Design, development and assessment of the Java Intelligent Tutoring System

The "Java Intelligent Tutoring System" (JITS) research project focused on designing, constructing, and determining the effectiveness of an Intelligent Tutoring System for beginner Java programming students at the postsecondary level. The participants in this research were students in the School of Applied Computing and Engineering Sciences at Sheridan College. This research involved consistently gathering input from students and instructors using JITS as it developed. The cyclic process involving designing, developing, testing, and refinement was used for the construction of JITS to ensure that it adequately meets the needs of students and instructors. The second objective in this dissertation determined the effectiveness of learning within this environment. The main findings indicate that JITS is a richly interactive ITS that engages students on Java programming problems. JITS is equipped with a sophisticated personalized feedback mechanism that models and supports each student in his/her learning style. The assessment component involved 2 main quantitative experiments to determine the effectiveness of JITS in terms of student performance. In both experiments it was determined that a statistically significant difference was achieved between the control group and the experimental group (i.e., JITS group). The main effect for Test (i.e., pre- and postiest), F( l , 35) == 119.43,p < .001, was qualified by a Test by Group interaction, F( l , 35) == 4.98,p < .05, and a Test by Time interaction, F( l , 35) == 43.82, p < .001. Similar findings were found for the second experiment; Test by Group interaction revealed F( 1 , 92) == 5.36, p < .025. In both experiments the JITS groups outperformed the corresponding control groups at posttest.

BioJADE: A Design and Simulation Tool for Synthetic Biological Systems

The next generations of both biological engineering and computer engineering demand that control be exerted at the molecular level. Creating, characterizing and controlling synthetic biological systems may provide us with the ability to build cells that are capable of a plethora of activities, from computation to synthesizing nanostructures. To develop these systems, we must have a set of tools not only for synthesizing systems, but also designing and simulating them. The BioJADE project provides a comprehensive, extensible design and simulation platform for synthetic biology. BioJADE is a graphical design tool built in Java, utilizing a database back end, and supports a range of simulations using an XML communication protocol. BioJADE currently supports a library of over 100 parts with which it can compile designs into actual DNA, and then generate synthesis instructions to build the physical parts. The BioJADE project contributes several tools to Synthetic Biology. BioJADE in itself is a powerful tool for synthetic biology designers. Additionally, we developed and now make use of a centralized BioBricks repository, which enables the sharing of BioBrick components between researchers, and vastly reduces the barriers to entry for aspiring Synthetic Biologists.

Glob3 Mobile: hacia un SIG 3D para entornos Apple-iOS, Android y WebGL

El trabajo describe el proyecto de desarrollo de un SIG 3D de código abierto para dispositivos móviles (Apple-iOS y Android) y para navegadores web con tecnología WebGL. En la fase actual, nos centraremos en el diseño e implementación del globo virtual, como elemento esencial que da soporte al SIG 3D y de una IDE que permite la programación de nuevas funcionalidades al globo. Dentro de los objetivos de diseño del globo virtual tenemos (i) simplicidad, con código estructurado que facilita la portabilidad y con una API de código abierto sencilla, (ii) eficiencia, tomando en cuenta los recursos hardware de los dispositivos móviles más extendidos en el mercado, (ii) usabilidad, implementando una navegación intuitiva mediante gestos para la interacción en pantalla y (iv) escalabilidad, gracias a una API desarrollada, se permite aumentar de las prestaciones mediante el desarrollo de scripts y podrán ser ejecutados tanto dentro del navegador web como de forma nativa en las plataformas móviles. Ante un panorama de clara proliferación de aplicaciones para móviles, Glob3 Mobile pretende ser una apuesta fuerte que llegue a convertirse en un SIG 3D de código abierto que abarque variadas aplicaciones sectoriales, algunas ya en marcha

Creating and implementing a biodiversity recording app for teaching and research in environmental studies

This case study reports on the development of a bespoke mobile recording app for collating records of biodiversity sightings on a University campus. This innovative project was achieved through a multi-disciplinary partnership of staff and students. It is hoped that the app itself will benefit lecturers by streamlining data collection during teaching and learning activities, whilst engaging students and highlighting the wealth of diversity available on campus

Using mobile devices to enhance undergraduate field research

Mobile devices can enhance undergraduate research projects and students’ research capabilities. The use of mobile devices such as tablet computers will not automatically make undergraduates better researchers, but their use should make investigations, writing, and publishing more effective and may even save students time. We have explored some of the possibilities of using “tablets” and “smartphones” to aid the research and inquiry process in geography and bioscience fieldwork. We provide two case studies as illustration of how students working in small research groups use mobile devices to gather and analyze primary data in field-based inquiry. Since April 2010, Apple’s iPad has changed the way people behave in the digital world and how they access their music, watch videos, or read their email much as the entrepreneurs Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive intended. Now with “apps” and “the cloud” and the ubiquitous references to them appearing in the press and on TV, academics’ use of tablets is also having an impact on education and research. In our discussion we will refer to use of smartphones such as the iPhone, iPod, and Android devices under the term “tablet”. Android and Microsoft devices may not offer the same facilities as the iPad/iphone, but many app producers now provide versions for several operating systems. Smartphones are becoming more affordable and ubiquitous (Melhuish and Falloon 2010), but a recent study of undergraduate students (Woodcock et al. 2012, 1) found that many students who own smartphones are “largely unaware of their potential to support learning”. Importantly, however, students were found to be “interested in and open to the potential as they become familiar with the possibilities” (Woodcock et al. 2012). Smartphones and iPads could be better utilized than laptops when conducting research in the field because of their portability (Welsh and France 2012). It is imperative for faculty to provide their students with opportunities to discover and employ the potential uses of mobile devices in their learning. However, it is not only the convenience of the iPad or tablet devices or smartphones we wish to promote, but also a way of thinking and behaving digitally. We essentially suggest that making a tablet the center of research increases the connections between related research activities.

JCML: A specification language for the runtime verification of Java Card programs

COSTA, Umberto Souza; MOREIRA, Anamaria Martins; MUSICANTE, Matin A.; SOUZA NETO, Plácido A. JCML: A specification language for the runtime verification of Java Card programs. Science of Computer Programming. [S.l]: [s.n], 2010.

Specification and Runtime Verification of Java Card Programs

COSTA, Umberto Souza da; MOREIRA, Anamaria Martins; MUSICANTE, Martin A. Specification and Runtime Verification of Java Card Programs. Electronic Notes in Theoretical Computer Science. [S.l:s.n], 2009.

Técnicas baseadas em etnografia e prototipagem no Design de interface de aplicativo mobile para gerenciamento acadêmico

Baseado na metodologia de design participativo, este artigo relata o processo de pesquisa e desenvolvimento de uma versão mobile de um sistema já existente para desktop e amplamente utilizado para o compartilhamento de informações acadêmicas em uma universidade federal do Brasil. A pesquisa foi realizada em duas etapas. Na ‘Etapa I’ foram realizados estudos baseados em etnografia envolvendo docentes e discentes: Grupo de Foco, Análise Contextual, Avaliação Heurística Participativa e Avaliação Cooperativa. Por meio dos resultados foi possível identificar funcionalidades e requisitos desejáveis, problemas de usabilidade de uma versão mobile já em processo inicial de desenvolvimento, bem como e elaboração de uma nova interface gráfica. Na ‘Etapa II’ foram avaliados modelos de interação por meio de protótipos especificamente projetados para testes no mecanismo de lançamento de frequência do sistema mobile que, em seguida, foram avaliados através de testes de usabilidade e questionário de satisfação do usuário.

Use of a semantically grained database system for distribution and control within design environments

This paper presents a technique to share the data stored in an object-oriented database aimed at designing environments. This technique shares data between two related databases, called the Original and Product databases, and is composed of three processes: data separation, evolution and integration. Whenever a block of data needs to be shared, it is spread into both databases, resulting in a block on the original database, and another into the Product database, with special links between them controlled by the Object Manager. These blocks do not need to be maintained identical during the evolution phase of the sharing process. Six types of links were defined, and by choosing one, the designer control the evolution and reintegration of the block in both databases. This process uses the composite object concept as the unit of control. The presented concepts can be applied to any data model with support to composite objects.

Use of myoelectric signals to command mobile entertainment robot by disabled children: Design and control architecture

Severely disabled children have little chance of environmental and social exploration and discovery. This lack of interaction and independency may lead to an idea that they are unable to do anything by themselves. In an attempt to help children in this situation, educational robotics can offer and aid, once it can provide them a certain degree of independency in the exploration of environment. The system developed in this work allows the child to transmit the commands to a robot through myoelectric and movement sensors. The sensors are placed on the child's body so they can obtain information from the body inclination and muscle contraction, thus allowing commanding, through a wireless communication, the mobile entertainment robot to carry out tasks such as play with objects and draw. In this paper, the details of the robot design and control architecture are presented and discussed. With this system, disabled children get a better cognitive development and social interaction, balancing in a certain way, the negative effects of their disabilities. © 2012 IEEE.

Interface com o AEDROMO (Ambiente experimental e didático com robôs móveis) utilizando sistema Android

The AEDROMO (Experimental and Didactic Environment with Mobile Robots) is a versatile, user friendly and scalable environment that supports a wide range of experiments. In it there is an area that is similar to a desk where objects can interact with each other, including robots and other objects, and thus can perform numerous activities. In it's current state, AEDROMO has client computers that interact with the system through an interface, and thus realize the communication between the user and AEDROMO. This project offer support to create a new form of interface for AEDROMO and can therefore be used for devices running Android, the app developed in this project will serve as a basis for future work on this new interface