«DynaLearn: DynaLearn: Semantic Technologies in a Problem-based Learning Context»
Óscar CorchoUPM
Abstract
Problem-based learning has been applied over the last three decades to a diverse range of learning environments. In this educational approach different problems are posed to the learners so that they can develop different solutions while learning about the problem domain. When applied to conceptual modelling, and particularly to Qualitative Reasoning, the solutions to problems are models that represent the behaviour of a dynamic system. The learner’s task then is to bridge the gap between their initial model, as their first attempt to represent the system, and the target models that provide solutions to that problem. We propose the use of semantic technologies and resources to help in bridging that gap by providing links to terminology and formal definitions, and matching techniques to allow learners to benefit from existing models.
Bio
Óscar Corcho is an Associate Professor at Departamento de Inteligencia Artificial) Facultad de Informática , Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Artificial Intelligence Department, School of Computer Science, UPM), and he belongs to the Ontology Engineering Group. His research activities are focused on Semantic e-Science and Real World Internet, although he also makes research in the more general areas of Semantic Web and Ontological Engineering. In these areas, he has participated in a number of EU projects (SemsorGrid4Env, ADMIRE, OntoGrid, Esperonto, Knowledge Web and OntoWeb), and Spanish R&D projects (CENITS mIO! and Buscamedia, GeoBuddies), and has also participated in privately-funded projects like ICPS (International Classification of Patient Safety), funded by the World Health Organisation, and HALO, funded by Vulcan Inc. Previously, he worked as a Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Manchester, and was a research manager at iSOCO. He holds a degree in Computer Science, an MSc in Software Engineering and a PhD in Computational Science and Artificial Intelligence from UPM. He was awarded the Third National Award by the Spanish Ministry of Education in 2001. He has published two books, “Ontological Engineering” and “A layered declarative approach to ontology translation with knowledge preservation”, and more than 50 papers in journals, conferences and workshops. He usually participates in the organisation or in the programme committees of relevant international conferences and workshops. In 2011 he will be the programme chair of the KCAP conference.
