WEB-BASED COMMUNITIES IN E-LEARNING
Gavin McArdle, Teresa Monahan and Michela Bertolotto
School of Computer Science and Informatics,
University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland
Keywords:
Web-Based Education, Virtual Learning Communities, Social Awareness, Virtual Reality, M-Learning.
Abstract:
E-learning is a growing online service, its convenience appealing to many users. An abundance of e-learning
applications have been developed which provide many features aiding both tutors and students. However,
despite the growth and development of online communities in other areas, the effective establishment of these
communities within e-learning is still lacking. Communication and social interaction among students forms an
important part of any learning scenario. Therefore, it should also be provided for online learners. This paper
presents guidelines for the development of e-learning systems which foster the establishment of communities
and encourage interaction among users. The paper describes CLEV-R, our own development which employs
these techniques to realise an effective online learning community.
1 INTRODUCTION
Web based applications and services have been grow-
ing immensely over the last decade. One of the most
popular of these online services is e-learning (Hiltz
and Turoff, 2005). Its use by universities and other
teaching institutions has increased greatly since its in-
troduction and it is now well established and a univer-
sally accepted medium for learning. The Internet is
ideal for dispersing learning content as it is widely
available, provides quick access to information and is
cheap and convenient to use.
Continuing developments in technology over the
last few years have seen the increasing availabil-
ity of broadband and vast improvements in network-
ing performance. These improvements have facili-
tated the provision of sophisticated and complex on-
line services such as e-commerce, online banking, e-
government etc. E-learning has also benefited and the
available websites are no longer simply repositories
of course materials which students access. Nowa-
days entire systems are being developed to help man-
age learning content and to support both course in-
structors and students. These systems are known as
Learning Management Systems (LMSs) or Course
Management Systems (CMSs) and examples include
BlackBoard (BlackBoard, 2006) and Moodle (Moo-
dle, 2006). They normally provide a course tutor with
ways to create and deliver content, monitor student
participation, and assess student performance. They
also provide interactive services for students such as
discussion boards and forums.
To some extent, these systems mimic the learn-
ing scenario experienced in a real college or univer-
sity. Tutors provide course notes, set assignments and
tests for the students and then monitor their progress.
However functionality for social interaction within
these systems is often limited to discussion boards
and forums, which can fail to create a true sense of
community among users. Many studies have shown
the importance of social awareness in any learning
situation (Redfern and Naughton, 2002) (Laister and
Kober, 2002). Therefore, an effective e-learning en-
vironment should support and promote a strong sense
of community among users. These learning commu-
nities should aid students in their education while also
bringing a social aspect to the activity.
In order to achieve this, more interactive tech-
niques are required. We believe that newly emerged
technologies such as instant communication, file shar-
ing and multimedia, which have all proved popular
for building interactive communities in other online
265
McArdle G., Monahan T. and Bertolotto M. (2007).
WEB-BASED COMMUNITIES IN E-LEARNING.
In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Society, e-Business and e-Government /
e-Learning, pages 265-272
DOI: 10.5220/0001264802650272
Copyright
c
SciTePress
domains, can also be applied to great effect within
the e-learning sector. They not only allow students to
interact freely but also create a more motivating and
stimulating environment in which to learn. Some of
these issues have been addressed in other e-learning
applications. In particular, the use of 3D environ-
ments for learning is a growing area of research. The
use of 3D has been explored for teaching subject spe-
cific courses e.g. engineering tasks, laboratory pro-
tocol etc, (Chee and Hooi, 2002), (Nijholt, 2000),
(Rickel and Johnson, 1999) while other 3D environ-
ments have been developed as interfaces to access
online courses (Bouras et al., 2003), (Bouras et al.,
2001). Functionality varies among these systems;
many present learning content through multimedia
and some support real-time communication among
users. However, they often fail to create a true sense
of community for their users. We have developed a
system called CLEV-R which addresses this issue by
providing tools which promote and encourage social
interaction and awareness among users. These tools
not only make the learning experience more appealing
to users but also prove effective for supporting various
educational activities.
The remainder of this paper is organised as fol-
lows; section 2 investigates the emergence of on-
line communities, the technologies they use and their
ever-increasing prevalence on the Internet. We then
explore how to use modern technology within e-
learning to develop social communities and make it
more appealing to students in section 3. In section 4,
we describe the e-learning system we have developed
which creates an online community and promotes so-
cial interaction amongst users, while also supporting
learning activities. Section 5 introduces mCLEV-R,
an additional social e-learning system we have devel-
oped for use on mobile devices. The details of an eval-
uation study that we have conducted are discussed in
section 6, while section 7 concludes with some details
of our future directions.
2 ONLINE COMMUNITIES
The growth of the Internet has seen a proliferation of
online communities. They allow groups of people in
different geographical locations to come together and
communicate their ideas, thoughts and feelings with
other, often similar minded people (Wellman, 2005).
Online communities are not a new phenomenon; they
have been in use since the advent of the Internet. In
its simplest form, an online community can consist
of an email distribution list, where people share in-
formation about specific topics. Online communities
are also formed through web-based discussion boards
and forums where users can share expertise and give
advice on certain subjects. These websites have seen
the emergence of many special interest groups who
communicate with each other through this computer-
mediated environment. E-commerce websites are
now using these techniques to encourage the forma-
tion of communities among their customers. People
can leave feedback, discuss products and receive after
sales service through this medium. Newer technolo-
gies have now emerged which can further enhance
online communities by enabling much more interac-
tion among users in real time. Instant communication
methods and a means for users to share information
easily are the key methods used.
Instant messaging is a phenomenon that has grown
in popularity over the last few years and it is now in-
tegrated in many websites to create a community be-
tween its users. Chat rooms are a prime example of
this. A wide variety now exist, many specialised to
members’ interests. While initially users communi-
cated via text messaging, many of these communities
have now progressed to using audio communication
methods and web cam broadcasts. Further advance-
ments in Internet connection speeds have permitted
communities to develop using virtual reality. A 3D
world is rendered, in which each member is repre-
sented by a character. One of the largest examples
of such a community is Activeworlds (Activeworlds,
2006). Users become a citizen of an online 3D world
and can then design and build their own areas of this
3D community. A variety of communication methods
allow user to interact with each other within this 3D
environment.
While this type of computer mediated commu-
nication is proving popular and continues to gain a
large following, Internet users are now seeking new
types of communities online. Rather than placing
the emphasis on a particular topic or area of inter-
est, websites which offer users the ability to build a
social network of friends online have become popu-
lar (Williams, 2005). Bebo (Bebo, 2006) and MyS-
pace (MySpace, 2006) are two such websites; mem-
bers of the public produce a web page containing in-
formation about themselves along with photos and
videos, and can also link to their friend’s pages. Other
users can then browse these web pages, post mes-
sages and share ideas thus building new friendships
online. Friends within these social networks can also
communicate instantly using various external services
such as Skype (Skype, 2006) and MSN Messenger
(MSN, 2006). The popularity of such services is in
no doubt. Bebo has become a social phenomenon’
and has a worldwide membership of over 22,000,000
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
266
Figure 1: A live online lecture taking place within CLEV-R.
users (Ward, 2006).
Other dedicated websites also promote sharing
files online. For example, Flickr (Flickr, 2006) is
a photo sharing community platform, where mem-
bers of the public can upload photos for others to see
(Weiss, 2005). Users can tag photos with descriptive
annotations to assist with intuitive searches and can
also partake in group discussions. Similar to Flickr,
YouTube (YouTube, 2006) is a community for sharing
videos. Members can upload videos to the YouTube
website, which can then be viewed and commented on
by others. As is the case with the other online com-
munities discussed, the popularity of these file sharing
websites has been growing immensely.
As the wide diffusion of the above technologies
show, there has never been a greater interest in on-
line communities. People are using the latest tech-
nologies to extend their social networks far beyond
geographical boundaries. The notion is appealing to
users and something many have now come to expect
(Aizlewood and Doody, 2002).
3 COMMUNITY IN E-LEARNING
The growth of communities online mimics the way
they form in the real world. People who attend the
same places and have the same interests naturally
form their own friendship networks. This is no truer
than in a learning scenario. Social interaction and
networks within universities is very important. Re-
search has shown that people can learn as much from
each other as they do in a structured learning session
(Redfern and Naughton, 2002) (Laister and Kober,
2002). This need for social interaction and network-
ing is something, which appears to be ill addressed in
current e-learning systems. Their primary focus is on
providing access to learning materials and only min-
imal support for communication is provided. Asyn-
chronous communication methods such as discussion
boards, bulletin boards and online forums form the
backbone of person-to-person interaction within these
systems. Real-time communication is lacking and this
can hinder the formation of social communities, even
leading to a feeling of isolation among students who
are often unaware of the presence of others. We be-
lieve e-learning platforms should be more engaging
and motivating, allowing users to build social net-
works and collaborate with each other in real-time.
WEB-BASED COMMUNITIES IN E-LEARNING
267
Figure 2: The communications Graphical User Interface (GUI) of CLEV-R.
Thus, the following three specifications should be
considered in the design of e-learning systems.
Students should be aware of others in their class.
They should be able to readily communicate with
others, tutor and students alike.
They should be able to collaborate on learning
tasks and group assignments.
With these points in mind, we have developed
an e-learning and m-learning system which places
emphasis on communication and social interaction,
while still effectively supporting learning activities.
The remainder of this paper describes this system and
in particular details the methods employed to realise
an effective online learning community.
4 CLEV-R
CLEV-R is a web based collaborative learning en-
vironment which uses virtual reality to present the
learning experience to users. A 3D university setting
is provided where online lectures and group meetings
can take place, and a Graphical User Interface (GUI)
provides support for communication among mem-
bers. Learning activities within the environment are
supported through multimedia presentations, review-
ing and downloading of course notes and an exten-
sive communication network. Further details about
the system design and a sample session are described
in (McArdle et al., 2006). The 3D environment to-
gether with this communication network plays an im-
portant role in developing an online community at-
mosphere and is key in realising the 3 specifications
outlined above.
4.1 Awareness
The use of 3D in CLEV-R not only creates a more
interactive and visual learning experience, but also
makes users more aware that they are present within a
learning environment. It also plays an important role
in making users aware of the other students taking
part in the same course. As shown in figure 1, each
user is represented within the environment by a 3D
character known as an avatar. This character is cho-
sen by a user on registration for a particular course
and remains their representation for the duration of
that course.
Users can move their avatar around the 3D Uni-
versity and their location is displayed in the 3D en-
vironments of all other connected users. Each avatar
is unique with different hairstyles and clothing and
the user’s name is displayed above the avatar so they
can be easily recognised by their peers. CLEV-R
also provides a map of the 3D environment for each
user, which can be accessed at any time and which
shows the location of all other currently connected
users. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) which
hosts the communication controls for the system also
promotes awareness of others by displaying a textual
list of all other users. These features make users vis-
ibly aware of others within the system, and thus cre-
ate a more natural learning environment than other e-
learning platforms.
4.2 Communication
CLEV-R supports many forms of communication in-
cluding text-chat, audio-chat and live web cam broad-
casts. All of these methods occur in real-time and
so can be used to great effect for carrying out learn-
ing activities. Users can get instant feedback on their
questions and ideas but can also communicate in a
natural way with each other. Text and audio commu-
nication controls are provided on the GUI as seen in
figure 2. Text-chat can be used to send either public
messages to all connected users or private messages
to individual users within the environment.
Audio communication is broadcast to specific lo-
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
268
Figure 3: File sharing within CLEV-R.
cations within the 3D environment. For example,
users in a group meeting room or social area can
broadcast their voice and listen to others who are also
present in this location. Live web cam feeds can also
be displayed in certain rooms. Another form of com-
munication within the 3D environment is the use of
avatar gestures. Users can instruct their avatar to raise
or lower their hand and to nod or shake their head.
These actions allow users to communicate certain de-
sires visually which others can easily understand. For
example, if a student raises their hand in an online lec-
ture it is safe to assume that they wish to ask a ques-
tion.
4.3 Collaboration
Collaboration within CLEV-R is supported through
sharing files and actively communicating with one an-
other. In online lectures the tutor can upload course
files to a presentation board for all others to see. How-
ever in group meeting rooms, students also have this
ability. They can upload files to similar media boards
to aid group discussions and project work. Thus stu-
dents may upload course notes to help with a group
discussion or to further understand the content, or
they may upload their own files to show their work
to others. Students can also use these techniques to
socialise with one another. Dedicated areas of the
3D environment support informal interaction among
students where they can upload personal files such as
photos and even share their favourite YouTube videos
with one another (see figure 3). Together with the in-
stant communication methods described above, stu-
dents can thus work, learn and socialise with each
other within the CLEV-R environment.
5 MOBILE CLEV-R
Over the last few years mobile devices have become
more and more popular and have emerged as an ideal
tool for providing many services to users ”anytime,
anywhere”. Research into the provision of learning
services on these devices has also begun. The term m-
learning has been introduced to describe learning ser-
vices for mobile phones, smartphones and Personal
Digital Assistants (PDAs). We too are exploring this
area and have developed a system for PDAs that acts
as an accompaniment to CLEV-R. This mobile ver-
sion of CLEV-R is called mCLEV-R and provides
users with access to course content and communica-
tion facilities while on the move. It acts as a sup-
plement to the desktop system and can be used when
students cannot be at a fixed location for their online
learning. PDAs are much smaller devices that desk-
top PCs, with limitations in screen size, memory and
processing power. Thus all of the functionality pro-
vided in the desktop system cannot be extended to
this mobile platform. mCLEV-R however, still allows
mobile users to actively partake in learning activities
and the 3 specifications outlined in this paper are also
addressed for this version of the system.
Figure 4: The 3D environment provided in mCLEV-R.
The learning experience is again presented to the
user through a 3D environment. However for the mo-
bile platform the 3D environment has been greatly
simplified and it no longer supports multiple users. It
is instead a single user office style environment seen
WEB-BASED COMMUNITIES IN E-LEARNING
269
in figure 4, which users can interact with to access
course materials and communication facilities. There
are no avatar representations within mCLEV-R. User
awareness is instead provided through the communi-
cations Graphical Users Interface (GUI).
Figure 5: The audio communication Graphical User Inter-
face (GUI) of mCLEV-R.
As in CLEV-R, both text and audio communica-
tion are supported. Through these mediums mobile
users can communicate freely with all currently con-
nected users; both those on the desktop CLEV-R sys-
tem and those using the mCLEV-R system. The text
chat facility can again be used to send both public and
private messages. The GUI provides a list of all other
connected users which can be used to select the re-
ceiver of a message. The audio communication fa-
cility allows users to broadcast their voice live into
different areas of the 3D university environment pro-
vided in the desktop system. Mobile users have no ac-
cess to this 3D environment, and so cannot see avatar
representations of others. Thus they need some other
way of knowing the location of others. When a mo-
bile user selects a room to broadcast to from the GUI
shown in figure 5, they are presented with a list of
all users currently in that location. Therefore they are
all the time aware of those listening to them. Simi-
larly this mobile user is added to a list in the desk-
top system so that CLEV-R users are aware of their
presence. These communication techniques also pro-
vide support for collaboration within the mCLEV-R
system. Mobile users can actively partake in group
meetings and discussions without actually being re-
strained to a fixed desktop PC. They can also take part
in online lectures by downloading the course notes
and listening into the live commentary. Full details
on how users can interact with the system for learning
and communicating can be found in (Monahan et al.,
2006).
Thus despite device limitations, mCLEV-R pro-
vides an effective means for users to learn and collab-
orate on the move and also allows them to be socially
aware of others in their course.
6 EVALUATION
An initial evaluation of CLEV-R has been completed.
The evaluation consisted of nine test subjects taking
on the role of students within the 3D environment.
The test subjects were instructed to carry out a num-
ber of distinct tasks to ensure they were exposed to
the various features of CLEV-R. These included at-
tending an online lecture, partaking in a group meet-
ing and using the tools provided to collaborate on a
group task and solve a given puzzle. Social interac-
tion was also encouraged and participants used the
features provided in the social areas to communicate
and share photos with each other. Following the user
trial the subjects were given a questionnaire to com-
plete which had three strands of questioning; firstly
we wished to discover any usability problems which
were experienced, secondly we wanted to determine
how communities operated within the environment
and finally as it is an e-learning system, we wished to
obtain the subjects views on the educational aspects
of the environment.
6.1 Usability Results
Overall, positive results were returned from all test
subjects in relation to the usability of the system and
the various tools provided. 100% of users found navi-
gation within the 3D environment intuitive and the in-
terface easy to use. All test users actively took part in
an online lecture and successfully viewed and down-
loaded course notes. They also uploaded their own
files during a group meeting and used the communi-
cation controls effectively. While all subjects were
able to use the system without any major issues aris-
ing, a small number of minor issues were revealed.
These included problems using the audio communica-
tion feature and navigating through doorways within
the 3D environment. These issues have since been
addressed.
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
270
Figure 6: Feedback on communication and social awareness within CLEV-R.
6.2 Social Aspects
One key area of interest for this study was the reac-
tion of users to the social tools provided in CLEV-R,
and in particular the sense of community experienced.
The feedback as shown in figure 6 was extremely pos-
itive; while using the system 78% of the test subjects
felt part of a group, they were all continually aware
of each other and no one felt isolated during the eval-
uation. Furthermore, 89% felt the environment was
an effective means of social interaction. When ques-
tioned about the effectiveness of the tools for sharing
files such as photos, 22% did not agree that the tools
provided were an effective medium for this. It was
later discovered that these test users had not uploaded
their photos correctly and so others did not see them,
which could account for their negativity towards this
feature. Clearer instructions on how to use these tools
have now been added to the system, which should pre-
vent similar experiences in the future. Communica-
tion within CLEV-R was deemed to be effective by
78% of the test subjects. Those that returned a nega-
tive response to this question were persons who expe-
rienced echo and feedback problems during the trial,
a problem that has now been rectified. One test sub-
ject specifically highlighted the real-time aspect as be-
ing particularly valuable. The results for the commu-
nity and social aspects of the system show CLEV-R,
along with the social tools it provides, as an effective
medium for collective interaction among users.
6.3 Learning Issues
As CLEV-R is an e-learning environment, we were
very interested in ascertaining peoples views on the
value the system can bring to learning. Again results
were positive, with all participants agreeing CLEV-R
has potential for improving online learning. The re-
sults showed that 100% of the subjects were engaged
in the interactive environment and their interest in
learning was maintained throughout the trial. Users of
traditional e-learning platforms often cite boredom as
a major drawback with such systems and so this pos-
itive result for CLEV-R is very encouraging. 100%
of test subjects saw the lecture room and the facili-
ties it provides as an effective means for online learn-
ing. The collaboration tools that the students used to
work together functioned as expected and the subjects
employed them effectively to solve a given puzzle.
Although geared towards the educational end of the
spectrum, the users saw these tools for group work as
a social feature, which made learning more fun. The
ability to converse with other members of the group
about the task was seen as very beneficial.
Overall the system functioned as expected and the
results are encouraging. Test subjects who had pre-
vious experience of e-learning systems were positive
about CLEV-R and highlighted the collaborative and
community aspects of the system as particular ben-
efits. A further, more extensive user evaluation will
be conducted in the near future, this time also incor-
porating the mCLEV-R system. The trials will focus
on measuring the learnability of the systems, gauging
opinions about the social community aspects as well
as determining how beneficial the 3D interfaces are
within the e-learning paradigm.
7 CONCLUSIONS
The growth of social networks on the Internet has
never been greater. More and more services are
emerging which offer users the opportunity to build
social networks online. One area where the ad-
WEB-BASED COMMUNITIES IN E-LEARNING
271
dition of social support is paramount is that of e-
learning. Traditional e-learning applications are of-
ten text-based with communication limited to mes-
sage boards and forums. This lack of interaction, both
with learning content and others, can be unappealing
to students. In this paper we have provided a set of
heuristics, which we used to design and create a 3D
online e-learning application called CLEV-R.
CLEV-R provides an interactive virtual reality en-
vironment in which students are immersed. The use
of avatars creates a sense of awareness of others.
Communication tools provide a mechanism for foster-
ing a community spirit among students while collab-
orative features encourage students to work together.
The tools provided for teaching, permit discussion
and interaction to take place during online lectures,
something that can be lacking in traditional e-learning
systems.
An initial evaluation has shown that CLEV-R per-
formed favourably and test subjects appreciated the
community and social features that it provides. This
initial evaluation study paves the way for a larger one,
incorporating more test subjects and an increased em-
phasis on monitoring the use of the social tools pro-
vided. We are confident that the specifications we
have outlined here and followed in the implementa-
tion of our systems, will be of great benefit within the
e-learning paradigm. The community aspect will help
to attract more students to e-learning, engage them
and maintain their interest in their studies.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The CLEV-R and mCLEV-R projects are funded by
the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering
and Technology (IRCSET) under the National Devel-
opment Plan and the Culture 2000 Project TARCHNA
EC Grant Agreement n. 2004-1488/001-001, CLT-
CA22.
REFERENCES
Activeworlds (2006). http://www.activeworlds.com.
Aizlewood, A. and Doody, M. (2002). Seeking Commu-
nity on the Internet: Ethnocultural Use of Information
Communication Technology. In International Sympo-
sium on Technology and Society, (ISTAS) 2002, pages
5 12.
Bebo (2006). http://www.bebo.com.
BlackBoard (2006). http://www.blackboard.com.
Bouras, C., Giannaka, E., and Tsiatsos, T. (2003). Vir-
tual Collaboration Spaces: The EVE Community. In
Symposium on Applications and the Internet (SAINT),
2003, pages 48–55, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Bouras, C., Triantafillou, V., and Tsiatsos, T. (2001). Col-
laborative Learning Environment using Distributed
Virtual Environments. In World Conference on Edu-
cational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunica-
tions (ED-MEDIA), 2001, pages 173–178, Tampere,
Finland.
Chee, Y. and Hooi, C. (2002). C-VISions: Socialized
Learning through Collaborative, Virtual, Interactive
Simulations. In Conference on Computer Support
for Collaborative Learning (CSCL), 2002, pages 687–
696, Boulder, CO, USA.
Flickr (2006). http://www.flickr.com.
Hiltz, S. R. and Turoff, M. (2005). Education Goes Digital:
The Evolution of Online Learning and the Revolution
in Higher Education. Communications of the ACM,
48(10).
Laister, J. and Kober, S. (2002). Social Aspects of Collab-
orative Learning in Virtual Learning Environments.
In Networked Learning Conference, 2002, Sheffield,
England.
McArdle, G., Monahan, T., and Bertolotto, M. (2006). 3D
Collaborative Virtual Environments for E-Learning
and M-Learning. In International Conference on Web-
Based Education (WBE), 2006, pages 1–6, Peu rto Val-
larta, Mexico.
Monahan, T., McArdle, G., and Bertolotto, M. (2006). In-
teractive and Collaborative M-Learning. In Inter-
national Conference on Interactive Computer Aided
Learning (ICL), 2006, Villach, Austria.
Moodle (2006). http://www.moodle.org.
MSN (2006). http://messenger.msn.com.
MySpace (2006). http://www.myspace.com.
Nijholt, A. (2000). Agent-Supported Cooperative Learn-
ing Environments. In The International Workshop on
Advanced Learning Technologies, Palmerston North,
New Zealand.
Redfern, S. and Naughton, N. (2002). Collaborative Virtual
Eenvironments to Support Communication and Com-
munity in Internet-Based Distance Education. In Joint
International Conference on Informing Science and IT
Education, 2002, pages 1317–1327, Cork, Ireland.
Rickel, J. and Johnson, W. (1999). Virtual Humans for
Team Training in Virtual Reality. In The Ninth Inter-
national Conference on AI in Education, pages 578–
585.
Skype (2006). http://www.skype.com.
Ward, M. (2006). Teen Craze Over
Networking Sites. BBC News,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4826218.stm.
Weiss, A. (2005). The Power of Collective Intelligence.
Collective Intelligence, 9(3).
Wellman, B. (2005). Community: From Neighbourhood to
Network. Communications of the ACM, 48(10).
Williams, A. (2005). Do you myspace? New York Times.
YouTube (2006). http://www.youtube.com.
WEBIST 2007 - International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies
272