Resumen de Computational thinking skills and adaptation quality of virtual learning environments for learning informatics
Eugenijus Kurilovas, Valentina Dagiene
The paper aims to analyse and propose scientific methods suitable for evaluating the adaptation quality of VirtualLearning Environments (VLEs) matching Informatics learners’ needs. The authors’ approach consists of the consecutiveapplication of the principles of multiple criteria decision analysis for identifying the VLEs adaptation quality criteria, setsportrait method to analyse the interconnections of the VLE adaptation quality criteria and the learners’ computationalthinking skills, fuzzy group decision making theory to obtain final evaluation measures of the VLEs quality criteria, andscalarization method to obtain the final results of evaluating the VLEs quality. While applying these methods, appropriatedecision support system was developed. This system consists of the learners’ computational thinking skills’ questionnaires,observations results and conclusions, VLEs adaptation quality criteria, their ratings (values) and weights, and finalevaluation results that propose a proper decision. This approach should help Universities and schools to create, buy, orfind free VLE software mostly suitable for teaching and learning Informatics. Computational thinking term is detailed inthe paper, and interconnected with the VLEs adaptation quality criteria using sets portrait method. After that, multiplecriteria decision analysis approach is used to evaluate the adaptation quality of VLE in terms of its conformance with thelearners’ computational thinking styles. The experts’ additive utility function is proposed to use for the expert evaluation ofthe adaptation quality of VLEs. Trapezoidal fuzzy numbers method is proposed to use for establishing both weights andratings (values) of the VLEs quality criteria matching learners’ computational thinking styles. Practical example of theexperimental evaluation of three popular open source VLEs is also presented in the paper. Presented research results areparticularly useful for Informatics/software engineering education.
