Computer Science and Educational Software Design. A Resource for Multidisciplinary Work in Technology Enhanced Learning

195 Pages·2011·0.763 MB·English

by  Pierre Tchounikine

Computer Science and Educational Software
Design
.
Pierre Tchounikine
Computer Science and
Educational Software
Design
A Resource for Multidisciplinary Work in
Technology Enhanced Learning
PierreTchounikine
UniversityGrenoble1
LIG
ruedelaHouilleBlanche961
38402Grenoble
France
[e-mail]
ACMCodes:K.3,H.4
ISBN978-3-642-20002-1 e-ISBN978-3-642-20003-8
DOI10.1007/978-3-642-20003-8
SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2011932213
#Springer-VerlagBerlinHeidelberg2011
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Preface
Object
This book is about educational software, i.e., software designed as a means to
implementcomputer-basedpedagogicalsettingsandcontributetotheaddressingof
somepedagogicalobjectives.
The focus is on the issues related to the design of software in reference to
pedagogicalsettings.Designrefersheretobuildingnewsoftwareand/orarticulat-
ingsoftwarecomponents(e.g.,ICT-basededucationalsoftware).
Audience
This book is for actors engaged in research or development projects that require
inventing, designing, adapting, implementing or analyzing educational software
andrelatedissues.
Thecoreaudience comprises Masters students,Ph.D.students,researchersand
engineersfromComputerScienceandHumanandSocialSciences(e.g.,education,
psychology,pedagogy,philosophy,communicationorsociology)interestedinthe
issues raisedbyeducational softwaredesignandanalysis, andthevarietyofpers-
pectivesthatmaybeadopted.
This book may also be of interest for teachers engaged in, for example, the
developmentofICT-basedinnovations.
Rationale
Considering computer-based pedagogical settings requires thinking, problematiz-
ing,representing,modeling,implementingoranalyzingobjectives,issues,models
and/or software. This cannot be addressed by separating educational concerns on
one side and Computer Science concerns on another: effective multidisciplinary
workisrequired.
v
vi Preface
Suchmultidisciplinaryworkrequiresactorsfromdifferentdisciplines,butalso
withdifferentmattersofconcern,tounderstandeachothers’perspectivesandbuild
sharedconstructions.
Technologists and computer scientists face the difficultly of understanding the
particular issues and phenomena to be taken into account in educational software
projects, and avoiding falling into a na¨ıve techno-centered perspective. Actors
whosebackgroundisinHumanandSocialSciences,andteachers,facethedifficulty
ofunderstandingsoftwaredesignissuesandwhatmustbeconsideredwhendesign-
ing, adapting or analyzing software, and how computer scientists may engage in
these tasks.Allactorssharethedifficultyofunderstanding howtorelate software
dimensionsandeducationalissues,inacontextwithinwhichbothtechnologiesand
learningtheoriesevolve,andafieldthatistoalargeextentanexperimentalfield.
Asaconsequence,manymisunderstandingsdevelop,andeffectivemultidisciplin-
aryworkisanissue.Misunderstandingsalsodevelopwithindisciplines,inrelation
tothevarietyofperspectivesormattersofconcernthatmaydevelop.
Theabove-mentioneddifficultiesariseinbothdevelopmentprojects(buildinga
particularsystemforaparticularcontext)andresearchprojects.Theyareacentral
issueforknowledgecapitalization,i.e.,developingknowledge,providingbasesfor
design,andavoidingthateverynewwaveoftechnologyleadstomoreorlesstothe
samebunchofhighexpectations,disappointmentsanderrors.
These difficulties cannot be solved by building a kind of “general theory” or
“generalengineeringmethodology”tobeadoptedbyallactorsforallprojects:educa-
tionalsoftwareprojectsmaycorrespondtoverydifferentrealities.Theymaybecon-
ductedwithinverydifferentperspectivesandwithverydifferentmattersofconcern.
Theissueofunderstandingeachothers’perspectivesandelaboratingsomecommon
groundmustbeconsideredincontext,withintheconsideredprojectorperspective.
Objective
This book addresses the objective of providing actors considering educational
software issues (computer scientists and educationalists) with means for thinking
therelationshipsbetweenpedagogicalsettings andsoftwareandworkingtogether
inamultidisciplinaryway,inparticularwhenconstructingeducationalsoftware.
This objective is addressed withinthe perspective ofproviding a substratumfor
actors to understand each other’s perspectives and elaborate common ground. It is
meanttoprovidearesourceforconductingthecontext-dependentworkofbuilding,
refiningorconfirmingtheadoptedcommonground,definitions,tools,strategies,etc.
Adopted Perspective
Theadoptedperspectiveissoftware-designoriented,transdisciplinary,conceptual
andpragmatic:
1. It is software-design oriented in the sense that it focuses on the dimensions
relatedtosoftwaredesignandsoftwareproperties(whichwillbereferredtoas
Preface vii
educationalsoftwareengineering),andnotongeneralconsiderationsrelatedto
softwareineducation.Inthisbook,ComputerSciencereferstosoftwaredesign
issues(andnottomathematicalfoundationsortolow-leveltechnicalconsidera-
tionssuchasprogramminglanguagesortechnicalframeworks).
2. Itistransdisciplinaryinthesensethatitaddresseseducationalsoftwarefromthe
perspectiveofagivendimension(design)andnotfromadisciplinaryperspec-
tive. This leads one to consider notions that appear useful when considering
design or analysis issues in a way that transcends boundaries of conventional
academic disciplines, as opposed to a projection of educational issues onto a
technicalplan.Forinstance,thenotionofcomputer-basedpedagogicalsettingis
notaddressedingeneral,butinawaythatmakessalientdimensionsandissues
related to software design, which leads one to consider specific correlated
notionssuchasthatofsoftwarepedagogicalrationale.
3. Itisconceptualinthesensethatemphasisisonproposingmeansforthinkingand
problematizing,whichmaybeusedforconductingdifferenttypesofwork,and
notonproposingamethodologyorasetofguidelines.Similarly,implementation
isaddressedintermsofapproaches,notgoingintotechnicalconsiderations.
4. Itispragmaticinthesensethattheunderlyingintentionistohelpwiththinking,
designing, constructing or analyzing systems in research and development
projects.
Theadoptedperspectivecomplementsmoregeneralperspectivessuchasunder-
standing how technology may be used in educational settings or how educational
practicesmaybechanged,andnarrowerperspectivessuchasstudyinghowtobuild
aparticulartypeofsystem(e.g.,IntelligentTutoringSystemsornetworkedlearning
environments) or how to best use some given technology (e.g., Artificial Intelli-
genceornetworks).
Content
Altogether,thisbook’scontentis:
1. A highlight of the fact that what is referred to by the “design of educational
software” may be subject to very different perspectives, andthe importance of
makingexplicitmattersofconcern.
2. A general conceptualization that helps in disentangling issues and clarifying
mattersofconcern.
3. Asetofitemsthathelpincharacterizing(a)thewaythepedagogicalsettingis
consideredand(b)thesoftwarepropertiesandconstructionprocesses.
4. Asetofmethodologicalconsiderations.
5. Aperspectiveonthefieldanchoredinanengineeringapproach,andpropositions
relatedtohowtopushthefieldforward.
6. Differentexamplesillustratingissuesandpropositions.
viii Preface
Althoughthisbookaddressesthefieldinatransversalwayanddoesnotdescribe
a particular methodology, its content has heuristic value for conducting develop-
mentprojects.
Structure
Inthisbookweintroduceadesign-orientedconceptualization,i.e.,asetofnotions
and definitions making salient features of importance given design matters of
concern.However,introducingdefinitionsforcorenotionsonlymakessensewithin
ageneralperspective,whoseintroductionrequiresreferencetothesenotions.There
isabootstrapissue.
In order to deal with this issue, Chap. 1 introduces a general picture, which
allows explanation of the rationale for the book’s content and structure. The
different elements addressed in this introductory chapter, and others, are further
definedandexploredinthefollowingchapters.
Asideeffectoftheadoptedplanisthatconsiderationsintroducedatsomeplace
may be better understood later on. While the book allows linear reading, deeper
understandingofitscontentrequiresre-reading.
Acknowledgments
Considerations addressed in this book have been discussed with many persons
(Masters students, Ph.D. students, researchers and engineers from different disci-
plines), in many contexts (research and development projects, theoretical work,
EuropeanNetworksforExcellence,internationalworkshopsandconferences),and
over many years. Tracing all influences would be rather difficult. I would like to
mentionthecolleagueswhoreviewedindetailpreviousversionsofthistext,which
for some of them is indeed far from their comfort zone, and thank them for their
helpincompletingandclarifyingideasandpropositions:ChrisJones,TondeJong,
Andre´ TricotandLucTrouche.SpecialthankstoTon.
Andthecomputerscientistsaid:“Howisitpossible
that this guy doesn’t understand how smart and
pedagogicallyusefulmysystemis?”
Andtheeducationalistsaid:“Whatabrillianttech-
nicalsolution!Now,what’stheproblem?”
April2011 PierreTchounikine
Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................ 1
1 GeneralPicture .......................................................... 2
1.1 TechnologyEnhancedLearning ..................................... 2
1.2 TELandCSTechnicalArtifacts .................................... 3
1.3 EducationalSoftware ................................................ 4
1.4 Computer-BasedPedagogicalSettings(CBPSs) .................... 5
1.5 Non-definitionalCharacterofSoftware ............................. 7
1.6 Summary ............................................................. 8
2 Examples ................................................................. 8
2.1 ExamplesofComputer-BasedPedagogical
Settings(CBPSs) ..................................................... 8
2.2 ExamplesofEducationalSoftware ................................ 11
3 DesignofEducationalSoftware:DifferentRealities .................. 15
3.1 DesigningandImplementingNewSoftware ...................... 15
3.2 Articulatingand/orCustomizingSoftwareComponents .......... 16
3.3 EducationandCSInterplays ...................................... 17
4 AddressingEducationalSoftwareDesign .............................. 18
4.1 ConsideringSoftwareProperties .................................. 18
4.2 MakingExplicitMattersofConcernandPerspectives ........... 19
4.3 ImportanceofExplicitness ........................................ 22
4.4 DifficultyandLimitsofExplicitness .............................. 23
5 ContentandStructureoftheBook ..................................... 25
5.1 Objective ........................................................... 25
5.2 ContentSynthesis .................................................. 26
5.3 RationalefortheOrganization .................................... 26
5.4 GeneralComments ................................................ 28
2 AGeneralConceptualizationforEducationalSoftware ............... 31
1 ReferenceEducationalNotions ......................................... 32
1.1 PedagogicalSetting ................................................ 32
ix