Our Vision

To create a web-basedknowledge network

for teaching STEM concepts

using robotics

Web 2.0 Learning Environment

Key Contributors

Steve Nies Robot Portal FounderChief Architect

Profound Learning System

Tom Rudmik Masters Academy HeadmasterProfound Learning Inc Founder

Dr. Andy Rudmik Geenius CTO

Emma Alaba Computer Learning Center

Agenda

• Introduction

• Benefits & Challenges of Robotics for STEM Education

• Our Approach – A Blended Learning Environment

– Educational Issues; Bloom’s Taxonomy; Constructivism

– Enhancing Project-based Learning Through Knowledge Retention

• Robot Portal

– Web-based Social Networking and Collaboration Environment

– Learning Management System; Knowledge Retention System (patented)

• Case Study Results; Lessons Learned; Ongoing Research

• An Announcement ...

Robots are excellent for teaching STEM

• Teaching with robots provides an exciting way to interest and motivate students

– Hands-on projects provide concrete applications of abstract concepts

– Students discover how education can help them accomplish tasks in the real world; relevant

“It’s not what you know that counts, but what you can do with what you know”

• Building robots provides a strong motivation to learn

– Students look forward to working on their projects, often spending hours of additional personal time

– Students are proud of their creations and accomplishments; increased self-esteem

• Develops strong engineering skills – Difference between theory and “real-world”, tradeoffs

Challenges

• Logistics

– Meeting time is limited (busy schedules, facility limited availability)

– Distance to school, transportation issues limit who can participate

• Difficulty in assessing student’s actual learning progress

– Does the student have the knowledge to participate effectively?

– To what degree does the student grasp the underlying STEM concepts?

– Where are the knowledge gaps?

– How does an instructor know when individual remediation is necessary?

• Stakeholder perception management

– Legos perceived as “playing with toys”

– Building a robot is fun but is my son/daughter learning anything useful?

– What is the return on my $$ investment?

• Accountability – What is my son/daughter learning? How will this help him/her in school?

• Knowledge silos – How to share lessons learned and insights across school districts?

Our Approach – Hybrid Learning

Web-based instruction combined with project-based application

1) Curriculum is segmented into bite-sized learning sessions

2) For each session student first studies the relevant STEM concepts on the web

– Study time is flexible to accommodate students schedule

– Performs online reinforcement (not a test) to see if ready for hands-on labs and to improve knowledge retention

3) Student then meets with teammates and instructor to apply lesson knowledge

4) Online forums used to share ideas, resolve problems, and post achievements

Hybrid Learning Benefits

An excellent case study is at http://campustechnology.com/articles/48204

Some highlights:

• Learning how to learn for oneself is the foundational challenge of all education. In a Hybrid Learning model students become central to their own learning processes.

• Students are free to explore, comment on, and modify the instructional content and content they discover or create through the learning process.

• If students are provided with online material, online learning resources, and time to reflect, interact, and produce learning objects or evidences of learning, then class time should not resort to passive learning such as lecture.

• Students look for teacher intervention more directly in an online environment than in a face to face environment.

• [Blogs] often helped students realize the relevancy of the course for their specific interests, and it was often not until their learning has been summarized and synthesized that students appreciated the learning that had taken place.

Complex Thinking Skills

Memory Loss

The phenomenon of forgetting was studied

by the German psychologist Hermann

Ebbinghaus in 1885. He showed that we

forget about 75% of what we learn after 48

hours! This model was validated later by

Pimsleur 1967; Bahrick 1975 and 1984;

Bloom et al. 1981.

Knowledge Retention

Dilemma of Education

Dilemma of Education

“You can only apply what you know”

Adaptive Reinforcement

Robot Portal – Platform for Effective Hybrid Learning

Our Mission:

To provide a network of robot-related communities where robot enthusiasts

can interact, learn together, and develop a shared

collection of resources

Robot Portal Timeline

• Started as an independent project four years ago

– Original emphasis was a portal to robot resources on the web

– Evolved over time into a full-fledged online community

• Acquired by Profound Learning Systems in the summer of 2007

• Early adopters include Computer Learning Center, Ted Kosan

– Used by CLC for robotics summer camps and mastery program

• Azalea, Safety Harbor, and Belleair Recreation Centers

• Roberts Adult Center

• Blessed Sacrament Elementary School

• Also being used by various commercial companies and governments

– e.g., Boeing, Navigators, Singapore Government

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

Robot Portal Key Components

• Lesson delivery system

– Includes the patented Advanced Knowledge Retention (AKR) system

• Collaboration environment

– Discussion forums combining Instant Messaging with asynchronous discussions

– Online articles; wikis; blogs

– Social bookmarking

– Photo Albums

• Reporting system

– Provides accountability to various stakeholders (e.g. teachers, parents).

– Reduces stress by helping students self-assess strengths and weaknesses.

• Course content authoring environment

– Easy to use; does not require knowledge of web technologies (e.g., HTML)

– Lessons can include any type of media supported by the web

– Created lessons are fully SCORM compliant

• Processes for designing effective learning experiences

Lesson Delivery / Knowledge Retention

Collaborative Learning

• Student teams undertaking a particular task can use the Robot Portal as means to capture and transfer their learning to other students

• In this model the student is both the learner and the expert.

• The students are true knowledge workers, they are creating high valued knowledge which in turn are shared with others.

• This creation process elevates the students understanding and sense of accomplishment

Collaborative Learning (cont)

Teacher Empowerment: Content Creation

PLWriter: Content authoring• Simple WYSWYG web-based content creation and publishing with familiar editing tools

• Minimal expertise required for teachers or students• Accepts all forms of standard web media (flash, graphics, movies etc.)• Defines course flow, lesson structure, subjects, key learning points, exam questions and

assessments

One Site – Multiple Learning Communities

The Robot Portal supports multiple communities (aka groups) each with its own unique web address. Each community includes all robot portal features; content however is viewable only by community

members. Communities can be created so that either 1) viewer self-enrolls, or 2) group moderator invites viewer to participate.

Lego Robotics(lego.robotportal.net)

Vex Robotics(vex.robotportal.net)

Palm HarborSchool Types of Communities

– Learning Communities

– Communities of Practice

– Special Projects

– Social Networking

– Lesson Authoring

– Administration

Membership Models

– Join

– Apply

– Private

– Buy (eCommerce)

• Designing a Learning Experience (aka Course) is

a non-trivial effort, including:

– Lesson content

– Projects and staging of assignments

– Scaffolding

– Instructor guides

• Once a course is designed it can be used as a

template to roll out an unlimited number of

learning communities

– Scheduled at different times

– Can create a large number of small

project teams each with a consistent

structure and approach; scalability

“Design once - use often”

Learning Community Templates

Performance: Student Progress Reports

• During lesson study students self-assesses learning progress

• Each day system automatically adjusts to help with problem areas

• Daily feedback greatly reduces fear of tests; fear of failure

• Feedback provides opportunities for early remediation

Key Point Review

Self-Assessment

Accountability: Class Progress Reports

Community Participation

• Instructors can quickly determine students’ level of participation

• Chart provides early indicators of students who may need coaching

Robot Portal / PLSystem Case Studies

• Phase I – Validate the PLSystem Learning Retention methodology and toolset

– University of Calgary

– International Oil & Gas Company

– Grade 5 Physics class

• Phase II – Limited pilot deployments

– Florida Institute of Technology

– Ted Kosan Pilot

– Computer Learning Center summer robot camps and after-school program

Retention more than doubled!

Phase I - University of Calgary Study

University of Calgary Study (cont)

“Clearly, the group of learners

using the PLSystem® showed

a more consistent performance

after their training than before.

This was in significant contrast

with the results of the other

groups of learners using

another commercially available

training system. An individual

comparison of testing session

shows a marked improvement

60 days after the actual training

using the PLSystem®“

Dr. Larry Katz, PhD

University of Calgary

Phase I - Second Case Study

International Oil & Gas Company

Software training with a complex geophysical application

92% retention after 60 days;

600% increase!

Expert Group

Intermediate Group

Novice Group

PLS was a great source of

learning. The PLS system was

awesome they emailed you if

you were not practicing the

unit. Also it told you if need to

work on it or not. It also told

the teacher how you are doing.

Grade 5 student #3

PLS was a great source of

learning. The PLS system was

awesome they emailed you if

you were not practicing the

unit. Also it told you if need to

work on it or not. It also told

the teacher how you are doing.

Grade 5 student #3

Personally, PLS is the best way to study for any subject. Normally when I go to study it takes quite a while to get the information to your mind and for it to actually stay there. But as for PLS, not only do I know the content but also it is actually in my long-term memory! This is an amazing program, in which you get to use the computer to study, which is awesome when you don’t want to study the boring way. This is an absolutely dream-come-true for those of us who suffer from studying ALL the time.Grade 5 student #8

Personally, PLS is the best way to study for any subject. Normally when I go to study it takes quite a while to get the information to your mind and for it to actually stay there. But as for PLS, not only do I know the content but also it is actually in my long-term memory! This is an amazing program, in which you get to use the computer to study, which is awesome when you don’t want to study the boring way. This is an absolutely dream-come-true for those of us who suffer from studying ALL the time.Grade 5 student #8

Phase I Third Case Study – Grade 5 Pilot

Results:

• Teacher developed grade 5 electricity unit content on her own

• The PLSystem was used as the primary means of teaching the unit’s content

• Student’s were not allowed to study for the test

• 91% class average with over half the questions focusing on higher order thinking and application

• Very high student engagement with learning

• Time compression: teacher was able to introduce a DVD movie project on electricity since core curriculum was covered in less time with a higher level of achievement

Phase II – Pilot Deployments

• Florida Institute of Technology – Web Application Technologies

– Project-based class

– Required knowledge delivered via online learning

– Class time spent on project requirements, design

– Top student showed Google his project – got a job offer!

• Ted Kosan: Basic Computers and Electronics Course

– Goal: Teach foundational concepts of how computers work at the hardware level

– Eight week course

– Lesson only; no hands-on application

• Computer Learning Center

– Summer camps: Week-long introductory robotics courses

– After school program

– Primarily project-based learning

Lessons Learned

• Validated lesson and retention methodology; community collaboration effectiveness

– Tools are capable of supporting many learning styles, yet adoption has been slow

– Investigation revealed that schools don’t have time/resources to create their own

content and processes; inertia

• Current instructional content tends to favor either lesson-centric or project-centric learning

– Content for hybrid-learning style of instruction has unique requirements

• Lesson size, style, organization

• Processes for scaffolding, remediation

• Group dynamics, motivation

• Lesson feedback and improvement; student-generated content

• Extra effort required for establishing stakeholder buy-in

– Training in conceptual models, processes, benefits

Ongoing Research

• Social Dynamics of Hybrid Learning

– How to motivate students to first study the lesson before coming to lab?

• Team spirit; peer pressure

• Competition – internal and external; not everyone makes the team

• Encourage class members to advertise their accomplishments

• Educational mindset

– How to design instruction & labs so that students take ownership of their own learning?

• Change perception of instructor from lecturer to facilitator

– What are key rubrics for progress assessment, early remediation, and accountability?

• Reduce stress level by changing perceptions of tests

• Instructional design

– How to encourage a balance between instructional content and application?

– How to design effective scaffolding?

– What concepts can be automated?

– What is a process for encouraging student-generated lessons?

We are excited to announce ...

Geenius contributions:

• IT resources for community online hosting

• PERPETUAL FREE USE of the Geenius Learning Management System and Methodology

– Online lesson delivery; Knowledge retention system

– Robot Portal community collaboration and social networking system

– Web-based content authoring system

– The patented PLSystem content development methodology

• Online resources for promoting hybrid-learning teaching styles (templates, processes)

... the formation of an online community for development of open-source robotics curriculum based on a hybrid-learning model. Our goals:

– To realize a vibrant open-source community for development and sharing of effective STEM courses based on robotics

– To create an online economy for creators of premium content to sell their robot related services, products, and lessons online

Come Work With Us!

• We are extending an invitation for educators and instructional designers to work with us in the Open Robotics Courseware project. Our goals:

– To work together to create the next generation of robotics-based STEM courseware as effective learning experiences,

– Help organizations create and develop their own web-based hybrid learning communities,

– Share best practices for applying hybrid learning principles in a project-based learning environment,

– Establish effective scaffolding guidelines for students to take charge of their learning while ensuring success,

– Create innovative techniques for incorporating student-generated feedback for continuous course improvement, and

– Provide an ability for entrepreneurs to create premium courseware for sale and distribution.

Thank You

(This presentation is available online at http://www.robotportal.net).