Ensemble: an e-learning framework

E-Learning frameworks are conceptual tools to organize networks of elearning services. Most frameworks cover areas that go beyond the scope of e-learning, from course to financial management, and neglects the typical activities in everyday life of teachers and students at schools such as the creation, delivery, resolution and evaluation of assignments. This paper presents the Ensemble framework - an e-learning framework exclusively focused on the teaching-learning process through the coordination of pedagogical services. The framework presents an abstract data, integration and evaluation model based on content and communications specifications. These specifications must base the implementation of networks in specialized domains with complex evaluations. In this paper we specialize the framework for two domains with complex evaluation: computer programming and computer-aided design (CAD). For each domain we highlight two Ensemble hotspots: data and evaluations procedures. In the former we formally describe the exercise and present possible extensions. In the latter, we describe the automatic evaluation procedures.

CrimsonHex: a learning objects repository for programming exercises

A repository of learning objects is a system that stores electronic resources in a technology-mediated learning process. The need for this kind of repository is growing as more educators become eager to use digital educa- tional contents and more of it becomes available. The sharing and use of these resources relies on the use of content and communication standards as a means to describe and exchange educational resources, commonly known as learning objects. This paper presents the design and implementation of a service-oriented reposi- tory of learning objects called crimsonHex. This repository supports new definitions of learning objects for specialized domains and we illustrate this feature with the definition of programming exercises as learning objects and its validation by the repository. The repository is also fully compliant with existing commu- nication standards and we propose extensions by adding new functions, formalizing message interchange and providing a REST interface. To validate the interoperability features of the repository, we developed a repository plug-in for Moodle that is expected to be included in the next release of this popular learning management system.

Orchestration of e-learning services for automatic evaluation of programming exercises

Managing programming exercises require several heterogeneous systems such as evaluation engines, learning objects repositories and exercise resolution environments. The coordination of networks of such disparate systems is rather complex. These tools would be too specific to incorporate in an e-Learning platform. Even if they could be provided as pluggable components, the burden of maintaining them would be prohibitive to institutions with few courses in those domains. This work presents a standard based approach for the coordination of a network of e-Learning systems participating on the automatic evaluation of programming exercises. The proposed approach uses a pivot component to orchestrate the interaction among all the systems using communication standards. This approach was validated through its effective use on classroom and we present some preliminary results.

Supporting learning through tagging systems

With the advent of Web 2.0, new kinds of tools became available, which are not seen as novel anymore but are widely used. For instance, according to Eurostat data, in 2010 32% of individuals aged 16 to 74 used the Internet to post messages to social media sites or instant messaging tools, ranging from 17% in Romania to 46% in Sweden (Eurostat, 2012). Web 2.0 applications have been used in technology-enhanced learning environments. Learning 2.0 is a concept that has been used to describe the use of social media for learning. Many Learning 2.0 initiatives have been launched by educational and training institutions in Europe. Web 2.0 applications have also been used for informal learning. Web 2.0 tools can be used in classrooms, virtual or not, not only to engage students but also to support collaborative activities. Many of these tools allow users to use tags to organize resources and facilitate their retrieval at a later date or time. The aim of this chapter is to describe how tagging has been used in systems that support formal or informal learning and to summarize the functionalities that are common to these systems. In addition, common and unusual tagging applications that have been used in some Learning Objects Repositories are analysed.

Do Bloco Privativo de Assinante (BPA) ao Armário de Telecomunicações Individual (ATI)

Na década de 50 do século XX foi publicado o Decreto n.º 41486 de 30 de Dezembro de 1957 que regulamentou as estações receptoras de radiodifusão, decorrentes da evolução da “caixa que mudou o mundo”, a televisão. Posteriormente, na década de 80 desse mesmo século foram fixadas as regras básicas, com o objetivo de dotar os edifícios de infraestruturas de telecomunicações, nomeadamente telefone, telex e dados, com acesso através de redes físicas, mediante a publicação do Decreto-Lei 146/87 de 24 de Março – Instalações Telefónicas de Assinante (ITA), do Decreto Regulamentar n.º 25/87, o Regulamento de Instalações Telefónicas de Assinante (RITA), que estabeleceu as condições técnicas a que deveriam obedecer os projectos, as instalações e a conservação das infraestruturas de telecomunicações, bem como os procedimentos legais a seguir para a elaboração de projetos e solicitação de vistorias às instalações executadas.

How to integrate stories and ICT in content-based units of work for English learning

The aim of this article is to show how it is possible to integrate stories and ICT in Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) for English as a foreign language (EFL) learning in bilingual schools. Two Units of Work are presented. One, for the second year of Primary, is based on a Science topic, ‘Materials’. The story used is ‘The three little pigs’ and the computer program ‘JClic’. The other one is based on a Science and Arts topic for the sixth year of Primary, the story used is ‘Charlotte’s Web’ and the computer program ‘Atenex’.

The Interactive Whiteboard And Language Learning: A Case Study

In this paper, we intend to present some research carried out in a state Primary school, which is very well-equipped with ICT resources, including interactive whiteboards. The interactive whiteboard was used in the context of a Unit of Work for English learning, based on a traditional oral story, ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. It was also used for reinforcing other topics like, ‘At the beach’, ‘In the city’, ‘Jobs’, etc. An analysis of the use of the digital board, which includes observation records as well as questionnaires for teachers and pupils, was carried out.

Relatório de estágio

Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1.º Ciclo do Ensino Básico

Lean learning academy: an innovative framework for lean manufacturing training

Worldwide competitiveness poses enormous challenges on managers, demanding a continuous quest to increase rationality in the use of resources. As a management philosophy, Lean Manufacturing focuses on the elimination of activities that do not create any type of value and therefore are considered waste. For companies to successfully implement the Lean Manufacturing philosophy it is crucial that the human resources of the organization have the necessary training, for which proper tools are required. At the same time, higher education institutions need innovative tools to increase the attractiveness of engineering curricula and develop a higher level of knowledge among students, improving their employability. This paper describes how Lean Learning Academy, an international collaboration project between five EU universities and five companies, from SME to Multinational/Global companies, developed and applied an innovative training programme for Engineers on Lean Manufacturing, a successful alternative to the traditional teaching methods in engineering courses.

Extended immersive learning environment: a hybrid remote/virtual laboratory

This paper presents a collaborative virtual learning environment, which includes technologies such as 3D virtual representations, learning and content management systems, remote experiments, and collaborative learning spaces, among others. It intends to facilitate the construction, management and sharing of knowledge among teachers and students, in a global perspective. The environment proposes the use of 3D social representations for accessing learning materials in a dynamic and interactive form, which is regarded to be closer to the physical reality experienced by teachers and students in a learning context. A first implementation of the proposed extended immersive learning environment, in the area of solid mechanics, is also described, including the access to theoretical contents and a remote experiment to determine the elastic modulus of a given object.These instructions give you basic guidelines for preparing camera-ready papers for conference proceedings. Use this document as a template if you are using Microsoft Word 6.0 or later. Otherwise, use this document as an instruction set. The electronic file of your paper will be formatted further. Define all symbols used in the abstract. Do not cite references in the abstract.

Formative assessment and motivation in higher education: a successful approach in mechanical engineer thermodynamics

Between 2000/01 and 2006/07, the approval rate of a Thermodynamics course in a Mechanical Engineer graduation was 25%. However, a careful analysis of the results showed that 41% of the students chosen not to attend or dropped out, missing the final examination. Thus, a continuous assessment methodology was developed, whose purpose was to reduce drop out, motivating students to attend this course, believing that what was observed was due, not to the incapacity to pass, but to the anticipation of the inevitability of failure by the students. If, on one hand, motivation is defined as a broad construct pertaining to the conditions and processes that account for the arousal, direction, magnitude, and maintenance of effort, on the other hand, assessment is one of the most powerful tools to change the will that students have to learn, motivating them to learn in a quicker and permanent way. Some of the practices that were implemented, included: promoting learning goal orientation rather than performance goal orientation; cultivating intrinsic interest in the subject and put less emphasis on grades but make grading criteria explicit; emphasizing teaching approaches that encourage collaboration among students and cater for a range of teaching styles; explaining the reasons for, and the implications of, tests; providing feedback to students about their performance in a form that is non-egoinvolving and non-judgemental and helping students to interpret it; broadening the range of information used in assessing the attainment of individual students. The continuous assessment methodology developed was applied in 2007/08 and 2008/09, having found an increase in the approval from 25% to 55% (30%), accompanied by a decrease of the drop out from 41% to 23,5% (17,5%). Flunking with a numerical grade lowered from 34,4% to 22,0% (12,4%). The perception by the students of the continuous assessment relevance was evaluated with a questionnaire. 70% of the students that failed the course respond that, nevertheless, didn’t repent having done the continuous assessment.

Reverse problem-based learning - a case study with a Braille machine

Engineering Education includes not only teaching theoretical fundamental concepts but also its verification during practical lessons in laboratories. The usual strategies to carry out this action are frequently based on Problem Based Learning, starting from a given state and proceeding forward to a target state. The possibility or the effectiveness of this procedure depends on previous states and if the present state was caused or resulted from earlier ones. This often happens in engineering education when the achieved results do not match the desired ones, e.g. when programming code is being developed or when the cause of the wrong behavior of an electronic circuit is being identified. It is thus important to also prepare students to proceed in the reverse way, i.e. given a start state generate the explanation or even the principles that underlie it. Later on, this sort of skills will be important. For instance, to a doctor making a patient?s story or to an engineer discovering the source of a malfunction. This learning methodology presents pedagogical advantages besides the enhanced preparation of students to their future work. The work presented on his document describes an automation project developed by a group of students in an engineering polytechnic school laboratory. The main objective was to improve the performance of a Braille machine. However, in a scenario of Reverse Problem-Based learning, students had first to discover and characterize the entire machine's function before being allowed (and being able) to propose a solution for the existing problem.