Interactive E-learning System Research Articles

AI Enhancements for Linguistic E-Learning System

E-learning systems have been considerably developed after the COVID-19 pandemic. In our previous work, we developed a linguistic interactive E-learning system for phonetic transcription learning. In this paper, we propose three artificial-intelligence-based enhancements to this system from different aspects. Compared with the original system, the first enhancement is a disordered speech classification module; this module is driven by the MFCC-CNN model, which aims to distinguish disordered speech and nondisordered speech. The accuracy of the classification is about 83%. The second enhancement is a grapheme-to-phoneme converter. This converter is based on the transformer model and designed for teachers to better generate IPA words from the regular written text. Compared with other G2P models, our transformer-based G2P model provides outstanding PER and WER performance. The last part of this paper focuses on a Tacotron2-based IPA-to-speech synthesis system, this deep learning-based TTS system can help teacher generate high-quality speech sounds from IPA characters which significantly improve the functionality of our original system. All of these three enhancements are related to the phonetic transcription process. and this work not only provides a better experience for the users of this system but also explores the utilization of artificial intelligence technologies in the E-learning field and linguistic field.

Deep Analysis of Student Body Activities to Detect Engagement State in E-Learning Sessions

In this paper, we propose new 3D CNN prediction models for detecting student engagement levels in an e-learning environment. The first generated model classifies students’ engagement to high positive engagement or low positive engagement. The second generated model classifies engagement to low negative engagement or disengagement. To predict the engagement level, the proposed prediction models learn the deep spatiotemporal features of the body activities of the students. In addition, we collected a new video dataset for this study. The new dataset was collected in realistic, uncontrolled settings from real students attending real online classes. Our findings are threefold: (1) Spatiotemporal features are more suitable for analyzing body activities from video data; (2) our proposed prediction models outperform state-of-the-art methods and have proven their effectiveness; and (3) our newly collected video dataset, which reflects realistic scenarios, contributed to delivering comparable results to current methods. The findings of this work will strengthen the knowledge base for the development of intelligent and interactive e-learning systems that can give feedback based on user engagement.

Engagement Detection Based on Analyzing Micro Body Gestures Using 3D CNN

This paper proposes a novel, efficient and affordable approach to detect the students’ engagement levels in an e-learning environment by using webcams. Our method analyzes spatiotemporal features of e-learners’ micro body gestures, which will be mapped to emotions and appropriate engagement states. The proposed engagement detection model uses a three-dimensional convolutional neural network to analyze both temporal and spatial information across video frames. We follow a transfer learning approach by using the C3D model that was trained on the Sports-1M dataset. The adopted C3D model was used based on two different approaches; as a feature extractor with linear classifiers and a classifier after applying fine-tuning to the pre-trained model. Our model was tested and its performance was evaluated and compared to the existing models. It proved its effectiveness and superiority over the other existing methods with an accuracy of 94%. The results of this work will contribute to the development of smart and interactive e-learning systems with adaptive responses based on users’ engagement levels.

Evaluating an e-Learning Platform at Graduate School Based on User Experience Evaluation Technique

This study was aimed to evaluate the e-learning platform in a graduate school by using User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). The data were collected from 65 respondents and analyzed using an excel data analysis tool. The results indicate that all six scales of the instrument are consistent except the novelty scale. Also, the calculated means of the scales are slightly positive as all values are greater than 0.8 compared to the UEQ benchmark. Although the respondents show a little positive impression with the platform, all scales means are below average category except efficiency scale which is above average as compared to the benchmark. This indicates that the platform needs more improvement in all aspects of user experience for it to be at least in a good category. The findings discussed in this paper are valuable for all academic stakeholders in various educational institutions which implement interactive e-learning systems as well as practitioners of user experience and developers of e-learning systems.

POSSIBILITIES OF DEVELOPING INTERACTIVE E-LEARNING SYSTEM FOR BORDER GUARDS TRAINING IN THE STATE BORDER GUARD COLLEGE OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA

Efficient use of educational technology and digital learning possibilities has always been the strategic area of high importance in border guards training at the State Border Guard College of Latvia. Recently, issues related to training during the Covid-19, have spurred and revived the discussion, topicality and practical need to use the potential of e-learning opportunities which brought up unexpected, additional, previously unsolved, unexplored, challenges and tasks to border guards training. New opportunities and challenges for trainers, learners and administration of training process both in online communication and learning administration contexts. In order to find out and define further e-learning development possibilities at the State Border Guard College the authors of this research explore the scientific literature on the current research findings, methodologies, approaches on developing interactive e-learning systems in educational contexts, particularly within the sphere of law enforcement. Based on scientific literature research findings authors put forward suggestions on improving the e-learning systems for border guards training.

E-learning systems versus instructional communication tools: Developing and testing a new e-learning user interface from the perspectives of teachers and students

Focusing on Human E-learning Interaction (HEI), this interdisciplinary research integrates concepts from instructional communication and instructional technology and applies them to e-learning systems, focusing on academic stakeholders' roles and competencies. The purpose of this research is to propose and design an E-learning User Interface (ELUI) using web programming languages to support instructional communication in an online learning environment. The proposed interface, considering both students' and teachers' perspectives, identifies several new features that contribute to success in interactive e-learning systems in academic organizations. A sample of 102 students and 10 teachers selected from a university in Canada were asked to browse the ELUI proposed in this study and provide feedback. Using a mixed methods approach, this study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to provide a more robust understanding of student and teacher perceptions of the ELUI. Students' attitudes toward use of the interface were analyzed using the Technology Acceptance Model, while teachers’ perceptions were analyzed through content analysis of semi-structured interviews. The results of regression analysis showed that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of ELUI are predictive of student attitude toward future use of the ELUI. The results of the interviews revealed that teachers believe the ELUI would be efficient, particularly with adequate training and support, though were unable to comment on the cost effectiveness of e-learning systems. The overall results suggest that academic decision-makers should adopt instructional communication features in e-learning systems.

Exploring the E-Learning Experiences of Academic Staff at a South African University

While there is evidence of a burgeoning research output on academic staff’s e-learning acceptance and usage in universities, there is a paucity of studies that seek to understand the South African experience. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of academic staff with the uptake and use of e-learning innovations in teaching and learning in the context of a university in South Africa. Theoretically, the study was underpinned by activity theory. The study was qualitative in nature and an exploratory single case study design was employed. The participants comprised six purposively selected academic staff at a South African university. In the study, we used semi-structured interviews to gather the data required to answer the research questions. We analysed data using an inductive thematic framework following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) approach. The following themes emerged from the analysis: challenges with technology infrastructure and internet accessibility on campus, technical support for students and staff, staff development and training, difficulty in creating e-learning content, and challenges with non-resident students. Based on the findings we recommend an increased interactive and context-dependent e-learning support system for academic staff. In addition, to accelerate the acceptance and effective use of e-learning technologies there is a need for collaborative and peer-oriented activities that develop the knowledge of academic staff.

Message from the Guest Editors

It is the great honor for us to edit proceedings of “7th World Conference on Educational Technology Researches (WCETR-2017)” held on 20 – 22 April 2017, at the AB College, Pristina, Republic of Kosovo. This privileged scientific event has contributed to the field of educational sciences and research for seven years. As the guest editors of this issue, we are glad to see variety of articles focusing on Asynchronous Learning, Learning and Content Management Systems, Authoring Software, Learning and Teaching With Technology, Constructivist Perspectives, Learning Objects, Cooperative/Collaborative Learning, Internet cafes and students, Data Mining Strategies For ELearning Organizatins, Learning Environments, Diffusion of Innovation, Learning Management Systems, Distance and Open Learning Environments, Learning styles, Educational Technology & Globalization, Lifelong learning, Course Material Design, Life Long Learning and Technology, Virtual Education, Mobile Learning, Creativity and innovation in learning technology, Multimedia Applications, Ebooks, Network Based Education and Training, Education of Education Technology, Pedagogical and Practical Issues, Educational technology and research methods, Professional Development & Teacher Training, Engineering and Educational Technology, Simulations In Education, Hypermedia Applications, Teaching/Learning Strategies, ICT Literacy In Education, Computer Games for Learning, Improving Classroom Teaching, Online lerarning, Innovation and Change In Education, Open users educational software, Instructional Design, Researches methods of the educational technology, Intelligent ELearning Systems, Eportfolios, Intelligent Training Technology, Social Shared sites (facebook, twitter, ….)and education, Interactive ELearning Systems, Special teaching area technology, Interactive Learning Environment, Human Resources In Educational Technology, Knowledge Management In Elearning, HumanComputer Interaction, Virtual University and etc. Furthermore, the conference is getting more international each year, which is an indicator that it is getting worldwide known and recognized. Scholars from all over the world contributed to the conference. Special thanks are to all the reviewers, the members of the international editorial board, the publisher, and those involved in technical processes. We would like to thank all who contributed to in every process to make this issue actualized. A total of 48 full papers or abstracts were submitted for this conference and each paper has been peer reviewed by the reviewers specialized in the related field. At the end of the review process, a total of 16 high quality research papers were selected and accepted for publication. I hope that you will enjoy reading the papers

USE OF FACIAL EMOTION RECOGNITION IN E-LEARNING SYSTEMS

Since the personal computer usage and internet bandwidth are increasing, e-learning systems are also widely spreading. Although e-learning has some advantages in terms of information accessibility, time and place flexibility compared to the formal learning, it does not provide enough face-to-face interactivity between an educator and learners. In this study, we are proposing a hybrid information system, which is combining computer vision and machine learning technologies for visual and interactive e-learning systems. The proposed information system detects emotional states of the learners and gives feedback to an educator about their instant and weighted emotional states based on facial expressions. In this way, the educator will be aware of the general emotional state of the virtual classroom and the system will create a formal learning-like interactive environment. Herein, several classification algorithms were applied to learn instant emotional state and the best accuracy rates were obtained using kNN and SVM algorithms.

Development, implementation, and effects of an integrated web-based teaching model in a nursing ethics course

BackgroundEthical competence, which is reflected in the ability to detect ethical challenges in clinical situations and engage in deliberate thinking on ethical actions, is one of the core competencies of nursing practice. PurposeThe purpose of this study was to develop and implement an interactive situational e-learning system, integrating nursing ethical decisions into a nursing ethics course, and to evaluate the effects of this course on student nurses' ethical decision-making competence. Project designThe project was designed to be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, an interactive situated e-learning system was developed and integrated into the nursing ethics course. The second phase involved implementing the course and evaluating its effects in a quasi-experimental study. The course intervention was designed for 2h per week over one semester (18weeks). ParticipantsA total of 100 two-year technical college nursing students in their second year of the program participated in the study, with 51 in the experimental group and 49 in the control group. ResultsAfter completing the course, the students in the experimental group showed significant improvement in nursing ethical decision-making competence, including skills in “raising questions,” “recognizing differences,” “comparing differences,” “self-dialogue,” “taking action,” and “identifying the implications of decisions made,” compared to their performance prior to the class. After controlling for factors influencing learning effects, students in the experimental group showed superiority to those in the control group in the competency of “recognizing differences.” The students in the experimental group reported that the course pushed them to search for and collect information needed to resolve the ethical dilemma. ConclusionsThe interactive situational e-learning system developed by our project was helpful in developing the students' competence in ethical reasoning. The e-learning system and the situational teaching materials used in this study may be applicable in nursing and related professional ethics courses.

Students performance between classical and online education: a comparative study

Writing study materials in online interactive forms can be seen as an optional choice to some educators or in some study domains. However, using online and interactive e-learning systems to communicate with students should not be seen as an option any more. In this paper, we analyse the impact of online education on students' learning or performance. A set of experiments were conducted in the Faculty of Computers and Information Technology at the University of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Over 900 students have participated in the study between the years 2011 and 2014. We evaluated the results between the different teaching methods each year as well as between different classes over a three-year period. Students involved in the online method have achieved a slightly better performance in examinations compared to other students. It is clear that young generations are consuming a significant amount of their time on mobile devices, tablets and gadgets...etc. Bringing education materials to those devices can help them utilise some of this time for educational purposes and improve their skills.

Interactive E-Learning and Exam System

Learning platforms are increasingly used in universities, colleges and companies seeking effective and continuous training of their employees without constraint of time and space. The effectiveness of such a learning system depends mainly on the degree of information assimilated by the learner at the end of training. In this project, the focus is on the implementation of a system for measuring competence for computer sciences. This system uses the model of item response theory. The results provided by this system are presented to the student, as a dashboard. They will allow the teacher or tutor to have the necessary elements to monitor their learning by identifying the causes blocking and checking its achievements. The emphasis of this project is to en-able the learner to understand and simultaneously implement the concepts that have been designed by the content author or teacher. It is primarily geared towards enabling students to use an interactive E-Learning system that uses an algorithm based approach to assess skill levels. This system can also help to improve the recruitment process of companies using it in the selection process of candidates for jobs. KeywordsAssessment Approach ,E-Learning, skill level, item response theory, learner model, measuring skills, unit

Interactive Whiteboard and Instant Quiz for Multimedia Classroom Activity

Information and communication technology have become a very strategic aspect in supporting human life. One of the aspects is in education, particularly the use of e-learning system. In the e-learning system, the use of multimedia (such as video conferencing) technology allows users to have an interactive meeting without having to see collocutor directly. In this system, each user communicates by using computer networks, either locally or through the internet. This trend has encouraged developers to create such applications online. However, most of them are paid application and less convenient to use. This research developed an interactive e-learning system with features such as online quiz, whiteboard, video conference and VoIP. In this system, a web based e-learning system with video VoIP provides learning activities by the interaction of both parties that lecturers and students. This system enables the teacher and user to have an interactive conversation and to have quizzes in the middle of a class. This method is aimed to evaluate the students understanding of the materials currently presented. Delay and jitter value of this system increases along with the increase number of users. With the 15 users, the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) delay value reaching 32.3672 and 101.6028 ms for the jitter value. Furthermore with 15 users, the Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP0 delay value reached 51.8868 ms and 92.0052 ms for the jitter value.

Development of an Asynchronous Web Based E-Learning System

Advancements in Information Communication Technology (ICT) have led to several opportunities especially the ones provided by the Internet. Several people are now taking advantage of distance learning courses and in the past few years huge research efforts have been dedicated to the development of distance learning systems. So far, many e-learning systems are proposed and used practically. This paper focused on the development of an asynchronous and interactive Web-based e-learning system. Its primary objective is to develop a fast, reliable, effective and efficient web-based e-learning system that will address the problems associated with the traditional learning system. Succinctly, the paper discusses the design of a system that enhances e-learning where course lecturers can set their courses, tests and quizzes at their convenient time and can track the activities and performance of their students and guide them to acquire knowledge without being obliged to be physically present on the institution campus. The system was designed using PHP as the scripting language, Macromedia Dreamweaver for the web page, MySQL as the database and Apache as the web server. The system was implemented using real data and the result was successful. This system is no doubt a solution to the constraints of the classical learning system and can be used successfully in distance learning, training, and various educational institutions.

Design and Implementation of Simple Interactive e-learning System

There are many commercial or free e-learning systems available on the market. Most of these e-learning systems provide lot of functionality and modules. Some courses are completely based on e-learning resources instead of traditional learning model. This paper describes process of design and implementation of one special e-learning system, which is based on multimedia resources. The whole system is designed to provide multimedia presentation to students as learning resources. Created system allows lector to create quizzes and observe students success. E-learning system also offers graphs and charts of student's results. This system is based on linear workflow. That means students can see new learning resources and tests only after previous was done. Students can also create their own learning plan by defining dates. System is able to export this plan into general calendar format or remind students via e-mail. Paper describes process of design and creation of e-learning system with all mentioned features. The last part of paper is dedicated to discussion of student's and teacher's feedback.

Editorial on ICT and education internationally

This first issue of EAIT for 2013 has articles from India, USA, Egypt, Cyprus, Spain, Finland and Greece, illustrating the word-wide and growing interest in education and information technologies. From a topic that began in the 1980s as an area of interest in relatively few countries, issues relating to ICT and education are now very much an international phenomenon as this issue illustrates. Applications of blogging in problem based learning by Rishu Chhabra and Vandana Sharma from Punjab Technical University, India, looks at an undergraduate course on relational database management systems in Computer Science and Engineering. The article describes how problem based learning and blogging have been introduced for practical sessions. It discusses how problems are designed to cover the syllabus topics, and how blogging was used to bridge the communication gap. Students’ perceptions of clickers as an instructional tool to promote active learning, is by James Oigara from Canisius College, and Jared Keengwe from the University of North Dakota, USA. In the article they write to describe a study to evaluate students’ perceptions of active learning in a Physical Geography undergraduate class. The study found that clickers do promote student engagement in the teaching and learning process, but that students did not find clickers to be a motivating factor to study more for the course. An interactive e-learning system for improving web programming skills, by Elgamal, Abas and Baladoh from Mansoura University, Egypt describes an interactive e-learning system that aims to provide an integrated environment for web programming. The system provides instructors with an online exam system and monitors, collects and keeps information about learners’ performance and activities. Locating ICT for primary education in a reformed Greek-Cypriot national curriculum: A documentary analysis approach by Yiasemina Karagiorgi from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Nicosia, Cyprus argues that educational technology in the Educ Inf Technol (2013) 18:1–2 DOI 10.1007/s10639-013-9249-9

An interactive e-learning system for improving web programming skills

This paper introduces an interactive e-learning system that provides an integrated environment for web programming. The proposed system is web-based. It provides an online editor for writing, editing, updating, and executing programming code, so the learners can execute examples and practical exercises online. In addition, it provides auto complete and syntax highlighting in editing code, which could help learners to remember the syntax more easily. The proposed system provides communication and interactive tools including Chat-Room, E-Mail, and Discussion Board (Forum) among learners and instructors. Moreover, it provides the instructors with an online exam system. It monitors, collects and keeps information about learners' performance and activities. Therefore, instructors can use the recorded information to keep tracking of the learner's progress. The system is based on the common three-tier-architecture of web-based applications that is organized into presentation tier, logic tier, and data tier.

A graphical simulation software for instruction in cardiovascular mechanics physiology

BackgroundComputer supported, interactive e-learning systems are widely used in the teaching of physiology. However, the currently available complimentary software tools in the field of the physiology of cardiovascular mechanics have not yet been adapted to the latest systems software. Therefore, a simple-to-use replacement for undergraduate and graduate students' education was needed, including an up-to-date graphical software that is validated and field-tested.MethodsSoftware compatible to Windows, based on modified versions of existing mathematical algorithms, has been newly developed. Testing was performed during a full term of physiological lecturing to medical and biology students.ResultsThe newly developed CLabUZH software models a reduced human cardiovascular loop containing all basic compartments: an isolated heart including an artificial electrical stimulator, main vessels and the peripheral resistive components. Students can alter several physiological parameters interactively. The resulting output variables are printed in x-y diagrams and in addition shown in an animated, graphical model. CLabUZH offers insight into the relations of volume, pressure and time dependency in the circulation and their correlation to the electrocardiogram (ECG). Established mechanisms such as the Frank-Starling Law or the Windkessel Effect are considered in this model. The CLabUZH software is self-contained with no extra installation required and runs on most of today's personal computer systems.ConclusionsCLabUZH is a user-friendly interactive computer programme that has proved to be useful in teaching the basic physiological principles of heart mechanics.

Interactive e-learning system using pattern recognition and augmented reality

This paper proposes an interactive e-learning system using pattern recognition and augmented reality. The goal of proposed system is to provide students with realistic audio-visual contents when they are leaning. The proposed e-learning system consists of image recognition, color and polka-dot pattern recognition, and augmented reality engine with audio-visual contents. When the Web camera on a PC captures the current page of textbook, the e-learning system first identifies the images on the page, and augments some audio-visual contents on the monitor. For interactive learning, the proposed e-learning system exploits the color-band or polka-dot markers which are stuck to the end of a finger. The color-band and polka-dot marker act like the mouse cursor to indicate the position in the textbook image. Appropriate interactive audio-visual contents are augmented as the marker is located on the predefined image objects in the textbook. The proposed e-learning system was applied to the educational courses in the elementary school, and we obtained satisfactory results for real applications. We expect that the proposed e-learning system is popular when the educational contents and scenarios are sufficiently provided.

Rationale, Design and Implementation of a Computer Vision-Based Interactive E-Learning System

This article presents a schematic application of computer vision technologies to e-learning that is synchronous, peer-to-peer-based, and supports an instructor’s interaction with non-computer teaching equipments. The article first discusses the importance of these focused e-learning areas, where the properties include accurate bidirectional interaction and low cost hardware; system portability and versatile vision technology are emphasized. In the subsequent sections, we present some results aiming to achieve these goals. In particular, we highlight the most recent advancements in the interactive PTZ camera control from both the instructor and remote student. We also illustrated how these results have successfully addressed the challenges.