, a SQL query is generated. The query is done on the table that links the ontology with the processes, described previously. First, the SQL query contemplates only the original concepts selected by the user or identified automatically in the processes. If the amount of returned processes is not enough, a second search is accomplished. In this case, the query is expanded with the concepts identified as similar through the method explained in section 4.3.1.

5 Conclusion and Future Work The Thoth brings a new approach to knowledge reuse in the educational environment, by aggregating a workflow management system, CBR and ontology. Some proposals are found in literature to support non-business work with a workflow system, as for example the BOE systems [9], the WASA systems [10], the conceptual scientific

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CPSE prototype [11], among others. None of these uses the CBR approach to enable process reuse; the CPSE for instance, allows for visualization of all of the occurrences of a process. The BOE allows for the reuse, but a keyword search is done to locate the process. Moreover, a collaborative module was developed with the purpose of enhancing knowledge exchange among the researchers. We are focused on the development of classification, similarity reasoning and search strategies. The next step comprises the enhancement of the collaborative module with new functionality to allow for more participation in the design process of the researchers consulted (Collaborative edition of activities and process). Other future work comprises a modification to allow for use with other workflow systems, through the development of a prototype following the WfmC standard [12].

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