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2011 | Buch

Computer Science and Educational Software Design

A Resource for Multidisciplinary Work in Technology Enhanced Learning

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SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

Developing educational software requires thinking, problematizing, representing, modeling, implementing and analyzing pedagogical objectives and issues, as well as conceptual models and software architectures. Computer scientists face the difficulty of understanding the particular issues and phenomena to be taken into account in educational software projects and of avoiding a naïve technocentered perspective. On the other hand, actors with backgrounds in human or social sciences face the difficulty of understanding software design and implementation issues, and how computer scientists engage in these tasks.

Tchounikine argues that these difficulties cannot be solved by building a kind of “general theory” or “general engineering methodology” to be adopted by all actors for all projects: educational software projects may correspond to very different realities, and may be conducted within very different perspectives and with very different matters of concern. Thus the issue of understanding each others’ perspectives and elaborating some common ground is to be considered in context, within the considered project or perspective. To this end, he provides the reader with a framework and means for actively taking into account the relationships between pedagogical settings and software, and for working together in a multidisciplinary way to develop educational software.

His book is for actors engaged in research or development projects which require inventing, designing, adapting, implementing or analyzing educational software. The core audience is Master’s and PhD students, researchers and engineers from computer science or human and social sciences (e.g., education, psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, communications or sociology) interested in the issues raised by educational software design and analysis and in the variety of perspectives that may be adopted.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter 1. Introduction

This chapter introduces an educational software oriented perspective of the Technology Enhanced Learning field, this book’s motivations and objectives, and a first general overview of its content and structure.

Chapter 2. A General Conceptualization for Educational Software

This chapter disentangles different notions related to educational software. The result is a design-oriented conceptualization, i.e., a differential system of notions that puts to the fore dimensions and differences of importance when considering design and analysis of educational software properties.

Chapter 3. Understanding Differences in Perspectives

This chapter highlights and analyzes a certain number of dimensions that are particularly prone to lead to misunderstandings when considering educational software design issues.

Chapter 4. Review of Prototypical Examples

This chapter reviews different educational software examples, and illustrates a variety of approaches with respect to the notions and issues introduced in

Chaps. 2

and

3

.

Chapter 5. CS Perspectives and TEL

This chapter analyzes the relationships between CS and TEL: the different roles that CS may play within the TEL field, and the different ways in which computer scientists may conceptualize their involvement.

Chapter 6. Educational Software Engineering

This chapter clarifies the concept of engineering as a vector for addressing (and elaborating knowledge related to) complex artifacts design, and how this may be applied to educational software. In the conclusion, the relationships between TEL and CS research are questioned again, in the light of this analysis.

Chapter 7. Characterizing the Design Context and the Software Artifact

This chapter introduces a list of analysis axes and characterizing dimensions for educational software engineering work. This list is meant to suggest questions whose answers may help to clarify

raison d’être

, matters of concern or objectives of work, in particular when addressing the zone within which occurs the education/CS interplay.

Chapter 8. Methodological Considerations

This chapter explores some transversal methodological dimensions.

Chapter 9. Conclusions

This chapter provides an analysis of issues for the development of the TEL field, and considers how to push forward educational software engineering.

Metadaten
Titel
Computer Science and Educational Software Design
Copyright-Jahr
2011
Electronic ISBN
978-3-642-20003-8
Print ISBN
978-3-642-20002-1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-20003-8

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