Abstract:
When using e-learning material some students progress readily, others have difficulties.
In a traditional classroom the teacher would identify those with difficulties and direct
them to additional resources. This support is not easily available within e-learning.
A new approach to providing constructive feedback is developed that will enable an elearning system to identify areas of weakness and provide guidance on further study. The
approach is based on the tagging of learning material with appropriate keywords that
indicate the contents. Thus if a student performs poorly on an assessment on topic X,
there is a need to suggest further study of X and participation in activities related to X
such as forums.
As well as supporting the learner this type of constructive feedback can also inform other
stakeholders. For example a tutor can monitor the progress of a cohort; an instructional
designer can monitor the quality of learning objects in facilitating the appropriate
knowledge across many learners.