CAPTURING USER BEHAVIOR IN E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Enric Mor, Julià Minguillón, Francesc Santanach

2007

Abstract

In this paper we describe a proposal for embedding hidden marks in the web pages of a complex web site with the aim of simplifying the process of collecting and analyzing users’ behavior. Usually, server log files are used for tracking user actions, but these files present typical drawbacks due to their huge size and the lack of discrimination between user actions and automated responses. We propose two different strategies for embedding usage marks into web server log files, action-oriented and content-oriented. Action marks are button-oriented and keep track of user behavior oriented to perform tasks thorough system buttons and menus. Content marks keep track of page loads and navigation thorough links pointing to contents that act as traps. Both strategies are complementary and can be used at once. A simple experiment designed to capture user behavior once the initial web site page has been loaded is described as a real example of such proposal usage, showing the advantages of reducing the number of relevant log entries and focusing on specific user actions.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Mor E., Minguillón J. and Santanach F. (2007). CAPTURING USER BEHAVIOR IN E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS . In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 3: WEBIST, ISBN 978-972-8865-79-5, pages 464-469. DOI: 10.5220/0001288404640469

in Bibtex Style

@conference{webist07,
author={Enric Mor and Julià Minguillón and Francesc Santanach},
title={CAPTURING USER BEHAVIOR IN E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS},
booktitle={Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 3: WEBIST,},
year={2007},
pages={464-469},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0001288404640469},
isbn={978-972-8865-79-5},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Volume 3: WEBIST,
TI - CAPTURING USER BEHAVIOR IN E-LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
SN - 978-972-8865-79-5
AU - Mor E.
AU - Minguillón J.
AU - Santanach F.
PY - 2007
SP - 464
EP - 469
DO - 10.5220/0001288404640469