Ekaterina Vasilyeva

Feedback adaptation in web-based learning systems

Feedback provided by a learning system to its users plays an important role in web-based education. This paper presents an overview of feedback studies and then concentrates on the problem of feedback adaptation in web-based learning systems. We introduce our taxonomy of feedback concept with regard to its functions, complexity, intention, time of occurrence, way of presentation, and level and way of its adaptation. We consider what can be adapted in feedback and how to facilitate feedback adaptation in web-based learning systems.

Towards the framework of adaptive user interfaces for eHealth

Diversity inside a group of users having their individual abilities, interests, and needs challenge the developers of eHealth projects with heterogeneous needs in information delivery and/or other eHealth services. This paper considers an adaptive user interface approach as an opportunity in addressing this challenge. We briefly overview the recent achievements in the area of user interface adaptation and discuss application of these achievements in the eHealth context. We introduce the basic elements of our framework for adaptive user interface (AUI) for eHealth systems. Then, we use this framework in our review of work in the area of AUI for eHealth applications. As a result, we conclude with a brief discussion on the current focus on AUI research in eHealth, and interesting directions for further research.

Tailoring Feedback in Online Assessment: Influence of Learning Styles on the Feedback Preferences and Elaborated Feedback Effectiveness

Design of feedback is a critical issue of online assessment development within Web-based Learning Systems (WBLSs). This paper examines the potential possibilities of tailoring the feedback that is presented to a student as a result of his/her preferences and responses to questions of an online test with respect to the individual learning styles (LS). The paper briefly reviews the main types of feedback that can be presented during online assessment and discusses the challenges in authoring and tailoring of feedback in WBLSs. We report the results of some recent experiments organized as online assessment of students through multiple-choice quizzes in which students were able to request different kinds of feedback for the answered questions. The experimental results have confirmed that LS have a significant influence on (1) the feedback preferences (with regard to response certitude and correctness) of students and (2) the effectiveness of elaborated feedback (EF), i.e. improving studentspsila performance during the test.

Visual knowledge engineering as a cognitive tool

Paper presents research framework based on methodology of knowledge acquisition via visual structured analysis of the domain. The methodology includes formal procedure and special techniques of knowledge stratification and detalisation. Described approach is implemented in computer programs, that may be used as special cognitive tools, helping domain experts to investigate the domain knowledge through visual design of concept maps of knowledge bases. The paper also discusses how ontologies can be specified at the knowledge level using the set of graphical intermediate representations. Special software tool implementing visual knowledge engineering techniques and principles is described in the paper. In this paper, we also present the CAKE as a software tool to specify ontologies and concept maps at knowledge level. Its multilingual generator module automatically translates the visual specification into targeted knowledge representation languages. CAKE may be also effectively used for visual hypertext design and development of hypermedia applications on WWW.

eHealth personalization in the next generation RPM systems

Remote patient management (RPM) systems enable (i) monitoring of vital signs of patients at their home, and (ii) providing patients in their homes instructional, educational, or motivational feedback. As such, RPM systems collect a lot of (different types of) data about patients. Although richness of data provides an opportunity for tailoring and personalizing information services, there is a limited understanding of the necessary architecture, methodology, and tailoring criteria to facilitate personalization. In this paper we present (i) a possible next generation RPM system that enables personalization of educational content and its delivery to patients, (ii) introduce a generic methodology for personalization and emphasize the role of knowledge discovery (KDD) and (iii) outline the KDD process with a case study showing an example patient model and adaptation rules.

Personalization of Immediate Feedback to Learning Styles

Feedback provided to a user is an important part of learning and interaction in e-learning systems. In this paper we present the results of our pilot experiment aimed to study interrelation between several types of immediate feedback presentation and learning styles (LSs) of users. In the experiment we used the feedback supported by quiz module of moodle learning system. The obtained results demonstrate tendencies in interrelation between LS and immediate/summative feedback presentation and we suggest three hypotheses for future research.

Heart failure hospitalization prediction in remote patient management systems

Healthcare systems are shifting from patient care in hospitals to monitored care at home. It is expected to improve the quality of care without exploding the costs. Remote patient management (RPM) systems offer a great potential in monitoring patients with chronic diseases, like heart failure or diabetes. Patient modeling in RPM systems opens opportunities in two broad directions: personalizing information services, and alerting medical personnel about the changing conditions of a patient. In this study we focus on heart failure hospitalization (HFH) prediction, which is a particular problem of patient modeling for alerting. We formulate a short term HFH prediction problem and show how to address it with a data mining approach. We emphasize challenges related to the heterogeneity, different types and periodicity of the data available in RPM systems. We present an experimental study on HFH prediction using, which results lay a foundation for further studies and implementation of alerting and personalization services in RPM systems.

Tailoring of Feedback in Web-Based Learning: The Role of Response Certitude in the Assessment

This paper analyzes the challenges of tailoring feedback to the students response certitude during the assessment in Web-based Learning systems (WBLSs). We present the summary of the results of a series of experiments related to the online assessment of students through multiple-choice quizzes, where students had to select the confidence level and were able to request different kinds of feedback for each of the answered questions.

A holistic framework for understanding acceptance of Remote Patient Management (RPM) systems by non-professional users

The successful integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in healthcare facilitates the use of the sophisticated medical equipment and computer applications by medical practitioners. If earlier medical systems were mainly used by the health professionals (e.g. medical staff or nurses), nowadays with the appearance of Internet health systems are becoming available to the broader user groups, particularly patients and their families. eHealth has become an active research and development area within healthcare industry. Another important tendency in the development of ICT for health is a shift from “hospital-centered” to “person-centered” health systems which can enable maintaining and improving the quality of care without exploding costs. While technological side has been intensively developed within several research areas, the adoption of eHealth from a users perspective has gained too less research attention. Our current understanding of factors that affect acceptance of ICT-based eHealth systems by prospective non-professional users (patients) is still in its infancy. In information systems research the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Usage of Technology (UTAUT) has been applied by many researchers. There are already some uses of it in the eHealth area. In this paper we consider the UTAUT-model and its eHealth applications and suggest a holistic framework for further studies of user acceptance in Remote Patient Management (RPM).