ALTP News June 24, 2000
Edited by Richard Brincefield

Recent ALTP News

Reminder: ALTP BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING (OPEN)

Wednesday, June 28, 2000
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. 

• Phoenix: US WEST, 3033 N. Third St., Room 208.09
• Tucson: US WEST, 333 E. Wetmore, Room 323

Dial-in attendance: contact tkraver@qwest.net

ACTION AGENDA         Saturday,  June 24, 2000

Arizona Learning Technology Partnership, Inc.
Governors Strategic Partnership for Economic Development

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE ISSUE FRONT TO BACK THIS MONTH, READ THESE 7 PAGES AND CHECK OUT THE SITES

THIS MONTHS BOARD MEETING, ALL INVITED:

The June board meeting will be use prepare for the first Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE) meeting on Friday, July 7^th:

7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday June 28, 2000

Phoenix: US West 3033 N 3^rd St. (Third and Earle )

Tucson: US West 333 E. Wetmore, room 323

FIRST OF THREE MAJOR APNE MEETINGS

The retreat will be at the Arizona Biltmore, Phoenix in the Grand Canyon Room starting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 7, 2000. The leadership and membership of the multiple Hot Teams such as E-Learning have not yet been selected. This retreat is an open meeting and participation is expected.

VISION ELEMENTS

ALPT has made contact last week with a several national experts to provide a research basis for our vision. Each has a different story to tell that leaps over the extrapolation of current evolutionary efforts to truly transformational support of learning with technology. Capture the visions of Frieson, Fletcher, Goldberg and Swami Manohar to see the future.

CAREER TRANSFORMATION

By: Oris Friesen Consultant, who is working with Professor Forouzan Golshani at ASU to research knowledge bases which are crucial to technology supported learning.

The year is 2005. John recently completed a major electronic manufacturing assignment and came across an opportunity for a new job in a bioengineering environment dealing with gene splicing. He has about one month to prepare himself for this assignment, should he decide to take it [Mission not so Impossible!]. Knowing virtually nothing about bioengineering, he goes home to access the global knowledge base on specific topics in bioengineering. From his home he creates some search agents to capture whatever information exists that can get him up to speed in this domain. Of course he has wireless, voice-activated, non-linear, dynamic real time access to the worldwide, interconnected, networked and distributed information that is available for free. Just as importantly, he can find out what specialized information is available and at what cost from commercial knowledge bases by accessing their freely available ontology’s. In a matter of minutes, using generally available curriculum software modules, he assembles the syllabus for a bioengineering course at the appropriate learning level for him. This is done by providing answers to some key questions to a curriculum development program that customizes the course with information appropriate to his needs. He also locates mentors and professors whom he can contact, for a fee, to discuss technical issues as they arise. Soon, he will be qualified to begin work in his new assignment. The beautiful part of this scenario is that it is available to his wife and children as well, customizable to their individual needs.

CO-LABORATORY – ADVANCED DISTRIBUTED LEARNING INITIATIVE

www.adlnet.org Orlando Co-LAB http://wbi.ist.ucf.edu/jointadlcolab/ and Wisconsin Co-LAB http://www.wiadlcolab.org/

By: Dexter Fletcher – Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA)

Vision could be built today but it will not be now, maybe some time in future. The vision is a personal learning associate. "Ph.D. in pocket". It will know about child’s style, knowledge level, capable of individual taking instruction, training or education or performance aiding. Can explain in terms individual can understand. It will range from washing machine repair (in natural language). to astrophysics (super computer interaction). First need is a universe and web filled with instructional objects on demand and in real time. . (www.adlnet.org and click on SCORM) is a first try [see below]. A major tasks is to assemble all objects into support of individual learning. And why focus on individual learning?

Intelligent tutoring has been around since 1960's, had a big push in 1970's to where it now can address real time on demand if primitives such as instructional objects are available. DOD is investing in this technology for a very simple reason. They studied research on learning and decided to invest in what increase learning by large order. The method was individualized learning support effected by artificial intelligent tutors and integrated learning modulas.

Bloom proved decades ago that intense tutoring would improve academic learning 2 sigma (C student performs at A level. Art Gracer studied the classroom and found the average student asked 0.1 question per hour where in tutorial mode the students ask 30 to 40 questions an hour. Classroom teachers ask 3-4 questions an hour where tutors asked at the rate of three questions per minute or 150-200 questions per hour. Time on task, intensity is what counts in academic performance. The classroom can in no way to replace intensity of tutoring. An the only cost effective way to provide this tutoring is with current and next generation computers with

Time to learn varied by factor of 5 difference between students which is impossible to effectively address in lockstep learning. Because of innate ability which depends strongly on prior learning, there is a 13:1 difference in time for kindergartners to learn to associate letters with sounds. Even among elite students in a major research university, the ratio in time to learn the programming language LISP is 7:1.

Costs are also a major issue. Research shows that to raise comprehensive composite math scores {AIMS again] with 1 standard deviation within 5th grade costs $1500 per student using such methods as class size. But using peer tutoring on computers the cost is only $200.

Teacher would guide students and work to create the learning environment. Learning takes place in kids heads.

In November 1997, the Department of Defense and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative [ALTP was invited and was in attendance. Ted the Ed.]. The ADL initiative is part of the national strategy to promote high-quality education and training opportunities that can be offered in a manner that is efficient, affordable, and convenient.

In support of the ADL initiative, the IDA has established the ADL Co-Laboratory to provide an open, collegiate environment for (1) testing, evaluating, and demonstrating technical and functional capabilities of ADL tools and prototypes and (2) sharing data, information, and lessons learned with DoD components, government agencies, and the private sector. The ADL Co-LAB will provide the backbone for collaborative, consensual development of guidelines, certification procedures, and shared courseware objects.

The ADL Co-Laboratory Goals

• Promote and foster collaborative development of models, definitions, and guidelines for the production of shared courseware objects
• Develop certification procedures and software for assessing the conformance of courseware prototypes, tools, and shared objects from all sources, with the ADL goals of reusability, portability, accessibility, and durability.
• Serve as a clearing house for data, information, technical approaches, technologies, and lessons learned that are relevant to ADL and make its holdings available to all ADL stakeholders
• Promote and host collaborative development of ADL courseware prototypes, tools, and sharable objects
• Conduct tutorials and demonstrations of ADL courseware and techniques
• Promote and foster partnerships and resource sharing across the ADL community
• Support DoD and other federal agencies

Click to view the latest brief from Paul Jesukiewicz, director of the ADL Co-LAB, on the organization of the Co-LAB and on the various ways people and organizations can become involved with the ADL Co-LAB effort

An integrated part of the picture is:

Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM) www.adlnet.org

• A reference model that defines a Web-based learning "content model"
• A set of interrelated technical specifications designed to meet DoD's high level "-ilities"
• A process to knit together disparate groups and interests
• A bridge from general emerging technologies to commercial implementations

An evolving document to collect all the "bits and pieces" in one place. SCORM Home www.adlnet.org Approximately 185 representatives from 50 organizations, comprising learning software developers and content providers from various sectors of the U.S. government, industry, and academia, will actively participate in the Plugfest, which will be hosted by the ADL Co-Laboratory in Alexandria, VA. This event will bring together early adopters of the Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM) specification to experiment and demonstrate interoperability of content from many sources over multiple learning management systems and from separate organizations. Take a good long look at First Plugfest - June 19-23, 2000 - Alexandria, VA http://www.adlnet.org/plugfest/plug_fest.cfm to get a feel of the potential of DOD and other major players to deliver the goods for an aggressive K-12 vision.

To assure that ADL serves its customers:

Total Force Advanced Distributed Learning Action Team (www.adlnet.org )

The Total Force Advanced Distributed Learning Action Team advises and assists the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Services, and Defense agencies on all aspects of distributed learning with the goal of ensuring that Department of Defense personnel have access to cost-effective, high-quality education and training, which is tailored to individual needs and delivered whenever and wherever required.

Distributed learning encompasses Distance Learning (DL), Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI), Embedded training (ET), Video Teletraining (VTT), performance aiding, other learning-related technologies, and supporting infrastructure

BOLT BERANEK NEWMAN (BBN): INVENTORS OF INTERNET, MOUSE, ROUTER AND NOW Co-Nect

Bruce Goldberg, bgoldberg@co-nect.net www.co-nect.net

Co-Nect has recently been spun out of BBN as a separate company. They have been researching and applying effective technology in selected K-12 schools for over ten years. Co-Nect is immersed in the reality of day-to-day K-12 schooling. They have grown from 90 schools last year to over 200 schools. Revenues are up to $9 million from $4 million last year. In Arizona they have Red Mesa and Sierra Vista schools as customers.

Technology has many uses: on-line, off-line, off-site services, save travel time. They develop a community and people around a knowledge manage system that if done well can be very effective. They have learned that one size does not fit all and that technology allows individualization. People get hung up at various stages, and need diagnostics and interventions at proper time. Not one program, but a generalized process. Fortunately there are a finite number of ways to mass customize reading and mathematics.

Co-Next is within the cradle to grave continuum of technology supported learning:

1. Learning with computer aided instruction, and specific skills without human intervention. learn Excel or how repair an engine.

2. Knowledge management, best practices and case studies, Just-In-Time basis of group working with something.

3. Including technology of electronic performance support systems being developed by many corporations and financial institutions. Not many yet in educational systems. After getting the right diagnosis, have immediate way to prescribe solution to learning problem. Puts learning in center of process.

4. Project based , collaborative learning, necessary to get kids out of media bombardment and engage learning. Must have engaging work in content and way it is presented. Includes fundamental of what is essential to capture from curriculum.

5. Curriculum is less wide, but much deeper. TIMS report on math and science and Marilyn Adams research on reading show this is significant approach to improve learning. Agricultural calendar must go away.

6. Education is moving more to entertainment side, but no one knows how to do it well yet. Kids would take indigenous music like the blues and capture interest and achieve at a high level on the curriculum around it. Learn by doing. CD produced to real world standards, and sell in real market was by Florida team of Kids and Salsa. Must know math science and grammar, and develop process that includes curriculum and high percentage of time on task.

7. Individualizing instruction, what environments and organization need. Need teachers to become case workers.

NEED CHEAP MODERN COMPUTER HARDWARE IN ARIZONA’S SCHOOLS? TRY INDIA!

Rumor has it that the expected 100,000 modern multimedia computers expected from the Students First funding for 800,000 students has dwindled to 50,000 and now I hear 30,000. If true, and I was unable to verify the numbers last week, this is a ratio of 1:27 computers per student, or one per classroom.

Since Arizona continues to treat K-12 technology investment as if we were a very poor third world country, maybe we ought to check on how such a country, say India, is addressing the opportunity. The following story is by John Ribeiro, IDG News Service June 23, 2000, 8:44 a.m. PT.:

In an effort to bring the Internet to the masses in India and other developing countries, several academics and engineers have used their spare time to design a sub-$200 handheld Net appliance (see Fletcher above). Called the Simputer, for SIMple ComPUTER, the device will enable India's illiterate population to surf the Web. The device was designed by professors and students at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) http://www.csa.iisc.ernet.in/ at Bangalore, and engineers from Bangalore-based design company Encore Software. http://www.ncoretech.com/ The Simputer is built around Intel's StrongARM CPU, with Linux as the operating system. It will have 16 MB of flash memory, a monochrome liquid crystal display (LCD) with a touch panel overlay for pen-based computing, and a local-language interface. The appliance will feature Internet access and mail software. A text-to-speech system will also be developed to take the technology to India's illiterate population.

Professor Swami Manohar, "The current PC-centric model is not sustainable because of the high cost of the PC, and also because we expect that most of the users will not be literate." (That solves the AIMS debate, our students don’t have to become literate. Ted the Ed.) A subsequent version of the Simputer will also offer speech recognition for basic navigation through the software menus, says Manohar. Later versions will also offer wireless technology.

Deshpande says that the designers have been able to achieve the sub-$200 price point since the electronic components used in the device are all off-the-shelf volume components, and the software is primarily open source software such as Linux.

LIFE’S WISDOM REDUCED TO A FEW WORDS

Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done.

• Aaron Burr

Responsibility and danger do not tend to free or stimulate the average person's mind- rather the contrary; but wherever they do liberate an individual's judgment and confidence we can be sure that we are in the presence of exceptional ability.

• Carl von Clausewitz

The ALTP News/Action Agenda is produced by the Arizona Learning Technology
Partnership http://altp.org, and edited by Richard Brincefield rbrincefield@softrain.com.

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