bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Contribution de l'approche par les capacités à l'évaluation du développement territorial
Authors: Loubet France , Dissart Jean-Christophe , Lallau Benoît
Published: February 2012

La notion de territoire permet de prendre en compte l’impact des caractéristiques locales sur le développement économique. La dynamique créée par les acteurs permet de construire des ressources spécifiques et ainsi d’ancrer les activités. Cependant, la question de l’influence des dynamiques territoriales sur les opportunités auxquelles ont accès les habitants est peu abordée dans la littérature. Cet article propose une analyse de ces opportunités en recourant au cadre théorique de l’approche par les capacités. Sont également présentés une méthodologie d’application de cette approche à l’analyse des dynamiques sur les territoires ruraux ainsi que des résultats préliminaires pour la région Rhône-Alpes.
La place de l'économie des territoires dans la construction d'une théorie générale intégrant l'espace
Authors: Duez Philippe
Published: February 2012

Cet article se propose d’étudier la place de l’économie des territoires dans la construction d’une théorie générale intégrant l’espace. Cela suppose le choix d’une démarche épistémologique. La démarche choisie est celle de l’archéologie du savoir de FOUCAULT. Il s’agit d’abord de présenter les seuils d’épistémologisation qui permettront de dire pourquoi et quand l’économie des territoires apparaît. Il s’agit ensuite d’étudier les liens de filiation entre chaque discours en partant de l’observation de la formation des concepts.
Territoire, innovation et développement durable : l'émergence d'un nouveau régime conventionnel ?
Authors: Buclet Nicolas
Published: February 2012

Cet article s’intéresse à l’émergence multiforme d’initiatives locales de développement de par le monde, se voulant en rupture avec le système économique dominant. Ces multiples initiatives, analysons-nous, malgré leur apparente hétérogénéité, reposent en grande partie sur un certain nombre de principes communs. En se référant à des principes, valeurs et repères relativement homogènes, les initiatives en question, bien que portant sur des domaines différents, participent à notre sens à l’émergence d’un nouveau régime conventionnel davantage en phase avec les enjeux du développement durable. L’article analyse les caractéristiques de ce régime, et notamment le refus de la suprématie de la sphère marchande sur tout autre principe sociétal au bénéfice de la réciprocité dans les échanges telle que définie par Karl Polanyi. Se pose néanmoins la question du potentiel et des limites de ce régime conventionnel.
Heureux ceux qui sont nus
Authors: Combet-Galland Corina
Published: February 2012

Résumé Cette réflexion se veut comme un tissage : le premier fil, celui des Béatitudes, « trace du Fils », source de perfection filiale et non d’abord morale ; filiation qui renvoie à trois moments forts : la généalogie humaine (Abraham, David...) ; le mythe d’origine et la naissance du sauveur ; enfin, le baptême, et donc, la nomination et la venue de l’Esprit. Le second fil, celui du dénuement de soi : c’est la suite d’un roi nu que nous prenons comme l’annonce toute la thématique du vêtir/dévêtir dans la Bible (Exode, Lévitique, Job, Marc, Paul...). Les Béatitudes ouvrent sur un bonheur paradoxal, le bonheur de ceux qui consentent à leur nudité.
Expérience religieuse et raison publique
Authors: Ferry Jean-Marc
Published: February 2012

Résumé Jean-Marc Ferry retrace l’itinéraire historique de philosophie politique autour de la notion de communauté et de la place du religieux dans les démocraties modernes. Bodin, Hobbes et Rousseau sont les auteurs qui lui donnent à penser. Il recense avec la même précision les présupposés axiologiques du libéralisme politique, l’héritage ô combien marquant de John Rawls et les différentes options prises récemment : communautarisme, cosmopolitisme postmoderniste, criticisme. Cela lui permet d’affronter la question aiguë de la tension entre raison et religion dans les espaces sécularisés, quitte à évoluer vers un éventuel dépassement du principe de laïcité. Jean-Marc Ferry se livre enfin à une réflexion extrêmement charpentée sur les conditions d’accueil de l’agnosticisme moderne par la conviction religieuse. Le lien entre Révélation et raison argumentative y est constamment interrogé.
La laïcité à l'épreuve de l'islam et des musulmans : le cas de la France
Authors: Seniguer Haouès
Published: February 2012

Résumé La France est le pays européen qui compte le plus grand nombre de personnes de culture ou de religion musulmane, ce qui implique une laïcité capable de faire consensus comme cadre commun à tous. Il devient nécessaire de quitter certains préjugés relatifs à l’islam en pourfendant culturalisme et essentialisme. Ce sont surtout les pouvoirs publics qui politisent l’islam et non les musulmans, en tout cas, dans leur immense majorité. Il n’est pas si sûr que la religion soit en elle-même génératrice de violence. Il n’est pas si sûr non plus, que l’État respecte toujours sa neutralité lorsqu’il place lui-même les frontières entre islam modéré et islam radical. Il n’est pas si sûr que le communautarisme musulman ne soit pas un fantasme. L’islam s’est beaucoup déchiré historiquement. Aujourd’hui, il n’existe pas stricto sensu d’islam démocratique, progressiste, pas plus que totalitaire ou rigoriste. Seule une minorité de littéralistes interdisent d’interpréter le Coran. La Shari’a est souvent caricaturée. En réalité, le communautarisme musulman est une expression destinée à accréditer l’idée que ce sont les musulmans qui rejettent la laïcité au nom de réalités supérieures, ce qui n’est pas juste au regard de l’histoire. Il suffit de se reporter à la politique coloniale de la France en Algérie. À l’heure actuelle, la laïcité française se fait intrusive, comme en témoigne l’affaire du « voile islamique ».
Technophilie et technophobie : quelle critique possible ?
Authors: Grassin Marc
Published: February 2012

Résumé Les immenses progrès de la technique au siècle dernier nous poussent à remettre à plat nos fonctionnements et nos réflexions sur l’usage de la technique. Nous nous croyons souvent obligés de choisir un camp, pour ou contre elle. Ouvrir un chemin d’humanisation semble plus approprié. La liberté de l’homme peut croître avec la technique, pour autant que celui-ci évite certains malentendus. Ainsi Sloterdijk parle de l’homme moderne comme d’un messager sans message. La technique ne peut faire l’économie de la parole humaine car cette technique, en elle-même, ne produit que des discours.
Distance Learning Courses
Authors: Walters Kelley , Shaw Melanie , Long David
Published: February 2012

Drawing on current literature and a survey of online students and instructors from online institutions, the researchers explored the different types of assignments and assessments required for completion of online courses, the Learning Management Systems utilized, and differences between undergraduate and graduate tasks assigned, according to field of study. While there is a significant amount of available research on instructional efficacy in online classes, there are few studies that account for the types of course activities students must complete in distance learning courses. This study details the variety of online assessments and activities assigned to students attending institutions of higher education that are either fully online or utilizing a blended learning format. Recommendations are made for diverse instructional tasks, which can be assigned based on available technology and curricular flexibility. Key terms used in the study are defined at the end of this chapter.
The Evolution of E-learning Management Systems
Authors: Alves da Silva Nuno Sotero , Morais da Costa Gonçalo Jorge , Prior Mary , Rogerson Simon
Published: February 2012

The development of educational technologies is enhancing a distinctive feature of learning environments: the learner’s personalized environment. However, the current literature in e-learning seems to neglect an important discussion: will individuals (learners and lecturers) and organizations face an enhancement concerning ethical dilemmas due to this evolution? To promote this discussion, this paper builds on a consideration of e-learning definition and its ethical dilemmas, and human-centred learning concept and its dimensions, to examine the implications of integrating social and cultural contexts. By examining the evolution of e-learning management systems the argument progresses to a discussion of the relationships between pedagogy and ethics. By framing evidence at different scales, the authors critically reflect on the ethical dilemmas embedded in e-learning systems. The discussion concludes with advocating the adoption of an extension of “three P” mode of pedagogy to become the “P3E” model: personalization, participation, productivity, lecturer’s ethics, learner’s ethics, and organizational ethics.
Preparing Faculty for a Learning Management System Transition
Authors: Baylen Danilo M. , Hancock Mary , Mullen Carol M. , Coleman Mary Angela
Published: February 2012

This chapter focuses on the impact of a change in the use of a learning management system (LMS) at one university. Survey data captured faculty members’ viewpoints on the transition from one LMS to another, specifically, their dispositions toward technology and change, preparation and prior experiences, need for support, and access to available resources. The inquiry focuses on potential activities and infrastructures that can be established to support the faculty, as LMS users, when a new system is introduced. Also, it explores the types of knowledge, skills, and dispositions that faculty may have or need to effectively and efficiently use the new system to support their work. Finally, strategies are recommended to enhance faculty members’ dispositions, preparation, support and access to resources.
Web 2.0 and Professional Development of Academic Staff
Authors: Tynan Belinda , Barnes Cameron
Published: February 2012

This chapter argues that the latest wave of Web 2.0 technologies has the potential to transform online learning. To realize this potential, universities must rethink the way in which they develop academic skills in online teaching. The current emphasis on training academics to teach online using learning material and learning management systems has yielded mixed results. Too much of the focus has been on “top-down” models of change. Web 2.0 technologies favor “bottom-up” approaches to staff development, approaches that leverage the power, ease of use, and flexibility of Web 2.0 technologies. These have a better chance to produce the constructivist, student-centered online learning that is now widely regarded as the ideal. The authors use fictional accounts in order to capture some of the issues involved.
Formal and Informal Learning Flows Cohesion in Web 2.0 Environment
Authors: Ivanova Malinka , Popova Anguelina
Published: February 2012

This paper presents the results of an exploratory study examining bachelor degree students’ experiences of learning with a new generation learning management system Edu 2.0 combined with Web 2.0 applications. The authors discuss students’ perceptions of formal and informal activities within this environment as captured through a collection of surveys, activities’ tracking, and assessment. The main functional characteristics and available social tools of Edu 2.0 are examined in the context of students learning support. A model of Learning area is developed to analyze the formal and informal learning flows from the point of view of learning enhancement.
Collaborative Learning and Concept Mapping for Language Teaching
Authors: Marriott Rita de Cássia Veiga
Published: February 2012

This chapter outlines how collaborative learning and concept mapping have been incorporated and implemented within a blended foreign language course. Focusing on these two approaches, it introduces the reader to LAPLI – The Language Learning Lab: a methodology of integrative CALL using the Internet. The aim in LAPLI’s 12 activities is to challenge high-intermediate and advanced language students to go beyond their limitations and be more active and responsible for their own learning. Students, based on authentic material selected by themselves, work individually and collaboratively throughout its activities. They are stimulated to develop fluency and accuracy in the foreign language, focusing on the development of their reading and writing skills, but also promoting their oral and social skills. Some feedback from the students is presented. The chapter concludes with a few considerations on the challenges of life-long education.
Didactic Design Pattern
Authors: Wippermann Sven
Published: February 2012

According to the theory of moderate constructivism, learning processes contain a social dimension. In this context, a continuous feedback is essential for supporting (students’) learning. Especially, digital learning environments should offer ways to give and receive feedback, because they lack the possibilities of personal interaction. The pattern presented in this chapter captures a best practice on evaluating certain aspects of the learning process in regard to the learning content and learning atmosphere. Feedback on the content is given non-anonymously in a discussion forum, whereas the learning atmosphere is rated anonymously within a virtual learning environment. The pattern captures a specific, didactic driven method within a learning environment and is therefore particularly useful for lecturers who want to give and receive feedback on specific learning topics, and lecturers who want to gain an insight in their student’s learning emotions.
Virtual Learning Environment (ClassSim) Examined Under the Frame of Andragogy
Authors: Carrington Lisa , Kervin Lisa , Ferry Brian
Published: February 2012

ClassSim, an online simulation, was developed to support existing teacher education programs by providing pre-service teachers with access to additional classroom experience. This research reports on how pre-service teachers make use of the virtual learning environment to link knowledge from university coursework with field experiences and through this, we are able to examine affordances the virtual environment offers pre-service teacher learning. Andragogy provides a theoretical framework to review and make assumptions about the nature of learning for the participants. A comparative case study approach allows for in-depth comparison of two cohorts of pre-service teachers (first and final year) as they interact with the ClassSim environment.
Supporting Mobile Access to VLE Resources through MobiGlam
Authors: Meawad Fatma , Stubbs Geneen
Published: February 2012

MobiGlam is a generic framework of interoperability with existing virtual learning environments (VLEs) that provides a compact and easy to use implementation of learning activity on Java enabled mobile devices. A case study was conducted at the University of Glamorgan, UK where MobiGlam was seamlessly integrated with the university’s VLE to support the delivery of computer courses at the foundation level. Such integration showed an added value to the participants and in many cases, it improved their use of the VLE. This chapter reports on the deployment, the evaluation, and the results of this case study. The results are analysed from two views: the impact on the participants’ use of the VLE and the framework’s overall usability.
Integrating Ontology-Based Content Management into a Mobilized Learning Environment
Authors: Kismihók Gábor , Kovács Barna , Vas Réka
Published: February 2012

This chapter describes the architecture of an ontology based content authoring system, developed according to the challenges emerging from Bologna process deployment in Hungary. Considering the needs of Hungarian academic sector, mobility of learners has also been treated as a key requirement. This system has several fundamental components: an educational ontology–which also serves as the domain of curricula development, a content developer, a content repository, and an adaptive knowledge testing engine with a test bank. The services and learning objects are distributed towards the students through a mobilized learning management system.
Object Design in Virtual Immersive Environments
Authors: Baum Jan
Published: February 2012

The ubiquity of digital technology and the pervasiveness of the Web have led to a paradigm shift in life and work. Never before have so many tools for communication, contribution, and collaboration been so globally interconnected. The Object Design program at Towson University engages the network effect of emergent technologies developing pedagogy to keep pace with global developments. Students learn 21st century skills as they engage virtual immersive environments as a digital design tool, for iterative prototyping, as a virtual presence augmenting traditional studio practice, to engage new economic platforms, and as a virtual learning environment for global dialogue and collaboration. Steady growth in virtual immersive environments support a burgeoning virtual goods market and further exploration for learning, training, and innovation across social sectors: enterprise, education, and government in the evolution of society.
Second Life Brought to Life
Authors: Yee Kevin , Hargis Jace
Published: February 2012

This case presents the challenges and successes encountered when a university attempts to offer a course in a new online virtual learning environment (VLE). Overcoming the resistance towards change requires many aspects—innovation, expertise, funds, culture, persistence, attitude, collaboration, willingness to take risk and possibly open to experiencing a failed event. Most importantly, there is a need for addressing the individual needs of student learning. Being able to develop networks and reach outside of those networks for expertise, input, and commitments are essential to moving forward and becoming successful at offering a unique and innovative VLE. Ultimately, the social, technological, economic, and political parameters involved in this process are all significant and requires workarounds in order to provide an innovative, individualized teaching and learning model.
Science through Second Life
Authors: Wellman Elizabeth , Arreguin Cathy
Published: February 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to provide educators with a case study of the design, development, and implementation of a Multi User Virtual Environment as a core medium in a high school based blended learning system. Science through Second Life focuses on the opportunities and challenges encountered by educators in the creation and realization of a series of virtual learning environments in Teen Second Life on the topic of environmental sustainability. This chapter considers instructional approaches to support scientific literacy and thinking, the optimal use of multiple media for supporting media literacy growth, and the use of the blended environment to motivate students, gain their attention, and foster a longer term interest in science. Specific examples of learning activities, supportive instructional materials and the pedagogical reasoning are woven into a larger narrative detailing a semester long, 9th grade science class. By reporting the design and development process and the subsequent course of implementation of instructional activities, this chapter provides pre- and in-service teachers and instructional designers with a model of instructional design and practical considerations for developing MUVEs in a blended instructional environment.
Strategies of LMS Implementation at German Universities
Authors: Kruse Carola , Tan Thanh-Thu Phan , Koesling Arne , Krüger Marc
Published: February 2012

In Germany, a learning management system (LMS) has become an everyday online tool for the academic staff and students at almost every university. Implementing an LMS, however, can be very different depending on the university. We introduce some general aspects on the strategies at German universities on how to implement an LMS. These aspects are mainly influenced by two main approaches, the top-down and bottom-up approach, which determine the decisions and actions on different levels at the university. In order to show how the strategies are carried out, we are presenting three case studies from universities based in the German federal state of Lower Saxony. We are going to reveal that both approaches play a part in each strategy, however differently weighted. It becomes clear that networking and collaboration plays a crucial role, not only concerning the technical development of the LMS software but also in organisational and educational terms.
Using Moodle to Teach Constructivist Learning Design Skills to Adult Learners
Authors: Holton Douglas L.
Published: February 2012

This chapter describes a case study of the design and implementation of an online project-based course for learning constructivist instructional design techniques. Moodle, a free and open source learning management system, was chosen as a tool to meet both the goals of the course and the needs and abilities of the adult learners in this course. Despite the instructor’s and students’ inexperience with both Moodle and online courses, Moodle greatly facilitated the process, resulting in a largely successful and motivating learning experience.
ClassSim
Authors: Ferry Brian , Kervin Lisa , Carrington Lisa
Published: February 2012

This chapter presents one approach to educator development through games and simulations. The goal of the authors’ project was to enhance pre-service teachers’ ability to bridge the gap between the theory and practice of teaching. Some criteria that the authors regarded as indicators of success were the facilitation a professional dialogue, an emerging understanding of content delivery and the articulation of workplace culture in the teaching profession. The chapter describes the theory underpinning of the design and the research approaches used. In particular, the authors explain how cognitive load theory was applied to the design of the key features of this virtual learning environment. They also summarize six years of research that has consistently found that the virtual learning environment of ClassSim provides an effective way of introducing pre-service teachers to their future work in classrooms.
Hybrid Dialog
Authors: Zimmermann Tobias , Bucher Karen-Lynn , Hurtado Daniel
Published: February 2012

Attendance at classical lectures usually leads to rather poor learning success. A wide variety of studies show that while lectures are as effective as any other method for transmitting information, they are inferior in many other dimensions. Lectures are not as effective as discussion methods in promoting thought and they are ineffective at teaching behavioral skills and subject-related values as well as at awakening interest in a subject. Still ex-cathedra teaching is a favored way to cope with a high student-to-teacher ratio. To solve this conflict between organizational and pedagogical requirements, a group of researchers at the Institute of Teacher Education at the University of Zurich has developed a hybrid course setting using an online learning platform. Their setting incorporates a dialog among students within a large lecture class. Furthermore a feedback loop enables the lecturer to continuously adjust the content of the lecture to the learning process of the students. In this article, the authors first present the structure of this setting and then illustrate how to implement it by the web-based open source learning management system OLAT (Online Learning and Training). Based on their research, they focus on key components for the success of their hybrid dialog. They show how individual and group learning can be fostered with corresponding assignments, assessments, and assigned roles such as moderators. Thus, the authors will define their position that the challenge of a large lecture class can be met while successfully implementing social learning and process-oriented assessments of academic achievement.
Video-Enriched Learning Experiences for Performing Arts Students
Authors: Martinell Alberto Ramírez , Sime Julie-Ann
Published: February 2012

To close the gap between formal education and professional practice, Higher Education (HE) practitioners need to be aware of the importance of offering realistic learning scenarios where students can profit from personalised learning opportunities and meaningful learning. In this chapter, the authors study the extent to which viewing video recordings of the individual performances of dance and music students benefited the learning process. Evidence was gathered from two groups of undergraduate performing arts students at a HE institution in the United Kingdom, and from their corresponding teachers, who independently offered their students a personalised way of accessing visually relevant feedback on their performances via a virtual learning environment. Results suggest that this access to personalised learning facilitated critical reflection and learning from experience. It enabled the students to reposition themselves in relation to their actual performance, fostered their will to learn, and reaffirmed them as potential professional performers.
Online Support for Students’ Writing Skills Development in a Technical Communication Introductory Module
Authors: Cleary Yvonne
Published: February 2012

This chapter explores the development of online support for writing skills in one technical communication module taught at the University of Limerick. It demonstrates the need for writing support by exploring the many complexities of teaching and learning writing skills. Central to the discussion is the principle of process, rather than product, orientation. Students on the module have been surveyed over the past two years to determine their attitudes to, and perceptions of, their writing strengths and weaknesses. The chapter outlines and exemplifies the types of writing-problems students and instructors identify. Online support is posited as an intervention which facilitates autonomous learning. The chapter concludes by discussing how online resources, and especially the university virtual learning environment, Sakai (called Sulis at University of Limerick), can support students. It also suggests related research opportunities, especially in the area of using Web 2.0 technologies to foster autonomy.
Online Delivery of Deaf Studies Curricula in Ireland at Third Level
Authors: Nolan Brian , Leeson Lorraine
Published: February 2012

Irish Sign Language (ISL), an indigenous language of Ireland, is recognized by the European Union as a natural language. It is a language separate from the other languages used in Ireland, including English, Irish, and, in Northern Ireland, British Sign Language. Some 5,000 Deaf people use ISL. Given the history of suppression of signed languages across what is now the European Union, the average Deaf person leaves school with a reading age of 8.5 to 9 years. It is no surprise, therefore, that Deaf people are the most under-represented of all disadvantaged groups at third level. This poses two challenges: (1) getting Deaf people into third level and (2) presenting education in an accessible form. In the authors’ work, they address directly these challenges in an Irish context, and this chapter reports on this work. In Ireland, two Dublin based institutions, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Institute for Technology Blanchardstown, Dublin (ITB) have partnered to create a unique eLearning environment based on MOODLE as the learning management system, in the delivery of Deaf Studies programmes at TCD. This partnership delivers third level programmes to students in a way that resolves problems of time, geography and access, maximizing multi-functional uses of digital assets across our programmes. Students can take courseware synchronously and asynchronously. The authors have built a considerable digital asset and have created a re-architected framework to avail of current best practice in rich digital media over Moodle with learning objects for ISL. Their digital assets include a corpus of ISL, the ‘Signs of Ireland Corpus’ which is one of the largest, most richly annotated in the world. They have operated online delivery since 2005, hosted by ITB. The hallmark of this project is the delivery of blended learning, maximizing ICT in the teaching and learning of ISL. It is important to note that there are currently no other universities delivering Deaf Studies programmes with this degree of online content internationally. Thus, this programme and its associated research is cutting edge innovation in its philosophy, its rich content and its utilization of rich media. Signed languages, by their nature, are visual-gestural languages, which (unlike spoken languages) do not have a written form. Given this, the online content is required to be multi-modal in nature and the authors utilize rich-media learning objects in their delivery. Within ITB and TCD, the authors have a number of doctoral level studies linked to this project. These focus, at one end of the continuum, on focusing on Deaf culture and is linked to the perspectives on Deaf Studies teaching modules, and at the opposite end of the continuum on describing, for ISL, the phonological-morphological interface in ISL ad which will enrich the digital corpus of ISL. These feed into the online programme.
Teaching Off-Line Digital Video Editing On-Line
Authors: Atkinson Sarah
Published: February 2012

This chapter focuses upon a case study of an online higher education intervention – an interactive resource the author has devised as an aid to the teaching and learning of undergraduate digital video editing (DVE). This resource specifically addresses drama and fiction postproduction principles, practice and techniques. The repository, which includes streamed materials available to download, guides the student through the film production process in a step-by-step way (for students), with suggested class based activities and tasks using the materials (for tutors). The resources include the script, all planning documentation, all production paperwork, and all rushes shot for different productions. The student/tutor navigates through these materials guided by a combination of voice-overs, video tutorials by those personnel involved in the production, and clips taken from the “making of” documentaries. This chapter explores the intervention within the wider context of higher education online teaching and through the lens of virtual learning environment pedagogic theory.
Improvement of Engineering Students Education by E-learning
Authors: Sorial George. A. , Noroozi Babak
Published: February 2012

Traditional education for engineers has shifted towards new methods of teaching and learning through the proliferation of Information and Communication Technologies. The continuous advances in technology enable the realization of a more distributed structure of knowledge transfer. Virtual Learning Environment has become an increasingly ambiguous term in recent years because of essential elements facilitating a consistent environment for learners. It has the potential to position the learner within a meaningful context to a much greater extent than traditional interactive multimedia environments. The 3D environment acquaints students with features of different shapes and objects, and can be particularly useful in teaching younger students different procedures and mechanisms for carrying out specific tasks. This case explains the key issues and success factors regarding the e-Learning for engineering education especially in developing countries.
Collaborative E-Learning Techniques
Authors: Konstantinidis Andreas , Tsiatsos Thrasyvoulos , Demetriadis Stavros , Pomportsis Andreas S.
Published: February 2012

This chapter compares the potential of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) to facilitate the implementation of traditional face to face collaborative learning techniques in an online environment and discusses the benefits and challenges of an integrated approach. Initially, the chapter focuses on the application of collaborative learning techniques in traditional and computer supported didactical settings. Following this, the practice of utilizing LMSs in the contemporary educational process is analyzed, and the use of MUVEs in order to facilitate collaborative learning at a distance is subsequently presented. Ultimately, the chapter aims to clarify how the fruitful combination of these two technological approaches to the collaborative learning pedagogy can both diminish their weaknesses and amplify their strengths. For this reason, the final section of the chapter focuses on presenting an integrated approach, which merges two open source solutions: the popular LMS Moodle with the promising MUVE OpenSim.
The Student Perspective
Authors: O’Donnell Eileen
Published: February 2012

This chapter explores students’ perspectives on the transformations that the use of technology has brought to higher education. The use of technologies in higher education facilitates flexible learning environments but the benefits to students who engage with these technologies will only be realised if the design is pedagogically sound. The pedagogic approach employed by lecturers when designing their e-learning platforms or learning management systems has the capability to transform learning. The author’s discipline is Information Technology and Business Information Systems; from experience and case studies there is ample evidence to suggest that the use of technology does not always necessarily meet user requirements. Students are the end users of the technologies that educators use to enhance students’ learning experiences. This chapter was undertaken to obtain students’ perspectives (as the end users) on the uses of technologies in higher education to assist educators in improving the pedagogical design of their e-learning platforms. The responses received from students clearly indicate they are of the opinion that the use of technologies in higher education beneficially transforms learning but will never replace lecturers. In essence, the benefits that can be achieved through the use of technologies are totally dependent on the ways they are employed pedagogically by lecturers.
The Students’ Participation in WebCT
Authors: Salam Urai
Published: February 2012

This chapter reports on the students’ interaction taking place within the virtual learning environment, WebCT. It is particularly critical of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) analysis regarding the knowledge construction, evidenced by the transcripts of their online discussions. The guiding theory, Activity Theory, provides perspectives that can help instructors and teachers understand emerging learning participation mediated by computers. From this perspective, computers do not simply facilitate learning that could have been done without their presence. Rather, computer mediated communication could alter the entire flow of knowledge construction processes.
Benchmarking Online Learning Practices in Higher Education
Authors: Ray Julie A.
Published: February 2012

Colleges and Universities across the United States have experienced an unprecedented growth in the availability of and demand for online courses and degree programs in the recent years. However, this medium for instructing is still relatively new compared to other traditional forms of instruction. Therefore, an overall lack of research on the online medium exists. This study benchmarks the practices of colleges and universities in the tri-state area of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia on factors that contribute to the selection of Course Management Systems (CMS), the availability and/or requirements for instructor training, and the evaluation or lack thereof of online courses. A total of thirty institutions participated in this mixed methods study.
Knowledge Access and Interaction Evolution in Virtual Learning Communities
Authors: Caschera Maria Chiara , D’Andrea Alessia , Ferri Fernando , Grifoni Patrizia
Published: February 2012

Interaction among members in Virtual Learning Communities influences the communities’ evolution. Starting from this consideration, this chapter provides a discussion on the more widely used software systems that support interaction between virtual communities’ members and virtual learning environment underlining the advantages and the disadvantages considering the several processes that characterize the VLCs. Moreover in education environments interactions are important in order to facilitate the learning process, and this chapter describes how the intelligent agent approaches can bean interesting alternative to a human facilitator. The analysis of intelligent agents describes how they allow both analysing interaction and improving the level of participation of members of a Virtual Learning Community.
Using a Learning Management System to Facilitate Learning Outcomes Assessment
Authors: Tello Steven F. , Motiwalla Luvai
Published: February 2012

Increased demands for accountability among state and federal policy makers require that colleges and universities improve the process of measuring student learning outcomes. Despite a growing need, there has been limited development of integrated, electronic processes and tools that facilitate assessment of student progress toward program-level learning outcomes. Collecting student course materials, classifying by program and course-level objectives and reporting the results remains a tedious and labor-intensive task. This project demonstrates how course-level assessment data from a learning management system (LMS) can be utilized for program-level outcomes assessment. A pilot system was developed to integrate data from a LMS to provide continuous reporting of program and course-level assessment with minimal additional effort from faculty and students. This chapter shares the authors’ outcomes assessment system development approach, faculty development approach, and the lessons learned from their project, including the challenges confronted during system implementation.
Security and Privacy Management for Learning Management Systems
Authors: Hommel Wolfgang
Published: February 2012

Once a prototype for a Learning Management System (LMS) has successfully been set up and tested, the demand for putting it into production use rises. However, seamlessly integrating an LMS into existing data center infrastructures is a challenging task whose complexity is often underestimated. In this chapter we take a risk-driven approach (“what could go wrong?”) to discuss the real-world operation of a fully-featured LMS from the perspective of security and privacy management. First, the authors analyze their LMS-specific security goals and the related threats to LMS components. They then investigate how an LMS security policy should be established and which technical controls can be used for implementation, enforcement, and auditing by the LMS administrators as well as by the system and network administrators. Finally, the authors discuss the benefits of inter-organizational LMS usage when it is based on identity federation technologies, and the new security and privacy challenges it brings.
Adapting Three-Dimensional-Virtual World to Reach Diverse Learners in an MBA Program
Authors: Rufer Rosalyn , Adams Ruifang Hope
Published: February 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to adapt instructional strategies to virtual world learning environment in Second Life and reach more diverse learners with different learning styles. Part of the approach will focus on learners who are visual as compared to auditory and kinesthetic. Additionally, the approach will examine how changes in pedagogical methods can be used to reach diverse learners with different learning styles in virtual learning environments. The major topics address how styles of learning were considered in designing an instructional strategy and how differences in learning styles were rationalized via learning in a virtual world. Thus student success can be correlated to teaching pedagogy, and hence modified to reach diverse learners. Suggestions are included for adapting a cognitive process combined with multimedia design principles in a virtual world.
Monitoring Students’ Activity and Performance in Online Higher Education
Authors: Lera-López Fernando , Faulin Javier , Juan Angel A. , Cavaller Victor
Published: February 2012

In this chapter the authors first explain the recently created European Higher Education Area and its implications over instructors’ and students’ roles. They also analyze how e-learning management systems are contributing to modify higher education around the world, and which are the benefits and the challenges associated to their use. In this new educational scenario, the authors discuss the importance of monitoring students’ and groups’ activity and performance, and some of the monitoring tools already available in the most popular learning management systems are reviewed. Then, after identifying the informational necessities of online instructors and students, the authors propose a data-analysis model to assist instructors by providing them with easy-to-understand and updated visual reports. Instructors can use these reports to classify students and groups according to their activity and learning outcomes, track their evolution, and identify those who might need immediate guidance or assistance.
An Organizational Knowledge Circulation Management System for Universities
Authors: Ninomiya Toshie , Anma Fumihiko , Okamoto Toshio
Published: February 2012

In this chapter, the concept of an organizational knowledge circulation management system of e-learning is presented. The authors have developed a mentoring system module and a learning design repository based on technological and pedagogical aspects, and evaluated the system in two case studies. They also describe important functions and evaluation aspects of new information technology system of e-learning.
Analyzing functionalities of Course Management Systems
Authors: Adlakha V. G. , Aggarwal A. K.
Published: February 2012

In this chapter the authors offer a faculty perspective on desirable features of a Course Management System (CMS) to teach a course efficiently and effectively. This paper is the result of our Web teaching experiences over a period of ten years using three different CMS platforms. We develop a list of necessary functionalities that a CMS must provide web-based or web-enhanced learning. The authors anticipate that this paper could help guide software developers in developing appropriate CMS tools and would help institutions to gain greater insight into the selection of an appropriate CMS for effective Web-based or web-enhanced education (WBE), also called hybrid education. The discussion could also assist current and future Web course instructors by increasing their awareness to take advantage of many features that might exist in their CMS.
Caring in the Zone
Authors: Cheney Amelia W. , Nelsen Peter
Published: February 2012

A focus on interpersonal relationships and the creation of caring, democratic learning experiences may cause some to reject virtual learning environments because of a belief that physical proximity is necessary for the building of substantial relationships. Despite this concern, a carefully crafted 3D immersive learning environment can provide similar interpersonal experiences, and can foster the creation of caring relationships in ways that are often difficult in face-to-face settings. Based on more than nine years of work in Appalachian State University’s Appalachian Educational Technology (AET) Zone, this chapter creates a case based on Noddings’ framework for the ethic of care, and argues that virtual learning environments can meet and exceed these conditions.
Towards Learning ‘Self’ and Emotional Knowledge in Social and Cultural Human-Agent Interactions
Authors: Ho Wan Ching , Dautenhahn Kerstin , Lim Meiyii , Enz Sibylle , Zoll Carsten , Watson Scott
Published: February 2012

This article presents research towards the development of a virtual learning environment (VLE) inhabited by intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) and modelling a scenario of inter-cultural interactions. The ultimate aim of this VLE is to allow users to reflect upon and learn about intercultural communication and collaboration. Rather than predefining the interactions among the virtual agents and scripting the possible interactions afforded by this environment, we pursue a bottom-up approach whereby inter-cultural communication emerges from interactions with and among autonomous agents and the user(s). The intelligent virtual agents that are inhabiting this environment are expected to be able to broaden their knowledge about the world and other agents, which may be of different cultural backgrounds, through interactions. This work is part of a collaborative effort within a European research project called eCIRCUS. Specifically, this article focuses on our continuing research concerned with emotional knowledge learning in autobiographic social agents.
Constructivism in Synchronous and Asynchronous Virtual Learning Environments for a Research Methods Course
Authors: Strang Kenneth David
Published: February 2012

Virtual learning is a popular teaching modality, and it has been reported in research that there is no significant difference in academic outcome as compared with face-to-face courses. Not all researchers agree with this assertion and some claim it is more difficult to teach math-oriented subjects online. Given that educational psychology theories are effective for teaching quantitative topics in the face-to-face modality, this study proposes and tests methods for virtual learning. Constructivism learning theory is applied using knowledge management principles to teach an online masters-level research methods course at an Australian university. Asynchronous and synchronous tools are used in the VLE, and contrasted in a controlled experiment. The hypothesis is student grades will be significantly higher when the constructivist instructional method is applied to the synchronous VLE.
Formula Editors and Handwriting in Mathematical E-Learning
Authors: Misfeldt Morten , Sanne Anders
Published: February 2012

Teaching and learning mathematics at university level is increasingly being supported by Learning Management Systems. In this chapter, we report from the e-learning initiative, DELTA, and in doing so we aim to describe how formulas, drawings, and other mathematical representations influence student communication. We describe a practice that combines handwriting and discussion forums facilitated by a Learning Management System (LMS). We have experienced lack of student activity in the discussion forums and introducing a new LMS (Moodle) with improved formula editor capabilities into the environment, does not seem to considerably improve the situation, whereas a scanner-based handwritten communication seems to successfully support the assignment communication between the students and the teacher.
Surveillance in the Virtual Classroom
Authors: Luck Morgan
Published: February 2012

In this chapter the author highlights some of the risks associated with universities establishing surveillance tools within virtual learning environments. Potential problems that may arise from such a move are considered at the student and managerial levels. At the student level the author argues that the adoption of the surveillance tool may result in students, especially the most gifted, feeling pressured to adopt practises that are not best suited to achieving their learning outcomes. At the managerial level the author argues that the surveillance tool provides a means by which subject design could be further influenced by market forces.