Download KWeb-Manchester-2004_2 - Projects

Towards an Advanced Learning
Infrastructure Based on
Semantic Web Technologies
Martin Dzbor and Enrico Motta
Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University
KnowledgeWeb Workshop, 27th Sep 2004
Semantic Browsing and
Semantic Services in Education
Magpie Components
Ontology cache
(Lexicon)
Enriched
Web Page
Magpie
Hub
Web Page
Problem Domain & Resources
Jabber Server
(found-item 3275578832
localhost
#u"http://localhost/peopl
e/motta/" john-domingue
john-domingue)
(found-item 3275578832
localhost
Ontology based
Proxy Server
Semantic Log
Semantically Enhanced Web Browsing
• ‘Zero overhead costs’
– Dynamic ontology-driven enrichment in real time
– Utilizing interfaces familiar to the lay user
– Resource re-usability & openness
• ‘Gateway’ to the semantic web
– Access knowledge through annotated web resources
– Integrated with standard web browsers
– Magpie services are ‘first class’ concepts
• Multiple user interaction modalities
– User-requested (‘pull’ or ‘click&go’) semantic services
– Trigger (‘push’ or ‘subscribe&learn’) semantic services
• One-click (or less) interface
Value of tools like Magpie
• Quan & Karger (2004):
– […] separate pieces of information about a single resource
that used to require navigation through different web sites can
be merged together […] without specialized portal sites or
coordination between the sites
• McDowell, Etzioni &al. (2003):
– How do we entice non-technical people to structure their data?
– […] semantic annotation will be motivated by services [giving]
immediate benefits – instant gratification to the user.
• Tauscher & Greenberg (2001):
– < 1% browsing actions use explicit history mechanisms
– Browsing history needs better representation that would be
meaningful to the user.
Supporting different learning modalities
Benefits to a student
• Quick access to course-related resources
– Learning embedded into other browsing activities
• Ability to link [theoretical] resources with the
[practical] articles, documents, stories, …
– Science (but also art & philosophy) is largely about
relating things and seeing patterns
• Universities re-use chunks of existing knowledge
[from third parties], and only create/provide their
interpretation rather than replicating them
– Rapid course update & customization
Benefits to a student [cont.]
• Exploratory guiding as a metaphor:
– “What would my Prof say if he/she was watching over my
shoulder when I read about IPCC climate scenarios?”
• Support for managing and sharing the semantic
representations of browsing histories
– “A fellow student has followed a similar trail to the one you
are following. Do you want to see the resources he/she
has identified?”
• Automated creation of a semantic footprint in the
selected ontology for visited pages (if the user allows)
– High-level semantic filtering/querying
– Yet-another ‘gateway’ to the semantically relevant
knowledge/information (via Magpie on-demand services)
Magpie & KnowledgeWeb
• Magpie brings in semantic web services
– Modularization of interaction with learning units
– Simple & fast update of individual modules
– Power users (not knowledge engineers) authoring and
publishing new services for other users/customers
– Service discovery & composition
– Potential for (almost) one-on-one customization
• Early-stage “Author’s toolkit” under construction
Issues for learning infrastructure
• Good quality front-end content is important to
make most of the back-end context
– Semantic annotations of LUs can be re-used
– We need to go beyond mere document metadata
• Central portal vs. distributed knowledge [with
different degrees of trust, reliability or complexity]
– Portal is a comprehensive knowledge repository…
– …yet a user must ‘enter’ it to learn anything
– Re-using and re-purposing existing content in a
variety of contexts
– Future is in knowledge (data) linking & reasoning not
in document storing & retrieving (?)
Issues… [cont.]
• Learning seen as making connections
– Discovering and/or creating “learning narratives”
• Decoupling knowledge from authors/owners?
– Semantic annotations don’t replace people, but they
may help bring ‘right people’ together
– Consider popularity of FOAF, MPG & co.
• KnowledgeWeb as repository vs. community
– Best knowledge repository is that managed by a
motivated community of users
– We should probably address the issue of supporting
sustainable communities of users & practitioners
– E.g. climateprediction.net community forum essentially
superseded traditional FAQ, HowTo, User feedback,…
Other frameworks to consider
• What about semantics & presence?
– BuddySpace: distributed client/server architecture,
XML-based, using IM as ‘foot in the door’, relates
semantic knowledge of browsing histories to the ‘real’
people/colleagues/friends
BuddySpace
Goal:“Who else [from my CoP] did something similar?”
From semantically enriched web page
towards knowledge sharing by the
communities of practice & interest
Other frameworks to consider
• What about semantics & presence?
– BuddySpace: using IM as ‘foot in the door’
• Location is also interesting…
– BuddySpace: scaleable dynamic maps, geographic
positioning as a metaphor for conceptual maps (e.g.
project-based, task-based, life-cycle-based,…), one
glance pattern recognition
climateprediction.net: “Who else?” in practice
~60,000 users, 1,000,000 model-years, together with
a live forum we facilitate real buy-in & motivation
Large-scale CPDN tactics
transplanted to a UK-based
project environment
Automatic
Map
Generation
Right-click to ‘drill down’
into ‘cluster’ nodes
(provides scaleability)
Other frameworks to consider
• What about semantics & presence?
– BuddySpace: using IM as ‘foot in the door’
• Location is also interesting…
– BuddySpace & CPDN: using geographic maps as a
metaphor for conceptual maps
• Peer-to-peer and face-to-face interaction
– Hexagon, FlashMeeting & co.: lightweight yet GRID
power tools for a quick F2F chat or a videoconference
– Considering P2P facilities around Magpie, P2P data
sharing (e.g. students’ climate models, visualizations)
Ubiquitous virtual presence env.
Goals:
• True multiparty
• No need to install
• GRID power
Other frameworks to consider
• What about semantics & presence?
– BuddySpace: using IM as ‘foot in the door’
• Location is also interesting…
– BuddySpace & CPDN: using geographic maps as a
metaphor for conceptual maps
• Peer-to-peer and face-to-face interaction
– Hexagon, FlashMeeting: emerging P2P paradigm
• Addition of these tools to KWeb EduPortal
– …might be offered to the users as an ‘added value’ of
their subscription or enrolment
– …might be a feature distinguishing us from others
– …could make portal truly ‘ubiquitous’
Magpie plug-in for IE and now also Mozilla
downloadable from
http://kmi.open.ac.uk/projects/magpie
BuddySpace client downloadable from
http://www.buddyspace.org
[email protected]
Thank you!