Supporting Students by Integrating an Open Learner Model in a Peer Assessment Platform

An open learner model uses system's representation of the student to support learning and reveal progress. The model contains information regarding learner's characteristics such as level of knowledge, interests, involvement and other relevant cognitive aspects. The current paper presents an example of incorporating an open learner model in a peer assessment platform, more specifically LearnEval, and applying it in the context of a project-based learning scenario in a Web Applications Design course. The student is modeled based on several traits such as competence, involvement and assessment abilities. Furthermore, an aggregated overall score offers a general overview of the student capabilities. To incorporate the open learner model, a Scores module was integrated into LearnEval, offering intuitive, friendly and effective visualizations of the scores and a breakdown of the metrics composing them in the form of progress bars, gauges, column bars, trophies and medals. We offer a description of the context where the open learner model was put in practice as well as an example of how a learner could utilize it. An opinion survey regarding the experience with the open learner model was applied to the students at the end of the semester. The findings are encouraging, as the learners found the module easy to use, helpful and comprehensive and they examined it relatively often.