User Profile Modeling in the context of web-based learning management systems

Over the past two decades, great research efforts have been made towards the personalization of e-learning platforms. This feature increases remarkably the quality of the provided learning services, since the users’ special needs and capabilities are respected. The idea of predicting the users’ preferences and adapting the e-learning platform accordingly is the focal point of this paper. In particular, this paper starts with the main requirements of an advanced e-learning system, explains the way a user navigates in such a system, presents the architecture of a corresponding e-learning system and describes its main components. Research is focused on the User Model component, its role in the e-learning system and the parameters that comprise it. In this context, Bayesian Networks are used as a tool for the encoding, learning and reasoning of probabilistic relationships, with the aim to effectively predict user preferences. In support of this vision, four different scenarios are presented, in order to test the way Bayesian Networks apply in the e-learning field.