Abstract:

LMS systems are collecting a huge amount of data on which is the whole following analysis based and our research is dealing with. Nowadays, there are plenty of free solutions, which can make data analysis over a particular dataset. This review pursues a specific LMS system which is LMS Moodle, since this software solution is widely used in the educational field. This open-source software solution offers many extensions to improve the entire learning and education process. Changes in the education process and didactic methods are rather frequent as a result of upcoming innovative technologies. It depends on the teacher which concrete approach and activities they prefer to use in their field of expertise. Modules and extensions in LMS Moodle can provide various types of reports and data visualizations.

However, there are other free software solution which can analyze and interpret this type of data. The next section of this article is dedicated to the analysis and implementation of aforementioned solutions. We monitor the production data through visual elements which create an alternative overview above them in this specific library.

Our research focuses primarily on the visualization of the dataset that is recorded by a particular LMS system. The dataset consists of log and activity records in LMS Moodle, because these data can really exhibit the system usability. In the extensions section we are going to introduce the development process of our own solution in LMS Moodle, which uses a new Moodle Charts API library to provide the expected visualization. During the development process of the new functionality we were inspired by the existing plugins in LMS Moodle.

Generally the report plugins in LMS Moodle use third-party libraries for visual representation. We primarily focus on the brand new Moodle Charts. The activities were visualized through chart.js library. Furthermore we examine into the main functionality and usability that our visual chart offers. Subsequently, the properties of our created solution are described and the chapter also identifies its strengths and weaknesses over a concrete implemented LMS System.

Keywords:

Visualization, Data Interpretation, LMS systems, Teaching methods, Production data.