A Navigation Path Planning Assistant for Web-based Learning

This paper addresses how to help learners navigate in existing Web-based learning resources. In order to resolve this issue, a learner-centered navigation path-planning model is proposed. The main objective is to provide learners with a path planning space in which they can see through hyperspace to plan a navigation path. This paper describes an assistant system called Planning Assistant (PA), which is composed of the resource map, page previewer, and path previewer. The page previewer generates an overview of each Web page in the map by extracting representative information from the HTML file. The path previewer helps learners make a sequence of the pages previewed as a navigation path plan. These facilities help learners decide which pages to visit and to plan a navigation path without visiting Web pages. This paper also describes an evaluation of learner-centered path planning with PA. The results indicate that PA facilitates learners' navigation in hyperspace, particularly in more complicated hyperspace. (Contains 10 references.) (AEF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. A Navigation Path Planning Assistant for Web-based Learning Ryoichi Suzuki, Shinobu Hasegawa, Akihiro Kashihara, and Jun'ichi Toyoda The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research Osaka University JAPAN [email protected] Abstract: The main topic addressed in this paper is how to help learners navigate in existing web-based learning resources. In order to resolve this issue, we propose a learner-centered navigation path planning. The key idea is to provide learners with a path planning space, in which they can see through hyperspace to plan a navigation path. This paper describes an assistant system called Planning Assistant (PA for short), which is composed of the resource map, page previewer, and path previewer. The page previewer generates an overview of each web page in the map by extracting representative information from the html file. The path previewer helps learners make a sequence of the pages previewed as navigation path plan. These facilities help learners decide which pages to visit and plan a navigation path without visiting web pages. This paper also describes an evaluation of leaner-centered navigation path planning with PA. The results indicate that PA facilitates learners' navigation in hyperspace, particularly in more complicated hyperspace. The main topic addressed in this paper is how to help learners navigate in existing web-based learning resources. In order to resolve this issue, we propose a learner-centered navigation path planning. The key idea is to provide learners with a path planning space, in which they can see through hyperspace to plan a navigation path. This paper describes an assistant system called Planning Assistant (PA for short), which is composed of the resource map, page previewer, and path previewer. The page previewer generates an overview of each web page in the map by extracting representative information from the html file. The path previewer helps learners make a sequence of the pages previewed as navigation path plan. These facilities help learners decide which pages to visit and plan a navigation path without visiting web pages. This paper also describes an evaluation of leaner-centered navigation path planning with PA. The results indicate that PA facilitates learners' navigation in hyperspace, particularly in more complicated hyperspace. Introduction An increasing number of hypermedia-based resources on the web have been available, which are designed from an educational point of view, or which are worth learning (Brusilovsky, 1996). Learning with such existing web-based learning resources has accordingly become important, particularly as the realization of lifelong and distance learning (Kashihara, 1998). Web-based learning resources provide learners with hyperspace where they can explore domain concepts in a self-directed way by following the links among web pages to achieve a learning goal. Such self-directed learning (Fischer, 1998, Dee-Lucas, 1996) could produce good results. On the other hand, learners often fail in making the navigation path since they do not know which link to follow for achieving their learning goal due to the complexity of hyperspace. They may alternatively make diverse cognitive efforts at comprehending the contents of pages, setting up global or local learning goals, making a path called navigation path attaining their goals etc., in the exploratory learning. How to facilitate learners' navigation and learning has been consequently a major issue in educational hypermedia systems (Conklin, 1987). The main topic addressed here is how to help learners navigate in existing web-based learning resources. Current work on educational hypermedia systems has provided a number of navigational aids such as spatial/concept maps and adaptive navigation (Domel, 1994, Heiling Huai, 1997). These representative navigational aids would generally work well in educational hypermedia whose semantic structure has given or analyzed. However, it is doubtful whether they apply to web-based learning resources. Existing web-based learning resources mostly have no concept maps. It is also hard to identify semantic structure of domain concepts embedded in the learning resources. Although there exist web-based learning resources with site maps, the information included in the maps do not always allow learners to foresee the contents of the web pages. In addition, adaptive navigational aids are not always applicable since existing web-based learning resources generally have no clear description of semantic relationships among web pages, which is indispensable for executing the adaptation. Towards this issue, we introduce a learner-centered navigation path planning. The key idea is to provide learners with a planning space, in which they can see through web-based learning resources to make a navigation path plan, apart from hyperspace. Such planning space is also expected to facilitate their learning since they can focus mainly on comprehending the contents of the learning resources in hyperspace. We have accordingly developed an assistant system for the navigation path planning, which is called Planning Assistant or PA for short. PA provides learners with some facilities that help learners decide which page to visit and plan a navigation path without visiting hyperspace. This paper also describes an evaluation of learner-centered navigation path planning with PA. The re) results indicate that PA facilitates learners' navigation particularly in more complicated hyperspace. /-4 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS Office of Educational Research EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CZ BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) G. H. Marks 2 This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. ),=( TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Page 1851 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. Navigation Path Planning Problems of Navigation in Hyperspace In hyperspace, learners can explore the web pages in a self-directed way by following links among the pages to learn domain concepts embedded in the explored pages. The self-directed learning involves making a navigation path, which consists of pages that the learners decide to explore. However, they often fail in making the navigation path and reach an impasse. There are two main causes as follows. The learners cannot foresee what they should explore next from the current page for achieving their learning goal due to the complexity of hyperspace. The learners need to concurrently make diverse cognitive efforts not only at making a navigation path but also at setting up global/local learning goals, comprehending the contents explored, and so on. Framework of Navigation Path Planning Let us now introduce a framework for learner-centered navigation path planning in order to resolve the above navigation problems. There are two key points of the learner-centered navigation path planning. The first one is to divide learning process into navigation path planning and exploration (plan execution) phases as shown in Figure 1. In the planning phase, learners decide which page to visit and the sequence of pages visited. In the exploration phase, on the other hand, they are expected to explore hyperspace according to their navigation path plan. These phases are repeated during learning in hyperspace. The second key point is to provide learners with planning and exploration spaces. In the planning space, learners can see through hyperspace provided by a learning resource to plan a navigation path. In the exploration space, on the other hand, they are expected to execute their navigation path plan. Such distinction allows the learners to focus mainly on cognitive efforts that are related to each phase. We next discuss how to support learner-centered navigation path planning with some essential facilities for each phase. Planning Assistant 1teferiing Selling a learning goal Planning