Thanos Hatziapostolou

Cloud e-Learning: A New Challenge for Multi-Agent Systems

The developments of pedagogical models in e-learning together with the advances of learning technologies and cloud computing give us confidence to believe that the traditional e-learning will evolve into a process which will put the learner in the center of educational provision. This paper proposes that Cloud e-Learning, a new approach to e-learning, will open opportunities for learners, by allowing personalisation, enhancing self-motivation and collaboration. The learners should be able to choose what to learn, what sources to use, with and by whom, how and in what pace, what services and tools to use, how to be assessed, whether to get credits towards a degree etc. In such a dynamic environment, the need for Multi-Agents Systems is necessary. Actors in Cloud e-Learning would need automated facilitation in all services involved. We outline few indicative scenaria for Cloud E-Learning in which smart agents will act on behalf of the learners, teachers and institution in order to maximise the benefit of the proposed concept.

Towards a Pedagogical Methodology and Model for IT Industry Training: The ELEVATE Project

In this paper we present a pedagogically-documented approach and model that facilitates the specialised and personalised e-training of professionals and end-users in application software products. The main focus of our methodology is on blended learning, authentic learning and competence based learning. Via blended learning, face to face as well as online teaching is used. Moreover, there is an e-training solution that can be used either as stand alone solution, for teaching a particular competence or can be used as a support to face to face teaching (that is revisit a competence taught in face to face). The e-Training component of the ELEVATE environment uses authentic learning by utilising “live” software systems. Competence based learning is used to identify the competence gap as well as tailor the training that the individual learner needs to attain the competence required.

Boosting the Pedagogical Value of Classroom Clicker Systems via the Provision of Formative Feedback

Clicker systems are gradually becoming pervasive within high school and university classrooms. The specific educational technology successfully addresses student engagement in the classroom by promoting active learning methods. While the pedagogical values of clickers are indisputable, one aspect in which clicker systems can be improved is the provision of formative feedback to students. This paper briefly evaluates popular software-based clicker systems and suggests a method for providing students with feedback that can enable them to reflect on their learning.

Facilitating Access to Distance Education: Creating Pedagogically Driven Courseware Using Simple Technologies

Information and communication technologies can enhance the teaching and learning process. Especially in a distance learning setting, ICT can be used to create effective courseware and learning environments that cater individual learning needs. While numerous technologies are available for the development of educational material, the use of technology should be driven by sound pedagogical principles. This paper discusses the development of courseware for a foundation course of a distance learning undergraduate computer science programme. It presents the design strategy that was followed for the development of learning material for a diverse group of adult students and shows how simple technologies can support pedagogical principles and create an effective learning environment.

Quantifying and Evaluating Student Participation and Engagement in an Academic Facebook Group

Asynchronous online discussions offer many advantages in an educational context such as building a class community, empowering students to express themselves, facilitating exploratory learning and contributing to the development of cognitive, critical thinking and writing skills. Whether integrated within a Learning Management System or as an external website, one of the most common platforms for hosting such asynchronous online discussions is a discussion board. Recent technological advancements, however, offer a wide number of alternative tools. Among them, the ‘Groups’ feature from Facebook, currently the largest online social network, has attracted a lot of attention by the academic community and ample research demonstrates the benefits of the specific tool for educational purposes. Comparing Facebook Groups with a discussion board in terms of support for the instructor to appraise student participation and engagement reveals a drawback for Facebook Groups. While discussion boards are supported by a number of learning analytics tools, no such academic support seems to exist for a Facebook Group. In this paper we introduce InGauge, a novel educational tool that enables instructors to gauge the level of student engagement and participation within an academic Facebook group. Founded on educational theories for evaluating online engagement, InGauge can collect and analyse all activities within the group and generate a number of learning analytics reports. The most important academic feature, however, is that InGauge offers support for customizing an assessment model in order to meet the student participation requirements of any type of Facebook group that is used for educational purposes.

Promoting learning in MORMED, a multilingual social networking platform

This paper argues for an organic, bottom-up approach embracing the inherent social aspects of learning and knowledge creation. In a complex and dynamic environment learning and knowledge are cornerstones of a persons development. Individuals follow a reflective and dialectic cycle of interactions with knowledge resources and community members towards enriching knowledge and thus achieving learning. Such interactions can be supported through collaborative recommenders that facilitate individuals to select from a filtered pool of resources to meet their needs. Recommenders are considered an essential part of an innovative system that promotes learning through a people-centred, social and collaborative approach. MORMED is such an environment that utilises such intelligent knowledge-pull method towards this direction.