distributed elearning center stanimir stoyanov, university of plovdiv 1 10th workshop “software...

Distributed eLearning Center

Stanimir Stoyanov,University of Plovdiv

110th Workshop “Software Engineering Education and Reverse Engineering”,

Ivanjica, Serbia, 5-12 September 2010

Presentation Outline

• Rationale, Goals• DeLC Infrastructure• Education portal• CA3

• Problems



Rationale

• Master program in SE – 10 years experience: Started 2001– 2009/2010: 50 students (around the optimum) – Only full-time: 5 years accreditation for the full-time

program - but we can change the form without new accreditation

– Problem: Logistics• Restructuring of the program

– From full-time to mixed form– Using DeLC



Goals

• Implementation of an eLearning environment which can be used in the real education … but in the same time – Interactive– Personal– Proactive

• Framework for research activities – Context-aware and adaptable architecture



Mobile Devices(with Intelligent Agents acting

as Personal Assistants formobile users)

(with Profile Managers)

LaptopCellularphone

PDA

(with up-to-date copies ofuser/service profiles)

Second tier: InfoStations

InfoStation CenterFirst tier:

Third tier:

DeLC Infrastructure

5

eLearningNode

eLearningNode

eLearningNodeFixed

access

Mobile access

InfoStation Network

10th Workshop “Software Engineering Education and Reverse Engineering”, Ivanjica, Serbia, 5-12 September 2010

eLearning Nodes • Fixed access eLearning node (mainly practical)

– Education portal– External eLearning tools

• Software engineering education– eLSEBuilder, RFAgent, SE eDictionary

• SCORM Editor (Reload)• Creativity Assistant

• Mobile access eLearning node (mainly research)– Context-aware and adaptable middleware supporting the

provision of mobile eLearning services– CA3 (Context-Aware and Adaptable Architecture)



Portal Structure



Portal Architecture

8

Presentation LayerPresentation Layer

Enterprise Service BusEnterprise Service Bus

LDAP ServerLDAP ServerUser ServicesUser ServiceseServiceseServices

LIFERAY PortletsLIFERAY Portlets DeLC SCORM Portlets

DeLC SCORM Portlets

DeLC Exam PortletsDeLC Exam Portlets DeLC System Portlets

DeLC System Portlets

Content ServicesContent Services Collaboration ServicesCollaboration Services

Legacy Content StoreLegacy Content StoreLegacy Content StoreLegacy Content Store LIFERAY

DatastoreLIFERAY

DatastoreDELC DatastoreDELC Datastore

Persistence LayerPersistence Layer

SCORM RuntimeSCORM Runtime

DESE / RELOADDESE /

RELOAD


Education portal: Home page


Ivanjica, Serbia, 5-12 September 2010 9

eLearning Services• Pre-education services

– Information, education process organization & preparation, …• Education services

– eLectures• SCORM 2004 editors and SCORM RT Engine

– eTesting• eTest Editors, eTest Engine and eTest Evaluator

• Post-education services– Education process documentation & recording, archive

keeping, student & lecturer reports, …



Education services: eLectures• Content preparation – by external editors

– SCORM compatible: Reload Editor (Bulgarian version supported by our group)

– No standard format: Selbo 2 environment• Portal services

– Lecturers:• Import of SCORM content• Add comprehensive and well designed lecture annotation• Set user (students) rights• Configure detailed time schedule for lecture availability

– Students:• View lecture annotation• Play SCORM course



Education services: eTesting• Lecturers:

– Question DB preparation– Test pattern preparation

• Set test’s assessment scale• Define test’s availability (time schedule and user rights)

– Review and manually evaluate open questions– Review completed tests– Print examination protocol– Review Statistics about the evaluated tests

• eTesting engine:– Generation of personal tests– Automatically evaluate closed questions & Evaluation

completion by using the assessment scale– Generation of examination protocols



eTesting: Student services

• Execute a test• Receive immediately after completing the test

the earned points for the closed questions• Later review lecturer notes about the

evaluation of the open questions• Review the complete assessment for the

whole test based on the automatic evaluation of the closed questions and manual evaluation of the open questions made by the teacher



eTesting: Question types

• One possible answer• More than one possible answers• Connect letter with digit• Connect questions with answers• Open question (answer in free text)



Personalization and proactivity

• Different definitions in the literature• We use intuitive definitions• From experiments and our experience we try

to draw precise definitions for our case and we introduce different levels



First level of personalization: User classification

16

OrganizationsOrganizationsPagesPages Organization Roles

RolesRoles

Users

User GroupsUser Groups

CommunitiesPagesPages Community RolesCommunity Roles


First level of proactivity: reminding engine

• Reminding engine works with events• The administrator can define system events which are

supported for all users• Each user can define private events

– Exam, lecture, birth day, ….• A event is described by different parameters

– Message, time, communication type (mobile, e-mail) • RE generate and send messages according the indicated

parameters



Implementation • Development environments & tools

– Life Ray portal framework– SCORM engine– JEE components– RDBS

• Real testing: 2010/2011– Question DB: Java, SE,AI– Master program



Next work• Typical extantions

– Pre- and post-education services– New education services

• Second level of proactivity and personalization – Enhance the architecture by intelligent

components - Personal assistants• Lecturers • Students

– Ontologies



CA3: Two-component architecture

• Middleware– Context-awareness – locate and identify the

changes in the environment– Adaptability – ensure a correct and effective

service running

• eServices – Implementation of application functionality– For example - eLearning



CA3: Context • Dey’s definition:

– Context is any information that can be used to characterize the situation at an entity

• Entity can be person, place, object, … which are significant for interaction between user and application

• Different types of context:– Place – Identity – Activity – Time



CA3: Context-awareness• Device mobility

– Changing of user place• User mobility

– Changing of user device• Communication type

– Changing the type of mobile communication• Bluetooth or WiFi (or WiMax)

• User identity (Personalization)– Domain dependent – eLearning

• Domain, student, pedagogical models



CA3: Adaptability

• In order to adapt the architecture to possible changes in the environment, detected by the context-aware component, we investigate two possibilities: – Usage of different kinds of agents

• Resident agents• Operative agents

– The agents can activate different behaviors

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Mobile Devices

Info Station

CA3: Three Axes

Context-awareness

Adaptability

Request management

Time management



CA3: Logical Structure



System support

Middleware Activation Layer

Middleware Layer

Service Interface Layer

W(eb)Services

H(ussein)Services

S(CORM)Services

CA3: Service models



Middleware Layer

W Service H Service S Service

S SE E

Problem 1: Which service model?



W Services H Services S Services

C&A - ++ +

Development + -- -

Research -- ++ +

Standard ++ - +

Middleware compatibility

+ ++ +

Domain independence

++ ++ --

Problem 2: Formalization

• Ambients– Description of CA3 components and operating

scenarios as ambients– CCA

• JTempura– Time-management components

• Agent-oriented



Problem 3: Testing

• To test the behavior of the middleware and to experiment with new theoretical concepts we are developing a specialized simulation environment

• 4 levels:– Scenarios– Resident and operative agents– Multi-agents communication– Agents behaviors



Thank you !



distributed elearning center stanimir stoyanov, university of plovdiv 1 10th workshop “software...

Documents

reverse engineering

real education

elearning environment

portal architecture

adaptable architecture

fulltime program

etest engine

se edictionary scorm