Authors:
Ismael Pascual-Nieto
;
Diana Pérez-Marín
and
Pilar Rodríguez
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
Keyword(s):
Free-text Computer Assisted Assessment, Usability Evaluation, Blended Learning, Web-Based Formative Assessment, Open Learner Modelling, Human-Computer Interaction.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support Systems
;
Blended Learning
;
Computer-Aided Assessment
;
Computer-Supported Education
;
Cultural, Social and Gender Issues
;
e-Learning
;
e-Learning Success Cases
;
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Information Technologies Supporting Learning
;
Intelligent Tutoring Systems
;
Learning/Teaching Methodologies and Assessment
;
Legal and Cultural Management Issues
Abstract:
Willow is a free-text Computer Assisted Assessment system, which can automatically assess students' short written answers in Spanish or in English. Willow is based on the combination of techniques from Natural Language Processing and User Modelling to generate students’ conceptual models (i.e. a set of interconnected concepts of a certain area-of-knowledge associated with an estimated value that indicates how well each concept has been assimilated by the student) from the students’ free-text answers. In the past, the system was used by a group of students of an Operating Systems course within an Informatics degree. The results of that study suggested that the system was useful for these students. Nevertheless, our hypothesis was that the procedure implemented in Willow is also suitable for non-technical domains and, that students without computer training are able to use Willow without any technical difficulty. Therefore, we asked a group of voluntary students of a Pragmatics course
within an English Studies program to use the system. The results achieved support our hypothesis that Willow can successfully be applied to a non-technical domain, and it can be used by non-technical students.
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