Virtual learning environment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_learning_environment 

 

A virtual learning environment (VLE) in educational technology is a Web-based platform for the digital aspects of courses of study, usually within educational institutions. They present resources, activities and interactions within a course structure and provide for the different stages of assessment. VLEs also usually report on participation; and have some level of integration with other institutional systems.

For teachers and instructors who edit them, VLEs may have a de facto role as authoring and design environments. VLEs have been adopted by almost all higher education institutions in the English-speaking world.

Components

The following are the main components required for the best virtual learning environment or online education curriculum to take place.

VLE learning platforms commonly allow:

• Content management – creation, storage, access to and use of learning resources
• Curriculum mapping and planning – lesson planning, assessment and personalisation of the learning experience
• Learner engagement and administration – managed access to learner information and resources and tracking of progress and achievement
• Communication and collaboration – emails, notices, chat, wikis, blogs
• Real time communication – live video conferencing or audio conferencing

A VLE may include some or all of the following elements:

• The course syllabus
• Administrative information about the course: prerequisites, credits, registration, payments, physical sessions, and contact information for the instructor.
• A notice board for current information about the ongoing course
• The basic content of some or all of the course; the complete course for distance learning applications, or some part of it, when used as a portion of a conventional course. This normally includes material such as copies of lecture in the form of text, audio, or video presentations, and the supporting visual presentations
• Additional resources, either integrated or as links to outside resources. This typically consists of supplementary reading, or innovative equivalents for it.
• Self-assessment quizzes or analogous devices, normally scored automatically
• Formal assessment functions, such as examinations, essay submission, or presentation of projects. This now frequently includes components to support peer assessment
• Support for communications, including e-mail, threaded discussions, chat rooms, Twitter and other media, sometimes with the instructor or an assistant acting as moderator. Additional elements include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces.
• Links to outside sources – pathways to all other online learning spaces are linked via the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment).
• Management of access rights for instructors, their assistants, course support staff, and students
• Documentation and statistics as required for institutional administration and quality control
• Authoring tools for creating the necessary documents by the instructor, and, usually, submissions by the students
• Provision for the necessary hyperlinks to create a unified presentation to the students.
• Interactive online whiteboard for live virtual classes

A VLE is normally not designed for a specific course or subject, but is capable of supporting multiple courses over the full range of the academic program, giving a consistent interface within the institution and—to some degree—with other institutions using the system. The virtual learning environment supports the worldwide exchange of information between a user and the learning institute he or she is currently enrolled in through digital mediums like e-mail, chat rooms, web 2.0 sites or a forum.

Student accessibility features

One of the processes to enhance the learning experience was the virtual resource room, which is student-centered, works in a self-paced format, and which encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning. In virtual mode, the materials are available in the form of computer-aided learning programs, lecture notes, special self-assessment modules. Another mechanism for the student to student interactions in a form of simple discussion forum is by using a novel link cyber tutor. This allows the students with an email account to connect with course content and the staff with their doubts and related questions. The students are able to contact the staff without a face to face visit which saves the on-campus time. The staff remains anonymous which allows for the several staff to act as a cyber tutor during the course. The student does not remain anonymous, although their email address is cryptic enough to mask their identity. Students can discuss the exams, lab reports, posters, lectures, technical help with downloading materials. The evaluation of the use of a Virtual resource room is done by surveys, focus groups, and online feedback forms. The students have 24 hours of access to the learning material in a day which suits their lifestyles.

Similar terms

Computerized learning systems have been referred to as electronic educational technology, e-learning, learning platform or learning management system. The major difference is that VLE and LMS are applications, whereas the Learning Platform shares characteristics with an Operating System where different educational web-based applications can be run on the platform.

The terms virtual learning environment (VLE) and learning platform are generically used to describe a range of integrated web-based applications that provide teachers, learners, parents and others involved in education with information, tools, and resources to support and enhance educational delivery and management. These terms are broadly synonymous with 'managed learning environments' (MLEs) and 'managed virtual learning environments' (MVLEs).

The applications that form part of these online services can include web pages, email, message boards, and discussion forums, text and video conferencing, shared diaries, online social areas, as well as assessment, management, and tracking tools.

The term learning platform refers to a range of tools and services often described using terms such as educational extranet, VLE, LMS, ILMS and LCMS providing learning and content management. The term learning platform also includes the personal learning environment (PLE) or personal online learning space (POLS), including tools and systems that allow the development and management of portfolios.

The specific functionality associated with any implementation of a learning platform will vary depending upon the needs of the users and can be achieved by bringing together a range of features from different software solutions either commercially available, open source, self-built or available as free to use web services. These tools are delivered together via a cohesive user environment with a single entry point, through integration achieved by technical standards.

• a learning management system (LMS). Related concepts include content management system (CMS), which properly refers to the organization of the educational or other content, not the overall environment; learning content management system (LCMS), which is more often used for corporate training systems than for systems in education institutions; managed learning environment (MLE), which normally refers to the overall infrastructure in an institution of which the VLE is a component, learning support system (LSS); online learning center (OLC); or learning platform (LP), education via computer-mediated communication (CMC); or online education. The term "virtual learning environment" is more commonly used in Europe and Asia, while the synonymous term "learning management system" is the more common usage in North America.

The term LMS can also mean a "library management system" (which is now more commonly referred to as integrated library system, or ILS).

Justification

Middle School and High School use VLEs in order to:

• Increase academic performance in order to meet standards to graduate.
• Address the diverse learning needs of all students with the digital curriculum.
• Personalize learning to better meet the needs of all students including underachieving and accelerated learners.
• Equip administrators, teachers, and students with real-time progress and performance to make informed decisions to track success.*

Institutions of higher and further education use VLEs in order to:

• Economize on the time of teaching staff, and the cost of instruction.
• Facilitate the presentation of online learning by instructors without web authoring experience.
• Provide instruction to students in a flexible manner to students with varying time and location constraints.
• Provide instruction in a manner familiar to the current web-oriented generation of students.
• Facilitate the networking of instruction between different campuses or even colleges.
• Provide for the reuse of common material among different courses.
• Provide automatic integration of the results of student learning into campus information systems.
• Provide the ability to deliver various courses to a large number of students.

Online learners performed modestly better, on average than those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction.

Controversy

VLEs are supposed to support many 21st century skills, including:

• Cultural and global awareness: Students have access to a wide network of people and information.
• Self-direction: Students are able to work at their own pace.
• Information and communication technology literacy: Students use technology to obtain and present information.
• Problem solving skills: Students are required to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in order to be assessed, and they often participate in group thinking and discussion.
• Time management: Students are required to meet deadlines.

Both supporters and critics of virtual learning environments recognize the importance of the development of such skills, including creativity, communication, and knowledge application; however, the controversy lies in whether or not virtual learning environments are practical for both teachers and students.

Critics of VLE worry about the disconnect that can occur between the teacher and students, as well as between student to student. A Virtual Learning Environment does not provide students with face-to-face interaction and therefore, can deprive students of opportunities for better communication and deeper understanding. Educators also have concerns pertaining to a student's computer literacy skills and access to quality technology. Both can create a challenge for students to succeed in a Virtual Learning Environment. A study among Indian students has suggested that a negative experience with virtual learning environments can leave "the learner with a passive, un-engaging experience, leading to incomplete learning and low performance".

The VLE leads to a reported higher computer self-efficacy, while participants report being less satisfied with the learning process that is achieved in the Virtual Learning Environment.

Standards

Most VLEs support the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) as a standard, but there are no commonly used standards that define how the learner's performance within a course can be transferred from one VLE to another.

There are also standards for sharing content such as those defined by the IMS Global Consortium. Local bodies such as in the school's sector in the UK the DCSF via Becta have additionally defined a learning platform "conformance framework" to encourage interoperability.

Virtual learning environments are not limited only to students and learners in university-level studies. There are many virtual learning environments for students in grades K-12. These systems are also particularly suited for the needs of independent educational programs, charter schools, and home-based education. 

As virtual teaching and learning become more deeply integrated into curricula, it is important to assess the quality and rigor of virtual programs. The Virtual Learning Program Standards provide a framework for identifying key areas for effective teaching and learning in Virtual Learning Programs throughout the Northeast and the nation.

Assessments

Educators need benchmark tools to assess a virtual learning environment as a viable means of education. 

Walker developed a survey instrument known as the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES), which is accessible to students anywhere. DELES examines instructor support, student interaction, and collaboration, personal relevance, authentic learning, active learning, and student autonomy. 

Harnish and Reeves provide a systematic criteria approach based on training, implementation, system usage, communication, and support.

Learning management system

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_management_system 

 

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Although the first LMS appeared in the higher education sector, the majority of the LMSs today focus on the corporate market. Learning Management Systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s.

Learning management systems were designed to identify training and learning gaps, utilizing analytical data and reporting. LMSs are focused on online learning delivery but support a range of uses, acting as a platform for online content, including courses, both asynchronous based and synchronous based. An LMS may offer classroom management for instructor-led training or a flipped classroom, used in higher education, but not in the corporate space. Modern LMSs include intelligent algorithms to make automated recommendations for courses based on a user's skill profile as well as extract meta-data from learning materials in order to make such recommendations even more accurate.

Characteristics

Purpose

An LMS delivers and manages all types of content, including video, courses, and documents. In the education and higher education markets, an LMS will include a variety of functionality that is similar to corporate but will have features such as rubrics, teacher and instructor facilitated learning, a discussion board, and often the use of a syllabus. A syllabus is rarely a feature in the corporate LMS, although courses may start with heading-level index to give learners an overview of topics covered.

History

There are several historical phases of distance education that preceded the development of the LMS:

Correspondence teaching

The first known document of correspondence teaching dates back to 1723, through the advertisement in the Boston Gazette of Caleb Phillips, professor of shorthand, offering teaching materials and tutorials.^[3] The first testimony of a bi-directional communication organized correspondence course comes from England, in 1840, when Isaac Pitman initiated a shorthand course, wherein he sent a passage of the Bible to students, who would send it back in full transcription. The success of the course resulted in the foundation of the phonographic correspondence society in 1843. The pioneering milestone in distance language teaching was in 1856 by Charles Toussaint and Gustav Langenscheidt, who began the first European institution of distance learning. This is the first known instance of the use of materials for independent language study. Correspondence institutions in the United States and across Europe were encouraged and fostered by the development in 1680 of the penny post service, which allowed the delivery of letters and parcels for a penny.

Multimedia teaching: The emergence and development of the distance learning idea

The concept of eLearning began developing in the early 20th century, marked by the appearance of audio-video communication systems used for remote teaching. In 1909, E.M. Forster published his story 'The Machine Stops' and explained the benefits of using audio communication to deliver lectures to remote audiences.

In 1920, Sidney L. Pressey developed the first teaching machine which offered multiple types of practical exercises and question formats. Nine years later, University of Alberta's Professor M.E. Zerte transformed this machine into a problem cylinder able to compare problems and solutions.

This, in a sense was "multimedia", because it made use of several media to reach students and provide instruction. Later printed materials would be joined by telephone, radio and TV broadcasts, audio and videotapes.

The earliest networked learning system was the Plato Learning Management system (PLM) developed in the 1970s by Control Data Corporation.

Telematic Teaching

In the 1980s the modern telecommunications start to be used in education, with computers more present in the daily use of higher education institutions. Computer aided teaching aims to integrate technical and educational means and instruments to student learning. The trend then shifted to video communication, as a result of which Houston University decided to hold telecast classes to their students for approximately 13–15 hours a week. The classes took place in 1953, while in 1956, Robin McKinnon Wood and Gordon Pask released the very first adaptive teaching system for corporate environments SAKI. The idea of automating teaching operations also inspired the University of Illinois experts to develop their Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations (PLATO) which enabled users to exchange content regardless of their location. In the period between 1970 and 1980, educational venues were rapidly considering the idea of computerizing courses, including the Western Behavioral Sciences Institute from California that introduced the first accredited online-taught degree.

Teaching through the internet: The appearance of the first LMS

The history of the application of computers to education is filled with broadly descriptive terms such as computer-managed instruction (CMI), and integrated learning systems (ILS), computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-assisted learning (CAL). These terms describe drill-and-practice programs, more sophisticated tutorials, and more individualized instruction, respectively. The term is currently used to describe a number of different educational computer applications. FirstClass by SoftArc, used by the United Kingdom's Open University in the 1990s and 2000s to deliver online learning across Europe, was one of the earliest internet-based LMSs.

The first fully-featured Learning Management System (LMS) was called EKKO, developed and released by Norway's NKI Distance Education Network in 1991.^[15] Three years later, New Brunswick's NB Learning Network presented a similar system designed for DOS-based teaching, and devoted exclusively to business learners.

Technical aspects

Most modern LMSs are web-based. There are a variety of integration strategies for embedding content into LMSs, including AICC, xAPI (also called 'Tin Can'), SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) and LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability). LMSs were originally designed to be locally hosted on-premise, where the organization purchases a license to a version of the software, and installs it on their own servers and network. Many LMSs are now offered as SaaS (software as a service), with hosting provided by the vendors.

Through LMS, teachers may create and integrate course materials, articulate learning goals, align content and assessments, track studying progress, and create customized test for students. LMS allows the communication of learning objectives, and organize learning timelines. LMS leverage is that it delivers learning content and tools straight to learners, and it can also reach marginalized groups through special settings. Such systems have built-in customizable features including assessment and tracking. Thus, learners can see in real time their progress and instructors can monitor and communicate the effectiveness of learning. One of the most important features of LMS is trying to create a streamline communication between learners and instructors. Such systems, besides facilitating online learning, tracking learning progress, providing digital learning tools, manage communication, and maybe selling content, may be used to provide different communication features.

Features

Managing courses, users and roles

The LMS may be used to create professional structured course content. The teacher can add, text, images, tables, links and text formatting, interactive tests, slideshows etc. Moreover, you can create different types of users, such as teachers, students, parents, visitors and editors (hierarchies). It helps control which content a student can access, track studying progress and engage student with contact tools. Teachers can manage courses and modules, enroll students or set up self-enrollment, see reports on students and import students to their online classes.

With much of the integration of new resources being controlled by technical guidelines outlined by SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model), the process of integrating new features within multiple LMSs has become more efficient.

Online assessment and tracking students' attendance

LMS can enable teachers to create customized tests for students, accessible and submitted online. Platforms allow different multiple question types such as: one/multi-line answer; multiple choice answer; drag-and-drop order; essay; true or false/yes or no; fill in the gaps; agreement scale and offline tasks. Some LMSs also allow for attendance management and integration with classroom training wherein administrators can view attendance and records of whether a learner attended, arrived late, or missed classes and events.

User feedback

Students' exchange of feedback both with teachers and their peers is possible through LMS. Teachers may create discussion groups to allow students feedback and increase the interaction in course. Students' feedback is an instrument which help teachers to improve their work, identify what to add or remove from their courses, where students feel more comfortable, what makes them be more included.

Learning management industry

In the U.S. higher education market as of fall 2018, the top three LMSs by number of institutions were Blackboard (31%), Canvas (30%), and Moodle (18%). The same three systems led in terms of number of students enrolled, but Canvas slightly surpassed Blackboard. Worldwide, the picture is different, with Moodle having over 50% of market share in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania.

Many users of LMSs use an authoring tool to create content, which is then hosted on an LMS. In some cases, LMSs that do utilise a standard include a primitive authoring tool for basic content manipulation. More modern systems, in particular SAAS solutions have decided not to adopt a standard and have rich course authoring tools. There are several standards for creating and integrating complex content into an LMS, including AICC, SCORM, xAPI and Learning Tools Interoperability. However, utilising SCORM or an alternative standardised course protocol is not always required and can be restrictive when used unnecessarily.

Evaluation of LMSs is a complex task and significant research supports different forms of evaluation, including iterative processes where students' experiences and approaches to learning are evaluated.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

There are six major advantages of LMS: interoperability, accessibility, reusability, durability, maintenance ability and adaptability, which in themselves constitute the concept of LMS.

Other advantages include:

• An LMS supports content in various formats: text, video, audio, etc.
• One can access materials anytime, from everywhere, teachers can modify the content, and students can see the updated material.
• The evaluation of students is easier and fair, based on student attendance and online quizzes.
• Students and teachers can re-use the material every time they need.
• Students can learn collaboratively by setting up a School website with the LMS software and helps "Keeps organizations up-to-date with compliance regulations. If your organization must stay up-to-date with current compliance regulations, then a Learning Management System can be an invaluable tool. Compliance laws change on a regular basis, and updating a traditional course to reflect these changes can be a time-consuming chore.

Disadvantages

• Implementing LMS requires a well-built technology infrastructure. Teachers have to be willing to adapt their curricula from face to face lectures to online lectures.
• LMS can often come across as impersonal and lacking in the dialogue opportunities provided by in-person training.
• Having a learning module presented in only one style can make it difficult to accommodate different learning styles.

Adaptive learning

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adaptive_learning 

 

Adaptive learning, also known as adaptive teaching, is an educational method which uses computer algorithms to orchestrate the interaction with the learner and deliver customized resources and learning activities to address the unique needs of each learner. In professional learning contexts, individuals may "test out" of some training to ensure they engage with novel instruction. Computers adapt the presentation of educational material according to students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to questions, tasks and experiences. The technology encompasses aspects derived from various fields of study including computer science, AI, psychometrics, education, psychology, and brain science.

Adaptive learning has been partially driven by a realization that tailored learning cannot be achieved on a large-scale using traditional, non-adaptive approaches. Adaptive learning systems endeavor to transform the learner from passive receptor of information to collaborator in the educational process. Adaptive learning systems' primary application is in education, but another popular application is business training. They have been designed as desktop computer applications, web applications, and are now being introduced into overall curricula.

History

Adaptive learning or intelligent tutoring has its origins in the artificial-intelligence movement and began gaining popularity in the 1970s. At that time, it was commonly accepted that computers would eventually achieve the human ability of adaptivity. In adaptive learning, the basic premise is that the tool or system will be able to adjust to the student/user's learning method, which results in a better and more effective learning experience for the user. Back in the 70's the main barrier was the cost and size of the computers, rendering the widespread application impractical. Another hurdle in the adoption of early intelligent systems was that the user interfaces were not conducive to the learning process. The start of the work on adaptive and intelligent learning systems is usually traced back to the SCHOLAR system that offered adaptive learning for the topic of geography of South America. A number of other innovative systems appeared within five years. A good account of the early work on adaptive learning and intelligent tutoring systems can be found in the classic book "Intelligent Tutoring Systems".

Technology and methodology

Adaptive learning systems have traditionally been divided into separate components or 'models'. While different model groups have been presented, most systems include some or all of the following models (occasionally with different names):

• Expert model – The model with the information which is to be taught
• Student model – The model which tracks and learns about the student
• Instructional model – The model which actually conveys the information
• Instructional environment – The user interface for interacting with the system

Expert model

The expert model stores information about the material which is being taught. This can be as simple as the solutions for the question set but it can also include lessons and tutorials and, in more sophisticated systems, even expert methodologies to illustrate approaches to the questions.

Adaptive learning systems which do not include an expert model will typically incorporate these functions in the instructional model.

Student model

The simplest means of determining a student's skill level is the method employed in CAT (computerized adaptive testing). In CAT, the subject is presented with questions that are selected based on their level of difficulty in relation to the presumed skill level of the subject. As the test proceeds, the computer adjusts the subject's score based on their answers, continuously fine-tuning the score by selecting questions from a narrower range of difficulty. 

An algorithm for a CAT-style assessment is simple to implement. A large pool of questions is amassed and rated according to difficulty, through expert analysis, experimentation, or a combination of the two. The computer then performs what is essentially a binary search, always giving the subject a question which is halfway between what the computer has already determined to be the subject's maximum and minimum possible skill levels. These levels are then adjusted to the level of the difficulty of the question, reassigning the minimum if the subject answered correctly, and the maximum if the subject answered incorrectly. Obviously, a certain margin for error has to be built in to allow for scenarios where the subject's answer is not indicative of their true skill level but simply coincidental. Asking multiple questions from one level of difficulty greatly reduces the probability of a misleading answer, and allowing the range to grow beyond the assumed skill level can compensate for possible misevaluations.

A further extension of identifying weaknesses in terms of concepts is to program the student model to analyze incorrect answers. This is especially applicable for multiple choice questions. Consider the following example:

Q. Simplify: ${\displaystyle 2x^{2}+x^{3}}$

a) Can't be simplified

b) ${\displaystyle 3x^{5}}$

c) ...

d) ...

Clearly, a student who answers (b) is adding the exponents and failing to grasp the concept of like terms. In this case, the incorrect answer provides additional insight beyond the simple fact that it is incorrect.

Instructional model

The instructional model generally looks to incorporate the best educational tools that technology has to offer (such as multimedia presentations) with expert teacher advice for presentation methods. The level of sophistication of the instructional model depends greatly on the level of sophistication of the student model. In a CAT-style student model, the instructional model will simply rank lessons in correspondence with the ranks for the question pool. When the student's level has been satisfactorily determined, the instructional model provides the appropriate lesson. The more advanced student models which assess based on concepts need an instructional model which organizes its lessons by concept as well. The instructional model can be designed to analyze the collection of weaknesses and tailor a lesson plan accordingly. 

When the incorrect answers are being evaluated by the student model, some systems look to provide feedback to the actual questions in the form of 'hints'. As the student makes mistakes, useful suggestions pop up such as "look carefully at the sign of the number". This too can fall in the domain of the instructional model, with generic concept-based hints being offered based on concept weaknesses, or the hints can be question-specific in which case the student, instructional, and expert models all overlap.

Implementations

Learning management system

Many learning management systems have incorporated various adaptive learning features. A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs.

Distance learning

Adaptive learning systems can be implemented on the Internet for use in distance learning and group collaboration.

The field of distance learning is now incorporating aspects of adaptive learning. Initial systems without adaptive learning were able to provide automated feedback to students who are presented questions from a preselected question bank. That approach however lacks the guidance which teachers in the classroom can provide. Current trends in distance learning call for the use of adaptive learning to implement intelligent dynamic behavior in the learning environment.

During the time a student spends learning a new concept they are tested on their abilities and databases track their progress using one of the models. The latest generation of distance learning systems take into account the students' answers and adapt themselves to the student's cognitive abilities using a concept called 'cognitive scaffolding'. Cognitive scaffolding is the ability of an automated learning system to create a cognitive path of assessment from lowest to highest based on the demonstrated cognitive abilities.

A current successful implementation of adaptive learning in web-based distance learning is the Maple engine of WebLearn by RMIT university. WebLearn is advanced enough that it can provide assessment of questions posed to students even if those questions have no unique answer like those in the Mathematics field. 

Adaptive learning can be incorporated to facilitate group collaboration within distance learning environments like forums or resource sharing services. Some examples of how adaptive learning can help with collaboration include automated grouping of users with the same interests, and personalization of links to information sources based on the user's stated interests or the user's surfing habits.

Educational game design

In 2014, an educational researcher concluded a multi-year study of adaptive learning for educational game design. The research developed and validated the ALGAE (Adaptive Learning GAme dEsign) model, a comprehensive adaptive learning model based on game design theories and practices, instructional strategies, and adaptive models. The research extended previous researching in game design, instructional strategies, and adaptive learning, combining those three components into a single complex model.

The study resulted in the development of an adaptive educational game design model to serve as a guide for game designers, instructional designers, and educators with the goal of increasing learning outcomes. Survey participants validated the value of the ALGAE model and provided specific insights on the model's construction, use, benefits, and challenges. The current ALGAE model is based on these insights. The model now serves as a guideline for the design and development of educational computer games. 

The model's applicability is assessed as being cross-industry including government and military agencies/units, game industry, and academia. The model's actual value and the appropriate implementation approach (focused or unfocused) will be fully realized as the ALGAE model's adoption becomes more widespread.

Development tools

While adaptive learning features are often mentioned in the marketing materials of tools, the range of adaptivity can be dramatically different. 

Entry-level tools tend to focus on determining the learner's pathway based on simplistic criteria such as the learner's answer to a multiple choice question. A correct answer may take the learner to Path A, whereas an incorrect answer may take them to Path B. While these tools provide an adequate method for basic branching, they are often based on an underlying linear model whereby the learner is simply being redirected to a point somewhere along a predefined line. Due to this, their capabilities fall short of true adaptivity.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are advanced tools which enable the creation of very complex adaptions based on any number of complex conditions. These conditions may relate to what the learner is currently doing, prior decisions, behavioral tracking, interactive and external activities to name a few. These higher end tools generally have no underlying navigation as they tend to utilize AI methods such as an inference engine. Due to the fundamental design difference advanced tools are able to provide rich assessment capabilities. Rather than taking a simple multiple choice question, the learner may be presented with a complex simulation where a number of factors are considered to determine how the learner should adapt.

Popular tools

• Adobe Captivate

• Qualtrics

Patrick Macnee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Macnee 

 

Patrick Macnee
Macnee in an episode of Columbo, May 1975
Born	Daniel Patrick Macnee 6 February 1922 Paddington, London, England
Died	25 June 2015 Rancho Mirage, California, US
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1938−2005
Spouse(s)	Barbara Douglas ​ ( m. 1942; div. 1956) Katherine Woodville ​ ( m. 1965; div. 1969) Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye ​ ( m. 1988; died 2007)
Children	2
Parent(s)	Daniel Macnee Dorothea Macnee
Website	patrickmacnee.com

Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British-American film and television actor. He played the role of secret agent John Steed in the British television series The Avengers.

Early life and career

The elder of two sons, Macnee was born in Paddington, London, England on 6 February 1922; to Daniel Macnee (1878−1952) and Dorothea Mabel Macnee (née Henry) (1896−1984). His father, who was a grandson of the Scottish artist Sir Daniel Macnee, trained race horses in Lambourn, and was known for his dress sense; he had served as an officer in the Yorkshire Dragoons in the First World War. His maternal grandmother was Frances Alice Hastings (1870−1945), who was the daughter of Vice-Admiral George Fowler Hastings and granddaughter of Hans Francis Hastings, 12th Earl of Huntingdon. His younger brother James, known as Jimmy, was born five years later.

Macnee's parents separated after his mother began to identify as a lesbian. His father later moved to India, and his mother began to live with her wealthy partner, Evelyn Spottswood, whose money came from the Dewar's whisky business. Macnee referred to her in his autobiography as "Uncle Evelyn", and she helped pay for his schooling. He was educated at Summer Fields School and Eton College, where he was a member of the Officer Training Corps and was one of the guard of honour for King George V at St George's Chapel in 1936. He was later expelled from Eton for selling pornography and being a bookmaker for his fellow students.

Macnee studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, but shortly before he was to perform in his first West End leading role, which would have had him acting alongside Vivien Leigh, he was called up for the United Kingdom Armed Forces. He joined the Royal Navy as an ordinary seaman in October 1942 and was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in June 1943, becoming a navigator on Motor Torpedo Boats in the English Channel and North Sea. Reassigned as first lieutenant on a second MTB, Macnee caught bronchitis just before D-Day; while he was recuperating in hospital, his boat and crew were lost in action. Two of the crew received the Distinguished Service Medal. He left the Navy in 1946 as a lieutenant.

Macnee nurtured his acting career in Canada early on, but he also appeared as an uncredited extra in the British films Pygmalion (1938), The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) and Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948), as well as some live TV dramas for the BBC, before graduating to credited parts in such films as Scrooge (US: A Christmas Carol, 1951), as the young Jacob Marley, the Gene Kelly vehicle Les Girls (1957), as an Old Bailey barrister, and the war film The Battle of the River Plate (1956). Between these occasional movie roles, Macnee spent the better part of the 1950s working in dozens of small parts in American and Canadian television and theatre, including an appearance in an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1959 ("Judgment Night"). Disappointed in his limited career development, in the late 1950s Macnee was daily smoking 80 cigarettes and drinking a bottle of whisky.

Not long before his career-making role in The Avengers, Macnee took a break from acting and served as one of the London-based producers for the classic documentary series The Valiant Years, based on the Second World War memoirs of Winston Churchill.

The Avengers

While working in London on the Churchill series, Macnee was offered the part in The Avengers (1961−69), (originally intended to be known as Jonathan Steed), for which he became best known. The series was originally conceived as a vehicle for Ian Hendry, who played the lead role of Dr. David Keel in a sequel to an earlier series, Police Surgeon (1960), while John Steed was his assistant. Macnee, though, became the lead after Hendry's departure at the end of the first season. Macnee played opposite a succession of glamorous female partners; Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson. Of the 161 completed episodes, Macnee appeared in all but two, both from the first season.

Although Macnee evolved in the role as the series progressed, the key elements of Steed's persona and appearance were there from very early on: the slightly mysterious demeanour and, increasingly, the light, suave, flirting tone with ladies (and always with his female assistants). Finally, from the episodes with Blackman onwards, the trademark bowler hat and umbrella completed the image. Though it was traditionally associated with London "city gents", the ensemble of suit, umbrella and bowler had developed in the post-war years as mufti for ex-servicemen attending Armistice Day ceremonies. Steed's sartorial style may also have been drawn from Macnee's father. Macnee, alongside designer Pierre Cardin, adapted the look into a style all his own, and he went on to design several outfits himself for Steed based on the same basic theme. Steed was also the central character of The New Avengers (1976–77), in which he was teamed with agents named Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and Mike Gambit (Gareth Hunt). 

Macnee insisted on, and was proud of, never carrying a gun in the original series; when asked why, he explained, "I'd just come out of a World War in which I'd seen most of my friends blown to bits." Lumley later said she did all the gun-slinging in The New Avengers for the same reason.

When asked in June 1982 which Avengers female lead was his favourite, Macnee declined to give a specific answer. "Well, I'd rather not say. To do so would invite trouble," he told TV Week magazine. Macnee did provide his evaluation of the female leads. Of Honor Blackman he said, "She was wonderful, presenting the concept of a strong-willed, independent and liberated woman just as that sort of woman was beginning to emerge in society." Diana Rigg was "One of the world's great actresses. A superb comedienne. I'm convinced that one day she'll be Dame Diana" (his prediction came true in 1994). Linda Thorson was "one of the sexiest women alive" while Joanna Lumley was "superb in the role of Purdey. An actress who is only now realising her immense potential."

Macnee co-wrote two original novels based upon The Avengers during the 1960s, titled Dead Duck and Deadline. He hosted a documentary, The Avengers: The Journey Back (1998), directed by Clyde Lucas.

For the critically lambasted film version of The Avengers (1998), he lent his voice in a cameo as "Invisible Jones". The character of Steed was taken over by Ralph Fiennes.

Later roles

Macnee in 1998

Macnee's other significant roles included playing Sir Godfrey Tibbett opposite Roger Moore in the James Bond film A View to a Kill (1985), as Major Crossley in The Sea Wolves (again with Moore), guest roles in Encounter, Alias Smith and Jones (for Glen Larson), Magnum, P.I., Hart to Hart, Murder, She Wrote, and The Love Boat. Although his best known part was heroic, many of his television appearances were as villains; among them were his roles of both the demonic Count Iblis and his provision of the character voice of the Cylons' Imperious Leader in Battlestar Galactica, also for Glen Larson, for which he also supplied the show's introductory voiceover. He also presented the American paranormal series Mysteries, Magic and Miracles. Macnee appeared on Broadway as the star of Anthony Shaffer's mystery Sleuth in 1972–73. He subsequently headlined the national tour of that play.

Macnee reunited with Diana Rigg in her short-lived NBC sitcom, Diana (1973) in a single episode. Other television appearances include a guest appearance on Columbo in the episode "Troubled Waters" (1975); and playing Major Vickers in For the Term of His Natural Life (1983). He had recurring roles in the crime series Gavilan with Robert Urich and in the short-lived satire on big business, Empire (1984), as Dr. Calvin Cromwell. Macnee also narrated the documentary Ian Fleming: 007's Creator (2000).

Macnee featured prominently in two editions of the long-running British television series This Is Your Life: in 1978, when he and host Eamonn Andrews, both dressed as Steed, surprised Ian Hendry, and in 1984 when he was the edition's unsuspecting subject.

He also appeared in several cult films: in The Howling (1981), as 'Dr George Waggner' (named whimsically after the director of The Wolf Man, 1941) and as Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in the rockumentary comedy This Is Spinal Tap (1984). He played Dr. Stark in The Creature Wasn't Nice (1981), also called Spaceship and Naked Space. Macnee played the role of actor David Mathews in the made-for-television movie Rehearsal for Murder (1982), which starred Robert Preston and Lynn Redgrave. The movie was from a script written by Columbo co-creators Richard Levinson and William Link. He took over Leo G. Carroll's role as the head of U.N.C.L.E. His character being Sir John Raleigh in Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Fifteen-Years-Later Affair (1983), produced by Michael Sloan. He was featured in the science fiction television movie Super Force (1990) as E. B. Hungerford (the series which followed only featured Macnee's voice as a Max Headroom-style computer simulation of his character), as a supporting character in the parody film Lobster Man From Mars (1989) as Prof. Plocostomos and in The Return of Sam McCloud (1989), a TV film, as Tom Jamison. He made an appearance in Frasier (2001), and several episodes of the American science-fiction series Nightman as Dr. Walton, a psychiatrist who would advise Johnny/Nightman. Macnee appeared in two episodes of the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues (1993–94) and was a retired agent in a handful of instalments of Spy Game (1997–98). 

Macnee made numerous TV commercials including one around 1990 for Swiss Chalet, the Canadian restaurant chain, and a year or so before, a commercial for the Sterling Motor Car Company. Over the James Bond theme, the car duels with a motorcycle assailant at high speed through mountainous territory, ultimately eludes the foe, and reaches its destination. Macnee steps out of the car and greets viewers with a smile, saying, "I suppose you were expecting someone else". Macnee was the narrator for several "behind-the-scenes" featurettes for the James Bond series of DVDs and recorded numerous audio books, including the releases of many novels by Jack Higgins. He also recorded the children's books The Musical Life of Gustav Mole and its sequel, The Lost Music (Gustav Mole's War on Noise), both written by Michael Twinn.

Macnee featured in two pop videos: as Steed in original Avengers footage in The Pretenders' video for their song "Don't Get Me Wrong" (1986) and in the promotion for Oasis's "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996), as the band's driver, a role similar to that which he played in the James Bond film A View To A Kill (1985). In 1990 his recording with his Avengers co-star Honor Blackman, called "Kinky Boots" (1964), reached the UK Singles Chart after being played on Simon Mayo's BBC Radio One breakfast show.

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson

Macnee appeared in Magnum, P.I. (1984) as a retired, but delusional, British agent, who believed he was Sherlock Holmes, in a season four episode titled Holmes Is Where the Heart Is. He played both Holmes and Dr. Watson on several occasions. He played Watson three times: once alongside Roger Moore's Sherlock Holmes in a TV film, Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976), and twice with Christopher Lee, first in Incident at Victoria Falls (1991), and then in Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady (1992). He played Holmes in another TV film, The Hound of London (1993), along with the 1996 TV film Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Temporal Nexus^{[citation needed]}. He is thus one of only a very small number of actors to have portrayed both Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on screen.

Personal life

Macnee married his first wife, Barbara Douglas (1921–2012), in 1942. They had two children, Rupert and Jenny, and a grandson, Christopher ("Kit"). After they were divorced in 1956, his second marriage (1965−1969) was to actress Katherine Woodville. His third marriage was to Baba Majos de Nagyzsenye, daughter of opera singer Ella Némethy. It lasted from 1988 until her death in 2007. Macnee became a US citizen in 1959. He dictated his autobiography, which he entitled Blind in One Ear: The Avenger Returns (1988), to Marie Cameron. Later in life, Macnee was an enthusiastic nudist.

Death

On 25 June 2015, Macnee died at Rancho Mirage, California, his home for the previous four decades, at the age of 93.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1938	Pygmalion	Extra	Uncredited
1943	The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp	Extra	Uncredited
1948	The Fatal Night	Tony
	Hamlet	Extra	Uncredited
1949	The Small Back Room	Man at Committee Meeting	Uncredited
	All Over the Town	Mr. Vince
1950	The Girl Is Mine	Hugh Hurcombe
	Seven Days to Noon	Bit Part	Uncredited
	Dick Barton at Bay	Phillips	Credited as Patrick McNee
	The Elusive Pimpernel	Hon. John Bristow	Released in the United States as 'The Fighting Pimpernel
1951	Flesh and Blood	Sutherland	Uncredited
	Scrooge	Young Jacob Marley	Released in the United States as A Christmas Carol
1955	Three Cases of Murder	Guard Subaltern	Uncredited
1956	The Battle of the River Plate	Lieutenant Commander Ralph Medley
1957	Les Girls	Sir Percy	Also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls
	Until They Sail	Pvt. Duff	(scenes deleted)
1970	Incense for the Damned	Derek Longbow	Also released as Bloodsuckers, Freedom Seeker and Doctors Wear Scarlet
1970	Mister Jerico	Dudley Jerico
1978	Battlestar Galactica	Imperious Leader	Voice, Uncredited
1979	The Billion Dollar Threat	Horatio Black
	King Solomon's Treasure	Captain John Good R.N.	Macnee replaced Terry-Thomas.
1980	The Sea Wolves	Major 'Yogi' Crossley
1981	The Howling	Dr. George Waggner
	The Hot Touch	Vincent Reyblack
1982	Young Doctors in Love	Jacobs
1983	Sweet Sixteen	Dr. John Morgan
	The Creature Wasn't Nice	Dr. Stark	Also known as Naked Space and Spaceship
1984	This Is Spinal Tap	Sir Denis Eton-Hogg
1985	A View to a Kill	Sir Godfrey Tibbett
	Shadey	Sir Cyril Landau
1988	Waxwork	Sir Wilfred
	Transformations	Father Christopher
1989	Chill Factor	Carl Lawton
	Lobster Man From Mars	Professor Plocostomos
	Masque of the Red Death	Machiavel
	Eye of the Widow	Andrew Marcus
1992	Waxwork II: Lost in Time	Sir Wilfred
1993	King B: A Life in the Movies	Himself
1998	The Avengers	Invisible Jones, a Ministry Agent	Voice only. Adaptation of the 1960s TV series Macnee had starred in
2003	The Low Budget Time Machine	Dr. Ballard	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1953	Tales of Adventure	Roger Sudden
1955	On Camera	Guest star	Recurring
1958	The Veil	Constable Hawton	Episode: "Vision of Crime"
1959	The Twilight Zone	First Officer	Episode: "Judgment Night"
	Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond	Fiancé
1959−60	The Swamp Fox	British Captain	Main cast
1961−1969	The Avengers	John Steed	Main cast
1964	The Importance of Being Earnest	Algernon Moncrieff	TV adaptation for Armchair Theatre
1971	Alias Smith and Jones	Norman Alexander	1 episode
1975	Columbo	Capt. Gibbon	Episode:Columbo: Troubled Waters
1976	Sherlock Holmes in New York	Dr. Watson	TV film
1976−77	The New Avengers	John Steed	Main cast
1977	Dead of Night	Dr. Gheria	TV film
1978	Evening in Byzantium	Ian Waldeigh	TV film
	Battlestar Galactica	Imperious Leader / Count Iblis	Voice for episodes 1−12 Uncredited
1980	The Littlest Hobo	Elmer	Episode: "Diamonds Are a Dog's Best Friend" (S 1:Ep 18)
1982	Rehearsal for Murder	David Mathews	TV film
1982−83	Gavilan	Milo Bentley	Main cast
1983	Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Sir John Raleigh	A reunion telefilm subtitled The Fifteen Years Later Affair was broadcast on CBS in America on 5 April 1983, with Vaughn and McCallum reprising their roles, and Macnee replacing Leo G. Carroll as the head of U.N.C.L.E. A framed picture of Carroll appeared on his desk.
	For the Term of His Natural Life	Major Vickers	Miniseries
1984	Empire	Calvin Cromwell	Main cast
1985	Lime Street	Sir Geoffrey Rimbatten	Main cast
1989	Around the World in 80 Days	Ralph Gautier	Miniseries
	Dick Francis: Blood Sport	Geoffrey Keeble
	Dick Francis: In the Frame	Geoffrey Keeble
	Dick Francis: Twice Shy	Geoffrey Keeble
	The Return of Sam McCloud	Tom Jamison	TV Movie of the series
1990−92	Super Force	Voice of E.B. Hungerford
1991	Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady	Dr. Watson	TV film
	The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw	Sir Colin	Miniseries
1992	Incident at Victoria Falls	Dr. Watson	TV film
1993	The Hound of London	Sherlock Holmes	TV film
1994	Thunder in Paradise	Edward Whitaker	Main cast
1996	The Case of the Temporal Nexus	Sherlock Holmes	TV film
1997−98	Night Man	Dr. Walton	Recurring
1997	Spy Game	Mr. Black	Episode:"Why Spy?" (S 1:Ep 1 −Pilot)
	Light Lunch	Himself	Episode: "The Avengers... Still Kinky After All These Years" (S 1:Ep 42)
	Diagnosis Murder	Bernard Garrison	Episode: "Discards" (S 5:Ep 10)
1999	Nancherrow	Lord Peter Awliscombe	TV film
	Through the Keyhole	House Owner	Episode: "29 March 1999" (S 3:Ep 1)
2000	Family Law	Sir Thomas Matthews	Episode: "Second Chance" (S 1:21)
2001	Frasier	Cecil Headley	Episode: "The Show Must Go Off" (S 8"EP 12)
2003	That Was the Week We Watched	Himself	Episode: "11–17 April 1970" (S 1:Ep 2)
2005	After They Were Famous	Himself	Episode: "Crimefighters" (S 4:Ep 7)

Documentaries

• Real Ghost Stories: The Dead and the Restless (1997)
• Real Ghost Stories: The Wild West of the Dead (1997)
• Real Ghost Stories: Spirits, Graveyards & Ghostbusters (1997)
• Real Ghost Stories: The Poltergeists (1997)
• Real Ghost Stories: The London Underworld & Beyond (1997)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Nostradamus (1999 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Out of Body Experience (1999 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Haunted Historic Sites (1999 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Miracle Healings (2000 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: World of Satanism (2000 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Jack The Ripper (2001 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Unexplained Mysteries: Cryonics (2001 Front Row Entertainment, Inc.)
• Ian Fleming: 007's Creator (2000)
• The Spirit of Diana (2003)
• Unlocking DaVinci's Code (2004)
• The Witnessing of Angels (2010)
• Real Ghost Stories: Hollywood Ghosts (2010)

Music videos

• The Pretenders - "Don't Get Me Wrong" (1986) (Steed in original Avengers footage)
• Oasis - "Don't Look Back in Anger" (1996)