Transcript Immersive Education - Federation of American Scientists

A Revolution in Learning
Henry Kelly
Federation of American Scientists
Immersive Education Conference
Boston College
January 12, 2008
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The Challenge
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Increase in what must be learned
Increase in the number and diversity of
people needing to learn
Highly constrained resources
This can’t be done with
incremental change!
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What Are Employers Asking For?
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Interpersonal skills
Adaptation to rapid change
Team building
Decision-making
Learning on the fly
Strategic thinking
Rapid information acquisition
Information synthesis
Determining what needs to be done
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Analytical thinking
Problem definition
Solution development
Plan development/Execution
Multiple-task prioritization
Creativity
Negotiating and Influencing
Focus on customer
Ability to assess time, cost, and
resources required
Source: Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce, June 2003; Monster.com job 3ads.
A 3D Revolution in Learning
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A revolution in the way knowledge and
expertise is measured.
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A revolution in the way learning systems
are created
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A revolution in the way learning is
delivered
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Revolution #1
A revolution in the way knowledge and
expertise is measured
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Key Recommendations from Learning
Science
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Problem-centered Learning
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Critical Skills Focus
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Varied and Contrasting Examples
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Demonstration
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Practice opportunities
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Reflection
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Feedback
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Assessment
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Skills Refreshment
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An obvious problem:
the methods proposed are too
expensive to implement
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Why Can IT Change the Rules?
 It’s Personal
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Tailored to each user (the long tail) uses
artificial and real intelligence to answer
questions
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Continuous, embedded, unobtrusive evaluation
and assessment
 It’s Active
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Accurate, compelling simulations of real
environments
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Continuous expectation of response
 It’s Available Any time Anywhere
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Instructional Design
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Create authentic challenges, Problem-centered Learning
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Continuous assessment of expertise (what can the learner do?)
• Varied and Contrasting Examples
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Demonstration
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Practice opportunities
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Provide relevant information where and when it’s needed
(automated & human)
Reflection
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Feedback
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Assessment
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Skills Refreshment
Bransford/ Jonassen, D. H./Hannafin,/M. J., Land/ S., & Oliver, K.
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Game Features Attractive for Learning
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Authentic motivating challenges motivates
time on task
Personalization
Continuous assessment (and the right to
fail)
Contextual bridging closes gap between
what is learned and its use
Scaffolding provides cues, hints to keep
learner progressing
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Game Flow
In the flow!
Difficulty
Frustration
Challenge
Challenge
Challenge
Boredom
Challenge
Time
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Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 1990
Inquiry Management
• Stimulate deep questions (failing to achieve a compelling
goal can do this)
• A good answer depends on
 Technical accuracy
 Knowledge about the person asking
 Knowledge of the context of the question
 An instructional strategy (answer with another question?)
• Response includes knowledge of:
 Content
 Individual learner
 Context
 Pedagogical strategy
• Multimedia questions and responses (e.g. “what’s that?”
[points at a cell])
• Mixture of artificial and human intelligence
Graesser and Person/Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., Hamilton, R.L.,
& Kucan, L. /Miyake, N. & Norman, D.A.
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The Challenge of Classroom Instruction:
Interactivity
Number of Questions Asked Per Hour
Traditional
Tutored
Classroom/Hr Session/Hr
CBI/Hr
Student
.1
20-30
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Instructor
3
120-150
180-600
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Assessment
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Measures of expertise that can form the
basis of competitive approaches
Measures authentic to learners, employers,
instructors
Continuous, multi-dimensional
assessments of content mastery (how
would an expert behave)
Measures competence using a challenge
that makes sense to the learner, instructor,
and employers
Performance based
Reproducible
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“two years ago everybody would show up on Monday and they
graduate from school two months later. Not anymore”
“We are moving to performance based testing as quickly as we can.”
VADM Kevin Moran, Commander,
Naval Education and Training Command 2006
Time to Train Results
27 May 2005
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Legacy
S
t
u
d 200
e
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t 100
s
0
Time to Train
30Sep2004
Active
Learners
Passive
Learners
18Jun2004
25%
Factors: Very independent, previous work / higher
education, tend to higher ASVAB
Note: Some low ASVAB scorers in this range
50%
75%
100%
Factors: Desire continuous direction, weak work
experience, tend to lower ASVAB
Note: Some high ASVAB scorers in this range
Population (n)= 11836 (ATT: 10554 IC: 283 GM: 334 TM: 140 FC: 271 ET: 254)
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But does it work?
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Proof that – at least in theory -- progress
is possible in education
Proof that progress has been made in
military and corporate training
Proof that huge productivity gains have
been made in service organizations that
depend on conveying complex information
Preliminary evidence in standard school
settings
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Huge gains are possible
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DoD Experience
Simulator Transfer
Effectiveness
Ratio
Student
Time
Savings
Acquisition
Savings
Operating
Savings
Life-Cycle
Cost
Flight 0.48
50%
30-65%
10%
65%
Maintenance 0.60
20-50%
20-60%
50%
40%
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• Continue to establish and operate an affordable, on-demand, global
Web-based individual training capability
• Continue building the live, virtual, and constructive (LVC) integrated
and distributed joint training environment for export on a global scale
• Provide the Total Force with the training and education needed to be
adaptable, agile, operationally effective, and fully integrated.
• expand to include the development and support of adaptability-related
learning opportunities.
• Develop and promulgate a set of standardized interfaces to integrate
emerging service advanced instrumentation and simulation systems
across the live, virtual, and constructive domains in air, ground, and
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maritime operating environments.
But it’s an open question in formal
education
Software's Benefits On Tests In Doubt
Study Says Tools Don't Raise Scores
Washington Post Thursday, April 5, 2007; Page A01
Educational software, a $2 billion-a-year industry that has become
the darling of school systems across the country, has no
significant impact on student performance, according to a study by
the U.S.
Department of Education……..
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Immune Attack Objectives
• Navigate realistic, biologically accurate
settings
• Explore human body environments,
including blood vessels and connective
tissue
• Explore cell structures and teach
behaviors using game-based controls
• Defeat invading bacteria to prevent
infection
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Engage learners, ages 8 – 14, in
challenges and mysteries that
can only be solved by
understanding
• the origins of writing and the
path from pictures to
phonetics
• Mesopotamian society,
business practices, and trade
Features:
• Accurate historical and scientific information
• 3D photorealistic simulations of cities & temple complexes that allow open-ended
exploration and discovery
• Contextualization of museum artifacts used by characters in virtual environments
• Question & answer management tools to stimulate learning
• Compelling, age-appropriate challenges and assignments
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Revolution # 2
A revolution in the way learning systems
are created
Revolution # 3
A revolution in the way learning is
delivered
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Productivity Gains in Services
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Huge productivity gains in banking,
insurance, retailing, entertainment
(games, animations)
Tools providing individualized answers to
questions (help desks, website FAQs)
Continuous user modeling and
recommender systems on websites
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Managing Change
“ taking full advantage of new information
and communication technologies may
require extensive reorganization of work
practices, the reassignment and retraining
of workers, and ultimately some
reallocation of labor among firms and
industries. ”
Ben Bernanke, Chairman Federal Reserve
2006
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Collaborative Design
Collaboration/competition in:
• building simulated environments and AI
characters, simulated equipment etc operating
in these environments
• developing innovative strategies for using these
environments approaches to mastering
expertise
Requires an agreed metric of success (essential
for competition & continuous improvement)
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Tools Essential for Collaborative Design
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Interoperability and simple authoring tools
Persistence (today’s browsers ensure that materials
on the 2D web will be accessible indefinitely)
Certification and peer review
Integrating proprietary and public materials (IP
management)
Payment systems (virtual property & real people)
Security, privacy, age-appropriate
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Can Persistent Online Environments
Provide These Services?
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World of Warcraft 8
million registered
users
Second Life 11.8
million uniquely
named avatars
HiPiHi (Chinese
site)
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A wealth (surfeit) of options?
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vworld.fas.org
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Functionality
• Graphics Quality
• APIs (e.g., physics simulation)
• User Interface
• Authoring tools
• Links to 2D web
• Performance
• Compatibility
• Security
• ADA compliance
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Legal & Management Issues
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Open source?
IP management (who owns the objects
created)?
Identity and trust management
Privacy
Management of cash assets
Management of abusive behavior
Access
Security
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A Middleware Solution
Users
Virtual World
Virtual World
Virtual World
Flavor A
Flavor B
Flavor C
Middleware
Object
repository
Student
data
Policies
Reviewers
Instructional
Concepts
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Object Libraries
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Text
Images (textures)
Video
CAD/3D object
AI character behaviors
Game Logic scripts
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Next Steps
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Create a “critical mass” coalition that
includes academic, corporate &
government groups
Choose a platform (or design a
middleware solution) that permits
collaboration and experiments in solving
institutional challenges (peer review, IP….)
Begin to build new learning and training
modules or convert existing new learning
and training modules so that they operate
on the selected platform or platforms.
Let the markets begin.
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Requirements of
Training Technology
Capabilities of current
platforms
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The Bottom Line
The real question is not whether
simulation and game based tools will be
used to learn. They have extraordinary
power and appeal.
The issue is when they will be used and
whether they will be used wisely
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