A Novel Approach Based Ontology for Assessing Learner’s skills in the Programming language Practical Works Activities

Abstract

The work presented in this research paper is an improved version and a solution to the limitations of our previously published work (Boussaha et al., 2015). In the previous work, we have used the graphs as a modeling tool, to introduce a new learner's selfassessment environment as PBL (problem-based learning) that allows comparison of learners' programs with those elaborated by the teacher. The subjacent idea is to indirectly compare programs through their graphical representations described by graphs. Therefore, we could only detect syntactic errors in learner's program. In the present work, we have managed to detect syntactic and semantic errors in a learner's program by using ontologies as modeling tools. The PBL environment developed socalled LearnAsPWAS(Learners' Assessment Practical Works Activities System) allowing comparing learners' productions with those elaborated by the teacher. The tool allows essentially: (1) generating two ontologies from the learner's program and the teacher's one. Besides, (2) the tool applies some matching algorithms for measuring degrees of similarity and dissimilarity between learner's program and teacher's one. It offers an observation to the learner (3) assessing the learners by giving them a list of semantic and syntactic errors detected in their programs.