eLearning Tools for
PLAR
Uri ShafrirOntario Institute for Studies in Education
University of Toronto
Masha EtkindRyerson University
• Demonstration of prior learning through portfolios and challenge exams
• Recognition of prior learning accepted by academic institutions and employers
PLAR: Goals
• Encourage learners to demonstrate prior learning by focusing on meaning
• Create an authentic record of direct interaction with conceptual content
eLearning Tools: Goals
1 Interactive Concept Discovery Learning
2 Meaning Equivalence
Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO)
eLearning Toolsfor
PLAR
Interactive Concept Discovery Learning
Explore alternative representations
of important concepts
through semantic searches of
digital text-bases (e.g., digital libraries;
company archives; World Wide Web)
Novel semantic search technology enable demonstration of prior learning by:
1. Showing different representations of important concepts within particular contexts
2. Mapping their building blocks
3. Mapping their lateral and hierarchical links to other concepts
Process/Outcomes
Process
By recursively accessing different sources of
information on a particular concept, learners
demonstrate familiarity with:
• Alternative representations of the concept that share equivalence of meaning
• Building blocks of the concept: consistently
co-occurring subordinate concepts
Process/Outcomes
Outcomes
Interactive Concept Discovery Learning
creates an authentic record of:
• Concept mapping that reveals lateral and hierarchical links between concepts and their building blocks
• Learning at the conceptual level
1 Interactive Concept Discovery Learning
2 Meaning Equivalence
Reusable Learning Objects (MERLO)
eLearning Tools: Pragmatics
Meaning Equivalence Reusable Learning Object
MERLO are knowledge databases that encode conceptual content, in any discipline, in multiple representations that include text; mathematical equations; images; etc.
MERLO encode conceptual content in nodes of item families that include multiple representations of:
• Target statements that focus on particular features of a concept
• Additional statements, sorted by
i surface similarity to the target
ii meaning equivalence with the target
TARGET STATEMENT
Surface similarity [SS]
Yes No
Meaning equivalence [M
E]
Yes
No
SS Yes
ME Yes
SS No
ME Yes
SS Yes
ME No
SS No
ME No
Process/Outcomes
Process
• MERLO-based challenge exams provide
learners with opportunities to
produce and evaluate
multiple representations of concepts
• Clear conceptual framework that encourage learners to focus on meaning
Process/Outcomes
Outcomes• Scoring algorithms accurately map
‘soft conceptual spots’ and partial knowledge
• Frequent and accurate feedback encourage detailed analysis of concepts and their building blocks
• Enhanced learning outcomes
eLearning Tools:Evaluative Implementations
K-12: High school of Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg
Post-secondary: University of Toronto; Ryerson University; George Brown College
Workplace/adult: Material and Manufacturing Ontario Center of Excellence
eLearning Tools :Evaluative Implementations
Mathematics Architecture
Physics ESL
Biology Business
Teacher Education
eLearning Tools for
PLAR• Create authentic record of mastery of
knowledge
• Can be used in ePortfolios and in challenge exams
• Identical to eLearning tools being used in colleges, universities, and workplace learning
eLearning tools are part of Canada Knowledge Network
(now under construction)
Contact: [email protected]