Blended learning models that combine face-to-face and online learning are of great importance in modern higher education. However, their development should be in line with the recent changes in e-learning that emphasize a student-centered approach and use tools available on the Web to support the learning process. This paper presents research on implementing a contemporary blended learning model within the e-course "Hypermedia Supported Education". The blended model developed combines a learning management system (LMS), a set of Web 2.0 tools and the E-Learning Activities Recommender System (ELARS) to enhance personalized online learning. As well as incorporating various technologies, the model combines a number of pedagogical approaches, focusing on collaborative and problem-based learning, to ensure the achievement of the course learning outcomes. The results of the comparative study show the effectiveness of the proposed model in that students who performed personalized collaborative e-learning activities achieved better course results. These findings encourage the further application of the model to other computer science courses. Index Terms-Blended learning model, collaborative learning, recommender systems, Web 2.0. Natasa Hoic-Bozic (M'05) received the B.S. degree in mathematics and information science from the University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia, in 1990, the M.S. degree in computer and information science from the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1997, and the Ph.D. degree in computing from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, University of Zagreb, Croatia, in 2002.She is currently an Associate Professor and Vice Head of the Department of Informatics, University of Rijeka. Her main research interests are in the fields of technology enhanced learning (e-learning), adaptive hypermedia, recommender systems, multimedia systems, blended learning approaches, and Web 2.0 tools for teaching and learning.
An application generator has resulted from the authors' efforts to improve the development of interactive database applications. The developed tool is based on a meta-base. The meta-base comprises an extended data model, the programming language description and some additional information to support the generation process. The procedures described in a proprietary specification language serve to generate the application over the database modeled in the meta-base. The specification language is based on the source code templates, standard program structures and on special statements for handling of the meta-data. Main ideas and operating principles of the original application generator are exposed. The specification language, its syntax and its basic components are described. The generator functionality is explained on some simple specification examples where the SQL code and pseudo-code for the corresponding hypothetical application are generated. Some experience gathered from the generator practical usage is discussed. A list of projects is included, where some complex applications were developed by the aid of the generator. An analysis is presented to show the proportions of the generated source code versus manually written statements.
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