Open Distance Learning: Fundamentals, Developments, and Modelling

Motivational and social aspects as interactions among teachers and students are essential for a successful educational process in an open distance learning (ODL) environment, and the goal of this book is to develop an interactive model to manage motivation between the participants of the learning process. The book deals with the important and topical problem of e-learning, closely connected with the use of modern information technologies in education. The focus is on developing an information management system for supporting the distance learning process in colleges and universities in the context of steadily expanding information technologies. On the basis of exiting standards (SCORM, etc.) as well as information systems and platforms (e.g., Moodle, etc.), the author proposes a coherent and original concept of modelling three ODL subprocesses: (1) an ontological model (how to represent the structure of didactic materials), (2) a motivation and collaboration model (how to motivate project process participants) and (3) a simulation model (how to realise the learning/project process). The proposed models constitute a theoretical formalization of a new situation in which a teacher and students are obligated to elaborate on didactic material repository content in accordance with the requirements of acquired competencies. A mathematical method based on game theory and simulation is suggested. The kind of educational system represented in the book can be used as a model of open distance learning aimed at active behaviour of students and teachers in not only the development of knowledge but also the acquiring of competencies.

Oleg Zaikin is professor at the Warsaw School of Computer Science, Poland. A PhD in computer science, he started his career as a research engineer at the Leningrad Research Radio Institute, Russia, in 1966. He was at an academic position at St. Petersburg Electrical University, Russia (1970-1990); head of the department at St. Petersburg Institute of Printing and Publishing, Russia (1991-1996); professor at the University ’Oriente’, Republic of Cuba (1978-1979); and professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Systems and head of the Department of Production Control, West Pomeranian University of Technology, Poland (1996-2009). Prof. Zaikin is a member of Technical Committee 5.1 of the International Federation of Automatic Control and the International Academy of Computer Science. He has authored and edited 10 books on computer science and published more than 50 refereed articles and 85 conference papers.

Zenon Gniazdowski received MSc degree in electrical engineering at the Department of Electronics at the Warsaw University of Technology in 1985. In 1991 he obtained PhD degree at the Institute of Electron Technology in Warsaw. In 2006 received his habilitation, also at the Institute of Electron Technology. In 2000, he joined the Warsaw School of Computer Science, first as a lecturer and since 2007 as a professor. His interest is focused on algorithms of data mining.