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    Paul Brna

    Learning environments can benefit from drawing on studies of film theory, the practices of the theatre, developments in the games industry, and oral storytelling, as well as theories of narrative. There is a need to tie in work in these... more
    Learning environments can benefit from drawing on studies of film theory, the practices of the theatre, developments in the games industry, and oral storytelling, as well as theories of narrative. There is a need to tie in work in these areas to educational, cognitive, affective, and social explanations of learning (and their associated empirical results) in order to develop a better understanding of how to design interactive learning environments and a much more theoretically driven understanding of the relationship between the structure of the interaction, the associated emotional value and the quality of learning. The idea for this special issue came from papers presented at the Narrative and Interactive Learning Environments (NILE) 2006 conference. After a call for papers, six papers were accepted for publication – each of which explores issues in the relationship between narrative and interactive learning environments. In the first paper Hazel seeks to construct a rationale for the notion of a ‘‘narrative pedagogy’’. Going back to first principles, he seeks to focus on the complex and profound issue of pedagogy. The paper introduces an issue that may prompt an interesting debate amongst readers around what we understand of the brain’s structure and the extent to which we can know ourselves through its study. We believe that Hazel’s approach may be controversial but that his paper nevertheless makes a useful contribution to the important debate about how narrative can be coupled to the concerns of the pedagogue. A strong theoretical focus is also a characteristic of the second paper by Dolk and den Hertog, who provide an educational approach grounded in experience and data. Based on their extensive experience in the classroom, they describe their approach to helping student teachers learn to observe and interpret learner behaviour. Using a multimedia learning environment, they encourage students to build narratives about the connection between a learner’s behaviour and theory. Their approach involves a six step non-linear process that takes the student teacher from situation observation through generalization to a didactic approach for teacher education. South, Gabbitas and Merrill decided to use a narrative-based approach to teach English to non-native speakers. They found that this improved the contextualisation and motivated the students to learn. They found the assessment of learning gains to be problematic, since standard decontextualised tests were not appropriate for the aim of teaching the use of English in such a way that speakers were sensitive to contextual factors. Patera, Draper, and Naef also provide a context – in their case an imaginary one called the Magic Cottage. In this environment, learners are intended to develop their creative writing. The Magic Cottage is a desktop three-dimensional virtual reality environment which children explore; the environment is designed to stimulate the imagination through graphics, sounds, and interactions. The results, while tentative, lead to the suggestion that Interactive Learning Environments Vol. 16, No. 3, December 2008, 195–197
    ABSTRACT This paper describes a narrative centred design approach, which has been developed to produce multimedia-based Interactive Learning Environments (ILEs) that incorporate a 'designed-in' narrative intended to... more
    ABSTRACT This paper describes a narrative centred design approach, which has been developed to produce multimedia-based Interactive Learning Environments (ILEs) that incorporate a 'designed-in' narrative intended to provide users with a rich and engaging learning experience. The Narrative Centred Informant Design (NCID) approach is introduced and described. NCID has been developed from an analysis of narrative theory and computer games development, and incorporates dramatic and narrative devices that are meaningful to the target learner group. One of the major issues addressed is how to ensure that the ILE will appeal to students who find the domain knowledge difficult. The development of a prototype ILE that utilises the NCID approach is described and the design process is outlined. The paper concludes by identifying how the design framework can be further developed and refined.
    ... IWALL2] IF :H1 = :H2 1STOP] CONSTRUCT END TO WALL1 SETPOS [0 0] FD :H1 MAKE THICKNESS :E1 PLACE-BRICK MAKE flH1 :H1 + :E1 END TO WALL2 SETPOS [0 0] FD :H2 MAKE "THICKNESS :E2 PLACE.BRICK add 1 brick of given thickness (code... more
    ... IWALL2] IF :H1 = :H2 1STOP] CONSTRUCT END TO WALL1 SETPOS [0 0] FD :H1 MAKE THICKNESS :E1 PLACE-BRICK MAKE flH1 :H1 + :E1 END TO WALL2 SETPOS [0 0] FD :H2 MAKE "THICKNESS :E2 PLACE.BRICK add 1 brick of given thickness (code not shown ...
    ... Oxford Review of Education , 19(2): 231–56. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of ... It is also argued that 'the Scottish surge into higher education is an energy source and should bring economic advantage' (Goodison Group... more
    ... Oxford Review of Education , 19(2): 231–56. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of ... It is also argued that 'the Scottish surge into higher education is an energy source and should bring economic advantage' (Goodison Group in Scotland 200613. Goodison Group in Scotland. . ...
    The new interactive ways of storytelling, which can be realised as interactive narratives, virtual storytelling, interactive fiction, interactive drama, are often regarded as a significant break from traditional storytelling methods. In... more
    The new interactive ways of storytelling, which can be realised as interactive narratives, virtual storytelling, interactive fiction, interactive drama, are often regarded as a significant break from traditional storytelling methods. In this paper we focus on the role of a person in an interactive storytelling context who facilitates the story construction process, the Director. The term Director is often associated with roles such as theatre director, stage director, film director or even television director. The meaning usually assigned to this concept is of someone who: "oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a play by unifying various endeavours and aspects of production. The director's function is to ensure the quality and completeness of a theatrical product". In our research, the concept of a Director is extended and does not only have the role of supervising the acting in a play where every actor knows his/her role in a wellknown plot, but to supervise the role being played by a set of autonomous virtual characters and to provide support to the users that engage in the story by controlling and commanding virtual actors. In our view, our concept of a Director is challenging because its role is vital in the sense that it does not only supervise a set of synthetic characters but has to accommodate the choices made by the users, within our context children, and at the same time guarantee that the coherence of the story is maintained.
    Copyright © 2008 by Judy Robertson, Lisa Gjedde, Ruth Aylett, Rose Luckin and Paul Brna. Published by NILE Press. Illustrations by Maria Skov Pedersen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any... more
    Copyright © 2008 by Judy Robertson, Lisa Gjedde, Ruth Aylett, Rose Luckin and Paul Brna. Published by NILE Press. Illustrations by Maria Skov Pedersen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means ...
    ... Second, the learner's individual differences need to be accommodated — this is consistent with Soloway's notion of diversity through the provision of a ... Third, with respect to the role of Artificial Intelligence, there... more
    ... Second, the learner's individual differences need to be accommodated — this is consistent with Soloway's notion of diversity through the provision of a ... Third, with respect to the role of Artificial Intelligence, there has been an attempt with switchER II to design an adaptive ...
    The rapidly growing learning simulations market calls urgently for innovative ways to facilitate the simulation design process [1],[2]. Social spaces can provide an extensive source of reports on individuals' experiences and their... more
    The rapidly growing learning simulations market calls urgently for innovative ways to facilitate the simulation design process [1],[2]. Social spaces can provide an extensive source of reports on individuals' experiences and their real-world contexts that may be exploited for the purpose of identifying relevant content and evaluating the quality of a simulation. To realise this potential, appropriate ways to make sense of user generated content UGC are needed. This work presents a novel approach, called semantic social sensing SSS, which exploits ontologies and semantic augmentation combined with discourse analysis uncovering intentions behind the user comments. We have developed two SSS instruments enabling analysis of UGC --- a a framework for automatic semantic analysis for capturing viewpoints ViewS, which utilises ontologies and semantic tagging and enrichment and enables visual exploration of the conceptual spaces associated with UGC [3]; and b a schema for discourse analysis to identify intentions useful for simulator design [2] and inspired by research analysing communicative functions of user contributions in collaborative settings [4].
    In this chapter we are concerned with a student's use of examples when learning to program. Examples of problem solving have a valid role to play when learning in any domain. Theories of learning exist based on experience stored in... more
    In this chapter we are concerned with a student's use of examples when learning to program. Examples of problem solving have a valid role to play when learning in any domain. Theories of learning exist based on experience stored in an evolving dynamic ...
    Información del artículo Una clase de futuro en nuestros días.
    ... 1. Multiplication of integers; 2. Representation of proportions using fractions; 3. Integer division and fractions; ... Grow. GO (1996) "Serving the Strategic Reader: Reader Response Theory and Its Implications for the Teaching... more
    ... 1. Multiplication of integers; 2. Representation of proportions using fractions; 3. Integer division and fractions; ... Grow. GO (1996) "Serving the Strategic Reader: Reader Response Theory and Its Implications for the Teaching of Writing," an expanded version of a paper ...
    ABSTRACT
    ABSTRACT
    The exploration of the dynamics of a body moving in a friction‐free environment has been advocated by many educationists. Researchers have discovered that students have several persistent misconceptions about the movement of such bodies.... more
    The exploration of the dynamics of a body moving in a friction‐free environment has been advocated by many educationists. Researchers have discovered that students have several persistent misconceptions about the movement of such bodies. It is believed that exploring computer‐based environments that simulate the required physical environment can help students to focus on their misunderstandings and to dispel them.An analysis based, in part, on observations of students using such an environment suggests that students do not necessarily follow a single developmental path. There are some advantages in providing a simple programming language; ideally, different, more sophisticated programming languages are needed.
    This document reports on an evaluative study of the impact and sustainability of the Open Flexible and Distance Learning (OFDL) Project. The evaluation aimed to explore the impact of the OFDL Project on students, teachers and further... more
    This document reports on an evaluative study of the impact and sustainability of the Open Flexible and Distance Learning (OFDL) Project. The evaluation aimed to explore the impact of the OFDL Project on students, teachers and further education (FE) lecturers. The research design employed a mixed methods approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative methods to supplement and enrich the data sources, which were drawn mainly from teaching staff and students in a representative sample of secondary schools and FE colleges in Scotland. The main point to note from this research is that FE colleges appear to be making much more use of the OFDL resources than schools. The FE colleges have provided evidence that they are contextualising the resources to suit the needs of their students and that the way forward is with more blended teaching approaches. The evidence suggests that schools need to be given the opportunity, with encouragement and support from the local councils in conjunct...
    Research Interests:
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