A Microservice-driven Collaborative Agent in Virtual Learning Environments: A Role Model for a Tracing Agent
Jeferson Thalheimer, Aluízio Haendchen Filho, Fábio Júlio Pereira Briks, Rafael Castaneda Ribeiro, Fernando Concatto, Angélica Karize Viecelli · 2020
Currently, distance learning comprises almost half of students enrolled in undergraduate courses in Brazil. However, the dropout rate of this modality is over 50%, and only 22% of students complete the courses [27]. Despite technological advances and good acceptance of this modality, research indicates that the lack of involvement in a virtual community can lead to feelings of loneliness, low self-esteem, isolation and desmotivation. There is evidence that these feelings are among the main factors responsible for the low performance and high evasion rate. Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) handles a large volume of student interaction data. In this context, it is important to create mechanisms to maintain and manage a data structure to facilitate the processes of transforming data into information and knowledge. This paper aims to present a tracing agent responsible for maintaining and managing the data structure in VLE. The agent acts in the context of a microservice-oriented multi-agent system, interacting and collaborating with other agents in order to improve interaction and decision-making processes. This work becomes original and at the same time innovative, presenting an unprecedented combination of technologies and techniques in the context of VLEs.