Integrating Learning Analytics and Semantics in Problem Based Learning

About This Project

The current ever-changing world causes economies, technologies and professional domains to constantly
transform. As a result, all sectors require competent workforce with skills to quickly adapt to rapid changes. The
Problem Based Learning (PBL) strategy addresses this challenge by accommodating active learners’
participation and corresponding skills development. However, PBL in its present mode has reached its maximum
potential and should exploit innovative ways to unleash new capabilities. On the other hand, innovative
approaches, like Learning Analytics (LA), can be confusing and overwhelming since they are still under-explored
and lack structure. The project aims to integrate LA in PBL to capitalize on their respective strengths and
overcome their drawbacks. In addition, the semantic annotation of resources can enhance this new paradigm by
enabling personalized learning. Project goals and corresponding results include: -construct a new educational
approach that combines PBL with LA respecting legal and ethical considerations (termed PBL_LA) -design a
semantic model for PBL_LA for the annotation of learning resources -adapt open source tools to support PBL_LA
and develop an intuitive semantic annotation tool -create relevant, semantically annotated educational materials
and perform trials to draw evidence-based conclusions -produce relevant policy recommendations that can raise
the quality in education and training -create an organic ecosystem of organizations, researchers, learners, etc
with an interest in PBL_LA. The project is anticipated to have significant impact as: -educators and trainers will be
able to use novel pedagogical approaches -learners will be equipped with competitive skills -learning resources
will be semantically annotated and opened for re-use -policy actions will be available for adoption by universities
and organizations that carry out trainings -a culture of collaboration will be developed to foster innovation in the
new PBL3.0 paradigm.