Institutional factors governing the deployment of remote experiments: lessons from the rexnet project

Remote labs offer many unique advantages to students as they provide opportunities to access experiments and learning scenarios that would be otherwise unavailable. At the same time, however, these opportunities introduce real challenges to the institutions hosting the remote labs. This paper draws on the experiences of the REXNET project consortium to expose a number of these issues as a means of furthering the debate on the value of remote labs and the best practices in deploying them. The paper presents a brief outline of the various types of remote lab scenarios that might be deployed. It then describes the key human and technological actors that have an interest in or are intrinsic to a remote lab instance, with a description of the role of each actor and their interest. Some relationships between these various actors are then discussed with some factors that might influence those relationships. Finally some general issues are briefly described.

The European Project Semester at ISEP: Learning to Learn Engineering

The European Project Semester at ISEP (EPS@ISEP) is a one semester project-based learning programme addressed to engineering students from diverse scientific backgrounds and nationalities. The students, organized in multicultural teams, are challenged to solve real world multidisciplinary problems, accounting for 30 ECTU. The EPS package, although focused on project development (20 ECTU), includes a series of complementary seminars aimed at fostering soft, project-related and engineering transversal skills (10 ECTU). This paper presents the study plan, resources, operation and results of the EPS@ISEP that was created in 2011 to apply the best engineering education practices and promote the internationalization of ISEP. The results show that the EPS@ISEP students acquire during one semester the scientific, technical and soft competences necessary to propose, design and implement a solution for a multidisciplinary problem.

RemoteLabs Platform

This paper reports on a first step towards the implementation of a framework for remote experimentation of electric machines ? the RemoteLabs platform. This project was focused on the development of two main modules: the user Web-based and the electric machines interfaces. The Web application provides the user with a front-end and interacts with the back-end ? the user and experiment persistent data. The electric machines interface is implemented as a distributed client server application where the clients, launched by the Web application, interact with the server modules located in platforms physically connected the electric machines drives. Users can register and authenticate, schedule, specify and run experiments and obtain results in the form of CSV, XML and PDF files. These functionalities were successfully tested with real data, but still without including the electric machines. This inclusion is part of another project scheduled to start soon.

Implementation of a Campus wide DGPS Data Server

Although the Navigation Satellite Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR) Global Positioning System (GPS) is, de facto, the standard positioning system used in outdoor navigation, it does not provide, per se, all the features required to perform many outdoor navigational tasks. The accuracy of the GPS measurements is the most critical issue. The quest for higher position readings accuracy led to the development, in the late nineties, of the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). The differential GPS method detects the range errors of the GPS satellites received and broadcasts them. The DGPS/GPS receivers correlate the DGPS data with the GPS satellite data they are receiving, granting users increased accuracy. DGPS data is broadcasted using terrestrial radio beacons, satellites and, more recently, the Internet. Our goal is to have access, within the ISEP campus, to DGPS correction data. To achieve this objective we designed and implemented a distributed system composed of two main modules which are interconnected: a distributed application responsible for the establishment of the data link over the Internet between the remote DGPS stations and the campus, and the campus-wide DGPS data server application. The DGPS data Internet link is provided by a two-tier client/server distributed application where the server-side is connected to the DGPS station and the client-side is located at the campus. The second unit, the campus DGPS data server application, diffuses DGPS data received at the campus via the Intranet and via a wireless data link. The wireless broadcast is intended for DGPS/GPS portable receivers equipped with an air interface and the Intranet link is provided for DGPS/GPS receivers with just a RS232 DGPS data interface. While the DGPS data Internet link servers receive the DGPS data from the DGPS base stations and forward it to the DGPS data Internet link client, the DGPS data Internet link client outputs the received DGPS data to the campus DGPS data server application. The distributed system is expected to provide adequate support for accurate (sub-metric) outdoor campus navigation tasks. This paper describes in detail the overall distributed application.

The European Project Semester at ISEP: the challenge of educating global engineers

Current engineering education challenges require approaches that promote scientific, technical, design and complementary skills while fostering autonomy, innovation and responsibility. The European Project Semester (EPS) at Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto (ISEP) (EPS@ISEP) is a one semester project-based learning programme (30 European Credit Transfer Units (ECTU)) for engineering students from diverse scientific backgrounds and nationalities that intends to address these goals. The students, organised in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, are challenged to solve real multidisciplinary problems during one semester. The EPS package, although on project development (20 ECTU), includes a series of complementary seminars aimed at fostering soft, project-related and engineering transversal skills (10 ECTU). Hence, the students enrolled in this programme improve their transversal skills and learn, together and with the team of supervisors, subjects distinct from their core training. This paper presents the structure, implementation and results of the EPS@ISEP that was created in 2011 to apply the best engineering practices and promote internationalisation and engineering education innovation at ISEP.

Math without stress – an open online learning project

MOOC (as an acronym for Massive Open Online Courses) are a quite new model for the delivery of online learning to students. As “Massive” and “Online”, these courses are proposed to be accessible to many more learners than would be possible through conventional teaching. As “Open” they are (frequently) free of charge and participation is not limited by the geographical situation of the learners, creating new learning opportunities in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). In this paper we describe a recently started project “Matemática 100 STRESS” (Math Without STRESS) integrated in the e-IPP project | e-Learning Unit of Porto’s Polytechnic Institute (IPP) which has created its own MOOC platform and launched its first course – Probabilities and Combinatorics – in early June/2014. In this MOOC development were involved several lecturers from four of the seven IPP schools.

Server to Mobile Device Communication: A Case Study

Develop a client-server application for a mobile environment can bring many challenges because of the mobile devices limitations. So, in this paper is discussed what can be the more reliable way to exchange information between a server and an Android mobile application, since it is important for users to have an application that really works in a responsive way and preferably without any errors. In this discussion two data transfer protocols (Socket and HTTP) and three serialization data formats (XML, JSON and Protocol Buffers) were tested using some metrics to evaluate which is the most practical and fast to use.

Creating and optimizing client-server applications on mobile devices

Mobile devices are embedded systems with very limited capacities that need to be considered when developing a client-server application, mainly due to technical, ergonomic and economic implications to the mobile user. With the increasing popularity of mobile computing, many developers have faced problems due to low performance of devices. In this paper, we discuss how to optimize and create client-server applications for in wireless/mobile environments, presenting techniques to improve overall performance.

The impact of an online mathematics education project (MATACTIVA) on higher education students

The Online Mathematics Education Project (MatActiva) is an exciting new initiative which aims to support and enhance mathematics education. The project is led by the Institute of Accounting and Administration of Porto (ISCAP), part of the Polytechnic Institute of Porto (IPP). It provides innovative resources and carefully constructed materials around themes such as Elementary Mathematics, Calculus, Algebra, Statistics and Financial Mathematics to help support and inspire students and teachers of mathematics. The goal is to increase mathematical understanding, confidence and enjoyment, enrich the mathematical experience of each person, and promote creative and imaginative approaches to mathematics. Furthermore the project can be used to deliver engaging and effective mathematics instruction through the flipped classroom model. This paper also presents the findings of a large survey, whose propose was to study the student’s reaction to the project.

Protótipo Eurobolso

O projeto idealizado para a realização da presente tese de mestrado tem como finalidade o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação móvel para o sistema Android. Esta aplicação permitirá que, através da passagem do dispositivo móvel por um leitor NFC, seja possível realizar apostas no jogo Euromilhões da Santa Casa, onde os dados ficam gravados numa conta associada a cada jogador. Esta aplicação terá ainda muitas outras funcionalidades que permitirão criar chaves de jogo, gerir o cartão individual de cada jogador, consultar os prémios e outras informações do jogo. A realização deste projeto está dividida em três fases. A primeira fase consistiu na aquisição de todo o material necessário e estabelecimento da comunicação entre o dispositivo móvel e o desktop, por intermédio da tecnologia NFC. A segunda fase centrou-se no desenvolvimento da aplicação móvel e do servidor web, onde foram integradas as várias funcionalidades. Estabeleceu-se também a comunicação entre estes dois sistemas. Na terceira e última fase, foi realizada a criação da aplicação desktop, capaz de interagir por intermédio da tecnologia NFC, com a aplicação móvel, possibilitando a comunicação entre os dois sistemas.

Kiddo project

Trabalho de natureza profissional para a atribuição do Título de Especialista do Instituto Politécnico do Porto, na área de Design, defendido a 23-03-2015.

Math without stress: an open online learning project

MOOC (as an acronym for Massive Open Online Courses) are a quite new model for the delivery of online learning to students. As “Massive” and “Online”, these courses are proposed to be accessible to many more learners than would be possible through conventional teaching. As “Open” they are (frequently) free of charge and participation is not limited by the geographical situation of the learners, creating new learning opportunities in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). In this paper we describe a recently started project “Matemática 100 STRESS” (Math Without STRESS) integrated in the e-IPP project | e-Learning Unit of Porto’s Polytechnic Institute (IPP) which has created its own MOOC platform and launched its first course – Probabilities and Combinatorics – in early June/2014. In this MOOC development were involved several lecturers from four of the seven IPP schools.

Defining Electricity Tariffs Using the Knowledge About the Consumers Profiles in ELECON Project

The increasing importance of the integration of distributed generation and demand response in the power systems operation and planning, namely at lower voltage levels of distribution networks and in the competitive environment of electricity markets, leads us to the concept of smart grids. In both traditional and smart grid operation, non-technical losses are a great economic concern, which can be addressed. In this context, the ELECON project addresses the use of demand response contributions to the identification of non-technical losses. The present paper proposes a methodology to be used by Virtual Power Players (VPPs), which are entities able to aggregate distributed small-size resources, aiming to define the best electricity tariffs for several, clusters of consumers. A case study based on real consumption data demonstrates the application of the proposed methodology.

CDIO and the European Project Semester: a match for capstone projects?

The CDIO Initiative is an open innovative educational framework for engineering graduation degrees set in the context of Conceiving – Designing – Implementing – Operating real-world systems and products, which is embraced by a network of worldwide universities, the CDIO collaborators. A CDIO compliant engineering degree programme typically includes a capstone module on the final semester. Its purpose is to expose students to problems of a greater dimension and complexity than those faced throughout the degree programme as well as to put them in contact with the so-called real world, in opposition to the academic world. However, even in the CDIO context, there are barriers that separate engineering capstone students from the real world context of an engineering professional: (i) limited interaction with experts from diverse scientific areas; (ii) reduced cultural and scientific diversity within the teams; and (iii) lack of a project supportive framework to foster the complementary technical and non-technical skills required in an engineering professional. To address these shortcomings, we propose the adoption of the European Project Semester (EPS) framework, a one semester student centred international capstone programme offered by a group of European engineering schools (the EPS Providers) as part of their student exchange programme portfolio. The EPS package is organised around a central module – the EPS project – and a set of complementary supportive modules. Project proposals refer to open multidisciplinary real world problems and supervision becomes coaching. The students are organised in teams, grouping individuals from diverse academic backgrounds and nationalities, and each team is fully responsible for conducting its project. EPS complies with the CDIO directives on Design-Implement experiences and provides an integrated framework for undertaking capstone projects, which is focussed on multicultural and multidisciplinary teamwork, problem-solving, communication, creativity, leadership, entrepreneurship, ethical reasoning and global contextual analysis. As a result, we recommend the adoption of the EPS within CDIO capstone modules for the benefit of engineering students.

Como integrar as TIC em contexto didático das Artes explorando a distribuição EVTux na área do cinema de animação

Com a implementação do Plano Tecnológico da Educação e consequente apetrechamento das Escolas com recursos tecnológicos avançados, surge agora a necessidade de criar condições favoráveis para a efetiva integração das TIC no currículo, nomeadamente na área das Artes. Decorrente das características singulares desta área curricular, são muitas as ferramentas digitais que podemos utilizar em contexto educativo mobilizando-as para experiências de aprendizagem baseadas em projetos que integrem as tecnologias. Este é o caso do EVTux, uma distribuição livre de Linux que permite a criação efetiva de projetos de cinema de animação em contexto educativo com recurso às tecnologias, caso que agora se apresenta como exemplo neste artigo e que atualmente faz parte de uma síntese do trabalho que se integra no projeto europeu TACCLE2 no qual participamos.