EssayCritic

Project site

Keywords

Collaborative essay writing, English as second language, classroom study, semantic web, latent semantic analysis (LSA), critiquing system architecture, design theory (reflection-in-action), communication theory (common ground, inter-subjectivity)

Overview

A collaboration between InterMedia and Hong Kong Baptist University to develop and evaluate an English essay writing critiquing system. Essay writing is characterized as a design process, which involves composition and organization of themes. This is supported by a critic-based design environment and latent semantic analysis (LSA).

Aims

To develop, evaluate the first version of an LSA-based essay critic system and to create the requirements for the next generation of collaborative essay writing support that takes empirical findings, theories of design and communication, and the technological possibilities of semantic web into consideration

Methods

Programming (system, LSA integration, multiple user interfaces), algorithm refinement (LSA), quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (video analysis, interview) empirical methods 

Partners

Hong Kong Baptist University (CS department and English dept.) and InterMedia, UiO 

Period of Duration

Started in Sept. 2004 , ongoing ..

Outcomes

A running system with a web interface that have incrementally been improved in speed (feedback turnaround time) and accuracy (essay theme detection). The system can be adapted to different teaching styles (individual and collaborative learning), in effect taking the unique classroom cultures in Hong Kong and Norway into account.

Related projects

There are many projects of this kind around (often aimed at product development), especially in the USA. At UiO the project is probably closest to the English Wiki and the special needs for language projects.

Funding

Småforsk midler 2007