USING LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AS SUPPORT MECHANISMS FOR FORMATIVE FEEDBACK – THE CASE OF LIFELONG LEARNING

For several years Learning Management Systems and e-portfolios have been used in conjunction to Virtual Learning Environments to provide additional means for education support. The field of e-learning has an impressive literature focusing on tools that support teaching, learning and assessment activities. The missing element for several years has been providing an integrated approach dealing with issues relating to pedagogy, technology and learning. The design and delivery of formative assessment opportunities has been the focus of the author's research for several years, in conjunction to emphasis on how formative feedback can be supported in e-learning scenarios. For more than ten years several case studies have been investigated with respect to how feedback is perceived in distance education and the identification of key differences between instructors and learners. This paper discusses the above issues with the aid of lifelong learning scenarios. Emphasis is given on presenting tools that have been developed to support the entire learning process from its early curriculum design stages to the delivery of specific feedback on various learning activities. The main contribution of the paper is through a framework for providing customised and personalised feedback based on a semi-automated mechanism supported by learning management systems. Evaluation results from pilot studies and cooperative evaluation with a number of student participants are presented and reflected on the paper.