A Framework for Personalised e-Learning Environments

2012

Teaching and Learning efforts at universities has been dominated by Learning Management Systems since years now. On the other side the so-called Web 2.0 technologies arise and assist teachers as well as learners through communication or collaborating with each other. Furthermore new web technologies like mashups or new devices like mobile phones allow us to work with the World Web Web from anywhere at anytime. In this publication a so-called Personal Learning Environment is introduced which was launched at Graz University of Technology for the first time in 2010. After a prototype phase a complete redesign were carried out to address more appropriate to users' needs. With the help of metaphors like spaces and apps the interface became quite easily and fulfilled the change towards learner-centered framework. It can be concluded that the learning environment of tomorrow has to integrate Web services as well as university wide services in an easy and understandable way to become a Personal Learning Environment.

eLearning Papers, 2008

2010

Abstract It is obvious that in the future the World Wide Web as a whole together with the many distributed online applications, tools and services play a very significant role in Technology Enhanced Learning. The integration of all these possibilities on the web in a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) in a way that the learners can select, individualize and customize the learning resources and services according to their needs and interests can support learners and teachers and enhance learning in general.

2011

New ICT technologies are continuously introducing changes in the way in which society generates, shares and access information. This is changing what society expects and requires of education. eLearning is acting as a vector of this change, introducing pervasive transformations in and out of the classroom. But with Learning Management Systems (LMS) users have reached a plateau of productivity and stability. At the same time outside the walled garden of the LMS new transformative tools, services and ways of learning are already in use, within the PLE and PLN paradigms. The stability and maturity of the LMS may become yet another resistance factor working against the introduction of innovations. New tools and trends cannot be ignored, and this is the reason why learning platforms should become open and flexible environments. In the course of this article the reasons for this change and how it may be addressed will be discussed, together with a proposal for architecture based on Moodle.

2014

Background: This paper explores how technology in Personalized Learning Environment (PLE) has the significant potential to become the defining technology of the twenty-first century. PLE has recently come to the discussions as a potential instructional strategy to increase student success in the online environment, yet little research exists to confirm the effectiveness of personalized learning in an online environment. Objective: A study was conducted to examine personalized learning in the online environment to determine its effectiveness on online learning. Results: The paper also highlights technical environment in creating a PLE, how does PLE works and also the implications for teaching and learning. Conclusion: In conclusion, there is a need to focus the challenge of educators towards PLE adoption and integration of technology. Further research must be conducted for using technology to successfully accomplish personalization.

International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments, 2010

Over the past decade, it has been argued that technology-enhanced learning (TEL) could respond to the needs of the new knowledge society and transform learning. However, despite isolated achievements, TEL has not succeeded in revolutionizing education and learning processes. Most current TEL initiatives still take a centralized technology-push approach in which learning content is pushed to a predefined group of learners in closed environments. A fundamental shift toward a more open and learner-pull model for learning is needed. Recently, the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) concept has emerged to open new doors for more effective learning and overcome many of the limitations of traditional TEL models. In this paper, the authors present theoretical, design, implementation, and evaluation details of PLEF, a framework for mashup personal learning environments. The primary aim of PLEF is to help learners create custom learning mashups using a wide variety of digital media and data.

2011

Personalization is seen as the key approach to handle the plethora of information in today's knowledge-based society. It is expected that personalized teaching and learning will efficiently address learner needs. The education of the future will change as a result of the influence of Web 2.0 content typified by a steadily increasing supply of data. This means that the students of tomorrow will regularly have to deal with sharing and merging content from different sources.

Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) have become popular in higher education in recent years due to their ability to provide additional and flexible solutions for students and researchers. However, the limitations of VLEs have led to the development of a new generation of VLEthe Personal Learning Environment (PLE). PLEs avoid these limitations and have new features that allow students to control and develop new applications, such as Web 2.0 applications and social networks. Whilst PLEs have resolved some of the drawbacks of VLEs, it is argued that PLEs also have greater potential to cover a wider range of aspects. This paper presents a proactive context-aware architecture for PLE supporting two major objectives: lifelong access and learner-centric study, covering both traditional formal (institution-based) and informal (private, non-institution-based) academic learning. Bayesian Networks are graphical modeling tools that have been used for modeling uncertain knowledge. Moreover, BN has been used in this research to implement the proposed architecture.

Educational Technology Research and Development, 2012

Most personalized learning systems are designed for either personal computers (e-learning) or mobile devices (m-learning). Our research has resulted in a cloud-based adaptive learning system that incorporates mobile devices into a classroom setting. This system is fully integrated into the formative assessment process and, most importantly, coexists with the present e-learning environment. Unlike many mobile learning systems, this system provides teachers with real-time feedback about individual and group learners. Its scalable and extendable architectural framework includes the server-side pedagogical recommendation of content adaptation based on the users' knowledge-levels and preferences. Content is also automatically adapted to the end device that is being used. This context-aware delivery allows users to switch between e-learning and m-learning, and between devices, without any loss in personalized content. Our work builds on a web-based Adaptive Learning and Assessment System (ALAS) that is built on the Knowledge Space Theory model. At present, this system is used at school computer labs and our goal was to widen this user-base by enhancing this system to support personalized learning on mobile devices. This study describes our process of developing this technology, and contains an empirical analysis of students' performance, perceptions, and achievements when using ALAS on both personal computers and mobile devices.

Canadian Network for Innovation in Education Conference 2010: Heritage Matters, inspiring tomorrow, 2010

Abstract: Learning technologists have started thinking 'outside the box'of traditional learning environments in their research of Personal Learning Environments. Web2. 0 technologies have proven to create a mesh of interlinked nodes and connections on online networks. The question is if a powerful pedagogical platform can be created by connecting intelligent recommender systems to these media.