Chao: a framework for the development of orchestration technologies for technology-enhanced learning activities using tablets in classrooms

Abstract

In Technology-Enhanced Learning, orchestration technologies refer to computer systems which support teachers in the orchestration of learning applications. Due to the specificity and diversity of each learning application, the use of these orchestration technologies is often not adequate in situations they were not designed for in the first place. In this article, we tackle this issue and present the software framework Chao. This framework has been designed to provide a set of classes, methods, and user interfaces to facilitate the development of orchestration technologies for tablets. The evaluation of this framework concerns its design, the usability of its user interfaces, and its ability to be adapted for various learning applications. The results suggest that teachers found the instances of the framework useful in assisting them during their orchestration tasks, and that little work is required to instantiate the framework.

Designing for the co-Orchestration of Social Transitions between Individual, Small-Group and Whole-Class Learning in the Classroom

“…Other orchestration systems provide support for a subset of social levels that are relevant to a specific learning activity (Manathunga et al 2015;Martinez-Maldonado et al 2013, 2015a. By contrast, some systems have a more open design to support a range of social levels (Håklev et al 2017;Looi and Song 2013;Muñoz-Cristóbal et al 2015;Phiri et al 2016;Prieto et al 2014;Van Lehn et al 2016;Wang et al 2015Wang et al , 2018. By supporting students' learning across multiple social levels, as the more open designs do, a system is often able to fully support classroom learning rather than merely being used for a single activity.…”

“…When students remain on the same social level and do not undergo any social transitions, such as when working on multiple problem sets in an ITS, there is less coordination between activities for the teacher to manage. The majority of orchestration systems that provide support for multiple social levels have limited support for smooth transitions (Niramitranon et al 2010;Looi and Song 2013;Wang et al 2015Wang et al , 2018. Other systems that do provide support around transitions often focus on the timing of the individual activities, by displaying timers or lesson timelines (Håklev et al 2017;Martinez-Maldonado et al 2013, 2015a.…”

“…Moreover, to avoid the complexity of social transitions, the majority of orchestration systems restrict students to all move at the same pace between activities. Within activities, many systems will provide progress indicators to help teachers understand where individual students are in the process (Alavi and Dillenbourg 2012;Wang et al 2015Wang et al , 2018. However, at the end of each activity, all students are expected to move to the next activity, meaning that those who finish early are left waiting while others may not get time to complete the task.…”

An Actionable Orchestration Dashboard to Enhance Collaboration in the Classroom

“…The design of these prototypes was informed h o gh li e a e e ie [20], [21], [23] and he eache responses (Table I). We also followed the guidelines presented in the Chao software framework when presenting information on the dashboard [29]. As indicated in the Chao framework, we split data across two dimensions: progress and product.…”

“…As indicated in the Chao framework, we split data across two dimensions: progress and product. Progressela ed da a i ali ed he den pace a a cla level, and product-related data provided details about the den bmi ion , ch a an e , no e , and di c ion [29].…”