ELeGI : The European Learning Grid Infrastructure

This paper gives an overview of the ELeGI Framework 6 IST Integrated Project, and then illustrates one of the many networking issues – QoS in synchronous collaborative environments – which has emerged from within the project. ELeGI has the ambitious goal of developing software technologies for effective human learning and promoting and supporting a learning paradigm shift. A new paradigm focused on knowledge construction using experiential based and collaborative learning approaches in a contextualised, personalised and ubiquitous way will replace the current information transfer paradigm focused on content and on the key authoritative figure of the teacher who provides information. We have chosen a synergic approach, sometimes called “human centred design”, to replace the classical, applicative approach to learning. With consideration of humans at the centre, learning is clearly a social, constructive phenomenon. It occurs as a side effect of interactions, conversations and enhanced presence in dynamic Virtual Communities. With respect to an example of networking research issues, the provision of dynamically constituted synchronous conferencing facilities is one of problems that ELeGI must address in order to support multi-modal collaborative learning. The current Internet only provides best effort service and no timeliness guarantees for interactive traffic, so our work in this area has focused to date on an adaptive approach, which is described here. 1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES Advancing Technology Enhanced Learning in Europe The overall aim of the project is to radically advance the effective use of technology-enhanced learning in Europe through the design, implementation and validation of a pedagogy-driven, service-oriented software architecture based on GRID technologies for supporting ubiquitous, collaborative, experiential-based, contextualised and personalised learning. Previous projects that have set out to improve learning through novel technologies have often failed to leave any significant mark because they did not give priority to the social, economic and technical perspectives of the key human actors. So, while the development and use of appropriate technology must be pedagogically driven, at the same time those involved in the formulation and evaluation of pedagogy must be made aware of, and shown by demonstration, state-of-the-art technological possibilities. We address this pervasive learning issue by explicitly listing the roles that actors play in the learning process and illustrate with reference to future learning scenarios. This provides us with a focus for formulating requirements in terms of didactical models, learning resources, services, quality of service, and usability for end-users. It also provides a clear reference for the technical context of the project – an open and flexible software architecture for creating learning environments that accommodate the roles implied by the new learning possibilities and that demonstrate state-of-the-art technology-enhanced learning. 1 Work partially supported by the European Community under the Information Society Technologies (IST) programme of the 6th Framework Programme for RTD project ELeGI, contract IST-002205. This document does not represent the opinion of the European Community, and the European Community is not responsible for any use that might be made of data appearing therein. "