Enforcing Customization in e-Learning Systems: an ontology and product line-based approach

In the era of e-Learning, educational materials are considered a crucial point for all the stakeholders. On the one hand, instructors aim at creating learning materials that meet the needs and expectations of learners easily and effec-tively; On the other hand, learners want to acquire knowledge in a way that suits their characteristics and preferences. Consequently, the provision and customization of educational materials to meet the needs of learners is a constant challenge and is currently synonymous with technological devel-opment. Promoting the personalization of learning materials, especially dur-ing their development, will help to produce customized learning materials for specific learners' needs. The main objective of this thesis is to reinforce and strengthen Reuse, Cus-tomization and Ease of Production issues in e-Learning materials during the development process. The thesis deals with the design of a framework based on ontologies and product lines to develop customized Learning Objects (LOs). With this framework, the development of learning materials has the following advantages: (i) large-scale production, (ii) faster development time, (iii) greater (re) use of resources. The proposed framework is the main contribution of this thesis, and is char-acterized by the combination of three models: the Content Model, which addresses important points related to the structure of learning materials, their granularity and levels of aggregation; the Customization Model, which con-siders specific learner characteristics and preferences to customize the learn-ing materials; and the LO Product Line (LOPL) model, which handles the subject of variability and creates matter-them in an easy and flexible way. With these models, instructors can not only develop learning materials, but also reuse and customize them during development. An additional contribution is the Customization Model, which is based on the Learning Style Model (LSM) concept. Based on the study of seven of them, a Global Learning Style Model Ontology (GLSMO) has been con-structed to help instructors with information on the apprentice's characteris-tics and to recommend appropriate LOs for customization. The results of our work have been reflected in the design of an authoring tool for learning materials called LOAT. They have described their require-ments, the elements of their architecture, and some details of their user inter-face. As an example of its use, it includes a case study that shows how its use in the development of some learning components.En la era del e¿Learning, los materiales educativos se consideran un punto crucial para todos los participantes. Por un lado, los instructores tienen como objetivo crear materiales de aprendizaje que satisfagan las necesidades y ex-pectativas de los alumnos de manera fácil y efectiva; por otro lado, los alumnos quieren adquirir conocimientos de una manera que se adapte a sus características y preferencias. En consecuencia, la provisión y personaliza-ción de materiales educativos para satisfacer las necesidades de los estudian-tes es un desafío constante y es actualmente sinónimo de desarrollo tecnoló-gico. El fomento de la personalización de los materiales de aprendizaje, es-pecialmente durante su desarrollo, ayudará a producir materiales de aprendi-zaje específicos para las necesidades específicas de los alumnos. El objetivo fundamental de esta tesis es reforzar y fortalecer los temas de Reutilización, Personalización y Facilidad de Producción en materiales de e-Learning durante el proceso de desarrollo. La tesis se ocupa del diseño de un marco basado en ontologías y líneas de productos para desarrollar objetos de aprendizaje personalizados. Con este marco, el desarrollo de materiales de aprendizaje tiene las siguientes ventajas: (i) producción a gran escala, (ii) tiempo de desarrollo más rápido, (iii) mayor (re)uso de recursos. El marco propuesto es la principal aportación de esta tesis, y se caracteriza por la combinación de tres modelos: el Modelo de Contenido, que aborda puntos importantes relacionados con la estructura de los materiales de aprendizaje, su granularidad y niveles de agregación, el Modelo de Persona-lización, que considera las características y preferencias específicas del alumno para personalizar los materiales de aprendizaje, y el modelo de Línea de productos LO (LOPL), que maneja el tema de la variabilidad y crea ma-teriales de manera fácil y flexible. Con estos modelos, los instructores no sólo pueden desarrollar materiales de aprendizaje, sino también reutilizarlos y personalizarlos durante el desarrollo. Una contribución adicional es el modelo de personalización, que se basa en el concepto de modelo de estilo de aprendizaje. A partir del estudio de siete de ellos, se ha construido una Ontología de Modelo de Estilo de Aprendiza-je Global para ayudar a los instructores con información sobre las caracterís-ticas del aprendiz y recomendarlos apropiados para personalización. Los resultados de nuestro trabajo se han plasmado en el diseño de una he-rramienta de autor de materiales de aprendizaje llamada LOAT. Se han des-crito sus requisitos, los elementos de su arquitectura, y algunos detalles de su interfaz de usuario. Como ejemplo de su uso, se incluye un caso de estudio que muestra cómo su empleo en el desarrollo de algunos componentes de aprendizaje.En l'era de l'e¿Learning, els materials educatius es consideren un punt crucial per a tots els participants. D'una banda, els instructors tenen com a objectiu crear materials d'aprenentatge que satisfacen les necessitats i expectatives dels alumnes de manera fàcil i efectiva; d'altra banda, els alumnes volen ad-quirir coneixements d'una manera que s'adapte a les seues característiques i preferències. En conseqüència, la provisio' i personalitzacio' de materials edu-catius per a satisfer les necessitats dels estudiants és un desafiament constant i és actualment sinònim de desenvolupament tecnològic. El foment de la personalitzacio' dels materials d'aprenentatge, especialment durant el seu desenvolupament, ajudarà a produir materials d'aprenentatge específics per a les necessitats concretes dels alumnes. L'objectiu fonamental d'aquesta tesi és reforçar i enfortir els temes de Reutilització, Personalització i Facilitat de Producció en materials d'e-Learning durant el procés de desenvolupament. La tesi s'ocupa del disseny d'un marc basat en ontologies i línia de productes per a desenvolupar objec-tes d'aprenentatge personalitzats. Amb aquest marc, el desenvolupament de materials d'aprenentatge té els següents avantatges: (i) produccio' a gran esca-la, (ii) temps de desenvolupament mes ràpid, (iii) major (re)ús de recursos. El marc proposat és la principal aportacio' d'aquesta tesi, i es caracteritza per la combinacio' de tres models: el Model de Contingut, que aborda punts im-portants relacionats amb l'estructura dels materials d'aprenentatge, la se-ua granularitat i nivells d'agregació, el Model de Línia de Producte, que ges-tiona el tema de la variabilitat i crea materials d'aprenentatge de manera fàcil i flexible. Amb aquests models, els instructors no solament poden desenvolu-par materials d'aprenentatge, sinó que també poden reutilitzar-los i personalit-zar-los durant el desenvolupament. Una contribucio' addicional és el Model de Personalitzacio', que es basa en el concepte de model d'estil d'aprenentatge. A partir de l'estudi de set d'ells, s'ha construït una Ontologia de Model d'Estil d'Aprenentatge Global per a ajudar als instructors amb informacio' sobre les característiques de l'aprenent i recomanar els apropiats per a personalitzacio'. Els resultats del nostre treball s'han plasmat en el disseny d'una eina d'autor de materials d'aprenentatge anomenada LOAT. S'han descrit els seus requi-sits, els elements de la seua arquitectura, i alguns detalls de la seua interfície d'usuari. Com a exemple del seu ús, s'inclou un cas d'estudi que mostra com és el desenvolupament d'alguns components d'aprenentatge.Ezzat Labib Awad, A. (2017). Enforcing Customization in e-Learning Systems: an ontology and product line-based approach [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/90515TESI

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The purpose of this document is to capture the ideas and recommendations, within and beyond the ICOPER community, concerning the reuse of learning content, including appropriate methodologies as well as established strategies for remixing and repurposing reusable resources. The overall remit of this work focuses on describing the key issues that are related to extending effective reuse embodied in such materials. The objective of this investigation, is to support the reuse of learning content whilst considering how it could be originally created and then adapted with that ‘reuse’ in mind. In these circumstances a survey on effective reuse best practices can often provide an insight into the main challenges and benefits involved in the process of creating, remixing and repurposing what we are now designating as Reusable Learning Content (RLC). Several key issues are analysed in this report: Recommendations for extending effective reuse, building upon those described in the previous related deliverables 4.1 Content Development Methodologies and 4.2 Quality Control and Web 2.0 technologies. The findings of this current survey, however, provide further recommendations and strategies for using and developing this reusable learning content. In the spirit of ‘reuse’, this work also aims to serve as a foundation for the many different stakeholders and users within, and beyond, the ICOPER community who are interested in reusing learning resources. This report analyses a variety of information. Evidence has been gathered from a qualitative survey that has focused on the technical and pedagogical recommendations suggested by a Special Interest Group (SIG) on the most innovative practices with respect to new media content authors (for content authoring or modification) and course designers (for unit creation). This extended community includes a wider collection of OER specialists. This collected evidence, in the form of video and audio interviews, has also been represented as multimedia assets potentially helpful for learning and useful as learning content in the New Media Space (See section 4 for further details). Section 2 of this report introduces the concept of reusable learning content and reusability. Section 3 discusses an application created by the ICOPER community to enhance the opportunities for developing reusable content. Section 4 of this report provides an overview of the methodology used for the qualitative survey. Section 5 presents a summary of thematic findings. Section 6 highlights a list of recommendations for effective reuse of educational content, which were derived from thematic analysis described in Appendix A. Finally, section 7 summarises the key outcomes of this work

A service-orientated architecture for adaptive and collaborative e-learning systems

This research proposes a new architecture for Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems (AEHS). Architectures in the context of this thesis refer to the components of the system and their communications and interactions. The architecture addresses the limitations of AEHS regarding interoperability, reusability, openness, flexibility, and limited tools for collaborative and social learning. It presents an integrated adaptive and collaborative Web-based learning environment. The new e-learning environment is implemented as a set of independent Web services within a service-oriented architecture (SOA). Moreover, it uses a modern Learning Management System (LMS) as the delivery service and the user interface for this environment. This is a two-way solution, whereby adaptive learning is introduced via a widely adopted LMS, and the LMS itself is enriched with an external - yet integrated - adaptation layer. To test the relevance of the new architecture, practical experiments were undertaken. The interoperability, reusability and openness test revealed that the user could easily switch between various LMS to access the personalised lessons. In addition, the system was tested by students at the University of Nottingham as a revision guide to a Software Engineering module. This test showed that the system was robust; it automatically handled a large number of students and produced the desired adaptive content. However, regarding the use of the collaborative learning tools, the test showed low levels of such usage