Towards personalization in digital libraries through ontologies

In this paper we describe a browsing and searching personalization system for digital libraries based on the use of ontologies for describing the relationships between all the elements which take part in a digital library scenario of use. The main goal of this project is to help the users of a digital library to improve their experience of use by means of two complementary strategies: first, by maintaining a complete history record of his or her browsing and searching activities, which is part of a navigational user profile which includes preferences and all the aspects related to community involvement; and second, by reusing all the knowledge which has been extracted from previous usage from other users with similar profiles. This can be accomplished in terms of narrowing and focusing the search results and browsing options through the use of a recommendation system which organizes such results in the most appropriate manner, using ontologies and concepts drawn from the semantic web field. The complete integration of the experience of use of a digital library in the learning process is also pursued. Both the usage and information organization can be also exploited to extract useful knowledge from the way users interact with a digital library, knowledge that can be used to improve several design aspects of the library, ranging from internal organization aspects to human factors and user interfaces. Although this project is still on an early development stage, it is possible to identify all the desired functionalities and requirements that are necessary to fully integrate the use of a digital library in an e-learning environment

Enriching e-learning metadata through digital library usage analysis

Purpose: In this paper we propose an evaluation framework for analyzing learning objects usage, with the aim of extracting useful information for improving the quality of the metadata used to describe the learning objects, but also for personalization purposes, including user models and adaptive itineraries. Methodology: We present experimental results from the log usage analysis during one academic semester of two different subjects, 350 students. The experiment looks into raw server log data generated from the interactions of the students with the classroom learning objects, in order to find relevant information that can be used to improve the metadata used for describing both the learning objects and the learning process. Findings: Preliminary studies have been carried out in order to obtain an initial picture of the interactions between learners and the virtual campus, including both services and resources usage. These studies try to establish elationships between user profiles and their information and navigational behavior in the virtual campus, with the aim of promoting personalization and improving the understanding of what learning in virtual environments means. Research limitations: During the formal learning process, students use learning resources from the virtual classroom provided by the academic library, but they also search for information outside the virtual campus. Not all of these usage data are considered in the model we propose. Further research needs to be done in order to get a complete view of the information search behavior of students for improving the users’ profile and creating better personalized services. Practical implications: In this paper we suggest how a selection of fields used in the LOM standard could be used for enriching the description of learning objects, automatically in some cases, from the learning objects usage performed by an academic community. Originality: Ever since the beginnings of libraries, they have been a “quiet storage place”. With the development of digital libraries, they become a meeting place where explicit and implicit recommendations about information sources can be shared among users. Social and learning process interactions, therefore, can be considered another knowledge source

Metodologías de análisis de los big data en las plataformas educativas

La proliferación de nuevas plataformas educativas por Internet y el avance de la educación online ha abierto nuevas posibilidades de análisis debido al gran volumen de datos generados y almacenados en los servidores. Los usuarios dejan trazas de su actividad, y esta actividad posibilita nuevos análisis del comportamiento de estudiantes y de los contenidos compartidos, difícilmente realizables en la educación cara a cara tradicional. Este trabajo aporta un resumen de las diversas metodologías aplicables a los grandes volúmenes de datos generados por las plataformas educativas, clasificables dentro de los Big Data, así como los diversos campos en los que podrían aplicarse y las mejoras que podrían introducir en el desarrollo de las propias herramientasConsejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia referencia P12-SEJ-328)

Sistema de transformación de contenidos a medida

A partir de los estándares y especialmente de XML, se dispone hoy de una suficiente normativa para la construcción y definición de contenidos de aprendizaje. Dublín Core, IMS y SCORM, definen los metadatos necesarios para la correcta descripción de un contenido de formación. Concretamente, existen sistemas de descripción altamente voluminosos como LOM de IEEE. A su vez, hay soluciones para el empaquetado de los distintos LO (Learning Objects) descritos, usando la estandarización manifest SCORM. Por otra parte, actualmente las metodologías de usabilidad y de Diseño centrado en el Usuario (DCU) están ya suficientemente maduras y con resultados contrastados para aplicarlas a la construcción de las interfaces de los contenidos. Así se obtienen, a partir de los estándares de e-learning, contenidos usables, es decir eficientes, eficaces y satisfactorios para el usuario. A la vez existen ya disponibles normativas de accesibilidad tanto a nivel general como a nivel de e-learning. Encontramos las normas de la “section 508” promovidas en USA o las normas WAI A, AA y AAA del W3C. Así pues, es posible desarrollar un sistema de transformación para convertir contenidos definidos en los estándares de e-learning a formatos usables y adaptados a los estándares y necesidades del acceso de discapacitados.This experience report presents how we developed a solution to easily publish learning contents in the formats that best fulfill students’ needs at each specific moment of their learning process. The basis is an XML standard file from which different format outputs are generated automatically. The output interface is designed using human‐computer interaction (HCI) methodologies and following e‐learning and accessibility standards. We describe here the process of creation of three different formats: a paper format generated in two sizes (pocket and folio), a Web format based on standards of e‐learning and an accessible Digital Talking Book (DTB) format. This experience was done with a 1000 learning materials from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). The materials were used by more than 25000 students from September 2004 to July 2005. This adaptation of the output format to meet students’ needs resulted in an increase of their satisfaction, not only regarding the interface but also the overall materials service. Therefore, by solely changing the output of the contents, students’ perception ‐ as shown by satisfaction surveys ‐ was that the quality of the contents had increase

Application of Werthner and Klein’s Model in Tourism Context

Web evaluation has become a critical process in DMOs’ performance measurement efforts.  However, Web evaluation research over the past decade has led to diverse approaches and findings rather than a unified understanding of success factors that should be measured in order to gauge a Web site’s performance.  The common success factors and potential additional factors identified in this study provide an important basis for practical Web evaluation implementation and simultaneously serve as a useful input for future research.  The major benefit of this study is the digest of a large volume of key factors into one comprehensive model that can be tested and applied to Web site development and evaluation problems.  This integration helps to identify not only commonalities but also gaps in existing approaches. Keywords: Destination marketing; DMOs’ performance measurement; E-satisfaction; E-loyalty; E-quality; Qualitative meta-analysi

Dynamic mapping tool for personalizing the city through collective memory

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54).This thesis investigates the use of handheld mobile devices as exploratory personalized tools for dynamic navigation of the cityscape that go beyond cartographic limitations and yellow-page directory services. One needs to capture the hidden information patterns of the city in order to experience it in a meaningful way. The volatile, unpredictable randomness of the city life and its ever-changing patterns need dynamic navigational means. Unfortunately, existing devices and their applications do not fully address the impelling potential of realtime interactivity generated by Wireless and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). This study proposes a tool, which encourages personal perception and collective experience of cities by providing a dynamic information space that overlaps the city with individual users, both spatially and temporally. The tool is characterized by a three-tier structure of Personal Filtering, Social Networking and Information Layering. It filters the information through personalization, shares the personal perception through social networks and layers the information with collective, thereby creating a regenerative system that allows for the creation of new patterns and interpretations.by Aradhana Goel.S.M

Social navigation

In this chapter we present one of the pioneer approaches in supporting users in navigating the complex information spaces, social navigation support. Social navigation support is inspired by natural tendencies of individuals to follow traces of each other in exploring the world, especially when dealing with uncertainties. In this chapter, we cover details on various approaches in implementing social navigation support in the information space as we also connect the concept to supporting theories. The first part of this chapter reviews related theories and introduces the design space of social navigation support through a series of example applications. The second part of the chapter discusses the common challenges in design and implementation of social navigation support, demonstrates how these challenges have been addressed, and reviews more recent direction of social navigation support. Furthermore, as social navigation support has been an inspirational approach to various other social information access approaches we discuss how social navigation support can be integrated with those approaches. We conclude with a review of evaluation methods for social navigation support and remarks about its current state

Ontology-based personalisation of e-learning resources for disabled students

Students with disabilities are often expected to use e-learning systems to access learning materials but most systems do not provide appropriate adaptation or personalisation to meet their needs.The difficulties related to inadaptability of current learning environments can now be resolved using semantic web technologies such as web ontologies which have been successfully used to drive e-learning personalisation. Nevertheless, e-learning personalisation for students with disabilities has mainly targeted those with single disabilities such as dyslexia or visual impairment, often neglecting those with multiple disabilities due to the difficulty of designing for a combination of disabilities.This thesis argues that it is possible to personalise learning materials for learners with disabilities, including those with multiple disabilities. This is achieved by developing a model that allows the learning environment to present the student with learning materials in suitable formats while considering their disability and learning needs through an ontology-driven and disability-aware personalised e-learning system model (ONTODAPS). A disability ontology known as the Abilities and Disabilities Ontology for Online LEarning and Services (ADOOLES) is developed and used to drive this model. To test the above hypothesis, some case studies are employed to show how the model functions for various individuals with and without disabilities and then the implemented visual interface is experimentally evaluated by eighteen students with disabilities and heuristically by ten lecturers. The results are collected and statistically analysed.The results obtained confirm the above hypothesis and suggest that ONTODAPS can be effectively employed to personalise learning and to manage learning resources. The student participants found that ONTODAPS could aid their learning experience and all agreed that they would like to use this functionality in an existing learning environment. The results also suggest that ONTODAPS provides a platform where students with disabilities can have equivalent learning experience with their peers without disabilities. For the results to be generalised, this study could be extended through further experiments with more diverse groups of students with disabilities and across multiple educational institutions

Proceso de adaptación al EEES mediante el uso de competencias e itinerarios personalizados: el caso de Minería de Datos

En la sociedad actual algunas de las profesiones que están evolucionando más rápidamente son las vinculadas a las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC). Este ritmo de cambio obliga a una actualización constante, tanto de los contenidos como de las competencias necesarias para poder aplicarlas correctamente. La minería de datos es un ejemplo claro de metodología que se usa en entornos interdisciplinarios para la extracción de información relevante, ya sea a nivel empresarial, educativo o científico. En el contexto de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya y concretamente en el caso de los estudios de Informática y Multimedia, en el plan actual de estudios, se ofrece la asignatura de Minería de Datos como una asignatura optativa. Con la futura adecuación al Espacio de Educación Europeo Superior, se está haciendo evolucionar la asignatura de Minería de Datos hacia un modelo de aprendizaje centrado en el estudiante y mucho más competencial que permita al profesional de este sector aplicar y demostrar sus destrezas y habilidades en torno a los posibles campos de aplicación, favoreciendo el trabajo interdisciplinario que se potencia profesionalmente. Dependiendo del contexto de aplicación, deben trabajar conjuntamente profesionales de diversos campos: economistas, expertos del mercado, biólogos, ingenieros informáticos, matemáticos, etc. En este marco profesional, también es necesario estar en un continuo proceso de formación sobre las herramientas actuales del mercado, para poder gestionar la gran cantidad de información disponible en la red, así como en las mismas empresas. En este artículo se describe una primera aproximación de la asignatura de Minería de Datos hacia el EEES teniendo en cuenta las competencias profesionales más importantes que se solicitan en este sector y las actuales necesidades de formación en términos de habilidades. Así mismo, se describe este proceso de conversión de la asignatura atendiendo las particularidades de una formación virtual, y los estándares actuales (IMS-LD) que posibilitan el diseño de la asignatura en la línea del proceso de Bolonia.Este trabajo ha sido subvencionado parcialmente por el gobierno Español a través del proyecto MULTIMARK TIC2003-08064-C04-04