Soft Skills: A Comparative Analysis Between Online and Classroom Teaching

Currently the Spanish universities are making a great effort to effectively incorporate the development and assessment of generic skills in their training programs. Information and communications technologies (ICT) offer a wide range of possibilities but create uncertainty among teachers about the process and results. It is considered of interest to conduct a study to analyze the extent to which social skills like commitment, communication and teamwork are acquired by students and teachers. It seeks to ascertain the influence of the learning context, online or classroom training, in the development of these personal skills among the participants in the sample. For this study two universities have been chosen, Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA) offering online training environment, and Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) with classroom training modality. A total of 257 individuals, 230 students and 27 teachers have answered the survey called Evalsoft. This instrument was designed in the project with the same name by a research team from Universidad Complutense of Madrid (UCM). Some interesting conclusions can be highlighted: it is in the online context where there are higher levels of commitment and teamwork than in the classroom modality; teachers have higher social skills that students and these improve with age. Sex and the training program appear to influence these social skills.

Fomento del interés por la ciencia y la tecnología para estudiantes de enseñanza secundaria

Una de las metodologías más utilizadas en la asignatura de Tecnología debido a su naturaleza, íntimamente ligada con el saber cómo hacemos las cosas y por que las hacemos, es el aprendizaje a través del trabajo colaborativo. El objeto de este trabajo es analizar su utilización en 4o ESO, para introducir una propuesta de optimización del trabajo colaborativo en el aula de Tecnología. El primer capítulo de este documento se centra en las bases teóricas de la metodología, por un lado recoge su evolución histórica en el último siglo y su fundamentación, y por otro, los elementos necesarios para que pueda darse un aprendizaje colaborativo eficaz. A continuación, en los dos siguientes capítulos, se describe el procedimiento que se ha llevado a cabo para el estudio del trabajo colaborativo en Tecnología, realizando una descripción detallada de los instrumentos que se han utilizado para la recogida de datos: la observación sistemática de un grupo y el análisis de cuestionarios. En base a todo lo anterior, se exponen las conclusiones extraídas sobre la utilización del método, que ponen de manifiesto las dificultades de establecer relaciones de interdependencia entre los miembros de los grupos colaborativos. Para, por último, proponer la introducción de videojuegos multijugadores en el aula como herramienta educativa, para potenciar el desarrollo de las habilidades sociales necesarias en la optimización del trabajo colaborativo. One of the most popular methods used in engineering class in high school, due to its inquisitive nature of learning how to do things and why we do them, is collaborative work. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse its use in the fourth year of high school, in order to submit a proposal for collaborative work optimization in the Technology classroom. The outline of this paper is as follows. The first chapter of this paper presents the theoretical basis of the method, it firstly provides an overview of its historical evolution over the last century, and secondly, focuses on the essential elements required to have an effective collaborative learning. In the next two chapters, the procedure followed to study collaborative work is described through a detailed explanation of the techniques used for data collection: systematic observation of a group and survey analysis. Chapter 4 concludes. Findings from applying the examined methodology demonstrate the difficulties of establishing interdependence relationships among members of collaborative groups. Finally, the introduction of multiplayer gaming in the classroom is proposed as an educational tool to strengthen the development of social skills needed to optimize collaborative work.

Conceptual framework for the design, implementation and validation of psychomotor skills’ assessment systems in minimally invasive surgery

Las técnicas de cirugía de mínima invasión (CMI) se están consolidando hoy en día como alternativa a la cirugía tradicional, debido a sus numerosos beneficios para los pacientes. Este cambio de paradigma implica que los cirujanos deben aprender una serie de habilidades distintas de aquellas requeridas en cirugía abierta. El entrenamiento y evaluación de estas habilidades se ha convertido en una de las mayores preocupaciones en los programas de formación de cirujanos, debido en gran parte a la presión de una sociedad que exige cirujanos bien preparados y una reducción en el número de errores médicos. Por tanto, se está prestando especial atención a la definición de nuevos programas que permitan el entrenamiento y la evaluación de las habilidades psicomotoras en entornos seguros antes de que los nuevos cirujanos puedan operar sobre pacientes reales. Para tal fin, hospitales y centros de formación están gradualmente incorporando instalaciones de entrenamiento donde los residentes puedan practicar y aprender sin riesgos. Es cada vez más común que estos laboratorios dispongan de simuladores virtuales o simuladores físicos capaces de registrar los movimientos del instrumental de cada residente. Estos simuladores ofrecen una gran variedad de tareas de entrenamiento y evaluación, así como la posibilidad de obtener información objetiva de los ejercicios. Los diferentes estudios de validación llevados a cabo dan muestra de su utilidad; pese a todo, los niveles de evidencia presentados son en muchas ocasiones insuficientes. Lo que es más importante, no existe un consenso claro a la hora de definir qué métricas son más útiles para caracterizar la pericia quirúrgica. El objetivo de esta tesis doctoral es diseñar y validar un marco de trabajo conceptual para la definición y validación de entornos para la evaluación de habilidades en CMI, en base a un modelo en tres fases: pedagógica (tareas y métricas a emplear), tecnológica (tecnologías de adquisición de métricas) y analítica (interpretación de la competencia en base a las métricas). Para tal fin, se describe la implementación práctica de un entorno basado en (1) un sistema de seguimiento de instrumental fundamentado en el análisis del vídeo laparoscópico; y (2) la determinación de la pericia en base a métricas de movimiento del instrumental. Para la fase pedagógica se diseñó e implementó un conjunto de tareas para la evaluación de habilidades psicomotoras básicas, así como una serie de métricas de movimiento. La validación de construcción llevada a cabo sobre ellas mostró buenos resultados para tiempo, camino recorrido, profundidad, velocidad media, aceleración media, economía de área y economía de volumen. Adicionalmente, los resultados obtenidos en la validación de apariencia fueron en general positivos en todos los grupos considerados (noveles, residentes, expertos). Para la fase tecnológica, se introdujo el EVA Tracking System, una solución para el seguimiento del instrumental quirúrgico basado en el análisis del vídeo endoscópico. La precisión del sistema se evaluó a 16,33ppRMS para el seguimiento 2D de la herramienta en la imagen; y a 13mmRMS para el seguimiento espacial de la misma. La validación de construcción con una de las tareas de evaluación mostró buenos resultados para tiempo, camino recorrido, profundidad, velocidad media, aceleración media, economía de área y economía de volumen. La validación concurrente con el TrEndo® Tracking System por su parte presentó valores altos de correlación para 8 de las 9 métricas analizadas. Finalmente, para la fase analítica se comparó el comportamiento de tres clasificadores supervisados a la hora de determinar automáticamente la pericia quirúrgica en base a la información de movimiento del instrumental, basados en aproximaciones lineales (análisis lineal discriminante, LDA), no lineales (máquinas de soporte vectorial, SVM) y difusas (sistemas adaptativos de inferencia neurodifusa, ANFIS). Los resultados muestran que en media SVM presenta un comportamiento ligeramente superior: 78,2% frente a los 71% y 71,7% obtenidos por ANFIS y LDA respectivamente. Sin embargo las diferencias estadísticas medidas entre los tres no fueron demostradas significativas. En general, esta tesis doctoral corrobora las hipótesis de investigación postuladas relativas a la definición de sistemas de evaluación de habilidades para cirugía de mínima invasión, a la utilidad del análisis de vídeo como fuente de información y a la importancia de la información de movimiento de instrumental a la hora de caracterizar la pericia quirúrgica. Basándose en estos cimientos, se han de abrir nuevos campos de investigación que contribuyan a la definición de programas de formación estructurados y objetivos, que puedan garantizar la acreditación de cirujanos sobradamente preparados y promocionen la seguridad del paciente en el quirófano. Abstract Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) techniques have become a standard in many surgical sub-specialties, due to their many benefits for patients. However, this shift in paradigm implies that surgeons must acquire a complete different set of skills than those normally attributed to open surgery. Training and assessment of these skills has become a major concern in surgical learning programmes, especially considering the social demand for better-prepared professionals and for the decrease of medical errors. Therefore, much effort is being put in the definition of structured MIS learning programmes, where practice with real patients in the operating room (OR) can be delayed until the resident can attest for a minimum level of psychomotor competence. To this end, skills’ laboratory settings are being introduced in hospitals and training centres where residents may practice and be assessed on their psychomotor skills. Technological advances in the field of tracking technologies and virtual reality (VR) have enabled the creation of new learning systems such as VR simulators or enhanced box trainers. These systems offer a wide range of tasks, as well as the capability of registering objective data on the trainees’ performance. Validation studies give proof of their usefulness; however, levels of evidence reported are in many cases low. More importantly, there is still no clear consensus on topics such as the optimal metrics that must be used to assess competence, the validity of VR simulation, the portability of tracking technologies into real surgeries (for advanced assessment) or the degree to which the skills measured and obtained in laboratory environments transfer to the OR. The purpose of this PhD is to design and validate a conceptual framework for the definition and validation of MIS assessment environments based on a three-pillared model defining three main stages: pedagogical (tasks and metrics to employ), technological (metric acquisition technologies) and analytical (interpretation of competence based on metrics). To this end, a practical implementation of the framework is presented, focused on (1) a video-based tracking system and (2) the determination of surgical competence based on the laparoscopic instruments’ motionrelated data. The pedagogical stage’s results led to the design and implementation of a set of basic tasks for MIS psychomotor skills’ assessment, as well as the definition of motion analysis parameters (MAPs) to measure performance on said tasks. Validation yielded good construct results for parameters such as time, path length, depth, average speed, average acceleration, economy of area and economy of volume. Additionally, face validation results showed positive acceptance on behalf of the experts, residents and novices. For the technological stage the EVA Tracking System is introduced. EVA provides a solution for tracking laparoscopic instruments from the analysis of the monoscopic video image. Accuracy tests for the system are presented, which yielded an average RMSE of 16.33pp for 2D tracking of the instrument on the image and of 13mm for 3D spatial tracking. A validation experiment was conducted using one of the tasks and the most relevant MAPs. Construct validation showed significant differences for time, path length, depth, average speed, average acceleration, economy of area and economy of volume; especially between novices and residents/experts. More importantly, concurrent validation with the TrEndo® Tracking System presented high correlation values (>0.7) for 8 of the 9 MAPs proposed. Finally, the analytical stage allowed comparing the performance of three different supervised classification strategies in the determination of surgical competence based on motion-related information. The three classifiers were based on linear (linear discriminant analysis, LDA), non-linear (support vector machines, SVM) and fuzzy (adaptive neuro fuzzy inference systems, ANFIS) approaches. Results for SVM show slightly better performance than the other two classifiers: on average, accuracy for LDA, SVM and ANFIS was of 71.7%, 78.2% and 71% respectively. However, when confronted, no statistical significance was found between any of the three. Overall, this PhD corroborates the investigated research hypotheses regarding the definition of MIS assessment systems, the use of endoscopic video analysis as the main source of information and the relevance of motion analysis in the determination of surgical competence. New research fields in the training and assessment of MIS surgeons can be proposed based on these foundations, in order to contribute to the definition of structured and objective learning programmes that guarantee the accreditation of well-prepared professionals and the promotion of patient safety in the OR.

Strengthening communication skills in an innovative context of engineering project management learning

This document presents an innovative, formal educational initiative that is aimed at enhancing the development of engineering students’ specific competences when studying Project Management (PM) subject. The framework of the experience combines (1) theoretical concepts, (2) the development of a real-case project carried out by multidisciplinary groups of three different universities, (3) the use of software web 2.0 tools and (4) group and individual assignments of students that play different roles (project managers and team members). Under this scenario, the study focuses on monitoring the communication competence in the ever growing PM virtual environment. Factors such as corporal language, technical means, stage, and PM specific vocabulary among others have been considered in order to assess the students’ performance on this issue. As a main contribution, the paper introduces an ad-hoc rubric that, based on previous investigations, has been adapted and tested for the first time to this new and specific context. Additionally, the research conducted has provided some interesting findings that suggest further actions to improve and better define future rubrics, oriented to communication or even other competences. As specific PM subject concerns, it has been detected that students playing the role of Project Managers strengthen their competences more than those ones that play the role of Team Members. It has also been detected that students have more difficulty assimilating concepts related to risk and quality management. However those concepts related with scope, time or cost areas of knowledge have been better assimilated by the students.

Social capacity building in rural Aymara women organizations in Puno, Peru.

Social capacity building has been considered in the last decades an important element of rural development projects, as it helps organizations and communities to better use their resources, design and manage projects locally and improve their living standards. Social capacity building has been related to the development of certain skills and to the concept of leadership development. Social capacity building and leadership development under a social learning approach have guided a rural development project with an Aymara women organization in Puno, Peru, where around 400 women artisans are trying to develop a business organization to improve their lives and their communities. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been applied to assess improvements in capacities and leadership. Results show that the technical aspects are the first to be developed but that group process skills and contextual skills take longer and are crucial to the success of the projects.

Estudio de los principales CMS para la creación de una red social

Actualmente las redes sociales son muy utilizadas en todo el mundo, existen diferentes tipos de redes sociales con las que podemos conectar con amigos, ampliar nuestra red de contactos profesionales, aprender cosas nuevas, etc. Su elevado uso las ha convertido en uno de los negocios más rentables en internet generando fortunas para sus creadores, principalmente, a través de la publicidad. Muchas redes sociales son creadas por empresas que cuentan con un equipo experto, pero otras muchas han sido creadas por personas comunes, con bajos conocimientos informáticos, muchos motivados en sus aficiones o carreras profesionales, que al no encontrar nada en la red que les resulte útil, han decidido desarrollar ellos mismos sus propias redes sociales con la ayuda de herramientas informáticas. Una de esas herramientas son los sistemas de gestión de contenidos (CMS), con los cuales ahorraremos mucho tiempo de desarrollo y no necesitaremos invertir grandes cantidades de dinero. Este proyecto trata, principalmente, de cómo crear redes sociales haciendo uso de estas herramientas y tiene el objetivo de ser lo suficientemente claro para que cualquier persona, sin importar su nivel de conocimientos técnicos, sea capaz de desarrollar sus ideas. En la primera parte del proyecto se habla sobre las redes sociales en general y el impacto de éstas en la sociedad actual, donde se ve que, actualmente, debido a la cantidad de redes sociales y a la accesibilidad móvil, el uso de las redes sociales es una cotidianidad. También se explican algunos métodos para obtener beneficios económicos de una red social y las ventajas que presentan las redes sociales específicas frente a las generalistas, concluyendo que las redes sociales específicas van ganando mayor protagonismo con el paso del tiempo. Además, se habla sobre la crítica de las redes sociales desde el punto de vista del usuario de la red, donde se resalta el tema de la administración de la publicidad y la privatización que han supuesto las redes sociales. Posteriormente se presenta una base teórica sobre las herramientas antes mencionadas, los CMS. Se explica su funcionamiento, clasificación y las ventajas que obtenemos con el uso de este software en nuestros proyectos, de los cuales destacan el corto tiempo de desarrollo y el bajo coste. Al final se eligen los CMS de estudio en este proyecto principalmente en base a tres criterios: licencia, cuota de uso y características de red social. En la segunda parte del proyecto se habla acerca de los CMS elegidos: WordPress con su plugin BuddyPress, Elgg, y Joomla con su plugin JomSocial. Se explican las características de cada uno de ellos y se muestran ejemplos de redes sociales reales hechas con estos CMS. En esta parte del proyecto se hace un uso práctico de estos CMS y se detalla paso a paso todo el proceso de creación de una red social (instalación, configuración y personalización de la red social) para cada CMS. El resultado son tres redes sociales hechas con distintos CMS, de los cuales se hace una valoración en base a la experiencia obtenida con el uso de los mismos, concluyéndose que JomSocial es una buena opción para redes sociales de uso generalista, pero para redes específicas son mejores tanto Elgg como BuddyPress, presentando este último una ligera ventaja por tener una gran comunidad en español. ABSTRACT. Nowadays social networks are widely used throughout the world, there are different types of social networks where you can connect with friends, expand your network of professional contacts, learn new things, etc. Its high usage has turned them into one of the most profitable businesses on Internet generating fortunes to its developers, mainly through advertising. Many social networks are developed by companies that count on an expert team, but many others have been created by ordinary people, with low computer skills, many of them motivated in their hobbies or careers, that did not find anything useful on Internet and decide to develop their own social networks with the help of software tools. One of those tools is a content management system (CMS), which will help us to save a lot of development time and we will not need to invest large amounts of money. This project is, mainly, about how to create social networks using these tools and aims to be clear enough to help anyone, regardless of their computer skills, to develop their ideas. The first part of the project is about social networks in general and the impact on today's society, where we can see that, due to the number of social networks and mobile accessibility, the use of social networks is daily. Also it explains some ways to obtain economic benefits from a social network and the advantages of specific social networks against generalist social networks, concluding that specific social networks are gaining more prominence with the passage of time. In addition, it refers on social networks critique from the point of view of social network users, where it highlights the issue of the advertising administration and privatization which have brought social networks. Subsequently, it presents a theoretical base of the above mentioned tools, CMS. Explains their operation, classification and the advantages we get with the use of this software in our projects, where the short development time and lower cost are highlighted. At the end the CMS studied in this project are chosen mainly based on three criteria: license, community size and social network features. The second part of the project is about the chosen CMS: WordPress with its plugin BuddyPress, Elgg, and Joomla with its plugin JomSocial. It explains features of all of them and shows examples of real social networks developed with these CMS. This part of the project is a practical use of these CMS and detailed step by step throughout the process of creating a social network (installation, configuration and customization of the social network) for each CMS. The result are three social networks made with different CMS, from which is made an assessment on the basis of the experience gained with the use of these software, concluding that JomSocial is a good choice to develop generalist social networks, but for specific social networks are better Elgg and BuddyPress, presenting the latter a slight advantage by having a large community in Spanish.

Exploring three approaches to offer distance learning courses through a social network of health researchers in three African countries

The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp hereby presents the results of two pilot distance learning training programmes, developed under the umbrella of the AFRICA BUILD project (FP7). The two courses focused on evidence-based medicine (EBM): with the aim of enhancing research and education, via novel approaches and to identify research needs emanating from the field. These pilot experiences, which were run both in English-speaking (Ghana), and French-speaking (Mali and Cameroon) partner institutions, produced targeted courses for the strengthening of research methodology and policy. The courses and related study materials are in the public domain and available through the AFRICA BUILD Portal (http://www.africabuild.eu/taxonomy/term/37); the training modules were delivered live via Dudal webcasts. This paper assesses the success and difficulties of transferring EBM skills with these two specific training programmes, offered through three different approaches: fully online facultative courses, fully online tutor supported courses or through a blended approach with both online and face-to-face sessions. Key factors affecting the selection of participants, the accessibility of the courses, how the learning resources are offered, and how interactive online communities are formed, are evaluated and discussed.

Higher education in industrial engineering in Peru: towards a new model based on skills

This article analyzes the progress of Industrial Engineering in Peru, the relationship to major trends in Europe and North America, and the projected outlook for the future. It is determined that the need for this engineering specialty includes a significant degree of resource management, and the formation of engineers through education requires not only the acquisition and strengthening of technical knowledge, but also the development of the competences that are required by both employers and the recipients of the benefits of engineering: society. Conclusions have been drawn based on state-of-the-art analyses from Europe and North America, and definitions of trends for engineering.