Ants colony algorithm

Establish the best learning path to form an

integrated content from a multi-presentation
pedagogical objective in an ILE

A.Naji1, M.Ramdani
1


1FSTM/Computer Science department, University Hassan II,BP146Mohammadia20650Morocco


AbstractWe will present in this paper an approach that allows for an integrated content of a learning objective in a computer
environment for human learning (ILE). In the latter, the same course can have several presentations. A first step is to create an
interface that helps the author to upload her/his course according to a predefined structure. In the second step, the students
collective work allows us to select the best concepts from the various presentations of an educational objective. These concepts
will form an educational objective consists of an integrated content. To achieve this, we base our approach on the ants colony
algorithm.

Key words : ILE, integrated pedagogical content, multi-presentations, pedagogical objective, Concept, evaluation, content adap-
tation, best pedagogical path.




1 INTRODUCTION
n recent years, several approaches have been
proposed to present the learner with content
that fits his level of knowledge [2] and [3] and
his/her learning styles [5]. These approaches are
based on the learners interactions with the
hypermedia system.
However, the learners failure in the attaining the objec-
tives is not necessarily related to the learner himself, but
may depend on how the content is made. As a matter of
fact, the learner can consult different contents of the
same educational objective. This consultation is done by
exploring a number of courses (the same platform,
course in another platform, downloaded course,
books...).
Current platforms provide the opportunity for authors
to create their own courses in an autonomous way. This
way, the same course can be found in several indepen-
dent presentations, which may lead the learner to waste
time when he is searching content that better meets his
educational expectations. In contrast to these platforms,
our solution leads the author to create his own course
through a guided session. Creating thus, presentations
for a course that includes the entire structure predefined
by the tutor. Based on this architecture (Figure.1), we
will establish an integrated content of a learning objec-
tive through learners collective work [8], [9], [10] and
[11]. The integrated content allows the n
th
learner to
save a lot of time in order to find the best content.
In this paper, section 2 is devoted to the presentation of
the content model and the evaluation procedure. A
model of the learner is presented in Section 3. As for
section 4, we propose a new procedure which offers the
integrated content of a pedagogical objective. Finally,
we end with a conclusion and perspectives.

2 AUTHORS AREA: CREATION OF
PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT
First, the tutor of the course (head teacher) is conducted
to establish the structure of the course (content model)
with a set of tests [1] (evaluations) Figure.1.
I
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 83

Fig 1: Creation of a pedagogical content
2.1 Content model
Each course, defined in the platform, has a hierarchical
form [4], [5] and [6], which includes all educational
objectives. Each educational objective O, is the subject
of a set of concepts defined in terms of the pair (C

, w

)
i = 1 .. N.
N : Number of concept of the objective O.
C

: Represents the i
th
concept of the objective O.
w

: Denotes the weight of the concept C

in the peda-
gogical objective O.
The concept, in turn, consists of a basic set of fragments
that represent: a text, an example, a link, an animation,
an exercise, a demonstration, etc. ... [4].
Authors can create their presentations with a course
editor through a guided session. During this session, the
author is led to describe, develop and enter the contents
of an objective according to the predefined pattern by
the head teacher of the course.
The various presentations of concepts C
i
(i=1n) of a
pedagogical objective are summarized in the following
matrix:
A
1
A
2
. . . A
m

C
1
C
1
1
C
2
1
. . . C
m
1

C
2
C
1
2
C
2
2
. . . C
m
2

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
C
n
C
1
n
C
2
n
. . . C
m
n

TABLE 1: Matrix presentations
Where Ak denotes the authors (k=1..m)
and C
k

denotes the presentation of the concept C

en-
tred by the author A
k




2.2 Evaluation Module
It is necessary to know the learners level of knowledge
to be able to determine his/her knowledge and skills.
To cater for this, the learner is led to have a test [1] and
[4] at the end of each learning session of an pedagogical
objective. We will adopt the solution proposed by [4]
and [6] and adapt it in our solution to calculate the
learners score and his/her degree of acquisition of each
concept. The test T is related to the structure of the pe-
dagogical objective and does not depend on a presenta-
tion (see matrix presentations and Figure.1). Thus, a test
in the following form:
T= {
]
} j=1..y

]
: j
th
Question of the objective O.
y : number of questions that make up the test T.

]
= { R
]
, S
]
, H
]
}
R
] : The answers to the question j, proposed by the sys-
tem during the evaluation of the learner. The latter
chooses the correct answers among those proposed by
the system.
S
] : The solution of the question j, which shows the sys-
tem when the learner visualizes the response after the
end of the evaluation.
H
]
: Learners Acquisitions in relation to the concepts of
the objective 0 following correct answer to the question

]
.
H
]
={(C

, J(C

))} i=1..N.
C

The i
th
concept in the objective O.
J(C

) : The degree of acquisition of the concept C

.
N : The number of concepts in the objective O.
3 LEARNERS SPACE: LEARNING
In order to improve their learning, learners need an
interactive system that meets their expectations [1], [4]
and [7]. These expectations can be summarized as:
1. Provide learners with the best educational
content.
2. Assess learners knowledge and skills.
3. Inform students of their masters degrees
for each concept and each learning objec-
tive defined in the domain model.
4. Inform students of their shortcomings and
weaknesses.
5. Etc...
In order to meet these expectations, we are sup-
posed to present to the learner a model of know-
ledge [4], integrated in each course, which is
created since the start of the learning session. This
model must include the entire structure educa-
tional objectives set by the tutor.
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 84

Fig 2: The learner's learning session
At the end of each learning session, the learners
knowledge level is checked. For this purpose, it is
essential to develop indicators allow to measure both
the mastery degree of the concepts and pedagogical
objectives. To this end, we will adopt two indicators
expressed in%:
1. The degree of mastery of each concept defined
in the domain model d(C

) : is calculated from
learners answers to test questions [4] and [6].
2. The degree of mastery of each pedagogical ob-
jective d(O).
The latter is calculated from d(C

) using the following

equation:
d(O)= d(C

)
n
|=1
w

(1)
w

: The weight of the concept C

in the objective O.
The learners knowledge levels are updated after
each assessment (test T).
4 An approach to establish an inte-
grated content of the pedagogical
objective
During the learning session, students take differ-
ent paths as they move between concepts presen-
tations to find content that better suits their cogni-
tive expectations. To establish the integrated pe-
dagogical objective, we should find all arcs lead-
ing learners to have a good score (Figure.2 and
Figure.3).
Learners are able to collectively find outstanding
pedagogical paths. The method we adopt to de-
termine the best learning path is the ants colony
algorithm. This algorithm is based essentially on
the collective work of the ants that allows them to
determine the best path by depositing phero-
mones along their paths.
4.1 Ants colony algorithm
The amount of pheromones differs from one path
to another due to the evaporation process which
this substance undergoes following the equation
[8], [9], [10] and [11]:

m
k
k
j i j i j i
t t t
1
, , ,
) ( ) ( ) 1 ( ) 1 (

: an evaporation factor.
) 1 (
,
t
j i
: The pheromone amount between nodes i
and j at instant t +1.
) (
,
t
j i
: The pheromone amount between nodes i and j
at instant t.
) (
,
t
k
j i
: The pheromone amount laid by ant k be-
tween nodes i and j at instant t.
m: the number of ants that have moved between the
nodes i and j until the instant t.
According to this equation we find that the more impor-
tant the number of ants that pass between the node i
and node j, the more significant is the quantity of phe-
romone, the fact that reflects the importance of the path
between these two nodes.
The best path, in the ants context, is the path that con-
tains a large amount of pheromones. Therefore, to find
the best solutions (trajectories), connecting the nest of
the colony to the food, is obtained by detecting the piec-
es of trajectory which compose the complete path [8]
and [9].

4.2 Adaptation of ants colony algorithm to our
problem
4.2.1 Implementation
The educational content is represented by a graph
(C
]

, oC
]

) (i = 1. . n onJ ] = 1. . m) whose nodes (C

]

)
represent the presentations and the arcs (oC
]

) represent
the links. Links are created following the learners
movement between different presentations. Our graph
has n concepts; each concept is associated with m pres-
entations (m author).
Given a learning objective consists of four concepts {(C
1
,
0.2), (C
2
, 0.3), (C
3
, 0.4), (C
4
, 0.1)} (see section 2.1), each
concept is represented by three presentations (Figure 3).
Figure 3 shows possible moves between the different
concepts.

Fig 3: Possible moves between the concepts
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 85
To discover the importance of the learning path
taken and its influence on the result, we are based
on an example of five students who all belong to
the average category (see Section 4.2.3). These
learners move freely between different concepts.
Suppose they have borrowed the following paths:
Learner 1 :C
1
1
C
2
2
C
3
2
C
3
3
C
2
4

Learner 2 :C
2
1
C
2
2
C
3
2
C
3
3
C
2
4

Learner 3 : C
1
1
C
3
2
C
3
3
C
2
3
C
1
4

Learner 4 : C
1
1
C
3
2
C
3
3
C
2
3
C
1
4

Learner 5 : C
1
1
C
3
2
C
3
3
C
2
3
C
1
4

It is considered that the system retrieves a know-
ledge review for each learner (see section 3). The
score in the educational objective is obtained fol-
lowing the formula:
Score(O)=score(C
1
)*0.2 + Score(C
2
)*0.3 + Score(C
3
)*0.4
+ Score(C
4
)*0.1
The table below summarizes the obtained scores:
Learners The scores in concepts The score
in Objec-
tive
Learner 1 C
1
:30% C
2
:60%
C
3
:30% C
4
:70%

43%
Learner 2 C
1
:40% C
2
:70%
C
3
:25% C
4
:60%

45%
Learner 3 C
1
:35% C
2
:20%
C
3
:65% C
4
:30%

42%
Learner 4 C
1
:30% C
2
:10%
C
3
:75% C
4
:70%

46%
Learner 5 C
1
:50% C
2
:20%
C
3
:70% C
4
:70%

51%

4.2.2 Discussions
In considering the obtained results, we find that
the success or failure in a learning unit does not
depend solely on its content but also depends on
the learning units visited before. As well, the
learners results depend on the set of arcs bor-
rowed during the learning session. For this reason,
an efficiency coefficient is associated with each
arc. Therefore, the optimization by the ant colony
technique appeared to apply to our problem.
The efficiency coefficient represents the pheromones
amount deposited by the learners (artificial ants). This
amount increases in case of success, and decreases in
case of failure. Therefore, the amount of pheromones in
an arc (C

k
C
]
k+1
), depends only on the number of
learners who have visited the presentation C

k
followed
by the presentation C

k+1
, and of their scores in C
k+1
.
This operation does not depend on time (the
evaporation factor =0). Thus, we will establish our
formula for updating the amount of pheromones:

Fig 4: Example of updating of the pheromones amount
1. The pheromones amount is increased by
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) in the arc (C

k
C
]
k+1
) after a suc-
cess in C
k+1
during the transition from C

k

to C
]
k+1
.
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n+1)= (C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n)+(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n+1) (2)
2. The pheromone amount is decreased by
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) in the arc (C

k
C
]
k+1
) due to a
failure in C
k+1
during the transition from C

k

to C
]
k+1
.
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n+1)= (C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n) - (C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n+1) (3)
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
)(n+1) : The pheromone amount on the arc
(C

k
C
]
k+1
) at (n +1)
th
visit.
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
)(n) : The pheromone amount on the arc
(C

k
C
]
k+1
) at the n
th
visit.
(C

k
, C
]
k+1
) (n+1) : The amount of pheromone deposited
by the (n +1) learner on the arc (C

k
C
]
k+1
).
: regulating the amount of pheromones (see 4.2.3)
4.2.3 Regulating the amount of phero-
mones
In practice, learners do not react the same way with the
apprenticeship system. This diversity is due to the hete-
rogeneity of their level (analytical ability, skill level,
knowledge ...). Treat all students the same way in calcu-
lating the best path may disrupt the learning system
favoring certain arcs compared to others. For this pur-
pose, it is necessary to divide the learners according to
their already achieved scores. This distribution will
allow us to have a decision fairly consistent on the arcs.
For this reason, a factor regulator () is used in our solu-
tion to differentiate the quantity of pheromone depo-
sited by each learner.
Our solution is to divide the population of learn-
ers into three categories: the learners in trouble,
the average learners and the excellent ones.
Category of students in trouble: Generally, the students in
this category do not make effort in the search of the best
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 86
arcs. In addition, the learning session of these learners
often ends in failure ( = 1).
Category of average learners: Unlike the first category, the
students in this category are often active and seek the
best solutions that best suit their needs in order to de-
velop their knowledge and their scores ( = 2).
Category of the excellent: Learners in this category are
very fast in the assimilation of concepts regardless of the
quality of the arcs course. The learning session in this
class usually ends with a success with a high score ( =
3).
1, 2 and 3: are configurable to check and monitor the
influence of each category on the path established.
To judge the effectiveness of an arc in a consistent way
and faithful to reality, we will consider that the category
of means has a remarkable effect compared to the other
two categories:
(2> 1 and 2> 3).
In order to identify the learners category in an adequate
and accurate way, it is necessary to establish a balance
sheet through the obtained scores in the different peda-
gogical objectives. A process of the category identifying
of each learner is integrated into our solution. This
process is based on the history scores obtained in the
different objectives (Figure.4). The scores of students in
trouble are usually lower than 1. While the scores of
average learners are usually between 1 and 2. And
finally, the scores of good learners are usually higher
than 2.
1 and 2 are configurable in order to control the learn-
ers membership.

Fig5: Calculating the leraners category : the calculation
is made after each assessment.
4.2.4 To establish the best pedagogical
content: merging of arcs
In the following of the article, we will assume that m = 3
(3 presentations for each concept).
The increasing number of visits is accompanied by
the creation of several arcs between the different
concepts presentations. This increase leads to di-
versity in the amounts of pheromone on the arcs
created following the assessments made at the end
of each learning session of a pedagogical objective.
To establish the best learning path, we have to blend the
arcs that carry the greatest amount of pheromones (the
other arcs are canceled). Two cases arise in this ap-
proach:
Homogeneous learning path: in this path (Figure.6), the
destination presentation (C
2
k
) of the current arc
C
1
k-1
C
2
k
is the same as the original presentation of
the next arc C
2
k
C
3
k+1
.


Fig 6: Homogeneous learning path

Heterogeneous learning path: in this path (Figure.7),
the destination presentation (C
2
k
) of the current arc
C
1
k-1
C
2
k
is different to original presentation (C
3
k
) of
the next arc C
3
k
C
3
k+1
.

Fig 7: Heterogeneous learning path
From the figure above, it appears that C
k
is well treated
by the presentation C
2
k
(the pheromones amount on
C
1
k-1
C
2
k
is important), but it has different flaws, and
a lack in handling the concept C
k+1
prerequisites. The
presentation C
3
k
, on the other hand, has also flaws in
handling the objective C
k
, but it presents a good refer-
ence in handling the concept C
k+1
prerequisites. To han-
dle this situation, an arc is created between C
2
k
and C
3
k

presentations (Figure.8)


Fig 8: Create a link: additional teaching
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 87
As shown in the figure above, learners who have visited
C
2
k
, should be increasingly visiting the presentation C
3
k

(additional resources) in order to assimilate the concept
C
k+1
prerequisites.
By adopting the same procedure, a better learning
path is established. This path may change due to
the scores of newly arrived learners. However, as
the ant colony algorithm is highly interactive and
iterative, the relevance of the pedagogical path
established, must be assessed with data from a
subsequent experiment.

Conclusion & perspectives
Firstly, The main objective of this paper is to propose a
model of content presentation in a multi-presentation in
an ILE, through which the author is led to create con-
tent. Secondly, we have proposed a procedure to identi-
fy an educational objective consists of an integrated
content, based on the ants colony algorithm.
In our next work, we will improve our research proce-
dure in order to find the best path, using a detailed
analysis of the learners behavior.
RFRENCES
[1] J.Labat,"EIAH : Quel retour dinformation pour le tuteur ? In-
ternational Journal of Information Sciences for Deci Decision
Making Informations, Savoirs, Dcisions & Mdiations, 2002
[2] A.Dahbi, Conception dun systme hypermdia denseignement
adaptatif centr sur les styles dapprentissage : modle et exp-
rience ; 2009 - International Journal of Technologies in Higher
Education, 6(1)
[3] Cha, H. J. Learning styles diagnosis based on user interface be-
haviors for the customization of learning interfaces in an intelli-
gent tutoring system. Communication prsente la 8th Interna-
tional Conference on Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS 2006),
Jhongli, Taiwan.
[4] N.Hoic Bozic AHyCo: a Web-Based Adaptive Hypermedia
Courseware System Journal of Computing and Information
Technology - CIT 13, 3, 165176 2005.
[5] P. DE BRA, J.P. RUITER, AHA! Adaptive hypermedia for all,
Proceedings of the WebNet Conference, 2001_, Orlando, Flori-
da.
[6] A.Mohammed, Improving Learning performance by providing
intellectual suggestions, International Journal of Computer Ap-
plication, 31(5):38-42, October 2011
[7] D.leclrecq lvolution des QCM Recherches sur lvaluation
en Education. Paris : LHarmattan, 139-146. 2006
[8] A. Colorni, M. Dorigo et V. Maniezzo, Distributed Optimization
by Ant Colonies, actes de la premire confrence europenne sur
la vie artificielle, Paris, France, Elsevier Publishing, 134-142,
1991.
[9] M. Dorigo, Optimization, Learning and Natural Algorithms, PhD
thesis, Politecnico di Milano, Italie, 1992.
[10] G.Valigiani, Optimisation par hommilire de chemins pda-
gogiques pour un logiciel de-learning, RSTI - TSI. Volume 26
n 10/2007, pages 1245 1268
[11] Balacheff N, Conception dEnvironnements Interactifs
dApprentissage avec Ordinateur. Tendances et perspectives,
Actes des journes nationales du PRC IA, p. 315-338, 1997.

Abdelwahab naji : The Master in Internet and Computer
Engineering from Hassan II university, Faculty of sciences
Casablanca, Morocco in 2008. And Master 1 of sciences
and Technology from Hassan II university, Faculty of
sciences and Technologies Mohamedia in 2008 He is con-
ducting since 2008, doctoral research in computer Science
in university of Hassan II, Mohamedia, Morocco, at e-
learning systems: Models and methods towards a better
ILE.
Mohamed ramdani: The PHD thesis in Computer Science
from the university of Paris 6, in February 1994 and Habilita-
tion in computer Science from the university of Paris 6,
France, in june 2001. His research interests include the,
knowledge management, A.I, Data mining and Database.
He is Professor in Mohammedia Faculty of sciences and
Technologies (FSTM), Morocco, since 1995.
JOURNAL OF COMPUTING, VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, MARCH 2012, ISSN 2151-9617
https://sites.google.com/site/journalofcomputing
WWW.JOURNALOFCOMPUTING.ORG 88