Combining Dialogue and Semantics for Learning and Knowledge Maturing

Combining Dialogue and Semantics for Learning and Knowledge Maturing

Developing Collaborative Understanding in the ‘Web 2.0 Workplace’

Andrew Ravenscroft,Simone Braun,Tobias Nelkner

ICALT 2010Sousse, Tunisia, July 5, 2010

http://mature-ip.eu

22

Motivation

We want to support communities of practice with a shared semantic information repository

For that to work: Communities of practices need to develop a collaborative understanding

We want to (partially) formalize this understanding in an ontology in order to facilitate the effective management of and access to the shared information repository

MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

33

Ontologies & Shared Understanding

An ontology in computer science is a• „explicit specification of a conceptualization“ (Gruber 1993)

• „shared understanding of a domain of interest“ (Uschold & Grüninger 1996)

Ontologies as shared understanding support groups of human actors (e.g. communities) in their negotiation and collaboration processes • Ontologies as mediating artefact• Ontologies as boundary object


aqueduct= acueducto

bridge= puente

viaduct= viaducto

narrower

watersupply

related

44

Agenda

Application Case

Concepts & System

Walkthrough

Evaluation & Conclusion


55

The Classic Roman Civil Engineering Community of Practice Case

A newly built up Spanish community of practice (CoP) of practicing Industry Professionals• All of them are alumni students of elearning courses about

Classic Roman Civil Engineering (CRCE)

The purpose: • The CRCE CoP collaboratively develops a shared understanding

of its domain • by collecting and critically discussing information

o especially information in the internet about CRCE is often erroneous

• by developing a common multilingual ontologyo lot of information in different languages relating to CRCE


aqueduct= acueducto

bridge= puente

viaduct= viaducto

narrower

watersupply

related

66

Approach

Key idea to develop such an understanding:

Interweaving the development of a shared information repository, an ontology and dialogues about them


77

Interweaving Development of Shared Information Repository, Ontology and Dialogues about them

CoP collects, bookmarks & share web documents around their area

CoP jointly builds up a common ontology

The ontology is used to organize the web documents by annotating them during the bookmarking process

Structured dialogues support critical inquiry, negotiations and development of a collaborative understanding of their domain• for negotiating ontology development • for discussing and assessing content & quality of web resources

Performed (critical) dialogues are linked to related resources and become resource themselves• Supporting reflection and traceability of developments


88

Combining Dialogue and Semantics withInterLoc & SOBOLEO

is a web-based system that• supports the development and refinement of ontologies• enables groups of people to jointly structure web documents

and people in a domainextended to support the creation, management and sustainable

storage of dialogues

B is a tool that• supports reasoned and purposeful learning dialogue games• provides structured rule-based interactions using pre-defined

dialogue features specifically designed Moves & Openers in terms of key semantic

interactions in SOBOLEO


99MATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

1616

Interesting Facts

Continuous connection between web documents, ontology and dialogue processes within the CoP

Ontology & dialogues always reflect the current knowledge of the CoP

Developments become traceable to collaborative dialogues

Dialogues as new (searchable) form of knowledge

‘Dialogue state’ of ontological concepts/resources provides awareness• what is discussed or not, agreed, or in conflict indicator for importance and validity


1717

Evaluation Activity

Set up as 4-week learning experience • With 10 active participants + 1 moderator

The moderator, in order to animate the experience, • provided once a week selected topics to the ontology• initiated dialogue game related to these topics

The participants were asked to • collect and share web documents around provided topics• refine and extend the topics in the ontology• engage in discussions


1818

Evaluation Activity

„Positive. Working with tools has been very satisfying for me”

“The tools enable collaborative work that is very useful for gaining knowledge, applying to practice and comparing what you’ve learned. Lets keep alive curiosity about a subject.”

“Surely you can increase knowledge. Sharing links, important information, saves much work and improves outcomes.”

“Sometimes you fear to edit your colleagues work because you don’t want to upset them”

“Being immersed in this type of initiative makes you active. Knowing that your contributions will reach out to others, forces you to review, to deepen, to better prepare your way of speaking.”


1919

Conclusion

The prototype enhances collaborative development of a common ontology and knowledge base with specific learning dialogue games

Dialogues as new (searchable) form of knowledge

Achieving a continuous connection between web resources, ontology and dialogue processes within the CoP


2020

Contact us for the Demonstrator System


Simone BraunFZI Forschungszentrum [email protected]

Tobias NelknerUniversity of [email protected]

Andrew RavenscroftLondon Metropolitan UniversityUnited [email protected]

http

://m

atur

e-ip

.eu

2121

Zone of Proximal Development & Boundary Objects

From asymmetric Vygotsky’s ZPDs to symmetric ZPDpt –peer co-learning using technology

• performing the dialogue games is clearly an engaging social exercise that favors learning and co-developing higher levels of understanding

• initiating a dialogue game demonstrates how the players have a ‘readiness to learn’ or ‘readiness to mature knowledge’

• learning or knowledge development is achieved through scaffolding and reflection within a somewhat spontaneously or responsively established ZPD

• resulting boundary objects - the formalized ontologies, accepted resources, published dialogue game texts, and also the dialogue games themselves – can be used by other CoP


2222

Knowledge Maturing Model

New ideas (topics) emerging from bookmarking and the collaborative development of ontologies

Proposal to initiate a dialogue game signals the desire to express further ideas and develop the collaborative understanding

Community becomes actively aware of new resources, through refined ontological classifications or collaboratively ‘working with’ the ontology

Achieved through directly using or modifying the ontology, or indirectly, through KM-DGs


2323

Knowledge Maturing Model

Community has performed gardening activities, through directly amending the ontology or performing KM-DG that lead to the development of a mutually understood and shared ontology

Logical ‘deepening’ of the collective understanding about the resources through the performance of CDR-DG

Through linking the formalized structures and resources to relevant courses and practices• both the ontologies and resources can serve as

boundary objects that serve related CoPMATURE - Continuous Social Learning in Knowledge Networks

Combining Dialogue and Semantics for Learning and Knowledge Maturing

Documents

Transcript of Combining Dialogue and Semantics for Learning and Knowledge Maturing