NSeCMS System Evaluation Report

eLearning programs on natural sciences combining asynchronous eLearning with synchronous AV learning have been used with success in recent years. However, demand has been developing for asynchronous and synchronous authoring, presentation, and collaboration tools that promote use of standard mathematical and scientific notation. Such tools must overcome the increased requirements for time-effective communication during the educational process enabling efficient interaction among administrators, educators, learners, and researchers through the exchange of media rich documents containing formulas, graphs, sketches, animations and simulations in sophisticated combinations. The vision of this program, titled ?NS-eCMS: Content Management and Collaboration Environment for Natural Sciences?, is the design and development of an adapted open web-based content management, communication, and collaboration eLearning platform addressing the specialized requirements for distance education in natural sciences. The project aims at providing undergraduate learners and undergraduate academic institutions involved in distance teaching and learning of natural sciences an infrastructure that addresses the entire educational process, from information exchange, including dynamical representation of mathematical formulas and graphs and easy implementation of hand-made sketches and drawings, to information management, online computation execution, communication and collaboration, as well as knowledge assessment through exercises and examinations. The NS-eCMS evaluation strategy is the quantification of system acceptance by learners, content providers, and administrators as an eLearning platform geared towards natural sciences, and of the impact of the system on eLearning initiatives on related subjects. More specifically, evaluation of the project outputs focuses on the generation of feedback on the system sub-modules and the published multimedia content that have been developed through the use of MathML, MapleNet, and the commercial CAS programs. Evaluation is conducted both internally and externally. Internal evaluation serves the purpose of monitoring implementation progress through input received from project partners, while external evaluation is achieved through the engagement of end-user groups unrelated to the consortium. This process provides feedback both from experts as well as common users, thus ensuring that the final result is implemented with the end users in mind. The aim of this report is to present the results from the activities conducted during the project life cycle for evaluation of the didactical and technical aspects of the developed NS-eCMS system. The evaluation results are not only focused on validating the outputs developed within the project, but also on evaluating them in terms of their potential for future development from the perspective of a range of potential end users.