International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887) Volume 56– No.4, October 2012 9 Learning Style and Behavior Analysis A Study on the Learning Management System Manhali Ismail EL HADDIOUI LIROSA lab, Abdelmalek Essaadi University Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco B.P. 1939, Tetouan 93000, Morocco Mohamed KHALDI LIROSA lab, Abdelmalek Essaadi University Faculty of Sciences, Tetouan, Morocco B.P.2121, Mhanech II, Tetouan, Morocco ABSTRACT This paper presents a study performed on the Learning Management System Manhali used to analyze and evaluate the learners’ online behavior. This study is addressed to first year students in computer science to study their learning style from behavior data on the e-learning platform, or from other tools to measure learning style such as the ILS questionnaire of Felder and Silverman. The paper also introduces the main components of the learner profile of our e-learning system and the method that we created to evaluate and regroup learners according to their behavior on the platform. General Terms E-Learning; learning management system; online learning platform; virtual learning environment. Keywords Learner modeling; learner profile; learner behavior; learning style; behavioral analysis system. 1. INTRODUCTION In e-learning, the teacher may lose the human interaction that exists a classic classroom with all the information that can be drawn from this as the estimation of differences in learning styles, approaches to learn and levels of intellectual development of students. In this case, the learner profile is considered as an essential element of a virtual learning environment to collect data required to adapt the educational content to the current needs of each learner. In our first paper, we introduced the analysis of learners’ behavior on e-learning platforms and the data used for this study [1]. The second paper presented mainly the use of eye-tracking technology to track the interest and emotions of learners [2]. In this paper, we present the learner profile that achieved with our previous studies about e-learners modeling. The learner profile includes several data such as personal information, learner machine information, his online behavior, domain competence and learning style. These data can be obtained by several methods, personal data are filled by asking the learner directly by a form on the platform, the learner machine information is found in the environment variables of the web server [1], the behavior is analyzed from the traces that learner leaves on the platform and also the statistics of using the pedagogical tools, domain competence can be found by comprehensive tests and learning style can be determined by a questionnaire [3]. The remaining of the paper is structured as follows: Section II. Learning Style, describes the models used to measure the style learning and compares two main models, model of kolb and model of Felder and Silverman. Section III. Learner Profile of Manhali System, shows the components of the learner profile on the learning management system Manhali that we have developed in our laboratory, and explains our approach to analyze the learning styles of learners from their behavior on the platform. The paper finishes with conclusions. 2. LEARNING STYLE Learning style is one of the individual differences that play an important role in learning. Learning style designates everything that is characteristic to an individual when she/he is learning, i.e. a specific manner of approaching a learning task, the learning strategies activated in order to fulfill the task [4]. There have been given several definitions: - A predisposition on the part of some students to adopt a particular learning strategy regardless of the specific demands of the learning task [5]; - The composite of characteristic cognitive, affective, and psychological factors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how a learner perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment [6]; - An individual’s preferred approach to organizing and presenting information [7]; - The way in which learners perceive, process, store and recall attempts of learning [8]; - Distinctive behaviors which serve as indicators of how a person learns from and adapts to his environment, and provide clues as to how a person’s mind operates [9]; - A gestalt combining internal and external operations derived from the individual’s neurobiology, personality and development, and reflected in learner behavior [10]. As we can see, learning style has been attributed several connotations in the literature. That is why there are many models in this research field [11]: - Learning Styles Theory of Kolb (1985); - Index of Learning Styles of Felder and Silverman (1988); - Learning Styles of Honey and Mumford (1992); - Student Learning Style Scales of Grasha (1996); - Multiple Intelligences of Gardner (1999); - Auditory Visual Tactile Learning Styles of Sarasin (1998). In this study, we will compare two main models of measurement learning style, model of kolb and model of Felder and Silverman.