Finding learning resources through Web Data

Finding learning resources
through Web Data
Mathieu d’Aquin
Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University
m.daquin@open.ac.uk, @mdaquin

Linked Data for Learning: The LinkedUp Catalogue
http://data.linkededucation.org/linkedup/catalog/

The most basic model
Person Resource
to learn
about
interested in
Topic
about
uses
contributes tointeracts/colla
borates with
on
relates to
relates to

Also in other forms:
Web APIs, Online Data Platforms, etc.

Objective of the workshop:
Figure out how to support the discovery of learning resources
(in a broad sense: could be courses, degrees, services, …)
i.e.
How to help a (potential) learner in finding the resources to
achieve their objective
i.e.
What data we need to collect in order to find the right
connection between the learner and the resource

Simplifying the model for the scenario
Person Resource
needs

Person Resource
needs
What data do we need about this?

Person Resource
needs

Task 1.1 - resources...
Imagine a scenario in which a person needs to learn with the
objective to gain access to a particular job. What data do we need
about the possible resources to return in order to help answering
the question: “What should I use?”
Person Resource
needs

Task 1.1 - Answers
Keywords, topics,
The way it was used before - what other learners have learned from
it.
Structure and categories - topics and subtopics, granular and deep
classifications.
Relationships between topics and between resources.
Learning objective!
Learning outcomes - skills and knolwdge

Task 1.2 - Can we get this? More?
Looking LinkedUp Catalogue, can you find datasets that contain the
kind of data you think is needed? What other data is there that
could be of use?
Person Resource
needs

Task 1.2: Answers
Very little on student to student interaction - user contribution to
the/public curation - no collaboration
Inside information about the use of resources
Connection between resources including similar topics, and co-use
Semantic relations between resources (complement, specific to
general, general to specific).
Issues of multilinguality and polysemy

Data about resources - Examples
Open Courseware and most DSpace repositories: Basic
metadata, keywords and categories, authors, description.
data.open.ac.uk: Similar for open educational resources,
with also connection to the courses
data.open.ac.uk: More on courses and qualifications:
location, price, related resources/material
Applications such as “Study at the OU” relating topics to
both courses and open educational resources.

Task 2.1: The learner
Still looking at the same scenario, what data do you think is needed
about the learner (the person who needs the resource) to help
answer the question “What should I use?”
Person Resource
needs

Task 2.1: Answers
Existing skills, knowledge, course taken before, previous studies
ePortfolio + usage of resources
Competencies (need a proper, shared taxonomy of competencies)
Basic demographic data
- for example religion - some resources are less appropriate for
some culture than others

Task 2.2 - How can we get this?
Personal data about the learner is unlikely to be available publicly as
Open Data. What could we use to obtain this sort of data?
Person Resource
needs

Data about the learner: Examples
Demographics, eg. Location, origin, age, gender, etc.
Known learning behaviour, past history, things already studied,
already acquired skills and knowledge, etc. (example: The OU
analyse application)
Existing online behaviour, preferences, habits, etc. (example: the
UCIAD/Moluti application)
From: Activity data on virtual campus, browsing history, activities on
social media (especially professional social networks such as
LinkedIn, social learning platforms, resource sharing platforms such
as slideshare)

Task 3.1: The need!
Still with the scenario, what kind of information could we use to
support the user in expressing the need for a resource, and get the
best match/answer?
Person Resource
needs

Task 3.2 - How do we get this?
Again, the expression of the need might not be directly available as
open data. How could we obtain something that could help?
Person Resource
needs

Data about the need for resource: Example
Record previous usage to match the need not to the resource, but
to its use in similar situations. For example: SEEK-AT-WD ICT tools
for education relating ICT tools (as resources) to the way they were
used by educators.
Indirectly through other resources. For example, DiscOU which can
search for open educational resources on the basis of a TV
programme (which encapsulate the interest of the learner).
Existing learners’ pathways, using common trajectories that relates
resources to jobs and outcomes. For example, using LinkedIn,
labour market data and degrees results statistics to figure out the
most appropriate pathway towards a goal.

Conclusion - i.e. final task
Bonus task: How did looking at the learners and needs data
change the way you considered the resources?
Conclusion:
In your job your might be in control of some of the data we talked
about
- How can you make it easier for others to use these data to
support learners in achieving their goals?
- How can you make what you do use other data to better
support learners in achieving their goals?

Finding learning resources through Web Data

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