Don Sheridan

A web-based learning and assessment system to support flexible education

At a time where increased costs and resource constraints are experienced by many tertiary institutions globally, the pressure to find alternative methods to deliver teaching and assessment increases. Whilst the individual learning experience is paramount, the need to manage the numbers, resources and assessment provide an administrative overhead and headache to all teaching staff. With this predicament in mind a computer-supported learning system (CECIL) was developed. It is a web-based teaching and learning resource and administration system. This paper describes the CECIL structure and discusses the potential benefits that a university-wide resource management system may have in terms of the educational flexibility and resource sharing.

Computer supported learning. A large-scale, web-based learning and assessment system to support flexible education

With the increase in cost and resources constraints experienced by many tertiary institutions globally, the pressure to find alternative methods to deliver teaching and assessment increases. Whilst mindful of the learning experience of the individual, the need to manage the numbers, resources and assessment provide an administrative overhead and headache to every professor who has ever taught. With this predicament in mind the computer supported learning system (CSL) is a web-based teaching and learning resource and administration system, developed by the Business Education On-Line Unit of the Auckland Business School, at the University of Auckland (New Zealand). We call it Cecil. The paper describes the Cecil structure and discusses the potential benefits that a university wide resource management system may have in terms of the educational flexibility and resource sharing.

Using the Internet to teach software engineering

An Internet, browser-based, computer-supported learning system was designed and built by the MSIS Department to serve primarily as an assessment vehicle for business students. Now in its second year of operation it has migrated across computer platforms and been completely redesigned to become a university resource. Hundreds of students use CSL daily. This paper outlines the development of CSL and discusses our work in connecting a taxonomy of knowledge with the multimedia assets needed for learning and assessment. In particular, its use in teaching software engineering courses and the lessons learnt are explored. The implications for self-directed study and our universitys goal to provide lifelong learning are presented.

Representing a body of knowledge for teaching, learning and assessment

As Internet-based professional training becomes universally accepted, national and international standards for professional groups may become a dominant and governing force. Educators and trainers will be expected to demonstrate the relevancy of their programmes in the context of bodies of knowledge which have a wide acceptance. Universities will feel the pressure to meet or exceed the performance of technical institutions and commercial institutes to justify their tuition costs. A university degree in computer science no longer guarantees a job. This paper will discuss the application of a taxonomy in computer science to a computer- supported learning system and its implication for planning and managing one’s professional career.

A framework for applying learning analytics in serious games for people with intellectual disabilities.

Abstract: This paper proposes a systematic framework to integrate learning analytics into serious games for people with intellectual disabilities. Serious games for an inclusive learning environment need to be prudently designed with adaptive and measurable competencies to meet the needs of the target users. The recent emergence of learning analytics provides a capability to capture important data in real time from within the highly interactive nature of serious games to better understand and enhance the learning process. Although previous research has addressed different applications of learning analytics in serious games, few studies have investigated the needs of individuals with disabilities. This paper proposes a framework for serious games analytics specialised for people with intellectual disabilities (SGAPID) for the purpose of supporting the integration of learning analytics within serious games to create an inclusive learning environment. We provide a framework based on previous studies in both learning analytics, serious games and educational technologies for people with intellectual disabilities. The framework consists of three central components, namely learner profiling, learning adaptation and learning evaluation. It provides needed guidance for educational application developers and reflects the contemporary trends in educational technologies. The SGAPID framework will also be valuable for the design, implementation, evaluation and adaptation of serious games for inclusive learning and teaching at the group or individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]