Session Title: Semantics Web, NLP and the Ontology of e-Learning Objects
Time & Date: 3:05 P.M. – 4:00 P.M., Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Location: Rm. 182, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre (IKBLC)
Session Description: In the context of the Content Management Systems (CMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS), Learning objects (course packages, supplementary learning materials, assessment items, multimedia learning objects, etc.) are cognitive objects. These (cognitive) learning objects encode three fundamental interaction relations. The authors and instructional designers interact with the learning object when building it. The e-learning system administrators interact with the learning objects when managing them within the CMS. The learner interacts with the learning objects as part of the learning process within the LMS. The semantic map represented by these complex interactions represent the cognitive, educational and artificial (system-related) features of the learning objects. If these semantics features and relations are carefully exploited through semantics web and NLP techniques, they can provide boundless opportunities to overcome the modular rigidity and restrictiveness of many existing e-learning platforms. For example, standard retrieval engines, which are usually used within CMSs deploy the query words in such a way that do not take into consideration the systematic relationships between the concepts denoted by the queries and other learning-related concepts that might be relevant for the learner. The integration of ontologies and NLP techniques provide the possibility to develop dynamic learning paths for the learners, integrate heterogeneous large scale content repositories and establish open-content architectures to cope with different waves of e-learning technologies. This paper will discuss how ontologies which build on NLP (Natural Language Processing) techniques can enrich the e-learning systems in many ways, from the learning, content creation and content management perspectives.
Conference Streams: Extending the CMS
Session Format: Paper Jam
Presenter: Noureddine Elouazizi
Presenter Bio: Noureddine Elouazizi is an expert in e-learning systems design, with multidisciplinary graduate and postgraduate education and degrees from the University of Geneva, Twente University of technology and Leiden University. As part of his e-learning industry practice, he currently holds the position of an e-learning technologies advisor with a non-profit organization in Vancouver. By academic practice, he is very active in academic research in the areas of language sciences and technology, e-learning and human-computer interaction.
