Cyber-security garnered significant attention due to the increased dependency of individuals and organizations on the Internet and their concern about the security and privacy of their online activities. Several previous machine learning (ML)-based network intrusion detection systems (NIDSs) have been developed to protect against malicious online behavior. This paper proposes a novel multi-stage optimized ML-based NIDS framework that reduces computational complexity while maintaining its detection performance. This work studies the impact of oversampling techniques on the models’ training sample size and determines the minimal suitable training sample size. Furthermore, it compares between two feature selection techniques, information gain and correlation-based, and explores their effect on detection performance and time complexity. Moreover, different ML hyper-parameter optimization techniques are investigated to enhance the NIDS’s performance. The performance of the proposed framework is evaluated using two recent intrusion detection datasets, the CICIDS 2017 and the UNSW-NB 2015 datasets. Experimental results show that the proposed model significantly reduces the required training sample size (up to 74%) and feature set size (up to 50%). Moreover, the model performance is enhanced with hyper-parameter optimization with detection accuracies over 99% for both datasets, outperforming recent literature works by 1-2% higher accuracy and 1-2% lower false alarm rate.

E-learning platforms and processes face several challenges, among which is the idea of personalizing the e-learning experience and to keep students motivated and engaged. This work is part of a larger study that aims to tackle these two challenges using a variety of machine learning techniques. To that end, this paper proposes the use of k-means algorithm to cluster students based on 12 engagement metrics divided into two categories: interaction-related and effort-related. Quantitative analysis is performed to identify the students that are not engaged who may need help. Three different clustering models are considered: two-level, three-level, and five-level. The considered dataset is the students’ event log of a second-year undergraduate Science course from a North American university that was given in a blended format. The event log is transformed using MATLAB to generate a new dataset representing the considered metrics. Experimental results’ analysis shows that among the considered interaction-related and effort-related metrics, the number of logins and the average duration to submit assignments are the most representative of the students’ engagement level. Furthermore, using the silhouette coefficient as a performance metric, it is shown that the two-level model offers the best performance in terms of cluster separation. However, the three-level model has a similar performance while better identifying students with low engagement levels.

With the proliferation of technology, the field of e-learning has garnered significant attention in recent times. This is because it has allowed users from around the world to learn and access new information. This has added to the growing amount of collected data that is already being generated through different devices and sensors employed around the world. This has led to the need to analyze collected data and extract useful information from it. Machine learning and data analytics are proposed techniques that can help extract information and find valuable patterns within the collected data. In this work, the field of e-learning is investigated in terms of definitions and characteristics. Moreover, the various challenges facing the different participants within this process are discussed. Also some of the works proposed in the literature to tackle these challenges is presented. Then, a brief survey about some of the most popular machine learning and data analytics techniques is given. Finally, some of the research opportunities available that employ such techniques are proposed to give insights into the areas that merit further exploration and investigation.