3 May, 2007

MyPlan – Personal Planning for Learning throughout Life

1st Project Workshop

http://www.lkl.ac.uk/research/myplan

3 May, 2007

The MyPlan project

• MyPlan is developing, deploying and evaluating new techniques and tools that allow personalised planning of lifelong learning

• It is funded by the JISC e-Learning Capital programme, 1/9/2006 – 30/11/2008

• It is building on and extending the earlier L4All project and software prototype, funded by the JISC Distributed e-Learning Pilots programme

3 May, 2007

Aims of this 1st Workshop

• To brief project members and advisors of our progress to date

• To obtain your input and views on two major aspects of the project:– the development and evaluation of

personalised functionalities for the creation, searching and recommendation of learning opportunities

– the identification of learner attributes that need to be modelled and tasks that need to undertaken by lifelong learners

3 May, 2007

Workshop Agenda

• 10 – 10.20 Introduction to MyPlan and Work to dateAlex Poulovassilils, MyPlan Co-Director

• 10.20– 10.40 Personalised FunctionalitiesNicolas van Labeke, MyPlan Lead Developer

• 10.40 – 11.00 Learner Modelling and TasksHassan Baajour, MyPlan Team Member

• 11.00 – 11.10 Aims of the Breakout SessionGeorge Magoulas, MyPlan Co-Director

• 11.10 – 12.00 Breakout session• 12.00 – 12.30 Reporting back from Breakout• 12.30 Lunch

3 May, 2007

Introduction and Work to Date

3 May, 2007

MyPlan Project Partners

• Birkbeck College• Institute of Education• Community College Hackney• UCAS• Linking London Lifelong Learning Network

(L4N)

3 May, 2007

MyPlan Project Advisors

• Professor John Annette (Birkbeck)• Dr Graeme Atherton (AimHigher)• Jill Johnson (UCAS)• Paul Welch (Prospects Services Ltd)

3 May, 2007

Motivation for L4All

• Widening participation in HE• Lifelong learning important due to high-skills

needs of the knowledge economy• Holistic view needed of individuals’ life, work

and learning experiences• Importance of timely, relevant careers

guidance and support

3 May, 2007

Our approach in L4All

• Taking a holistic view of lifelong learners’ work and learning

• Based on the notion of learning pathways• Sharing learning pathways with others:

– identifying learning opportunities that may not otherwise have been considered

– positioning successful learners “like me” as role models

3 May, 2007

L4All Methodology

• User requirements elicitation, via interviews with HE and FE students, focus groups (educators, recruitment & careers specialists), workshop events, consultation with advisors: – use cases– examples of learning pathways– identification of critical decision points

• Technical requirements elicitation:– development of tools and standards– use of existing e-services where possible

3 May, 2007

L4All Methodology (cont’d)

• Functional Specification• Development of pilot version 1• Metadata provision and generation• First evaluation phase• Development of pilot version 2• Second evaluation phase• Development of pilot version 3:

http://l4all.dcs.bbk.ac.uk:8080/l4all-v3/

New user registration in L4All

Entering learning and work information

Timeline Creation and Search

3 May, 2007

MyPlan Project Aims

• To offer learners personalised features allowing control over their learning pathways, reflection on where their learning is taking them, and a holistic view of their learning and career pathway throughout life

• To facilitate community building and information sharing with other individuals and organisations

• To provide a personal space for lifelong learners, contrasting with and complementing other learning environments which focus on learning at a single institution

3 May, 2007

MyPlan Project Objectives• To develop and evaluate user models that reflect the needs

of the diverse population of lifelong learners. This will require identification of learning attributes that need to be modelled, tasks undertaken by lifelong learners and usage scenarios of the system

• To enhance individual learners’ engagement with the lifelong learning process by developing, deploying and evaluating personalised functionalities for searching and recommendation of learning opportunities and management of their personal record of progress and attainment

• To allow learners to role-play different learning and career progressions in order to give better understanding of the possible implications and consequences of different career decisions and educational choices, by integrating a game-based application into the system

3 May, 2007

MyPlan main Workpackages

• WP2: Development of User Models, an Ontology for Lifelong Learning and Usage Scenarios – ongoing

• WP3: Specification of personalised functionalities for planning of lifelong learning - completed

• WP4: Development and deployment of the personalised functionalities, in L4N, CCH and within the UCAS web portal – just started; 1st phase to 09/07; 2nd phase to 04/08

• WP5: Evaluation with stakeholders: L4N, CCH, UCAS, IoE, BBK – to start November 2007 This will require recruitment of groups of users from BBK, L4N and CCH

• WP6: Development of the Game Application – to start November 2007 – Sara de Freitas leading

3 May, 2007

Personalised Functionalities

3 May, 2007

Objective

• To develop, deploy and evaluate personalised functionalities for the creation, searching and recommendation of learning pathways. This will enhance individual learners’ engagement with the lifelong learning process by offering personalised levels of learner control over their learning pathways, personalised support in the reflection of where their learning activities may take them, and management of their personal record of progress and attainment. It will also support building communities of learners with similar interests, and information sharing with other members of the community, other users of the MyPlan system, and organisations.

3 May, 2007

Personalisation• Defining personalisation is

not easy– Shift toward recognition

of diversity– Breaking the “one size

fit all” mould• Different interaction at

different stage of the journey– Motivation– Curriculum – Logistic – Pedagogy– Assessment– Opportunity

Why should I learn?

What can I learn?

How could I study?

How will I learn?

How do I know I've learned?

Personalised needs-benefits analysisAccess to advice, guidance, learners’ case studies

Curriculum choice through HE partnershipsCloser links to work and community

Adaptive, interactive learningCommunication, collaboration

Assessment when readyProgress files, e-portfolios

Access to information and guidanceQualifications - career options planner

Personalising the pathway through lifelong learning

Flexible modes, locations etc. Mix of home, campus, overseas

Where will it take me?

3 May, 2007

Personalisation Agenda

1. Personalised search of timelines2. Recommendation of courses3. Rating of search results4. Customisation of the L4ALL interface5. Automatic Update of user’s profile

3 May, 2007

Personalised Search of Timelines

• Current search based solely on user profile

• Using information from the timeline itself– Searching for “people

like me”– Clusters of users

• Question:– “Similar” timelines?– Parameters to

relax?– Time & sequences

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

PostgraduateGlasgow

Media and business applications

1

2

3

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

PostgraduateGlasgow

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

PostgraduateGlasgow

Media and business applications

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

PostgraduateGlasgow

Media and business applications

3 May, 2007

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

PostgraduateGlasgow

Media and business applications

Recommendation of Courses

• Extending the “search course” feature

• Based on user’s stated objective and what user has done to date

• Using similarity matching on expert timelines

• Questions:– What are “Expert”

timelines? Who defines them?

– Templates vs. stereotypes

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

Postgraduate Web-based Services

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

UndergraduateWeb-based Services

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

Postgraduate ParallelArchitectures

IT technician

1997 20041998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

IT technician

PostgraduateGlasgow

Media and business applications

ParallelArchitectures

Exp

ert

Tim

elin

es

3 May, 2007

Rating Search Results

• Allowing users to record usefulness of courses and timelines searched with the system– Explicit rating (by user self-report)– Implicit rating (e.g. by analysis of usage of

particular resources)• Rating to be displayed at interface• Rating could be used for filtering the search

results

3 May, 2007

Customisation of L4ALL Interface

• Personalising the output of the searches (users, courses, timelines)

• Personalised delivery/presentation of courses (short/complete description, etc)

• Preferred source(s) of information when searching for courses, users or timelines

• Activation/deactivation of L4ALL feature(s)

3 May, 2007

Automatic Update of User Profile

• Automatically updating user profile attributes– Highest qualification based on

latest/highest episode in the timeline (courses)

– Past & Present occupation based on latest episodes found in timeline (work)

• “Maintenance” of user profile under user control (by confirmation)

3 May, 2007

Issues to discuss

• Recommendations– What are expert timelines?– How do we build a repository of expert

timelines?– What kind of existing

document/knowledge/expertise can we reuse from partners?

• Any other point?

3 May, 2007

Learner Modelling & Tasks

3 May, 2007

Objective

• To develop, deploy and evaluate user models that reflect the needs of the diverse population of lifelong learners. We will identify learner attributes that need to be modelled and tasks/activities undertaken by lifelong learners. This user-related information will be used to develop an ontology for user modelling in a lifelong learning context. We will also identify usage scenarios for the system.

3 May, 2007

Learner Modelling

• Identifying the relevant learner characteristics

• Evaluation of learners background knowledge

• Actualisation of learners needs

• Identifying learners relevant learning styles

• Identifying learners physical context

3 May, 2007

Learner Model Dimensions

• Personal Information• Learner Preferences• Learner Interests • Learner Goals• Device Specifications • Learner Physical context• Learner History• Learner Motivation • System Experience• Learner Knowledge• Learning Styles

3 May, 2007

Our Learner Modelfor Lifelong Learning

• An interoperable learner model that allows transfer and that aggregates of learner data from different kinds of learning systems and various educational providers

• An extensible learner model

3 May, 2007

Extensible Learner Model

IdentificationLearningStyle

Lifelong Learner Model

FullNameAddress

Extensibility

FirstNameSurNameExtensibility

LearnInGroupLearnAlone

An Excerpt of Lifelong Learner Model

3 May, 2007

Interoperable Learner Model

King’s College(Teaching Course)

MyPlan System LKL(lifelong learning planning)

UCL Library

SMART (Training Center)

Learner Model

Learner Model

Learner Model

Learner Model

Learner Model

3 May, 2007

Why ontology-based Learner Models?

• Ontologies represent shared and agreed conceptual models in a particular domain

• Ontologies can be extended and integrated with other ontologies in the same domain of interest

• Ontologies enable interoperability• Availability of computer ontology languages

that serve as reference models for processing data as humans do

3 May, 2007

Example on Extensibility

Identification

FullNameBirthDate

Small ontology for lifelong learner

Ontology provides extensibility

FirstName SurName

3 May, 2007

Example of Interoperability

The interoperability of different learner models in a distributed system environment for lifelong learning.

Different kinds of LMLM Ontology

Interoperability of LM

Heterogeneity Complicated mapping process Lifelong Learning Learner Model

3 May, 2007

Issues to discuss

• What type of tasks and activities are performed by lifelong learners?

• What types of learner information should be gathered in order to support the lifelong learners?

• What is the impact of privacy on designing learner models for lifelong learning?

3 May, 2007

Breakout Session

3 May, 2007

The Breakout Session

• Please divide into two groups:– Group A: to discuss the proposed

personalised functionalities for the creation, searching and recommendation of learning opportunities

– Group B: to discuss learner attributes that need to be modelled and tasks/activities undertaken by lifelong learners

3 May, 2007

Some questions for Group A

• Existing systems– Learndirect service,

http://www.learndirect.co.uk

– UCAS web service http://www.ucas.com

– Fasttomato http://www.fasttomato.com

3 May, 2007

Some Questions for Group A

• Recommendations– What are expert timelines?– How do we build a repository of expert timelines?– What kind of existing

document/knowledge/expertise can we reuse from partners?

3 May, 2007

Some Questions for Group B

• What are lifelong learners tasks and activities?• What services do lifelong learners need for

planning? • What scenarios can be identified for MyPlan users?

3 May, 2007

Some Questions for Group B • MyPlan aspects /functionalities for consideration

– What do you see as the main purpose(s) of MyPlan for lifelong learners?

– What guidance to support learners is important in our context?

– What types of information are/will be owned and managed by the learner?

– What types of information are/will be owned and managed by institutions/organisations?

– How will learners manage their information? – Legal aspects (e.g. privacy and ownership)? – Accessibility/usability issues– Storage capacity and storage duration? – What additional recourses are need to effectively support

MyPlan users?– How might we evaluate MyPlan?

3 May, 2007

Some Questions for Group B

• What other domains are related to MyPlan? (MyPlan depends on those, or others depend on it) and

• What could be the exchanges and or provision of services between MyPlan and others?

• Who are the main stakeholders in lifelong learning?

• What are the main activities in lifelong learning and what supporting systems are available?

3 May, 2007

Personalisation Service

Functionality

Search Searching for content, pathways or peers in a personalised manner by narrowing down or broadening the search depending on the learner model, e.g. preferences and learners’ goals.

Ranking Adaptive link ordering based on self-rating and other users’ ratings. Filtering Filtering of links about relevant learning opportunities and pathways. Advertisement Deliver personalised advertisements about learning opportunities based on user’s

activity with the system and user preferences. Customisation Allow users to update their profile and preferences, activate/deactivate features of the

system that depend on user preferences, career and learning goals. Personalise the delivery and presentation of content depending on learner background, preferences and characteristics; receive personalised messages/information, or a calendar that is configured to show only the user’s relevant events.

Recommendation Provide recommendations about other users (people “like me”), i.e. users with similar profiles and/or timelines. Recommendations about courses can be also provided (e.g. courses I should do) by matching properties of the courses with user profile characteristics and learning history.

Similarity Evaluate similarity measures in order to provide recommendations. Validation/ eligibility

Validate acceptance into next stage of learning by checking whether the learner can access specific modules, or generating warnings regarding irrelevant plans and contradictions in the lifelong learning plan.

Reflective log

Allows learners to record their reflections about parts of their learning plan, e.g. how modules/courses helped them achieve a personal goal. The system can utilise reflections of some users and display them automatically to a particular user with similar characteristics, who shows an interest in the same subject.

Rating Support for the use of secondary metadata (user ratings and text annotations) for resources. Record rating of search results, lifelong learning opportunities, pathways, implicitly or explicitly.

Automatic profile update

Support the mapping of learner activities in the system against specific competencies, which updates services with user preferences information.

Notification Monitor learners’ favourite timelines, detect changes or modified reflections and initialise services that inform the interested learner about these. Notify users about communication spaces that relate to their interests.

Occupation profile matching

Match user profile attributes with expert-supplied occupation profiles using metadata for courses and professions.

Communication Create communication spaces for users with similar interests, e.g. developing weblogs with many users/authors that belong to the same community. Access to communication spaces can be personalised to meet the needs, interests and preferences of particular user groups.

Classification Categorise users into groups for use by other personalisation services. This can be achieved by grouping according to user stereotypes, by grouping individual user models that share similar attributes, or both.

User support Provides support regarding the use of various system features and functionalities.

Identified services