vSocial: a cloud-based system for social virtual reality learning environment applications in special education

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are spaces designed to educate student groups remotely via online platforms. Although traditional VLEs have shown promise in educating students, they offer limited immersion that overall diminishes learning effectiveness. In this paper, we describe vSocial, a cloud-based virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) system that can be deployed over high-speed networks using the High Fidelity “social VR” platform. vSocial provides flexible control of group learning content and compliance with established VLE standards with improved immersive user experience for both instructor(s) and students. For our vSocial development, we build upon the use case of an existing special education VLE viz., iSocial that trains youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder by implementing the Social Competence Intervention (SCI) curriculum. The vSocial can be used to: (a) implement multiple learning modules using wearable VR technologies, (b) integrate cognitive state sensing devices, and (c) organize learning session data securely using web applications hosted on cloud resources. Our experiment results show that the VR mode of content delivery in vSocial better stimulates the generalization of lessons to the real world than non-VR lessons, and provides improved immersion when compared to an equivalent desktop version. Further, usability study results show that users can successfully use the web application features in vSocial for group learning activities with ease-of-use and consistency.

     

Virtual learning environments as sociomaterial agents in the network of teaching practice

This article presents findings related to the sociomaterial agency of educators and their practice in Norwegian education. Using actor-network theory, we ask how Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) negotiate the agency of educators and how they shape their teaching practice. Since the same kinds of VLE tools have been widely implemented throughout Norwegian education, it is interesting to study how practices are formed in different parts of the educational system. This research is therefore designed as a case study of two different teaching contexts representing lecturers from a higher education institution and teachers from primary schools. Data are collected by means of interviews, online logging of VLE activities and self-reported personal logs. From the analysis of the data, three main networks of aligned interests can be identified. In each of those, the sociomaterial agency of the teaching practice with VLE is crucial in shaping and consolidating the network.     

How students and instructors using a virtual learning environment perceive the fit between technology and task

Abstract   Virtual learning environments (VLEs) are widespread in higher education today, typically used to deliver instructional materials and facilitate communication within a course. This study aimed to investigate the task–technology fit of VLEs for their two main groups of users: instructors and students, using the VLE WebCT. Task–technology fit, user satisfaction, attitude towards use and anticipated consequences of use were found to be significantly higher for students than for instructors. Instructors were found to have higher perceptions of social norms and higher perceptions of facilitating conditions than students. However, there was no difference between the instructors and students in level of utilization of the VLE. Students perceived that the VLE had higher impacts on their learning compared with instructors' perceptions regarding their teaching. These results suggest that despite high levels of support acknowledged by instructors, they may still be unsure about the contribution of VLEs to their teaching.     

A visualisation tool to aid exploration of students’ interactions in asynchronous online communication

Much research in recent years has focused on the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to universities, documenting practice, and sharing experience ( [Armitage et?al., 2001], [Browne and Jenkins, 2003], [Moron-Garcia, 2004] and [Weller, 2007]). Attention has been directed towards the importance of online dialogue for learning as a defining feature of the VLE.Communicative tools are an important means by which VLEs have the potential to transform learning with computers from being passive and transmissive in nature, to being active and constructivist (Pavey & Garland, 2004). However, practical methods of reviewing and analysing online communication to trace cycles of real dialogue (and learning) have proved somewhat elusive. Qualitative methods are also under-used for VLE discussions, since they demand new sets of research skills for those unfamiliar with them, and can be time intensive.This paper describes a visualisation tool to aid the analysis of online communication. The tool has two purposes: first, it can be used on a day-to-day basis by teachers or forum moderators to review the development of a discussion and to support appropriate interventions. Second, the tool can support research activities since the visualisations generated provide the basis for further qualitative and quantitative analysis of online dialogue.The visualisation software is designed to encode interaction types simply and quickly. The software was tested and then used to analyse data from a sample of forums within the Moodle VLE. The paper discusses both the method of visualisation and analysis of the online interactions as a pilot for further research analysing interaction in discussion forums.     

Students' experience of component versus integrated virtual learning environments

Abstract The use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) has become increasingly common in most higher education (HE) institutions. Recent developments have proposed the interoperability of software systems and content, to create component VLEs in contrast with the integrated, monolithic ones that are currently prevalent. This paper examines the student experience of two VLEs, one integrated approach and the other component. In general, students preferred the component system, although this may have been influenced by other factors such as performance. Although the study is limited to one cohort of student it makes a number of suggestions relevant to anyone deploying a VLE. These are that the component approach is a viable one from a student perspective, the broader context in which the VLE operates is important in student perception and that poor system performance may have unpredictable consequences for the learning experience.     

Exploring quadrilaterals in a small group computing environment

Though cooperative learning has been a topic of considerable interest in educational research, there has been little study specific to learning in the mathematics content area of geometry. This paper seeks to address that gap through a design experiment featuring a novel small-group computing environment for supporting student learning about quadrilaterals. In this design, each student controls a unique point in a shared geometric space, and those points are linked such that a group of four students collectively forms a quadrilateral. We first present results from pre- and post-measures to show how the students learned from the activities and developed in terms of geometric reasoning. We then present three episodes, elaborated with the notion of appropriation, to explain how students took up ways of using the technological tools and of talking about geometric concepts from one another in the interactive environment. Our study found that students achieved learning gains in this novel environment, that the environment provided rich opportunities for peer interaction around geometric objects, and that student learning opportunities and interactions were characterized by processes of appropriating ways of talking about and using software features.     

Behavioural intention in cloud-based VLE: An extension to Channel Expansion Theory

Cloud computing has been a phenomenon nowadays. The ability to access, store/retrieve and share information anytime, anywhere on the cloud has contributed to the birth of the cloud-based virtual learning environment (c-VLE). Though there are studies conducted on the grid-based VLEs, however due to the significant differences between the two computing technologies; the findings from prior studies may not be germane in the c-VLE context. Unlike the previous studies which studied TAM, UTAUT and their extensions from the perspective of undergraduates and university instructors, this study examined the role of Channel Expansion Theory (CET), VLE related attributes (i.e. interactivity, content design, trust-in-website), school support and knowledge sharing attitude from the perspective of school teachers. Educational level and teaching experience were introduced as the control variables. Data were gathered in two waves of nation-wide surveys with random sampling. The findings revealed significant effects of CET, all VLE related attributes (except content design), school support and attitude towards knowledge sharing on behavioural intention (BI). BI was found to have direct effect on instructional effectiveness (IE). The model explained 68.9%, 62.5% and 28.9% variances in CET, BI and IE. The study provides theoretical and practical implications to the scholars and practitioners.     

Applying Channel Expansion and Self-Determination Theory in predicting use behaviour of cloud-based VLE

Existence of cloud computing has led to the emergence of cloud-based virtual learning environments (VLEs). Unlike existing grid-based VLE studies which engaged extrinsic motivational drivers, e.g. TAM, UTAUT, etc., this study examined the effects of intrinsic motivational factors namely the Self-Determination Theory. The existing studies also focused on the perspective of intention to use or continuance intention among undergraduates. However, this study examined the actual use behaviour and instructional effectiveness of a cloud-based VLE among teachers. Channel Expansion Theory, VLE attributes and demographics are also incorporated in predicting use behaviour. The instrument has been rigorously developed and validated and 608 teachers were selected in two waves (T1 and T2) of survey using random sampling from 351 schools nationwide. multi-layer perceptron (MLP) using neural network was used to analyse the data. All predictors were found to be relevant in predicting use behaviour. The study may offer an opportunity for a new paradigm shift from behavioural intention and continuance intention to actual use behaviour. It also provides the theoretical foundation for parametric hypothesis testing in future related studies. Several theoretical and practical implications for scholars, Ministry of Education, VLE providers, school authorities and educationists were discussed.     

Examining the designs of computer-based assessment and its impact on student engagement,satisfaction, and pass rates

Many researchers who study the impact of computer-based assessment (CBA) focus on the affordances or complexities of CBA approaches in comparison to traditional assessment methods. This study examines how CBA approaches were configured within and between modules, and the impact of assessment design on students' engagement, satisfaction, and pass rates. The analysis was conducted using a combination of longitudinal visualisations, correlational analysis, and fixed-effect models on 74 undergraduate modules and their 72,377 students. Our findings indicate that educators designed very different assessment strategies, which significantly influenced student engagement as measured by time spent in the virtual learning environment (VLE). Weekly analyses indicated that assessment activities were balanced with other learning activities, which suggests that educators tended to aim for a consistent workload when designing assessment strategies. Since most of the assessments were computer-based, students spent more time on the VLE during assessment weeks. By controlling for heterogeneity within and between modules, learning design could explain up to 69% of the variability in students' time spent on the VLE. Furthermore, assessment activities were significantly related to pass rates, but no clear relation with satisfaction was found. Our findings highlight the importance of CBA and learning design to how students learn online.     

Investigating the interrelation between attitudes,learning readiness,and learning styles under virtual learning environment: a study among Indian students

ABSTRACT

Over the last few years there has been an increased emphasis on conceptualising, developing, and implementing virtual Learning initiatives across the Indian education sector. Effective and successful use of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in academic setting requires identifying and solving many important social and behavioural issues. Without identifying and addressing these issues, their use can compound the mistakes of the past and leave the learner with a passive, un-engaging experience, leading to incomplete learning and low performance. Therefore, educators are required to recognise learner’s attitude, readiness, and learning style to take advantage of VLE. This study was conducted to find interrelationship of student attitude, readiness, and learning style towards the effective use of VLE. A total of 240 students who are using any form of VLE for their learning and research volunteered for the research, and the scales were filled via the convenience sampling method. The scales of learning readiness, attitude, and learning style were administered to the participants. The relationship among the variables of the research and the research hypotheses for the model were tested using different statistical tools like correlation, t-test and regression. The research result revealed that there is a correlation among learning readiness, attitude, and learning style, and each of these factors influence the effective use of VLE.     

Dyslexic students in higher education and virtual learning environments: an exploratory study

This paper presents the results of an interview‐based study of the use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) among dyslexic students. Interviews were carried out with 12 informants who had been formally diagnosed as dyslexic. The informants were either enrolled in a university or college programme, or had graduated less than a year before the interview. The findings reveal that dyslexic students experience a number of challenges associated with VLE use, including information overload, imperfect word processing tools, inadequate search functions, and having to relate to more than one system at a time.     

LdShake: Learning design solutions sharing and co-edition

Two important challenges that teachers are currently facing are the sharing and the collaborative authoring of their learning design solutions, such as didactical units and learning materials. On the one hand, there are tools that can be used for the creation of design solutions and only some of them facilitate the co-edition. However, they do not incorporate mechanisms that support the sharing of the designs between teachers. On the other hand, there are tools that serve as repositories of educational resources but they do not enable the authoring of the designs. In this paper we present LdShake, a web tool whose novelty is focused on the combined support for the social sharing and co-edition of learning design solutions within communities of teachers. Teachers can create and share learning designs with other teachers using different access rights so that they can read, comment or co-edit the designs. Therefore, each design solution is associated to a group of teachers able to work on its definition, and another group that can only see the design. The tool is generic in that it allows the creation of designs based on any pedagogical approach. However, it can be particularized in instances providing pre-formatted designs structured according to a specific didactic method (such as Problem-Based Learning, PBL). A particularized LdShake instance has been used in the context of Human Biology studies where teams of teachers are required to work together in the design of PBL solutions. A controlled user study, that compares the use of a generic LdShake and a Moodle system, configured to enable the creation and sharing of designs, has been also carried out. The combined results of the real and controlled studies show that the social structure, and the commenting, co-edition and publishing features of LdShake provide a useful, effective and usable approach for facilitating teachers' teamwork.     

Promoting self-regulated learning in web-based learning environments

Self-regulated learning with the Internet or hypermedia requires not only cognitive learning strategies, but also specific and general meta-cognitive strategies. The purposes of the Study2000 project, carried out at the TU Dresden, were to develop and evaluate authoring tools that support teachers and students in web-based learning and instruction. This paper presents how the authoring tools of the Study2000 project can implement psychologically sound measures to promote (a) active and elaborated learning activities and (b) meta-cognitive activities in a web-based learning environment. Furthermore, it describes a study involving 72 university students in the use of such a web-based learning environment in a self-regulated learning setting at the university level. Results show that students spent almost 70% of their study time with texts, 11% with learning tasks and 12% with the active and elaborated learning tools, whereas meta-cognitive aids where hardly used (<1%).     

Semi-automatic assembly of learning resources

Technology Enhanced Learning is a research field that has matured considerably over the last decade. Many technical solutions to support design, authoring and use of learning activities and resources have been developed. The first datasets that reflect the tracking of actual use of these tools in real-life settings are beginning to become available. In this article, we present an exploratory study that relies on these datasets to support semi-automatic assembly of learning activities and resources for specific contexts. Starting from learning designs and other online sources that describe well designed learning experiences as they were used in practice, we derive sequencing patterns that capture re-occurring patterns of activities. A semi-automatic assembly framework uses these patterns to support teachers in the design and authoring of course activities. We present a case study that integrates recommendation support for sequencing activities as well as associated resources in the LAMS learning activity environment. Results indicate that the perceived usefulness is high: both teachers with expertise in the use of learning design tools as well as teachers with no background knowledge in the area indicate that the recommendations helped them in the authoring process. In addition, they feel more confident using learning design tools when support is provided that is driven by best practice knowledge.     

An online image analysis tool for science education

This paper describes an online image analysis tool developed as part of an iterative, user-centered development of an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called the Education through Virtual Experience (EVE) Portal. The VLE provides a Web portal through which schoolchildren and their teachers create scientific proposals, retrieve images and other resources, and produce collaborative scientific papers summarizing their learning experiences. The VLE underwent substantive formative testing involving over 200 schoolchildren producing over 50 collaboratively written research papers. Detailed analysis of these research papers identified some shortfalls toward the goal of producing authentic scientific engagement. The absence of data collection and data analysis within these research papers was disappointing despite having scheduled time for this activity and having several professional imaging tools available. The post-evaluation analyses have enabled the development team to identify specific design flaws in the previous VLE and have shaped the design of the new custom-built tool. The success of the tool will be born out through content analysis of future collaboratively written student papers.     

Semi-automatic assembly of learning resources

Technology Enhanced Learning is a research field that has matured considerably over the last decade. Many technical solutions to support design, authoring and use of learning activities and resources have been developed. The first datasets that reflect the tracking of actual use of these tools in real-life settings are beginning to become available. In this article, we present an exploratory study that relies on these datasets to support semi-automatic assembly of learning activities and resources for specific contexts. Starting from learning designs and other online sources that describe well designed learning experiences as they were used in practice, we derive sequencing patterns that capture re-occurring patterns of activities. A semi-automatic assembly framework uses these patterns to support teachers in the design and authoring of course activities. We present a case study that integrates recommendation support for sequencing activities as well as associated resources in the LAMS learning activity environment. Results indicate that the perceived usefulness is high: both teachers with expertise in the use of learning design tools as well as teachers with no background knowledge in the area indicate that the recommendations helped them in the authoring process. In addition, they feel more confident using learning design tools when support is provided that is driven by best practice knowledge.     

基于教学平台的学习活动设计

教学平台是在已有教务管理系统基础上直接构建"一体化数字化教学支撑环境",能够为教师提供支持建构主义教学设计理念的学习活动。本文结合教学平台的教学功能,在活动理论和以学习活动为中心的教学设计理论指导下,探讨了基于教学平台的学习活动设计的模式与流程。     

Designing an MOOC as an agent-platform aggregating heterogeneous virtual learning environments

ABSTRACT

With the emergence of cloud technologies, on the one hand, and social networks, on the other hand, the possibilities for e-learning have been drastically enhanced in the latest years. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) can now indeed contain a huge amount of learning resources; in parallel, large user communities are available in social networks. These nevertheless remain different systems but, by using these heterogeneous software environments together, the possibilities for interaction could be multiplied. That is why, this paper suggests to build a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) environment through a Multi-Agent System (MAS) working as a virtual abstraction layer over heterogeneous software platforms. The idea is to aggregate different traditional VLE to dispose of the learning objects they own as well as other platforms such as social networks to furnish an easy access to the MOOC of their large user communities. The MAS design has been architectured around a real-life organisational pattern – the joint venture – allowing one to deal with the complexity of heterogeneous software environments in a manner that real-life companies set up joint governance. Communication scenarios issued of a field analysis are pointed out in the paper; these are supported by the MOOC platform in the native environment as well as in Facebook. The proposal is indeed validated through the development of a prototype using Facebook as a case study for third-party platform interfacing. We finally highlight the benefits for the user experience.