X-TEC: TECHNO-DIDACTICAL EXTENSION FOR
INSTRUCTION/LEARNING BASED ON COMPUTER
A New Development Model for Educational Software
Paula Escudeiro
Departamento de Engenharia Informática,
Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Portugal
José Bidarra
Departamento de Ciências Exactas e Tecnologia,
Universidade Aberta, Lisboa Portugal
Keywords: Computer based learning, educational software development, instructional design, learning environment.
Abstract: In this paper we propose a new development model for Educational Software called X-TEC. It is based on
the paradigms of software engineering applied to the construction of educational software. This model
allows educational software developers to reduce the gap between instructional design and technical
development. Our approach presents two overlapping extensions: the instructional model and the learning
environment. The instructional model will be related to the instructor/educational software and the learning
environment will be associated with the student/educational software. The X-TEC model promotes the
interaction between these two extensions, allowing the deployment of a common development platform
1 INTRODUCTION
In general, educational software is based on
development methodologies or methodological
approaches, concerned fundamentally with processes
or data. Its lifecycle is supported on two different
and independent stages: instructional design and
technical development.
The gap between the typical skills and
terminologies of these two stages usually leads to a
problem: the final product is far away from the
initial requirements proposed by the author.
Consequently, these approaches usually imply the
high risk of obtaining low quality products.
In this work, we analyze some of the existing
structured methodologies, such as (Yourdon, 1998) )
and object oriented methodologies (Booch, 1991)
(Coad and Yourdon, 1991), (Jacobson, 1992),
(Rumbaugh, 1994).
This study led us to conclude that although object
oriented approaches seem to be more adequate than
structured approaches, they still fall short of solving
the above mentioned gap between instructional
design and technical development. We argue that
there is a need for a new model focused on results.
This orientation is very important due to the high
quality demand placed upon educational systems.
We found different methodological approaches
proposed by different authors but none of them
seems to fill the required quality patterns. The X-
TEC model tries to solve this problem.
The process of creating this model is supported by
the software engineering paradigm proposed by
Pressman.
325
Escudeiro P. and Bidarra J. (2006).
X-TEC: TECHNO-DIDACTICAL EXTENSION FOR INSTRUCTION/LEARNING BASED ON COMPUTER - A New Development Model for Educational
Software.
In Proceedings of WEBIST 2006 - Second International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Society, e-Business and
e-Government / e-Learning, pages 325-331
DOI: 10.5220/0001247503250331
Copyright
c
SciTePress
2 CONCEPTUAL MODEL
The X-TEC model presents two overlapping
extensions: instructional model and learning
environment. This model promotes an interaction
between these two extensions, allowing the
deployment of a common development platform,
represented in fig. 1.
This platform has quality factors settled on a
multifaceted conception described by a set of
internal and external factors.
The X-TEC lifecycle is mainly supported on three
major activities:
Cognitive (Knowledge) - mental skills where the
brain must be used to perform intellectual tasks.
Affective (Attitude) - best described as making a
commitment - just because we know something, it
does not mean we will act upon it.
Psychomotor (Skills) - physical skills where the
body must coordinate muscular activities (some are
minor, such as turning a dial with your fingers).
X-TEC model should leverage the educator’s
creativity and make possible a better vision of
Information Technology on Educational Systems,
guaranteeing a new related perspective which is
represented in the following structure:
Idea;
Objectives (target id; support materials; instruction;
evaluation);
Didactics strategies id (based on Allessi Trolip
strategies);
Planning (activities chronogram);
Cost/benefit estimate;
Requirement analysis (functional and non
functional-implementation feasibility; development
model; metaphor id; actor’s id; action table;
educational software architecture; educational
software; system analysis and framing);
Implementation (data base structure id; relational
data model; interaction diagram; screen architecture;
key screen; dialogue id; educational software
prototype);
Educational software evaluation (creation of a
method to evaluate the educational software quality)
P
R
O
T
O
T
Y
P
E
ES
Idea
Goals
Instructional
Strategies
Requirements
Funcional
Non Funcional
Im
p
lem en ta tion
Evaluation
“A lessi Tro llip”
Inteaction
Diagram; ER;
Funtiona l
Diagram; Key
Screen; Dialog
Tecnhi
q
ues
E ntities;
Use Case;
A ctio n
table
Simply
Common
D ev elopm ent
Platform
Performance
Learning
Activities
Learning
Profiles
“Contemts support”
Bidarra 2005
Mediatize
Interaction
Contents
Didactics
Technolog
y
Active
Reflexive
Abstracted
pragmatic
Figure 1: The X-TEC conceptual model.
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3 INTERVENING
The development team proposed on X-TEC model is
composed by three elements: Educational System
Annalist (ESA)/Content Specialists (CS) and
Informatics Specialists (IS).
During the development phase a new element may
come by: Designer/Audio visual Consulter (AVC).
The role of the development team is organized as
follows:
ESA/CS - Prototype developer
IS to Implement explicit messages from educational
software scenario.
AVC to Implement implicit messages from scenario.
Implicit messages: trigger student’s reactions; for
instance, color, object screen positioning, scenario
presentation, images, sound, moving arrow around
screen.
Implicit messages: trigger student’s reactions; for
instance, color, object screen positioning, scenario
presentation, images, sound, moving arrow around
screen.
Explicit messages: sent by the program and
explicitly activated by the student; for instance,
menu options.
The consistent use of implicit messages as a
complement of explicit messages will enable a better
interaction between the student and the educator and
between these and the educational software.
4 ACTORS
The main actors on X-TEC model are the student,
the program and the educator as shown in fig. 2.
X-TEC
Educational
Software
Student
Educator
Figure 2: X-TEC main actors.
Student: uses the educational software for learning
the subjects. The students choose the learning
environment adapted to their personal
characteristics. They should be in control of the
system.
Educator: is the educational system supervisor.
Educational Software: is the knowledge detainer and
adviser.
The X-TEC model will be responsible for giving
guidelines, controlling the process phases to allow
for a better contribution of these intervenient in an
evolutive perspective of the process of creating a
quality learning environment.
5 LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
The activity learning net proposed by Bidarra
“Contempt’s Construction Support”, (Bidarra 2005),
is shown through the construction matrix where we
can identify four learning profiles (based on Kolb):
active; reflexive; abstracted; pragmatic.
These learning profiles allow us to fit in two main
methods for presenting instructional content
“Simulations and the Future of Learning: An
Innovative (and perhaps Revolutionary) Approach to
e-Learning, Clark Aldrich”: deductive and inductive.
Deductive: allows the learners to work from general
information to examples.
Inductive: supplies examples and requires learners to
generalize common patterns.
X-TEC: TECHNO-DIDACTICAL EXTENSION FOR INSTRUCTION/LEARNING BASED ON COMPUTER - A New
Development Model for Educational Software
327
In addition, there are two main approaches for
helping learners to learn: inquisitory and expository.
Inquisitory: allows the learners to find their
examples or general information.
Expository: supplies examples and general
information.
The learning environment on X-TEC model is based
on blended learning (fig. 3).
The term blended learning is used to describe a
solution that combines several different delivery
methods, such as web-based courses and knowledge
management practices. It is used to describe learning
that mixes various event-based activities, including
face-to-face classrooms, live e-learning, and self-
placed learning. “Learning circuits- American
Society for Training & Development”
Distance
Learning
Traditional
Learning
B
lended Learnin
g
BL
Figure 3: The X-TEC learning environment.
Learning theories of Keller, Gagné, Bloom, Merrill,
Clark and Gery identify five important elements
emerging from a blended process (fig 4).
Live Events: Synchronous, instructor-led learning
events in which all learners participate at the same
time, such as in a live “virtual classroom.”
Self-Paced Learning: Learning experiences that the
learner completes individually, at his own
space/rythm and in his own time, such as interactive,
Internet-based or CD-ROM training.
Collaboration: Environments in which learners
communicate with others, for example, e-mail,
threaded discussions or online chat.
Assessment: A measure of learners’ knowledge. Pre-
assessments can come before live or self-paced
events to determine prior knowledge, and post-
assessments can occur after live or self-paced
learning events to measure learning transfer.
Performance Support Materials: On-the-job
reference materials that enhance learning retention
and transfer, including PDA downloads and
printable references, summaries and job aids.
Figure 4: The X-TEC blended process.
6 EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
ARCHITECTURE
The X-TEC model is supported by a three tiered
architecture (Eckerson 95): User Interface, Rules
and Information Repository, according to fig.5.
The three tier architecture is used to provide
increased performance, flexibility, maintainability,
reusability and scalability while hiding the
complexity of distributed processing from the end
user.
1st Tier: Interface
It is related with the scenario identification,
synchronous and asynchronous communication
technologies and implicit and explicit messages.
This following elements act on this tier: Educational
Software; Content Specialist’s and Designers.
2nd Tier: Rules
It is related with the virtual abstracted organization
of the content.
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The intervenient on the Rules tier is: ILMS –
Instruction/Learning Management System.
3rd Tier: Information Repository
It will allow for all the contents, rules and interface
specifications being stored on a warehousing
platform.
The intervenient is: Data Base Management
Functionality.
In the initial development of X-TEC model we have
adopted the instructional strategies defined by Alessi
and Trolip, “Computer Based Instruction: Methods
and Development” Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood
Cliffs, New Jersey, USA. 1985. The instructional
strategies are tutorials, drills, tests, simulation, and
educational games.
The ESA has to fit the educational software in one
of these didactical strategies. This identification will
enable the classification of the educational software
into two classes: consultation (class 1) and
evaluation (class 2).
The definition of these two main groups obeying
specific orientation guides conducts the ESA to
choose a learning strategy (learning alone or
learning by retroaction) for the educational software.
The ESA plays the role of moderator between the
student and the educational software in this learning
process.
The ESA should easily be able to evaluate the
student learning process, appealing when needed to
the information stored in the educational software
database.
Three tier architectures facilitate educational
software development because each tier can be built
and executed on a separated platform, thus making it
easier to organize the implementation.
Interface
Rules
ILMS – Instruction/Learning
Management System
Information Repository
Test
Class
Contempt’s
Tests Result
Blended
Development
True/False
Multiple Choice
Figure 5: The X-TEC architecture.
X-TEC: TECHNO-DIDACTICAL EXTENSION FOR INSTRUCTION/LEARNING BASED ON COMPUTER - A New
Development Model for Educational Software
329
7 QUALITY FACTORS
X-TEC model is supported by software engineering
goals, principles and actions (Pressman, 2001),
(Bates, 2000). In particular, the model is appraised
for:
Reusability: How well the model is suited to create,
as well as incorporate, reusable components into its
execution.
Testability: Each stage deliverables are evaluated to
specify how well they are suited for use in a testing
process.
Modifiability: The degree to which the educational
software product generated using the model is
evaluated. In particular, it is determined the degree
of object coupling allowed in the model. If the
degree allowed of coupling is unconstrained, then
the method provides poor modifiability.
Conceptual Integrity: Conceptual integrity is a
measure of degree to which the models remain true
to the concept of “objects”.
Access: How accessible is a particular technology
for learners? How flexible is it for a particular target
group?
Cost: What is the cost structure of each technology?
What is the unit cost per student?
Teaching and Learning: What kinds of learning are
needed? What instructional approaches will best
meet these needs? What are the best technologies
supporting this teaching and learning process?
Interactivity and user-friendliness: What kind of
interaction does this technology enable? How easy is
it to be used?
Organization and user-friendliness: What are the
organizational requirements and the barriers to be
removed before this technology can be used
successfully? What changes in organization need to
be made?
Novelty: How new is this technology?
Speed: How quickly can courses be mounted with
this technology? How quickly can materials be
changed?
8 CONCLUSION
This study is the first step towards creating a model
for the development of educational materials based
on results.
It is our ultimate goal to train a workforce of
talented educational designers, equipped with the
fundamental skills to effectively undertake any
problem in educational systems design.
We will go in depth with the process of creating a
model that allows developers of educational
software to reduce the gap between instructional
design and technical development.
Tacit knowledge, or the knowledge held by people
in their brains, is fed mainly by two streams: training
and experience. We believe it could be an interesting
research to track the training and experience of the
present online developers of educational software in
order to check if their background corresponds to the
necessary profile of the knowledge holder and
manager. Indeed, and besides training and
experience, the profile should also include social and
economics variables.
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Development Model for Educational Software
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