The thesis inquires into the area of electronic education in the form of educational portals. It aims to carry out a research of educational portals on the Czech market and subsequent analysis of the portals, which offer users the services for the support of education and schooling. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on defining the terms of formal and non-formal education, describes examples of their usage. Furthermore, it deals with electronic education in the form of e-learning, defines e-learning from different points of view, and describes its historical development, forms and instruments. The work then analyses 17 portals, two of them in detail -- they represent both formal and non-formal education. The analysis offers information about portals' administrators, range of offered services as well as business models, used by the portals.

Renforcés par les avancées technologiques des « Sciences et Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (STIC) », les Travaux Pratiques électroniques « e-TP » sont devenus un mode d’enseignement incontournable surtout dans les disciplines techniques et scientifiques. Plusieurs modes d’e-TP ont émergé : TP virtuel, TéléTP, TP présentiel assisté par ordinateur, TP en réalité augmentée... ces derniers modes nécessitant l'usage de dispositifs matériels (maquette pédagogique, appareils de mesure, robots, etc.). Dans la majorité des cas, avant ou même pendant une session d'e-TP, il est nécessaire de (re)configurer ces dispositifs selon des besoins pédagogiques. Cette reconfiguration nécessite, pour des systèmes complexes, comme les Systèmes Automatisés de Production (SAP), des compétences que l'instructeur ne possède pas systématiquement. Ce qui impose la présence d'un technicien ou limite le nombre d'instructeurs susceptibles d'utiliser la plate-forme pédagogique. Ce travail de recherche a pour objectif de faciliter la (re)configuration de systèmes complexes, particulièrement les SAP, dans le cadre d'e-TPs. Une première enquête auprès des utilisateurs de l’« AIP-Priméca-RAO » (situé à l’INSA de Lyon) a révélé les besoins et contraintes liés à une plate-forme de ce type. Il s'est avéré qu'au-delà de la (re)configuration, l'absence d'outil commun de gestion des ressources pédagogiques faisait perdre un temps précieux aux utilisateurs. Ce constat a nourri la conception d'un outil informatique gérant une chaîne éditoriale dont le but est de simplifier la création, l’édition, l’assemblage, l’organisation et la réutilisation des différentes ressources à exploiter dans une session d’e-TP. Cet outil a également pour objectif d’améliorer l’autonomie de l’instructeur lors de la préparation de sessions d’e-TP tout en réduisant le temps requis pour configurer cette session. Cela a impliqué d’automatiser le processus de reconfiguration du SAP support d'e-TP, et de publication des scénarios pédagogiques sur un système de gestion d’apprentissage « LMS » (Learning Management System). Un prototype a été développé et testé sur des e-TPs réels afin de valider cette conception. Cet outil pourrait, ultérieurement, être rendu plus générique afin de servir des e-TPs dans d'autres disciplines. / Powered by the technological advances of the “Information and communication sciences and technologies”, the Electronic Laboratory for Practical Training “ELab” (also known as ELab hands-on training) has become an inescapable teaching mode especially in the technical and scientific disciplines. Thus, several ELab modes have emerged: virtual ELab, remote ELab, Local Elab, augmented reality ELab, etc. The latter require the use of hardware devices (educational mock ups, measuring instruments, robots, etc.). In most cases, before or during an ELab session, these devices need to be reconfigured according to teaching purposes. For complex systems, like Automated Production Systems (APS), this reconfiguration process requires technical skills which the instructor does not have systematically. This imposes that a technician should be available, failing which the usage of the pedagogical platform will be limited to a few skilled instructors. Accordingly, this research aims at facilitating the reconfiguration process of complex systems (particularly the APS) featuring ELabs. A first survey designated to the users of « AIP-Priméca-RAO », located at the INSA de Lyon, has revealed the needs and constraints related to such a platform. It has been highlighted that beyond the (re)configuration process, a waste of precious time was detected. It has been established that it was due to the absence of a common tool for pedagogical resource management. This observation fed the design of a software tool managing an editorial chain aiming at simplifying creation, edition, assembling, organization, and the reutilization of different resources that can be exploited in an ELab session. This tool is also intended to improve the autonomy of the instructor during the preparation of an ELab session, by reducing the required time to configure this session. This implies to automate the reconfiguration process of an APS supporting the ELab and the publishing of the pedagogical learning scenarios on a Learning Management System (LMS). In order to validate this design, a prototype has been developed and tested on real Elab cases. Subsequently, this tool could be rendered more generic so that it can serve Elabs in different disciplines.

L'Apprentissage Par Projet (APP) est une méthode d'enseignement orientée apprenant, qui leur permet de réaliser des projets sous forme d'enquêtes approfondies. L'APP offre aux apprenants la possibilité de planifier leur projet, de collaborer avec leurs pairs et de rechercher les ressources pour atteindre les objectifs du projet. Cependant, l'APP est difficile à mettre en œuvre avec succès du fait que les apprenants manquent souvent des compétences d'autorégulation pour suivre, réfléchir, gérer et évaluer les activités durant le projet. L'apprentissage autorégulé peut aider les apprenants à acquérir ces compétences. Cependant, la plupart des environnements d'apprentissage utilisés en APP proposent surtout des matériaux d'apprentissage riches aux apprenants, et rarement les moyens de suivre et analyser leurs processus de gestion de projet et d'apprentissage. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est de soutenir l'apprentissage autorégulé en apprentisage par projet. Nous proposons une architecture générale de système de gestion des apprentissage par projet (PBLMS) qui aide les apprenants à comprendre comment réguler leurs activités d'apprentissage au cours d'un projet. Cette architecture générale intègre un système existant de gestion des apprentissages (LMS) et deux outils que nous proposons: un outil de reporting et un tableau de bord dynamique. L'outil de reporting supporte les processus de réflexion des apprenants en les amenant à décrire leurs activités non instrumentées, leurs réflexions et leurs évaluations sur les activités menées durant le projet à l'aide de phrases semi-structurées. Le système enregistre automatiquement les traces des interactions des utilisateurs avec le LMS, l'outil de reporting et le tableau de bord. Ces traces d'activité sont fusionnées avec les données autodéclarées afin que les indicateurs puissent être calculés sur la base de ces deux types d'informations. Le tableau de bord dynamique permet aux apprenants de créer des indicateurs personnalisables. Les apprenants peuvent spécifier les données à prendre en compte, le calcul et les modes de visualisation. Nous avons implémenté cette proposition théorique avec le développement de la plate-forme DDART (tableau de bord dynamique basé sur les traces d'activité et déclarées) qui intègre l'outil de reporting et le tableau de bord dynamique. Pour évaluer notre proposition, nous avons tout d'abord testé la capacité de DDART à créer un large échantillon d'indicateurs qui sont proposés dans les recherches existantes sur l'analyse des activités, la cognition, les émotions et les réseaux sociaux. De plus, une expérience a été menée afin d'évaluer l'utilisabilité et l'utilité perçue de DDART. Selon les résultats de cette expérience, nous avons constaté que DDART supporte les réflexions des apprenants sur la façon dont ils mènent leur projet et leur fournit les moyens de suivre leurs activités et apprentissages, même si la création d'indicateurs apparait difficile pour les novices. / Project-based Learning (PBL) is a learner-oriented instructional method, which enables learners to carry out challenging and authentic projects by thorough investigations. PBL affords learners the opportunities to organize and plan the project, to collaborate with peers and to look for the resources and guidance to achieve the project goals. However, PBL is difficult to implement successfully because learners often lack of the self-regulation skills required to monitor, reflect, manage and assess their project activities and learning. Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) can train learners to gain these skills. However, most learning systems used in PBL focus on providing rich learning materials to the learners but rarely offer possibilities to monitor and analyze their project and learning processes. The main goal of this thesis is to support SRL during PBL situations. We propose a general architecture of Project-based Learning Management System (PBLMS), which help learners to understand how to regulate their learning activities during the projects. This general architecture integrates an existing Learning Management System (LMS) and two tools we propose: a reporting tool and a dynamic dashboard. The reporting tool enhances learners' reflective processes by leading them to describe their non-instrumented activities, their reflections and assessments on the project activities based on semi-structured sentences. The system can record automatically the activity traces of the users' interactions with the LMS, the reporting tool and the dashboard. These activity traces are merged with the self-reporting data so that indicators can be calculated basing on this entire information. The dynamic dashboard supports learners in creating customizable indicators. Learners can specify the data to take into account, the calculation and the visualization modes. We implemented this theoretical proposition with the development of the DDART (Dynamic Dashboard based on Activity and self-Reporting Traces) platform that integrates the reporting tool and the dynamic dashboard. To evaluate the proposition, we firstly test the ability of DDART to recreate a large sample of indicators that are proposed in existing researches about the analysis of activities, cognition, emotion and social network. Furthermore, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the usability and perceived utility of DDART. According to the results of this experiment, we found that DDART supports learners' reflections on the way they carry out the project and provides them with the opportunities to monitor their activities and learning, even if the indicator creation could be difficult for the novices.

CriseIT är ett projekt som arbetar med att bidra till god krisberedskap genom att skapa mindre gränsregionala hinder i krisövningar över den svenska och norska gränsen mellan Värmland och Hedmarks Fylke. I tidigare krisövningar över gränsen har det varit tydligt att det uppstår språkliga barriärer. Därför har en parlör tagits fram i syfte att överbrygga dessa hinder. Syftet med detta arbete i att designa en digitalt utbildningsmodul är att ta reda på hur man kan lägga upp en utbildning som hjälper användaren i att öva på svenska och norska kristermer. Det kan vara genom att lära sig ord utantill eller genom att öva på att söka på ord och begrepp i parlören. Som metod användes ett pilottest med 11 deltagare från området krisledningsövning av en prototyp innehållande ett par olika typer av ordinlärningsfrågor samt ett kortare frågeformulär. Pilottestet gjordes på distans via det webbaserat systemet Ozlab. Upplägget av frågorna i utbildningsdelen i pilottestet fungerar övervägande bra som ett sätt att lära sig ord och som en övning i att leta på ord och begrepp i ordlistan. I slutsatserna diskuteras lämpligt LMS (Learning Management System) för en sådan utbildningsmodul. Testpersonernas kommentarer var övervägande positiva kring parlören och att hitta svar i den till utbildningsmodulen. Bland de brister som uppmärksammades var själva sökfunktionen i den pdfbaserade parlören. Det ges även synpunkter kring utveckling av parlören.

nÃo hà / O propÃsito desta pesquisa consiste em desenvolver um sistema de anÃlise para compreender as interaÃÃes em AVA que favorecem a aprendizagem (interaÃÃes contingentes). Os AVA constituem uma classe de softwares para a criaÃÃo, oferta e gerenciamento de cursos baseados na Internet. Integram Tecnologias de InformaÃÃo e ComunicaÃÃo com a finalidade de criar um ambiente que possibilite o processo de interaÃÃo e de produÃÃo de conhecimentos pelos participantes do cenÃrio educacional. O presente estudo investigou o conceito de interaÃÃo contingente no contexto de duas disciplinas de licenciatura, ministradas na modalidade a distÃncia, dentro do Programa Universidade Aberta do Brasil (UAB), as quais encontram-se ligadas a Ãreas de conhecimento distintas (exatas e humanas) com pÃblicos tambÃm distintos. Como parte da metodologia, observou-se a troca de mensagens em fÃrum e em chat pelos participantes da investigaÃÃo, analisando-as à luz de parÃmetros caracterÃsticos de interaÃÃes contingentes. A anÃlise das mensagens foi confrontada com dados obtidos em entrevistas semi-estruturadas, realizadas com alguns alunos e seus respectivos professores-tutores. O desenvolvimento do Sistema de AnÃlise das InteraÃÃes Contingentes integrou diferentes domÃnios teÃricos (a EducaÃÃo, a Psicologia e a Linguistica) que apontam a interaÃÃo como um fenÃmeno essencial em situaÃÃes educacionais. As categorias foram construÃdas com base na literatura que discute o conceito de interaÃÃo, e aplicadas tanto Ãs comunicaÃÃes sÃncronas quanto assÃncronas, estabelecidas entre os interlocutores das disciplinas de exatas e humanas. O sistema de anÃlise resultante encontra-se estruturado em quatro categorias gerais (ConversaÃÃo, TextualizaÃÃo, DiÃlogo e Aprendizagem) e algumas sub-categorias, ligadas aos domÃnios teÃricos que fundamentaram o seu desenvolvimento. Os resultados apontam a coerÃncia interna do sistema e sua validade, ao constatar a presenÃa das caracterÃsticas de interaÃÃes contingentes em todos os contextos analisados, podendo tambÃm ser aplicado em outros universos de investigaÃÃo. O Sistema de AnÃlise das InteraÃÃes Contingentes traz contribuiÃÃes teÃricas e empÃricas ao conceito de interaÃÃo contingente, alÃm de oferecer parÃmetros para a realizaÃÃo de aÃÃes em EducaÃÃo a DistÃncia fundamentadas em uma perspectiva sociointeracionista. A pesquisa permite concluir que a emergÃncia de interaÃÃes com vistas ao aprendizado depende bem mais das pessoas envolvidas e do tipo de relaÃÃo que estabelecem durante o ato educativo que de uma Ãrea especÃfica ou de uma ferramenta de comunicaÃÃo em particular. / The purpose of this research is to develop an analytical system to understand the interactions in a LMS that promote learning (contingent interactions). The LMS are a class of software for the design, suport and management of Internet-based courses. Integrate Information and Communication Technologies in order to create an environment that enables the process of interaction and production of knowledge by participants of the educational scene. This study investigated the concept of contingent interaction in the context of two undergraduate courses, taught at the blended mode within the Open University of Brazil (UAB), which are linked to different areas of knowledge (hard and humanity sciences) and were ministered for different audiences. As part of the methodology, the exchange of messages between the participants of the research through discussion foruns and chats was observed and analyzed according to the typical parameters of contingent interactions. The analysis of the messages was compared with data obtained from semi-structured interviews conducted with some students and their tutors. The development of the Analytical System of Contingent Interaction integrated different theoretical fields (Education, Psychology and Linguistics) that point out the interaction as an essential phenomenon in educational situations. The categories were builded based on the literature that discusses the concept of interaction, and applied to both synchronous and asynchronous communication established between the interlocutors of the hard and humanity courses. The resulting analytical system is structured into four general categories (Conversation, Textualization, Dialogue and Learning) and some sub-categories, linked to the theoretical areas that supported its development. The results show up the internal coherence of the system and its validity, confirming the existence of contingent interaction characteristics in all contexts examined, which also enables the system application to other research universes. The Analytical System of Contingent Interactions presents theoretical and empirical contributions to the concept of contingent interaction, and provide parameters for performing actions in Distance Education based on a social interactionist perspective. The research indicates that the emergence of interactions with learning objectives depends far more on the relations established among people involved in the educational act than on a specific area or communication tool.

Increasing enrollment of students and declining availability of qualified and experienced faculty are leading to increased assessment loads of the existing faculty. Moreover, the assessment techniques are changing drastically due to the ever-increasing demand of new knowledge and abilities from the students. The tools offered by information technology can now be effectively used in enhancing the productivity of a teacher. This thesis proposes a mechanism for creating both summative and formative assessment instruments for a course in an engineering program. The assessment instruments will vary widely in nature depending on the subject. With increasing prevalence of digital devices in all walks of life a first level knowledge of digital systems is considered necessary for all engineers especially under electrical and computer engineering curricula. The first level course ‘Basics of Digital Systems’ is chosen for developing a framework of computer assisted evaluation. Creation of assessment instruments is best done in the context of an instructional system design (ISD) model. ADDIE, a generic model is chosen for the study. Bloom’s classification of levels of cognition, Vincenti’s categorization of engineering knowledge, and ‘Gronlund 2-level’ method for writing the learning objectives are integrated to create a ‘Bloom-Vincenti–Gronlund’(BVG)framework for preparing the learning objectives/assessment instruments. Developing tools for evaluation of performance of students in the assessment tests requires consideration of many issues: analysis of problems and their solution methods, errors normally committed by students, grading preferences of the instructor and feedback to students. A set of tools are developed that are able to evaluate the truth tables, state tables, excitation tables, timing diagram and VHDL codes. The developed tools are validated. The submission of the assignment and the integration of all the tools for evaluation will be more effective if they can be integrated in a learning management system (LMS). ‘MOODLE’, an open source LMS, is identified for the integration of the tools. The developed tools execute the files submitted by the students, evaluate them, and provide feedback to the students. In summary, the thesis addressed some key issues related to “assessment and evaluation of students’ performance” and proposed an integrated computer assisted system for the evaluation of students’ performance in the course ‘Basics of Digital Systems’.

This paper addresses a new conceptual framework for a communitybased project management learning model that aims to support learning within a project and enhance the distribution of knowledge within a particular virtual community. This model also aims to develop a virtual community of doctoral students, who can manage their own projects online with other community members who have the same interest. In order to develop that model, a checklist of community-based project management process has been developed in the light of the literature review and the needs of stakeholders (doctoral students and researchers). Within this model, community-based project management includes three main elements: community, project and management. In relation to project, there are two main sub elements. First is projectbased learning (PBL), which is based on constructivist perspective of learning that make students construct their knowledge when they work together to accomplish specific goals. Second is the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK), which is a project management guide, and an internationally recognized standard [PMBOK Guide, 2004], that provides the fundamentals of project management as they apply to a wide range of projects, including construction, software, engineering, automotive, so the study deploy this approach to scaffold based project management learning model. In the terms of the community element, this study adopted the community of inquiry model, which defines a good e-learning environment through three major aspects: cognitive presence, social presence and teaching presence. The last element which is addressed in this study called knowledge management. After identifying these elements, this study investigates a range of tools in the light of this model. The study analyses six different learning and content management systems (OPAL, Moodle, Joomla, e107, ZMS and TUDWCMS) in order to find out tool(s) that is/are sufficient for implementing the suggested study model.

Digitalization has spread into all parts of our lives including shopping, staying in touch with friends and watching cat videos from the cat island in Japan. Studies have shown that digitalization can also have a huge benefit for educational purposes via Learning Management Systems (LMS). The purpose of the study is to describe and create an understanding how learning institutions all across the globe can further improve the usability of their LMS, with a specific focus on the students perspective on the systems usability. Quantitative and qualitative material from a case study was analyzed and compared with previous related studies and to theories from the literature study. The results of the study showed that there is great potential for learning institutions to improve the usability of their LMS by relatively simple means, in many cases using their own students as a resource for improving their education. The study also showed there can be major differences in how students perceive the usability of an LMS, which can have disruptive effects if not addressed properly. / Digitaliseringen har spridit sig till alla delar i våra liv: Shopping, hålla kontakt med vänner och att titta på kattvideos från kattön i Japan. Studier har visat att digitaliseringen också kan ha stora fördelar i utbildningssyfte med hjälp av Learning Management Systems (LMS). Syftet med studien är att beskriva och skapa en förståelse för hur lärosäten över hela världen kan förbättra användbarheten i deras LMS, med specifikt fokus på studentperspektivet i användbarhet. Kvantitativt och kvalitativt material från fallstudien analyserades och jämfördes med tidigare relaterade studier och teorier från litteraturstudien. Resultatet av studien visade att det fanns en stor potential för lärosäten att förbättra användbarheten i deras LMS med relativt enkla medel, i många fall genom att använda sina egna studenter som en resurs för att förbättra deras utbildning. Studien visade också att det kan finnas stora skillnader i hur studenten uppfattar användbarheten i ett LMS, vilket kan ha negativa effekter om det inte adresseras på rätt sätt.

Online examinations are an integral component of many online learning environments and a high-stake process for students, teachers and educational institutions. They are the target of many security threats, including intrusion by hackers and collusion. Collu-sion happens when a student invites a third party to impersonate him/her in an online test, or to abet with the exam questions. This research proposed a profile-based chal-lenge question approach to create and consolidate a student's profile during the learning process, to be used for authentication in the examination process. The pro-posed method was investigated in six research studies using a usability test method and a risk-based security assessment method, in order to investigate usability attributes and security threats. The findings of the studies revealed that text-based questions are prone to usability issues such as ambiguity, syntactic variation, and spelling mistakes. The results of a usability analysis suggested that image-based questions are more usable than text-based questions (p < 0.01). The findings identified that dynamic profile questions are more efficient and effective than text-based and image-based questions (p < 0.01). Since text-based questions are associated with an individual's personal information, they are prone to being shared with impersonators. An increase in the numbers of chal-lenge questions being shared showed a significant linear trend (p < 0.01) and increased the success of an impersonation attack. An increase in the database size decreased the success of an impersonation attack with a significant linear trend (p < 0.01). The security analysis of dynamic profile questions revealed that an impersonation attack was not successful when a student shared credentials using email asynchronously. However, a similar attack was successful when a student and impersonator shared information in real time using mobile phones. The response time in this attack was significantly different when a genuine student responded to his challenge questions (p < 0.01). The security analysis revealed that the use of dynamic profile questions in a proctored exam can influence impersonation and abetting. This view was supported by online programme tutors in a focus group study.

In the world in which we live today, information and communication technology (ICT) has proliferated in all spheres of society, including in the corporate, social and academic arenas. Within these arenas ICT has made noteworthy contributions. In the academic space, which is the focus of this study, ICT has made a significant contribution to the communication and consultation between students and higher education institution staff. One such example has been the emergence of learning management systems (LMSs) in higher education institutions, both locally and globally, with LMSs providing higher education institutions with several possibilities as regards facilitating the online teaching and learning process. Nevertheless, research has shown that there is underutilisation of LMSs throughout the world. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to investigate the utilisation of LMSs in an open and distance learning (ODL) institution in South Africa to ascertain whether they are being used to their full potential. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Adult Education)