Using Information Visualisation to Facilitate Instructors in Web-based Distance Learning

@phdthesis{citeulike:2714140, abstract = {We argue that the instructors can use the student tracking data collected by the CMS more effectively when it is represented graphically by employing appropriate visualisation techniques. Information Visualisation examines techniques for processing and pictorially representing a vast amount of abstract data, so that the data can be comprehended and interpreted by people. This thesis proposes the use of Information Visualisation to graphically represent student tracking data in a Web-based CMS. A systematic investigation is undertaken to nd which visualisation techniques are appropriate to illustrate student tracking data, based on instructors' requirements and evaluation. An extension for a generic CMS was designed and a prototype, called CourseVis, was developed. It obtains tracking data from a commercial CMS (WebCT is used in the current implementation), transforms the data into a form convenient for processing, and generates graphical representations that can be explored by instructors to examine social, cognitive, and behavioural aspects of distance students.}, author = {Mazza, Riccardo }, citeulike-article-id = {2714140}, comment = {The evaluation of CourseVis has shown that graphical representations produced with it can help instructors to identify individuals that need particular attention, discover patterns and trends in accesses and discussions, and reflect on their teaching practice.}, keywords = {2004, emma, moodle, phd, visualization}, month = {June}, posted-at = {2008-04-24 20:37:25}, priority = {5}, school = {University of Lugano}, title = {Using Information Visualisation to Facilitate Instructors in Web-based Distance Learning}, url = {http://www.inf.unisi.ch/assistants/mazza/dissertation.pdf}, year = {2004} }

TY - THES ID - citeulike:2714140 L3 - citeulike-article-id:2714140 TI - Using Information Visualisation to Facilitate Instructors in Web-based Distance Learning N2 - We argue that the instructors can use the student tracking data collected by the CMS more effectively when it is represented graphically by employing appropriate visualisation techniques. Information Visualisation examines techniques for processing and pictorially representing a vast amount of abstract data, so that the data can be comprehended and interpreted by people. This thesis proposes the use of Information Visualisation to graphically represent student tracking data in a Web-based CMS. A systematic investigation is undertaken to nd which visualisation techniques are appropriate to illustrate student tracking data, based on instructors' requirements and evaluation. An extension for a generic CMS was designed and a prototype, called CourseVis, was developed. It obtains tracking data from a commercial CMS (WebCT is used in the current implementation), transforms the data into a form convenient for processing, and generates graphical representations that can be explored by instructors to examine social, cognitive, and behavioural aspects of distance students. KW - 2004 KW - emma KW - moodle KW - phd KW - visualization N1 - The evaluation of CourseVis has shown that graphical representations produced with it can help instructors to identify individuals that need particular attention, discover patterns and trends in accesses and discussions, and reflect on their teaching practice. AU - Mazza, Riccardo PY - 2004/06// UR - http://www.inf.unisi.ch/assistants/mazza/dissertation.pdf ER -