Informatics in Education

While virtual learning environments (VLEs) present several advantages, such as space-time flexibility, they are still not including proper opportunities and resources for students to engage in collaborative activities with their peers. Recent approaches, for example, are based on resources that are not standard for VLEs or usual for students. Thus, their integration with VLEs is not simple. This paper conducted a theoretical investigation to identify strategies that could induce collaborative behaviours in students. These strategies were implemented as learning objects running in a VLE and a quasi-experimental research design was conducted with 133 students. The results show that the approach promotes collaborative interactions between students and also tend to improve their learning outcomes. Moreover, learning objects use a conceptualization that is already established over the e-learning community, simplifying their integration with VLEs.

Although widely used, the SCORM metadata model for content aggregation is difficult to be used by educators, content developers and instructional designers. Particularly, the identification of contents related with each other, in large repositories, and their aggregation using metadata as defined in SCORM, has been demanding efforts of computer science researchers in pursuit of the automation of this process. Previous approaches have extended or altered the metadata defined by SCORM standard. In this paper, we present experimental results on our proposed methodology which employs ontologies, automatic annotation of metadata, information retrieval and text mining to recommend and aggregate related content, using the relation metadata category as defined by SCORM. We developed a computer system prototype which applies the proposed methodology on a sample of learning objects generating results to evaluate its efficacy. The results demonstrate that the proposed method is feasible and effective to produce the expected results.

The paper is aimed to present a methodology of learning personalisation based on applying Resource Description Framework (RDF) standard model. Research results are two-fold: first, the results of systematic literature review on Linked Data, RDF "subject-predicate-object" triples, and Web Ontology Language (OWL) application in education are presented, and, second, RDF triples-based learning personalisation methodology is proposed. The review revealed that OWL, Linked Data, and triples-based RDF standard model could be successfully used in education. On the other hand, although OWL, Linked Data approach and RDF standard model are already well-known in scientific literature, only few authors have analysed its application to personalise learning process, but many authors agree that OWL, Linked Data and RDF-based learning personalisation trends should be further analysed. The main scientific contribution of the paper is presentation of original methodology to create personalised RDF triples to further development of corresponding OWL-based ontologies and recommender system. According to this methodology, RDF-based personalisation of learning should be based on applying students' learning styles and intelligent technologies. The main advantages of this approach are analyses of interlinks between students' learning styles according to Felder-Silverman learning styles model and suitable learning components (learning objects and learning activities). There are three RDF triples used while creating the methodology: "student's learning style - requires - suitable learning objects", "student's learning style - requires - suitable learning activities", and "suitable learning activities - require - suitable learning objects". In the last triple, "suitable learning activities" being the object in the 2nd triple, becomes the subject in the 3rd triple. The methodology is based on applying pedagogically sound vocabularies of learning components (i.e. learning objects and learning activities), experts' collective intelligence to identify learning objects and learning methods / activities that are most suitable for particular students, and intelligent technologies (i.e. ontologies and recommender system). This methodology based on applying personalised RDF triples is aimed at improving learning quality and effectiveness.

Content personalization in educational systems is an increasing research area. Studies show that students tend to have better performances when the content is customized according to his/her preferences. One important aspect of students particularities is how they prefer to learn. In this context, students learning styles should be considered, due to the importance of this feature to the adaptivity process in such systems. Thus, this work presents an efficient approach for personalization of the teaching process based on learning styles. Our approach is based on an expert system that implements a set of rules which classifies learning objects according to their teaching style, and then automatically filters learning objects according to students' learning styles. The best adapted learning objects are ranked and recommended to the student. Preliminary experiments suggest promising results.

The technological resources used for pedagogical innovation in the form of distance education have increasingly been incorporated into face-to-face education. This article describes the experience of the Federal University of Lavras - Brazil - with new ways to apply technology in face-to-face undergraduate courses. This paper presents (i) the strategy for the selection of course content, which was premised on the diversification of areas of knowledge and on promoting the permanent incorporation of the resources developed in the teaching-learning process, (ii) the organization of the production process of Learning Objects based on the Scrum method, (iii) the set of best practices, inspired by the management of agile software development, as well as the contextual motivation of its use.

The paper aims to analyse several scientific approaches how to evaluate, implement or choose learning content and software suitable for personalised users/learners needs. Learning objects metadata customisation method as well as the Method of multiple criteria evaluation and optimisation of learning software represented by the experts' additive utility function are analysed in more detail. The value of the experts' additive utility function depends on the learning software quality evaluation criteria, their ratings and weights. The Method is based on the software engineering Principle which claims that one should evaluate the learning software using the two different groups of quality evaluation criteria - `internal quality' criteria defining the general software quality aspects, and `quality in use' criteria defining software personalisation possibilities. The application of the Method and Principle for the evaluation and optimisation of learning software is innovative in technology enhanced learning theory and practice. Application of the method of the experts' (decision makers') subjectivity minimisation analysed in the paper is also a new aspect in technology enhanced learning science. All aforementioned approaches propose an efficient practical instrumentality how to evaluate, design or choose learning content and software suitable for personalised learners needs.

Currently virtual learning environments (VLEs) and learning objects (LOs) repositories are under active implementation into general education and vocational training system in Lithuania. The article aims to review LOs interoperability standards development tendencies as well as to compare VLEs under existing well-developed pedagogical and technical evaluation frameworks in order to suggest the most suitable one for wider implementation to support active socio-constructivist pedagogies in in-service teacher training and overall in Lithuanian general education and vocational training systems.

In this paper, we present a standard definition for learning objects, a controversy around it, and the resulted working definition, along with features to be held by learning objects, benefits of the object-oriented approach for learning, some pros and cons for using learning objects, and finally some quality standard guidelines for these objects. In addition, we introduce shortly a taxonomy of learning object types and the metadata standards that can be used for learning objects and the way they inter-relate. An overview of the content and capabilities of the instructional digital libraries available on the web is presented too. We conclude by pointing out some possible solutions for meaningful use of the learning objects that can be found on the web, either by construction of really useful community instructional digital libraries, or by using non-authoritative metadata to find these learning resources. Involving the conscious user in the process of making sense of the huge quantity of learning resources to be available on the web is, in our view, the only straightforward way to having fast access to the most appropriate (instructional) resource that is needed for a particular (educational) aim.