This research investigated how the bug tracker database of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Moodle is developed as an application of crowd work. The bug tracker is used by software developers, who write and maintain Moodle's code, but also by a wider public world of ordinary Moodle users who can report bugs. Despite many studies of the…

This report sets out the findings of the technical development work completed as part of the Use Cases for Generative AI in Education project, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) in September 2023. It has been published alongside the User Research Report, which sets out the findings from the ongoing user engagement activity…

This paper reports a study which investigated the extent to which undergraduate mathematics students in the United Kingdom are currently taught to programme a computer as a core part of their mathematics degree programme. We undertook an online survey, with significant follow-up correspondence, to gather data on current curricula and received…

In this article, the author recounts that, as an early adapter of technology when she was a teacher for a language academy in Rome in the 1980s, she was asked by an English language teaching competitor to design an introductory program for visitors to use the new computers in the library. This opportunity led her on the path towards elearning. Now…

The paper advocates an approach to learning design that considers it as creating digital artefacts that can be extended, modified and used for different purposes. This is realised through an "act becoming artefact" cycle, where users' actions in the authors' software environment, named Learning Designer, are automatically interpreted on…

The authors describe how content-based multimedia search technologies can be used to help learners find new materials and learning pathways by identifying semantic relationships between educational resources in a social learning network. This helps users--both learners and educators--to explore and find material to support their learning aims.…

Conventional taught learning practices often experience difficulties in keeping students motivated and engaged. Video games, however, are very successful at sustaining high levels of motivation and engagement through a set of tasks for hours without apparent loss of focus. In addition, gamers solve complex problems within a gaming environment…

The use of the Web to deliver open, distance, and flexible learning has opened up the potential for social interaction and adaptive learning, but the usability, expressivity, and interoperability of the available tools leave much to be desired. This article explores these issues as they relate to teachers and learning designers through the case of…

This paper presents language learners as social networkers and describes and discusses the types of users that can be identified by analysing the content created by them using a situated mobile language learning app, LingoBee, based on the idea of crowd sourcing. Borrowing ideas from other studies conducted on social network users, we can identify…

Learner centred design methods highlight the importance of involving the stakeholders of the learning process (learners, teachers, educational researchers) at all stages of the design of educational applications and of refining the design through an iterative prototyping process. These methods have been used successfully when designing systems…

This study aimed at exploring how high school students deal with designing an information system, for example, for a small business or a medical clinic, the extent to which students develop as independent learners while working on their projects, and the factors that help or hinder fostering students' design skills. The three-phase dual-loop…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the use of specifically-developed, inquiry-based learning materials for Computing and Forensic Computing students. Small applications have been developed which require investigation in order to de-bug code, analyse data issues and discover "illegal" behaviour. The applications…

Science education is concerned with the meaningful pursuit of comprehension, knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes. In Vygotskian social constructivist learning, personal interpretation, decision-making and community cooperation fosters long-term understanding and transference of learned concepts. The construction of…

With the expansion of e-learning, the understanding and evaluation of already created e-learning environments is becoming an extremely important issue. One way to dealing with the problem is analysis of case studies, i.e. already created environments, from the reuse perspective. The paper presents a general framework and model to assess UNITE, the…

This paper presents a new laboratory-based module for embedded systems teaching, which addresses the current lack of consideration for the link between hardware development, software implementation, course content and student evaluation in a laboratory environment. The course introduces second year undergraduate students to the interface between…