Reconfigurable weblabs based on the IEEE1451 Std

Technology plays a double role in Education: it can act as a facilitator in the teaching/learning process and it can be the very subject of that process in Science & Engineering courses. This is especially true when students perform laboratory activities where they interact with equipment and objects under experimentation. In this context, technology can also play a facilitator role if it allows students to perform experiments in a remote fashion, through the Internet, in a so-called weblab or remote laboratory. No doubt, the Internet has been revolutionizing the educational process in many aspects, and it can be stated that remote laboratories are just an angle of that on-going revolution. As any other educational tool or resource, the i) pedagogical approach and the ii) technology used in the development of a remote laboratory can dictate its general success or its ephemeral existence. By pedagogical approach we consider the way remote experiments address the process by which students acquire experimental skills and link experimental results to theoretical concepts. In respect to technology, we discuss different specification and implementation alternatives, to show the case where the adoption of a family of standards would positively contribute to a larger acceptance and utilization of remote laboratories, and also to a wider collaboration in their development.

Picture marks semiotics between ontwerpen and vormgeving

This project seeks to implement and operationalize an analytical and schematic tool proposed in the doctoral thesis of Eduardo Aires applied to the first pages of newspapers (FBAUP: 2006), to the study of the symbol within the visual identity – the picture mark – starting with its semiotic analysis. Our research has the main objective to contribute to providing guidelines to facilitate both the communication and the methodology used by students and professionals of graphic design, translating, in a graphic way, implicit phenomena that is still in the spectrum of intuition, concerning Identity Design (specifically, the design of the graphic mark), and bringing them to the field of scientific definitions. It is our intention to provide the design of a picture mark, a graphic sign which is intended to synthesize, identify and bring positive values about an entity, with an educational tool that would constitute itself as knowledge so far nonexistent.

Seqins: a sequencing tool for educational resources

The teaching-learning process is increasingly focused on the combination of the paradigms “learning by viewing” and “learning by doing.” In this context, educational resources, either expository or evaluative, play a pivotal role. Both types of resources are interdependent and their sequencing would create a richer educational experience to the end user. However, there is a lack of tools that support sequencing essentially due to the fact that existing specifications are complex. The Seqins is a sequencing tool of digital resources that has a fairly simple sequencing model. The tool communicates through the IMS LTI specification with a plethora of e-learning systems such as learning management systems, repositories, authoring and evaluation systems. In order to validate Seqins we integrate it in an e-learning Ensemble framework instance for the computer programming learning.

PCMAT Metadata Authoring Tool

This paper introduces the PCMAT platform project and, in particular, one of its components, the PCMAT Metadata Authoring Tool. This is an educational web application that allows the project metadata creators to write the metadata associated to each learning object without any concern for the metadata schema semantics. Furthermore it permits the project managers to add or delete elements to the schema, without having to rewrite or compile any code.

An adaptive educational system for higher education

The main objective of an Adaptive System is to adequate its relation with the user (content presentation, navigation, interface, etc.) according to a predefined but updatable model of the user that reflects his objectives, preferences, knowledge and competences [Brusilovsky, 2001], [De Bra, 2004]. For Educational Adaptive Systems, the emphasis is placed on the student knowledge in the domain application and learning style, to allow him to reach the learning objectives proposed for his training [Chepegin, 2004]. In Educational AHS, the User Model (UM), or Student Model, has increased relevance: when the student reaches the objectives of the course, the system must be able to readapt, for example, to his knowledge [Brusilovsky, 2001]. Learning Styles are understood as something that intent to define models of how given person learns. Generally it is understood that each person has a Learning Style different and preferred with the objective of achieving better results. Some case studies have proposed that teachers should assess the learning styles of their students and adapt their classroom and methods to best fit each student's learning style [Kolb, 2005], [Martins, 2008]. The learning process must take into consideration the individual cognitive and emotional parts of the student. In summary each Student is unique so the Student personal progress must be monitored and teaching shoul not be not generalized and repetitive [Jonassen, 1991], [Martins, 2008]. The aim of this paper is to present an Educational Adaptive Hypermedia Tool based on Progressive Assessment.

A tool to aid institutions recognize their employees competences acquired by informal learning

People do not learn only in formal educational institutions, but also throughout their lives, from their experiences, conversations, observations of others, exploration of the Internet, meetings and conferences, and chance encounters etc. However this informal and non-formal learning can easily remain largely invisible, making it hard for peers and employers to recognize or act upon it. The TRAILER project aims to make this learning visible so that it can benefit both the individual and the organization. The proposed demonstration will show a software solution that (i) helps the learners to capture, organize and classify a wide range of ’informal’ learning taking place in their lives, and (ii) assists the organization in recognizing this learning and use it to help managing human resources (benefiting both parts). This software tool has recently been used in two phases of pilot studies, which have run in four different European countries.

Sequencing educational resources with Seqins

Existing adaptive educational hypermedia systems have been using learning resources sequencing approaches in order to enrich the learning experience. In this context, educational resources, either expository or evaluative, play a central role. However, there is a lack of tools that support sequencing essentially due to the fact that existing specifications are complex. This paper presents Seqins as a sequencing tool of digital educational resources. Seqins includes a simple and flexible sequencing model that will foster heterogeneous students to learn at different rhythms. The tool communicates through the IMS Learning Tools Interoperability specification with a plethora of e-learning systems such as learning management systems, repositories, authoring and automatic evaluation systems. In order to validate Seqins we integrate it in an e-learning Ensemble framework instance for the computer programming learning domain.

Educational characteristics of adult students in portuguese technological schools

Despite a massive expansion of education in Portugal, since the 1970’s, educational attainment of the adult population in the country remains low. The numbers of working-age people in some form of continuing education are among the lowest, according to the OECD and EU-27 statistics. Technological Schools(TS), initially created in the 1990’s, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Economy in partnership with industry and industrial associations, aimed to prepare qualified staff for industries and services in the country, particularly in the engineering sector, through the provision of post secondary non-university programmes of studies, the CET (Technological Specialization Courses). Successful CET students are awarded a DET(Diploma of Technological Specialization), which corresponds to Vocational Qualification level IV of the EU, according to the latest alteration (2005) of the Education Systems Act (introduced in 1986). In this, CET’s are also clearly defined as one of the routes for access to Higher Education (HE), in Portugal. The PRILHE (Promoting Reflective and Independent Learning in Higher Education) multinational project, funded by the European Socrates Grundtvig Programme, aimed to identify the learning processes which enable adult students in higher education to become autonomous reflective learners and search best practices to support these learning processes. During this research, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to determine how students organise their studies and develop their learning skills. The Portuguese partner in the project’ consortium used a two case studies approach, one with students of Higher Education Institutions and other with students of TS. This paper only applies to students of TS, as these have a predominant bias towards engineering. Results show that student motivation and professional teaching support contribute equally to the development of an autonomous and reflective approach to learning in adult students; this is essential for success in a knowledge economy, where lifelong learning is the key to continuous employment.

Multiple-choice tests: a tool in assessing knowledge

The purpose of this paper is to analyse if Multiple-Choice Tests may be considered an interesting alternative for assessing knowledge, particularly in the Mathematics area, as opposed to the traditional methods, such as open questions exams. In this sense we illustrate some opinions of the researchers in this area. Often the perception of the people about the construction of this kind of exams is that they are easy to create. But it is not true! Construct well written tests it’s a hard work and needs writing ability from the teachers. Our proposal is analyse the construction difficulties of multiple - choice tests as well some advantages and limitations of this type of tests. We also show the frequent critics and worries, since the beginning of this objective format usage. Finally in this context some examples of Multiple-Choice Items in the Mathematics area are given, and we illustrate as how we can take advantage and improve this kind of tests.

A simulation tool for demand response programs implementation

The design and development of simulation models and tools for Demand Response (DR) programs are becoming more and more important for adequately taking the maximum advantages of DR programs use. Moreover, a more active consumers’ participation in DR programs can help improving the system reliability and decrease or defer the required investments. DemSi, a DR simulator, designed and implemented by the authors of this paper, allows studying DR actions and schemes in distribution networks. It undertakes the technical validation of the solution using realistic network simulation based on PSCAD. DemSi considers the players involved in DR actions, and the results can be analyzed from each specific player point of view.

Adaptive tool for automatic data collection of real electricity markets

The study of electricity markets operation has been gaining an increasing importance in last years, as result of the new challenges that the electricity markets restructuring produced. This restructuring increased the competitiveness of the market, but with it its complexity. The growing complexity and unpredictability of the market’s evolution consequently increases the decision making difficulty. Therefore, the intervenient entities are forced to rethink their behaviour and market strategies. Currently, lots of information concerning electricity markets is available. These data, concerning innumerous regards of electricity markets operation, is accessible free of charge, and it is essential for understanding and suitably modelling electricity markets. This paper proposes a tool which is able to handle, store and dynamically update data. The development of the proposed tool is expected to be of great importance to improve the comprehension of electricity markets and the interactions among the involved entities.

Electric vehicle scenario simulator tool for smart grid operators

This paper presents a simulator for electric vehicles in the context of smart grids and distribution networks. It aims to support network operator´s planning and operations but can be used by other entities for related studies. The paper describes the parameters supported by the current version of the Electric Vehicle Scenario Simulator (EVeSSi) tool and its current algorithm. EVeSSi enables the definition of electric vehicles scenarios on distribution networks using a built-in movement engine. The scenarios created with EVeSSi can be used by external tools (e.g., power flow) for specific analysis, for instance grid impacts. Two scenarios are briefly presented for illustration of the simulator capabilities.

A short-term risk management tool applied to OMEL electricity market using particle swarm optimization

Short-term risk management is highly dependent on long-term contractual decisions previously established; risk aversion factor of the agent and short-term price forecast accuracy. Trying to give answers to that problem, this paper provides a different approach for short-term risk management on electricity markets. Based on long-term contractual decisions and making use of a price range forecast method developed by the authors, the short-term risk management tool presented here has as main concern to find the optimal spot market strategies that a producer should have for a specific day in function of his risk aversion factor, with the objective to maximize the profits and simultaneously to practice the hedge against price market volatility. Due to the complexity of the optimization problem, the authors make use of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to find the optimal solution. Results from realistic data, namely from OMEL electricity market, are presented and discussed in detail.

A long-term swarm intelligence hedging tool applied to electricity markets

This paper proposes a swarm intelligence long-term hedging tool to support electricity producers in competitive electricity markets. This tool investigates the long-term hedging opportunities available to electric power producers through the use of contracts with physical (spot and forward) and financial (options) settlement. To find the optimal portfolio the producer risk preference is stated by a utility function (U) expressing the trade-off between the expectation and the variance of the return. Variance estimation and the expected return are based on a forecasted scenario interval determined by a long-term price range forecast model, developed by the authors, whose explanation is outside the scope of this paper. The proposed tool makes use of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and its performance has been evaluated by comparing it with a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based approach. To validate the risk management tool a case study, using real price historical data for mainland Spanish market, is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.

A long-term risk management tool for electricity markets using swarm intelligence

This paper addresses the optimal involvement in derivatives electricity markets of a power producer to hedge against the pool price volatility. To achieve this aim, a swarm intelligence meta-heuristic optimization technique for long-term risk management tool is proposed. This tool investigates the long-term opportunities for risk hedging available for electric power producers through the use of contracts with physical (spot and forward contracts) and financial (options contracts) settlement. The producer risk preference is formulated as a utility function (U) expressing the trade-off between the expectation and the variance of the return. Variance of return and the expectation are based on a forecasted scenario interval determined by a long-term price range forecasting model. This model also makes use of particle swarm optimization (PSO) to find the best parameters allow to achieve better forecasting results. On the other hand, the price estimation depends on load forecasting. This work also presents a regressive long-term load forecast model that make use of PSO to find the best parameters as well as in price estimation. The PSO technique performance has been evaluated by comparison with a Genetic Algorithm (GA) based approach. A case study is presented and the results are discussed taking into account the real price and load historical data from mainland Spanish electricity market demonstrating the effectiveness of the methodology handling this type of problems. Finally, conclusions are dully drawn.