Computer Assisted Active Learning System Development for The History of Civilization E-learning Courses by Using Free Open Source Software Platforms

This chapter explains the developmental reasons and design to implementation cycles of the Computer Assisted Active Learning System (CALS) for History of Civilization (HOC) courses at Engineering Faculty of Bahcesehir University. Implementation purpose of CALS is to develop set of tools in a systematic way to enhance students’ critical thinking abilities for HOC courses. Dynamic meta-cognitive maps, movies, flash cards and quiz tools were developed. In order to reduce implementation costs of CALS, open Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) standards and platforms were utilized in the development and implementation cycles. This study also investigates the importance of the e-learning platform usage in HOC courses in Engineering Faculty of Bahcesehir University to improve the level of students. Results indicate that the concept based meta-cognitive tool improves learning instead of students just memorizing the class material. Also, engineering students improved their positive attitude towards who wants to learn the history of civilization by using CALS. This study shows that software helps to change human behavior in the learning cycle. This chapter highlights the implications of successful development of FOSS for the CALS.

Open for Social

Online learning in K-12 and higher education has been growing rapidly, and open source software has the potential to improve the quality of e-learning. This paper describes how FOSS enables turning e-learning from a potentially restrictive and narrow framing of the education experience to an emergent and social experience. The authors identify several key elements of the FOSS model that position open source initiatives to contribute to the emergent and social nature of experience in e-learning. The authors also describe several challenges to developing FOSS in a community of educators for e-learning. These elements and challenges are illustrated in a brief case report about the development of an open source software system called Context-aware Activity Notification System (CANS). CANS (http://cansaware.com) is a notification system that integrates with collaborative work and learning systems and is designed around the importance of awareness of user activity, a user’s social context and personal notification preferences.

LeMill

LeMill is an open source OER repository where the emphasis has been placed on designing a service to meet the actual needs of teachers preparing for classes. The development of LeMill has utilized open, collaborative, and iterative design methods and many features have been refined or redesigned during the process. Emphasis on design work has helped LeMill avoid and fix problems that generally pester OER repositories because of their origins as learning object repositories. The authors recognize that LeMill, as an open source project, has had the rare benefit of a long, structured dissemination phase incorporating actual teacher training. Even when developers and designers try to keep teachers in mind, actual behavioral patterns and needs appear only after the service has been in use. Therefore systems should initially be flexible enough to allow changes resulting from new findings.

Developing a Dynamic and Responsive Online Learning Environment

Charles Stuart University adopted the open source software, Sakai, as the foundation for the university’s new, integrated Online Learning Environment. This study explores whether a pedagogical advantage exists in adopting such an open source learning management system. Research suggests that the community source approach to development of open source software has many inherent pedagogical advantages, but this paper examines whether this is due to the choice of open source software or simply having access to appropriate technology for learning and teaching in the 21st century. The author also addresses the challenges of the project management methodology and processes in the large-scale implementation of an open-source courseware management solution at the institutional level. Consequently, this study outlines strategies that an institution can use to harness the potential of a community source approach to software development to meet the institutional and individual user needs into the future.

Open and Shared Educational Resources – A Collaborative Strategy for Advancing E-Learning Communities

Advances in information technologies have created unique opportunities for the free exchange of ideas on a global scale. To this end, a growing number of education stakeholders are finding that applying an open source approach to content development provides an extraordinary opportunity to change the curricula paradigm. Access to quality learning materials and the free exchange of knowledge is increasing. The authors explore the increased adoption of open and shared educational resources (OSER), with such examples as Curriki. Curriki extends the model by providing an integrated learning environment and resource repository centered on a culture of collective participation.

What Audacity!

Promoting student engagement in the second language classroom can be difficult for teachers. Multiple obstacles such as perceptions of the irrelevance of authentic language applications and the affective barriers (e.g. performance anxiety speaking before peers) tend to hinder student oral language performance. For teachers, especially for beginners, other obstacles appear such as being given the most challenging assignments with little to no professional support. Many times these educators scramble to squeeze the most out of every minute in the classroom for instructional purposes while trying to increase student achievement. Three free and open source software options are presented and findings from two studies of focusing on the use of Audacity indicate multiple benefits for both teachers and students. Afterwards, the authors demonstrate how to use Audacity for oral language assessment and discuss its implications for the world language classroom.

What’s all the FOSS?

Philosophical, financial, practical, and pedagogical considerations have prompted educators to take a serious look at Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) as an alternative to proprietary software. To better understand the overall concept of FOSS, this article provides a brief history of FOSS as well as a summary of its definition, philosophy, and major areas of research, including strengths and limitations, diffusion in education and educational uses as well as a look at the opportunities, issues, and challenges associated with FOSS. In conclusion, the authors speculate how FOSS, along with advances in E-Learning and other emerging technologies, will positively shape our educational future.

Web 2.0 as Potential E-Learning Tools for K-12 English Language Learners

Federal legislation demands academic success of all students as well as instructional modifications for special needs students. Even so, school districts struggle with funding educational programs and products that would greatly benefit students grappling with language and content acquisition. Free and open source Web 2.0 tools present exciting opportunities for the creation of educational material that reflects best teaching practices for English Language Learners. The chapter conducts an analysis of second language acquisition research that identifies the most common components of effective second language teaching practice. With these determined, the attention is focused on the characteristics of Web 2.0 technologies that might be used to promote educational activities and opportunities that embody these effective SLA pedagogical practices while meeting the unique instructional needs of ELL students. Although the chapter focuses on ELL students, many of the instructional methods and technology tool characteristics will benefit other students in all content areas.

Data Mining User Activity in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)/ Open Learning Management Systems

Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)/Open Educational Systems development projects abound in higher education today. Many universities worldwide have adopted open source software like ATutor and Moodle as an alternative to commercial or homegrown systems. The move to open source learning management systems entails many special considerations, including usage analysis facilities. The tracking of users and their activities poses major technical and analytical challenges within web-based systems. This paper examines how user activity tracking challenges are met with data mining techniques, particularly web usage mining methods, in four different open learning management systems: ATutor, LON-CAPA, Moodle, and Sakai. As examples of data mining technologies adapted within widely used systems, they represent important first steps for moving educational data mining outside the research laboratory. Moreover, as examples of different open source development contexts, exemplify the potential for programmatic integration of data mining technology processes in the future. As open systems mature in the use of educational data mining, they move closer to the long-sought goal of achieving more interactive, personalized, adaptive learning environments online on a broad scale.

Building Open Learning Environment for Software Engineering Students

The chapter discusses principles of open education and possibilities of implementing these principles for software engineering education on the base of open source software development projects. A framework of practical courses for software engineering students built on these ideas is presented. Experience of building courses on the base of this framework is discussed on the example of “Software Engineering” course provided to students of the System Programming departments of the two Russian top-ranked universities, Moscow State University and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.