The eLogBook Framework

Convinced by the important role of CoPs (communities of practice) and the innovative learning modality they offer,the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne is currently developing a framework to sustain interaction,collaboration, and learning in laboratory-oriented CoPs, namely the eLogBook. This paper describes the services provided by this framework, the 3A model on which it is based, and the main features it presents. The eLogBookpresents several innovative features that make it different from other classical collaboration workspaces. TheeLogBook offers a high level of flexibility and adaptability so that it can fit the requirements of various CoPs. It allowsCoPs’ members to define their own rules, protocols, andvocabularies. The eLogBook also focus on usability anduser acceptance thanks to its personalization andcontextualization mechanisms. Finally, the eLogBookprovides a community’s members with ubiquitous services thanks to its multiple views and its advanced awareness services.

Mobile e-Learning for Next Generation Communication Environment

This article develops an environment for mobile e-learningthat includes an interactive course, virtual online labs, an interactive online test, and lab-exercise training platform on the fourth generation mobile communication system. TheNext Generation Learning Environment (NeGL) promotes the term “knowledge economy.” Inter-networking has become one of the most popular technologies in mobile e-learning for the next generation communicationenvironment. This system uses a variety of computer embedded devices to ubiquitously access multimedia information, such as smart phones and PDAs. The most important feature is greater available bandwidth. The learning mode in the future will be an international, immediate, virtual, and interactive classroom that enables learners to learn and interact.

Development of a Web-Based System for Diagnosing Student Learning Problems on English Tenses

In the past decades, English learning has received lots of attention all over the world, especially for those who are not native English speakers. Various English learning and testing systems have been developed on the Internet. Nevertheless, most existing English testing systems represent the learning status of a student by assigning that student with a score or grade. This approach makes the student aware of his/her learning status through the score or grade, but the student might be unable to improve his/her learning status without further guidance. In this paper, an intelligent English tense learning and diagnosticsystem is proposed, which is able to identify studentlearning problems on English verb tenses and to provide personalized learning suggestions in accordance with eachstudent’s learning portfolio. Experimental results on hundreds of college students have depicted the superiority of the novel approach.

A Changed Economy with Unchanged Universities? A Contribution to the University of the Future

Individualised open and distance learning at the universitycontinuing education and post-graduate education levels is a central issue of today. The advanced information and communication technologies

When Distance Technologies Meet the Student Code

This case study outlines problems with student conduct in an online undergraduate program and explains how astudent code was applied to resolve the issues and institute procedures to reduce future incidents of academic dishonesty and incivility. The study describes several instances of student misconduct and explains how online program administrators responded by improving communication with both students and faculty and by modifying course design and development processes as well as instructional practices. It also reports on how other administrators assisted in handling resolution and discipline. While technology itself may both complicate themaintenance of conduct standards and provide new ways to protect academic integrity, this study demonstrates thatthe introduction of technology should not change the rules.

Did We Become a Community? Multiple Methods for Identifying Community and Its Constituent Elements in Formal Online Learning Environments

To understand the nature of formal virtual learningcommunities in higher education, we are employing a variety of user-centred evaluation approaches to examinemethods for determining whether a community exists, andif it does, to isolate and understand interactions among itsconstituent elements, and ultimately to build a model offormal virtual learning communities. This chapter presents the methods we are employing to answer these seemingly simple questions, including user perceptions of community(Sense of Community Index, Classroom Community Scale), interaction analysis (density, reciprocity,) content analysis (transcript analysis, interviews, focus groups), paired-comparison analysis (Thurstone scaling) and communitymodeling techniques (Bayesian Belief Network analysis).

Cross-Cultural Differences in Perceptions of E-Learning Usability

E-learning is gaining momentum in corporate settings as an alternative and supplementary solution to learning and performance problems. Users of e-learning applications and courses differ across regional, linguistic, and country boundaries and user requirements are strongly influenced by their local cultural perspective. Thus e-learning design needs to be sensitive to cultural parameters. Yet, there are very few empirical studies that investigate e-learningdesign and usability issues from a cultural perspective. This study: (a) discusses the cultural considerations in human computer interaction and information systems research and the specificities of usability in e-learning context, (b) focuses on the usability evaluation of e-learning courses within an international e-learning pilot initiative. Employees from four user organizations representing four countries in South Eastern Europe participated as users of the e-learning courses and evaluated their usability.

Classroom Preferences

Advances in technology have enabled instructors to design online courses that better meet the needs of students. Online courses generally are adaptations of traditional courses; some courses are more suitable for such online instruction. As the trend of online course offerings continues, universities must understand factors that lead to students’ preferences since online courses can be costly to develop and implement and inappropriate online coursescan lead to lower student retention rates. This study focuses on students’ perceptions of online courses. The results identify issues that affect students’ perceptions and this study concludes by suggesting ways for universities to design online programs that better suit the desires of students.

Factors Influencing Students Intention to Take Web-Based Courses in a College Environment

The growing use of a web-based environment for college education is gradually replacing some aspects of the classroom in a University setting, and it is shifting the long accepted paradigm of understanding how students learn and introduces the question of what influences a student’s decision to learn in an online environment. In a web-based course, students gain a level of interaction with the material not possible in the classroom, yet lose other components that are only available in a physical environment. Educators struggle to determine what influences a student to take web-based college courses, and how they best learn in that environment. This study proposes that the student’s learning style, their self-efficacy and self-regulation when it comes to learning, and their expectations regarding online classes, are all factors in their choice to take web-based college courses. To validate this, students currently taking college level courses were surveyed and their responses analyzed.

Student and Faculty Use and Perceptions of Web 2.0 Technologies in Higher Education

In this chapter, the authors provide evidence for the potential of Web 2.0 applications in higher educationthrough a review of relevant literature on educational technology and social networking. Additionally, the authors report the results and implications of a study exploringstudent and faculty awareness of the potential of Web 2.0technologies to support and supplement classroom instruction in higher education. Also, using the decomposed theory of planned behavior as the theoretical foundation, the authors discuss factors that influence student andfaculty decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies. The chapter concludes with a list of recommendations for classroom use of Web 2.0 applications, as well as implications for policy changes and future research.