The existing Learning Management System (LMS), \esTracer", from En-tergate company has been updated to be compliant with Sharable ContentObject Reference Model (SCORM). By following the SCORM standard, newand existing packages of course materials could be imported and exportedto SCORM compliant systems. In the test, one package from ADL is usedfor importing and presentation. The implementation only applies to \es-Tracer" LMS, but the methodology is general and could be used in otherLMS as well. This project is implemented using ASP.NET MVC framework.ASP.NET MVC framework is one great framework, which enables developersto stand on a high level to see the whole picture. Future work needs to bedone to make \esTracer" complete SCORM compliant.i

There is a common acceptance that online technologies have the capacity to transform the way we learn. It appears the call for alternative modes of learning and the effective integration of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) into the regular classroom is no longer peripheral. There is sound evidence that increasingly teachers and schools are embracing the technologies available to them. This study examines the merits, barriers and issues associated with the employment of online technologies in the teaching and learning of second and foreign languages. Data is sourced from the views and opinions of five participants from a ‘brick and mortar’ school, three participants from a virtual school and the perspectives from two outside experts. The findings reveal participants show an overall satisfaction with the usefulness of online technologies. Compatible with the literature, the study shows that there are systemic factors undermining the efforts of individuals to fully utilise the technologies available to them. The overarching epistemology of this research is congruent with an Ecological model. This approach allows for a multi-level perspective of the complexity and disambiguation ICT has thrust upon educators and learners. This paper concludes with a positive view of the usefulness of online technologies and reaffirms what many researchers are claiming; most schools are only at the beginning of their ICT journey.

Magíster en Tecnologías de la Información / El presente trabajo se enmarca dentro del XXV Congreso del Partido Comunista de Chile, para el cual se pretende solucionar un problema histórico de su proceso eleccionario. Dado que este proceso se ha realizado siempre en forma manual, toma demasiado tiempo, su conteo manual genera inseguridad en los resultados y su validación es lenta. Además, y como producto de la peculiar metodología y flujo en este proceso, existe poco tiempo disponible entre la generación de las listas de candidatos y la elección misma. Por lo tanto, este trabajo de tesis implementó una solución de software de cara a la modernización de este proceso, para ayudar a paliar los problemas planteados, y también a aumentar el nivel de participación de sus militantes en votaciones futuras. La solución implementada corresponde a un componente de software de apoyo al proceso de votación, el cual se inserta en una plataforma LMS (Learning Management System), configurada para sostener aulas/oficinas/cabildos virtuales. Esta plataforma, además de dar soporte a la reunión de los distintos actores para elegir, otorga la posibilidad de utilizar recursos y actividades inherentes a las instancias de discusión, debate y generación de documentos. Debido a la naturaleza del proyecto, a su complejidad y al poco tiempo disponible crear la solución, se optó por utilizar una metodología de desarrollo basada en prototipos, como una forma de mantener bajo control la complejidad y los riesgos del mismo. Esta solución permite resolver los problemas antes identificados, mejorando los niveles de seguridad y transparencia del proceso, y reduciendo su tiempo de ejecución. Dada la gran complejidad de los actuales sistemas de votación electrónica y la alta incertidumbre que existe a la hora de intervenirlos o adaptarlos, este trabajo de tesis no pretende inventar uno nuevo, sino adaptar un modelo de votaciones de complejidad baja, con trazabilidad en papel y niveles de seguridad acotados, que entregue una solución al problema planteado. La solución implementada es un sistema ad-hoc que, además de apoyar el proceso eleccionario, busca aumentar la participación de los militantes del Partido Comunista, así como las instancias de debate, reflexión y discusión. El sistema implementado fue probado en paralelo en varias votaciones informales del partido, y a partir de sus buenos resultados, éste pasó a utilizarse en las instancias de votaciones formales de esta comunidad. Entre las cosas que más rescataron los encargados del proceso de votación fue el ahorro de tiempo, así como la mejora de la seguridad y la transparencia a los procedimientos que hacían parte de la votación.

With the emerging use of technological interventions in education, e-learning systems contribute immensely in educational delivery. However, with substantial efforts from the Rwandan Government, there were still claims about the lack of online support systems for thesis process in Rwandan higher education, which significantly affect the quality of research. Furthermore, previously implementations of e-learning systems at University of Rwanda have failed because of a low adoption rate. This study follows the introduction of the learning management system “SciPro” used for supporting supervisors and students in thesis writing. The purpose of the study was to understand the adoption of the SciPro System in support of thesis process for bachelor and master’s programs from a supervisor’s perspective at University of Rwanda (UR). An embedded case study was used as a research strategy. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was used as the theoretical frame of reference for the study. Data was collected from 42 workshop participants using a questionnaire. Moreover, convenient interviews and participant observations were conducted at 5 of the 6 colleges during and after system testing. A researcher realized that the current thesis process is still manual-based and there is no holistic computer-supported system for thesis related activities. Results from correlation analysis and regression analysis for the questionnaire showed that the facilitating conditions provided by UR were the key factor that would influence the adoption of SciPro positively. Effort expectancy perceived by supervisors proved to have a significant correlation to their Behavioral Intention to use the system. The study also revealed that there were other factors outside SciPro System, such as management support, Internet access, lack of a clear ICT policy and E-learning policy; and to motivate innovators and early adopters that should be considered throughout the implementation process to enhance adoption.

Submitted by Daniella Sodre (daniella.sodre@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-09T12:12:30Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao_Rodrigo_Lins_Rodrigues - V0.pdf: 3700918 bytes, checksum: 984ab1a708473b09eb1260506377ff6e (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-09T12:12:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertacao_Rodrigo_Lins_Rodrigues - V0.pdf: 3700918 bytes, checksum: 984ab1a708473b09eb1260506377ff6e (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-09 / Um dos nichos da Educação que vislumbra a inserção de jogos no processo de aprendizagem é a Educação a distância. Porém, ao contrário do que se imaginava há anos atrás, atualmente ainda não é muito comum o uso de jogos no ensino a distância. Os jogos acabaram sendo mais utilizados apenas como forma de reforçar ou testar o conhecimento dos alunos. Uma das razões identificadas, para a não utilização de jogos nesse processo de aprendizagem pode corresponder à necessidade que os alunos e professores têm em perceber as atividades do grupo, necessidade esta que não é explorada pelos ambientes de LMS atualmente disponíveis no mercado. Com a finalidade de aumentar o grau de motivação dos alunos e explorar as possibilidades de dar percepção para a atividade do grupo ao jogar, o contexto desta pesquisa baseia-se na concepção e criação de um artefato para a integração de jogos ao LMS Amadeus. Para atingir o objetivo proposto, utilizamos a literatura de Interação Humano-computador, especificadamente o método de design de interação. O processo foi composto por quatro atividades básicas: (1) Identificação das necessidades do usuário, (2) desenvolvimento de alternativas de design, (3) construção de versões iterativas, e (4) avaliação do design. O método considerou ainda três aspectos chaves do processo: foco no usuário, definição de metas de usabilidade e prototipagem evolutiva. Na etapa da identificação de necessidades utilizamos as técnicas de análise de competidores e construção de cenários, na etapa de alternativas de design foram construídos protótipos de baixa fidelidade e storyboards. A partir das especificações e prototipagem definidas foi implementada a solução no ambiente de LMS Amadeus, seguindo todas as regras de layout padrão. Por último, foi feito um teste de usabilidade com usuários que teve como meta identificar a facilidade de uso da solução desenvolvida. Como contribuição deste trabalho, tivemos a Identificação de requisitos que vieram demonstrar as necessidades em relação à integração de jogos em ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem, a especificação de um modelo de desenvolvimento de artefatos para ambientes de LMS baseado em princípios e técnicas de IHC, para que outros trabalhos possam ser desenvolvidos baseado no método utilizado e o desenvolvimento de uma interface de fácil utilização para que professores possam inserior jogos, de forma fácil, no ambiente Amadeus.

Många lärosäten använder idag fler än en lärplattform, ibland inom en och samma institution, program eller kurs. Uppsatsens syfte var därför att ta fram riktlinjer för vad som bör beaktas vid val av lärplattform för att fylla organisationens behov och passa dess förutsättningar. Undersökningen genomfördes med en kvalitativ datainsamlingsmetod där vi genom intervjuer med fem lärare vid Linnéuniversitetet samlade in deras krav. Resultatet blev en checklista som listar lärarnas krav och genom att kritiskt granskat litteratur kan vi rekommendera organisationer vad de bör överväga inför implementationen av en lärplattform. / Today, many institutions use more than one learning management system, sometimes within the same department, education program or course. The purpose of the essay was therefore to create guidelines for what should be considered when selecting a learning management system to meet the organizations needs and best suit their circumstances. The survey was conducted by a qualitative data collection method in which we collected the requirements of five teachers at Linnaeus University through interviews. The result was a checklist that lists teachers’ demands. By critical reviews of the literature we can recommend to organizations what they should consider before implementation of a learning management system.

As a result of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease the Swedish colleges, adult schools and high schools closed and switched to distance education. Beside the pandemic a report from the Teachers' Union was published in which it was found that many teachers are dissatisfied with the learning management systems used. The digitization of the school thus became a highly relevant area during this time. The purpose of this essay is to investigate the municipal adult education teacher's experience and use of learning management systems and thereby highlight what they see for challenges and opportunities with the learning management systems and if it has an impact on the actual usage. This paper is expected to respond to how teachers in Swedish municipal adult education feel that it is to work with learning management systems. To answer the question, a qualitative starting point is used, where semi-structured interviews have been used. In this study, the theoretical model UTAUT is used to analyze the result. The four constructs from UTAUT are used to categorize and identify the teachers' experiences, to better answer our research question. Ten municipal adult education teachers from four different schools in Västra Götaland, Sweden participated in the study. In the study, we could see that the most common area of use for the learning management system seems to be to communicate and to make materials accessible to students between classes. In addition, we could see that the teachers felt that their level of technical experience were somewhere between medium and high, all had some type of education and training in how to use learning platforms, however, more teachers described that there was a need for more education among colleagues. Advantages of learning management systems that most teachers described were increased efficiency, communication and accessibility, disadvantages that teachers described were legal security, integration, compliance with law and feedback. In general, the teachers seem more positively attuned to the platforms than negative. From the UTAUT model, we could see that all factors affect the teacher's intention and the actual use of the platform positively, however, some parts of the effort expectancy can negatively affect the teacher's intention to use. / I takt med coronautbrottet som startade i Kina och spred sig till stora delar av världen blev resultatet att svenska högskolor, vuxenskolor och gymnasium stängdes ner och gick över till ren distansutbildning. Parallellt med coronautbrottet publicerades en rapport från Lärarförbundet där det hade visat sig att många lärare är missnöjda med de digitala lärplattformar som används. Digitaliseringen av skolan blev därmed ett högt aktuellt område under denna tid. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka komvuxlärarens upplevelse av digitala lärplattformar och därmed lyfta fram vad de tycker finns för olika för- och nackdelar samt vad som påverkar den faktiska användningen. Denna studie förväntas svara på hur lärare i svensk kommunal vuxenutbildning upplever att det är att arbeta med digitala lärplattformar. För att besvara frågeställning används en kvalitativ utgångspunkt, där semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes. I studien används den teoretiska modellen UTAUT för att analysera resultatet. Kärnfaktorerna från UTAUT används för att kategorisera och identifiera lärarnas upplevelser, för att bättre besvara frågeställningen. I studien deltog tio komvuxlärare från fyra olika skolor i Västra Götaland. I studien kunde vi se att det vanligaste användningsområdet för en digital lärplattform verkar vara att kommunicera och för att göra material tillgängligt för eleverna mellan lektionstillfällen. Utöver detta kunde vi se att lärarna ansåg att de befann sig någonstans mellan medel och hög nivå gällande teknisk kunskap, samtliga hade haft någon typ av utbildning och fortbildning i hur de kan använda digitala lärplattformar, dock beskrev flera lärare att det fanns ett behov av mer utbildning bland kollegorna. Fördelar med digitala lärplattformar som de flesta lärare beskrev var ökad effektivitet, kommunikation och tillgänglighet, nackdelar som lärarna beskrev var rättssäkerhet, integration, förenlighet med lag, och feedback. Överlag verkar lärarna mer positivt inställda till plattformarna än negativt. Utifrån UTAUT-modellen kunde vi se att samtliga faktorer påverkar lärarens intention till och den faktiska användningen av plattformen positivt, dock kan vissa delar i förväntad ansträngning kan påverka lärarens intention till användning negativt.

De Förenta Nationernas Agenda 2030 fastställer som ett delmål att säkerställa utbildning av hög kvalitet och främja livslångt lärande för alla som en del av arbetet för ett mer hållbart samhälle. Vikten av detta delmål blir särskilt tydlig i och med det observerbara sambandet mellan en fullständig gymnasieexamen och allmän hälsa i Sverige; gymnasiestudenter som går ut med en gymnasieexamen tenderar att erhålla bättre allmän hälsa. Learning Analytics är ett relativt nytt område inom utbildningsvetenskaplig forskning som syftar till att förbättra utbildning med hjälp av elevdata. Detta arbete undersökte vilken möjlig påverkan och begränsningar som förekommer vid implementering av en multipel linjär regressionsmodell utvecklad för en matematikkurs i en gymnasieskola. Vid utvecklingen av denna modell fastställdes tre signifikanta indikatorer för att förutsäga elevernas slutbetyg; Diagnos resultat,resultat på nationella proven och frånvaro. Prognosmodellen har utvärderats statistiskt varpå den visade sig vara tillförlitlig i 90% av bedömningarna, vilket inte är tillräckligt säkert för att användas i verkliga bedömningstillfällen eftersom lärare kräver att resultaten är obestridliga. Genom en fokusgruppsintervju med lärare granskas dessa resultat och deltagarna uttrycker sitt intresse för prognosmodeller tillsammans med en reflektion över elevers potentiella negativa reaktioner på en ogynnsam prognos. Utvärdering av modellen visar att den i dagsläget har en rimlig förmåga att förutsäga elevers slutbetyg men att det finns ett starkt behov av insamling av mer nyanserade data för att öka möjligheten till innovation i framtida arbeten / The 2030 Agenda establishes the goal to ensure quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The importance of this goal becomes particularly clear when taking into account the link between upper secondary school graduation and general health in Sweden; Upper secondary school graduates tend to have better general health. Learning Analytics is a relatively new area of education research which aims to improve education using student data. This report examines the possible impact and limitations when implementing a multiple linear regression model developed for a mathematics course in an upper secondary school. In developing this model, three major indicators are established to be significant in predicting students' final grade; Diagnosis results, national test results and the amount of student absence. The model was statistically evaluated and found to be reliable in 90% of cases, which is not secure enough to be used in real assessment situations as teachers require the results to be indisputable. Through a focus group interview with teachers these results are evaluated and the participants establish their interest in predictive tools along with concerns for students' negative reactions to poor results. Evaluation of the model shows it has a reasonable ability to anticipate students' final grades but with a strong need for improvement in data collection methods and acquisition of more nuanced data to support greater possibility for innovation in future works.

Master of Science / Department of Computing and Information Sciences / Mitchell Neilsen / The Biosecurity Research Institute (BRI) facility at Kansas State University is a huge biocontainment facility to conduct research on infectious diseases that pose a threat to plant, animal and human health. The BRI Training and Education Program is currently offline; i.e., classroom sessions are taken to provide this training and education. The objective behind taking up this project was to move the entire training and education module of Biosecurity Research Institute online, instead of having a classroom session for each training course, with an subject matter expert (SME) to come and take the training session. The aim is to develop an online training system which is synchronized with the information in the BRI Research Project Database. The employees will only have to login to the website, scroll through the list of courses they are enrolled in, take the courses, write the assignments/quizzes assigned to the course and then submit the quizzes. They can also self-enroll themselves into courses, if they are given the permission to do so. The SME’s of the courses can create new courses, upload the course materials, enroll users into the courses, and assign deadlines to course completion. Once the student submits the course quiz or assignments, the SME’s can grade the quiz, assign a final grade to the students, and give feedback on their performance. They can even reassign the course in case of poor performance by the student. The administrators of the website can assign roles to different personnel, give permissions according to need and requirement, add/delete courses, and change the appearance of the website. The project is to be done using a Learning Management System called Moodle. Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an online learning management system designed to allow interaction between teachers and students. The back-end database used is SQL Server 2008 R2 and additional tools used are Adobe Presenter (with Microsoft Power Point 2010) to create the courses in SCORM format.

<div>Over the past decade, universities had a significant improvement in using online learning tools. A standard learning management system provides fundamental functionalities to satisfy the basic needs of its users. The new generation of learning management systems have introduced a novel system that provides social networking features. An unprecedented number of users use the social aspects of such platforms to create their profile, collaborate with other users, and find their desired career path. Nowadays there are many learning systems which provide learning materials, certificates, and course management systems. This allows us to utilize such information to help the students and the instructors in their academic life. </div><div><br></div><div>The presented research work's primary goal is to focus on creating an intelligent personal assistant within the social learning systems. The proposed personal assistant has a human-like persona, learns about the users, and recommends useful and meaningful materials for them. The designed system offers a set of features for both institutions and members to achieve their goal within the learning system. It recommends jobs and friends for the users based on their profile. The proposed agent also prioritizes the messages and shows the most important message to the user. </div><div><br></div><div>The developed software supports model-controller-view architecture and provides a set of RESTful APIs which allows the institutions to integrate the proposed intelligent agent with their learning system. <br></div>