Web-based Learning Management System Research Articles

You Are Not Logged In: Context and Interpersonal Meaning of Instructions and Links in a typical Learning Management System

It is common knowledge that the incorporation of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in ESL/EFL instruction has enhanced learners understanding of the language just as it has helped teachers in monitoring students’ progress. However, the use of these eLearning platforms can be quite challenging for EFL learners who are yet to be proficient in the English language. This is because all course information and instructions are offered in the language. Following the notion of context and language metafunctions by Halliday (1985) and his followers, analysis of some linguistic expressions in typical learning management systems is conducted. I show how context and interpersonal meanings are established, and how they can enhance learners’ comprehension of information and instructions. The linguistic expressions used as data are sourced from student-specific pages of the web-based Learning Management System (Blackboard) and the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) as adapted in colleges and institutes in Saudi Arabia.

La autoevaluación como actividad docente en entornos virtuales de aprendizaje/enseñanza

In this work, several activities that can be carried out by means of self-assessment modules of web-based learning management systems are described. Some self-assessment experiences developed by the authors and other teachers of the ETSI Industriales of the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid in activities of different courses taught in this engineering faculty are explained. The learning management system used in these experiences is AulaWeb.

Antecedents of continued usage intentions of web-based learning management system in Tanzania

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine factors that predict students’ continued usage intention of web-based learning management systems (LMS) in Tanzania, with a specific focus on the School of Business of Mzumbe University. Specifically, the study investigated major predictors of actual usage and continued usage intentions of e-learning system, and challenges of using the e-learning system. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 300 third year undergraduate students, with a rate of return of 77 per cent. A total of 20 faculty members were also interviewed. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was utilized in the study. Findings – The results show that actual usage was determined by self-efficacy, while continued usage intentions of web-based learning system was predicted by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, self-efficacy, and actual usage. Challenges for using web-based LMS were related to information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure barrier, LMS user interface was not user friendly, weak ICT policies, management and technical support, limited skills, lack of awareness, resistance to change, and lack of time to prepare e-content and use the e-learning system. Practical implications – The study findings are useful to e-learning managers and university management to identify important factors and develop appropriate policies and strategies to encourage long-term usage of e-learning systems for future studies and lifelong learning. Originality/value – By using UTAUT in the context of continued usage intentions and the integration of an additional construct (“self-efficacy”), the extended UTAUT model fits very well in the web-based learning systems in Tanzania, in particular where such studies are scant. The findings can be used in other institutions with similar conditions in investigating the continued usage intentions of e-learning systems.

The Examination of User Habits through the Google Analytic Data of Academic Education Platforms

A web-based Learning Management System (LMS) can have hundreds, or even thousands users, student, teacher, manager and normal user. The increase in the Web traffic of the LMS brings with it the problem of hardware and infrastructure capable to host this traffic, and therefore solutions suitable to developing technology are required. Due to this reason, it is very important for LMS developers and instructors to use web mining tools and/or using services such as Google Analytics ensuring the analysis and evaluation of user behaviors. In this study, the authors aim to analyse the Google Analytics data pertaining to 2011 year of the Enocta Akademik Eteacher, managu LMS (EAEP l user. The increase in the Web traffic of the LMS brings with it the problem of hardware and infrastructure capable to hostof LMS user data may be used while carrying out a detailed analysis of LMS and in the efforts to develop and improve LMS. The increase of student satisfaction and learning success may be ensured through making changes on LMS according to student behaviors.

Pedagogy-driven design of digital learning ecosystems

In most cases, the traditional Web-based learning management systems (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard) have been designed without any built-in support for a preferred pedagogical model or approach. The proponents of such systems have claimed that this kind of inherent "pedagogical neutrality" is a desirable characteristic for a LMS, as it allows teachers to implement various pedagogical approaches. This study is based on an opposite approach, arguing for designing next-generation online learning platforms - so called digital learning ecosystems - with built-in affordances, which promote and enforce desirable pedagogical beliefs, strategies and learning activity patterns while suppressing others. We propose a conceptual and process model for pedagogy-driven design of online learning environments and illustrate it with a case study on development and implementation process of a digital learning ecosystem based on Dippler platform. We also describe the pedagogical foundation of Dippler that was guided by a combination of four contemporary pedagogical approaches: self-directed learning, competence-based learning, collaborative knowledge building and task-centered instructional design.

From web-based learning to eText learning: teaching Sanskrit with an electronic textbook

The Australian National University has been teaching Sanskrit using a successful web-based model of content delivery since 2006. As the programme grew in sophistication and complexity, and as technology as evolved, five problems emerged: students expected greater mobility, the instructor needed stability of resources, demand for improved multimedia support grew, bandwidth was constraining content delivery, and there is a growing perception that course materials should be in the public domain. In response to these problems, the entire content of the first-year Sanskrit curriculum, incorporating over 1400 text, image, audio and video files, was shifted from a web-based learning management system to an electronic textbook in ePub format using Zipptek's Legend Marker. Copies of the eText were preloaded onto iPads which were distributed to over 20 students worldwide. In addition to solving the five problems such as mobility, stability, multimedia, bandwidth and openness, the eText has resulted in very high levels of student acceptance and may lead to higher retention rates and improved learning outcomes.

Adaptive Learning Management System Using Semantic Web Technologies

Ontologies and semantic web services are the basics of next generation semantic web. This upcoming technologies are useful in many fields such as bioinformatics, business collaboration, Data integration and etc. E-learning is also the field in which semantic web technologies can be used to provide dynamism in learning methodologies. E-learning includes set of tasks which may be instructional design, content development, authoring, delivery, assessment, feedback and etc. that can be sequenced and composed as workflow. Web based Learning Management Systems should concentrate on how to satisfy the e-learners requirements. In this paper we have suggested the theoretical framework ALMS-Adaptive Learning management System which focuses on three aspects 1) Extracting the knowledge from the use's interaction, behaviour and actions and translate them into semantics which are represented as Ontologies 2) Find the Learner style from the knowledge base and 3)deriving and composing the workflow depending upon the learner style. The intelligent agents are used in each module of the framework to perform reasoning and finally the personalized workflow for the e-learner has been recommended.

Adoption of Innovative Education Strategies to the Needs of the Time: A Case Study of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU)

In our modern era of Internet, mobile and digital information technology, adoption of innovative education strategies to the needs of the time is quite important particularly at private educational institutions which cater to economically affluent students who are becoming picky and often more interested in their distractions than in their studies. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU) which was established in the year 2000 with an aim of becoming a hub for shaping the future of Asia-Pacific region by creating world class leaders in science, management, and economics through a bilingual curriculum, international under-standing, promotion of freedom, peace, humanity, and sensitiveness to the needs of the time, has integrated multimodal approach towards enhancing the quality of teaching and learning, and provides a total student support and care system. As a millennium university, it is equipped with state-of-the-art classrooms and tries to enhance its educational endeavors through proper use and efficient adaptation of educational technologies into its teaching pedagogies. However, due to being a private university and charging handsome tuitions fees, it has been attracting some of the most affluent students onto the campus, many of whom are often more interested in their distractions than in their studies. The decline in youth population and the economic slowdown in Japan have also adversely affected the quality of incoming students. This paper attempts to explain how APU tries to assure quality of their graduates despite the abovementioned problems through blended learning, peer knowledge sharing, adaptation of Blackboard (Bb, the most commonly implemented Web-based learning management system), portfolio, active learning, student support, academic advising, and by providing of a natural learning environment.

Adaptive Learning Management System Using Semantic Web Technologies

Ontologies and semantic web services are the basics of next generation semantic web. This upcoming technologies are useful in many fields s uch as bioinformatics, businesscollaboration, Data integration and etc. E-learning is also the field in which semantic web technologie s can be used to provide dynamism in learning methodologies. E-learning includes set of tasks which may be instructional design, content development, authoring, delivery, assessment, feedback and etc. that can be sequenced and composed as workflow. Web based Learning Management Systems should concentrate on how to satisfy the e -learners requirements. In this paper we have su ggested the theoretical framework ALMS -Adaptive Learning management System which focuses on three aspects 1) Extracting the knowledge from the use's interaction, behaviour and actions and translate them into semantics which are represented as Ontologies 2) Find the Learner style from the knowledge base and 3)deriving and composing the workflow depending upon the learner style. The intelligent agents areused in each module of the framework to perform reasoning and finally the personalized workflow forthe e-learner has been recommended.

Perception of medical students on e-assessment conducted through Yengage portal

Introduction: E-learning includes various categories of media that distribute text, audio, images, animation, and streaming video, and includes technology applications and processes, computer-based learning, as well as local intranet/extranet learning. Information and communication systems motivate many e-learning processes. E-learning can occur in or out of the classroom. ILIAS (Integriertes Lern-, Informations- und Arbeitskooperations-System [German for Integrated Learning, Information and Work Cooperation System]) is an open source web-based learning management system (LMS). It supports learning content management and tools for collaboration, communication, evaluation, and assessment for University students. Materials and Methods: First year medical students were requested to register in Yengage, and the date of the assessment was announced. Twenty MCQ from cardiovascular system was preloaded in the Yengage portal, and the students used their personal laptop to answer the questions within the stipulated time. The results were automatically loaded at the end of the assessment. Pre- and post-test was conducted to investigate the usefulness of the E- assessment. Results: The students responded that the E-assessment was easy to assess, unique as they received immediate feedback, customized and flexible. There was significant difference in the post-test score when compared to the pre-test score. Discussion: Technology has created new methods of assessment for today's generation of students, and these advances are here to stay. Conclusion: It is possible to conduct online examinations in medical school regularly. The e-learning can enhance student interests and allows immediate feedback. Since e-learning is not well-established in India, we hope to create awareness and change the outlook of medical students in online teaching-learning and assessment program.

An investigation of the development of a reflective virtual learning community in an ill-structured domain of instructional design

This article examines the development of novice instructional designers in a reflective learning community. The study was situated in a blended learning course, which utilized a web-based learning management system as a communication platform. Drawing from communities of practice as a theoretical framework, we examined (1) how individual and group characteristics influenced knowledge construction, (2) how members developed their epistemic frames of instructional design, and (3) the dynamics of group interactions during the knowledge constructions in the learning community. The findings highlighted issues related to the development of an online learning community, such as considering prior members’ knowledge and experience towards learning in a technology-mediated environment, enculturating minority groups in the learning community, providing structure to promote the formation and development of a learning community, and cultivating shared leadership behaviors.

Establishment of the genetic/genomic competency center for education.

Develop a trans-disciplinary repository of genomics education resources using a Web-based learning management system. The repository maps and organizes genetic-genomic information and materials relevant to educators by healthcare discipline-specific competencies and performance indicators. An interdisciplinary project team was established to guide toolkit repository building and usability testing. The toolkit was built using the X-CREDIT software on the Moodle learning management platform, which includes a mapping matrix and browsing function that captures teaching resources in a searchable database linked to competencies, knowledge areas, performance indicators, learning activities and resources, and outcome assessments. Discipline-specific advisory groups assisted in resource identification, competency mapping, and peer review. The toolkit is multidisciplinary, currently including physician assistants and nurses, and provides a resource crosslink to discipline-specific competencies. All resources have a detailed description, and users may contribute new resources, which are peer reviewed for relevance and accuracy by an editorial board. Alpha and beta testing using online usability surveys that included toolkit exercises helped refine the structure, look, and navigation of the final website. One hundred thirty faculty-124 nursing and 6 physician assistant faculty-agreed to participate. Of those, 59 users (45.4% response rate) completed the online usability survey. Nearly all users (94.9%) were able to find a competency that was relevant to their topic, and 85.4% were able to locate the relevant performance indicators. The majority (86.5%) felt the model adequately described the relationships between competencies, performance indicators, learning activities-resources, and assessments, and made conceptual sense. Survey respondents reported font color and size made the information difficult to read, windows were not large enough, and the "shopping cart" concept was confusing; all of these areas have been modified for the final toolkit version. Alpha and beta testing of the toolkit revealed that users can successfully obtain educational materials by searching competencies and performance indicators. The platform is accessible on the Internet at http://www.g-2-c-2.org and can be continually updated as new resources become available. Faculty members need easy access to a wide range of accurate, current resources to facilitate integration of genomics into the curriculum.

EduTutor

Intelligent tutoring systems are any computer systems encompassing interactive applications with some intelligence that support and facilitate the teaching-learning process. The intelligence of these systems is the ability to adapt to each student throughout his/her learning process. This paper presents an intelligent tutoring system, called EduTutor, created for the web-based Aulanet learning management system (LMS).The system architecture and its main characteristics are described in detail. EduTutor focuses on subjects for the first cycle of studies of the Portuguese primary education system, between the first and the fourth year. Its purpose is to facilitate the perception of the learning process of each student, individually, in a virtual environment, and as a study guide. Furthermore, this intelligent tutor system was designed and its architecture was prepared for being easily integrated in higher levels of studies, different subjects, and different languages. EduTutor was validated with a large set of real cases and is being used, with success, in the Aulanet LMS platform.

Identifying and Incorporating Affective States and Learning Styles in Web-based Learning Management Systems

Learning styles and affective states influence students’ learning. The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for identifying and integrating learning styles and affective states of a learner into web-based learning management systems and therefore provide learners with adaptive courses and additional individualized pedagogical guidance that is tailored to their learning styles and affective states. The study was carried out in three phases, the first of which was the investigation and determination of learning styles and affective states which are important for learning. Phase two consisted of the development of an approach for the identification of learning styles and affective states as well as the development of a mechanism to calculate them from the students’ learning interactions within web-based learning management systems. The third phase was to develop a learning strategy that is more personalized and adaptive in nature and tailored to learners’ needs and current situation through considering learners’ learning styles and affective states, aiming to lead to better learning outcomes and progress.

New York University School of Medicine

New York University School of Medicine

User-oriented web-based learning management systems for enhanced vocabulary teaching

This paper discusses on a system that aims to facilitate the experience of learning a foreign language, and more specifically, enhancing the procedure of learning the respective vocabulary. The presented system is a web-based learning management system, which uses cognition mechanisms in order to take into consideration both users’ past preferences and their current feedback, with respect to the learning style. Bayesian Networks concepts are used for monitoring past preferences, and for acquiring knowledge and determining the likelihood of future preferences, through the use of certain parameters.

A Model for Continuing Pharmacy Education

To develop and implement a continuing pharmacy education (CPE) program at Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO) DESIGN: To address the continuing education needs of its diverse pharmacy staff, an internal continuing pharmacy education (CPE) program was developed. The pharmacy department became an accredited provider by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). Live, interactive, and evidence-based CPE programs, presented by highly qualified internal staff members, utilized videoconferencing and a Web-based learning management system. Cross-accreditation of medical and pharmacy educational programs was offered to KPCO staff members. Annual needs assessments were conducted to ensure the provision of relevant educational topics and to assess learning needs. To demonstrate outcomes of the CPE programs, 2 methods were utilized: objective effectiveness assessment and knowledge acquisition assessment. This program met the objectives for CPE activities a large majority of the time (usually over 90%), demonstrated statistically significant (p < 0.05) improvement in knowledge from before to after the CPE activity in 11 of 13 questions asked, and minimized the cost to acquire CPE credit for both the pharmacy department and its staff members. The KPCO continuing pharmacy education program has developed a high quality and cost-favorable system that has resulted in significant improvements in attendee knowledge.

Multi-dimensional students’ evaluation of e-learning systems in the higher education context: An empirical investigation

There has been little research on assessment of learning management systems (LMS) within educational organizations as both a web-based learning system for e-learning and as a supportive tool for blended learning environments. This study proposes a conceptual e-learning assessment model, hexagonal e-learning assessment model (HELAM) suggesting a multi-dimensional approach for LMS evaluation via six dimensions: (1) system quality, (2) service quality, (3) content quality, (4) learner perspective, (5) instructor attitudes, and (6) supportive issues. A survey instrument based on HELAM has been developed and applied to 84 learners. This sample consists of students at both undergraduate and graduate levels who are users of a web-based learning management system, U-Link, at Brunel University, UK. The survey instrument has been tested for content validity, reliability, and criterion-based predictive validity. The analytical results strongly support the appropriateness of the proposed model in evaluating LMSs through learners’ satisfaction. The explanatory factor analysis showed that each of the six dimensions of the proposed model had a significant effect on the learners’ perceived satisfaction. Findings of this research will be valuable for both academics and practitioners of e-learning systems.

Mining log data for the analysis of learners’ behaviour in web-based learning management systems

Nowadays, a great number of learning management systems (LMSs) both commercial and open source are widely used for educational and training purposes. Thousands of lessons are delivered through the web by utilizing some LMS and this phenomenon is expected to be escalated the following years by means of the continuous increase in demand for life long learning. In such a learning model learners, educators and educational organizations need smarter tools to face the problem of continuous feedback of the educational process in order to offer a learning environment capable to increase the learning effectiveness of the new mode of learning as well as the efficient organization of the institutional resources. Recently, the academic community uses techniques from data mining giving rise a new hot area in the e-learning field called “Educational Data Mining”. Although LMSs can hold large volumes of rich data, they provide a limited set of reporting features and they don’t support any data mining techniques. Moreover, the current data mining tools both commercial and open source are complex systems, they have not been designed for educational purposes and therefore they are difficult to be used by non-experts in this specific area. In this paper, we firstly examine the requirements for data mining facilities in LMSs. Then we describe a new approach supported by a tool for analyzing learners’ behaviour in LMSs. Finally, we describe initial results arising from the use of the tool in two undergraduate courses.

Students’ Views of a Learning Management System: A Longitudinal Qualitative Study

Over the past decade, Web-based learning management systems, such as Blackboard and WebCT, have been gradually integrated into college education. The strategic use and effectiveness of such systems have been investigated to a large extent. What is less covered is what students really think about such learning management systems. Understanding students’ evaluations can shed light on the development, selection, training, maintenance, use, and investment on such systems. In this paper, we report a longitudinal study that uses a bottom-up approach to gather qualitative data on student views of WebCT 6. Data were collected at three distinctive times that spanned two semesters to reflect students’ different experiences in using WebCT 6. Two different methods were used to collect qualitative data so that students could report their views in unconstrained ways. The content analyses results show that (1) students have an integrated view of their technology assisted learning environment, which can be represented by the notion of S-I-A (the system, the instructors and the administrators); (2) as students’ experience with WebCT 6 increases, their complaints and wishes for instructors and administrators increase; (3) communication-related features continuously dominate students’ views about WebCT 6; and (4) as their use of WebCT 6 increases, students grow more appreciative toward WebCT 6 features that support learning activities. The findings contribute to the literature with additional evidence on the nature and effectiveness of learning management systems. They provide a set of suggestions that should be carefully considered by all personnel involved. We identify a number of research implications. One particular research contribution is the identification of a fifth type of interaction that plays an important role in the technology-assisted learning context: the learner-administrator interaction.