Först ges en beskrivning av undervsiningsfilosofin Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) och research-based assessment instruments (RBAIerna) CLASS och ECLASS, följt av en översättning till svenska av RBAIerna. En analys skedde sedan av hur svaren till påståendena i RBAIerna (pre- vs post-) förväntas ändras om en ISLE-baserad undervisning ges. I analysen försökte jag koppla påståendena till någon eller några av de sex vetenskapliga förmågorna och deras tillhörande bedömningsmatriser, vilka nu är en integrerad komponent i ISLE filosofin, men som ursprungligen utvecklades av Rutgers Physics and Astronomy Education (PAER) group. Jag använde även litteratur om ISLE och textboken "College Physics: Explore and Apply", vilken används i ISLEbaserade kurser, för att analysera påståendena. Resultatet blev att en majoritet av alla påståenden - 72\% av CLASS- och 77\% av ECLASSpåståendena - bör besvaras mer expertlikt efter en ISLE-baserad undervisning än innan. Ett påstående i CLASS, vilket motsvarar 3\% av påståendena i enkäten bedömdes även besvaras mindre expertlikt och resterande kunde jag inte, utifrån min analysmetod förutsäga om de skulle besvaras mindre, lika eller mer expertlikt. Efter analysen och undersökningar av tidigare studier om studenters prestationer på CLASS- och ECLASSenkäterna, formulerades en förutsägelse att en ISLE-baserad undervisning bör leda till att elever svarar mer expertlikt än om de undervisas traditionellt. En pilotstudie av den svenska översättningen genomfördes sedan på elever inom olika utbildningsnivåer mellan gymnasie- och doktorandnivå. Resultatet analyserades och jämfördes med tidigare forskning i andra länder, även om både skillnader och likheter kunde hittas var det svårt att dra några generella slutsatser på grund av få svarande i min studie. / A description of the teaching philosophy Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) and the research-based assessment instruments (RBAIs) CLASS and ECLASS are given, followed by a translation of the RBAIs into Swedish. An analysis is then made of how the answers to the RBAIs (pre- vs. post-) are expected to change if students take an ISLE-based physics course. In the analysis, I tried to connect the statements to one or more of the six scientific abilities and their associated rubrics, which are now a component of the ISLE philosophy but are originally developed by the Rutgers Physics and Astronomy Education (PAER) group. I did also use literature about ISLE and the textbook “College Physics: Explore and Apply” which is used in ISLE based courses, to analyze the statements. I found that that the majority of the statements - 72 \% in CLASS and 77 \% in ECLASS – are expected to be answered in a more expert-like way after an ISLE-based course. One statement in CLASS, which corresponds to 3 \% of the statements in the survey, is expected to be answered in a less expert-like way. For the rest of the statements I could not predict, using my method of analysis, if they would be answered less, equally or more expert-like.  After performing the analysis and examining the existing research literature on student performance on CLASS and ECLASS surveys, a prediction that ISLE-based teaching should lead to more expert-like answers than traditional teaching is formulated. Results from a recent empirical study done in the US, published after my analysis was complete, appear to be in agreement with the prediction that follows from my analysis. A pilot study of the Swedish translations of CLASS and ECLASS was also performed on students at different educational levels, ranging from upper secondary to doctoral level. The results were analyzed and compared to previous research in other countries. Although both differences and similarities could be found, it was not possible to draw any general conclusions due to the small number of respondents in my study.

Οι συνεχείς εξελίξεις στο χώρο του Διαδικτύου έχουν επιφέρει σημαντικές αλλαγές στο χώρο της εκπαιδευτικής τεχνολογίας. Καθοριστικό ρόλο προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση έχει διαδραματίσει το Web 2.0, μια δεύτερη γενιά διαδικτυακών υπηρεσιών βασισμένων κατ' εξοχήν στη συμμετοχή του κοινού και τη συνεργασία των χρηστών. Τα τελευταία χρόνια πολλές από τις τεχνολογίες του Web 2.0 έχουν αρχίσει να αξιοποιούνται στο χώρο της εκπαίδευσης. Παρουσιάζεται μια εκτενής έρευνα σχετικά με τη χρήση εργαλείων στην εκπαίδευση και γίνεται μια προσπάθεια αξιολόγησης της συνεισφοράς τους στην εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία. Για την αποτίμηση της αποτελεσματικότητας και καταλληλότητας των εργαλείων στη εκπαίδευση, σχεδιάστηκε, υλοποιήθηκε και αξιολογήθηκε μια πιλοτική μελέτη στη Δευτεροβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. Επιλέχθηκε το μάθημα της Φυσικής για την Α' Λυκείου και μαθητές από το Πρότυπο Πειραματικό Λύκειο Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Συγκεκριμένα η μελέτη παρουσιάζει μια εφαρμογή εκπαιδευτικής πλατφόρμας, Ασύγχρονης Τηλεκπαίδευσης που δημιουργήθηκε για το σκοπό αυτό, αφού προστέθηκε στην γνωστή πλατφόρμα Open eClass από την GUnet το υποσύστημα Ιστολόγιο. Η εφαρμογή ονομάστηκε ePhysics και συνδυάζει εργαλεία όπως το Ιστολόγιο, το Σύστημα Wiki, οι Σύνδεσμοι, το Twiducate κ.α. Η εφαρμογή αυτή χρησιμοποιήθηκε στα πλαίσια μιας αυθεντικής εκπαιδευτικής δραστηριότητας για να υποστηρίξει τη συνεργασία των μαθητών. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν πως στα πλαίσια μιας σωστής σχεδίασης, το ePhysics μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί με επιτυχία για την υποστήριξη της συνεργασίας σε πραγματικές εκπαιδευτικές συνθήκες και να αποτελέσει μια ευέλικτη και αποδοτική μορφή συνεργατικής μάθησης στη Δευτεροβάθμια Εκπαίδευση. / The constant changes of the Internet have resulted in significant changes in educational technology. A decisive part towards this evolution is Web 2.0, a new generation of web services based on the principle of participation and collaboration of users. During the last years, many Web 2.0 technologies are utilised in various aspects of education. Moreover, we present a detailed study of the integration of Wiki-based tools in education and attempt to evaluate their contribution in the educational activity. For the assessment of the suitability and effectiveness of web 2.0 - tools in education, we have designed, implemented, and evaluated a pilot case study for Secondary Education. We have chosen the course of “Physics” for the A Grade of Lyceum and students from the Experimental Lyceum of the University of Patras. More specifically, the study presents an implementation of educational platform, Asynchronous eLearning that was designed for this purpose, after it was added in the also known platform Open eClass by GUnet the subsystem Blog. Our implementation was named ePhysics and it combines several tools such as Blog, Wikis, Links, Twiducate etc. This implementation was used in an authentic educational activity in order to support the collaboration between the students. The results of this study have proved that, under a correct design, ePhysics can be used with great success for supporting real educational activities and is a very flexible and efficient form of collaborative learning in Secondary Education.

Learning Management Systems (LMSs), in a blended learning educational environment, support face to face education and enable enhanced communication and interaction among instructors and students as well as among students. However, Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL), which improves the learning process, does not come without challenges. The aim of this research is double fold. Firstly, it aims to explore users’ –instructors and students- perceptions on how the LMS Open eClass, in TEI of Athens Greece, supports and facilitates their communication and interaction. Secondly, based on users’ needs and desires, the study aims to formulate suggestions for improving communication and interaction through the platform. The study adopts an interpretivist stance and is built upon an inductive qualitative approach. Firstly, users’ perceptions are solicited through semi-structured interviews and the collected data are analyzed through the thematic analysis method. Subsequently, the study adopts Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to capture the complexity of the situation, derived from the different worldviews of instructors and students in their association with Open eClass and emerge suggestions for improvements. The results indicate that Open eClass is used to facilitate instructors convey material and information to students, while neither meaningful communication and interaction nor collaboration is performed adequately through the platform. However, the users have expressed a positive disposition towards utilizing these capabilities of the platform, as they recognize their fundamental importance to learning, especially during an economic crisis which constraints the physical presence of many students in classes. Therefore, the study proposes three, accommodating to all, systemically desirable and culturally feasible changes that could improve the situation, mainly based on pedagogy. Overall, this research contributes to existing knowledge about the usage of LMS regarding interaction and communication in a blended learning environment by providing a holistic view on users’ perceptions and identifying changes capable to bring about improvements.