Preview

Informatics and education

Advanced search

The virtual education space: Concept, architecture, application

https://doi.org/10.32517/0234-0453-2021-36-9-47-54

Abstract

The e-learning environment known as VES (the Virtual Education Space) was created at the University of Plovdiv “Paisii Hilendarski” in Bulgaria step by step for years as each subsequent version was built on the previous one. Initially a learning system called DeLC (the Distributed e-Learning Center) has been implemented to support blended and independent learning at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics at the university. DeLC was a successful project, but we identified some problems, connected with interactions between the virtual and the physical world where in fact the learning process takes place. In the following period, we started the development of ViPS (the Virtual Physical Space) based on concepts of CPSS (Cyber-Physical-Social System) and IoT (Internet of Things). VES is the ViPS adaptation to education. VES is the successor to DeLC, it provides e-learning content and e-learning education services for planning, organizing, and conducting the learning process at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the University of Plovdiv.

VES supports various forms of e-learning such as blended learning, self-paced learning, lifelong learning, inclusive and game-based learning (GBL). The following aspects of VES are essential: 1) users are the focus of attention; 2) physical “things” are virtualized; 3) there is integration between the virtual and the physical worlds. Since ViPS is developed as a CPSS ecosystem, users are the focus of attention. This determines the need to develop personal assistants to participate in the processes of the ViPS space on behalf of and in the interest of users. Three intelligent agents are modeled in VES: an internal educational agent, an external educational agent, and a career consultant. MATE (the Multi-Agent Testing Environment) is a component supported in the ViPS space for training and testing of students in a game-based manner. MATE is a set of autonomous agents, each one of which has responsibilities in the common architecture that arise from training and testing needs.

As a CPSS space, VES introduces new approaches and scenarios to solve complex problems in the field of e-learning. VES provides a reference architecture, which can be adapted for various forms of education supported by information and communication technologies.

About the Authors

S. N. Stoyanov
University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"
Bulgaria

 Stanimir Nedyalkov Stoyanov, Ph.D., Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics

Plovdiv 



T. A. Glushkova
University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"
Bulgaria

 Todorka Atanasova Glushkova, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics

Plovdiv 



A. G. Stoyanova-Doycheva
University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"
Bulgaria

 Asya Georgieva Stoyanova-Doycheva, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics

Plovdiv 



I. K. Krasteva
University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"
Bulgaria

 Irina Krasimirova Krasteva, Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics

Plovdiv 



References

1. Stoyanov S., Popchev I., Doychev E., Mitev D., Valkanov V., Stoyanova-Doycheva A., Valkanova V., Minov I. DeLC educational portal. Cybernetics and Information Technologies. 2010;10(3):49–69. Available at: http://www.cit.iit.bas.bg/CIT_2010/v10-3/49-69.pdf

2. Wang F.-Y. The emergence of intelligent enterprises: From CPS to CPSS. IEEE Intelligent Systems. 2010;25(4):85–88. DOI: 10.1109/MIS.2010.104

3. Perera C., Zaslavsky A., Christen P., Georgakopoulos D. Context aware computing for the Internet of Things: A survey. IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials. 2014;16(1):414–454. DOI: 10.1109/SURV.2013.042313.00197

4. Stoyanov S., Glushkova T., Stoyanova-Doycheva A., Doychev E. Virtual Physical Space — an architecture supporting internet of things applications. 2018 20th Int. Symp. on Electrical Apparatus and Technologies (SIELA). Bourgas, IEEE, 2018. DOI: 10.1109/SIELA.2018.8447156

5. Glushkova T., Stoyanov S., Popchev I., Cheresharov S. Ambient-oriented modeling in a virtual education space. Comptes rendus de l’ Academie bulgare des Sciences. 2018;71(3):398–406. DOI: 10.7546/CRABS.2018.03.13

6. SCORM 2004 4th Edition. Available at: https://scorm.com/blog/scorm-2004-4th-edition/7. IMS Question & Test Interoperability (QTI) Specification. Available at: http://www.imsglobal.org/question/index.html

7. Stancheva N., Stoyanova-Doycheva A., Stoyanov S., Popchev I., Ivanova V. A model for generation of test questions. Comptes rendus de l’ Academie bulgare des Sciences. 2017;70(5):619–630. Available at: http://www.proceedings.bas.bg/

8. EUROPE 2020. A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Brussels, European Commission; 2010. 32 p. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eu2020/pdf/COMPLET%20EN%20BARROSO%20%20%20007%20-%20Europe%202020%20-%20EN%20version.pdf

9. Isele D., Luna J. M., Eaton E., de la Cruz G. V., Irwin J., Kallaher B., Taylor M. E. Lifelong learning for disturbance rejection on mobile robots. 2016 IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). 2016:3993–3998. DOI: 10.1109/IROS.2016.7759588

10. Toskova A., Doychev E., Toskov B. An idea for extension of the virtual education space for lifelong learning. Proc. Scientific Conf. with Int. Part. “The new idea in education”. Burgas Free University; 2016:433–437. Available at: http://research.bfu.bg:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/906/1/433_PDFsam_Final_Tom2.pdf

11. Glushkova T. Personalization and user modeling in adaptive e-learning systems for schools. E-Learning — Instructional Design, Organizational Strategy and Management. 2015:127–147. DOI: 10.5772/61084

12. Krasteva I., Todorov J., Stoyanov S. Intelligent school education space. Education & Technologies Journal. 2019;10(1):120–126. DOI: 10.26883/2010.191.1489

13. Petrov A., Petrov A., Valkanova V., Dimitrov I. Game based learning within virtual education space. Proc. Scientific Conf. with Int. Part. “The new idea in education”. Burgas Free University; 2016:451–456. Available at: http://research.bfu.bg:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/909/1/451_PDFsam_Final_Tom2.pdf

14. Stoyanov S., Glushkova T., Doychev E., StoyanovaDoycheva A., Ivanova V. Cyber-physical-social systems and applications. Part I: Reference architecture. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing; 2019. 100 p.


Review

For citations:


Stoyanov S.N., Glushkova T.A., Stoyanova-Doycheva A.G., Krasteva I.K. The virtual education space: Concept, architecture, application. Informatics and education. 2021;(9):47-54. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.32517/0234-0453-2021-36-9-47-54

Views: 404


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 0234-0453 (Print)
ISSN 2658-7769 (Online)