Captura i anàlisi del comportament dels estudiants en entorns virtuals d'aprenentatge : el campus virtual de la UOC

Aquest treball de tesi doctoral fa una aportació a les àrees de l'e-learning i la interacció persona-ordinador, en relació a l'obtenció d'informació dels usuaris i de l'ús que fan d'un sistema interactiu. Per a assolir aquest objectiu s'ha proposat una metodologia d'anàlisi que es basa en un estudi a tres nivells que permet abastar els objectius i motivacions dels usuaris en diferents períodes de temps. Concretament, s'ha definit una metodologia que permet obtenir informació rellevant de la navegació dels estudiants d'un entorn virtual d'aprenentatge, entenent que ho fan no només pels espais i serveis del campus virtual, sinó també pels continguts, activitats i recursos educatius de les assignatures, així com per les assignatures d'una o més titulacions i ofertes formatives, és a dir, a diferents nivells. Aquest objectiu es basa en la necessitat de conèixer als estudiants i les seves interaccions amb l'entorn virtual, per així poder millorar la usabilitat del sistema i la seva experiència d'ús, i aportar informació a un model d'usuari que permeti introduir elements de personalització en el procés d'aprenentatge. Els resultats obtinguts constitueixen noves evidències sobre la UOC, el seu entorn virtual d'aprenentatge i els seus usuaris, i proporcionen informació rellevant pel nou disseny del campus virtual i per la millora i personalització del procés d'aprenentatge.Este trabajo de tesis doctoral hace una aportación a las áreas de la e-learning y la interacción persona-ordenador, en relación a la obtención de información de los usuarios y del uso que hacen de un sistema interactivo. Para lograr este objetivo se ha propuesto una metodología de análisis que se basa en un estudio a tres niveles que permite alcanzar los objetivos y motivaciones de los usuarios en diferentes periodos de tiempos. Concretamente, se ha definido una metodología que permite obtener información relevante de la navegación de los estudiantes de un entorno virtual de aprendizaje, entendiendo que lo hacen no sólo por los espacios y servicios del campus virtual, sino también por los contenidos, actividades y recursos educativos de las asignaturas, así como por las asignaturas de una o más titulaciones y ofertas formativas, es decir, a diferentes niveles. Este objetivo se basa en la necesidad de conocer a los estudiantes y sus interacciones con el entorno virtual, para así poder mejorar la usabilidad del sistema y su experiencia de uso, y aportar información a un modelo de usuario que permita introducir elementos de personalización en el proceso de aprendizaje. Los resultados obtenidos constituyen nuevas evidencias sobre la UOC, su entorno virtual de aprendizaje y sus usuarios, y proporcionan información relevante por el nuevo diseño del campus virtual y por la mejora y personalización del proceso de aprendizaje.This doctoral thesis makes a contribution to the areas of e-learning and human-computer interaction, related to obtaining information about the users and about how they use interactive systems. To achieve this goal a methodology of analysis has been proposed. This methodology is based on a three level approach that allows covering the goals and motivations of the users in different periods of time. More precisely, the proposed methodology of analysis allows obtaining new and relevant information about the students' navigation in a virtual learning environment, understanding that they visit not only the main areas and services of the virtual campus, but the contents, activities and educational resources of the courses, as well as other courses that are included in their program or formative offer. That is, at different levels in different points of time. This goal is based on the need to know the students' interactions with the virtual environment, to be able to improve the usability of the system and their experience of use, and to collect information to build a user model which allows embedding elements of personalization in the learning process. The obtained results constitute new evidence about the UOC, its virtual learning environment and its users, and provide relevant information for the design of the new virtual campus and to improve and personalize the learning process

User Centered Desing in E-Learning Environments : from Usability to Learner Experience

The advent of the Internet had a great impact on distance education and rapidly e-learning has become a killer application. Education institutions worldwide are taking advantage of the available technology in order to facilitate education to a growing audience. Everyday, more and more people use e-learning systems, environments and contents for both training and learning. E-learning promotes education among people that due to different reasons could not have access to education: people who could not travel, people with very little free time, or with disabilities, etc. As e-learning systems grow and more people are accessing them, it is necessary to consider when designing virtual environments the diverse needs and characteristics that different users have. This allows building systems that people can use easily, efficiently and effectively, where the learning process leads to a good user experience and becomes a good learning experience

User Centered Desing in E-Learning Environments : from Usability to Learner Experience

The advent of the Internet had a great impact on distance education and rapidly e-learning has become a killer application. Education institutions worldwide are taking advantage of the available technology in order to facilitate education to a growing audience. Everyday, more and more people use e-learning systems, environments and contents for both training and learning. E-learning promotes education among people that due to different reasons could not have access to education: people who could not travel, people with very little free time, or with disabilities, etc. As e-learning systems grow and more people are accessing them, it is necessary to consider when designing virtual environments the diverse needs and characteristics that different users have. This allows building systems that people can use easily, efficiently and effectively, where the learning process leads to a good user experience and becomes a good learning experience

The joy of e-learning : redesigning the e-learning experience

Peer-reviewedThis paper focuses on the work that needs to be done to reduce this gap and redefine the e-learning experience. We propose a methodol ogy in which we also take into account the affective dimension of the user, as this can be critical to the overall experience, even more so than aspects such as effectiveness and efficiency, often measured. Integrating the affective dimension will help provide a set of guidelines for designing a virtual learning environment that engages and motivates students to learn and enjoy their e-learning experience

The joy of e-learning : redesigning the e-learning experience

Peer-reviewedThis paper focuses on the work that needs to be done to reduce this gap and redefine the e-learning experience. We propose a methodol ogy in which we also take into account the affective dimension of the user, as this can be critical to the overall experience, even more so than aspects such as effectiveness and efficiency, often measured. Integrating the affective dimension will help provide a set of guidelines for designing a virtual learning environment that engages and motivates students to learn and enjoy their e-learning experience

Optimización del comportamiento informacional mediante el uso de herramientas de bookmarking

La actual sociedad del conocimiento así como las nuevas políticas educativas de la Unión Europea requieren una nueva aproximación a los recursos educativos. El uso de un formato cerrado y monolítico como puede ser el libro de texto tiene que ser sustituido por la creación y actualización constante de colecciones o repositorios de recursos que faciliten y formen parte del proceso de aprendizaje. El presente trabajo introduce una aproximación a este nuevo paradigma a través del análisis de tres niveles: la investigación del comportamiento informacional de estudiantes en el uso de recursos educativos disponibles en la red; el análisis funcional y de usabilidad de las herramientas que dan soporte a la gestión y uso de los recursos de información; y la prueba piloto de una herramienta de bookmarking en las aulas virtuales de la asignatura de Interacción persona-ordenador como práctica para mejorar el comportamiento informacional de los estudiantes. Considerar conjuntamente estos tres niveles es clave para mejorar el comportamiento informacional de los estudiantes y, en consecuencia, permitir una mejor adquisición de las competencias informacionales esenciales en el contexto actual.The current knowledge society and the new education policies in the EU require a new approach to educational resources. The use of a closed and monolithic form such as the textbook has to be replaced by the creation and continuous updating of repositories of resources that facilitate and are part of the learning process. This paper presents an approach to this new paradigm through an analysis of three elements: the research of the information behavior of students in the use of educational resources available on the Net, the functional and usability analysis of the tools that support management and use of information resources, and the pilot of a bookmarking tool in a virtual classroom course on Human-Computer Interaction as practice to improve students' information behavior. Considered together these three elements is key to improving students' information behavior and therefore allow better acquisition of information competencies essential in the current context

User-Centered Design Gymkhana

The User-centered design (UCD) Gymkhana is a tool for human-computer interaction practitioners to demonstrate through a game the key user-centered design methods and how they interrelate in the design process.The target audiences are other organizational departments unfamiliar with UCD but whose work is related to the definition, cretaion, and update of a product service

A Game to Promote Understanding about UCD Methods and Process

The User-centered design (UCD) game is a tool for human-computer interaction practitioners to demonstrate the key user-centered design methods and how they interrelate in the design process in an interactive and participatory manner. The target audiences are departments and institutions unfamiliar with UCD but whose work is related to the definition, creation, and update of a product or service

Capturing user behavior in e-learning environments

Peer-reviewedIn this paper we describe a proposal for embedding hidden marks in the web pages of a complex web site with the aim of simplifying the process of collecting and analyzing users¿ behavior

User-Centered Design Gymkhana

The User-centered design (UCD) Gymkhana is a tool for human-computer interaction practitioners to demonstrate through a game the key user-centered design methods and how they interrelate in the design process.The target audiences are other organizational departments unfamiliar with UCD but whose work is related to the definition, cretaion, and update of a product service