A recommender agent based on learning styles for better virtual collaborative learning experiences

Almost unlimited access to educational information plethora came with a drawback: finding meaningful material is not a straightforward task anymore. Based on a survey related to how students find additional bibliographical resources for university courses, we concluded there is a strong need for recommended learning materials, for specialized online search and for personalized learning tools. As a result, we developed an educational collaborative filtering recommender agent, with an integrated learning style finder. The agent produces two types of recommendations: suggestions and shortcuts for learning materials and learning tools, helping the learner to better navigate through educational resources. Shortcuts are created taking into account only the user’s profile, while suggestions are created using the choices made by the learners with similar learning styles. The learning style finder assigns to each user a profile model, taking into account an index of learning styles, as well as patterns discovered in the virtual behavior of the user. The current study presents the agent itself, as well as its integration to a virtual collaborative learning environment and its success and limitations, based on users’ feedback.     

Applying adaptive swarm intelligence technology with structuration in web-based collaborative learning

One of the key challenges in the promotion of web-based learning is the development of effective collaborative learning environments. We posit that the structuration process strongly influences the effectiveness of technology used in web-based collaborative learning activities. In this paper, we propose an ant swarm collaborative learning (ASCL) environment based on a swarm intelligence system (SIS) that structures opportunities for effective collaboration and learning in a dynamic way. The results of our experiments indicate that: (1) the self-organizing behavior of SIS is positively associated with system appropriation; (2) the multi-agent-based mechanism of SIS is positively associated with system appropriation; (3) the cohesive capability of SIS is positively associated with system appropriation; and (4) the learner’s tendency toward system appropriation is positively associated with learning effectiveness. Our findings also show that learners in an ASCL environment outperform their counterparts in a general web-based learning (GWL) environment. We conclude that different types of technological support can influence the achievement in a web-based learning environment.     

Design and evaluation of a collaborative learning environment

Collaboration becomes an essential competency in the current knowledge society. In this study, a collaborative learning environment was designed to facilitate students in group collaboration. Instructional support strategies of friendship and meaningful learning tasks were applied to promote collaboration. Scaffolding strategies such as writing progress reports and developing product versions were used to coordinate and monitor the collaborative learning environment. In addition, the online file sharing tool DriveHQ was used to facilitate collaboration. Four classes of students used the learning environment to complete their final project in pairs. Results showed friendship and meaningful learning tasks helped to promote individual accountability and positive interdependence, and the use of progress reports and product versions was useful for coordinating and monitoring the learning process. However, additional strategies might be needed for more effective collaboration to take place. Issues involved in this study are discussed.     

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%).     

Designing support to facilitate learning in powerful electronic learning environments

This special issue reflects current developments in instructional design for powerful electronic learning environments. It presents a compilation of contributions to a combined special interest group (SIG) meeting (2006) of Instructional Design and Learning and Instruction with Computers. Both SIGs are part of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI). The SIG-meeting focused on the design of powerful electronic learning environments for complex learning. The articles in this issue describe how to design support to help learners during complex individual or collaborative learning. This introduction provides the context for the issue and a short overview of the contributions.     

Exploring young students' talk in iPad-supported collaborative learning environments

In the few years since its release, Apple's iPad has generated much discussion about its potential to support student learning at all levels of the education system. Much of this has focused on its physical and technical attributes, such as portability, touch-display, connectivity, and large array of apps. However, a few studies have begun to explore possible advantages of iPads being used as public work spaces, enabling students to interact more collaboratively when creating learning outputs. These studies point to other affordances such as the iPad's ability to lay flat on a desk or be propped at a convenient angle, its wide viewing range and multi-user accessible interface, as being particularly relevant in supporting collaboration.Between June and November 2013, researchers from the University of Waikato used a specifically developed ‘observeware’ app to capture display and audio data while young students (5 year olds) were using iPads in pairs for developing numeracy, literacy and problem-solving/decision-making skills. The study used Mercer's (1994) talk types framework to explore the nature of talk students engaged in while they were using the iPads and interacting with each other and their teacher, and also how features of the device may have influenced this.Results indicated exceptionally high levels of on-task talk, but that this was mostly of an affirming and non-critical nature and unsupportive of outcome improvement or refinement. While the iPad offered unique potential as a shared, public learning device, the pedagogical role of the teacher in realising this by helping students learn appropriate ‘ground rules’ to raise talk quality, was critical. This article details the methodology used and the results of the study. It discusses the important role teachers play in helping young students build oral-interaction strategies to capitalise on high levels of learning engagement, and the unique features of these devices.     

A web based collaborative testing environment

This paper presents a computer supported collaborative testing system built upon the Siette web-based assessment environment. The application poses the same set of questions to a group of students. Each student in the group should answer the same question twice. An initial response is given individually, without knowing the answers of others. Then the system provides some tools to show the other partners' responses, to support distance collaboration. Finally a second individual answer is requested. In this way assessment and collaboration activities are interlaced. At the end of a collaborative testing session, each student will have two scores: the initial score and the final score. Three sets of experiments have been carried out: (1) a set of experiments designed to evaluate and fine tune the application, improve usability, and to collect users' feelings and opinions about the system; (2) a second set of experiments to analyze the impact of collaboration in test results, comparing individual and group performance, and analyzing the factors that correlate to those results; and (3) a set of experiments designed to measure individual short-term learning directly related to the collaborative testing activity. We study whether the use of the system is associated with actual learning, and whether this learning is directly related to collaboration between students. Our studies confirm previous results and provide the following evidence (1) the performance increase is directly related to the access to other partners' answers; (2) a student tends to reach a common answer in most cases; and (3) the consensus is highly correlated with the correct response. Moreover, we have found evidence indicating that most of the students really do learn from collaborative testing. High-performing students improve by self-reflection, regardless the composition of the group, but low-performing students need to be in a group with higher-performing students in order to improve.     

The contribution of learner characteristics in the development of computer-based adaptive learning environments

The development of learner models takes an active part in upcoming adaptive learning environments. The purpose of learner models is to drive personalization based on learner and learning characteristics that are considered as important for the learning process, such as cognitive, affective and behavioral variables. Despite the huge amount of theoretical propositions of learner characteristics considered as relevant for learner models, practical payoffs are rather sparse. This study aims to overview the empirical research on the mere value of learner models in the development of adaptive learning environments. The results show that a lot of high-quality studies are situated in a rather shattered research field, building few bridges from theory to practice. We conclude with the call for a theory or framework integrating current and past research results that is able to guide theory-based and systematic empirical research having concrete hypotheses on the merits of learner characteristics in adaptive learning environments.     

Measuring perceived sociability of computer-supported collaborative learning environments

Most asynchronous computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments can be characterized as functional environments because they focus on functional, task-specific support, often disregarding explicit support for the social (emotional) aspects of learning in groups which are acknowledged by many educational researchers to be essential for effective collaborative learning. In contrast, sociable CSCL environments emphasize the social (emotional) aspects of group learning. We define sociability as the extent to which a CSCL environment is perceived to be able to facilitate the emergence of a sound social space with attributes as trust and belonging, a strong sense of community, and good working relationships. Specific environmental characteristics, which we have designated social affordances, determine sociability.     

Design issues of a distance learning course on Business on the Internet

Abstract The paper presents the main design issues of a distance learning course on Business on the Internet. The instructional design is based on a learner-centred instructional strategy which allows learners to construct their own knowledge while solving real business problems and transferring their knowledge to other learners. They learn autonomously taking the responsibility for their learning and following their individual cognitive styles, interests, preferences. The learners have access to the Internet being members of a global, cooperative learning community. The learning community involves students and tutors who collectively take responsibility for the design and evaluation of the course content and the teaching methods to be applied. Both students and tutors inhabit a virtual learning environment that offers different virtual places and services: virtual university, virtual enterprise, auditoriums, workshop rooms, cafes, libraries, etc. where students from different locations can meet, interact, learn and work together, as if they were face-to-face.     

Assessing online collaborative learning: process and product

The assessment of online collaborative study presents new opportunities and challenges, both in terms of separating the process and product of collaboration, and in the support of skills development. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of assessment with respect to the processes and products of online collaborative study. It describes a qualitative case study of staff and students perspectives on two UK Open University courses which have used a variety of models of online collaborative assessment. The findings underline the importance of assessment in ensuring online participation, and in supporting the practice and development of online collaborative learning. They have led to a number of recommendations for the assessment of online collaborative learning.     

A Web 2.0-based collaborative annotation system for enhancing knowledge sharing in collaborative learning environments

A limitation of current Web-based collaborative learning is the restricted ability of students to create and share individual annotations with annotated documents. Applying Web 2.0 collaborative annotation systems and analyzing students’ annotation behavior has attracted attention to improve collaborative learning. This study designed a personalized annotation management system 2.0 (PAMS 2.0) for managing, sharing, and reusing individual and collaborative annotations as well as providing a shared mechanism for discussion about shared annotations among multiple users.     

Applying learning behavioral Petri nets to the analysis of learning behavior in web-based learning environments

This paper proposes the learning behavioral Petri nets (LBPN) to model learning behavior in web-based environments. Fully useful records of learning behaviors must contain their expended time and corresponding contents. Therefore, the LBPN extends the colored tokens of colored Petri nets to identify learners and learning contents, and raises the time variable to represent diverse learning times for individual learners. To verify the viability of the LBPN, this paper also proposes a LBPN-based learning behavioral model to simulate a situation in which many learners participate in an e-learning course, and then to generate their behavioral patterns. The experimental results illustrated in this paper confirm that (1) the generated behavioral pattern based on the LBPN-based model is very close to actual data, (2) the time and cost spent to verify the effectiveness of an ITS is substantially reduced, (3) adequate testing data for estimating the performance and accuracy of an ITS is easily acquired, and (4) the LBPN-based model can be built to recommend appropriate learning contents and to accomplish adaptive learning.     

Requirements elicitation for virtual actors in collaborative learning environments

This paper reports on the elicitation of requirements for Virtual Actors in Collaborative Virtual Learning Environments (CVLEs). The methodological approach followed involves the phased development of a series of learning environments which are observed in use by parents, children and teachers. The focus of study is on the interactivity and social communication issues that arise in the learning situation. The research uses as its case study the work of the Manchester Museum Education Service with children at Key Stage Level 2 (9–11 years old) of the National Curriculum. The particular learning situation is based on senet, an ancient Egyptian board game from the Museum’s collection of artefacts from the pyramid builders’ town of Kahun. Results are presented of the first phase prototype, a single display groupware system where interactions take place face-to-face in the ‘real-world’ external to the environment. Results are also presented of the second phase prototype, a multi-user groupware environment in which the users are remotely located and interaction is mainly internal to the environment. The paper discusses how the results from these two phases are being used to establish requirements for a CVLE to be developed in the third phase of research.     

Supporting collaborative learning in engineering design

In team-based project courses, collaborative learning is the dominant learning mode. Collaborative learning has been shown to increase individual learning through co-construction and personal reflection. Rapid adoption of web-based communication and mobile computing by students provide opportunities to take advantage of computer-supported collaboration for engineering education. We present preliminary findings on a computer environment, the Kiva Web, that supports the activities of group collaboration for interdisciplinary engineering design teams. We have employed methods from human–computer interaction (HCI) to iterate on the design in the context of use. In this paper, we discuss the evolution of the Kiva Web and the implications for both student design teams and professional design teams.     

On the utility of pictorial feedback in computer-based learning environments

Extensive research has added to what is known about the nature of feedback and how to best incorporate it into instruction. Yet, many questions related to learner feedback remain unanswered. One problem of practical importance is the utility of incorporating semantically related pictures into the feedback. Decades of research on feedback have largely focused on the use of verbal feedback in written instruction. This research included two experiments. The first experiment (n = 63) addressed the incorporation of pictorial feedback into instruction; the second experiment (n = 69) extended this study through the use of a more ecologically valid intervention. Results suggest that the use of pictures in feedback did not influence learning any more than text-only treatments. A discussion and recommendations for future research are provided.     

Students’ experiences with collaborative learning in asynchronous Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning environments

This paper describes an explorative study carried out to gain response from distance students on their experiences with collaborative learning in asynchronous computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments. In addition, this study also attempts to have a good grip of crucial aspects concerning collaborative learning. The study was undertaken among distance learners from the Open University of the Netherlands who were working in groups of 4–11 persons. During and after the course students’ experiences with collaborative learning were measured and after the course also students’ satisfaction with collaborative learning was assessed. The finding revealed that distance learners appreciate the opportunities to work collaboratively. They show positive experiences and are quite satisfied with collaborative learning. This study also sought to explore individuals as well as course characteristics that influenced aspects of collaborative learning, and to search aspects of collaborative learning that influenced students’ satisfaction. The findings suggested that a group product influences group process regulation and group cohesion influences students’ satisfaction with collaborative learning.     

Exploring collaborative learning effect in blended learning environments

The use of new technology encouraged exploration of the effectiveness and difference of collaborative learning in blended learning environments. This study investigated the social interactive network of students, level of knowledge building and perception level on usefulness in online and mobile collaborative learning environments in higher education. WeChat, which is a mobile synchronous communication tool, and modular object‐oriented dynamic learning environment (Moodle) were used as mobile and online collaborative learning settings. Seventy‐eight college students majoring in information engineering participated in the experiment. The following findings were revealed by combining methods of social network analysis, content analysis and questionnaire survey: (1) the collaborative social networks generated in this study showed that students had tighter interaction relationships in Moodle than in WeChat; (2) deeper level of knowledge building in collaboration and interaction through Moodle than WeChat was observed; and (3) Moodle got higher perception level than WeChat because of its usefulness for collaboration.     

Collaborative environments for the learning of design: a model and a case study in Domotics

Design plays a central role in a range of subjects at different educational levels. Students have to acquire the knowledge necessary for the execution of tasks that enable them to construct an artefact or model that can be tested by simulation and that satisfies some requirements and verifies some constraints. They achieve this by means of a design process. In some design domains there is a lack of teaching tools from a learner-centred perspective. Moreover, when these domains are complex, the design problems that the students have to solve during their learning process require the design activity to be carried out in group. In response to this situation, we have developed a design model and a collaborative learning method. Using this conceptual framework, we have built a collaborative environment for the learning of domotical¹ design by means of complex problem solving, with an emphasis on synchronous collaboration for work distribution, discussion, design in shared surfaces and simulation. This environment has already been evaluated and used in real teaching experiences.