New methodology for active learning using mobile technologies when teaching languages to dependent people

New methodology for active learning using mobile technologies when teaching languages to dependent people. UPSA-U05EIA-08K01.

Precompetitive Projects of the Pontifical University of Salamanca.

Evaluated by the ANEP

Pontifical University of Salamanca

 

Pontifical University of Salamanca

Javier Bajo Pérez

01.01.2009 - 31.12.2009

Pontifical University of Salamanca – Faculty of Computing

Pontifical University of Salamanca – Modern languages

University of Salamanca – Faculty of Science

University of Salamanca – Faculty of Philology

Pontifical University of Salamanca – Interuniversity Program of the Experience's University.

Brief description

 

There are some suggestions to establish active learning methodologies in the field of languages. However, there is no iniciative of this kind for dependent people, specially on the field of languages.

 

Specific aims

 

The main goal of this project is to develop a methodology to teach languages to dependent people, using techniques of Environmental Intelligence. The new methodology developed in this project allows an active learning by means of simple and intuitive interfaces installed on mobile devices. It is necessary to integrate intelligent agents with original strategies to teach languages and mobile devices.

 

Summary of the Project

 

During the last few years there has been an important increase on the development of technologies to create distributed applications, thanks to the appearance of intelligent spaces and the integration of programmable devices by computer nets. This fact has promoted the development of ubiquitous computing. Environmental Intelligence is an evolution of ubiquitous computing and entails a more promising technological approach to solve the challenge of developing strategies to discover and prevent problems in dependence environments. One of the sectors of the population that would benefit the most of systems based on Environmental Intelligence would be older adults and people with some kind of disability, contributing to improve important aspects of the quality of life.

 

Nowadays, there is an increasing need of finding more effective ways to supply social assistance services and medical care to the increasing number of dependent people. This has become one of the biggest challenges for Europe and its scientific community. Some developments like the AAL (Ambient Assisted Living), sponsored by the IST (Information Society Technologies) as a part of the 7th European Framework Programme, have focused on finding new ways to solve this problem from a technological point of view (AAL, 2008).

 

Different authors consider that in a near future Health institutions will have intelligent systems able to interact with humans. The multiagent systems and the architectures based on mobile devices have been recently explored as systems to interact with older adults and dependent people. These systems can proporcionate constant support in the daily life of dependent people, facilitating a cognitive and physical support for them. Furthermore, they can proporcionate innovative mechanisms to establish new strategies of interaction for learning, what facilitates the teaching of languages, for instance.

 

The aim of this project is to develop a methodology based on Environmental Intelligence to teach languages to dependent people. The proposal is to combine new technologies with the tradicional teaching framework. This way it is possible to combine the advantages of “face to face” teaching together with the advantages of long distance teaching. It will be necessary to update the evaluation/accreditation systems that will allow the assesment of knowledge or abilities adquired during the learning process. In order to reach that goal, techniques of artificial intelligence, intelligent agents and wireless technology must be used.

 

With this approach, following the line of the Grundtvig Program we want to present our suggestion. We intend to stimulate active and autonomous learning on the dependent student by means of simple practices with the mobile telephone. In order to do that a research will be carried out to evaluate the suggested methodology assessing the improvement in the adquired knowledge of the French language. There will be multiple choice questions (A B C D) set out in groups of 10. If an 80% is achieved, the student will go to a higher level of difficulty. At the same time that the option is selected using the keys of the mobile telephone, a system with a microphone registers the phonetics, if they are correct, the machine will recognize it and the student will pass to the next option. Simple and intuitive interfaces will be developed to make the use of the system easier.

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