Integrating Educational Data Mining in Augmented Reality 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.

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 (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.

This chapter focuses on the concept of virtual learning environment (VLE), its characteristics and potentialities. We present the results of a research work conducted with a sample of 347 undergraduates from a Portuguese public higher education institution. The research addressed the issue regarding the use of virtual learning environments within the higher education context and had the following aims: identify the VLE access frequency; assess the influence of users' computer skills on the VLE access frequency; and assess the importance and impact that students consider the VLE to have on supporting the course units they attend. In the light of the results obtained and considering the VLE used in the sample institution, we highlight that the majority of students accesses the VLE on a daily basis, no significant differences were found regarding VLE access according to users' computer skills, and the most valued aspects of the VLE were: checking exam results and receiving teachers' messages or notices.

Information Communication Technology, largely thanks to the development of web 2.0 resources, has encouraged the development of participatory learning processes beyond the logic of the individual learning/learners. Moreover, it has allowed the transition from a learning approach based on the development of individual capacity of critical reflection on experiences to an appreciative approach of learning, based on value creation, creativity, innovation, and based on the valorizationof the positive aspects of individual and collective experiences. These aspects will be approached with regard to the contribution offered by PAAR’s (participatory and appreciative action and reflection) theoretical and methodological perspectives and to the most recent contributions coming from learning in virtual environments. Eventually, we will suggest a facilitating model of learning partnership development in online environments.

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 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.

A review of the evidence on active and passive learning in virtual environments (VEs) suggests that both conditions have shown superiority under some conditions of learning and testing, but there is no consistent outcome pattern. Measures of transfer between virtual and real environments have also revealed a variety of outcomes. Following either active or passive learning in a VE, experiment 1 assessed measures of orientation and distance estimation in that VE and in a real-world equivalent environment. On measures of direct and relative distance, more accurate estimates were found for active than passive VE explorers. A suggestion was also noted for the orientation estimates to benefit from real-world rather than VE testing. With an improvement to the procedure, experiment 2 found similar real versus virtual orientation judgements, suggesting that an opportunity for active learning during the test procedure probably influenced orientation measures in experiment 1. We conclude that the effects of interactivity are unreliable and vary with the measures used, and that testing in virtual and real environments leads to similar outcomes.

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.

Virtual learning environment or VLE has been introduced in educational institutions such as schools, colleges and universities to encourage a systematic online teaching and learning platform. The application of VLE is suggested as one of the mediators to vary the delivery process therefore teaching and learning process will be easier and more interesting. This paper aims to examine the effect of social factors, self-efficacy and technological support on the utilization of VLE in the educational process. A quantitative approach was employed and the data was collected through questionnaire administered to selected respondents. A total of 356 accounting teachers from secondary schools in Peninsular Malaysia were chosen as the samples. Reflective measurement model in Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling was utilized to measure the effect of exogenous latent variable on the endogenous latent variable. Results indicated that social factor namely (colleague, administrators and school culture) significantly effect the use of VLE among teachers. The finding can be interpreted as teachers with higher value of social factors have higher intention to use VLE in his/her teaching and learning. Further, self-efficacy and technological support (facilities quality, internet access and technical support) positively influence teachers’ to apply VLE during teaching. This paper proposes that teachers need to be given ongoing support and appropriate training to develop their skills in using digital technology. Further, the quality of technological facilities in schools need to be developed to promote effective educational processes and motivate teachers to use digital technology.

An analysis of students' preparation for the virtual learning environment

Personalization in virtual learning environments is the system ability to provide individualization and a set of personalized services such as personalized content management, learner model, or adaptive instant interaction. The intelligent agent technology has potential regarding the creation of such personalized, adaptive and interactive e-learning applications. However, most of the available solutions have so far focused on porting existing courses with traditional teaching methods onto the virtual environments, making them available in an attractive animated interface without any fine-tuning and adaptation to the learner needs. This paper proposes a novel market-inspired collaboration model where the agents are self-interested autonomic elements collaborate to achieve a comprehensive learner model. Mentor agent makes decisions on top of a Dempster-Shafer belief accumulation to help student whenever she believes student has lost the clues and needs help. Proposed architecture is validated by applying on a sample agent augmented virtual environment designed to engage and motivate students at the lower secondary level in Singapore. Extensive experiments illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed interaction model where students have found the mentor agent as believable as a virtual teacher.

The use of virtual learning environments (VLEs) has become increasingly common in most higher education (HE) institutions. Recent developments have proposed the interoperability of software systems and content, to create component VLEs in contrast with the integrated, monolithic ones that are currently prevalent. This paper examines the student experience of two VLEs, one integrated approach and the other component. In general, students preferred the component system, although this may have been influenced by other factors such as performance. Although the study is limited to one cohort of student it makes a number of suggestions relevant to anyone deploying a VLE. These are that the component approach is a viable one from a student perspective, the broader context in which the VLE operates is important in student perception and that poor system performance may have unpredictable consequences for the learning experience.