Creating a distributed, privacy-aware e-learning system based on item response theory

Abstract

The quality of education is an important objective for governments and organizations around the world, as education has the potential to open new opportunities for people, improve their lives, and make them a productive and useful member of society. One of the ways to improve education is through the use of technology, and by making sure children have access to knowledge and information. In this paper, we will describe a distributed e-learning system based on item response theory, which can intelligently offer students appropriate questions and tasks to solve, and adapt the difficulty of the presented test items based on the students’ previous answers and activity. Similarly, after each test item, the system presents the user with a solution to the problem, and the theory behind it. Our data and survey scores show positive results, and outline that students find the system engaging and want to continue to use it in the future.