eMadrid researchers awarded several prizes
Jose A. Ruiperez Valiente, researcher at eMadrid network, has received several awards for his Master’s Thesis (MT), “Design and Implementation of a Module of Learning Analytics for Khan Academy Platform”, which was prepared and presented to complete the Masters degree in Telecommunications Engineering in October 2013 at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M); this university is the eMadrid project coordinator. The supervisor of this work was Pedro J. Muñoz Merino, who is also member of the eMadrid network.
The MT deals with the problem of transforming the low-level data generated by students in virtual learning environments into useful information that can be used by different actors involved in the learning. A series of indicators have been implemented that are subsequently displayed through a learning analytics tool that was developed as part of the MT for Khan Academy (ALAS-KA). Finally, these indicators and ALAS-KA have been used to assess the actual process of experiential learning with students using Khan Academy at UC3M. The ALAS-KA tool is released as free software.
The prizes awared to this MT are as follows:
- Accenture Award for best MT in Telecommunications Engineering in the academic year 2012/2013 at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
- eMadrid 2015 Award for Best final degree project or MT on research or development of educational technologies.
- Award of the Spanish Chapter of the IEEE Education Society for Best final degree project or MT in technological applications in the field of education.
- Best final degree or MT Award “in new services, applications and digital business models” sponsored by Accenture, granted by COIT-AEIT.
The MT has a direct relationship with some of the eMadrid network objectives, and indirect relationships with others. Firstly, it is primarily related to evaluation of learning, learning analytics and big data, as the MT presents a tool of learning analytics (analytical learning). This tool has been used in courses at the Universidad Carlos III with hundreds of students and large amounts of data, as a real experience related to the big data phenomenon. Moreover, this MT has also a direct relationship with the learning environments and MOOCs, as the development has been made for the Khan Academy. It could also be considered the the MT has a more indirect relationship with adaptation, adaptability and accessibility, since students metrics provided by ALAS-KA can be used to adapt the learning environment according to the needs of each student, send recommendations, or act as input for other types of actuators.
