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，软件脚手架系统首先被开发出来。技术变得更小、更移动、网络化、无处不在，而且由标准的台式电脑提供。这提供了技术支持学习的潜力，无论何时何地学习者需要和想要它。然而，为了利用这种潜力更大的灵活性，我们需要开发超越单一主题和地点的建模和脚手架技术。这些模型和技术的开发是SCARLET项目提案的主题。引入脚手架的概念是为了描述可以提供给学习者的各种支持，以帮助他们弥合他们想要实现的目标和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随后被应用到教育软件设计中。无论搭建者是人还是技术，成功搭建的要求都是相同的。脚手架需要了解他们的学习者以及要学习的主题，以便他们可以根据学习者的需要提供和移除支持。例如，脚手架需要知道学习者目前对该主题的理解程度，他们学习的动机和自信程度。脚手架软件可以动态地创建这样的学习者模型，完成活动，并且可以添加来自教师、同伴和合作者的信息。为了补充这些学习者模型，搭建者还需要一个好的学习主题模型。该模型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中，然后选择动作（例如一只动物吃另一只动物）来探索食物网问题。脚手架组件可以根据以下条件提供建议：*学习者可用的有机体，领域资源偶然性*她在选择有机体后试图采取的行动，任务偶然性。最初，软件脚手架系统集中于使用人工智能来构建学习者知识发展的模型，并基于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进一步类型的偶然性。然而，到目前为止，这种脚手架已经实现，以支持在软件提供的环境中学习。技术的日益普及带来了探索新型偶然性的需要。我们现在需要能够超越单个软件创建的环境，以及学习者和被学习的科目。但是，什么是新的偶然性类型，我们如何支撑它们呢？我们可以使用哪些技术来开发新型脚手架？这些都是SCARLET项目将要探索的问题。例如，这种偶然性可能包括接口偶然性。我们还需要探索不同粒度的脚手架支持。如果我们在现实世界中考虑脚手架，那么前面讨论的领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地点、跨科目、跨时间的学习。

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.