Transparent Latecomer Support for Web-Based Collaborative Learning Environments

Applying adaptive swarm intelligence technology with structuration in web-based collaborative learning

This study aims to assess the viability of blogging in the context of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) as a productive web-based learning environment (WBLE). The blog sections of three English as a second language (ESL) websites were evaluated and Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) which appears in the comments sections of blog posts was examined through reference to excerpts of various comments. The analysis indicates that as a supplementary means of language education, both the blog content and the debate that hosts in its comments section are useful to language learners all over the world who have access to the internet. It may not facilitate certain areas of cognition that are maximized by Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), however it does expose readers to necessary information in an educational context and provide them with an outlet for spontaneous CMC (SCMC), allowing autonomous parsing of the target language (English).

The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction and human communication on a Web-Based Collaborative Learning Environment (WBCLE). WBCLE is an integrative, interactive and collaborative learning environment for web based courses. With optimized learning materials, WBCLE also provides interactive functions such as login, students’ works upload the instructor’s comment feedback, Real-time chat Room and discussion forum and provides collaborative functions such as group management, group collaborative learning, shared resources. Based on the investigations of web courses in WBCLE, the paper analyses the interactive and collaborative functions and web learning patterns, and the impact of human communication. Learning technology can not completely take place of instructor’s supervision and communication with students. Strategies for collaborative learning and human communication can improve the educational effectiveness, and they include enhancing message flows among students and the instructor, creating communities in the course, and providing more interactive functions and supervision to the students.KeywordsHuman CommunicationDiscussion ForumInteractive FunctionChat RoomComputer Mediate CommunicationThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Examining high-school students’ preferences toward learning environments, personal beliefs and concept learning in web-based contexts

Learning is a cognitive process that occurs either
 in a formal or informal learning environment, by way of
 adopting either formal or informal learning process. While
 the significance of former has been widely accepted, later is
 still researched and lacks relevant studies on its implications
 for web-based learning, especially by way of instigating
 learning motivation. This paper presents descriptive analysis
 of learning motivation factors within (i) formal and informal
 learning environments, and (ii) formal and informal
 learning processes, and then examines their influence on
 web-based learning by computing Pearson correlations. To
 achieve study objectives, the paper discusses relevant literature
 and then conceptualizes a research model to be tested
 through a survey based questionnaire. Formal learning
 process is discussed with reference to learning activities as
 promoted by formal learning institutes, while informal
 learning process is examined by way of investigating learning
 motivation factors associated with (i) video-games, (ii)
 social networking websites and (iii) motion-pictures. Results
 illustrate interesting revelation of learning motivational
 factors, particularly motivational factors associated with
 informal learning environment and processes have been
 found to have a statistically significant relationship with
 web-based learning. The paper concludes implications of the
 statistical findings for designing of cognitively engaging
 web-based learning environments.

Since the 1970s, cognitive psychological perspectives have dominated pedagogical frameworks and models for designing technology-mediated teaching and learning environments. More recently, social learning perspectives have received attention as viable or even desirable frames for research and practice related to teaching and learning, particularly in Web-based learning environments (WBLEs). In this article, the authors analyze these social learning perspectives and how they can be used in the design and implementation of online learning. This review and analysis of the research related to social learning perspectives on WBLEs provides several implications for future research and practice: (1) examining learners' individual characteristics in WBLEs, (2) identifying strategies for promoting social interaction in WBLEs, and (3) developing effective design principles for WBLEs.

There is a worldwide concern for young children’s online safety and a growing necessity for e-safety skills to be taught to children from a young age as part of formal schooling. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate the effectiveness and motivational capacity of an interactive web-based learning environment for improving children’s e-safety skills. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group design was used with an experimental group of 48 sixth-grade primary school students, who used the web-based learning environment over two 80-min lessons, and a control group of 25 students who did not. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference (t(47) = −14.06, p < 0.01) in the experimental group students’ e-safety performance, when students’ pre-test scores (mean (Μ) = 41.13, SD = 10.47) were compared to their post-test scores (Μ = 56.69, SD = 9.38). The analysis of an attitudes questionnaire and of student interviews documented the experimental group students’ positive attitudes toward the learning environment. Findings provide evidence of the effectiveness and motivational capacity of the web-based learning environment, which can be used in either formal education or informal learning settings, for improving children’s e-safety skills.

The Web is a firmly established, though virtual, reality. Educators, well aware of the potential of We technology, have adopted it for creating new Web-based learning environments. This article presents a study of the characteristics of Web sites as teaching and learning environments. The major questions addressed in this study were:1. What characterizes educational Web sites at the content, teaching, learning, and communication levels?2. How do key teaching and learning issues appearing on educational Web sites relate to educators’ expectations from the new technology?3. What can a consideration of the current state of affairs teach us about further development and implementation of educational Web sites?To answer these questions we developed a classification scheme (the Taxonomy of WBLE); implemented it for the study of 436 educational Web sites focusing on mathematics, science, and technology learning; and elaborated on practical implications of the study’s results. The overall picture we have unveiled may sound disappointing, and it can be summarized as “one step ahead for the technology, two steps back for the pedagogy.” But a thoughtful discussion of the results suggests directions for the research and development of novel Web-based educational models. Results indicate that many educational Web sites are still predominantly text-based and do not yet exhibit evidence of current pedagogical approaches (e.g., use of inquiry-based activities, application of constructivist learning principles, and use of alternative evaluation methods). Suggestions for future WBLE development are provided.

In Web-based cooperative learning environments, peer-to-peer interaction often suffers from the difficulty due to lack of exploring useful social interaction information, so that peers cannot find appropriate learning partners to make an effective cooperative learning. This problem easily results in poor learning outcomes in Web-based cooperative learning environments. Generally, learning partners assigned by instructors cannot ensure to compose suitable learning groups for individual learners in cooperative learning environments. Inappropriate learning partners not only easily lead to poor learning interaction and achievement, but also lose the meaning of cooperative learning. As a result, this study presents a novel scheme of mining social interactive networks for recommending appropriate learning partners for individual learners in a cooperative problem-based learning environment. The preliminary experimental results reveal that the proposed scheme provides likely benefits in terms of promoting learnerspsila learning interaction and learning performance in cooperative learning environments.

Visual scaffolding, a type of scaffolding provided in a visual format, is considered to have potential in web-based learning environments as it naturally includes tacit information, highlights the critical features of tasks and promotes learning through the spatial organization of tasks. However, systematic approaches to visual scaffolding design principles are rare. This study aims to develop visual scaffolding design principles and guidelines in a web-based learning environment through a literature review. The specific visual scaffolding design principles regarding objects are 1) the spatial organization of information, 2) coaching, modelling, and mentoring, 3) explication of the task structure, 4) explication of the process, 5) explication of the cognitive process, 6) explication of understanding, 7) metacognitive prompts. In terms of visuals, the principles drawn are 8) ensuring visibility, coupling, and usability, 9) the use of appropriate visuals, 10) proximity and simplicity of the display, 11) spatial organization of the toolset. The principles regarding the learners are 12) consideration of different learners, and 13) manipulation of support and use. The limitations and future research directions are discussed.

The advance of online technology and instructional delivery such as Web‐based learning (WBL) has heralded new changes in education. Students using the WBL environment in various courses at eight universities in Malaysia were surveyed. Results showed that five main factors influence the effectiveness of the online learning process: students' behavior, characteristics of lecturers, interactive application, technology or system, and the institutions. Results indicated that students' grades are highly correlated with student perception, self‐efficacy and interactivity. The WBL learners do not outperform traditional learners. There is also a need to improve the quality of WBL due to differences in adaptation styles of learners in the process.

Computer-based, networking learning environments play a significant role in the improvement of the learning procedure. Electronic communication and collaboration services provide tutors and trainees with continual, close, and efficient cooperation. An increase in the use of the Internet as a repository of resources for learning, and also as a means for delivery of specially prepared teaching materials, is a particularly significant innovation in the field of education. Educational applications are increasingly based on the World Wide Web, combining simplified access to the application and integration into a Web-based learning environment. This work presents a flexible communication and collaboration environment, developed within the framework of the ODYSSEAS project, that may be used by educators. The basic services environment presented in this paper is built upon the well-known and popular standards HTTP, SMTP, and POP3 and is accessible to the potential user through a web browser and connection to a user authentication server that will handle the user’s private information, with minimal installation cost.

Many countries are considering lifelong learning, which is becoming an important education goal, and promoting lifelong learning in the information age. With the development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), digital divides have become a major concern in the world. In this study, we focus on three dimensions of digital divides in the field of lifelong learning: education organization, age, and national penetration. Next, we report our findings that provide solutions for combating digital divides by developing web-based learning and support environments over a three-year period: (1) a blended learning support system that helps teachers manage learning resources and create blended learning programs and learners choose and participate in learning activities; (2) an “E-namoSupport” system for senior beginners to use the Internet, as implemented in Japan; (3) a “Senior Internet Support & Learning Environment” to help senior citizens improve their Internet literacy and enjoy the information age in China.

As a flourishing field, e-learning at large (including distance learning, Web-based learning, and digital game-based learning) has attracted increasing attention from both industry and academic sectors. To facilitate the development of effective e-learning systems, scalable technologies that support an arbitrary number of users while providing them with a good learning environment are needed. In this introduction, we provide an overview of e-learning system development with respect to a layered reference architecture, including the Internet infrastructure layer, the conceptual/modeling layer, and the application layer. In addition, the three articles included in this special issue cover the issues of managing the learning objects in an open and scalable architecture, incorporation of learners' pedagogical features in Web-based learning environments, and support of digital game-based learning. All these issues, though not exhaustive, are important to ensure successful development of e-learning systems on an Internet platform.

This article explores the benefits of the Internet to enhance history instruction for all learners. The authors describe a Web-based learning environment, the Virtual History Museum (VHM), that helps teachers create motivating, inquiry-based history units. VHM also allows teachers to build supports for learners with disabilities or other learning challenges. A pilot study that demonstrated the impact of the VHM on history learning and participation of eighth-grade students with mild disabilities is discussed.