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Learner-centric research on factors influencing learning results has focused, among other things, on student characteristics, demographic data, and usage patterns in learning management systems (LMSs). This paper complements the existing research by investigating potential correlations between learning results and LMS usage during exam preparation, focusing on practice and repetition. Based on 250 million log-file entries used to analyze student interactions within specific courses and overall in the LMS, results show positive, albeit modest, correlations between usage variables and final exam grades. Regarding practice, the number of learning days and the number of days between the first and the last learning sessions correlate better than the coverage of different learning materials. The findings for repetition indicate that it is more beneficial to transfer learning to new tasks than to repeat the same items many times. The study not only looks at single usage variables but also examines the distribution of the descriptive and dependent variables and uses visualization techniques and quantiles to deal with outliers. This paper describes the largest empirical study of learner interactions in blended learning courses conducted so far (at least according to the authors' knowledge) and including techniques for processing and analyzing large datasets about LMS usage.

Positive impacts on learning through blogging, such as active knowledge construction and reflective writing, have been reported. However, not many students use weblogs in informal contexts, even when appropriate facilities are offered by their universities. While motivations for blogging have been subject to empirical studies, little research has addressed the issue of why students choose not to blog. This paper presents an empirical study undertaken to gain insights into the decision making process of students when deciding whether to keep a blog or not. A better understanding of students' motivations for (not) blogging may help decision makers at universities in the process of selecting, introducing, and maintaining similar services. As informal learning gains increased recognition, results of this study can help to advance appropriate designs of informal learning contexts in Higher Education. The method of ethnographic decision tree modeling was applied in an empirical study conducted at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria. Since 2004, the university has been offering free weblog accounts for all students and staff members upon entering school, not bound to any course or exam. Qualitative, open interviews were held with three active bloggers, three former bloggers, and three non-bloggers to elicit their decision criteria. Decision tree models were developed out of the interviews. It turned out that the modeling worked best when splitting the decision process into two parts: one model representing decisions on whether to start a weblog at all, and a second model representing criteria on whether to continue with a weblog once it was set up. The models were tested for their validity through questionnaires developed out of the decision tree models. 30 questionnaires have been distributed to bloggers, former bloggers and non-bloggers. Results show that the main reasons for students not to keep a weblog include a preference for direct (online) communication, concerns about the loss of privacy through blogging. Furthermore, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation factors keep students blogging, whereas stopping a weblog is mostly attributable to external factors. (Contains 6 figures.)

Didactical advantages of audience response systems (ARS) have been discussed extensively ever since they have been used in classes. However, conventional ARS bear some drawbacks, such as requiring specific hardware, generating costs (text messaging based and web service fees) and creating a dependency on external hosts. In this paper we present a browser-based ARS, which provides a platform-independent channel for the interaction between students and teachers. The authors provide a solution of an ARS for potentially large and spatially distributed classes, where the audience can provide feedback via PCs and mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. The proposed system has been integrated into the e-learning system of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), one of the largest business universities worldwide. The server side implementation of an ARS brings some challenges, such as the integration into an e-learning environment, the technical feasibility due to a broad variety of possible end user devices, and user acceptance issues. This paper documents the experiences and findings of the stepwise development and deployment in large classrooms. This resulted in an enhancement of the information policy with students and an optimization of the WLAN network settings. Finally, a new, unanticipated usage scenario emerged for mobile, browser-based response systems.