Stephen T. Njenga; Robert O. Oboko; Elijah I. Omwenga; Elizaphan M. Maina

Use of Intelligent Agents in Collaborative M-Learning: Case of Facilitating Group Learner Interactions

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Author(s)

Stephen T. Njenga ^1,* Robert O. Oboko ² Elijah I. Omwenga ² Elizaphan M. Maina ³

1. Murang’a University of Technology, School of Computing & Information Technology, Kenya

2. University of Nairobi, School of Computing & Informatics, Kenya

3. Kenyatta University, School of Engineering & Technology, Kenya

* Corresponding author.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5815/ijmecs.2017.10.03

Received: 26 May 2017 / Revised: 13 Jul. 2017 / Accepted: 8 Aug. 2017 / Published: 8 Oct. 2017

Index Terms

Intelligent agent, Collaborative mobile learning, Facilitated group participation, Regulated group cognitive conflicts, Moodle

Abstract

Intelligent agents have been used in collaborative learning. However, they are rarely used to facilitate group interactions in collaborative m-learning environments. In view of this, the paper discusses the use of intelligent agents in facilitating collaborative learning in mobile learning environments. The paper demonstrates how to design intelligent agents and integrate them in collaborative mobile learning environments to allow group learners to improve their levels of group knowledge construction. The design was implemented in a collaborative mobile learning system running on Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) platform. The application was used in some experiments to investigate the effects of those facilitated interactions on the level of group knowledge construction. The results showed improved levels of group knowledge construction in instances where the facilitations were enabled compared to where they were disabled. The paper concludes that the use of intelligent agents in facilitating learner group interactions in collaborative mobile learning environments improves the levels of group knowledge construction. For future work, the use of intelligent agents can be tested in other areas of group interactions to enhance group learning.

Cite This Paper

Stephen T. Njenga, Robert O. Oboko, Elijah I. Omwenga, Elizaphan M. Maina, "Use of Intelligent Agents in Collaborative M-Learning: Case of Facilitating Group Learner Interactions", International Journal of Modern Education and Computer Science(IJMECS), Vol.9, No.10, pp. 18-28, 2017. DOI:10.5815/ijmecs.2017.10.03

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