Improving Assessment Strategies in General Chemistry

In an effort to improve assessment strategies in a general chemistry course at Valparaiso University, a new homework submission and evaluation system was implemented. Learning objectives for the course were revised to match new goals. These updated learning objectives guided the creation of homework problem sets on the LearningOnline Network with Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach (LON-CAPA). This free, open-source, distributed learning content management system provides improved homework assessment for students through immediate feedback, personalized questions, and a flexible format. Homework for the first semester general chemistry course was prepared on LON-CAPA and a simple user\u27s guide was also created for LON-CAPA to facilitate future use of the program

An enhanced learning analytics plugin for Moodle: Student engagement and personalised intervention

© ASCILITE 2015 - Australasian Society for Computers in Learning and Tertiary Education, Conference Proceedings.All right reserved. Moodle, an open source Learning Management System (LMS), collects a large amount of data on student interactions within it, including content, assessments, and communication. Some of these data can be used as proxy indicators of student engagement, as well as predictors for performance. However, these data are difficult to interrogate and even more difficult to action from within Moodle. We therefore describe a design-based research narrative to develop an enhanced version of an open source Moodle Engagement Analytics Plugin (MEAP). Working with the needs of unit convenors and student support staff, we sought to improve the available information, the way it is represented, and create affordances for action based on this. The enhanced MEAP (MEAP+) allows analyses of gradebook data, assessment submissions, login metrics, and forum interactions, as well as direct action through personalised emails to students based on these analyses

Evaluation of the free, open source software WordPress as electronic portfolio system in undergraduate medical education

Background Electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) are used to document and support learning activities. E-portfolios with mobile capabilities allow even more flexibility. However, the development or acquisition of ePortfolio software is often costly, and at the same time, commercially available systems may not sufficiently fit the institution’s needs. The aim of this study was to design and evaluate an ePortfolio system with mobile capabilities using a commercially free and open source software solution. Methods We created an online ePortfolio environment using the blogging software WordPress based on reported capability features of such software by a qualitative weight and sum method. Technical implementation and usability were evaluated by 25 medical students during their clinical training by quantitative and qualitative means using online questionnaires and focus groups. Results The WordPress ePortfolio environment allowed students a broad spectrum of activities – often documented via mobile devices – like collection of multimedia evidences, posting reflections, messaging, web publishing, ePortfolio searches, collaborative learning, knowledge management in a content management system including a wiki and RSS feeds, and the use of aid tools for studying. The students’ experience with WordPress revealed a few technical problems, and this report provides workarounds. The WordPress ePortfolio was rated positively by the students as a content management system (67 % of the students), for exchange with other students (74 %), as a note pad for reflections (53 %) and for its potential as an information source for assessment (48 %) and exchange with a mentor (68 %). On the negative side, 74 % of the students in this pilot study did not find it easy to get started with the system, and 63 % rated the ePortfolio as not being user-friendly. Qualitative analysis indicated a need for more introductory information and training. Conclusions It is possible to build an advanced ePortfolio system with mobile capabilities with the free and open source software WordPress. This allows institutions without proprietary software to build a sophisticated ePortfolio system adapted to their needs with relatively few resources. The implementation of WordPress should be accompanied by introductory courses in the use of the software and its apps in order to facilitate its usability

eLML, the e-Lesson Markup Language: Developing sustainable e-Learning content using an open source XML framework

eLML, the open source “eLesson Markup Language”, is an XML framework allowing authors of e-Learning lessons to create structured and sustainable content. eLML is based on the pedagogical concept ECLASS (adapted from Gerson, 2000), standing for entry, clarify, look, act, self-assessment and summary. Each lesson is divided into units that contain a number of smaller learning objects. To allow different teaching and learning scenarios most of the structure elements are optional or can be repeated several times and different orders. Lessons written with eLML can be transformed into HTML or PDF or be imported into a learning management system (LMS) using the SCORM or IMS Content Packaging format. The paper presents experiences from the development of eLML itself, the design of e-Learning content based on the eLML-structure, and the use of eLML-based content in conjunction with a LMS

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

A new paradigm for open data-driven language learning systems design in higher education

This doctoral thesis presents three studies in collaboration with the open source FLAX project (Flexible Language Acquisition flax.nzdl.org). This research makes an original contribution to the fields of language education and educational technology by mobilising knowledge from computer science, corpus linguistics and open education, and proposes a new paradigm for open data-driven language learning systems design in higher education. Furthermore, the research presented in this thesis uncovers and engages with an infrastructure of open educational practices (OEP) that push at the parameters of policy for the reuse of open access research and pedagogic content in the design, development, distribution, adoption and evaluation of data-driven language learning systems. Study 1 employs automated content analysis to mine the concept of open educational systems and practices from qualitative reflections spanning 2012-2019 with stakeholders from an on-going multi-site design-based research study with the FLAX project. Design considerations are presented for remixing domain-specific open access content for academic English language provision across formal and non-formal higher education contexts. Primary stakeholders in this ongoing research collaboration include the following: knowledge organisations – libraries and archives including the British Library and the Oxford Text Archive, universities in collaboration with Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) providers; an interdisciplinary team of researchers; and knowledge users in formal higher education – English for Academic Purposes (EAP) practitioners. Themes arising from the qualitative dataset point to affordances as well as barriers with the adoption of open policies and practices for remixing open access content for data-driven language learning applications in higher education against the backdrop of different business models and cultural practices present within participating knowledge organisations. Study 2 presents a data-driven experiment in non-formal higher education by triangulating user query system log data with learner participant data from surveys (N=174) on the interface designs and usability of an automated open source digital library scheme, FLAX. Text and data mining approaches (TDM) common to natural language processing (NLP) were applied to pedagogical English language corpora, derived from the content of two MOOCs, (Harvard University with edX, and the University of London with Coursera), and one networked course (Harvard Law School with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society), which were then linked to external open resources (e.g. Wikipedia, the FLAX Learning Collocations system, WordNet), so that learners could employ the information discovery techniques (e.g. searching and browsing) that they have become accustomed to using through search engines (e.g. Google, Bing) for discovering and learning the domain-specific language features of their interests. Findings indicate a positive user experience with interfaces that include advanced affordances for course content browse, search and retrieval that transcend the MOOC platform and Learning Management System (LMS) standard. Further survey questions derived from an open education research bank from the Hewlett Foundation are reused in this study and presented against a larger dataset from the Hewlett Foundation (N=1921) on motivations for the uptake of open educational resources. Study 3 presents a data-driven experiment in formal higher education from the legal English field to measure quantitatively the usefulness and effectiveness of employing the open Law Collections in FLAX in the teaching of legal English at the University of Murcia in Spain. Informants were divided into an experimental and a control group and were asked to write an essay on a given set of legal English topics, defined by the subject instructor as part of their final assessment. The experimental group only consulted the FLAX English Common Law MOOC collection as the single source of information to draft their essays, and the control group used any information source available from the Internet to draft their essays. Findings from an analysis of the two learner corpora of essays indicate that members of the experimental group appear to have acquired the specialised terminology of the area better than those in the control group, as attested by the higher term average obtained by the texts in the FLAX-based corpus (56.5) as opposed to the non-FLAX-based text collection, at 13.73 points below

Student-Centered Learning: Functional Requirements for Integrated Systems to Optimize Learning

The realities of the 21st-century learner require that schools and educators fundamentally change their practice. "Educators must produce college- and career-ready graduates that reflect the future these students will face. And, they must facilitate learning through means that align with the defining attributes of this generation of learners."Today, we know more than ever about how students learn, acknowledging that the process isn't the same for every student and doesn't remain the same for each individual, depending upon maturation and the content being learned. We know that students want to progress at a pace that allows them to master new concepts and skills, to access a variety of resources, to receive timely feedback on their progress, to demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways and to get direction, support and feedback from—as well as collaborate with—experts, teachers, tutors and other students.The result is a growing demand for student-centered, transformative digital learning using competency education as an underpinning.iNACOL released this paper to illustrate the technical requirements and functionalities that learning management systems need to shift toward student-centered instructional models. This comprehensive framework will help districts and schools determine what systems to use and integrate as they being their journey toward student-centered learning, as well as how systems integration aligns with their organizational vision, educational goals and strategic plans.Educators can use this report to optimize student learning and promote innovation in their own student-centered learning environments. The report will help school leaders understand the complex technologies needed to optimize personalized learning and how to use data and analytics to improve practices, and can assist technology leaders in re-engineering systems to support the key nuances of student-centered learning

Migrating existing multimedia courseware to Moodle

Open source course management systems offer increased flexibility for instructors and instructional designers. Communities can influence the development of these systems and on an individual basis, the possibility to modify the system software exists. Migrating existing courseware to these systems can therefore be beneficial, sometimes even required. We report here about our experience in migrating an existing courseware system consisting of multimedia content and interactive, integrated infrastructure functionality to an open source course management system called Moodle. We will assess the difficulties that we have encountered during this process and, discuss the importance of standards in this context, and we aim to provide other instructors or instructional designers with guidelines and assessment support for other migration projects

Becta review 2006. Evidence on the progress of ICT in education.

This is the review of the use and impact of ICT in the education system prior to the publication of the Government's e-Strategy for the education system, known as Harnessing Technology. The Review drew upon Becta's surveys of schools and FE colleges as well as other research to assess the impact of technology within the education system and the progress made in achieving Government policies in 2005-06