Ontological Search for Academic Resources

Active methodologies promote students' elaboration of knowledge-based resources susceptible to being used as a learning tool. However, due to their quantity, variety and the technology used, it is difficult to manage them, mainly as regards the consultation and identification of the most appropriate resources to carry out a specific training action. A possible solution would be to develop (1) a repository that offers an overview of all resources generated, regardless of the technology, variety and types; (2) an ontology, which permits their classification; and (3) a semantic search system that allows a user to make a quick and effective retrieval. This research-based paper shows the results obtained using a content manager, which centralizes the resources created by the students in some technologies. Also, two tools have been developed: an ontology, which permits resources of a subject to be classified, and a plugin for WordPress, which allows the ontologies are building through the use of tags and categories, as well as to provide them with a semantic search engine through inferences between ontology-related elements---. Through a result cross-check, students' perception of the repository use has been measured. It has been found that, on the one hand, the system proposed is adequate to manage the resources generated by the students; and, on the other, their availability has been useful for them.