CYBER SECURITY VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT IN LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

With online learning becoming in high demand to deliver training and education during the COVID-19 pandemic, cybercriminals have more opportunities to take advantage of vulnerable Learning Management Systems to steal information like training materials, and students\u27 private information, or they try to make easy money by deploying ransomware. Regardless of the cybercriminal motivation, the compromised system has consequences on the organization that affects it financially, legally, and reputationally. This requires the organization to invest in choosing the most secure LMS and apply the required security controls to avoid such consequences that may cost them much more than expected. This project highlights the vulnerabilities that are found in a selected list of Learning Management Systems. This may help organizations in the selection phase of their LMS, and also blue teams can use this project’s result to harden their systems

Multimedia technologies and online task-based foreign language teaching-learning

Teaching and learning a foreign language at a distance implies many challenges, namely regarding oral skills. At Universidade Aberta (the Portuguese Open University), and taking into account its virtual pedagogical model (Pereira, 2007) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Alves, 2001), we suggest curricular paths which include online communicative practices, both oral and written, within the present pedagogical offer, following a student- centred, task-oriented approach. Thus, in this text, we share some examples of training activities in German, French and English, focusing on oral practice, and based on digital resources. These digital resources comprise multimedia materials, either produced by the teachers or the students, as well as other materials available on the web 2.0. Our teaching and research practice within the field of foreign languages and in e-learning, in particular, leads us to conclude that the multimedia resources used are suitable for the online teaching and learning of foreign languages (see third question of questionnaire), especially for professionally engaged adults, as is the case with Universidade Aberta’s students, providing them with real-life situations that foster the teaching-learning of languages in the virtual environment. We include responses to a questionnaire survey filled out by a group of students.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Analyzing Blackboard: Using a Learning Management System From the Student Perspective

This report was provided to gain insight into the student perspective on how students interact with their current Learning Management System (LMS), Blackboard. It is currently used to house course content for La Salle’s traditional, online, and hybrid (combination of traditional and online sessions) courses. The university is currently investigating on whether or not there are advantages to switching to an alternate LMS and wanted to gather information on the current student opinion of the tool. The research shows that La Salle’s student population did not favor one LMS tool over another but the research did show which features were important to students. The goal of this research was to isolate the student body opinion around La Salle’s current LMS solution, and for this goal the response was an approval of 3.5 out of 5 rating, while also stating that Blackboard is better than or comparable to any other platform. There was no major discontent with the current environment, and of the students who have had experience in different systems, ratings listed that they were not anxious to leave the blackboard environment. Recommendations to improve student perception of Blackboard will include: Continue with Blackboard as the preferred solution. Provide free subscription to use with Blackboard’s mobile application Setup standards for organizing class content Improve the teacher’s trainin

Innovation in preregistration midwifery education: Web based interactive storytelling learning.

BACKGROUND: through a critical description of the implementation of a web based interactive storytelling learning activity introduced into an undergraduate, preregistration midwifery education programme, this paper will explore how low-cost, low-fidelity online storytelling, designed using Moodle, can be used to enhance students' understanding of compassion and empathy in practice. SAMPLE: cross sectional sample of first year undergraduate Midwifery students (n111) METHOD: drawing from both research and audit data collected in an Higher Education Institution in London England, the paper presents the case for using web based technology to create a sustainable model for midwifery education. FINDINGS: initial results indicate that it is both the low cost and positive student evaluations of web based interactive storytelling, which make this approach to preregistration midwifery education which suggests that this approach has significant potential for learning and teaching in midwifery education in diverse settings around the world. Or how about: global relevance

Privacy and e-learning: a pending task

Most educational software programs use and gather personal information and metadata from students. Additionally, most of the educational software programs are no longer operated by the learning institutions but are run by third-party agencies. This means that in the decade since 2020, information about students is stored and handled outside premises and control of learning institutions. The personal information about students and their activity while they interact with learning management systems and online learning tools is increasingly in custody of cloud computing platforms, software-as-a-service providers, and learning tool vendors. There is an increasing will to use all the data and metadata from the activity of the students for research, to develop education management strategies, pedagogy approaches, and develop behavior control tools or learning tools informed by behavior analysis from learning analytics. Many times, these studies lack the ethical and moral perspective. In addition, there is an increasing number of cases in which this information has leaked or has been used in a shady way. Additionally, this information will be around for a long time, tied to the future digital profiles of the students whose data has been leaked. This paper hypothesizes that there has been an ongoing process of technological evolution that leads to a loss of control over personal information, which makes it even more difficult to protect user confidentiality and ensuring privacy, that data surveillance has entered the world of education, and that the current legal frameworks are not enough to really protect the student’s personal information. The paper analyzes how this situation came to pass, and why this is wrong. We conclude with some proposals to address it from its different root dimensions: technical, cultural, legal, and organizational.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

An Examination of Online Learning Security Requirements Within a Virtual Learning Environment of an Irish University

As the adoption of e-learning and need for lifelong learning increases, it is vital the administrator of a virtual learning environment continually ensures reliable and secure data. This case study engaged in the initial steps of analyzing the use and security needs of a virtual learning service within a university of Ireland. The university provided two virtual learning services which were comparatively analyzed, from a security and data protection perspective. In addition, survey results obtained from the university user community for one of the e-learning services were examined. Findings from the study were presented as user security requirements and recommendations, when planning future security initiatives of the e-learning services within the university

The learning experience of a visually impaired learner regarding emergency blended teaching and learning at a higher education institution

Disability or impairment in general does not deprive one of the rights to basic human needs and care. However, often people with disabilities encounter barriers such as unfriendly infrastructure to access basic services such as education and health care. In this paper the authors explore the experiences of learners with visual impairment on the implementation of blended learning to thwart the challenges of COVID-19 in institutions of higher education. This narrative case study employed a telephonic semi-structured interview guide to collect data on a visually impaired learner enrolled with the University of Eswatini (UNESWA). There were two research questions that the study sought answers for: what was the learning experience of a visually impaired learner regarding blended learning during COVID-19? And, how did a visually impaired learner cope academically during the emergency blended learning and teaching? The study found the following: a) incompatible devices; b) poor internet connection; c) challenges to log onto and manoeuvre Moodle and d) a need for a step-by-step guide to help the visually impaired learner to master the Moodle platform. Thus, the study recommends a) awareness creation on disability issues; b) installation of JAWS software in the computer labs; c) intensive Moodle training for visually impaired learners; d) a need for a resource centre that caters for different impairments, e) technologically savvy lecturers to troubleshoot and f) institutional opportunities for learners to procure affordable devices

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience

Open educational resources for all? Comparing user motivations and characteristics across The Open University’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform.

With the rise in access to mobile multimedia devices, educational institutions have exploited the iTunes U platform as an additional channel to provide free educational resources with the aim of profile-raising and breaking down barriers to education. For those prepared to invest in content preparation, it is possible to produce interactive, portable material that can be made available globally. Commentators have questioned both the financial implications for platform-specific content production, and the availability of devices for learners to access it (Osborne, 2012). The Open University (OU) makes its free educational resources available on iTunes U and via its web-based open educational resources (OER) platform, OpenLearn. The OU’s OER on iTunes U reached the 60 million download mark in 2013; its OpenLearn platform boasts 27 million unique visitors since 2006. This paper reports the results of a large-scale study of users of the OU’s iTunes U channel and OpenLearn platform. A survey of several thousand users revealed key differences in demographics between those accessing OER via the web and via iTunes U. In addition, the data allowed comparison between three groups: formal learners, informal learners and educators. The study raises questions about whether university-provided OER meet the needs of users and makes recommendations for how content can be modified to suit their needs. As the publishing of OER becomes core to business, we reflect on reasons why understanding users’ motivations and demographics is vital, allowing for needs-led resource provision and content that is adapted to best achieve learner satisfaction, and to deliver institutions’ social mission