A service‐oriented virtual learning environment

Containerization: Practical infrastructure and accessibility efficiency for the Virtual Learning Environment 
 Context and motivation:
 Containers are transforming modern application infrastructure, providing advantages for accessibility and allow many instances of existing legacy applications to be run at the same time on the latest operating systems. This can implement an ideal virtual learning environment which offers a dynamic learning space where instructors upload activities and resources to enhance learning. The goal is to provide a structured learning environment suited to both the student and the instructor, where materials are easily accessed, and that many files can be transferred at one time. The system should cope with the demands of many students occupying the same virtual learning space, providing each student with individual learning experiences. There are challenges when instructors attempt to adapt the learning environment to meet the learning objectives. Technology barriers to the education provider, primarily in the form of high cost of technology infrastructure requirements need to be overcome before widespread adoption of a virtual learning environment is seen. The potential to overcome these barriers through the application of containerisation provides the motivation behind this presentation (Katz & Council of Independent, 2016; Puvaneswary & Siew Hwa, 2019).
 
 What will be demonstrated in this presentation?
 The use of containers provides the ability to supply many instances of the same application running on a single machine. Each instance is isolated, along with any associated dependencies, allowing efficient utilisation of system resources, such as processing and memory. The presentation will demonstrate how many instances of the same application can be activated and the resource advantages gained. The presentation will show a system that has been used to provide a complex structured virtual learning environment to level 7 students and discuss how the system was utilised to provide a positive, individualised learning experience to the students. Security and confidentiality is maintained within each containerized instance. The presentation will show how the system can be configured to be self-healing, respond to scheduling, and to automatically restart single instances as required.
 
 The implications for future practice
 The presentation will show how the advantages of containerization can be integrated at many levels of the virtual learning environment, providing many separate and individual instances of the same application. The number of instances can be easily adjusted as required, and resources are automatically allocated, reducing support overhead and cost of infrastructure. The implications are that each instance can provide a unique experience to each student, whilst reducing the workload of the instructor, and minimizing the cost to the education provider.
 
 
 References
 Katz, P. M., & Council of Independent, C. (2016). High-Tech or High-Touch? Online Learning and Independent Higher Education. Innovations in Teaching and Learning. Research Brief 5: Council of Independent Colleges. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED569215&site=eds-live
 Puvaneswary, M., & Siew Hwa, Y. (2019). Navigating the Shortcomings of Virtual Learning Environments Via Social Media. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments (IJVPLE), 9(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJVPLE.2019070101
 

Readiness is an important indicator of learners' willingness to engage productively in a virtual learning environment. Low readiness is believed to be the main reason behind virtual learning failure. The purpose of this present study is to investigate the effects of online readiness on learners’ learning satisfaction and performance in a virtual second language learning environment on a sample of 203 Malaysian Non-Arabic Speaking Learners using a cross-sectional survey. This study further explored which dimension of readiness is found to be the strongest predictor of their level of satisfaction and performance. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis examined the predictive relationships between readiness, satisfaction, and performance. The results proved that online readiness was statistically a significant predictor of their learning satisfaction and performance, indicating computer and internet self-efficacy in performing activities in the virtual learning environment as the strongest predictor. By identifying the most influential predictors, this groundbreaking study recognizes which key elements of the virtual learning environment language learners would need more to relish learning and achieve their goals. This study offers critical insights that have not been previously explored by conducting a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing learning satisfaction and performance. The findings, therefore, highlight the paramount importance of assessing the readiness of online learners and their learning environment, providing valuable guidance for higher education institutions seeking to enhance the success of VLLE. In addition, this study sets a precedent for future research in the field. It underscores the need for ongoing efforts to improve virtual language learning environments to serve students’ needs better.

Virtual education faces tremendous challenges such as lack of motivation and high dropout rates. However, one solution to this problem is the incorporation of digital pedagogical strategies based on gamification, which promote interest, facilitate the learning process, and contribute to reducing dropout. In this sense, we evaluated the student's preference for using the gamified tool Didactic City, by using a quantitative methodology and structural equation models. This preference included fundamental factors such as utility, knowledge, engagement, enjoyment, motivation, and ease of use. The results are expected to contribute to create a more informed decision-making process not only for video game designers but also for pedagogues, and educational managers who could perform game improvements, redesigns, inclusion, or exclusion of individual elements that would make students prefer to use gamification tools in the future. The results indicate that the students' utility, the enjoyment generated by the tool, and the improvement of knowledge are the critical factors in terms of preference for using gamified tools in virtual learning environments. Implications for policy and practice: In virtual learning environments, higher education institutions and instructors can include gamified tools to create pleasant environments that increase students' motivation and facilitate learning. Designers and developers of gamified educational tools should measure their acceptance, as this factor is decisive for fulfilling the purposes of these pedagogical tools. Researchers could evidence more factors that influence the preference for the use of gamified educational tools.

Objectives: To perform a gender analysis on the usage of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) of simulation based e-learning in the field of Software Engineering in specific reference to the dynamic complexity, a modeling framework for Software Engineering Simulation based e-Learning Environment (SESeLE) tool is needed and has been proposed. Method/Statistical Analysis: A questionnaire based survey has been carried out twice on the learners enrolled in Computers and Information Technology based courses at tertiary levels in and around the city of Chandigarh in north India. The learners were provided an interactive single-learner environment of the SESeLE which was accessible through the internet by using a standard web-browser. In all, 392 students of tertiary level were included as subjects and were made to respond twice on the issues like their practical knowledge of software handling, interest and knowledge in software project management and impact of e-learning on their knowledge in software project management through questionnaire survey. The questionnaire was first got filled up from the subjects without any exposure to the SESeLE and subsequently after a training session on the SESeLE. ANOVA test was performed to find out the significant differences in various learning styles on post-training test scores overall and in both male and female students as well. Findings: This study is unique and one of its own kind. It has been used to analyse the impact of using VLE tools by the learners/students on their learning and also for the gender analysis on various parameters. The web based learning style has been found to be the most preferred learning style among female students and the second most preferred style of learning among male students. Reading textbooks was not significantly popular among female students as compared to male students. About half of the students agreed to participate in any kind of seminar on software project management. The post-training test score on the knowledge about typical patterns observed in software project management issues has been found to be significantly higher from pre-training test scores. No significant difference has been found among the average response of the male and female students on all issues related to their Interest in Software Project Management. The post-training test scores of male and female students on both the issues of simple and difficult software project management were significantly different; the pre- and post-training test scores of the students on both the issues were different significantly; and lastly, significant difference was found between the post-training test scores on both the issues among students categorized according to their preferred choice of learning. Application/Improvements: It will be interesting to evaluate, in future, the effectiveness of SESeLE for the learners.

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are spaces designed to educate students remotely via online platforms. Although traditional VLEs such as iSocial have shown promise in educating students, they offer limited immersion that diminishes learning effectiveness. This paper outlines a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) over a high-speed network, which promotes educational effectiveness and efficiency via our creation of flexible content and infrastructure which meet established VLE standards with improved immersion. This paper further describes our implementation of multiple learning modules developed in High Fidelity, a "social VR" platform. Our experiment results show that the VR mode of content delivery better stimulates the generalization of lessons to the real world than non-VR lessons and provides improved immersion when compared to an equivalent desktop version.

While virtual learning environments (VLEs) are widely used in K-12 education for classroom instruction and self-study, young students’ success in VLEs highly depends on their self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. Therefore, it is important to provide personalized support for SRL. One important precursor of designing personalized SRL support is to understand students’ SRL behavioral patterns. Extensive studies have clustered SRL behaviors and prescribed personalized support for each cluster. However, limited attention has been paid to the algorithm bias and fairness of clustering results. In this study, we “fairly” clustered the behavioral patterns of SRL using fair-capacitated clustering (FCC), an algorithm that incorporates constraints to ensure fairness in the assignment of data points. We used data from 14,251 secondary school learners in a virtual math learning environment. The results of FCC showed that it could capture six clusters of SRL behaviors in a fair way; three clusters belonging to high-performing (i.e., H-1. Help-provider, H-2) Active SRL learner, H-3) Active onlooker), and three clusters in low-performing groups (i.e., L-1) Quiz-taker, L-2) Dormant learner, and L-3) Inactive onlooker). The findings provide a better understanding of SRL patterns in online learning and can potentially guide the design of personalized support for SRL.

The study explores the students’ engagement in learning critical reading via virtual learning environment. It employs an exploratory case study using a purposive sampling technique and taking 20 student respondents from university English study program. Questionnaire, interview and Learning Management System (LMS) observation were used to collect data on students’ engagement in learning critical reading via virtual learning environment. The result of the study falls into three dimension of students’ engagement, namely cognitive, behavior and emotional engagement. The findings show a moderate students’ engagement in those three dimensions since the students engaged collaboratively, enthusiastically involve and interest in learning critical reading via virtual learning environment, hence some were found to be slightly showed non cognitive engagement. However, in this virtual learning environment, the students did not show negative engagement in studying critical reading via virtual learning environment. This research is expected to be of benefit to lecturers, students and stakeholders to enrich knowledge and to develop critical reading skills based on the teaching of critical reading in virtual learning environment.

Virtual learning environments have become an essential tool, incorporated in learning activities in educational institutions and individuals’ homes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital devices provide the platform for the learning environment, but learning sometimes becomes passive and boring. Augmented reality provides learners with the needed motivation, engagement, thereby boosting the learner’s activity within the virtual learning environment. It augments the traditional learning materials with 3D objects, animations, audio and visual elements, which offer better interactivity for a rich learning experience. This study aims to give an overview of the development of an augmented reality system to provide a virtual learning environment that delivers a more engaging and motivating lesson, story and experience. The study incorporates Scrum methodology, an agile software development practice that uses small increments called sprints to develop the virtual learning environment in several usable modules. The study also discusses the software tools, Blender and Unity 3D, to develop 3D models and the augmented reality modules for the virtual learning environment. The system uses image targets as markers to project 3D objects to augment the images from the traditional learning materials and offer a better visual experience. The development incorporates features of Educational Data Mining to optimise users’ learning styles and learning experiences. This chapter will demonstrate augmented reality technologies to implement a virtual learning environment that will offer an interactive and engaging learning experience.

Virtual Reality Learning Environments (VLE) are a promising approach for the 21st century classroom. Therefore, it is important to identify the best way that these learning environments will enhance students’ cognitive functions. In this paper, we investigate the effect of lighting conditions, within a VLE, on several cognitive functions while we introduce the novel idea of transformable luminance conditions. We have been inspired by evidence from cognitive and environmental studies, from real environments, that lighting conditions affect people’s memory, attention and executive functions. Our transformable luminance approach, when applied in a virtual university amphitheatre, is benchmarked against the conventional approach of a single luminance VLE (either high or low). The first main outcome of our study is that traditional single luminance lighting conditions exert the same effect in both real and virtual learning environments. That is, high luminance enhances sustained attention and short term memory, while low luminance enhances long term memory. The results also indicate that our novel transformable luminance approach enhances student performance in executive tasks, compared to any single luminance condition (i.e. low or high).

This paper purports to share with higher education community global PBL active learning curriculum and learning environment, which have been collaboratively developed with universities in Taiwan and Kansai University (KU). The collaborated universities developed an optimal curriculum to enhance and nurture students' Future Work Skills 2020 defined by Institute for Future, such future human skills as Sense Making, Social Intelligence, Novel & Adaptive Thinking, Cross-Cultural Competencies, Computational Thinking, New Media Literacy, Transdisciplinarity, Design Mindset, Cognitive Load Management, and Virtual Collaboration. The curriculum fully employs PBL strategies in global teams, where teams for PBL are organized with students with heterogeneous cultural backgrounds in virtual learning environment. The basic concept of such curriculum is based on COIL (Collaborative Online International Learning), originally developed by State University of New York. COIL makes full usage of IT to generate virtual learning environment for students worldwide. In order to go beyond COIL concept incorporating future skills defined by IFTF, allied universities employed PBL in global AGILE teams to deepen insights from various cultural viewpoints in terms of consensus building through team discussions. Due to spatial and temporal differences, enrolled students conducted their team learning activities in virtual learning environment asynchronously, making use of IT technologies and cloud services in order to be on the same page in progress of project throughout course. Further, assessment strategies to enhance students' efficacy is key factor in course, which is also discussed with examples. This paper reports global PBL active learning curriculum and environment collaboratively developed with universities in Taiwan and Kansai University.

Virtual learning environments (VLEs) offer significant value for students with disabilities by providing numerous flexible and accessible learning opportunities. One of the significant benefits is the ability and capability to customise learning experiences to meet individual needs. As a classic example, VLEs can include assistive technologies and devices, such as screen readers, speech-to-text software and customisable interfaces that cater to different disabilities. This adaptability ensures that students with disabilities can actively engage with educational content in myriad ways that are most effective and efficient for them, promoting inclusivity and equal access to education encounters. Another distinct feature of VLEs is their capacity to support self-paced learning, keeping up with a traditional classroom setting. The asynchronous nature and character of many online courses means that students can access materials and complete tasks at times convenient for them, further accommodating their unique needs and schedules. In addition, VLEs foster a collaborative and supportive learning environment. VLE features including and not limited to discussion forums, group projects and virtual office hours enable students with disabilities to actively interact with peers and instructors in a more controlled and less intimidating setting. This can help reduce social anxiety and build confidence. Furthermore, having access to recorded lectures and discussions provides additional support, allowing students to review and reinforce their acquired knowledge and understanding of the material as needed. Overall, VLEs not only enhance accessibility but also create a more inclusive and supportive educational experience for students with disabilities.

As the Covid 19 Pandemic greatly impacted teaching and learning, academic institutions switched from in-person to online classes. This shift prompted an examination of students’ learning styles to accommodate their learning in virtual environment. The VARK (Visual-Aural-Read/Write-Kinesthetic) instrument was used to assess effectiveness of teaching and students’ learning in U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) undergraduate engineering course. The VARK instrument was used to facilitate effective virtual classroom activities to engineering students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper argues that students have different learning strengths and styles. Some students may learn best by watching and listening, others by thinking, and others by doing or by doing, touching, and feeling. Our results indicate that engineering students demonstrate a strong preference for at least two learning styles and the learning styles differ between male and female students. Females are not kinesthetic learners, but their preferable mode of learning is verbal or reading. Male students preferred aural style and African Americans kinesthetic learning style. This research was conducted to improve our teaching and provide students with safe learning environment during challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper finds that learning styles are important across all majors during virtual learning and teaching. The VARK instrument can be used to indicate cadets’ learning styles to facilitate effective learning and teaching in virtual environment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This chapter presents some of the methods and approaches that are used in the assessment of student outcomes in 3-D virtual learning environments. Distance learning or eLearning that includes the 3-D virtual learning environments have been increasing dramatically because of the rise in demand by students. Because of this advent in eLearning, assessment of the outcomes is crucial when measuring student learning. In addition to the measurement of student learning, the instructional designers will need assessment of student learning as a means to upgrade the 3-D virtual learning environments and maintain the relevancy of the content for students. Much of the research on measurement of outcomes is based on anecdotal evidence provided by students. A comprehensive examination of assessment of the 3-D virtual learning environment becomes paramount, so educators will have a better idea how to carefully assess outcomes of student learning.

The purpose of this case study was to determine if learning occurred within a 3D virtual learning environment by determining if elements of collaboration and Nonaka and Takeuchi's (1995) knowledge spiral were present. A key portion of this research was the creation of a Virtual Learning Environment. This 3D VLE utilized the Torque Game Engine provided by Garage Games and a content pack created by BraveTree Productions, LLC. By creating this 3D didactic constructivist virtual environment, conversations were observed for collaborative and knowledge creation elements. Data for this mixed-design case study were gathered through three sources: the 3D virtual environment; a survey created by the researchers; and follow-up interviews. Findings revealed that the five forms of collaboration (Elementary Clarification, In-Depth Clarification, Inference, Judgment, and Application) amplified the knowledge creation process and indeed occurred within the virtual learning environment. It was also determined that all four modes for knowledge creation (socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization) were observed as well.

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. The electronic resources available for educational use have rapidly developed in recent years, thus increasing the use of new assessment and evaluative pedagogical models. Pre- and post-course testing using a virtual learning environment (VLE) can be useful for analyzing student learning, as well as for evaluating the course itself. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the use by the students of a VLE assessment model as part of a dermatology course at the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) - UNICAMP and to evaluate the course itself.The research sample included 145 students who were enrolled in the medical degree program in 2015 and 2016. The data was obtained using the Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (MOODLE) platform, an identification tool containing 10 questions called "Knowing You" and a bank of 80 multiple-choice questions with a similar level of difficulty that had been previously analyzed by residents and dermatology professors. Evaluations were conducted before the beginning of the module (pre-test), shortly after the dermatological practicum (post-test) and at the end of the module (final test). Among the students invited to participate in the study, 81.38% responded to the "Knowing You" questionnaire, and the majority of students displayed good or reasonable knowledge of technology and preferred to study alone at night. Only 2.6% of the students used the VLE. During the assessment step, 50.34% of the participants completed all three tests. The post-practicum test scores were higher than those of the final-module test, which in turn were higher than the pre-module test scores. The analysis was adjusted for the groups in regard to the completion time of the partial post-practicum test. Varying time did not influence the test results among different classes (p=0.7456) or among other groups (p=0.9073).The method enabled the creation of tests with a similar degree of difficulty as no significant difference was observed between the groups and students. We observed that few of the students in the medical course at SMS - UNICAMP used the VLE and that the system of assessment was useful for documenting the module learning.The results also induced changes in the learning model used in the discipline of dermatology, with the goal of better knowledge retention by the end of the module. Therefore, it may be beneficial for students, professors, educational institutions, and development agencies to re-examine their use of VLEs in dermatology education. Questions submitted by dermatology professors from other well-recognized medical schools can be added to the question pool. Thus, this method can also allow for an external evaluation of the discipline or the school.