University of Malta  Dept. of Computer Science and AI  
FACULTY OF SCIENCE  
University of Malta  
TEL: (+356) 2340 2519      FAX: (+356) 21320539

 


Just-in-Time Systems Research and Development Group

Scope

We investigate architectures and applications to supply Just-in-Time support. Currently, we have two main projects for Just-in-Time Support for Curriculum-based Learning and Just-in-Time Lecture Delivery and Support. The resulting architectures are intended to be generic enough to be deployed for other Just-in-Time applications.

Research Group Members

Dr. Christopher Staff
Dr. Kevin Vella

Mr. Aaron Galea
Ms. Ruth Borg
Mr. Joseph Spiteri

Past Members

Mr. Rainer Bezzina (2001-2)
Mr. Clyde Ellul (2001-2)

Research Activities

Publications

Bezzina, R. 2002. Peer-to-Peer Just-in-Time Support for Curriculum Based Learning. Final Year Project Report. Department of Computer Science and AI, University of Malta.

Ellul, C. 2002. Just-in-Time Lecture Delivery, Management and Student Support System. Final Year Project Report. Department of Computer Science and AI, University of Malta.

Overview of the Research Group

Just-in-Time systems assume that services can be provides on demand, that service providers can also be service requestors, and that users may collaborate to provide services.

The research group is particularly interested in three aspects of Just-in-Time systems:

  • The underlying system architecture implemented over an IP network
  • A framework to support one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many collaborations
  • The automated provision of primary-level assistance in the absence of a human service provider

Related Projects

Just-in-Time Lecture Delivery and Support

We assume that a student views a lecture as a pre-recorded digital video stream. We also assume that the student requires the same level of interaction that would be available if the student was participating in the live delivery of the same lecture. Students need to be able to ask questions about the lecture content and receive answers in real-time, even though the lecture can be taken at the student's convenience and the lecturer may not be available. Additionally, lecturers may pose questions of the student, to establish that the student understands the material covered. Unlike a lecture taking place in a classroom with more than one student, with Just-in-Time delivery, each student must be able to answer the question correctly before proceeding with the rest of the lecture.

This project also investigates the integration of on-line resources, such as lecture notes, with the video-based material, so that a student may seamlessly switch between alternative sources of information.

An interesting aspect of the project is how the same material can be used to support lecture broadcasts involving several students simultaneously following the same lecture in a virtual classroom, allowing student interaction with each other, as well as with the shared resources and possibly the lecturer.

Read about My Virtual Classroom, a prototype Just-in-Time lecture delivery system for single students.

My Virtual Classroom is currently being extended to use a Web browser-compatible user interface and to support collaborative classrooms.

Just-in-Time Support for Curriculum-based Learning over IP

We assume that at any point in time there are tutors familiar with a curriculum and students following the same curriculum who need support while undertaking some task. Students and tutors can join the support network at any time.

Whenever a student has a problem, the initial task is to locate a tutor who is in a position to assist the student. Tutors may have different areas of specialisation, and students may have a requirement for different levels of support. For example, a primary school maths tutor may not be able to assist a secondary school maths student, and although a secondary school maths tutor may be able to assist a primary school maths student it may be inefficient to use the tutor for this task. The Just-in-Time system must be fair - it must not unnecessarily over- or under-utilise a tutor, and a student must not be denied a service if a suitably qualified tutor is available.

The infrastructure for this Just-in-Time Support Network can be redeployed in other areas of application, such as Employee Support with Task-based Procedures and Post-Training Support.

Read about the Peer Support for School (PS4School) system.

The Just-in-Time support system is being converted as an Open Source development project in collaboration with KEWL, University of Western Cape, South Africa.

Question-Answering Subsystems for Just-in-time Systems

A Just-in-Time System provides a service as and when it is required. In the context of education, including commercial training, there is a need to allow sudents to receive answers to questions.

A Question-Answering Subsystem is able to reduce the dependency on human respondants, by understanding the question that the student is asking, understanding how an answer can be formulated, and understanding the content and structure of possible sources of information from which a satisfactory answer may be derived.

To collaborate on research and development in this group

For more information about this research and development group, please contact either Chris Staff at cstaff@cs.um.edu.mt (phone +356-23402506), or Kevin Vella at kvel@cs.um.edu.mt (phone +356-23402128). For general information about collaborating in research and development groups, please visit this page.

If you are interested in reading a postgraduate degree in this area, please e-mail Chris Staff at cstaff@cs.um.edu.mt, after reading the Postgraduate Enquiries information.

Contact details

Chris Staff, Department of Computer Science and AI, University of Malta, Tal-Qroqq, Msida MSD 06, Malta
E-mail: cstaff@cs.um.edu.mt
Web: http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/~cstaff
Phone: 00-356-23402506
Fax: 00-356-21320539

Kevin Vella, Department of Computer Science and AI, University of Malta, Tal-Qroqq, Msida MSD 06, Malta
E-mail: kvel@cs.um.edu.mt
Web: http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/~kvel
Phone: 00-356-23402128
Fax: 00-356-21320539


[ UNIVERSITY HOME | CSAI | SEARCH ]
[ ABOUT | STAFF | TEACHING | RESEARCH ]
[ ACTIVITIES | USEFUL LINKS & RESOURCES ]

E-mail us at webmaster@cs.um.edu.mt http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/
http://www.cs.um.edu.mt/