• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.235-242
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• 2013

Reputation systems aggregate users' feedback after the completion of a transaction and compute the "reputation" of products, services, or providers, which can assist other users in decision-making in the future. With the rapid growth of online e-Learning content providing services, a suitable reputation system for more credible e-Learning content delivery has become important and is essential if educational content providers are to remain competitive. Most existing reputation systems focus on generating ratings only for user reputation; they fail to consider the reputations of products or services(item reputation). However, it is essential for B2C e-Learning services to have a reliable reputation rating mechanism for items since they offer guidance for decision-making by presenting the ranks or ratings of e-Learning content items. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel collaborative filtering based reputation rating method. Collaborative filtering, one of the most successful recommendation methods, can be used to improve a reputation system. In this method, dual information sources are formed with groups of co-oriented users and expert users and to adapt it to the reputation rating mechanism. We have evaluated its performance experimentally by comparing various reputation systems.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.56-62
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• 2022

Despite current regulations requiring social distancing due to coronavirus disease 2019, problem-based learning (PBL) requires student interaction to achieve common goals and enhance critical thinking and deep learning abilities. Social presence in the online education environment reduces both perceptions of physical distance and psychological distance in interactions. This study aimed to compare PBL activities between in-person and videoconferencing classes, and to investigate social presence and learning satisfaction in a videoconferencing PBL environment. The PBL consisted of six modules for both the first and second years of Chonnam National University Medical School. As social distancing was strengthened, the second class of the fifth module in both years was converted to an online format and the fifth module was excluded. The first four PBL modules were conducted as in-person classes, but the last PBL module was administered via videoconferencing. After the final PBL module, 100 (81.3%) first-year medical students and 90 (79.6%) second-year students were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire on social presence and learning satisfaction. There were no significant differences in the small group activities of tutorial sessions between in-person and videoconferencing classes. In the online videoconferencing class, students who had favorable attitudes toward the tutors' social role and interactions with peers showed high satisfaction with their learning. In conclusion, online videoconferencing allows students to simultaneously perceive their interactions with others and social presence, even at a distance. Tutors can enhance a sense of online community and collaborative learning as facilitators of online PBL.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.179-192
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• 2014

Keeping in line with the recent changes in the information technology environment, the online learning environment that supports multiple users' participation such as MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) has become important. One of the largest professional associations in Information Technology, IEEE Computer Society, announced that "Supporting New Learning Styles" is a crucial trend in 2014. Popular MOOC services, CourseRa and edX, have continued to build active learning environment with a large number of lectures accessible anywhere using smart devices, and have been used by an increasing number of users. In addition, collaborative web services (e.g., blogs and Wikipedia) also support the creation of various user-uploaded learning materials, resulting in a vast amount of new lectures and learning materials being created every day in the online space. However, it is difficult for an online educational system to keep a learner' motivation as learning occurs remotely, with limited capability to share knowledge among the learners. Thus, it is essential to understand which materials are needed for each learner and how to motivate learners to actively participate in online learning system. To overcome these issues, leveraging the constructivism theory and collective intelligence, we have developed a social bookmarking system called WeStudy, which supports learning material sharing among the users and provides personalized learning material recommendations. Constructivism theory argues that knowledge is being constructed while learners interact with the world. Collective intelligence can be separated into two types: (1) collaborative collective intelligence, which can be built on the basis of direct collaboration among the participants (e.g., Wikipedia), and (2) integrative collective intelligence, which produces new forms of knowledge by combining independent and distributed information through highly advanced technologies and algorithms (e.g., Google PageRank, Recommender systems). Recommender system, one of the examples of integrative collective intelligence, is to utilize online activities of the users and recommend what users may be interested in. Our system included both collaborative collective intelligence functions and integrative collective intelligence functions. We analyzed well-known Web services based on collective intelligence such as Wikipedia, Slideshare, and Videolectures to identify main design factors that support collective intelligence. Based on this analysis, in addition to sharing online resources through social bookmarking, we selected three essential functions for our system: 1) multimodal visualization of learning materials through two forms (e.g., list and graph), 2) personalized recommendation of learning materials, and 3) explicit designation of learners of their interest. After developing web-based WeStudy system, we conducted usability testing through the heuristic evaluation method that included seven heuristic indices: features and functionality, cognitive page, navigation, search and filtering, control and feedback, forms, context and text. We recruited 10 experts who majored in Human Computer Interaction and worked in the same field, and requested both quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the system. The evaluation results show that, relative to the other functions evaluated, the list/graph page produced higher scores on all indices except for contexts & text. In case of contexts & text, learning material page produced the best score, compared with the other functions. In general, the explicit designation of learners of their interests, one of the distinctive functions, received lower scores on all usability indices because of its unfamiliar functionality to the users. In summary, the evaluation results show that our system has achieved high usability with good performance with some minor issues, which need to be fully addressed before the public release of the system to large-scale users. The study findings provide practical guidelines for the design and development of various systems that utilize collective intelligence.

• Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2010

In recent creativity becomes a new request in the knowledge and information age. Robot programming education is an effective teaching method for improvement of creativity. Existing robot programming tools includes text-based or GUI-based development environment. Most of programming tools provide a simple tutorial system without interactive activity for beginners. In this paper, we propose an online robot programming education system based on web2.0, which embedded collaborative code creating tool, interactive tutorial chat and video conference tool to support collaborative code creating via web 2.0. Knowledge sharing tool allows users to share their collaborative source code. Besides, it makes users gained the experience and knowledge of program designing efficiently.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.667-680
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to investigate 1) the types of knowledge students ask for in their reading comprehension of science textbooks using an online annotation system, 2) the accuracy of the knowledge provided by the students to their peers, 3) the frequency of knowledge sharing behaviors, 4) the evaluation of the effect of collaborative reading, and 5) the trust among peers as knowledge sharers. Questions made by 241 students in the second grade of middle school using an online annotation system in two chapters of the science textbook were analyzed using Bloom's revised taxonomy and their answers were grouped according to five accuracy categories. Also, questionnaires for the evaluation of the effectiveness of collaborative reading comprehension and of trust among the students were used. The students asked their peers 'understanding questions' which comprised almost 80% of the total questions they made and were similar with individual metacognitive strategies for reading comprehension. Of the total threads, 71% has scientifically correct threads shared by the students. The frequency of the knowledge sharing behaviors was high but this was affected by the rewards (point system). Students evaluated that collaborative reading comprehension conducted through an online annotation system were helpful in their learning. In addition, the ratio of students trusting their peers who did the knowledge sharing is over 80%. This study shows that when students use an online annotation system, they can fill one another's cognitive gaps in the reading process by sharing knowledge. Also, collaborative reading using an online annotation system has proved that cognitive individualization is possible through sharing knowledge interactively and dynamically, unlike reading hard copies of textbooks which are a one way information transfer.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.43-75
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to identify patterns of learner behaviors, conflicting and facilitating factors during collaborative work in an online learning community(OLC). This study further seeks to investigate the difference of learner behaviors between high- and low-performing groups, and conflicting and facilitating factors. The online postings from four groups(19 students) in the spring semester(study 1) and six groups(24 students) in the fall semester(study 2) were analyzed. A coding scheme was generated based on constant comparison using the qualitative data analysis tool, NVivo. The analysis identified 7 categories of learner behaviors in both studies. Among the seven categories, information seeking and co-construction were most frequently observed in both studies. One evident difference between the high- and low-performing groups was that the high-performing groups revealed more incidents of learner behaviors in both studies. In addition, six categories of conflicting factors and five categories of facilitating factors were emerged in both studies. The inefficiency of work category was one of the most frequently observed categories in both studies. Interestingly, the high-performing groups showed more incidents of conflicting factors than the low-performing groups. This study revealed two different types of conflicting factors and there is a need for different moderating strategies depending on its type. Based on the results of the study, effective design strategies for an OLC to facilitate active learning were suggested.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.53-62
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• 2017

This paper explored how university students viewed flipped learning from their own perspectives. Using qualitative research methods, 5 students from a Computer Graphics course at a mid-scale university in Seoul were interviewed for this purpose. Researchers collected data about their learning experiences, emotions, and reflections about flipped learning in general and its components such as online materials, in-class activities, and instructor guidance. Research findings indicated that students were not so much conscious about the unfamiliarity of the class, the increased work load, nor the online lectures. They rather prioritized 'what they could actually learn' from the course, and thus defined flipped learning as a method which enabled students to constantly check and fill in the gaps in their learning through team-based activities and prompt feedback from the professor. A combination of students' positive attitude and active participation in team-based activities, the overall atmosphere of the department which supported interactivity and collaboration, the professor's emphasis on learning-by-doing and student-centered learning appeared to form their notions of flipped learning. The use of technology did not appear to heavily impact students' conceptions of flipped learning. Researchers suggest that pedagogical beliefs of the professor, culture surrounding the learner, and the good match between the course content and instructional strategies are central for designing a successful flipped learning class.

• English Language & Literature Teaching
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1-22
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• 2011

Little has been known about the process of the language teacher professional development. The present study aims to investigate an assumption that anybody who has subject matter knowledge will be a good language teacher. A teacher with rich linguistic knowledge started to question the effectiveness of his online class. The teacher, in collaboration with a teacher trainer, became involved in the critical examination of his online class, seeking for more effective ways of teaching. The trainer provided the teacher with clinical supervision, which is characterized as developmental, collaborative, non-judgemental, interactive, and teacher-centered. The data collected at the multi-facets of the online teaching shows how the process of the teacher's decision-making became principled on the basis of recent developments in English language teaching, and how the teacher has gained pedagogical knowledge through reflection upon his teaching. The feedback from the students reveals that such teacher professional development is beneficial to student learning. These findings suggest that language teacher's professional development can take place when they are engaged in reflective teaching and classroom investigation. It is also suggested that the process of teacher development can be enhanced through collaborative supervision with trust, openness and congeniality between parties involved.

• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.132-143
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• 2022

Purpose: The study aims to analyze differences in the satisfaction level of dental technology students regarding in-person and online classes. It also aims to provide fundamental resources for the improvement of major subject class methods that will improve students' self-directed learning abilities, thereby affecting their class satisfaction. Methods: In this study, a self-administered questionnaire was conducted from November 8 to November 30, 2021, for 256 dental technology students. The collected data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS Statistics ver. 21.0 statistical program. Frequency and percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, post-hoc test, correlation analysis, and linear regression analysis were performed to analyze the data. Results: In the self-directed learning abilities, the attitude of the learners was shown to have the highest positive (+) correlation in both in-person and online classes, with a statistically significant effect (p<0.001) on class satisfaction in major subject classes. Moreover, the explanatory power of the model was 52.2% and 39.7%, respectively. Conclusion: We concluded from the study that there is a need for professors to improve teaching methods to increase learners' self-directed learning competence, through problem-based learning, discussion learning, team-based collaborative learning, and mentor-mentee learning, thereby enabling learners to lead classes themselves.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.179-202
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• 2006

The objective of this study is to identify the impacts of communication reinforcement on performance of learning in Web-PBL. Communication reinforcement is defined as the combination of information sharing and co-construction. As factors facilitating communication reinforcement, we propose learner's characteristics, task characteristics, and group characteristics. Learner's characteristics are collaboration-orientation, openness, holistic approach, and online community-orientation which reflects e-learning environment. Collaboration-oriented tasks as group projects were developed and given to groups with 5-6 members. The group characteristics are categorized into 'horizontal' and 'vertical', according to the patterns of communication between a group leader and members. To verify empirically the proposed research model, an experimental design was performed to learners who took on-line and off-line courses with group projects. We found important results as follows; First, field dependence has positive impacts on information sharing, and online community-orientation has positive impacts on co-construction. These results correspond with prior studies on relationship between field dependence and collaborative learning. Second, collaboration-oriented task directly impacts on information sharing, and indirectly affects co-construction, This result implicates that information sharing is pre-requisite of co-construction. Third, 'horizontal' was identified as a factor giving positive effects on information sharing and co-construction. This result implies that horizontal communication is very important to facilitate communication reinforcement.