计算机辅助学习

计算机辅助学习

 

计算机辅助学习的定义  

 

CAL是计算机辅助学习的缩写，它是最普遍被使用在教育上的首字母缩写词之一。很难确切地说这个CAL什么时候被第一次使用，然而，在1980年代中期CAL就逐渐地被用来形容教学科技的使用，但计算机辅助教学究竟是代表什么？

好吧，这里有答案，尽管在教育上使用科技提高了学习兴趣，对CAL这个词还是没有清楚地定义，它不是指一个被给予的标准化的规则，人机交互的想法或者通用规范。所以在没有类型描述的情况下，我们应该尽量少把焦点放在计算机辅助学习的含义上，而是链接上下文中使用的用语。这里有两个普通语境中的用法：像电脑类的计算机辅助学习是建立在学习的基础之上的，像综合科技类的计算机辅助学习并不是。在没有对计算机辅助教学的传统定义下，它经常在各种情况下被用作描述教育的应用和发展。

 

Computer Aided Learning 

 

Definition of CAL 
 

CAL is an abbreviation of Computer Aided Learning and is one of the most commonly used acronyms within education. It is difficult to say exactly when the term "CAL" was first employed, 

however since the mid 1980s CAL has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching. But what exactly does "Computer Aided Learning" refer to? 
 

Well there is, despite the ever increasing interest in the use of technology within education, no clear definition of the term "CAL". It does not refer to a given standardised set of rules, HCI ideals or generic specification. So in the absence of a type description perhaps we should concern ourselves less with the meaning of "CAL" but rather with the context in which the term is used. There are two common contexts of usage: CAL as Computer Based Learning and CAL as Integrative Technology What CAL is not - CBL! In the absence of a classical definition "CAL" has often been used to describe the development and application of educational technology for a variety of circumstances. From the mid 1980s until the early 1990s the term CAL was often used to refer to the development of either a single computer program or a series of programs which replaced the more traditional methods of instruction, in particular the lecture. This was in fact a natural progression from an early misguided strategy, propounded by Government literature (for example the pamphlet Higher Education: a New Framework, 1991), which encouraged through ignorance the development of computer programs with the explicit aim of replacing current methods as opposed to their incorporationwithin the traditional setting together with support to or from existing methods. More attention was being paid to solving the current staff to student ratio crisis rather than improving the quality of student education through the re-evaluation of the current methods of instruction. This would have resulted in a coherent instructional strategy within which CAL would form a part. #p#分页标题#e#
 

Under these circumstances, whereby a computer program replaces a specific part or the whole of a lecture course with no provision or support provided from other methods, we are actually encouraging Computer Based Learning (CBL). CBL involves the development of a computer program with no provision, intentional or otherwise, for the re-evaluation of the current methods of teaching and the subject itself. CAL produced under these conditions is actually a computer program whose content consists of little more than lecture notes. Thus Computer Based Learning is exactly that. We are using the medium of the computer as the primary means of knowledge exposition with no support or reference to other methods of instruction – the computer is the sole basis for learning. Under these circumstances where a lecture has either been replaced or added to by a program (i.e. a "bolt on" computer application) which has been developed under a strategy lacking in re-evaluation then only the medium of instruction has changed. The lecturer has simply re-produced their lecture notes and displayed them in another format. 
 

However CBL does have its place within the curriculum, mainly as CBL in the classic sense where lecture notes are displayed in electronic format, e.g. a web page. There are several advantages in comparison to the more traditional methods, in particular the standard lecture and text book. For example a web page may be accessed at any time and over any distance; there are no limits over access unlike a library book; the entire content of the course - the lecturer's perception of the topic is completely available and the content can be easily modified and updated. However such advantages are in the main concerned with resources rather than actual learning. Only the fact that the entire content of the course is presented has a bearing on the quality of learning, however the communication between tutor and student is one sided with little opportunity for the student to express their views of the topic. 
 

So learning technology when used in this context is CBL rather than CAL. However is it possible to change CBL into CAL? The answer is yes. A small step in the right direction is to add some form of formative or even summative assessment areas where the student can check their conception of the topic and hence their progress through the material. For example simple multiple choice questions (MCQ). 

 

However this only a start. What is actually required is subject based re-evaluation which will determine the learning outcomes expected of the technology and their methods of assessment. This will remove the material from that of a CBL context and place it within a CAL one. 
 

计算机辅助学习是综合科技——CAL as Integrative Technology? 
 

"CAL" has also been used to describe a relatively more integrative approach whereby the program does not actually replace a lecture but is introduced into the course as a learning resource. Here the students experience directed learning (directed by the lecturer) or self study which takes place "outside" the main curriculum hours, (i.e. the primary contact hours between student and tutor), and thus beyond any level of support from traditional methods. In fact the term CAL used in this context describes little more than an "add on" or "bolt on" resource for student self study whose success in terms of usage is dependent upon a number of student centred factors, not least their self discipline and motivation. So although there appears to be an attempt to integrate the program to form a part of a multi instructional media learning environment the truth of the matter is that it has been bolted on and is more akin to CBL. #p#分页标题#e#

 

The contexts outlined above refer to two common types of "CAL" mis-usage whereby the term is used erroneously to describe educational methods which are little more than CBL. Both contexts involve a computer program which is essentially "on its own" - not supported within a framework of instructional methods which would have only come about through a general re-evaluation of the educational strategy employed to teach a particular subject. 

 

计算机辅助学习的硬道理——CAL - The Hard Truth of It. 
 

In the absence of a clear definition what should the term "CAL" actually refer to? The use of asingle program within the class room? In the past developers have used the term "CAL" whendescribing the creation and performance of a computer program particularly those used as a library-type resource. This is in fact a common misinterpretation of "CAL" and example of its misuse. 

 

Computer Aided Learning describes an educational environment where a computer program, or an application as they are commonly known, is used to assist the user in learning a particular subject. The key issue is the word assist which means that the program is not alone in this aim and that there are other methods involved. CAL according to my usage of the term refers to an overall integrative approach of instructional methods and is actually part of the bigger picture.When used in this context CAL describes an integrated approach to teaching a subject in which learning technology forms a part and which only comes about after re-assessment of the current teaching methods. This is Computer Aided Learning - in that the computer, being a program of some sort, is an aid to an overall learning strategy – which in itself is a conglomeration of other methods of instruction, (e.g. the lecture, tutorial sheets, text books etc.). 

 

So CAL is not a single computer program but art of an educational strategy devised to teach a particular subject. The relative part each method of instruction plays within the strategy is determined through the re-evaluation of the subject being taught. Re evaluation examines the educational objectives of the subject and their associated learning outcomes and determines the success with which the current methods of teaching and assessment are achieving them in terms of knowledge gain. Thus re-evaluation helps to determine the areas or objectives of the subject in which the traditional methods are failing and where the computer program can help. Furthermore re evaluation determines the level at which the program operates – the educational objectives which the program alone cannot teach and thus the level of required support from the other methods. Thus re evaluation results in a coherent educational strategy within which each instructional method compliments and supports the other ensuring that no area of the subject is #p#分页标题#e#

overlooked.