Courseware development using influence diagrams supporting e-learning specifications

Abstract

Without a systematic assessment mechanism, it is hard for teachers to design e-learning courseware and assess students' on-line learning behaviors. This is a common issue found in most authoring tools available all over the world. Furthermore, some authoring tools are powerful but not standard compliant. To overcome these draw backs, we propose a courseware design tool with the theory of concept and influence diagram coupled with a user-friendly interface. The transformation algorithm is also included for the conformance with e-learning standards. With the proposed mechanism and tools, the advantages of courseware diagram are preserved. Students' learning performance can be improved by taking different levels of remedial courses based on student performance with a systematically built course flow chart. Furthermore, students' learning results can be maximized by analyzing their learning performance for course content adjustment. More importantly, SCORM compliant courseware can be generated from the courseware diagram directly using the proposed algorithms.