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                                              CALL FOR PAPERS
                                                    WORKSHOP
                  Multi-Agent Architectures Supporting Distributed
Learning
                                     in a Wired and Wireless Future
                                                    May 19, 2001
                   (associated with the International Conference on AI
in
Education
                                    AIED'2001, San Antonio, May 19-23,
2001)
                                      http://www.hcrc.ed.ac.uk/aied2001/

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DEADLINES

March 15, 2001 - Submissions
April 5, 2001 - Acceptance / Rejection notification
April 25, 2001 - Full papers due (8 pages)


MOTIVATION

The future learning environments will be wired and wireless, accessible
from anywhere at anytime. Learning in these environments will be
distributed
in space and time. Standard classroom models for knowledge building will
be
complemented with virtual classroom models involving people of different
ages,
cultural and knowledge backgrounds. Knowledge building will be a
life-long,
social, evolutionary process of building consensus through sharing and
discussing (knowledge negotiation).  How should environments supporting
this
type of learning be built? Several types of techniques and technologies
hold
a promise: multi-agent architectures, user and learner modelling, mobile
and
ubiquitous technologies.

Multi-agent architectures are based on software agents, autonomous
software
components, that can interact through a standard protocol and
collaborate with
each other to achieve common gaols. Such architectures are promising,
since
they are inherently distributed, modular and open. Through the
uniformity of
agents and through a standardized interaction protocol, a level of
scalability
and interoperation can be achieved that is impossible with other
techniques.
Such architectures allow for additiveness and heterogeneity in the
software
environment. However, currently there aren't many distributed learning
environments based on large - scale multiagent system architectures.
Why is this the case? What are the advantages and disadvantages of
existing
agent-development environments? What are the difficulties underlying the

development of such environments? How can one ensure real scalability,
how
can one cope with the system complexity and the unpredictability in its
behaviour? The workshop will focus on some of these difficulties and
stimulate questions and answers from participants with experience in
developing multi-agent based environments.

Another potentially useful class of techniques come from AI.
Personalization
of the environment (selection of "community" or "virtual classroom",
translation and dialogue adaptation, adaptation of presentations /
discussions
to the individual level of knowledge, preferences, tasks and learning
style)
can be achieved through learner modelling. Which techniques in
particular are
potentially useful? Which techniques are lightweight enough to come on
board
the agents? How can such techniques be incorporated in a multi-agent
environment? Where is the place for these techniques: in the individual
agent,
in agents playing the role of tutors or artificial learners (learning
companions), or in a centralized, omnipotent facilitator-component?

Mobile computing devices are rapidly gaining power and connectedness
through
hardware technologies like BlueTooth and software technologies like
Wireless
Ethernet, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) and Wireless Application
Environment (WAE). The growth in this area is so fast that every state
of the
art report is already outdated at the moment it is written. Mobile
technologies
already allow running powerful applications, downloaded dynamically as
the
carrier
of the device enters the range of a station. With such devices and the
emerging
ubiquitous computing environments we can imagine changes in the
classroom very
soon. For example, the students won't need to carry heavy-loaded
backpacks to
school anymore, but will bring only their palm-top computer, which will
interact
with the school desk (a large horizontal touch screen with embedded
computer),
and download all homework, projects and materials needed while in class.
We can
only speculate how these devices could be usefully applied for learning
out of
the classroom. One of the goals for the workshop will be to discuss
these ways.

Finally, distributed learning environments raise many educational and
sociological
issues. Who defines the "curriculum" in such a democratic society of
learners?
If learning emerges from the interactions in the virtual classroom,
should it be
and can it be targeted, or driven in some particular direction? How can
a
fruitful
knowledge building interaction be ensured? What would be the role of the

teacher -
facilitator, or something else? What would be the role of the
environment -
communication medium only, or an active participant in the learning
process?
What is an appropriate metaphor for the underlying multi-agent system -
ecological:
"survival of the fittest (best serving) agents", economical: "agents
striving to
earn virtual currency", or sociological: "adhering to certain liberal
norms of
behaviour"? How can one ensure that the resulting behaviour of the
system is not
only robust and dependable, but that it actually stimulates and
motivates
learner participation and learning?


FORMAT OF THE WORKSHOP

The workshop will take one full day. Presentations of the selected
papers
will take the first part of the workshop. The goal of the presentations
will
be to describe work in the area, but also to stimulate discussion along
the
workshop issues. The second part of the workshop will start with a short

brainstorming part where working questions will be agreed. Then the
workshop
participants will split in 4 working groups. Each group will have to
brainstorm,
discuss and come with answers to their questions. After a one-hour
period, the
groups will report the results of their discussions and a general
discussion and
a brief conclusion session will follow.


TOPICS

The workshop will enable participants from different backgrounds and
perspectives
to share their views and learn from each other about the techniques that
will
underlie the personalized learning environments of the future. Therefore
we
invite
participants interested (not exclusively) in the following areas:

o Multi-agent systems development, multi-agent architectures for
learning
environments.

o Developing educational software for wireless and mobile devices
(palm-top
computers, cell-phones, ubiquitous environments).

o Distributed or web-based learning environments, environments
supporting
learning through collaboration.

o Knowledge building communities.


SUBMISSIONS

o papers (5 pages long), or
o statements of interest (200 words)

indicating a particular area or question for discussion should be sent
to

Julita Vassileva  [log in to unmask]

as e-mail attachments in any of the following formats: MS Word,
Postscript,
PDF or RTF.

The committee will review the papers and several of them (maximum 10)
will be
selected for presentation at the workshop and inclusion in the
proceedings.
A possible future publication as a peer-edited collection or a special
issue of
IJAIED will be discussed at the workshop. The authors of selected
contributions
that were not recommended for inclusion in the proceedings will be also
invited
to give short presentations and participate in the discussion.


PROGRAM COMMITTEE

Liliana Ardissono, University of Torino, Italy
Gary Boyd, Concordia University, Canada
Peter Brusilovsky, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Tak Wai Chan, National Central University, Taiwan
Robin Cohen, University of Waterloo, Canada
David Franklin, North-Western University, USA
Ulrich Hoppe, University of Duisburg, Germany
Gord McCalla, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Joerg Mueller, Siemens AG, Germany
Ana Paiva, Technical University of Lisbon, Portugal
Vittorio Scarano, University of Salerno, Italy
Wouter van Joolingen, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Julita Vassileva, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Thomas Wagner, University of Maine, USA


MORE INFORMATION

about the workshop will be available at
http://julita.usask.ca/mable/

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