Evangelos Triantafillou

The design and the formative evaluation of an adaptive educational system based on cognitive styles

Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (AHS) can be developed to accommodate a variety of individual differences, including learning style and cognitive style. The current research is an attempt to examine some of the critical variables, which may be important in the design of an Adaptive Educational System (AES) based on students cognitive style. Moreover, this paper describes the design issues that were considered for the development of the system that are reported in the relevant literature Throughout the development of the system, formative evaluation was an integral part of the design methodology. The results of the formative evaluation were used to improve our system in order to make the instruction more effective and efficient. Furthermore, the recommendations resulted from the formative evaluation could be seen as some points worth considering from designers of AHS.

The design and evaluation of a computerized adaptive test on mobile devices

The use of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) has expanded rapidly over recent years mainly due to the advances in communication and information technology. Availability of advanced mobile technologies provides several benefits to e-learning by creating an additional channel of access with mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. This paper describes the design issues that were considered for the development and the implementation of a CAT on mobile devices, the computerized adaptive test on mobile devices (CAT-MD). Throughout the development of the system, formative evaluation was an integral part of the design methodology. The recommendations, suggestions and the results of the formative evaluation were used to improve the system in order to make the assessment procedure more effective and efficient. These results of the formative evaluation are also presented here.

The value of adaptivity based on cognitive style : an empirical study

Adaptive Hypermedia Systems can be developed to accommodate a variety of individual differences, including learning style and cognitive style. This study investigates the hypothesis that adaptive hypermedia accommodating cognitive styles can be beneficial for the observed learning outcomes. A prototype system, designed to be adapted to individual cognitive styles, was developed as a case study. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the prototype system, an empirical study was conducted. This paper presents the results of the summative evaluation of the system. Statistical analyses indicated that students in the experimental group performed significantly better than students in a control group. These findings indicate that student performance is mainly affected by adaptivity based on individual cognitive styles.

Evaluation parameters for computer-adaptive testing

With the proliferation of computers in test delivery today, adaptive testing has become quite popular, especially when examinees must be classified into two categories (pass/fail, master/nonmaster). Several well-established organisations have provided standards and guidelines for the design and evaluation of educational and psychological testing. The purpose of this paper was not to repeat the guidelines and standards that exist in the literature but to identify and discuss the main evaluation parameters for a computer-adaptive test (CAT). A number of parameters should be taken into account when evaluating CAT. Key parameters include utility, validity, reliability, satisfaction, usability, reporting, administration, security, and thoseassociated with adaptivity, item pool, and psychometric theory. These parameters are presented and discussed below and form a proposed evaluation model, Evaluation Model of Computer-Adaptive Testing.

CAT-MD: Computerized Adaptive Testing on Mobile Devices

In the last decade the use of different mobile products such as mobile phones and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) devices has increased rapidly. In parallel, the use of computerized-adaptive testing (CAT) has expanded mainly due to the advancements in communication and information technology. The introduction of mobiles devices into the learning pedagogy can compliment e-learning and e-testing by creating an additional channel of assessment with mobile devices. Although, mobile computing has become an important and interesting research issue, little research has been done on the implementation of CAT using mobile devices. The current study describes the design issues that were considered for the development and the implementation of a CAT on mobile devices, the CAT-MD (Computerized Adaptive Testing on Mobile Devices).