SCAffolding Rich Learning Experiences through Technology: SCARLET

自从脚手架被概念化为一种教育方法以来，技术的本质已经发生了变化，软件脚手架系统首次开发出来。技术体积更小，更移动的，网络化，普及和经常无处不在，以及由标准的台式PC提供。这为学习者随时随地需要技术支持的学习提供了可能性。然而，为了利用这种更大的灵活性，我们需要开发超越单一主题和地点的建模和支架技术。SCARLET项目建议的主题是发展这种模式和技术，引入支架概念是为了说明可以向学习者提供的各种支持，以帮助他们弥合他们想要实现的目标与他们目前能够实现的目标之间的差距。这些面对面的脚手架技术，然后应用到教育软件设计。无论脚手架工是个人还是技术，成功搭建脚手架的要求都是一样的。脚手架需要了解他们的学生以及要学习的主题，以便他们能够在适当的时候提供和取消对学习者的支持。例如，搭建者需要知道学习者目前对该主题的理解程度，他们学习的动机以及他们的自信程度。支架软件动态地创建这样的学习者模型，活动完成，可以添加来自教师，同伴和合作者的信息。为了补充这些学习者模型，支架还需要一个好的要学习的主题模型。这种模式需要确定学习者可以完成的任务类型，他们可以访问的资源类型以及可以提供的帮助类型。例如，模拟科学实验室软件可能会要求孩子们通过将动物和植物添加到虚拟实验室来探索食物网问题，然后选择动作，例如一种动物吃另一种动物。脚手架组件可以根据以下条件提供建议：* 学习者可用的生物体，领域资源偶然性 * 一旦她选择了她的生物体，任务偶然性，她试图采取的行动。* 在提供支持的时间，时间的偶然性最初的软件脚手架系统集中在使用人工智能来建立这样的学习者的知识发展模型，并根据上述偶然性实施脚手架。最近，这种建模活动涉及探索与学习者的元认知意识（学习者对自己的学习的了解和信念），学习者的动机和学习者的信心有关的其他类型的偶然性。然而，迄今为止，这种脚手架已经被实现，以支持在软件提供的背景下学习。技术的日益普及带来了探索新类型的偶然性的需要。我们现在需要能够对单个软件以及学习者和正在学习的主题创建的上下文进行建模。但是，什么是新类型的偶然性，我们如何构建它们？我们可以使用什么类型的技术来开发新形式的脚手架？这些都是SCARLET项目将要探讨的问题。例如，此类应急可能包括接口应急。我们还需要探索脚手架支持的不同粒度。如果我们考虑真实的世界中的脚手架，那么前面讨论的域资源偶然性可能与博物馆、公园、环境专家或图书馆中的某些书籍等资源有关。SCARLET项目将探索如何利用技术提供有关资源的建议，这些资源可用于支持跨多个地点，科目和时间的学习。

The nature of technology has changed since scaffolding was conceptualised as an educational approach, and software scaffolding systems were first developed. Technology is smaller, more mobile, networked, pervasive and often ubiquitous as well as being provided by the standard desktop PC. This offers the potential for technology supported learning wherever and whenever learners need and want it. However, in order to take advantage of this potential for greater flexibility we need to develop modelling and scaffolding techniques that go beyond a single subject and place. The development of such models and techniques is the subject of the SCARLET project proposal.The concept of scaffolding was introduced to describe the sorts of support that can be offered to a learner to help them bridge the gap between what they want to achieve and what they are currently able to achieve by themselves. These face to face scaffolding techniques were then applied to educational software design. The requirements for successful scaffolding remain the same whether the scaffolder is a person or technology. The scaffolder needs to know about their learners as well as the subject to be learnt so that they can provide and remove support as and when appropriate to the learners' needs. For example, the scaffolder needs to know how much the learners currently understand about the subject, how motivated to learn they are and how confident they feel. Scaffolding software dynamically creates such learner models, activities are completed and information from teachers, peers and collaborators can be added. To complement these learner models, the scaffolder also needs a good model of the subject to be learnt. This model needs to identify the types of task that the learner can complete, the sorts of resources they can access and the types of assistance that can be offered. For example, simulated science laboratory software might ask children to explore food web problems by adding animals and plants to a virtual lab and then selecting actions, such as one animal to eat another. A scaffolding component could offer advice contingent upon:* The organisms available to the learner, domain resource contingency* The actions she tries to make happen once she has selected her organisms, task contingency. * The time at which support is offered, temporal contingency Initially software scaffolding systems concentrated upon using artificial intelligence to build such models of the learners' knowledge development and implemented scaffolding based upon the contingencies described above. More recently this modelling activity has involved exploring further types of contingency relating to learners' metacognitive awareness (what learners know and believe about their own learning), learners' motivation, and learners' confidence. To date however this scaffolding has been implemented to support learning within the context provided by the software.The increasing ubiquity of technology brings with it the need to explore new types of contingency. We now need to be able to model the context beyond that created by a single piece of software as well as the learner and the subjects being learnt. But what are the new types of contingency and how can we scaffold them? What types of technology can we use to develop new forms of scaffolding? These are the questions that the SCARLET project will explore. Such contingencies might include interface contingency for example. We also need to explore a different granularity of scaffolding support. If we consider scaffolding in the real world then the domain resource contingency discussed earlier might relate to resources such as a museum, park, an environmental expert or certain books in the library. The SCARLET project will explore ways in which we can use technology to offer advice about the resources that can be used to support learning across multiple locations, subjects and times.