494 I. Martínez-Ortiz et al. As an example of UoL authoring, Fig. 7 shows an excerpt of the visual specifica- tion diagram corresponding to the Learning to listen to Jazz UoL. This is a relevant example involving IMS LD Level B features, since it addresses adaptability based on student decisions and actions. This example also provides a simple learning style evaluation, which is incarnated in how the learning path best suited for the learner’s style is recommended by the UoL. In addition, the example shows how the progress on the UoL is based on the result of the work that is done in the activities. studentstudent teacherteacher Act (Play 1) c Monitor student progress Before you start some information about you orientation Final reflection c [id-D996B9E6-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5=‘historical’] [id-D996B9E6-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5=‘thematic’] Historial routeHistorial route thematic routethematic route [historicalRouteComplete=1] [id-D996BA21-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5+ id-D996BA22-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5+ id-D996BA23-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5+ id-D996BA24-4EA2-11D5-8D44-0004AC39A2F5>4] Fig. 7. Excerpt of the Learning to Listen Jazz UoL diagram with the e-LD notation 4 Conclusions and Future Work In this paper we have presented an EML visual notation specifically oriented to sim- plify UoL authoring. However, it is important to note that we are not promoting yet another new EML. The key idea is to use this author-oriented notation for the author- ing process, and then translate the designs to the more machine-oriented notations of standard EMLs (e.g. IMS LD) through importation/exportation processes. As a result of the preliminary experiments we think that the graphical notation pro- posed simplifies the process of authoring UoLs. The creation of UoLs of the complex- ity of those analyzed in our practical experiments is a feat beyond the reach of most designers, but students without a previous background in using EMLs were able to recreate them using e-LD. However, further study is required, especially in reuse scenarios, where non-experts create new UoLs based on UoL templates or previously built UoLs. A Flow-Oriented Visual Language for Learning Designs 495 Readers familiarized with the UML graphical notation will notice several parallel- isms with the notation described in this work. This is intentional, given the back- ground in Computer Science of the participants in the test case. However, different notations can be developed or customized for a particular stakeholder or community. Indeed, the e-LD authoring language is built using model-driven development princi- ples [12]. On the one hand, it includes a semantic model, which characterizes the kind of structures that make up a learning design. This model is the base for different graphical models, which can be related with the semantic model using model trans- formations (see [12] for more details). The graphical notation presented in this paper is just one of these graphical models. Our main short-term goal is to test the e-LD approach, and in particular the pre- sented e-LD graphical notation with field users, particularly with the staff of the Spanish National Center for Information and Educative Communication (CNICE) to provide them with a support tool to help them in the design of educational templates. It will allow them to create their documentation using the e-LD’s authoring tool and to use the diagrams as an explanation of the sequencing of activities. As future work, we will also explore the compatibility with other exchange EMLs like SCORM Se- quencing and Navigation [2] and whether it is possible to integrate at design time the authoring of UoLs using IMS LD and SCORM. Acknowledgements The Spanish Committee of Science and Technology (projects TIN2005-08788-C04- 01, FIT-350100-2007-163 and TIN2007-68125-C02-01) has partially supported this work, as well as the Regional Government of Madrid (grant 4155/2005) and the Complutense University of Madrid (research group 921340 and Santander/UCM Project PR24/07 – 15865) and by the EU Alfa project CID (II-0511-A). References 1. Aalst, W., Kees, H.: Workflow Management: Models, Methods, and Systems. MIT Press, Cambridge (2004) 2. Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) 2004 3rd Edition Sequencing and Navigation Version 1.0 (2006) 3. Booch, G., Rumbaugh, J., Jacobson, I.: The Unified Modeling Language User Guide, 2nd edn. Addison-Wesley, Reading (2005) 4. Brownston, L., Farell, R., Kant, E., Martin, N.: Programming Experts Systems in OPS5: An Introduction to Rule-based Programming. Addison Wesley, Reading (1985) 5. IMS. IMS Learning Design Information Model Version 1.0 (2003)(retrieved, July 12, 2007), http://www.imsglobal.org/learningdesign/ldv1p0/imsld_infov1p0. html 6. Koper, R., Tattersall, C. (eds.): Learning Design - A Handbook on Modelling and Deliver- ing Networked Education and Training. Springer, Heidelberg (2005) 496 I. Martínez-Ortiz et al. 7. Laforcade, P.: Graphical Representation of Abstract Learning Scenarios: the UML4LD Experimentation. In: Advanced Learning Technologies ICALT 2007, July 18-20, 2007, pp. 477–479 (2007) 8. Martínez-Ortiz, I., Moreno-Ger, P., Sierra-Rodríguez, J.L., Fernández-Manjón, B.: Sup- porting Authoring and Operationalization of Educational Modelling Languages. Journal of Universal Computer Science 13(7), 938–947 (in press, 2007) 9. OMG. Unified Modeling Language: Superstructure version 2.1.1 (2007)(retrieved, July 10, 2007), http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/07-02-05 10. OMG. Unified Modeling Language: Infrastructure version 2.1.1 (2007b)(retrieved, July 10, 2007), http://www.omg.org/cgi-bin/doc?formal/07-02-04 11. Paquette, G., Léonard, M., Lundgren-Cayrol, K., Mihaila, S., Gareau, D.: Learning Design based on Graphical Knowledge-Modeling. Educational Technology & Society 9(1), 97– 112 (2006) 12. Stahl, T., Voelter, M., Czarnecki, K.: Model-Driven Software Development, Technology, Engineering, Management. Wiley, Chichester (2006) 13. Chen, P.P.: Database Design Using Entities and Relationships. In: Yao, S.B. (ed.) Princi- ples of Data Base Design, pp. 174–210. Prentice-Hall, NJ (1985) F. Li et al. (Eds.): ICWL 2008, LNCS 5145, pp. 497–508, 2008. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008 A Mulimodeling Framework for Complex Learning Activity Designs Sofiane Aouag LRL, Maison de la recherche, 4 rue Ledrue 63057 Clermont-ferrand, France aouag @lrl.univ-bpclermont.fr Abstract. This paper proposes a modeling framework for learning activities centered on the design of their components (pedagogical instruments). The learning activity is represented as learning object where the structural compo- nents are the reusable objects representing the pedagogical instruments. This purpose presents a new current of learning activity design based on activity the- ory where its design means the specification of its specific teaching materials called pedagogical instruments, this material has the mediation role between the learner and the objects presented in the activity. The outcome of the presented project should be the convergence of cognitive, didactic, interface and content designs. Keywords: Learning activity, learning object, individualizing learning, learning to read, Multimodeling. 1 Introduction The Current research in teaching engineering [10],[15] aims at concentrating on the learner’s activity and bringing the learner to the center of research. We propose a new formalism for didactic activity representation by using the approach "learning object" where a lot of recent work has concentrated on aiming at the standardization of their indexing. The goal has been to define open technical standards for computer sup- ported learning environments and education products. Learning objects are elements of a new type of computer-based instruction grounded in the object-oriented paradigm stemming from computer science [15]. We postulate in this paper that the design of the learning activity means the definition of its specific teaching materials called pedagogical instruments; these material has the role of a mediator between the learner and the objects presented in the activity. This paper contains in first the theoretical or conceptual foundations for our work, which falls under what is called activity theory. In the second part we develop the idea based on the multimodelling approach of the learning activity where we announce that the design of the learning activity needs to specify four models: didactic model, knowledge object model, interface model and the cognitive model. Each model comprises the sub models of the pedagogical in- struments constituting the learning activity; in the final section we show how we can connect between the different models. Initially, the context of the project and its ob- jectives will be briefly described. 498 S. Aouag 2 Context of Work Our work is within an interactive learning-to-read environment with a multi-agent architecture ‘AMICAL’ which has the support of a pluridisciplinary team of professor in primary school (experts of domain), linguist, psychologist, knowledge engineer, data processing specialist. It’s a theoretical and development project of a multi-agents and knowledge-based computer for teaching and learning of reading. This project aims to the realization of multimedia intelligent tools likely to contribute the indi- vidualization of learning; it is related to the mother tongue (French) and addressed to children in normal schooling on their preparatory course. The system is composed of three types of functional modules: the resource module, the exploration module and the tutorial module. The tutorial module, must lead, in a controlled way to the acquisi- tion of knowledge by the student, to propose session of work. The sessions are the result of a process, “didactic planning”, in which the system determines first an objec- tive constructed from the knowledge it has about the student and the knowledge about the domain [3]. Then, the system determines a sequence of didactic activities with correspond to this objective. It is to be noted that the environment of tutoring module adheres to the current paradigm of multi-agent systems, which offer a good way to model a system to help define the actors, their functions and roles, and also their in- teractions as a society of agents. 3 Basic Principles of the Framework Methodology The pedagogical instrument is a complex artificial object that must undertake the design and the evaluation as a didactic artifact suited to bring into play the learner’s knowledge. The basic theory of this proposition is the activity theory [14]. The origi- nality of the mediation concept is the Activity theory, which reflects that human ac- tion is mediated by tools and signs [7]. The main problem is to know how learners conduct activity in computer mediated learning environment and how they interact with content using mediating artifacts (pedagogical instrument). All the higher psy- chological processes are mediated through a tool. One of the most important psycho- logical tools is language, which serves as the “prime device for rendering the world intelligible and for communicating our intentions to others” [13]. So the design of the learning activity means the specification of the nature of this mediation by the design of different layers (didactic, cognitive, knowledge objects and interface). Rob Koper of Open University of the Netherlands proposes to describe the learning activity using a first version of the language EML, Educational Modelling Language. The specification IMS Learning Design, largely inspired by Rob Koper proposition, provides a modelling conceptual framework in which the scenario of the unit of train- ing is represented throw a theatrical metaphor. A unit of learning is an abstract term used to refer to any delimited piece of education or training, such as a course, a mod- ule, a lesson, etc. It can be modelled as an IMS Content Package where the organiza- tion part is replaced by an IMS Learning Design. In our point of view the learning activity scenario will be specified by dynamic process that can be called the scenarisa- tion of learning object. This later is characterized, first of all, by knowledge brought into play for learning. Reusability, adaptation, and composition mechanisms are, . didactic, interface and content designs. Keywords: Learning activity, learning object, individualizing learning, learning to read, Multimodeling. 1 Introduction The Current research in teaching. [7]. The main problem is to know how learners conduct activity in computer mediated learning environment and how they interact with content using mediating artifacts (pedagogical instrument) sup- ported learning environments and education products. Learning objects are elements of a new type of computer- based instruction grounded in the object-oriented paradigm stemming from computer science