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More and more Learning Objects like lessons, exercises, worksheets and lesson plans are available online. Finding them, however, is a challenge as they often lack metadata concerning format, content and, in the K-12 context: grade-levels or age ranges for which they are appropriate. This work studies the automatic content-based assignment of this last aspect of Learning Object metadata. For this purpose, we (a) collected a dataset of physics lessons, (b) explored a set of text-based features for their automatic analysis (derived from both dense vector representations and entity linking methods) and (c) trained a machine learning model with different subsets of these features to predict a resource’s target grade level. We compare and discuss the results.

Search engines are normally not designed to support human learning intents and processes. The field of Search as Learning (SAL) aims to investigate the characteristics of a successful Web search with a learning purpose. In this paper, we analyze the impact of text complexity of Web pages on predicting knowledge gain during a search session. For this purpose, we conduct an experimental case study and investigate the influence of several text-based features and classifiers on the prediction task. We build upon data from a study of related work, where 104 participants were given the task to learn about the formation of lightning and thunder through Web search. We perform an extensive evaluation based on a state-of-the-art approach and extend it with additional features related to textual complexity of Web pages. In contrast to prior work, we perform a systematic search for optimal hyperparameters and show the possible influence of feature selection strategies on the knowledge gain prediction. When using the new set of features, state-of-the-art results are noticeably improved. The results indicate that text complexity of Web pages could be an important feature resource for knowledge gain prediction.

Human learning shifts stronger than ever towards online settings, and especially towards video platforms. There is an abundance of tutorials and lectures covering diverse topics, from fixing a bike to particle physics. While it is advantageous that learning resources are freely available on the Web, the quality of the resources varies a lot. Given the number of available videos, users need algorithmic support in finding helpful and entertaining learning resources. In this paper, we present a review of the recent research literature (2020-2021) on video-based learning. We focus on publications that examine the characteristics of video content, analyze frequently used features and technologies, and, finally, derive conclusions on trends and possible future research directions