1st workshop on Culturally-Aware Tutoring Systems (CATS 2008)- (Held in conjunction with Intelligent Tutoring Systems 2008). June 23rd-24th 2008. Montréal, CANADA.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) have within their breadth of application the possibility of being used for distance education. As such, they can be included in the vaster field of eLearning. Knowledge, skills, techniques and even workers themselves have become global, a process to which ITS and eLearning are contributing. This process is not without certain pitfalls. Research in education has shown that teaching methodologies and instructional design cannot always be universally applied as their impact can greatly vary from one culture to another.
In fact, cultural factors have not been extensively taken into consideration in the conception of ITS and eLearning systems thus far, be it from the point of view of learners' varying cultural backgrounds or the influence that these backgrounds have on the choice of underlying teaching methodologies. Developing ITS and eLearning systems with cultural discernment capabilities could therefore -- among other possibilities -- contribute to lessening the potential for misunderstanding learner behavior as well as allow for customized learning according to cultural needs. A greater cultural focus would also increase the flexibility of the systems we build and promote their acceptance and wider spread use.
Furthermore, in a world in which interactions between culturally diverse people and groups are becoming usual, developing models of cultural representation is a valuable undertaking. Not only is there an increasing need in the teaching process for the ability to address individuals and groups with respect to culture, there is a need to learn about culture itself in view of its rich and multi-faceted variability. ITS and eLearning, enhanced with a capacity for simulating complex cultural situations, could have an undeniable impact on the format, design and quality of teaching they wish to impart.
The current workshop consequently aims to foster reflection on the way culture can be represented within the overarching goal of imparting knowledge via ITS and eLearning. It also aims to stimulate thought as to the impact of culture on the conception and application of ITS and eLearning and reflect on those emerging technologies that need to be developed to more fully integrate cultural considerations. Finally, it aims at sharing and expanding the very knowledge we have about culture.
CALL FOR PAPERS
Papers concerned with issues of representing culture as well as its impact and influence on ITS and eLearning are encouraged, whether from computer science, psychology, intercultural studies or other related fields. Research at varying levels of development as well as position papers will be considered.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Computer modeling of individual cultural traits
- Computer modeling of cultural contexts and environments
- Computer modeling and definition of cultural group
- Computer modeling of dynamics between varying socio-cultural groups
- A system's cultural perception and its impact on user evaluation/acceptance process
- Computer-assisted learning of culture
- Collaborative learning and cultural diversity
- Identification of cultural variations in the use of ITS and eLearning systems
- Impact of culture on teaching strategies and methodologies to be used in ITS and eLearning systems
- Impact of culture on emotional and motivational management in ITS and eLearning systems
- Relationship between culture and cognition and its impact within ITS and eLearning systems
- Cultural adaptation methodologies and their application in ITS and eLearning systems
- Interface variations according to users' cultural background
Solutions related to these topics can be framed in terms of:
- System architecture
- Machine learning techniques
- Case-based reasoning
- Data mining
- Speech and dialogue systems
- Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)
- Computer-supported collaborative learning
- Intelligent agents
- Learning companions
- Planning
- Serious games
- Virtual learning environments
- Simulations
- Ontological engineering
- Learning objects
- Adaptive hypermedia
- Pervasive computing
- Authoring tools for ITS and eLearning systems
- Cross-cultural evaluation of ITS and eLearning systems
Submission and Reviewing Process
Articles must be submitted by April 20th 2008 to: cats.workshop@gmail.com
Submissions must be in English and should not to exceed 10 pages. Short papers - no more than 5 pages - can also be considered.
Articles will be evaluated according to a double blind review process by two or more members of the program committee. A cover page must be sent SEPARATELY from the main document. The cover page should include the title of the paper, the authors' information (names and affiliations, postal address, phone number, email address), and a 200 word abstract. The main document will not display authors' information. Furthermore, it is strongly recommended that information allowing authors to be identified be avoided within the core of the article (this information can however be included once the article has been accepted).
Important Dates
April 20th, 2008. Paper submission deadline
May 11th, 2008. Notification of acceptance
May 14th, 2008. Author registration deadline
May 23rd, 2008. Camera-ready copy due
June 23rd-24th, 2008. Workshop, UQAM, Montréal
WORKSHOP ORGANIZATION
Organizing Committee
Emmanuel G. Blanchard, University of Montréal, Canada, blanchae@iro.umontreal.ca
Danièle Allard, Dalhousie University, Canada, d.allard@dal.ca
Program Committee
Mohammed Abdel-Razek, National E-Learning Center, Egypt
Elisabeth André, Augsburg University, Germany
Jacqueline Bourdeau, TELUQ, Canada
Elisabeth Delozanne, Paris 6 University, France
Benedict Du Boulay, University of Sussex, UK
Claude Frasson, University of Montreal, Canada
Guy Gouardères, University of Pau, France
Monique Grandbastien, University of Nancy, France
W. Lewis Johnson, Alelo, USA
Judy Kay, University of Sidney, Australia
Terry Kidd, University of Texas Health Science Center, USA
H. Chad Lane, University of Southern California, USA
Amy Ogan, Carnegie Mellon University, USA
Matthias Rehm, Augsburg University, Germany
Isabelle Savard, TELUQ, Canada
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