Conceptual Model and Security Requirements for DRM Techniques Used for e-Learning Objects Protection

This paper deals with the security problems of DRM protected e-learning content. After a short review of the main DRM systems and methods used in e-learning, an examination is made of participators in DRM schemes (e-learning object author, content creator, content publisher, license creator and end user). Then a conceptual model of security related processes of DRM implementation is proposed which is improved afterwards to reflect some particularities in DRM protection of e-learning objects. A methodical way is used to describe the security related motives, responsibilities and goals of the main participators involved in the DRM system. Taken together with the process model, these security properties are used to establish a list of requirements to fulfill and a possibility for formal verification of real DRM systems compliance with these requirements.

Assessing a Methodological Proposal for the Design, Creation and Evaluation of Learning Objects Oriented to Educators with Diverse Educational and Technological Competencies

This paper describes a methodological proposal for the design, creation and evaluation of Learning Objects (LOs). This study arises from the compilation and analysis of several LO design methodologies currently used in Ibero-America. This proposal, which has been named DICREVOA, defines five different phases: analysis, design (instructional and multimedia), implementation (LO and metadata), evaluation (from the perspective of both the producer and the consumer of the LO), and publishing. The methodology focuses not only on the teaching inexperienced, but also on those having a basic understanding of the technological and educational aspects related to LO design; therefore, the study emphasizes LO design activities centered around the Kolb cycle and the use of the ExeLearning tool in order to implement the LO core. Additionally, DICREVOA was used in a case study, which demonstrates how it provides a feasible mechanism for LO design and implementation within different contexts. Finally, DICREVOA, the case study to which it was applied, and the results obtained are presented

Programming exercises evaluation systems: an interoperability survey

Learning computer programming requires solving programming exercises. In computer programming courses teachers need to assess and give feedback to a large number of exercises. These tasks are time consuming and error-prone since there are many aspects relating to good programming that should be considered. In this context automatic assessment tools can play an important role helping teachers in grading tasks as well to assist students with automatic feedback. In spite of its usefulness, these tools lack integration mechanisms with other eLearning systems such as Learning Management Systems, Learning Objects Repositories or Integrated Development Environments. In this paper we provide a survey on programming evaluation systems. The survey gathers information on interoperability features of these systems, categorizing and comparing them regarding content and communication standardization. This work may prove useful to instructors and computer science educators when they have to choose an assessment system to be integrated in their e-Learning environment.

LORESA : un système de recommandation d'objets d'apprentissage basé sur les annotations sémantiques

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

e-learning in the classroom?

As teachers, we are challenged everyday to solve pedagogical problems and we have to fight for our students’ attention in a media rich world. I will talk about how we use ICT in Initial Teacher Training and give you some insight on what we are doing. The most important benefit of using ICT in education is that it makes us reflect on our practice. There is no doubt that our classrooms need to be updated, but we need to be critical about every peace of hardware, software or service that we bring into them. It is not only because our budgets are short, but also because e‐learning is primarily about learning, not technology. Therefore, we need to have the knowledge and skills required to act in different situations, and choose the best tool for the job. Not all subjects are suitable for e‐learning, nor do all students have the skills to organize themselves their own study times. Also not all teachers want to spend time programming or learning about instructional design and metadata. The promised land of easy use of authoring tools (e.g. eXe and Reload) that will lead to all teachers become Learning Objects authors and share these LO in Repositories, all this failed, like previously HyperCard, Toolbook and others. We need to know a little bit of many different technologies so we can mobilize this knowledge when a situation requires it: integrate e‐learning technologies in the classroom, not a flipped classroom, just simple tools. Lecture capture, mobile phones and smartphones, pocket size camcorders, VoIP, VLE, live video broadcast, screen sharing, free services for collaborative work, save, share and sync your files. Do not feel stressed to use everything, every time. Just because we have a whiteboard does not mean we have to make it the centre of the classroom. Start from where you are, with your preferred subject and the tools you master. Them go slowly and try some new tool in a non‐formal situation and with just one or two students. And you don’t need to be alone: subscribe a mailing list and share your thoughts with other teachers in a dedicated forum, even better if both are part of a community of practice, and share resources. We did that for music teachers and it was a success, in two years arriving at 1.000 members. Just do it.

Integration of repositories in Moodle

Current Learning Management Systems focus on the management of students, keeping track of their progress across all types of training activities. This type of systems lacks integration with other e-Learning systems. For instance, learning objects stored in a centralized repository are unavailable throughout an organization for potential reuse. In this paper we present the interoperability features of crimsonHex - a service oriented repository of learning objects - highlighting the use of XML languages. Its nteroperability features are compliant with the existing standards and we propose extensions to the IMS interoperability recommendation, adding new functions, formalizing an XML message interchange and providing also a REST interface. To validate the proposed extensions and its implementation in crimsonHex we designed two repository plugins for Moodle 2.0, the first of which is already implemented and is expected to be included in the next release of this popular learning management system.

Integration of e-portfolios in learning management systems

The LMS plays a decisive role in most eLearning environments. Although they integrate many useful tools for managing eLearning activities, they must also be effectively integrated with other specialized systems typically found in an educational environment such as Repositories of Learning Objects or ePortfolio Systems. Both types of systems evolved separately but in recent years the trend is to combine them, allowing the LMS to benefit from using the ePortfolio assessment features. This paper details the most common strategies for integrating an ePortfolio system into an LMS: the data, the API and the tool integration strategies. It presents a comparative study of strategies based on the technical skills, degree of coupling, security features, batch integration, development effort, status and standardization. This study is validated through the integration of two of the most representative systems on each category - respectively Mahara and Moodle.

A survey on e-learning content standardization

eLearning has been evolved in a gradual and consistent way. Along with this evolution several specialized and disparate systems appeared to fulfill the needs of teachers and students such as repositories of learning objects, intelligent tutors, or automatic evaluators. This heterogeneity poses issues that are necessary to address in order to promote interoperability among systems. Based on this fact, the standardization of content takes a leading role in the eLearning realm. This article presents a survey on current eLearning content standards. It gathers information on the most emergent standards and categorizes them according three distinct facets: metadata, content packaging and educational design.

A survey of e-learning content aggregation standards

As e-learning gradually evolved many specialized and disparate systems appeared to fulfil the needs of teachers and students, such as repositories of learning objects, authoring tools, intelligent tutors and automatic evaluators. This heterogeneity raises interoperability issues giving the standardization of content an important role in e-learning. This article presents a survey on current e-learning content aggregation standards focusing on their internal organization and packaging. This study is part of an effort to choose the most suitable specifications and standards for an e-learning framework called Ensemble defined as a conceptual tool to organize a network of e-learning systems and services for domains with complex evaluation.

Integration of repositories in elearning systems

The wide acceptance of digital repositories today in the eLearning field raises several interoperability issues. In this paper we present the interoperability features of a service oriented repository of learning objects called crimsonHex. These features are compliant with the existing standards and we propose extensions to the IMS interoperability recommendation, adding new functions, formalizing message interchange and providing also a REST interface. To validate the proposed extensions and its implementation in crimsonHex we developed a repository plugin for Moodle 2.0 that is expected to be included in the next release of this popular learning management system.

Design a computer programming learning environment for Massive Open Online Courses

Teaching and learning computer programming is as challenging as difficult. Assessing the work of students and providing individualised feedback to all is time-consuming and error prone for teachers and frequently involves a time delay. The existent tools and specifications prove to be insufficient in complex evaluation domains where there is a greater need to practice. At the same time Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are appearing revealing a new way of learning, more dynamic and more accessible. However this new paradigm raises serious questions regarding the monitoring of student progress and its timely feedback. This paper provides a conceptual design model for a computer programming learning environment. This environment uses the portal interface design model gathering information from a network of services such as repositories and program evaluators. The design model includes also the integration with learning management systems, a central piece in the MOOC realm, endowing the model with characteristics such as scalability, collaboration and interoperability. This model is not limited to the domain of computer programming and can be adapted to any complex area that requires systematic evaluation with immediate feedback.

Lifelong learning teachers' needs in virtual learning environments

Peer-reviewed

Enhanced recommendations for e-learning authoring tools based on a proactive context-aware recommender

Authoring tools are powerful systems in the area of e-Learning that make easier for teachers to create new learning objects by reusing or editing existing educational resources coming from learning repositories or content providers. However, due to the overwhelming number of resources these tools can access, sometimes it is difficult for teachers to find the most suitable resources taking into account their needs in terms of content (e.g. topic) or pedagogical aspects (e.g. target level associated to their students). Recommender systems can take an important role trying to mitigate this problem. In this paper we propose a new model to generate proactive context-aware recommendations on resources during the creation process of a new learning object that a teacher carries out by using an authoring tool. The common use cases covered by the model for having recommendations in online authoring tools and details about the recommender model itself are presented.

A model for integrating learning object repository resources into web videoconference services

Reusing Learning Objects saves time and reduce development costs. Hence, achieving their interoperability in multiple contexts is essential when creating a Learning Object Repository. On the other hand, novel web videoconference services are available due to technological advancements. Several benefits can be gained by integrating Learning Objects into these services. For instance, they can allow sharing, co-viewing and synchronized co-browsing of these resources at the same time that provide real time communication. However, several efforts need to be undertaken to achieve the interoperability with these systems. In this paper, we propose a model to integrate the resources of the Learning Object Repositories into web videoconference services. The experience of applying this model in a real e-Learning scenario achieving interoperability with two different web videoconference services is also described.

An architecture for integrating learning object repository resources into web videoconference services

Reusing Learning Objects saves time and reduce development costs. Hence, achieving their interoperability in multiple contexts is essential when creating a Learning Object Repository. On the other hand, novel web videoconference services are available due to technological advancements. Several benefits can be gained by integrating Learning Objects into these services. For instance, they can allow sharing, co-viewing and synchronized co-browsing of these resources at the same time that provide real time communication. However, several efforts need to be undertaken to achieve the interoperability with these systems. In this paper, we propose a model to integrate the resources of the Learning Object Repositories into web videoconference services. The experience of applying this model in a real e-Learning scenario achieving interoperability with two different web videoconference services is also described.