Evaluating the Accessibility of Three Open-Source Learning Content Management Systems: A Comparative Study

Learning content management systems (LCMSs) have become increasingly popular in the educational field over the past few years. However, problems in system design can create difficulties in the interactions between LCMSs and an important sector of the user population. The assessment and monitoring of LCMS accessibility are vital for the guarantee of universal accessibility in education. This article presents a comparative study of the accessibility of three web-based, open-source LCMSs: Moodle, ATutor, and Sakai. Results of the study indicate that barriers to accessibility are present in each of the three systems evaluated. A primary aim of the study is to help detect and correct these barriers such that the goal of universal access in educational environments may one day be achieved.This study was partially funded by the Research Network MA2VICMR (S2009/TIC-1542) and by GEMMA (TSI-020302-2010-141) and SAGAS (TSI-020100-2010-184) research projects

RANCANG BANGUN SISTEM KUIS ONLINE ADAPTIF SEBAGAI EKSTENSI CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

This research describes an adaptive online quiz system that can be utilized as an extension of content management system. With ‘adaptive’ capability, quizzes become more personalized as the question presented are specifically model or designed for students according to their level of proficiency. With this, student will get to know their strength and weaknesses in their study as they will not move to a higher level of difficulty if they fail to score a certain rate. A comparative study among the current adaptive systems is done to identify the adaptive components that they applied, the techniques to implement the adaptive components and also the available features. This Web-based quiz system is an adaptive quiz system for student self-assessment with three main components: Student Model, Domain Model and Adaptation Model. Student model describes the student’s knowledge, domain model represents the teaching domain or the representation of the student model, while adaptation model consists of a set of rules that defines the user’s action. The Stereotypes and Overlay Model techniques are applied to model the student’s knowledge, the Semantic Network is applied to model the Domain Knowledge and the ‘IF-THEN’ rules is applied to model the Adaptation Model. Development of the system using the method of system development life cycle with object-oriented approach. The results of this research is an extension for content management system that can be used as a system of student assessment based on skills, knowledge and preferences of each student Keywords : online quiz, adaptive, student model, domain model, adaptation model, extension, content management syste

The effect of gamification and narrative on learner engagement and academic achievement in primary schools: a South African case study

As the major aims of primary school education are to foster both learning and enjoyment of learning, the main goal of this research project is to identify whether the use of storytelling can improve gamification of learning through a Learning Management System (LMS). Gamification is a known method for enhancing the enjoyment of learning as well asthe reinforcement of learning, in tasks that are typically seen as routine or mundane. The study used a sample of grade 7 learners from a South African private school, using the national curriculum policy document as a content guideline. The study used comparative groups of two gamified learning management systems, with one system using the storyline of “Mission to Mars”, where learners embarked on a fictional journey to Marsin search of habitable land. The other group used a similar learning management system, using generic images and discourse without using a narrative. Using game mechanics, which are common features used to structure games, the content was presented as a progression-based game to achieve the end goal of colonising Mars. Progression was based on learner participation in core activities that were required by the core curriculum and which were formally assessed, in temporal activities that occurred at different stages in time and in discretionary activities that were optional and were known not to be formally assessed. We found that the gamified systems were successful in reinforcing learning and were enjoyed by both experimental groups. It was anticipated that the use of a narrative, in conjunction with the gamified learning management system, would yield higher academic results and be more enjoyable, which was in line with research on the use of storytelling in education. Contradictory data was found, which suggests that the use of narrative should be carefully implemented, as storytelling may only be effective if presented to learners in a meaningful and relevant way. The system was developed using a free web page designer, provided by Google, which would have limited the possibilities for developing interactive or customised teaching resources for the facilitator to use. This was found to be the main limitation for the study and should influence further research in this field

A survey of UK university web management: staffing, systems and issues

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to summarize the findings of a survey of UK universities about how their web site is managed and resourced, which technologies are in use and what are seen as the main issues and priorities. Methodology/approach: The paper is based on a web based questionnaire distributed in summer 2006, and which received 104 usable responses from 87 insitutions. Findings: The survey showed that some web teams were based in IT and some in external relations, yet in both cases the site typically served internal and external audiences. The role of web manager is partly management of resources, time and people, partly about marketing and liaison and partly also concerned with more technical aspects including interface design and HTML. But it is a diverse role with a wide spread of responsibilities. On the whole web teams were relatively small. Three quarters of responding institutions had a CMS, but specific systems in use were diverse. 60% had a portal. There was evidence of increasing use of blogs and wikis. The key driver for the web site is student recruitment, with instituitional reputation and information to stakeholders also being important. The biggest perceived weaknesses were maintaining consistency with devolved content creation and currency of content; lack of resourcing a key threat while comprehensiveness was a key strength. Current and wished for projects pointed again to the diversity of the sector. Research implications/limitations: The lack of comparative data and difficulties of interpreting responses to closed questions where respondents could have quite different status (partly reflecting divergent patterns of governance of the web across the sector) create issues with the reliability of the research. Practical implications: Data about resourcing of web management, technology in use etc at comparable institutions is invaluable for practitioners in their efforts to gain resource in their own context. Originality/value of paper: The paper adds more systematic, current data to our limited knowledge about how university web sites are managed

Reflecting on E-Recruiting Research Using Grounded Theory

This paper presents a systematic review of the e-Recruiting literature through a grounded theory lens. The large number of publications and the increasing diversity of publications on e-Recruiting research, as the most studied area within e-HRM (Electronic Human Resource Management), calls for a synthesis of e-Recruiting research. We show interconnections between achievements, research gaps and future research directions in order to advance both e-Recruiting research and practice. Moreover, we provide a definition of e-Recruiting. The use of grounded theory enabled us to reach across sub-disciplines, methods used, perspectives studied, themes discussed and stakeholders involved. We demonstrate that the Grounded Theory Approach led to a better understanding of the interconnections that lay buried in the disparate e-Recruiting literature

E-democracy: exploring the current stage of e-government

Governments around the world have been pressured to implement e-Government programs in order to improve the government-citizen dialogue. The authors of this article review prior literature on such efforts to find if they lead to increased democratic participation ("e-Democracy") for the affected citizens, with a focus on the key concepts of transparency, openness, and engagement. The authors find that such efforts are a starting point toward e-Democracy, but the journey is far from complete

URLs in the OPAC : comparative reflections on US vs UK practice

To examine whether placing URLs into library OPACs has been an effective way of enhancing the role of the catalogue for the contemporary library user

Web assisted teaching: an undergraduate experience

The emergence of the Internet has created a number of claims as to the future of education and the possibility of dramatically changing the way in which education is delivered. Much of the attention has focussed on the adoption of teaching methods that are solely web-based. We set out to incorporate web-based teaching as support for more traditional teaching methods to improve the learning outcomes for students. This first step into web-based teaching was developed to harness the benefits of web-based teaching tools without supplanting traditional teaching methods. The aim of this paper is to report our experience with web-assisted teaching in two undergraduate courses, Accounting Information Systems and Management Accounting Services, during 2000. The paper evaluates the approach taken and proposes a tentative framework for developing future web-assisted teaching applications. We believe that web-assisted and web-based teaching are inevitable outcomes of the telecommunications and computer revolution and that academics cannot afford to become isolated from the on-line world. A considered approach is needed to ensure the integration of web-based features into the overall structure of a course. The components of the course material and the learning experiences students are exposed to need to be structured and delivered in a way that ensures they support student learning rather than replacing one form of learning with another. Therefore a careful consideration of the structure, content, level of detail and time of delivery needs to be integrated to create a course structure that provides a range of student learning experiences that are complimentary rather than competing. The feedback was positive from both extramural (distance) and internal students, demonstrating to us that web sites can be used as an effective teaching tool in support of more traditional teaching methods as well as a tool for distance education. The ability to harness the positives of the web in conjunction with more traditional teaching modes is one that should not be overlooked in the move to adopt web based instruction methods. Web-based teaching need not be seen as an all or nothing divide but can be used as a useful way of improving the range and type of learning experiences open to students. The Web challenges traditional methods and thinking but it also provides tools to develop innovative solutions to both distance and on campus learning. Further research is needed to determine how we can best meet the needs of our students while maintaining high quality learning outcomes