METIS: Multiplying Engagement Through Interacting Socially on the Artemis Learning Platform
Student
Lorena Schlesinger
Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Bernd Bruegge
Advisor
Prof. Dr. Stephan Krusche
Date
2021
Abstract
Artemis is an interactive learning platform that is evolving towards a powerful university course management system. Currently, Artemis only supports basic communication features enabling users to ask questions on specific exercises and lectures, which can be up- and down-voted. Instructors therefore complement Artemis with external communication platforms such as Slack, Zulip, and Rocket.Chat which allow more elaborate course discussions and information sharing. This causes redundancy and scattered information, which bears the risk of worse learning experience, increased moderation efforts, and decreased user engagement. In this thesis, we address these problems by analyzing complementing communication platforms, other course management systems, and popular online class platforms. Based on the gained insights, we enhance Artemis’ current discussion capabilities. We add features for course-wide announcements and duplication checks, as well as for pinning, archiving, moving, resolving, searching, filtering, tagging, and referencing posts. Moreover, by integrating emojis, we provide users with the ability to express reactions and engage with their peers. The new capabilities allow for fast and intuitive information retrieval, e↵ective and ecient discussion moderation, and interactive conversations. They enhance Artemis’ capabilities with regard to social interactions and information sharing to multiply the user engagement. Our new communication features are currently actively used by 1,700 students in 9 university courses conducted with Artemis.