This document discusses the development of a personalized learning environment (PLE) at Graz University of Technology. Usability tests were conducted with technical and non-technical users, finding that the PLE concept was unfamiliar and introductions were needed. Tracking usage data showed the most used and activated widgets, which could be improved using a K-selection strategy. The PLE aims to provide personalization, mobile access, and allow combining widgets to create new functionalities, representing an evolution guided by principles of variation, selection, and recombination.

1. Graz University of Technology
The World of Widgets – An
Important Step Towards a
Personalized Learning
Environment
Martin Ebner, Behnam Taraghi, Thomas Altmann
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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2. Graz University of Technology
http://ple.tugraz.at
Mashup
of
widgets
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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3. Graz University of Technology
HCI Tests
- Heuristik Evaluations
- Thinking Aloud Tests
- Expert Test Users
- Test Users from Different Field of Studies
- Technical and non-technical fields
- Interviews & Questionnaires
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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4. Graz University of Technology
Usability and UX
- Personalization in foreground
- E.g. own desktop background image, look & feel etc.
- Different UI structures & themes
- Total control of own environment is desired!
- Resemblance btw. Real and virtual world
- More than one Personal Desktop vs. An unlimited Desktop
- Free widget arrangement on UI
- Flexible widget dimensions
- Drag & Drop effects vs. simple clicks
- Sharing, collaboration, networking
- Ubiquitous PLE
- Mobile and desktop views
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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5. Graz University of Technology
Interviews & Questionnaires
- PLE Concept (What)
- Unknown to all test users
- PLE Workflow (How)
- Not easy to get started with
- Due to unfamiliar concept
- Introduction, tutorials for novel users strongly recommended
- PLE Competences
- Self-organization
- Self-cognition
- ….
A Change from Teacher-Controlled to Coaching
needed!
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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6. Graz University of Technology
Selection Mechanisms*
Stabilizing Selection:
- Favorites the average.
- Decrease of variability within the population.
*Solbrig O.T. (1970). Principles and Methods of Plant Biosystematics. The Mac-Millan Company. Collier-Mac Millan Limited, London.
*Solbrig O.T. & D.J Solbrig. (1979). Populationbiology and evolution. Addision-Wesley. Publ. Co. Reading Mass.
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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7. Graz University of Technology
r/K Selection Theory*
Tradeoff btw. quantity & quality of
offspring
In long term K-strategy is superior.
Quality succeeds in long run over quantity.
r-Strategy (quantity)
- Succeeds in unpredictable, unknown environments.
- High reproduction rate – short lifespan
K-Strategy (quality)
- Succeeds in predictable, known environments.
- Constant growth, ruled by population density & env. capacity
- Usually close to the max. capacity
- Slower adaptation – longer lifespan
In PLE a mixed approach is applied.
*Pianka E.R. (1970). On r and K selection. American naturalist 104, 592-597.
*MacArthur, R. and Wilson, E.O. (1967). The Theory of Island Biography, Princeton University Press (2001 reprint).
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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8. Graz University of Technology
Variations
Shift in genotypes or generic sequence
- Mutation:
- Random process aiming at generation of new alternatives
- Ex. change in DNA structure
- Continuously happening
The Evolution never stops.
In PLE: slight update of existing functionality or UI
- Recombination:
- Not random process
- Combining & distributing genetic materials (DNA, RNA)
In PLE: combining widgets to build new ones
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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9. Graz University of Technology
Selections and Variations
- Following r/K strategy towards stabilizing selection
- Producing quantitative widgets
- Increasing the quality
- Mutation
- slight update of the functionality and UI
- Recombination
- Combining two widgets to build new functionalities
- Combining code of different widgets to build new ones
- Using IWC to realize new use cases
- Widgets are developed by users
- According to their needs and interests
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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10. Graz University of Technology
Implicit / Explicit Knowledge
- Tracking module helps
- To get knowledge about user behavior
- To get user preferences
- To categorize different user groups
- Improve the PLE with variations & selections
- Implicit feedback for a recommender system within PLE
- Missing qualitative data
- Qualitative rating system is needed in PLE
- Small feedback questionnaire for each widget
- Explicit feedback system
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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11. Graz University of Technology
Tracking module in PLE
-Tracks users’ behavior on widgets
- Deep retrieve of statistics data
- Frequency of widgets usage
- Features used in each widget
- Realized via IWC
- App. 1000 users registered up to now.
- App. 30% active users
- Top 5 most used widgets out of 30:
- tugWidget, tccourses, tugllBlogs, mail, changeThemeColor
- Top 5 most activated widgets:
- weatherForcast, RSSReader, twitter, TUGLibrary, leoDictionary
- weatherForcast & newsgroup are improved according to K-strategy
Most activated widgets are not necessarily most used ones
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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12. Graz University of Technology
Ubiquitous PLE
- A step towards more personalization
- Every where, every when
- Mobile PLE
- Smart phones (on roadmap)
- Desktop PLE
- Windows 7, Mac OS X (ongoing work)
- (W3C => Desktop) Widget converter
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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13. Graz University of Technology Ebner M., Taraghi B., Altmann T.
Personal Learning Environment - Graz University of Technology
PLE Web View => Desktop Widgets
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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14. Graz University of Technology http://twitter.tugraz.at
Slides available at: http://www.slideshare.net/mebner
Slides available at: martin.ebner(at)tugraz.at
http://elearningblog.tugraz.at
SOCIAL LEARNING
SOCIAL LEARNING
Computer and Information Services
Graz University of Technology
http://elearning.tugraz.at
http://tugraz.at Graz University of Technology
Martin Ebner
http://elearningblog.tugraz.at
m ebn er http://elearning.tugraz.at
, Ebner, Taraghi, Altmann U2X-4-PLE, 11.07.2011
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