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Abstract-The current Learning Management Systems used in e-learning lack intelligent mechanisms which can be used by an instructor to group learners during an online group task based on the learners" collaboration competence level. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach for grouping students in an online learning group task based on individual learners" collaboration competence level. We demonstrate how it can be applied in a Learning Management System such as Moodle using forum data. To create the collaboration competence levels, two machine learning algorithms for clustering namely Skmeans and Expectation Maximization (EM) were applied to cluster data and generate clusters based on learner"s collaboration competence. We develop an intelligent grouping algorithm which utilizes these machine learning generated clusters to form heterogeneous groups. These groups are automatically made available to the instructor who can proceed to assign them to group tasks. This approach has the advantage of dynamically changing the group membership based on learners" collaboration competence level.

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Patients and caregivers in palliative care experience multidimensional pain. In current practice, information about a cancer patient progress is known when they visit a clinic or make a distress call when their conditions worsen. This strategy is not efficient for systematic monitoring of symptoms, which is key in improving palliative care. Mobile phones have helped to transform healthcare through diagnosis, health education and symptoms management of chronic illnesses. In this study, a mobile phone assessment tool was implemented at an outpatient palliative care clinic for cancer patients in Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi. The usefulness of the mobile phone application was examined. In the initial interview with a cohort of 19 patients and caregivers, 15 were eligible for the study. Patients and caregivers used the application to report their symptoms and needs at an interval of one week. Participatory action design was used whereas data collection was achieved through non-structured interviews. Findings from the study were organized into three themes: enhanced communication, improved assessment of total cancer pain and advocacy tool. This study illustrates that utilization of mobile phone applications can enhance palliative care by improving monitoring of symptoms and strengthening patient-provider communication.

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