Abstract:

In the indication of Connectivism “the pipe is more important than the content within the pipe” [1], hence the connection of people for enabling mutual help and support while learning is a central challenge of e-learning. In accordance with the synonymous quotation “collecting knowledge through collecting people” [2] this contribution presents an approach to connect users of a social learning environment called “Wiki-Learnia” based on different context properties like age, language, role, learning targets, knowledge base, social background, learning target, skill level or consumed learning materials. As an example according the latter one, the presented solution dynamically connects unknown people who had nothing to do with each other before by means of a live chat messenger like it’s known e.g. from service communication on e-commerce websites, or from partner search in mobile dating apps. Based on the criteria of consumed learning materials the live chat tool automatically invites other users who are visiting the same website at the same time period. In this way, users are connected with like-minded people to learn cooperatively or to get help in case of problems of comprehension. Taking into account other context information like language or knowledge background, the chat tool can additionally optimize the user selection. Besides to cooperative learning there are a lot of other scenarios for context-aware communication channels in e-learning for instance private tutoring, assessment or author discussions that are explained more in detail in this contribution.

Keywords:

Context-aware communication, live chat, Connectivism.