Automated Notification and Document Downloading in E-Learning – Development of an Agent-Based Framework Utilizing the Push-Pull Technology Interaction Policy

This paper describes the processes of document
downloading and announcement in the e-learning is
automated via a proposed agent-based framework. In
the framework, the interaction policy for the involved
agents is based on combination technique which
combined the push and pull mechanisms. The agentbased
framework consists of four agents: search agent,
priority agent, notify agent and download agents that
are applied in the e-learning domain. To demonstrate
the working of these agents within the e-learning
domain, three scenarios with different level of
complexity involving one course/subject are presented.
In general, these agents assist the students to get
prompt notifications every time new documents are
available in the course registered. Thus, eliminating
the students from not knowing that new documents
have been uploaded by the lecturers. Moodle, the elearning
domain is chosen since Moodle is an opensource
Content Management System that encourages
any developers to contribute new enhancement of the
existing feature or create the new features for the
benefits of Moodle users.