A Streamlined Mobile User-Interface for Improved Access to LMS Services

Abstract— Universities in developing countries face greater challenges in implementing Learning Management Systems (LMSs) due to resource-poor settings, characterized by: low levels of ICT infrastructure; electricity outages; few computers; and limited and expensive Internet bandwidth, among other constraints. It is anticipated that if mobile phones are carefully integrated into the ecologies of LMSs, the impact of some of the above challenges in implementing LMSs would be reduced. This paper presents a user-centered design process of mobile LMS interfaces for accessing selected LMS services on mobile phones, and a user experience evaluation for a mobile LMS application implementation. From the design and implementation processes of the mLMS (mobile LMS), and the user experience evaluation of a working mLMS prototype, we conclude that: the ideas presented in the mLMS are technically feasible; the application is useful to the students and the students are encouraged to use their mobile phones to access LMS services more often, thereby reducing the over-reliance and pressure on the constrained institutional ICT resources

Improved Web Accessibility Evaluation of Open Learning Contents for Individuals with Learning Disabilities

Web content should be accessible to normal and disabled communities on electronic devices. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has created standard guidelines called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Mobile Web Best Practice (MWBP) is also proposed by WAI for accessibility of websites on desktop computers and mobile devices like smartphones, tablets, iPads, iPhones, and iPods. Educational Resources that provide free licensed learning content are used to test the WCAG. The disabled community also has equal rights to gain access to these learning materials through electronic devices. The main purpose of this research is to evaluate these selected open educational learning materials for individuals with only learning disabilities. This research provides several recommendations to improve the accessibility level of the Learning Management Systems. Future research includes developing a more accessible learning management system with minimized or no accessibility errors. Disability includes physical impairments, mental disorders, lack of cognition, learning and emotional disability. Some individuals have multiple disorders. Learning disabilities are one of them. People have difficulty learning because of an unknown factor or low intelligence quotient (IQ).Comment: 15 page

Factors impeding the usage of elearning at a telecommunication organization in South Africa: bridging the gap with cloud services

With the enormous competition in the industry, organizations must frequently find better ways to embrace organizational learning. This research study advocates eLearning to be one of the best methods for organizational learning, and this is the study’s main area of interest. This research explored a case at a telecommunication organization named ComTek (pseudonym). The research study addressed a problem of eLearning low usage rate, which resulted in ComTek not meeting their set learning targets during the time of the study. The usage rate was measured using the number of enrolled assessments. The study uses qualitative methods to propose a conceptual framework to understand the causes of low eLearning usage. This conceptual framework illustrated the use of the activity theory elements to understand the problem of eLearning low usage, paired with the use of cloud computing services to access eLearning, and the use of content delivery techniques to help understand eLearning low usage. This conceptual framework took advantage of cloud services like Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). This research study focused on the periods from 2016 to 2017 for collecting data and creating an understanding of the research setting, while other data was derived from historical documents about the phenomenon studied. During this period, there was inadequate literature about cloud computing and other aspects to consider within the domain of telecommunication organizations. The literature study, therefore, comprised of literature from different domains. During the study, ComTek used eLearning with the aid of learning management systems (LMS) to manage learning and leverage employee skills. During the period of the study compared to other years, about 50% of assessments had a usage rate of below 80%, a standard target established by ComTek as a benchmark, placing compliance and training at a low rate. Of the 50% of assessments, some were just above 40% in usage rate, were of a high stake, and were in the categories of compliance and training iv assessments. While this was the case, this study did not consider the technical implementation of the application systems involved, and did not create any form of intervention, but focused on understanding the activities that were involved in the learning environment. This research study used a paradigm that was constructive and interpretive in nature, using qualitative methods with the belief that there were multiple realities in understanding the situation at ComTek and possible solutions to it. To unpack the multiple realities, an exploratory case study was conducted as a research approach. In this study, the researcher used multiple data collection methods, including open-ended questionnaires and unstructured interviews.School of Computin

An Investigation Into The Accessibility Of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an evolution of open online learning that enables people to study online and for little or no cost. MOOCs can provide learners with the flexibility to learn, opportunities for social learning, and the chance to gain new skills and knowledge. While MOOCs have the potential to also bring these benefits to disabled learners, there is little understanding of how accessibility is embedded in the creation of MOOCs. The goal of this research has been to understand the accessibility barriers in MOOCs and to develop processes to identify and address those barriers. In the extant literature, the expectations of disabled learners when they take up MOOCs are not discussed and studies on MOOCs that report demographic data of learners do not consider disabled learners. However, disabled learners can face difficulties in accessing MOOCs, and certain learning designs of MOOCs may affect their engagement, causing them to miss out on opportunities offered by MOOCs. Technologies and the learning design approaches for MOOCs need to be as accessible as possible, so that learners can use MOOCs in a range of contexts, including via assistive technologies. This research has investigated the current state of accessibility in MOOCs. It has involved the following: Interviews with 26 MOOC providers; including software developers, accessibility managers, inclusion designers, instructional designers, course editors and learning media developers; Comparative quantitative survey data involving disabled and non-disabled learners participating in 14 MOOCs; Interviews with 15 disabled learners which have captured their experiences; and An accessibility audit was devised and then used to evaluate MOOCs from 4 major platforms: FutureLearn, edX, Coursera and Canvas. This audit comprises 4 components: technical accessibility, user experience (UX), quality and learning design; 10 experts were involved in its design and validation. This research programme has yielded an understanding of how MOOC providers cater for disabled learners, the motivations of disabled learners when taking part in MOOCs, and how MOOCs should be designed to be accessible for disabled learners. A range of barriers to accessibility in MOOCs have been identified, and an accessibility audit for MOOCs has been proposed. An open online learning environment should take into account learners’ abilities, learning goals, where learning takes place, and the different devices learners use. The research outcomes will be beneficial to MOOC providers to support the accessible design of MOOCs, including the educational resources and the platforms where the MOOCs are hosted. The ultimate beneficiaries of this research project are MOOC learners because accessible MOOCs will help support their lifelong learning and provide re-skilling opportunities

The e-learning dome: a comprehensive e-learning environment development model

The purpose of this study is to investigate the weaknesses of current e-learning environment development models and to establish a comprehensive e-learning environment development model (EEDM). In the literature study I established the components of a comprehensive EEDM by looking at five existing models. The main concern in all of the models is the lack of configuration management, which lead to the investigation of other characteristics that an EEDM should have to be described as a comprehensive model. I then used these characteristics to establish the E-learning Dome - a comprehensive EEDM. The E-learning Dome consists of three layers, namely the Infrastructure layer, E-learning administration layer and the Course development layer. The Quality Dome encompasses the combination of these three layers. Through the use of case studies to test the feasibility of the E-learning Dome I concluded that the E-learning Dome is successful as a comprehensive EEDM.Theoretical ComputingM.Sc. (Information Systems

An e-learning environment for enterprise resource planning systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) education can positively impact the success of an ERP implementation. Incorporating new tools and technologies into the learning process can potentially alleviate the evident problems with ERP education. Blended learning and e-learning environments both offer opportunities for improvement in education. However, there are various factors and components that need to be in place for such an environment to be successful. The aim of this research is to provide an ERP e-Learning Environment (ERPeL) that can assist with ERP education in terms of creating an integrated and comprehensive learning environment for novice ERP users. In order to achieve this aim, this study followed the Design-Based Research (DBR) methodology which is specific to educational technology research and was applied in iterative cycles where various components of the environment were evaluated by different participants. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected by means of field studies (interviews, focus groups and questionnaires). The proposed ERPeL underwent several iterations of feedback and improvement. In order to determine the success of e-learning, various critical success factors and evaluation criteria were investigated. Field studies were conducted in order to validate the theory in a real-world context. An initial field study was conducted with third year Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) students who were enrolled in the 2014 ERP systems’ module in the Department of Computing Sciences. Many of the problems identified in theory were found to be prevalent in the real-world context. One of the DBR process cycles involved the implementation of specific components of the ERPeL at the Developing and Strengthening Industry-driven Knowledge-transfer between developing Countries (DASIK) introduction to ERP systems course. Participants were either NMMU students, academic staff or industry delegates. The components evaluated included videos, learning content, badges, assessment and the SYSPRO Latte m-learning application. Additional components of a leader board, live chats, peer reviewing, expert reviews, user generated content, consultancy with experts and SYSPRO ERP certification were implemented in the subsequent cycle where participants were 2015 third year NMMU ERP systems students. The criteria used to evaluate the success of the ERPeL and its e-learning components were adapted from literature and a new set of evaluation criteria for e-learning was proposed. The ERPeL is made up of Moodle, the SYSPRO ERP System, the SYSPRO e-Learning System, the SYSPRO Latte m-learning application, learning content and components. Overall the ERPeL was positively received by the various sample groups. The research results indicate that the use of an e-learning environment for ERP systems was positively received. The most positive aspects reported were the implementation of e-learning components such as the interactive videos, simulations and m-learning. In support of this Masters dissertation, the following three papers have been published and presented at two local conferences and one international conference: 1. SACLA 2014, Port Elizabeth (South Africa); 2. SAICSIT 2015, Stellenbosch (South Africa); and 3. IDIA 2015, Zanzibar (Tanzania)

Accessible collaborative learning environments for mobile devices

Mención Internacional en el título de doctorNew technologies and devices are being used in learning environments by teachers and students. Some of these tools are computer supported collaborative learning tools that help them collaborate with each other and share knowledge. Chat applications are one of these tools. These tools allow sharing materials and knowledge or solve doubts in real time without the necessity of being in the same room at the same time. Especially, these tools are being used in mobile devices which make collaboration more ubiquitous because people can use them everywhere. However, existing chat applications are not fully accessible and present accessibility barriers that users need to face every day. People with disabilities encounter these barriers every day despite of they have the same rights as people without disabilities according to multiple regulations in many countries around the World. These barriers might not be faced by people with disabilities only, people with disabilities who use mobile devices in different environments e.g. on the move or in bright environments can suffer similar problems as people with disabilities. This thesis aims to identify the accessibility barriers that m-learning chat applications have. Besides, considering these problems, this research aims, as far as possible, to improve the accessibility of chat applications. As a result, people with and without disabilities could collaborate with each other without facing accessibility barriers that will mermaid their learning. The main objectives of this thesis are: firstly, identify accessibility barriers that people with and without disabilities face when they use chat applications; secondly, specify the requirements that accessible m-learning chat applications should include for being accessible; and finally, provide an accessible interaction improvement for these applications. All these objectives have been achieved following a user centred design approach. As a result, more than 200 people with and without disabilities have participated in this thesis.Las tecnologías de la información se utilizan en entornos educativos para ayudar a los estudiantes y profesores a compartir y mejorar el aprendizaje. Algunas de estas herramientas permiten a los estudiantes compartir conocimiento y aprender colaborando entre sí, y se suelen denominar herramientas de aprendizaje colaborativas. Un ejemplo de herramienta colaborativa es la aplicación Chat. A través de estas aplicaciones, los profesores y estudiantes pueden compartir recursos y conocimiento o resolver dudas en tiempo real, sin la necesidad de encontrarse en la misma aula al mismo tiempo. Estas herramientas se utilizan hoy en día en dispositivos móviles que permiten realizar colaboraciones de forma ubicua, ya que se pueden utilizar desde cualquier lugar. Sin embargo, hoy en día las aplicaciones chats que existen en el mercado no son completamente accesibles, presentando barreras de accesibilidad que los usuarios tienen que sortear cada día. Las personas con discapacidad sufren estas barreras, a pesar de que están amparados por leyes de todo el mundo que especifican que tienen los mismos derechos que las personas sin discapacidad. Estas barreras de accesibilidad no son barreras que sólo personas con discapacidad pueden percibir, personas sin discapacidad pueden sufrir los mismos problemas cuando utilizan estas herramientas en dispositivos móviles, cuando se están desplazando o cuando utilizan los dispositivos en espacios abiertos con mucha luz. En esta tesis doctoral se pretende estudiar las barreras de accesibilidad que presentan las aplicaciones chat en entornos educativos con dispositivos móviles. De esta forma, se trata, en la medida de lo posible, de mejorar la accesibilidad de este tipo de aplicaciones. Como resultado, personas con discapacidad y sin discapacidad podrán colaborar entre sí, sin encontrar problemas de accesibilidad. Los tres objetivos principales de esta tesis son: primero, identificar los problemas que las personas con y sin discapacidad tienen cuando utilizan los chats; segundo, especificar los requisitos de accesibilidad que los chats deben incluir en entornos de aprendizaje utilizando dispositivos móviles; y finalmente, realizar una propuesta de mejora de accesibilidad de este tipo de aplicaciones. Todos estos objetivos se han alcanzado siguiendo para ello un diseño centrado en el usuario en el que se ha contado con la participación de más de 200 personas con y sin discapacidad para obtener cada una de las aportaciones resultado de los objetivos propuestos.Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ciencia y Tecnología InformáticaPresidente: Covadonga Rodrigo San Juan.- Secretario: María Belén Ruiz Mezcua.- Vocal: Leonel Caseiro Morgad