SEMANTIC SUPPORT FOR EDUCATIONAL IT SERVICES

Technology enhanced learning is one of the intensively researched domains, because it promises interesting contribution to modern educational processes at various levels, in particular in higher education. This paper presents our approach to design and implementation of semantic structures that are capable to support selected educational processes, e.g. in mathematical and computer science disciplines. The methodology for collaborative ontology development, applied on the analyzed domain of eleven courses, is proposed as a generic approach that can be potentially reused and adapted to create semantic models of other domains (courses, disciplines) for semantically supported technology enhanced learning applications. The resulting structure of developed ontologies is presented as a basis for constructing semantically enhanced electronic services that can be further orchestrated and integrated into complex educational processes. This approach may provide powerful means to educators at universities, namely for (semi- )automated preparation, running, and maintenance of their courses. Added semantics, by enabling an integration of learning services into specified educational processes, is capable to minimize the efforts of educators when preparing and running a new lecture or course, as well as to effectively analyze the whole process and the students' performance.