Building blocks for learner-centered educational development: ihrd Chien-Sing Lee Faculty of Information Technology, Multimedia University, Cyberjaya, 63100 Selangor, Malaysia. 1. Introduction Education and human resource development are crucial instruments for the creation of a dynamic workforce, equipped to compete in a global market. Human capacity development however, does not occur in isolation. It has to be complemented by a nurturing environment that stimulates investment in human resource development by stakeholders, an institutional framework that caters to all levels of society, smart partnerships among stakeholders and learner-centred policies and strategies (Lee, 2004). This paper briefly presents a generalized model for human resource development. A more specialized model has been discussed in (Lee, 2004). 2. National ICT framework The National Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) framework should be in place to train teachers in schools in basic computer literacy skills as well as web page design skills. Training and resources can be located at the Teacher s Activity Centre of each locale. To motivate teacher and student participation in using ICT, financial incentives from the government or government-linked private companies would
be an additional boost. Activities such as competitions within the locale leading up to the district, national and international levels will certainly increase interest and awareness. Another means to increase participation in human development initiatives is to meet real-life needs by inculcating an entrepreneuring spirit. Hence, to instill the innovative spirit at the school level, innovation and technopreneur clubs should be set up to expose interested students to industrial environments and to encourage them to solve problems creatively; the essence of innovation and technopreneurship. The design of such activities needs careful thought. 3. Smart partnerships The richness of ASEAN is in its diversity. Hence, multiple models of cooperation should exist within the common ASEAN framework for fruitful collaboration. Meaningful partnerships will in turn generate sustainable income to increase equal opportunities for training and development. The ASEAN e-learning Network poses as the mediating platform for creating a framework for the creation of e-communities and e-learning initiatives between ASEAN ICT centers of excellence for joint R & D ventures. The focus of these centers of excellence may be software and content development, sharing of global expertise in human resource development as well as in the setting up of advisory panels regarding e- learning policies implementation strategies, and implementation reviews, open standards and protocols and intellectual property protection for digital content. A directory of expertise and projects is thus proposed to enable each country, institution or researcher to form smart partnerships.
4. Building blocks for learner-centered learning Three building blocks for learner-centered learning that the CogMoLab group has researched on since the year 2000 are the hybrid neural-linear student model, the OntoID instructional design authoring tool and the Merlin agent-assisted collaborative concept map. The student model (Lee & Singh, 2005) forms the base component enabling adaptation of materials in the OntoID authoring tool (Lee & Chong, 2005) and the Merlin agent-assisted collaborative concept map (Lee & Kuan, 2005). The OntoID (Figure 1) supports the instructor by automating the Analysis, Design, Development and Evaluation phases in instructional design. Most notable is stepby-step pedagogical guidance which correlates input in the Analysis phase to the Design and Development phases. Intelligent support for collaborative learning is provided in Merlin (Figure 2) through cognitive apprenticeship function tabs to help students from task planning, chat and real-time collaborative concept mapping to agent-assisted incremental hints during chats and agent-assisted test evaluations.
Figure 1. OntoID Analysis phase Figure 2. Merlin collaborative concept map interface
5. Conclusion The design and development of learner-centered educational initiatives should be viewed from a top-down perspective rather than a horizontal perspective as support in bridging the digital divide among countries is a prerequisite to successful collaboration. May the curious spirit of R & D always thrive and bring forth meaningful fruit. Acknowledgement OntoID was developed under the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor Grant Scheme whereas the Merlin agent-assisted collaborative concept map was supported by the Malaysian Intensive Research Priority Areas Grant Scheme. References International Labor Office. (2002). Revision of the Human Resource Development Recommendation. Lee, C. S. (2004). The Way Forward: ihrd. International Conference on ICT Business in Melaka 2004, K-economy Centre. Lee, C. S. & Singh, Y. P. (2005). A neural-linear approach to student modeling for the OntoID authoring tool. WSEAS Transactions on Computers, 4 (10), 1399-1408. Lee, C. S. & Chong, H. R. (2005). Synergistic design considerations for continuing education: Refocusing on instructional design. WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, 2 (4), 294-301. Lee, C. S. & Kuan, C. L. (2005). Intelligent scaffolds for collaborative concept mapping, WSEAS Transactions on Information Systems and Applications, 2 (8), 1157-1166.