The Personalization Challenge:

Context and Culture Metadata for Mobile Learning

Prof. Dr. Jan M. Pawlowski

Keynote Speech, MMS / MKWI 2012

March 2012

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…Jyväskylä, Finland…

Source: [http://www.jyu.fi/, http://www.jyvaskyla.fi/]

Global Information Systems, University of Jyväskylä (JYU) - The Team

Kati ClementsDenis Kozlov

Jan M. Pawlowski

Philipp Holtkamp

Henri Pirkkalainen

My backgroundPh.D. Business Information Systems, University of EssenHabilitation “Quality Management / Integration of Knowledge Management and E-Learning”Professor in “Global Information Systems”Chair CEN/ISSS Workshop Learning TechnologiesISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 Project Editor

JYU: Global Information Systems

Focus areasGlobal Information SystemsSupporting globally distributed workgroupsOpen Educational ResourcesReference Modeling

E-Learning

Supporting international education settingsCultural adaptationStandardization & Quality Management Mobile & Ambient LearningInnovative tools and solutions

ProjectsOpenScout: OER for ManagementTELMAP: Technology ForecastingNORDLET: Nordic Baltic Network for Learning, Education and TrainingCOSMOS, Open Science Resources: Exchange of Scientific ContentASPECT: Open Content and standards for schoolsiCOPER: New standards for educational technologiesLaProf: Language learning in ICT and agriculture

What is context all about…?

Sauna: German instructions

Sauna: American instructions

Sauna: Finnish instructions

M-Learning around the world…

Where is m-learning going…?

Mobile devices: Smart phones, tablets– New forms of flexible, 24/7 accessible learning– Multi-modal scenarios (touchscreens, movements,

haptic feedback, …)– Adoption: high

Learning apps– Specialized learning applications (eg vocabulary

training, …– New business models– Adoption: low

Mobile access to social networks– Learning aspects in social networks– Connection of leisure, work and learning– New forms of informal learning– International collaborations– Adoption: high

Where is m-learning going…?Personal Learning Environments– Adaptable / adaptive learning scenarios including

mobile devices / scenarios– Tailored to individuals’ needs– Adoption: medium-high

Location based scenarios– Contents and services based on the location (eg

library services, lecture notes in auditorium, …)– People identification (eg fellow learners)– Adoption: low-medium

Augmented reality– Embedding (situative) learning applications in real

contexts– Learning about objects, scenarios, places– Learning in real world scenarios– Adoption: very low

The challenges

Applications should be usable…– …on different devices– …in different contexts– …for different preferences

Current main approaches– Content adaptation to devices / screen size– Context adaptation to location– Some adaptation to user behaviour

Necessary to understand the context– External aspects / factors influencing a

learning situation

No current standards or specifications, only for parts (learner preferences, device specifications, protocols)!

Adaptation

Convergence

Integration

So what is context?How can we capture context?

Some context categoriesPlaces– Coordinates– Landscape– Artefacts– Noise level– …

People– Location– Interests– Purpose– …

Culture– Organization– Ethnic (region, country, origin,

…)

The context contains factors which influence m-learning scenarios but are not directly influenced by the design process– External– Long-term

What is needed?

A clear description and representation of the context to– Allow adaptable and adaptive solutions– Allow re-use of context descriptions in different systems and

environments

Consensus process amongst experts– Researchers (what are the influence factors and how do they

influence design processes?)– Practitioners: designers, developers, users, …– Learners, educators

Instruments– Free text descriptions– Formal models– Ontologies– Metadata– …– Standards

Metadata specification process

Include stakeholders

Define possible metadata candidates

Reduce

Negotiate and agree

Test and validate

Improve

Many specifications, many candidates, no clear understanding yet…

Context Metadata (Pawlowski, Richter, 2007)

Culture

Companies

Rules, standards and

agreements

Human actors

Financial aspects Media richness

Internet security

Demographical development

Learner satisfaction

Religion

Geography & education

infrastructure

Technical infrastructure

Rights

History

Politics

State of development

Information & Knowledge

Systems

Contextualized Attention Metadata (CAM)

Source: https://sites.google.com/site/camschema/

Our approach

Action in the CEN Workshop Learning Technologies (European Standardization Body)

Based on – Context Metadata – Contextualized

Attention Metadata

Application / guidance for M-Learning

20

European Initiatives: OpenScout

Continuous learning in management …

Development of management skills essential

Growing need for learning materials– Diverse topics, up-to-date, high-quality, inexpensive– Easy to access, skill-specific, adaptable, re-usable

Open educational management content available, but many usage barriers

… utilizing openly accessible learning materials

Easy-to-use web services to access open content

Support all phases of using open learning materials

Re-publish Re-publishSearchSearch Validate solutionValidate solution

Re-use / adapt

Re-use / adapt

Validate re-

usability

Validate re-

usability

Background: OpenScout project

Creating access to OER for business and management– Adaptation for multi-national and multi-cultural use– Tool and resource recommendation based on a

metadata specification– Providing interfaces to mobile search and to mobile

contentsPortal at learn.openscout.net– Single access point for business and management

content– Finding learning materials around the globe– Providing simple tools to use and adapt these materials– Creating a social environment where communities can

collaborate– Integrating the services and tools to existing solutions of

organizations (LMSs, KMSs, Social networks etc.)21

Background: OpenScout project

M-Learning @ OpenScout– Finding M-Learning contents– Identifying adaptation needs by

using the context and culture specification

M-Learning Opportunities– Access to OpenScout

repository using iOS application– Embedding widgets in mobile

PLE– Social network discourse

(facebook, linkedin, twitter)22

Raw specification input

Candidate metadata models for– Culture– Organizations– Individuals– Technologies– Situations– Problems– …

What do you consider as useful? Which context attributes have you used? Which aspects should be cut?

Specification: CultureGeneral General profile

descriptionName, Creator, Date of creation, Type (organizational, individual, national)

General: Reference

References to other profiles

Vcard reference, LIP reference, e-portfolio reference, Europass-reference, other references

Culture: General Description of the cultural context

Society type, individualism, masculinity, power distance, rituals, language, gender differences, behavioral norms,

Culture: Legal Description of legal background

Intellectual property rights, internet security

Culture: Historical

Historical influences Historical milestones, symbols, heroes

Culture: Political Political situation Political system, parties, persons

Culture: Religion Influence of religion System, confession, group, religious leaders, influence on society

Culture: Development

Status of development Infrastructure, GNP

Specification: Individual aspectsIndividual: General

Individual attributes Competences, educational preferences, media preferences, accessibility requirements, devices, …

Individual: Experiences

Culture related experiences

Country visits, situations, conflicts, attitudes, cases

Individual: Educational

Description of educational preferences

Common pedagogical approaches, teaching style, relation to teachers / fellow learners, group work

Individual: Communication

Description of communication preferences

Electronic communication, face to face communication, communication in groups, feedback preferences

Individual: Mobile

Description of mobile device attributes

Device name, operating systems, language,

Individual: Behavior

Social interactions Reference to CAM (attention metadata) records

Individual: Situation

Situations in which the context is used

Environment, location, actors, noise level, connectivity, …

Using the Spec: M-Learning Design Implications

Metadata Influences on M-Learning Design

Sample adaptation steps

Culture: General Didactical design Mobile interface design Mobile devices Collaboration

Adaptation / change of didactic strategy (depending on collaboration patterns, preferences)

Adaption towards cultural preferences (colors), language, terminology

Acceptance / trends of mobile devices in different countries / cultures

Adaptation of how people communicate and collaborate (e.g. different communication paths, group work strategies)

Culture: Development

Mobile devices Mobile interface design Mobility

Identification which devices are available / usable (e.g. bandwidth, connection types, networks)

Which locations can be used for mobile scenarios

Organizational: Technical

Mobility Adaptation based on aspects such as network speed, bandwidth, operating systems,

Adaptation where and for whom mobile devices are used

Using the Spec: M-Learning Design ImplicationsIndividual: Educational

Didactical Communication and

collaboration Mobility

Adaptation of learning strategy according to preferences (e.g. individual vs group learning, learning style, …)

Adaptation where mobile scenarios take place

Individual: Communication

Communication and collaboration

Didactical

Provision of preferred communication tools (e.g. social network, messenger used by learner)

Different communication networks and paths Adaptation of social interaction

Individual: Mobile Mobile interface design Mobility Media types

Adaptation to operating system and device characteristics

Adaptation of contents according to display size

Adaptation of mobile scenarios according to available location-based services

Adaptation of media according to available display options

Localization to preferred languageIndividual: Behavior Collaboration and

communication Didactical Mobility

Adaptation based on previous (successful) scenarios

Collaboration with previous learning partners Recommendation of contents

Individual: Situation Mobility Collaboration and

communication Didactical

Adaptation based on situation of media types (e.g. no audio in noisy environments, no graphics in bright sunlight)

Adaptation of collaboration depending which potential collaborators are available near the learner or online

Using the Spec: Culture ProfilesCulture Profile Instance (Nation / Region)

Culture Profile Instance (Group)

Learner Profile• Identification• Goals• Qualifications• Activities• …

Culture Profile Specification• General• Reference• Educational• Culture• Communication• …

E-Portfolio / ELM• Organizations• Identification• Resources • Products• …

Culture Profile Instance (Actor)• …• Experience 1: Study

Netherlands• Experience 2: Project

Korea• Native Culture:

Germany• …

Instantiation

INLOC• Competency

description• Evidence• …

Presentation

Contains Product

Defined Culture Competencies

Contains Characteristic

Summary

Context metadata are necessary to design adaptable / adaptive systems

Context metadata are useful for design processes

Many aspect covered, not all explored fully (e.g. cultural adaptation)

More research necessary for automatic adaptation

Forthcoming standardization will lead to a broad consensus process

Join the process!

Let’s discuss

Contact Information

Prof. Dr. Jan M. Pawlowskijan.pawlowski@jyu.fi

Skype: jan_m_pawlowski

Office:

Telephone +358 50 443 2389

http://users.jyu.fi/~japawlow