Davinia Hernández-Leo

Enhancing Computer Assisted Assessment Using Rubrics in a QTI Editor

With the aim of facilitating teachers the use of good techniques in computer assisted assessment, this paper proposes the integration of rubric functionalities in an editor compliant with the IMS Question and Test Interoperability specification (QTI). Teachers can organize the information of an eQuestionnaire using the QTI-rubric approach. They canuse (and reuse) QTI elements without having a technical background or knowledge of the specification. The QTIrubric enables automatic formative feedback for learners and the results can serve them as a personal evidence of their knowledge and capabilities.

Conditioning Factors for Group Management in Blended Learning Scenarios

The management of groups is an essential task in collaborative learning scenarios. In a blended learning situation, in which online activities and face-to-face activities are combined, this group management becomes more complex. Different technological solutions have been proposed for supporting the group management in the CSCL field. However, these approaches fail to consider factors inherent to the blended learning scenarios. In this paper we discuss and propose a conceptualization of the main factors that condition the group management in these scenarios: the pedagogical method, the participants, the space and the history. These new conceptualization may help on incorporating more flexibility and accuracy on the whole learning design process for a wide range of learning situations.

An Approach for Visually Supporting the Creation of Personal Development Plans

Personal Development Plans (PDP) have positive effects in learners’ motivation and confidence since they enable individuals to reflect upon their own learning and to plan for their own educational development according to their personal interests, background and experience. Despite those benefits, there are not many efforts considering the role of learners in the creation of their own learning paths. In this paper we adopt the approach of concept mapping to propose and implement a visual approach for supporting learners in the exploration of existing learning paths and the creation of their PDP. The paper also describes a user study for preliminarily evaluating the implemented tool and discusses the most significant findings around three main issues of interest: understanding of the tool purpose, suitability of the graphic elements shown in the interface, and changes or additions that would improve the usability of the tool.

Improving the Usability of an Approach for Visually Supporting the Creation of Personal Development Plans

Personal Development Plans (PDP) have positive effects in learners’ motivation and confidence since they enable individuals to reflect upon their own learning and to plan for their own educational development according to their personal interests, background and experience. Despite those benefits, there are not many efforts considering the role of learners in the creation of their own learning paths. In this paper we adopt the approach of concept mapping to propose and implement a visual approach for supporting learners in the exploration of existing learning paths and the creation of their PDP. The paper also describes a user study for preliminarily evaluating the implemented tool and discusses the most significant findings around three main issues of interest: understanding of the tool purpose, suitability of the graphic elements shown in the interface, and changes or additions that would improve the usability of the tool.

Introducing Flexibility into CSCL Scripts for Blended Learning Scenarios

Abstratct of the PhD Consortium paper submitted.