Project-based collaborative learning environment with context-aware educational services

Abstract

Teaching and learning software design patterns (DPs) is not an easy task. Apart from learning individual DPs and the principles behind them, students should learn how to apply them in real-life situations. Therefore, to make the learning process of DPs effective, it is necessary to include a project component in which students, usually in small teams, develop a medium-sized software application. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide students with means for easy discovery of relevant learning resources and possible collaborators. In this paper, we propose an extensive project-based collaborative learning environment for learning software DPs that integrates several existing educational systems and tools based on the common ontological foundation. The learning process in the suggested environment is further facilitated and augmented by several context-aware educational services. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.