Authors:
Floriana Meluso
;
Paolo Avogadro
;
Silvia Calegari
and
Matteo Dominoni
Affiliation:
University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
Keyword(s):
Learning Analytics, LMS, Indicator, Message System, Zipf.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Data Engineering
;
Data Management and Quality
;
Data Management for Analytics
;
Modeling and Managing Large Data Systems
Abstract:
The goal of this research is to define and implement indicators for a Learning Management System (LMS). In
particular, we focus on estimating patterns on the utilization of the message system by defining two quantities:
the specific utilization and popularity. The idea is to take into account the perspective of academic institution
managers and the administrators of the LMS, for example to understand if a particular department fails at
providing a useful LMS service, or in order to allocate the correct amount of resources. These indicators have
been tested on the LMS employed by the “Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca” (Milan, Italy), and in
general provided a picture of poor utilization of the message system, where the usage follows a pattern similar
to the Zipf law. This feature, correlated with the principle of least effort, suggests that LMSs should join forces
with existing social networking systems to create strong online learning communities.