Thèses sur le sujet « Learning management systems (LMSs) »

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have been an essential part of the e-Learning ecosystem since the 1990s. LMSs have been developed and widely adopted by higher education institutions around the world. Despite the instructional and financial benefits of using LMSs, the adoption and diffusion of LMSs by faculty members continues to be challenging in higher education institutions, and particularly in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors influencing the adoption of learning management systems (LMSs) by faculty members in Saudi Arabian higher education. The study employed a mixed method approach and applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to explore these factors. Specifically, the study aims to determine the extent at which Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Facilitating Conditions (FC), and Social Norms (SN) influence faculty members' Behavioral Intention (BI) to adopt the Blackboard LMS. It also examines the moderating roles of age, gender, experience, perceived voluntariness, and computer self-efficacy on Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Norms (SN), and Facilitating Conditions (FC). The results of the study revealed a strong and positive correlation between performance expectancy and behavioral intention for Blackboard usage. The study also found Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, and Social Norms to be significant predictors of Behavioral Intention for Blackboard usage. Additionally, the findings show no moderation effects of age, gender, perceived voluntariness, and computer self-efficacy on Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Norms, and Facilitating Conditions. Experience was found to have a moderation effect on the relationship between Social Norms and Behavioral Intention.
Doctor of Philosophy
Learning Management Systems (LMSs) have been an essential part of the Electronic-Learning ecosystem since the 1990s. LMSs have been developed and widely adopted by higher education institutions around the world. Despite the instructional and financial benefits of using LMSs, the usage rate of LMSs by faculty members continues to be challenging in higher education institutions, and particularly in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors influencing the usage of learning management systems (LMSs) by faculty members in Saudi Arabian higher education. The study employed a mixed method approach and applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) to explore these factors. Specifically, the study aims to determine the extent at which Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Facilitating Conditions (FC), and Social Norms (SN) influence faculty members' Behavioral Intention (BI) to adopt the Blackboard LMS. It also examines the moderating roles of age, gender, experience, perceived voluntariness, and computer self-efficacy on Performance Expectancy (PE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Norms (SN), and Facilitating Conditions (FC). The results of the study revealed a strong and positive correlation between performance expectancy and behavioral intention for Blackboard usage. The study also found Effort Expectancy, Facilitating Conditions, and Social Norms to be strong predictors of Behavioral Intention for Blackboard usage.

Thesis (MTech (Graphic Design))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2018.
Rapid advances in information technology and the Internet continue to create higher education learning solutions for the networked-world learner. Given the potential of these resources, opportunities and initiatives must be seized to promote the enhancement of student learning in higher education. The promise of faster communication networks and changes in students’ expectations have rendered urgent the understanding of technology and online learning for use in studio-based teaching and learning spaces in the networked global village of the 21st century. Paradoxically, however, the use of e-learning solutions in design-related education remains limited. In studio-based courses such as graphic and architectural design, for example, the facilitation of learning through electronic media at South African universities ranges from the minimal to the non-existent. A hands-on approach to studio-based teaching and learning is preferred, supported by the argument that it is hard to facilitate experiential learning through semi-synchronous online tools. The danger of this unsubstantiated model of thinking is that it is likely to lead to under-usage of Learning Management System (LMS) tools by educators in studio-based teaching and learning spaces. The problem is that no research has been done on this area in South Africa that is capable of providing conclusive evidence on which corrective measures can be based. Hence, the aim of this study is to understand the reasons for the limited adoption and use of LMSs in studio-based teaching and learning in South African higher education design-related disciplines. Within the interpretive epistemological paradigm, a qualitative research approach was adopted to source and analyse interview data from design students and lecturers at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). An Activity Theory (AT) analytical framework was employed. The findings suggest that reservations regarding the use of LMSs are more a function of prevailing perceptions than they are substantive. Unfounded negative assumptions about the functionality, relevance (usefulness), accessibility and ease of use of the systems emerged as the leading constructions of and explanations for the challenges faced. The study provides not only clarity on LMS usage patterns in studio-based educational spaces, but also useful comparative data on how an activity theory-grounded in ActAD framework can enhance the analysis of LMS activities in studio-based teaching and learning within the curricula for subjects like graphic design and architecture.

An interoperability gap exists between Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Learning Object Repositories (LORs). Learning Objects (LOs) and the associated Learning Object Metadata (LOM) that is stored within LORs adhere to a variety of LOM standards. A common LOM standard found in LORs is the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) Content Aggregation Model (CAM). In contrast, LMSs are independent computer systems that manage and deliver course content to students via a web interface. This research addressed three important issues related to the interoperability gap: (a) a lack of a metadata standard that defined the format of how student assessment data should be communicated from LMSs to LORs, (b) a lack of an architectural standard for the movement of data from LMSs to LORs, and (c) a lack of middleware that facilitated the movement of the student assessment data from the LMSs to LORs. This research achieved the following objectives: (a) the SCORM CAM LOM standard was extended to facilitate the storage of student assessment data, (b) Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) was identified as the best architecture to resolve the interoperability gap between LMSs and LORs, (c) a panel of Computer Information Systems (CIS) experts participated in a five-stage, web-based, anonymous Delphi process that approved and ranked 28 functional requirements for a proposed middleware application, and (d) the functional requirements were verified via the development of a prototype that transferred student assessment data from a LMSs into the LOM of LOs that are stored within a LOR. In conclusion, the research demonstrated that there are three acceptable approaches to extending the SCORM LOM standard: (a) new metadata elements, (b) new vocabulary values, and (c) the reference of an internal or external XML file using a location element. The main accomplishments of the research were the gathering of SOA functional requirements and the development of a prototype that provided an approach for the resolution of the interoperability gap that exists between LMSs and LORs.

This study investigates existing learning management systems practices, in this case Canvas and Moodle in relation to user personalization and students’ learning styles as both factors are closely contribute to the design of a meaningful learning experience for learners. With the expansion of these teaching tools and methods, it seems crucial to determine to what extent they actually serve the learner and what role is really given to the student using these online platforms. Factors such as instructors’ feedback, peer communication, learning objects and follow-up will be examined. This study is anchored in a Swedish academic setting, and aims to provide a comprehensive overview of learners' needs, expectations, and preferences to benefit educational institutions as well as LMS developers. The goal is to assess how such factors play an essential role in the personalization of learning tools and to suggest that their consideration can lead to the development of more intuitive LMS platforms that do not solely rely on content uploaded by teachers, but that can in turn potentially offer relevant content tailored to each user.
Den här uppsatsen undersöker befintliga praxis för lärande hanteringssystem, i detta fall Canvas och Moodle, i förhållande till användaranpassning och studenternas inlärningsstilar, eftersom båda faktorerna bidrar till utformningen av en meningsfull inlärningsupplevelse för studenterna. På grund av expansionen av dessa undervisningsverktyg verkar det avgörande att bestämma i vilken utsträckning de faktiskt tjänar inläraren och vilken roll studenten verkligen får när hen använder dessa plattformar. Faktorer som lärarnas återkoppling, kommunikation med andra elever, lärandeobjekt och uppföljning kommer att undersökas noggrant. Studien är förankrad i en svensk akademisk miljö och syftar att ge en heltäckande översikt av inlärarnas behov, förväntningar och preferenser. Målet är att förstå hur dessa faktorer spelar en väsentlig roll i personaliseringen av lärverktyg och att föreslå att deras beaktande kan leda till utveckling av mer intuitiva LMS-plattformar som inte enbart förlitar sig på innehåll som laddas upp av lärare, utan som i sin tur potentiellt kan erbjuda relevant innehåll som är skräddarsytt för varje användare.

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.

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.

Dagens utveckling inom distansutbildning har lett till att det blir allt viktigare att välja en lärplattform som är anpassat till företagets eller organisationens verksamhet. Nya effektiva utbildningsmetoder som komplement till den traditionella utbildningen möjliggörs av den nya tekniken där e-learning har en framträdande roll. E-learning gör att lärandet inte längre är beroende av ett fysiskt klassrum och en specifik tidpunkt utan utbildningen blir mer flexibel, interaktiv samt fokuserar mer på själva på lärandet.

Syftet med denna uppsats har varit att kartlägga hur ett LMS bör vara utformat vad det gäller design, funktion och användbarhetsfaktorer för att underlätta val av lärplattform (LMS). Studien har visat att det designmässigt är lämpligt att följa vedertagna författares riktlinjer – oavsett om det gäller LMS eller design av en funktion i ett LMS. När det handlar om användbarhetsfaktorer har studien visat att vissa val av funktioner kan vara avgörande.

De slutsatser som framkommit i vår studie är att en organisation eller ett företag bör välja ett LMS som är utbyggbart. Efterhand som företaget eller organisationen utvecklas inom sitt LMS, efterfrågas fler funktioner och möjligheter. Det har visat sig att LMS som följer en internationell standard, SCORM – vilket möjliggör återanvändning av material samt överföring mellan olika LMS, är att föredra.

Vidare visade studien att framtidens LMS måste anpassas till kommande behov både vad det gäller möjligheter för den enskilde användaren att göra personliga inställningar samt att kunna kommunicera via exempelvis chat, forum, e-post, webbkamera eller liknande. Vidare måste fokus ligga på att främja lärandet, att välja ett LMS med potential att växa och personalisera tror vi främjar lärandet i positiv riktning.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) is a widespread information system used in many Higher Education Institutes (HEI) in order to facilitate educational efforts. The system can be used for support in campus courses; courses conducted on the Internet and of course a mixture of these usages. This study attempts to understand the process of the implementing an LMS at a specific HEI. The HEI has made several implementations over the last 6 years, but decided to implement a new LMS during 2018. The focus of the study is the perceived effects on teachers in the implementation and the role a group of so-called Ambassadors played in the implementation. The study applied a social constructivist approach, mixing interviews, observation and survey as methods for data collection from teachers and implementation project management at the HEI. The study applied thematic analysis in order to analyse the collected data. The analysis built on five themes, Ambassadors, Implementation, Major concerns, Pedagogy, and System Literacy. Findings suggest that time management issues created the major effect on the daily work of teachers and that the group of Ambassadors in their role acted as a form of change agents, thus influencing the implementation project positively. Findings also suggested that only a few teachers took the opportunity to apply new pedagogical features to their teaching, in connection with the implementation. Finally, findings suggested that, in line with previous research, that the LMS is not used fully, as some teachers tends to use only minor functionalities in the LMS.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) have become a common feature in contemporary Higher Education institutions worldwide. LMS literature shows that the level of interest and/or knowledge among academics towards the importance and usefulness of these systems, and the opportunities they can bring to the teaching process are key factors affecting the degree of use of LMS in HE. To date, most of these studies have taken place in the context of developed countries, and there is only limited research in other areas. In recent years, LMS have been adopted widely in Saudi Arabia’s Higher Education sector, however, there are no strong and detailed data regarding the subject in this context, which could impede future developments. On the other hand, academics were chosen as the main focus of this investigation because studies have revealed that they have the most vital role in promoting and enhancing the use of LMS. Therefore, this research investigates academics’ adoption and usage of LMS in Saudi Arabia’s universities; it aims to understand the adoption conditions and identify what factors truly affect the adoption process and to what level are the systems being used and why. The investigation was guided by Grounded Theory research principles. Initially, a review of the literature identified the nature of LMS along with the issues confronting academics when they are trying to use it to its full potential in supporting the delivery of their courses. Afterwards, questionnaires were employed to further explore the phenomenon in its examined context, i.e. Saudi higher education. The generated data and concepts were then used to guide the research process and to develop interview questions. The interviews were carried out at three Saudi universities with a range of stakeholders, which signified the primary data source in this investigation. Analysis revealed that LMS did not emerge as a well-established component of academics’ activities in Saudi universities despite the positive view respondents expressed towards it. Findings also explained why LMS was either considered a secondary method to support face-to-face teaching, or under-utilised in fully online courses. Furthermore, findings revealed the primary factors influencing academics’ level of use of LMS. Moreover, there were issues identified in relation to the academics’ development and training for LMS, which had a significant effect on the academics’ level of use of LMS. Findings were then integrated into a substantive theory and a theoretical model, which represents the research primary outcome. The theoretical outcomes offer abstract explanation of the phenomenon about adopting innovatory systems in Saudi universities, LMS in this instance. In conclusion, suggestions for improving the current provision of LMS in Saudi Universities are made. Overall, this study provided an insight into the environment surrounding the early adoption phases of LMS in Saudi universities, which offers a better understanding of the phenomenon. Subsequently, this will help enhance the adoption process in current contexts and assist in the better future utilisation of these systems in similar situations.

Using Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in educational environmentshas facilitated the communication between students and teachers, and raisednew challenges as well. The aim of this research is to investigate the role ofLMS in the learning and teaching processes from students and teachersperspectives. We adopted a social constructivist worldview. We used aninductive qualitative approach, a single case study design and hermeneuticalapproach for analyzing the interviews and observations. We used Garrison etal. (2000) community of inquiry framework as a theoretical guide for thestudy. The research took place at the School of Computer Science, Physicsand mathematics department at Linnaeus University, Växjö campus. Theparticipants of this research were students and teachers from two masterlevels within the program of Information Systems. The study results indicatedthat students and teachers were content with the usage of Blackboard inorganizing courses materials. Although, most teachers didn’t encourageinteractive and discussion activities on Blackboard, students expressed theneed for such activities to help them in constructing and building newmeanings.

Der Einsatz digitaler Medien hat in der nationalen Hochschullehre Tradition. Lernmanagementsysteme (LMS), E-Learning, Blended Learning, etc. sind Schlagwörter im Hochschulalltag. Allerdings stellt sich die Frage, was LMS und Blended Learning im Zeitalter digitaler Vernetzung und der herangewachsenen Generation der “Digital Natives” leisten (können bzw. sollen)? Die Verbreitung neuer Technologien im Zusammenhang mit neuen Lehr- und Lernkonzepten wie OER, MOOCS, etc. macht zudem die Entwicklung von Analytics-Instrumenten erforderlich. Das ist auch im nationalen Diskurs von großem Interesse und legt neue Handlungsfelder für Hochschulen offen. Doch es stellt sich die Frage, warum Learning Analytics (LA) bzw. Academic Analytics (AA) bisher nur in einem geringfügigen Maße an deutschen Hochschulen erfolgreich zum Einsatz kommen und warum eine Nutzung insbesondere in LMS, wie zum Beispiel OPAL, nicht ohne Weiteres realisierbar erscheint. Hierzu sollen Einflussfaktoren, die die Implementierung von LA- und AA-Instrumenten hemmen, identifiziert und diskutiert werden. Aufbauend darauf werden erste Handlungsfelder vorgestellt, deren Beachtung eine verstärkte Einbettung von LA- und AA Instrumenten in LMS möglich machen soll.

Australia's tertiary educational environment is changing; in the past decade, it has faced a new set of challenges and pressures (Cunningham et al., 1998) that are encroaching on the traditional definitions of what higher education is. These challenges often dictate the directions in which the tertiary education environment evolves into. Within the framework of institutional reforms, the adopted policies are often the best indicators of that transition. Flexible delivery or learning has been espoused as a means of meeting and mediating some of those challenges. With their emphasis on catering to the needs and expectations of the consumer in a consumerist society, flexible policies are becoming the norm in most institutes of higher learning. However, of interest within the structure of the flexible delivery approach is the development of learner management systems (LMS). The question is what are learner management systems? What do they represent and what do they offer to the learner that differentiates it from the traditional forms of learning? In its basic form, a learner management system is essentially a series of processes that are developed and organised so as to efficiently provide the learner with the required access and interaction required to facilitate his or her learning. However, what are the benefits of being aware of the capabilities and limitations afforded by such approaches? How does it contribute to the process of teaching and learning in the context of higher education? The effectiveness of how these learner management systems are used in context to its application in multimedia programmes is of importance. Institutions are progressively introducing similar learning systems into their delivery framework. The question as to whether a singular adaptive system or a customised option remains to be tested.

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.

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.

Problem Statement: The implementation and use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been ascribed as a transformative drive across the world, especially to improve the human capacity development of individuals in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs). However, developing countries are still struggling to harness the productive capacity of their ICT resources. The ICT index of ‘access, use and skills’ in developing countries is less than 50%, whilst that for developed countries is above 75%. Whilst HEIs have incorporated ICTs, the uptake of the Learning Management Systems (LMS) is low, with the expected objectives remaining largely unachieved and the full potential of the technologies not realised. A myriad of challenges have contributed to the low uptake of ICT projects in resource-limited settings ranging from limited ICT expertise, cost and complexity of implementation, inadequate training, lack of top management support, poor organisational culture, limited infrastructure and resistance to change. Whilst these challenges play a significant role in limiting uptake, the role of user resistance to LMS implementation in HEIs has not been fully explored. Purpose of study: This study offered an explanatory critique of user resistance and its implications on low uptake of LMS in HEIs. The objective was to examine how resistance behaviours manifested from lecturers during implementation of an LMS in an HEI of a developing country context. The study identified different forms of lecturer resistance behaviours and examined how they manifested to cause low uptake of the LMS. It also analysed the nature of responses and/or strategies from management and ICT implementers towards the lecturer resistance behaviours during LMS implementation. Furthermore, the study examined how contextual factors influenced manifestation of resistance practices in relation to habitus, capital and field positions of lecturers, management and ICT implementers. Research methodology: The study adopted an interpretive research paradigm and drew on Bourdieu`s Theory of Practice (TOP) framework and the Multilevel Model of Resistance to Information Technology Implementation (MRITI) as theoretical lens, to analyse the manifestation, interaction and logic of user resistance towards LMS implementation in HEIs. The study analysed data from semi-structured interviews and project documents to highlight issues of incorporating ICTs into teaching and learning. More data and field notes came from participant observations during the implementation of the LMS (Moodle). The case of Omega University in Zimbabwe was used as a representation of an HEI in a developing country context. Key findings: User resistance affected the implementation and uptake of Moodle. The different forms of resistance behaviours that manifested from lecturers during Moodle implementation were disinterest, minimal use, refusal to use, pessimism, withdrawal, avoidance, prioritisation and delegation. The forms were classified into four episodes; apathy, passive resistance, covert resistance and active resistance. Aggressive forms of resistance were not found in this study. Delegation of responsibilities was a unique form in that it falsified and misrepresented acceptance of Moodle despite harbouring resistance tendencies; like two sides of the same coin. Resistance behaviours manifested during Moodle implementation due to initial conditions that interacted with objects and triggers of resistance to generate perceived threats in lecturers. Initial conditions were Omega`s management model, its ICT structure and ICT culture, whilst the objects of lecturer`s resistance were mostly towards ‘Moodle advocates’ and less towards ‘Moodle features’ or ‘Moodle significance’. Therefore, lecturer resistance behaviours were directed towards external rather than internal factors with regard to the LMS. The triggers of lecturer resistance were grouped into management, infrastructure and personal triggers. Perceived threats from lecturers were either fear of loss of relevance, status, jobs or increased workloads. The positive responses and/or strategies from management and ICT implementers were acknowledgment, reward innovation, rectification, effective training and user consultations, whilst the negative responses were inaction, dissuasion, enforcement, no reward for innovation, ineffective training, and absence of change management. Due to other underlying contextual factors, the nature of these responses neither reduced lecturer resistance nor enhanced the low uptake of Moodle. Contextual factors in form of differences in habitus and forms of capital influenced lecturer resistance as well as practices of management and ICT implementers during Moodle implementation. Lecturer resistance was caused by the following habitus: prior exposure to technology, age-related habitus, technophobia and pedagogical beliefs and the following forms of capital: qualifications, position, academic titles and employment status. The practices of management and ICT implementers were driven by the habitus of implementing, supporting, training of ICT projects, providing ICT infrastructure as well as developing and enforcing ICT policies. The following forms of capital motivated management and ICT implementers` practices: prestige, honour, level of Moodle expertise and university positions. Contribution of the study: The study contributed to knowledge, theory and practice. First, the study provided a deeper conceptualisation of user resistance towards the implementation of ICT projects and suggested theoretical propositions to explain how lecturer resistance manifested during the implementation of LMS in HEIs. Second, the study developed a unified conceptual framework by integrating Bourdieu`s TOP and MRITI to explain resistance practices during LMS implementation in HEIs. Third, the study provided recommendations for managers and ICT implementers in Zimbabwean HEIs and similar contextual settings, to address user resistance issues by creating effective responses and strategies aimed at improving the design, implementation and uptake of LMS in HEIs. Additionally, recommendations were provided for HEIs who wish to achieve ‘technological determinism’ and/or ‘techno-centrism’, to implement policies that equip intended technology users with all the knowledge components of TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy and Content Knowledge). Finally, technology implementers should resolve exogenous issues in the institution before system implementation to avoid users directing focus on endogenous factors. This intervention and understanding may lead to the realisation of the full potential of ICT projects and achievement of expected objectives in HEIs of developing countries.

Urban Education
Ph.D.
Universities and colleges are embracing and utilizing technology to a rapidly increasing extent, responding to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency as well as the regularity with which 21st century students rely upon it in their everyday lives. Chief amongst the technology used in higher education are Learning Management Systems (LMS), such as Blackboard, Sakai, and CANVAS. Urban community colleges have also embraced LMS, but with student bodies that often lack regular access to or extensive experience with using technology for socio-economic or generational reasons, the outcomes from using LMS can be very different to those experienced at four-year institutions that generally serve a more affluent, traditionally-aged demographic. In particular, students in developmental courses, or those courses designed for individuals who could not test into college-level courses, can be particularly challenged when it comes to using LMS in their studies as it is an additional component to which they must acculturate in higher education whilst attempting to rectify their skills deficiencies. For faculty teaching developmental students, this can raise the question of whether it is important to acclimate students to the technology they will be called upon to use in the 21st century classroom or whether the sole focus should be remediating students’ lacking academic skills. This qualitative, interpretivist, constructivist-activist/pragmatic study uses interviews with urban community college professors who use or reject the college’s LMS (i.e. CANVAS) to varying extents in their classrooms, non-participant observations of the course components those professors who use CANVAS post online, and course artifacts to examine and reflect upon professors’ experiences with employing or eschewing such technology with their students.
Temple University--Theses

Information and Communication Technology is used in the education field in Sweden toimprove learning quality. The aim of this research is to investigate the use of LearningManagement Systems in primary schools, in the specific context of the role of LearningManagement System (LMS) in learning and teaching processes from teachers‟perspectives. Furthermore, This Thesis aims to explore teachers‟ perceptions of how touse this learning management system which is used in primary Swedish schools.Six teachers from two different primary schools in small municipality in the south ofSweden participated in semi-structured interviews. The theoretical model of UnifiedTheory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) inspired this qualitativeresearch along with the other related past studies. This quantitative model was only usedto sensitize the research process, for collecting and analysing qualitative data in thisstudy.The different elements of the theory such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy,social influence and facilitating conditions along with studies helps in conducting studybasedon qualitative approach for analysing the interviews. The research results indicatethat teachers were content with the usage of this learning management system, but thereis a lack of knowledge regarding this system. The system is helpful in performanceevaluation, planning, communication and overall working for routine tasks. Theresponses of interviews showed that teachers are not trained for using the features ofLearning management system in the way that it is designed for. The findings showed thatteachers require the support from professionals to integrate the system into their routineplanning. Furthermore, they also emphasise on the need to make the system user-friendlywith easy navigation. The findings of this study were compared to previous studies, anda further comparison was carried out regarding how it relates to the determinants andmoderating factors such as peer influence, internal perceptions and motivations, timeconstraints, organisational structure and facilitating conditions. Hence, support andtraining are needed to enhance learning and teaching through this Learning managementsystem.

Der Einsatz digitaler Medien hat in der nationalen Hochschullehre Tradition. Lernmanagementsysteme (LMS), E-Learning, Blended Learning, etc. sind Schlagwörter im Hochschulalltag. Allerdings stellt sich die Frage, was LMS und Blended Learning im Zeitalter digitaler Vernetzung und der herangewachsenen Generation der “Digital Natives” leisten (können bzw. sollen)? Die Verbreitung neuer Technologien im Zusammenhang mit neuen Lehr- und Lernkonzepten wie OER, MOOCS, etc. macht zudem die Entwicklung von Analytics-Instrumenten erforderlich. Das ist auch im nationalen Diskurs von großem Interesse und legt neue Handlungsfelder für Hochschulen offen. Doch es stellt sich die Frage, warum Learning Analytics (LA) bzw. Academic Analytics (AA) bisher nur in einem geringfügigen Maße an deutschen Hochschulen erfolgreich zum Einsatz kommen und warum eine Nutzung insbesondere in LMS, wie zum Beispiel OPAL, nicht ohne Weiteres realisierbar erscheint. Hierzu sollen Einflussfaktoren, die die Implementierung von LA- und AA-Instrumenten hemmen, identifiziert und diskutiert werden. Aufbauend darauf werden erste Handlungsfelder vorgestellt, deren Beachtung eine verstärkte Einbettung von LA- und AA Instrumenten in LMS möglich machen soll.

Lärplattformar blir ett allt vanligare inslag i den svenska gymnasieskolan. Dessa beskrivs ofta okritiskt som fan­tas­t­iska hjälpmedel både för lärares arbete och för elevers lärande. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att utreda hur lär­plattformar kan fungera som ett stöd i lärares arbete, vilka hinder som kan finnas för detta och vad dessa hinder kan bero på. För att besvara dessa frågor har vi genomfört semistrukturerade intervjuer med tolv yrkesverksamma gymnasielärare. Resultatet visar att de flesta av informanterna ser att lärplattformar har en funktion att fylla. Framför allt ser de tillgänglighet som en stor för­del. Flera av lärarna känner sig som digitala immigranter och ser eleverna som digitala infödingar. Dock är de senare inte så kunniga inom digital teknik som viss forskning vill låta påskina. Vi har funnit att lärplattformar kan fungera som ett stöd i lärares arbete, bl.a. genom ökat elevansvar, obundenhet i tid och rum, underlättad kommunikation och möjlighet till överblick. Orsaker till att lärplatt­formar inte alltid fungerar som ett stöd i arbetet kan vara att skolledningen infört lärplattformen utan någon större re­flektion, att lärplattformar inte är pedagogiska verktyg eller anpassade efter skolans behov, samt att lärarna har fått för dålig ut­bildning för att kunna hantera lärplattformen. En slutsats vi har dragit är att lärplattformar mycket väl kan fungera som stöd i lärares arbete men att det i dag sker genom att de underlättar det administrativa arbetet. Däremot är inte lärplattformar pedagogiska verktyg men de kan bidra till att det pedagogiska kan fokuseras genom att tid och energi frigörs, så att läraren kan fokusera på kärnverksamheten – det pedagogiska.

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.

Learning Management Systems have become increasingly used in all levels of education since more people have access to computers and the internet. An important feature of the LMS is to provide students with information about their courses. This information, however, is not always easy to find. Especially when the system does not follow usability guidelines about how to provide your users with information. In this study four different course pages on the KTH LMS Canvas have been evaluated with a moderated usability test to asses how well users find information on the LMS. The results show that some improvements could be made by adhering more to usability guidelines and that the courses that did were easier for testers to navigate. Some conclusions that can be made are that users find things easier when there is a high similarity between link names and the information they are looking for and that users scan web pages rather than read them. This is in line with previous research. The conclusions lead to four recommendations to KTH that can improve the usability of all Canvas course pages.
Utbildningsplattformar används allt mer sen intågen av datorer och internet i människors hem. En viktig funktion på en utbildningsplattform är att ge studenter information om sina kurser. Dock är denna information inte alltid så lätt att hitta. Särskilt inte om plattformen inte följer de riktlinjer som finns för hur man förser användare med information på ett användarvänligt sätt. I denna studie har fyra olika KTH- Canvassidor undersökts med ett modererat användartest för att utvärdera hur lätt användare hittar information på utbildningsplattformen. Resultaten visar att vissa förbättringar kan ske genom att tydligare följa riktlinjerna för användarvänlighet och att kurserna som följde riktlinjerna bättre var lättare att navigera. Slutsater som kan dras är bland annat att det är lättare för användare att hitta information när länknamnet är likt den information som söks och att användare skumläser hemsidor istället för att läsa dem noggrant. Detta överensstämmer med resultat från tidigare studier. Från slutsatserna gjordes fyra rekommendationer till KTH som kan förbättra användarvänligheten för alla Canvassidor.

Cloud computings framväxt har möjliggjort tillhandhållande av datorresurser online och erbjuder två väsentliga egenskaper, dels upplevda oändliga resurser och dels betalning per resursförbrukning. Lärplattformar används idag i stor utsträckning av de svenska universiteten och högskolorna som studieverktyg. Detta medför bättre möjligheter för distanskurser och e-inlärning. Att kombinera cloud computing med en lärplattform är idag möjligt och bör därför ge skolorna fördelar. Om lärplattformen driftas som molntjänst av extern leverantör bör också kraven se annorlunda ut. Syftet med uppsatsen är att utreda om det finns några incitament för att hyra en lärplattform som molntjänst och även att utreda om kraven ser annorlunda ut på en hyrd molntjänst. En fallstudie genomfördes på Uppsala universitet och Högskolan Dalarna, detta för att jämföra en lärplattform installerad på egen server med en lärplattform som hyrd molntjänst. Resultatet av studien bevisar att det finns fördelar med att hyra en lärplattform som molntjänst. Vad gäller kraven är det inte mycket som skiljer, ett viktigt krav när driften ligger hos en leverantör är att det finns en bra dialog och att organisationen litar på leverantören.
The growth of cloud computing has enabled the provision of computer resources online and offers two essential characteristics, illusion of infinite supply and pay-per-use. Learning management systems are currently used extensively by the Swedish universities as learning tools. This brings better opportunities for distance courses and e-learning. To combine cloud computing with a learning management system is now possible and should therefore give the schools benefits. If the Learning management system is hosted as a cloud service by an external provider, so should the requirements be different. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether there are any incentives for rent a learning management system as a cloud service and also investigate if the requirements are different in a rented cloud service. A case study was conducted at Uppsala University and Dalarnas University, in order to compare a learning management system installed on their own server with a learning management system rented as a cloud service.  The result of the study proves that there are advantages to rent a learning management system as a cloud services. In terms to the requirements, there are no great differences. An important requirement when the learning management system is hosted by a supplier is that there is a good dialogue and that the organization relies on the supplier.

Southern U.S. teachers at suburban high schools can use Edmodo; however, teachers prefer traditional teacher-centered teaching methods. This quantitative correlative study explored teachers' technology acceptance in relation to teaching styles and experiences. Framing acceptance by Davis's technology acceptance model (TAM), research questions addressed the direct and moderating relationships between teaching style and the TAM variables related to using Edmodo and the direct and moderating relationships between teaching experiences and TAM variables. From 240 teachers at the high school, 45 completed an online survey (response rate of 18.75%). Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and regression analyzed data. TAM could be verified for the entire sample; however, no significant direct relationship between teaching style and the TAM variables was found. Teaching style moderated the relationships within the TAM; these were stronger for teachers with a teacher-centered teaching style. No significant direct relationship existed between teaching experiences and TAM variables; a moderating effect on the relationships existed within the TAM. Among experienced teachers, ease of use was the strongest acceptance predictor, whereas perceived use was the strongest predictor among less experienced teachers. Results indicated teachers might develop a more student-centered teaching style, thus concentrating on technology's ease of use, rather than its potential utility. A policy recommendation could ensure teachers efficiently used technology to support student-centered learning. The application of the recommended policies might lead to teachers' more effective use of instructional technology, which might affect student learning and motivation.

At KTH, students who want to start their degree project must complete a paper form called “UT-EXAR: Ansökan om examensarbete/application for degree project”. The form is used to determine students’ eligibility to start a degree project, as well as potential examiners for the project. After the form is filled in and signed by multiple parties, a student can initiate his or her degree project. However, due to the excessively time-consuming process of completing the form, an alternative solution was proposed: a survey in the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) that replace s the UT-EXAR form. Although the survey reduces the time required by students to provide information and find examiners, it is by no means the most efficient solution. The survey suffers from multiple flaws, such as asking students to answer unnecessary questions, and for certain questions, presenting students with more alternatives than necessary. The survey also fails to automatically organize the data collected from the students’ answers; hence administrators must manually enter the data into a spreadsheet or other record. This thesis proposes an optimized solution to the problem by introducing a dynamic survey. Moreover, this dynamic survey uses the Canvas Representational State Transfer (REST) API to access students’ program-specific data. Additionally, this survey can use data provided by students when answering the survey questions to dynamically construct questions for each individual student as well as using information from other KTH systems to dynamically construct customized alternatives for each individual student. This solution effectively prevents the survey from presenting students with questions and choices that are irrelevant to their individual case. Furthermore, the proposed solution directly inserts the data collected from the students into a Canvas Gradebook. In order to implement and test the proposed solution, a version of the Canvas LMS was created by virtualizing each Canvas-based microservice inside of a Docker container and allowing the containers to communicate over a network. Furthermore, the survey itself used the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard. When testing the solution, it was seen that the survey has not only successfully managed to filter the questions and alternative answers based on the user’s data, but also showed great potential to be more efficient than a survey with statically-presented data. The survey effectively automates the insertion of the data into the gradebook.
På KTH, studenter som skall påbörja sitt examensarbete måste fylla i en blankett som kallas “UT-EXAR: Ansökan om examensarbete/application for degree project”. Blanketten används för att bestämma studenters behörighet för att göra examensarbete, samt potentiella examinator för projektet. Efter att blanketten är fylld och undertecknad av flera parter kan en student påbörja sitt examensarbete. Emellertid, på grund av den alltför tidskrävande processen med att fylla blanketten, var en alternativ lösning föreslås: en särskild undersökning i Canvas Lärplattform (eng. Learning Management System(LMS)) som fungerar som ersättare för UT-EXAR-formulär. Trots att undersökningen har lyckats minska den tid som krävs av studetenter för att ge information och hitta examinator, det är inte den mest effektiva lösningen. Undersökningen lider av flera brister, såsom att få studenterna att svara på fler frågor än vad som behövs, och för vissa frågor, presenterar studenter med fler svarsalternativ än nödvändigt. Undersökningen inte heller automatiskt med att organisera data som samlats in från studenters svar. Som ett resultat skulle en administratör behöva organisera data manuellt i ett kalkylblad. Detta examensarbete föreslår en mer optimerad lösning på problemet: omskrivning av undersökningens funktionaliteter för att använda Representational State Transfer(REST) API för att komma åt studenters programspecifika data i back-end, såväl att använda speciella haschar för att hålla referenser till uppgifter som lämnas av studenterna när de svarar på frågorna i undersökningen, så att undersökningen inte bara kan använda dessa data för att dynamiskt konstruera frågor för varje enskild student, men också dynamiskt konstruera svarsalternativ för varje enskild student. Denna lösning förhindrar effektivt undersökningen från att presentera studenter med frågor och valbara svarsalternativ som är helt irrelevanta för var och en av deras individuella fall. Med den föreslagna lösningen kommer undersökningen dessutom att kunna organisera de data som samlats in från Studenterna till ett speciellt Canvas-baserat kalkyllblad, kallas som Betygsbok. För att genomföra och testa den förslagna lösningen skapades en testbar version av Canvas LMS genom att virtualisera varje Canvas-baserad mikroservice inuti en dockercontainer och tillåter containers att kommunicera över ett nätverk. Dessutom var undersökningen själv konfigurerad för att använda Lärverktyg Interoperability (LTI) standard. Vid testning av lösningen, det visade sig att undersökningen på ett sätt effektivt har lyckats använda vissa uppgifter från en testanvändare att bara endast svara på de relevanta frågorna, men också presentera användaren med en mer kondenserad lista svarsalternativ över baserat på data.<p>

Dissertação apresentado à Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão do IPL para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática - Computação Móvel, orientada pelo Doutor Vítor Manuel Basto Fernandes.
Actualmente, os dispositivos móveis estão cada vez mais presentes nas tarefas diárias das nossas vidas. Devido ao rápido desenvolvimento das tecnologias de comunicações móveis e das redes sem fio, elevando exponencialmente o número de pessoas que usam os dispositivos móveis. Neste contexto, aparece o m-learning que estende o conceito de elearning, onde alarga o conceito de mobilidade, especialmente com o uso de recursos tecnológicos. Portanto, a computação móvel concentra o paradigma do "anytime, anywhere access", oferecendo recursos para a educação à distância através dos dispositivos móveis. Este paradigma permite que a informação seja disponibilizada aos utilizadores com maior flexibilidade e diversidade. Fazendo com que a aprendizagem surja em locais e horários não convencionais. A necessidade de aprendizagem ao longo da vida, formação, mobilidade e flexibilidade do ensino e da penetração das tecnologias móveis possibilita aos dispositivos móveis, devido à sua principal característica - a mobilidade - o apoio e desenvolvimento de novas abordagens no contexto educacional como instrumentos de apoio à aprendizagem. Este estudo apresenta o trabalho realizado no âmbito da criação de uma aplicação de suporte ao ensino à distância no ensino superior. O objectivo principal consiste na utilização dos dispositivos móveis como ferramentas de apoio, com a finalidade de exibirem as informações sobre as disciplinas/conteúdos disponíveis no LMS. De forma a poder validar o estudo efectuado, foram realizados testes com os alunos do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria e sendo o Moodle a plataforma LMS escolhida para os testes.

With rapid development of science and technology, introduction of the ICT different methodologies into the learning environment today becomes one of the most important factors. Application of IT tools in classroom learning in and methodology for teaching and learning processes creates number of issues, which could be solved with the help of online Learning Management System (LMS). This paper presents experiment results using of Moodle, at the course of Linear algebra and analytic geometry (LAAG) in the first semester of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 study year. The paper presents quantitative and qualitative rationale interdependence analysis and experiment conclusion based on midterm and final exam results of the freshman students of the National University of Mongolia.

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.

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.

Two-thirds of higher education institutions are either currently involved in the process of or will soon begin to review their learning management system strategy (Green, 2012). Transitioning from one LMS to another is an endeavor that utilizes the entire institution and requires a great deal of strategic planning and cooperation. The literature described the involvement of instructional designers and technology support as key players in this transition process over a period of parallel time. When BYU transitioned from Blackboard to Learning Suite, a team of student employees managed the majority of the change. While there was very little time when Blackboard and Learning Suite ran in parallel, these employees provided support to faculty across the university. Data for this research included interviews with five faculty consultants who worked closely with faculty on the design of their courses and nine faculty members who used the student employees throughout the process along with survey data and the database kept to track interactions with the faculty members. Interview data were analyzed using a Spradley (1979) analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the survey and interaction data. Major findings suggested that the student employees were the critical component for helping smooth the transition. They were used extensively by the faculty members and logged over 41,000 points of contact over a period one year and four months. The student employees provided side-by-side help to resolve faculty concerns and answer questions. This team added capacity and tool knowledge that supported both faculty members and the consultants.

e-Learning, defined as the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for supporting the educational process, has motivated Tanzania to apply ICT in its education systems. Tanzanian secondary schools which are geographically and socially isolated face a number of problems, including a way to get learning materials. The impact of these problems is poor performance in National Examinations. This poor performance however is most noted in science and mathematics. The problem in get- ting learning materials can be reduced by employing ICT. This research developed an interactive e-learning management system (e-LMS) to be used by Tanzanian secondary schools. Tanzania Secondary Schools e-Learning (TanSSe-L) system is the name adopted for an interactive e-LMS developed. The re- search is aimed at supporting teaching and learning functions by allowing for the creation and storage of learning materials, making them available, easily accessed and sharable by students from different secondary schools in Tanzania. It is a context- driven research work of knowledge production in a specific context for application. Initially, the research work focused on two selected pilot schools; Kibaha Secondary School and Wali-ul-Asr Girls’ Seminary in Kibaha town, Pwani region. Features of the TanSSe-L system represent the standard form of any secondary school registered by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training. The development of the TanSSe-L system made use of software engineering discipline. The research used Unified Modelling Language (UML) and integrated Object-Orient- ed System Analysis and Design (OOSA&D) and Model Driven Architecture (MDA) to address the System Development Life Cycle (SLDC) in a systemic way. UML design class diagram (DCD) is a Platform Independent Model (PIM) that was transformed into a Platform Specific Model (PSM) in MDA for implementation. Implementation made use of open source LMS to help generate a timely solution to TanSSe-L system development. In this specific context, focus group discussion as inspired by action re- search methodology was used. The research evolved into a triple helix process in close cooperation with other stakeholders. Finally, it is considered that replication and mirroring will make learning materials highly available to end-users.

e-learning, as defined to be the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for supporting the educational processes, has motivated Tanzania to apply ICT in its education system. Tanzania secondary schools in rural areas are geographically and socially isolated. Rural Tanzania secondary schools face a number of problems including ways in getting learning materials, as well as inadequacy in qualified teachers. The impact of these problems is poor performance in National Examinations. This poor performance however is highly noted in science and mathematics subjects. The problem in getting learning materials can be reduced by employing ICT in secondary school education system. This research develops an interactive e-learning management system (e-LMS) to be used by Tanzanian secondary schools. The research is aiming to support teaching and learning functions by allowing creation and storage of learning materials, making them available, easily accessed and sharable among students from different secondary schools in Tanzania in a more organized way. Tanzania has only one curriculum for all secondary schools registered under the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT). During development stage it will not be easy to involve all scattered Tanzanian secondary schools. The research is focusing to two selected pilot schools; Kibaha secondary school and Wali-ul-Asr girls’ seminary in Kibaha town, Pwani region. Features of the e-LMS will represent the standard form of any other secondary school registered by the MoEVT. The complete implementation of the e-LMS to these selected pilot schools will later be extended to all other secondary schools in Tanzania. The development uses Object-Oriented System Analysis and Design (OOSAD) approach along with the power of modeling as it has been emphasized by Model Driven Architecture (MDA). Unified Modeling Language (UML) is mainly used in both cases. To create an interoperable system, UML is integrated with extensible markup language (XML) during model transformation from e-LMS Platform Independent Model (PIM) to e-LMS Platform Specific Model (PSM). Development will make use of open source software. For context specific development, participatory action research methodology is adopted and the inputs are well presented in developing e-LMS. Customization of open source learning management system (LMS) platforms is employed to help generate a timely solution to e-LMS development. Finally, this thesis also considers the need for replication and mirroring of the database for the purpose of making learning materials highly available to end-users.

Táto diplomová práca ponúka čitateľovi ucelený pohľad do sveta vzdávania s využívaním najmodernejších technológií a moderných komunikačných zariadení. Vysvetľuje využiteľnosť dištančného vzdelávania v modernej dobe a poukazuje na jeho výhody a nevýhody. Popisuje jednotlivé systémy pre riadenie výuky (takzvané LMS) a jednotlivo ich rozoberá v analýze. Nezabúda ani na preskúmanie situácie v oblasti LMS v Českej Republike. Nakoniec predkladá kompletnú analýzu stávajúceho LMS systému spoločnosti Telefónica O2 Czech Repubic.

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.

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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.

1 INTRODUCTION Since learning management systems (LMSs) are offering a great variety of channels and workspaces to facilitate information sharing and communication among learners during learning process, many educational organizations have adopted a specific LMS into their educational context. A LMS is a software that handles learning tasks such as creating course catalogs, registering students, providing access to course components, tracking students within courses, recording data about students, and providing reports about usage and outcomes to teachers [1]. LMSs include several applications such as OLAT, WebCT, Moodle, ATutor, Ilias, and Claroline. However, LMSs can be utilized to integrate a wide range of multimedia materials, blogs, forums, quizzes, and wikis. Therefore, the researchers suggest that studying the influence of technology usage on end-users, especially students, is fundamental in learning and teaching environment. Despite educational organizations routinely make decisions regarding the best pedagogical approaches for supporting students’ performance, there is very little research on the impact of LMSs on learning outcomes [2]. Indeed, a considerable number of studies were conducted to examine the adoption of various LMSs, whereas little researches focused on understanding how educational institutes can enhance learning and teaching process through a particular LMS [3]. Consistent with this, the researchers found virtually no research on investigating the relationship between LMSs usage and attitude toward learning. [...]

Utbildning och undervisning har förändrats genom tiderna och många olika redskap har använts. Digitala lärplattformar är ett av dessa redskap. KTH:s lärandemiljö har utvidgats med en digitallärplattform, där Canvas är en del. KTH:s instans av Canvas förvaltas inom vad som benämns förvaltningsobjektet e-lärande (Institutionenför lärande (1), 2020).Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur studenter på KTH som använder Canvas uppfattar den digitala lärandemiljön och speciellt Canvas. Frågeställningen som använts för studien är: Hur upplever studenterna Canvas funktionalitet i samband med sina studier? Hjälpmedel för att förmedla kunskap har tagit steget från att endast vara i den fysiska världen till att delvis ha flyttat in i den digitalavärlden. Detta ger flera nya möjligheter till kommunikation och anpassning. Datorernas och Internets intågande i vardagen och utbildning, har accelererat under den senaste tiden. Internet har kommit att bli ett självklart verktyg för kommunikation med varandra och omvärlden. Studenter tillbringar inte bara tid i den fysiska miljön utan även i den digitala. Förstadiet för den första centrala digitalaplattformen på KTH för lärande föddes på mitten av 90-talet i en av KTH:s egna kurser för att senare utvecklas till Bilda/PING PONG. Canvas är en digital lärplattform (engelska: LMS, Learning Management System) och kan användas för att aktivera studenterna i sina studier, bland annat med funktioner som automaträttade frågor (quiz), betygsuppföljning, diskussionsforum med mera. Övergången till Canvas, startades med ett pilottest hösten 2016 (Stenberg, 2017). Sverige har undertecknat Agenda 2030 målen vilket påverkar KTH som är ett svenskt statligt universitet. Det fjärde målet är det som framförallt är riktat till skolor, universitet och högskolor. "Mål 4.Säkerställa en inkluderande och likvärdig utbildning av god kvalitet och främja livslångt lärande för alla" (Agenda 2030, u.å., s. 12). Agenda 2030 går väl att koppla ihop med delat av KTH:s värdegrund (KTH, u.å.) samt KTH:s policy för hållbar utveckling (Policy förhållbar utveckling för KTH, u.å.) Denna rapport är en liten del på vägen mot dessa mål. För att ta reda på hur studenter uppfattar den digitala lärandemiljön med avseende på funktioner och navigation, har en sekventiell explorativ ansats med blandade metoder valts. Studien baseras på en förstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer och en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Förstudien utgjordes av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en tematisk analys av transkriberingen av dessa intervjuer. Även om det handlar ett bekvämlighetsurval (Denscombe, 2019) kan gruppen som urvalet gjordes ur anses som representativ, då samtliga utbildningar på alla KTH:s campus var representerade där. Detta gjorde att förstudien inte kunde ses som allmängiltig utan mer orienterande, för att veta vad som var intressant att undersöka vidare i en enkät. Grunden för enkätens frågor skapades utifrån en analys av förstudiens intervjuer. Tematisk analys har använts på både innehållet i transkriptionen av intervjuerna och på fritextsvaren i enkäten. För att få en snabb överblick skapades en färgning av resultaten. Avidentifierade transkriptioner av intervjuerna samt valet av enkätfrågor följer "principen om uppgiftsminimering" (allmän dataskyddsförordning, 2016/ 679 , Skäl 156). Förstudien identifierade två starka teman. Den med flest kodningar var "läsa och hantera filer" med och "Användning" med tre underteman vardera, dessa utgjorde grunden till påståendena i enkäten. Enkäten har 614 svar, vilket var 4,5 procent av 2019 års, 13 514 helårsstudenter. (KTH Årsredovisning 2019.pdf, u.å., s. 4). Svarsfrekvensen planade ut mot slutet av svarstiden vilket visar på en mättnad av svarsvilja hos studenterna. Sammanfattningsvis svarade flertalet att de hade en positiv upplevelse av Canvas och att de hjälper dem i deras studier. Generellt fanns det utmaningar i kommunikation både meddelanden och forum. Enkätsvaren tyder på åsikten att plattformen har potential till skillnad från informanterna i förstudien som var mer kritiska och frustrerade över systemet. Genom att komplettera den fysiska undervisningen kan studenten utvecklas mer kontinuerligt, då lärandet inte är låst till undervisningstimmarna. Lärplattformen är ett digitalt redskap i undervisningen, för att stödja studenterna i studierna. Forumet och direktmedelanden kan vara en möjlighet för studenterna att bryta isolationen av att studera på egen hand och att få stöd av både lärare och andra studenter. Genom inlämningsuppgifter och automaträttade frågor (quiz) kan studenten öva och få förstärkning på kunskapsinhämtningen. Digitala plattformar kan öka tillgängligheten, oavsett om studenten behöver talsyntes eller studerar bättre på olika tider på dygnet. Områdena med utmaningar är diskussionsforumet, Canvas meddelandefunktioner, filhantering: att snabbt och enkelt hitta dokument och filer samt att Canvas delvis bara används för de obligatoriska momenten. Ändå svarar studenterna sammantaget med en positiv ton i de flesta svaren på enkäten.
Education and teaching have evolved, and todays teaching environment utilises many different tools and methods. A digital learning platform, such as Canvas, is one of those tools. KTH:s instance of Canvas is administrated by E-learning management object (The Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences, u.å.). The aim of this study was to investigate how students at KTH, who use Canvas, perceive the digital learning environment, especially Canvas. The focus question used for the study is: How do students experience Canvas' functionality in conjunction with their studies? Tools for conveying knowledge have moved from existing only in the physical world to having partially moved into the digital world. This provides several new opportunities for communication and adaptation. The use of computers in everyday life and studies has accelerated recently. The computer has become an obvious tool for communication within the world. Student life is not limited to the physical environment; it has expanded to the digital one. The start for one of the first digital platforms for learning at KTH was born in the mid-90s in one of KTH:s own courses and later to become Bilda /PING PONG. Canvas is an LMS (Learning Management System) which can be used to support students in their studies, and includes functions such as quizzes, grade follow-up, discussion forums and more. The transition to Canvas began with a pilot test in the autumn of 2016 (Stenberg,2017). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is something that Sweden has signed, which in turn affects KTH as a Swedish state university. The fourth goal is that which is primarily aimed at schools, universities and colleges: Ensure an inclusive and equal education of good quality and promote lifelong learning for all (Agenda 2030, u.å.,s. 12). The goals go hand in hand with KTH:s values (KTH, u.å.) and KTH:s policy for sustainable development (Policy för hållbarutveckling för KTH, u.å.). This thesis is a small step on the path towards fulfilling those goals. In order to survey how students perceive their digital learning environment, with regard to functions and navigation, a sequential exploratory approach with mixed methods was used. This study contains a pre-study with semi-structured interviews and a quantitative survey. The pre-study consisted of four interviews and a thematic analysis of the transcription of the interviews. Even if the selection is made for convenience (Denscombe, 2019), the group from which the interviewed students were selected from had all branches at all KTH:s campuses represented. Therefore, the group could be considered representative. This meant that the pre-study could not be seen as universal but gave an indication of the direction for the survey. The majority of the survey's statements was created by the themes that emerged in the analysis of the pre-study interviews. Thematic analysis has been used on both the content of the transcript of the interviews and for the free text answers in the survey. To get a quick overview, an indicative colouring of the results was created. The source data was deidentified at the time of transcription and the questions for the survey were carefully selected so that "the principleof data minimisation" (GDPR, 2016/ 679 reason 156) was adhered to. The pre-study identified two strong themes: "read and manage files" and "Usage", each with three sub-themes. These formed the basis for the statements in the survey. The survey had 614 answers, accounting for 4.5 percent of the 13,514 full-time students in 2019 (KTH Årsredovisning 2019.pdf, u.å., s. 4). The response rate slowed down towards the end of the response time, which shows a saturation of students' willingness to respond. In summary, the majority responded with Canvas being a positive experience and that it helped them in their studies. In general, there were challenges in communication both in messaging and forumfunction. The survey results indicate that the students were quitepositive about the platform and thought the platform had potential, unlike the informants in the pre-study who were more critical and frustrated with the system. By extending the physical classroom with online resources, the student can continuously develop, as the tutoring is not confined to the teaching hours. The forum and direct messages can be an opportunity for students to break the isolation of studying on their own and to receive support from both teachers and other students. Through assignments and quizzes, the student can practice and gain reinforcement in the acquisition of knowledge. Digital platforms may increase accessibility, regardless of whether the student needs speech synthesis, or studies better at different times of the day. The areas with challenges are the discussion forum, ease and efficiency of retrieving documents and files, and Canvas messaging functions. In addition, the survey showed that some students only used Canvas for the mandatory steps. Nevertheless, the students answered with a positive tone in most of the survey.

Utbildning och undervisning har förändrats genom tiderna och många olika redskap har använts. Digitala lärplattformar är ett av dessa redskap. KTH:s lärandemiljö har utvidgats med en digitallärplattform, där Canvas är en del. KTH:s instans av Canvas förvaltas inom vad som benämns förvaltningsobjektet e-lärande (Institutionenför lärande (1), 2020).Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur studenter på KTH som använder Canvas uppfattar den digitala lärandemiljön och speciellt Canvas. Frågeställningen som använts för studien är: Hur upplever studenterna Canvas funktionalitet i samband med sina studier? Hjälpmedel för att förmedla kunskap har tagit steget från att endast vara i den fysiska världen till att delvis ha flyttat in i den digitalavärlden. Detta ger flera nya möjligheter till kommunikation och anpassning. Datorernas och Internets intågande i vardagen och utbildning, har accelererat under den senaste tiden. Internet har kommit att bli ett självklart verktyg för kommunikation med varandra och omvärlden. Studenter tillbringar inte bara tid i den fysiska miljön utan även i den digitala. Förstadiet för den första centrala digitalaplattformen på KTH för lärande föddes på mitten av 90-talet i en av KTH:s egna kurser för att senare utvecklas till Bilda/PING PONG. Canvas är en digital lärplattform (engelska: LMS, Learning Management System) och kan användas för att aktivera studenterna i sina studier, bland annat med funktioner som automaträttade frågor (quiz), betygsuppföljning, diskussionsforum med mera. Övergången till Canvas, startades med ett pilottest hösten 2016 (Stenberg, 2017). Sverige har undertecknat Agenda 2030 målen vilket påverkar KTH som är ett svenskt statligt universitet. Det fjärde målet är det som framförallt är riktat till skolor, universitet och högskolor. "Mål 4.Säkerställa en inkluderande och likvärdig utbildning av god kvalitet och främja livslångt lärande för alla" (Agenda 2030, u.å., s. 12). Agenda 2030 går väl att koppla ihop med delat av KTH:s värdegrund (KTH, u.å.) samt KTH:s policy för hållbar utveckling (Policy förhållbar utveckling för KTH, u.å.) Denna rapport är en liten del på vägen mot dessa mål. För att ta reda på hur studenter uppfattar den digitala lärandemiljön med avseende på funktioner och navigation, har en sekventiell explorativ ansats med blandade metoder valts. Studien baseras på en förstudie med semistrukturerade intervjuer och en kvantitativ enkätundersökning. Förstudien utgjordes av fyra semistrukturerade intervjuer samt en tematisk analys av transkriberingen av dessa intervjuer. Även om det handlar ett bekvämlighetsurval (Denscombe, 2019) kan gruppen som urvalet gjordes ur anses som representativ, då samtliga utbildningar på alla KTH:s campus var representerade där. Detta gjorde att förstudien inte kunde ses som allmängiltig utan mer orienterande, för att veta vad som var intressant att undersöka vidare i en enkät. Grunden för enkätens frågor skapades utifrån en analys av förstudiens intervjuer. Tematisk analys har använts på både innehållet i transkriptionen av intervjuerna och på fritextsvaren i enkäten. För att få en snabb överblick skapades en färgning av resultaten. Avidentifierade transkriptioner av intervjuerna samt valet av enkätfrågor följer "principen om uppgiftsminimering" (allmän dataskyddsförordning, 2016/ 679 , Skäl 156). Förstudien identifierade två starka teman. Den med flest kodningar var "läsa och hantera filer" med och "Användning" med tre underteman vardera, dessa utgjorde grunden till påståendena i enkäten. Enkäten har 614 svar, vilket var 4,5 procent av 2019 års, 13 514 helårsstudenter. (KTH Årsredovisning 2019.pdf, u.å., s. 4). Svarsfrekvensen planade ut mot slutet av svarstiden vilket visar på en mättnad av svarsvilja hos studenterna. Sammanfattningsvis svarade flertalet att de hade en positiv upplevelse av Canvas och att de hjälper dem i deras studier. Generellt fanns det utmaningar i kommunikation både meddelanden och forum. Enkätsvaren tyder på åsikten att plattformen har potential till skillnad från informanterna i förstudien som var mer kritiska och frustrerade över systemet. Genom att komplettera den fysiska undervisningen kan studenten utvecklas mer kontinuerligt, då lärandet inte är låst till undervisningstimmarna. Lärplattformen är ett digitalt redskap i undervisningen, för att stödja studenterna i studierna. Forumet och direktmedelanden kan vara en möjlighet för studenterna att bryta isolationen av att studera på egen hand och att få stöd av både lärare och andra studenter. Genom inlämningsuppgifter och automaträttade frågor (quiz) kan studenten öva och få förstärkning på kunskapsinhämtningen. Digitala plattformar kan öka tillgängligheten, oavsett om studenten behöver talsyntes eller studerar bättre på olika tider på dygnet. Områdena med utmaningar är diskussionsforumet, Canvas meddelandefunktioner, filhantering: att snabbt och enkelt hitta dokument och filer samt att Canvas delvis bara används för de obligatoriska momenten. Ändå svarar studenterna sammantaget med en positiv ton i de flesta svaren på enkäten.
Education and teaching have evolved, and todays teaching environment utilises many different tools and methods. A digital learning platform, such as Canvas, is one of those tools. KTH:s instance of Canvas is administrated by E-learning management object (The Department of Learning in Engineering Sciences, u.å.). The aim of this study was to investigate how students at KTH, who use Canvas, perceive the digital learning environment, especially Canvas. The focus question used for the study is: How do students experience Canvas' functionality in conjunction with their studies? Tools for conveying knowledge have moved from existing only in the physical world to having partially moved into the digital world. This provides several new opportunities for communication and adaptation. The use of computers in everyday life and studies has accelerated recently. The computer has become an obvious tool for communication within the world. Student life is not limited to the physical environment; it has expanded to the digital one. The start for one of the first digital platforms for learning at KTH was born in the mid-90s in one of KTH:s own courses and later to become Bilda /PING PONG. Canvas is an LMS (Learning Management System) which can be used to support students in their studies, and includes functions such as quizzes, grade follow-up, discussion forums and more. The transition to Canvas began with a pilot test in the autumn of 2016 (Stenberg,2017). The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is something that Sweden has signed, which in turn affects KTH as a Swedish state university. The fourth goal is that which is primarily aimed at schools, universities and colleges: Ensure an inclusive and equal education of good quality and promote lifelong learning for all (Agenda 2030, u.å.,s. 12). The goals go hand in hand with KTH:s values (KTH, u.å.) and KTH:s policy for sustainable development (Policy för hållbarutveckling för KTH, u.å.). This thesis is a small step on the path towards fulfilling those goals. In order to survey how students perceive their digital learning environment, with regard to functions and navigation, a sequential exploratory approach with mixed methods was used. This study contains a pre-study with semi-structured interviews and a quantitative survey. The pre-study consisted of four interviews and a thematic analysis of the transcription of the interviews. Even if the selection is made for convenience (Denscombe, 2019), the group from which the interviewed students were selected from had all branches at all KTH:s campuses represented. Therefore, the group could be considered representative. This meant that the pre-study could not be seen as universal but gave an indication of the direction for the survey. The majority of the survey's statements was created by the themes that emerged in the analysis of the pre-study interviews. Thematic analysis has been used on both the content of the transcript of the interviews and for the free text answers in the survey. To get a quick overview, an indicative colouring of the results was created. The source data was deidentified at the time of transcription and the questions for the survey were carefully selected so that "the principleof data minimisation" (GDPR, 2016/ 679 reason 156) was adhered to. The pre-study identified two strong themes: "read and manage files" and "Usage", each with three sub-themes. These formed the basis for the statements in the survey. The survey had 614 answers, accounting for 4.5 percent of the 13,514 full-time students in 2019 (KTH Årsredovisning 2019.pdf, u.å., s. 4). The response rate slowed down towards the end of the response time, which shows a saturation of students' willingness to respond. In summary, the majority responded with Canvas being a positive experience and that it helped them in their studies. In general, there were challenges in communication both in messaging and forumfunction. The survey results indicate that the students were quitepositive about the platform and thought the platform had potential, unlike the informants in the pre-study who were more critical and frustrated with the system. By extending the physical classroom with online resources, the student can continuously develop, as the tutoring is not confined to the teaching hours. The forum and direct messages can be an opportunity for students to break the isolation of studying on their own and to receive support from both teachers and other students. Through assignments and quizzes, the student can practice and gain reinforcement in the acquisition of knowledge. Digital platforms may increase accessibility, regardless of whether the student needs speech synthesis, or studies better at different times of the day. The areas with challenges are the discussion forum, ease and efficiency of retrieving documents and files, and Canvas messaging functions. In addition, the survey showed that some students only used Canvas for the mandatory steps. Nevertheless, the students answered with a positive tone in most of the survey.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO
Com o uso generalizado das tecnologias de informação no apoio ao ensino, é comum disponibilizar conteúdos digitais, seja através de Sistemas de Bibliotecas Digitais (DLMS) ou de Sistemas de Gerência de Aprendizagem (LMS). No entanto, estes sistemas funcionam de forma independente, têm características diferentes e manipulam tipos diferentes de materiais, sendo seus repositórios com dados e metadados heterogêneos e distribuídos. Os conteúdos destes repositórios seriam melhor aproveitados se estivessem integrados a um ambiente comum, ou fossem acessados de modo integrado a partir dos ambientes de de DLMS e LMS. Nesta tese é apresentada uma visão homogênea dos conteúdos de DLMS e LMS. Para esta homogeneização utilizou-se uma extensão da arquitetura de mediadores e tradutores que trata a integração de metadados, assim como ontologias para tratamento semântico. Foram consideradas ontologias locais para descrever os metadados de cada repositório e uma ontologia global para a integração. No entanto, os documentos dos repositórios dos DLMS tendem a ser monolíticos e não têm um enfoque na reutilização( reuso). Assim, foram definidas regras para extração dos conteúdos mais importantes destes documentos, o que possibilita a reutilização. Esta extração envolve técnicas de mineração de texto e utiliza regras para descobrir as definições contidas nos documentos. Foi desenvolvido um protótipo que demonstra a viabilidade do processo. Para facilitar o entendimento do trabalho, é apresentado um estudo de caso que utiliza a técnica proposta e o protótipo desenvolvido. O trabalho facilita e enriquece o desenvolvimento de materiais de aprendizagem, uma vez que torna os conteúdos de documentos das bibliotecas digitais reutilizáveis e integrados aos Objetos de Aprendizagem (LO) existentes.
With the widespread use of Information Technology for teaching support, it is usual to made digital content available through Digital Library Systems (DLMS) or Learning Management Systems (LMS).These systems, however, work independently, have different characteristics and manipulate different types of materials, and their data and metadata repositories are heterogeneous and distributed. The content of repositories would be better used if it was integrated in the same environment or accessed in an integrated way from DLMS and LMS. This thesis presents a homogeneous view of DLMS and LMS content. In order to provide such homogenization, it is proposed an extension of the mediator and wrapper architecture for dealing with metadata integration and ontologies for treating semantics. Local ontologies are used for describing each metadata repository, and a global ontology for the integration. As documents of DLMS repositories tend to be monolithic and not to follow a reuse approach, rules for extracting the most important content from these documents were developed in order to make them reusable. This extraction includes text mining techniques as well as rules for discovering definitions embedded in the documents. A prototype was developed which implements the extraction and proves the feasibility of this approach. In order to make the work easier to understand, it is presented a case study that uses the proposed technique and the prototype. The work described in this thesis facilitates and enriches the development of learning material by making the content of digital library documents reusable and integrated to existing learning objects.

In this work we present a system for information extraction from Learning Management Systems. This system is ontology-based. It retrieves information according to the structure of the ontology to populate the ontology. We graphically present statistics about the ontology data. These statistics present latent knowledge which is difficult to see in the traditional Learning Management System. To answer questions about the ontology, a question answering system was developed using Natural Language Processing in the conversion of the natural language question into an ontology query language; Sumário: Extração de Informação de Sistemas de Gestão para Educação Usando Ontologias Neste dissertação apresentamos um sistema de extracção de informação de sistemas de gestão para educação (Learning Management Systems). Este sistema é baseado em ontologias e extrai informação de acordo com a estrutura da ontologia para a popular. Também permite apresentar graficamente algumas estatísticas sobre os dados da ontologia. Estas estatísticas revelam o conhecimento latente que é difícil de ver num sistema tradicional de gestão para a educação. Para poder responder a perguntas sobre os dados da ontologia, um sistema de resposta automática a perguntas em língua natural foi desenvolvido usando Processamento de Língua Natural para converter as perguntas para linguagem de interrogação de ontologias.

Bibliography: leaves 255-258.
The thesis as a whole concerns the identification and resolution organisational issues and details research that was undertaken in a manufacturing company producing light access equipment, Castor & Ladder incorporating Forlezer (C&L inc. rorlezer). The content itself is based on 'systems thinking' which endorses a holistic approach to problem solving - as opposed to the traditional reductionist or mechanistic approaches - and it is hoped to demonstrate the value of adopting a Systems Approach in resolving problems of an organisational nature. Particularly, the aim is to incorporate the consideration of underlying issues i.e. 'soft' problems pertinent to organisational dynamics, into a coherent and rigorous problem solving approach. In this regard, the approach taken focuses primarily on generating a holistic perception of the contextual 'problem situation' faced by the organisation. The view held is that in order to achieve effective solutions, a critical requirement is to first gain comprehensive understanding of the situation and its complexity. From a research perspective, the intention is to first enrich the perceived problem situation and then only to develop a concern (or hypothesis) that adequately presents the true issues at hand. Next, the aim is to develop the relevant theory applicable and necessary to the understanding and resolution of the situation, and to subsequently apply this theory to the context. In observing the outcome, the validity of the concern, as well as the theory is verified.

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Não recebi financiamento
The main purpose of this study is to analyze, by using Discursive Sequences, the paradox established during the construction of the teacher’s image in the twenty-first century. The corpus of this research consists of two Learning Management Systems (LMS) - Schoology and Edmodo - and official documents such as Leis de Diretrizes e Bases. French Discourse Analysis will be used as theory and method, in which authors as Pêcheux (1995, 2008) and Orlandi (2004, 2009, 2014) define concepts such as paraphrasing and metaphor for construction and maintenance of discourse. These concepts, related to Dominique Julia’s theory (2000), evoke the discursive memory and its effects on the development of the teacher’s image due to technological changes.
Este estudo analisa, utilizando Sequências Discursivas (SD), o paradoxo que se apresenta na construção da imagem do docente no século XXI. O corpus dessa pesquisa é formado por dois Sistemas de Gerenciamento de Aprendizagem (SGA) – Schoology e Edmodo – e documentos oficiais, como as Leis de Diretrizes e Bases. A base teórico-metodológica é a Análise de Discurso Francesa, na qual autores como Pêcheux (1995, 2008) e Orlandi (2004, 2009, 2014) definem conceitos como paráfrase e metáfora para construção e manutenção do discurso. Esses conceitos, ao serem associados à fala do historiador Dominique Julia (2000), no âmbito histórico evocam a memória discursiva e seus efeitos produzidos na elaboração do imaginário docente diante das mudanças tecnológicas.

Autonomic Computing is a Computer Science and Technologies research area, originated during mid 2000's. It focuses on optimization and improvement of complex distributed computing systems through self-control and self-management. As distributed computing systems grow in complexity, like multi-datacenter systems in cloud computing, the system operators and architects need more help to understand, design and optimize manually these systems, even more when these systems are distributed along the world and belong to different entities and authorities. Self-management lets these distributed computing systems improve their resource and energy management, a very important issue when resources have a cost, by obtaining, running or maintaining them. Here we propose to improve Autonomic Computing techniques for resource management by applying modeling and prediction methods from Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Machine Learning methods can find accurate models from system behaviors and often intelligible explanations to them, also predict and infer system states and values. These models obtained from automatic learning have the advantage of being easily updated to workload or configuration changes by re-taking examples and re-training the predictors. So employing automatic modeling and predictive abilities, we can find new methods for making "intelligent" decisions and discovering new information and knowledge from systems. This thesis departs from the state of the art, where management is based on administrators expertise, well known data, ad-hoc studied algorithms and models, and elements to be studied from computing machine point of view; to a novel state of the art where management is driven by models learned from the same system, providing useful feedback, making up for incomplete, missing or uncertain data, from a global network of datacenters point of view. - First of all, we cover the scenario where the decision maker works knowing all pieces of information from the system: how much will each job consume, how is and will be the desired quality of service, what are the deadlines for the workload, etc. All of this focusing on each component and policy of each element involved in executing these jobs. -Then we focus on the scenario where instead of fixed oracles that provide us information from an expert formula or set of conditions, machine learning is used to create these oracles. Here we look at components and specific details while some part of the information is not known and must be learned and predicted. - We reduce the problem of optimizing resource allocations and requirements for virtualized web-services to a mathematical problem, indicating each factor, variable and element involved, also all the constraints the scheduling process must attend to. The scheduling problem can be modeled as a Mixed Integer Linear Program. Here we face an scenario of a full datacenter, further we introduce some information prediction. - We complement the model by expanding the predicted elements, studying the main resources (this is CPU, Memory and IO) that can suffer from noise, inaccuracy or unavailability. Once learning predictors for certain components let the decision making improve, the system can become more ¿expert-knowledge independent¿ and research can focus on an scenario where all the elements provide noisy, uncertainty or private information. Also we introduce to the management optimization new factors as for each datacenter context and costs may change, turning the model as "multi-datacenter" - Finally, we review of the cost of placing datacenters depending on green energy sources, and distribute the load according to green energy availability.

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, Operations Research Center, 2018.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 183-186).
Many problems in revenue management and operations management more generally can be framed as problems of resource allocation. This thesis focuses on developing policies and guarantees for resource allocation problems with reusable resources and on learning models for personalized resource allocation. First, we address the problem of pricing and assortment optimization for reusable resources under time-homogeneous demand. We demonstrate that a simple randomized policy achieves at least one half of the optimal revenue in both the pricing and assortment settings. Further, when prices are fixed a priori, we develop a method to compute the optimal randomized state-independent assortment policy. The performance of our policies is evaluated in numerical experiments based on arrival rate and parking time data from a municipal parking system. Though our algorithms perform well, our computational results suggest that dynamic pricing strategies are of limited value in the face of a consistent demand stream. Motivated in part by the computational results of the previous section, in the second section, we consider the problem of pricing and assortment optimization for reusable resource under time-varying demand. We develop a time-discretization strategy that yields a constant-factor performance guarantee relative to the optimal policy continuous-time policy. Additionally, we develop heuristic methods that implement a bid-price strategy between available resources based on pre-computed statistics that is computable in real-time. These methods effectively account for the future value of resources that in turn depend on the future patterns of demand. We validate our methods on arrival patterns derived from real arrival rate patterns in a parking context. In the third part, we consider the problem of learning contextual pricing policies more generally. We propose a framework for making personalized pricing decisions based on a multinomial logit model with features based on both customer attributes, item attributes, and their interactions. We demonstrate that our modeling procedure is coherent and in the well specified setting we demonstrate finite sample bounds on the performance of our strategy based on the size of the training data.
by Zachary Davis Owen.
Ph. D.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
There has been a global transformation of higher education institutions (HEls) in response to a wave of dynamic education sector reforms; specifically, this is related to the adoption of educational technologies to enhance teaching-and-learning practices, education management, research and administration. This situation has placed a strain on HEls in South Africa and elsewhere, due to changing societal expectations, the inevitable integration of technology, and specifically eLearning into traditional interventions; and at the same time, the increasing pressure on practitioners to deliver quality education. Equally important, the question arises whether Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is indeed constructively impacting teaching-and-learning practices. Consequently, a need has arisen for ePedagogy training and support for academics and students within challenging, complex HE settings. Within this context, the research has endeavoured to position the eLearning discourse within a global perspective; as well as to explore the theoretical underpinnings which impact the application of learning, and specifically eLearning. In particular, the merging of learning theories; different teaching and learning approaches, and technology that enables the creation of effective eLearning models and provides a more structured approach to the implementation of eLearning, were studied. Building on this theoretical basis, the importance and content of models within the discourse have highlighted the recent emphasis on the delivery of quality education. The principal thrust of this research was, therefore, to highlight the main developmental phases towards the creation of an Integrated eLearning model to influence organisational cultural change in Higher Education Institutions. The research was built on an in-depth case study of a large HEL namely: the University of the Western Cape (UWC), over the period September 2005 to October 2011. This explorative, longitudinal study was undertaken because of the numerous "unsuccessful" or "incomplete" eLearning implementations in developing countries, as well as the many challenges faced by academics. As a result, the study explored the factors that contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning within the empirical setting of UWC, a complex higher education environment. This has been an accumulative exercise that started shortly before the establishment of the E-Learning Development and Support Unit (EDSU) and the 'el.earning Awareness Campaign' - reflecting on the deployment of a non-coercive approach to the implementation of el.earning and its impact on the organisational culture of the institution. The result was the development of an Online Course Creation model, which forms the core of phase 1 (September 2005 - December 2006) of the case study. Subsequently, phase 2 (January 2007 - August 2008) of the case study showcased gaps in the Online Course Creation model and emphasised that eLearning implementation in a complex higher education setting should go beyond thefocus on ePedagogy with regard to effective online course creation. Hence, this second phase of the case study involved the development of a revised eLearning model, the Inclusive ePedagogy model. Consequently, phase 3 (September 2008 - October 2011) of the case study highlighted the main developmental stages implemented in the creation of a final Integrated el.earning model, and discussed how these integrated factors contribute to the implementation of eLearning, and ultimately, influence the organisational cultural change within UWC. Interaction with various stakeholders during the phases of the study included interviews and questionnaires. As a result thereof, the research reflected on the exponential growth of eLearning; improved attitudes and mindsets; strategic commitment for the infusion of technology and ePedagogy; and the institutional teaching and learning strategy. On the other hand, these results are in stark contrast to the lack of management in the development of the home-grown Open Source platform, coupled with intermittent access to internet connectivity. This shortcoming has often hindered online teaching and learning initiatives and support processes. Furthermore, the research has indicated how educational technology has positively impacted on prevailing communities of practice, and has even led to sound practices, such as sharing online courses/modules within the institution and with the global community. The escalating numbers of students seeking eLearning training and support have been supported by blended eLearning approaches. These approaches reflect the importance of integrated curriculum design. Moreover, the presented Integrated eLearning model, shows that 'eLearning success' can never be claimed, but is rather a process undergirded by a dedicated support team committed to continuous eLearning marketing, together with the review of processes within dynamic, complex higher education settings. Equally important, eLearning implementation within a HEI inherently impacts the organisational cultural changes. This is not just a once-off event, as it entails the difficult task of changing mindsets toward the use of new pedagogies, in order to supplement traditional instruction. At the same time, considering people-development processes; as well as organisational issues, which include peoples' perceptions at different times of the eLearning continuum, is presented as various factors, which contribute to the successful implementation of eLearning. The most important factors contributing to successful eLearning implementation, as established through the research, and also incorporated into the proposed Integrated eLearning Model are: the provision of holistic online activities; integrated institutional ICT infrastructure and systems; the support of educators and students; the necessary positive attitude by lecturers to take a hands-on role in the application of blended eLearning practices - aligned to research - and the contribution to the knowledge era; the importance of communities of practice within and outside the institution; the need for motivated formal leadership and educators to take ownership of the development of aligned, integrated curriculum strategies supportive of emergent educational technologies; continuous commitment to eLearning support, and quality-assurance processes; sustainable eLearning change management and marketing strategies; as well as crucial integrated professional leadership, management and support of the elements of the Integrated eLearning model.

L’educació va ser marcada a l’any 2000 per les Nacions Unides com un dels Objectius del Mil·lenni pel desenvolupament. Amb aquest objectiu, també conegut com “educació per a tothom”, es pretén que per l’any 2015, tots els nens i nenes del planeta puguin acabar l’educació primària. Per donar prioritat a aquest objectiu, les Nacions Unides van declarar el període entre 2005 i 2015 com el Decenni de l’Educació pel Desenvolupament Sostenible. El decenni promou l’educació com a element bàsic per aconseguir transformar la societat cap a una societat més sostenible. Transformar l’educació no és una tasca fàcil. Per aquest motiu, l’Informe Delors encarregat per la UNESCO proposa una direcció per fer la transformació cap a l’aprenentatge durant tota la vida (lifelong learning). Els coneixements i habilitats que hom aprèn han de permetre’l afrontar els reptes i problemes durant tota la vida. Cal prendre noves habilitats i actituds, en lloc de coneixements que caduquen. En la Societat de la Informació cal aprendre competències digitals, per poder desenvoluparse a la societat. Les competències digitals son tanmateix una eina vehicular de tot tipus d’aprenentatge. Per tant, les Tecnologies de la Informació i la Comunicació (TIC) no es poden aplicar de qualsevol manera a l’educació, ni tots els usos de les TIC aplicades a l’educació fomenten el mateix tipus d’aprenentatge. Cal buscar aquells usos de les TIC aplicades a l’educació que fomenten el desenvolupament sostenible i que ajuden a combatre la fractura digital (la diferència en l’accés a les TIC entre països, regions o grups de persones). Les TIC mòbils i la seva ràpida adopció arreu del món, tenen un gran potencial per facilitar una transformació en l’educació cap al lifelong learning. El sector de les TIC mòbils és l’únic sector o grup de TIC on la fractura digital entre països rics i pobres es redueix. Com que molts d’aquests dispositius mòbils tenen la capacitat d’accedir a Internet (el que es coneix com Internet mòbil), es planteja usar aquests dispositius com una eina perquè els més pobres puguin accedir a la Societat de la Informació. Un cop garantit l’accés a la Xarxa, existeixen a Internet moltes eines de software lliure per aquestes plataformes mòbils. Aquestes eines poden ser emprades perquè tothom pugui difondre el seu missatge. En el context de les TIC mòbils aplicades a l’educació (m-learning) per fomentar l’aprenentatge durant tota la vida, són moltes les problemàtiques que existeixen. En concret, com introduir el m-learning a les pràctiques de les institucions educatives, de forma relativament simple i produint projectes de m-learning que tinguin una durabilitat a llarg termini. Per ajudar a aconseguir la durabilitat a llarg termini dels projectes de m-learning, el treball present proposa una sèrie de guies o aspectes a tenir en compte. Una manera d’introduir l’m-learning a les pràctiques de les institucions educatives, és a través de la integració amb altres tecnologies educatives més madures i implantades. En concret, amb els Learning Management Systems (LMS), que són les plataformes de elearning que sovint empren les institucions educatives actuals. Els LMS actuals han sigut font d’innovació en educació durant molt de temps. Els LMS acostumen a tenir el curs com a element central a partir d’on organitzen lliçons que contenen recursos i eines educatives. Aquesta estructura mimetitza l’estructura de les classes tradicionals on el professor imparteix uns continguts establerts en un pla d’estudis a un grup d’estudiants i a un ritme uniforme. Per aquest motiu, molts estudiants consideren aquestes plataformes poc flexibles i poc adaptables a un ritme d’aprenentatge més personal. A més, els LMS tenen nombroses limitacions per interactuar amb altres aplicacions externes com les xarxes socials, blogs o aplicacions mòbils. Aquests darrers tipus d’aplicacions són aplicacions que molts estudiants acostumen a emprar per aprendre. Per la seva part, el m-learning ofereix 1) uns entorns d’aprenentatge més personalitzats, 2) un aprenentatge més centrat en l’estudiant i 3) un canal alternatiu per accedir a materials o serveis. La contrapartida és que, sovint, hi ha manca de suport per part de les institucions educatives per introduir el m-learning, donat que implica canviar maneres de treballar ja establertes. També cal formació al professorat per poder introduir l’m-lerning i finalment existeixen problemes d’interoperabilitat amb les plataformes de e-learning. Aquesta separació o dicotomia entre el món de les plataformes de e-learning i el m-learning es podria solucionar integrant les aplicacions de m-learning en els processos o activitats de e-learning. Per aquest motiu, es planteja estudiar el problema de com es poden integrar les aplicacions de m-learning amb els LMS actuals. Amb la finalitat d’estudiar aquest problema sorgeix el projecte Moodbile. Aquest projecte pretén 1) estendre un LMS concret, Moodle, al món dels dispositius mòbils, per poder definir aplicacions mòbils que repliquin alguns dels serveis oferts per l’LMS des de dispositius mòbils i 2) proporcionar un marc perquè les aplicacions mòbils tinguin contra partida a l’LMS en forma d’activitats especials. El present treball es centra en estendre un LMS concret, Moodle, al món dels dispositius mòbils, per poder definir aplicacions mòbils que repliquin alguns dels serveis oferts per l’LMS des de dispositius mòbils.
La educación fue marcada en el año 2000 por las Naciones Unidas como uno de los Objetivos del Milenio para el desarrollo. Con este objetivo, también conocido como "educación para todos", se pretende que para el año 2015, todos los niños y niñas del planeta puedan terminar la educación primaria. Para dar prioridad a este objetivo, las Naciones Unidas declararon el período entre 2005 y 2015 como el Decenio de la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible. El decenio promueve la educación como elemento básico para lograr transformar la sociedad hacia una sociedad más sostenible. Transformar la educación no es una tarea fácil. Por este motivo, el Informe Delors encargado por la UNESCO propone una dirección para hacer la transformación hacia el aprendizaje durante toda la vida (lifelong learning). Los conocimientos y habilidades que se aprende deben permitirle afrontar los retos y problemas durante toda la vida. Hay que aprender nuevas habilidades y actitudes, en lugar de conocimientos que caducan. En la Sociedad de la Información hay que aprender competencias digitales, para poder desarrollarse en la sociedad. Las competencias digitales son una herramienta vehicular de todo tipo de aprendizaje. Por tanto, las Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC) no se pueden aplicar de cualquier manera al educación, ni todos los usos de las TIC aplicadas a la educación fomentan el mismo tipo de aprendizaje. Hay que buscar aquellos usos de las TIC aplicadas a la educación que fomentan el desarrollo sostenible y que ayudan a combatir la brecha digital (la diferencia en el acceso a las TIC entre países, regiones o grupos de personas). Las TIC móviles y su rápida adopción en todo el mundo, tienen un gran potencial para facilitar una transformación en la educación hacia el lifelong learning. El sector de las TIC móviles es el único sector o grupo de TIC donde la brecha digital entre países ricos y pobres se reduce. Como muchos de estos dispositivos móviles tienen la capacidad de acceder a Internet (lo que se conoce como Internet móvil), se plantea usar estos dispositivos como una herramienta para que los más pobres puedan acceder a la Sociedad de la Información. Una vez garantizado el acceso a la Red, existen en Internet muchas herramientas de software libre para estas plataformas móviles. Estas herramientas pueden ser utilizadas para que todos puedan difundir su mensaje. En el contexto de las TIC móviles aplicadas a la educación (m-learning) para fomentar el aprendizaje durante toda la vida, son muchas las problemáticas existentes. En concreto, como introducir el m-learning en las prácticas de las instituciones educativas, de forma relativamente simple y produciendo proyectos de m-learning que tengan una durabilidad a largo plazo. Para ayudar a conseguir la durabilidad a largo plazo de los proyectos de m-learning, el trabajo presente propone una serie de guías o aspectos a tener en cuenta. Una manera de introducir el m-learning en las prácticas de las instituciones educativas, es a través de la integración con otras tecnologías educativas más maduras e implantadas. En concreto, con los Learning Management Systems (LMS), que son las plataformas de elearning que a menudo utilizan las instituciones educativas actuales. Los LMS actuales han sido fuente de innovación en educación durante mucho tiempo. Los LMS suelen ofrecer el curso como elemento central a partir de donde organizan lecciones que contienen recursos y herramientas educativas. Esta estructura mimetiza la estructura de las clases tradicionales, donde el profesor imparte unos contenidos preestablecidos en un plan de estudios a un grupo de estudiantes y a un ritmo uniforme. Por este motivo, muchos estudiantes consideran estas plataformas poco flexibles y poco adaptables a un ritmo de aprendizaje más personal. Además, los LMS tienen numerosas limitaciones para interactuar con otras aplicaciones externas como las redes sociales, blogs o aplicaciones móviles. Estos últimos tipos de aplicaciones son aplicaciones que muchos estudiantes suelen emplear para aprender. Por su parte, el m-learning ofrece 1) unos entornos de aprendizaje más personalizados, 2) un aprendizaje más centrado en el estudiante y 3) un canal alternativo para acceder a materiales o servicios. La contrapartida es que a menudo, hay falta de apoyo por parte de las instituciones educativas para introducir el m-learning, dado que implica cambiar formas de trabajar ya establecidas. También es necesaria la formación al profesorado para poder introducir el m-lerning y finalmente existen problemas de interoperabilidad con las plataformas de e-learning. Esta separación o dicotomía entre el mundo de las plataformas de e-learning y el m-learning se podría solucionar integrando las aplicaciones de m-learning en los procesos o actividades de e-learning. Por este motivo, se plantea estudiar el problema de cómo se pueden integrar las aplicaciones de m-learning con los LMS actuales. Con el fin de estudiar este problema surge el proyecto Moodbile. Este proyecto pretende 1) extender un LMS concreto, Moodle, al mundo de los dispositivos móviles, para poder definir aplicaciones móviles que repliquen algunos de los servicios ofrecidos por el LMS desde dispositivos móviles y 2) proporcionar un marco para que las aplicaciones móviles tengan contra partida al LMS en forma de actividades especiales. El presente trabajo se centra en extender un LMS concreto, Moodle, al mundo de los dispositivos móviles, para poder definir aplicaciones móviles que repliquen algunos de los servicios ofrecidos por el LMS desde dispositivos móviles.
Education is an engine for change. United Nations (UN) stated in 2000 that education is one of the Millennium Goals for Development. With this goal in mind, the United Nations wanted to ensure that all the children might be able to complete primary education by 2015. UN declared the period 2005-2015 Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, because education is a key element to transform society into a more sustainable one. That is why the Delors Report proposes a transformation of society towards lifelong learning; the abilities and knowledge that a person learns has to help him overcome challenges all his life. It is necessary to learn new abilities and aptitudes, instead of perishable knowledge. It is necessary to learn digital competences to develop further in the society. Digital competences are tools used in all kind of learning. Not all uses of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) for education encourage the same type of learning. We must find those uses of ICT for education that promote sustainable development and help bridge the digital divide. Mobile ICT has great potential to transform education towards lifelong learning. Mobiles are the only ICT sector where the digital divide between rich and poor is decreasing. Mobile Internet may be a tool for the poorest to access the Information Society. Once granted access to the Internet, there are many free online software tools for mobile platforms. These tools can be used for everyone to spread their message. In the context of mobile ICT for education (m-learning) to promote lifelong learning, many problems need to be addressed. For example, how to introduce m-learning practices in educational institutions, in a relatively simple way, producing m-learning projects that have a long-term sustainability. To help achieve long-term sustainability of m-learning projects, this work proposes a series of guidelines. One way to introduce m-learning in the practices of educational institutions, is through integration with other educational technologies. This is the case of Learning Management Systems (LMS), which are the most used e-learning platforms in current educational institutions. LMS usually present the course as an organizational unit divided into lessons that contain resources and educational tools. This structure mimics the structure of the traditional classroom where the teacher teaches a predetermined content in a curriculum to a group of students. LMS have several limitations to interact with external applications such as social networks, blogs or mobile applications. These external applications are often used by students to learn. In contrast to LMS, m-learning offers 1) a more personalized learning environment, 2) more student-centered learning and 3) an alternative channel to access content or services. The downside is that often there is lack of support from educational institutions to introduce m-learning, because it means changing established ways of working. It is also necessary to train teachers in order to introduce the m-learning and finally there are interoperability problems with e-learning platforms. This dichotomy between the world of e-learning platforms and m-learning could be solved by integrating the m-learning applications with current e-learning platforms. For this reason, this work studies the problem of how to integrate m-learning applications with existing LMS. To study this problem the Moodbile project was initiated. This project aims to 1) extend a particular LMS, Moodle, to the world of mobile devices. The goal is to create mobile applications that replicate some of the services offered by the LMS and 2) provide a framework for mobile applications in the LMS side in the form of special activities. The present work focuses on extending a particular LMS, Moodle, to the world of mobile devices in order to define mobile applications that replicate some of the services offered by the LMS.