Multi-criteria methodology for LMS quality assessment within the framework of emergent learning system

Abstract

In the article, using the case of Learning Management System (LMS), we consider a methodology for assessing the quality of education, taking into account the requests of experts, lecturers, and students. There is a growing relevance of such research due to the digitalization of education, the transition to distance learning as the main or auxiliary form of organizing the educational process. The applied methodology relies on the earlier developed concept of emergent learning and the system for the assessment of the quality of education, using the conception of negentropy. By adapting this methodology to the LMS assessment task, we show the importance of creating a hierarchical scheme of modules and functional elements necessary for an effective organization of the learning process. In order to provide an integral assessment, it is necessary, according to our position, to determine the weighting factor of each module and of each criterion by which this module is assessed and then to determine the values of each criterion for a specific LMS. A proposed flexible assessment system that takes into account the requests of all aspects of the educational process, allows, by modifying the weighting factors, to adapt the equation in accordance with the specificity of the subject area and educational institution within which the LMS is used. As an advantage of this methodology, it makes it possible not only to compare different LMSs in terms of quality but also to identify areas in which it is possible to improve and refine existing LMSs. We analyze the risks associated with the transformation of assessment systems from an auxiliary tool into an end in itself. In this regard, we propose an algorithm for separating qualitative and quantitative factors accounting, which helps to avoid the negative effect of the absolutization of assessment systems. In the conclusion, we outline the ways of developing the design of such a system of the management of educational process in which quality requirements prevail over circumstantial ones.