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Expert system for problem solving in distance university education: The successful case of the subject “ operations management ”
Author(s) -
Peña Esteban F. David,
Lara Torralbo Juan A.,
Lizcano Casas David,
Martínez Rey María A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
expert systems
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.365
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1468-0394
pISSN - 0266-4720
DOI - 10.1111/exsy.12444
Subject(s) - computer science , subject (documents) , order (exchange) , distance education , web application , mathematics education , engineering management , operations research , world wide web , psychology , mathematics , economics , finance , engineering
Abstract Acquiring the skills needed to solve certain types of problems is one of the main challenges of distance university education, demanding extra motivation from students to tackle it. New technology should be one of our great allies in addressing these problems. This article proposes an expert system with a web‐based problem‐solving simulator for a multidevice environment in order to allow students to access an unlimited number of problems with their corresponding solutions, immediately, anytime and anywhere. The types of problems that can be used are those based on quantitative methods with a fixed methodology to be followed. A successful case study was carried out for the subject Operations Management at the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA), with three different problem simulators having been developed. The results were very satisfactory compared with previous academic years in terms of motivation. A decrease in students that did not sit the final examination was observed, as was an increase in the number of visits to the Moodle classroom. Students also responded positively in their assessments of the initiative.