In this paper, we present an extended evaluation of a course recommender system designed to support students who struggle in the first semesters of their studies and are at risk of dropping out. The system, which was developed in earlier work using a student-centered design, is based on the explainable k-nearest neighbor algorithm and recommends a…

This study aims to examine the difference in students' satisfaction with the Quality Characteristics (QualChar) of the Digital Learning Systems (DLs) with regards to gender and frequency of interaction between students-students and students-teachers. A cross-sectional online quantitative survey was used to collect data from English language…

In order to reduce the passivity of students and enhance their learning experience in large lectures, we developed a browser-based tool called Classroom Interacter to promote classroom interaction. It allows students to use their own mobile devices to participate in the learning process. The main features of Classroom Interacter include live…

This study investigates the potential of a software tool based on Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA; Landauer, McNamara, Dennis, & Kintsch, 2007) to automatically evaluate complex German texts. A sample of N = 94 German university students provided written answers to questions that involved a high amount of analytical reasoning and evaluation.…

Purpose: To overcome the high manual effort of assessments for teaching personnel, e-assessment systems are used to assess students using information systems (IS). The purpose of this paper is to propose an extension of EASy, a system for e-assessment of exercises that require higher-order cognitive skills. The latest module allows assessing…

In this study, the electronic revision and recapitulation tools 2.0 (EREP 2.0) were used to foster creative moments while creating aided recalls (ARs) (pictures electronic notes etc.). Creative and critical thinking is associated with vital skills which enable students to deal with often complex knowledge domains through an informal way of…

The basis for individual students' instructional support by teachers is an individual diagnosis of one's learning advances and difficulties. Even though sophisticated diagnostic tools exist, it remains an open question how diagnosis and learning can be merged into a consistent pedagogical method to support both teachers and students with feedback…

This paper discusses the development of LearnWeb2.0, a search and collaboration environment for supporting searching, organizing, and sharing distributed resources, and our pedagogical setup based on the multiliteracies approach. In LearnWeb2.0, collaborative and active learning is supported through project-focused search and aggregation, with…

No systematic empirical study on investigating the effects of performing task variants on user cognitive strategy and behaviour in usability tests and on learnability of the system being tested has been documented in the literature. The current use-inspired basic research work aims to identify the underlying cognitive mechanisms and the practical…

Purpose: Social navigation is an emerging trend for navigation in hypermedia. With social navigation, users can be guided through large volumes of learning content by cues which integrate the browsing history of past users. Earlier papers have shown that social navigation is suitable for navigation not only in classic hypermedia but also in…

This dissertation questions the common assumption that e-learning requires a "learning management system" (LMS) such as Moodle or Blackboard. Based on an analysis of the current state of the art in LMSs, we come to the conclusion that the functionality of conventional e-learning platforms consists of basic content management and…