Competencias en los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje virtual y semipresencial

Actualmente las universidades están inmersas en lo que se conoce como el proceso de «convergencia europea» y que llevará al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (EEES). El objetivo es dotar a Europa de un sistema universitario homogéneo, compatible y flexible que permita a los estudiantes y titulados universitarios europeos una mayor movilidad, así como ofrecer al sistema universitario europeo unos niveles de transparencia y calidad, mediante sistemas de evaluación, que le hagan atractivo y competitivo en el ámbito internacional dentro del actual proceso de globalización. En este artículo, interesa centrar la reflexión en dos de las modalidades de la educación a distancia que asumirán importancia en ese cambio universitario: el e-learning y el b-learning, que consisten básicamente en la virtualización de los procesos de aprendizaje a través del uso de equipos informáticos. Para ello se ha realizado una investigación cualitativa con metodología de estudio de casos. De entre los resultados se destaca el uso de las TIC por parte del profesorado para conseguir un mejor aprendizaje en los estudiantes, de igual forma un porcentaje importante de los profesores 78% utiliza alguna plataforma virtual como apoyo a la docencia. Como conclusión se resalta que las políticas de formación deberían fortalecer las competencias del profesorado universitario en el uso de dispositivos telemáticos, recursos e instrumentos relacionados con el aprendizaje semipresencial y virtual.

Habilitats comunicatives per a l’aprenentatge en l’entorn virtual = Communicative skills for learning in a virtual environment

The virtual learning environments are an option in permanent training with great possibilities for adults who look for studies that are compatible with their jobs and with their family life. So as to participate in determined learning as much in attitudes as knowledge and skills. The article is dedicated to analysing the necessary linguistic habits for moving within an environment of this type and offers didactic proposals that can facilitate the active participation in a virtual course and widen the perspectives of the control of new channels of communication with objectives that are different to learning

Development of Calculation Procedures for Wastewater Treatment Technologies for a Training System

Efficient designs and operations of water and wastewater treatment systems are largely based on mathematical calculations. This even applies to training in the treatment systems. Therefore, it is necessary that calculation procedures are developed and computerised a priori for such applications to ensure effectiveness. This work was aimed at developing calculation procedures for gas stripping, depth filtration, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, and ozonation wastewater treatment technologies to include them in ED-WAVE, a portable computer based tool used in design, operations and training in wastewater treatment. The work involved a comprehensive online and offline study of research work and literature, and application of practical case studies to generate ED-WAVE compatible representations of the treatment technologies which were then uploaded into the tool.

Parallella, dynamiska representationer i gymnasiefysiken : implementering av ett interaktivt datorverktyg i didaktiska situationer och uppfattning av effektivt lärande

The computer is a useful tool in the teaching of upper secondary school physics, and should not have a subordinate role in students' learning process. However, computers and computer-based tools are often not available when they could serve their purpose best in the ongoing teaching. Another problem is the fact that commercially available tools are not usable in the way the teacher wants. The aim of this thesis was to try out a novel teaching scenario in a complicated subject in physics, electrodynamics. The didactic engineering of the thesis consisted of developing a computer-based simulation and training material, implementing the tool in physics teaching and investigating its effectiveness in the learning process. The design-based research method, didactic engineering (Artigue, 1994), which is based on the theoryof didactical situations (Brousseau, 1997), was used as a frame of reference for the design of this type of teaching product. In designing the simulation tool a general spreadsheet program was used. The design was based on parallel, dynamic representations of the physics behind the function of an AC series circuit in both graphical and numerical form. The tool, which was furnished with possibilities to control the representations in an interactive way, was hypothesized to activate the students and promote the effectiveness of their learning. An effect variable was constructed in order to measure the students' and teachers' conceptions of learning effectiveness. The empirical study was twofold. Twelve physics students, who attended a course in electrodynamics in an upper secondary school, participated in a class experiment with the computer-based tool implemented in three modes of didactical situations: practice, concept introduction and assessment. The main goal of the didactical situations was to have students solve problems and study the function of AC series circuits, taking responsibility for theirown learning process. In the teacher study eighteen Swedish speaking physics teachers evaluated the didactic potential of the computer-based tool and the accompanying paper-based material without using them in their physics teaching. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires, observations and interviews. The result of the studies showed that both the group of students and the teachers had generally positive conceptions of learning effectiveness. The students' conceptions were more positive in the practice situation than in the concept introduction situation, a setting that was more explorative. However, it turned out that the students' conceptions were also positive in the more complex assessment situation. This had not been hypothesized. A deeper analysis of data from observations and interviews showed that one of the students in each pair was more active than the other, taking more initiative and more responsibilityfor the student-student and student-computer interaction. These active studentshad strong, positive conceptions of learning effectiveness in each of the threedidactical situations. The group of less active students had a weak but positive conception in the first iv two situations, but a negative conception in the assessment situation, thus corroborating the hypothesis ad hoc. The teacher study revealed that computers were seldom used in physics teaching and that computer programs were in short supply. The use of a computer was considered time-consuming. As long as physics teaching with computer-based tools has to take place in special computer rooms, the use of such tools will remain limited. The affordance is enhanced when the physical dimensions as well as the performance of the computer are optimised. As a consequence, the computer then becomes a real learning tool for each pair of students, smoothly integrated into the ongoing teaching in the same space where teaching normally takes place. With more interactive support from the teacher, the computer-based parallel, dynamic representations will be efficient in promoting the learning process of the students with focus on qualitative reasoning - an often neglected part of the learning process of the students in upper secondary school physics.

Formal development and quantitative verification of dependable systems

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Venäjän sotilasreformi : asevoimien uusi ilme

Tässä työpaperissa Venäjän sotilasreformin tarkastelu painottuu maavoimiin. Muista puolustushaaroista käsitellään lyhyesti meri- ja ilmavoimia. Lisäksi käsitellään koulutus, reservi ja mobilisaatio, johtaminen, toiminnan ulkoistaminen ja sosiaaliset kysymykset sekä asevoimien varustaminen. Julkaisun lähdemateriaali on lähes kokonaan venäjänkielistä. Sen avulla esitetään venäläisten omat niin myönteiset kuin kriittiset näkemykset koskien Venäjän asevoimien sotilasreformia, uutta ilmettä. Venäjänkielisistä termeistä käytetään mahdollisimman vastaavaa tai kuvaavaa suomenkielistä ilmaisua.

Augmented reality systems for weed economic thresholds applications

The augmented reality (AR) technology has applications in many fields as diverse as aeronautics, tourism, medicine, and education. In this review are summarized the current status of AR and it is proposed a new application of it in weed science. The basic algorithmic elements for AR implementation are already available to develop applications in the area of weed economic thresholds. These include algorithms for image recognition to identify and quantify weeds by species and software for herbicide selection based on weed density. Likewise, all hardware necessary for AR implementation in weed science are available at an affordable price for the user. Thus, the authors propose weed science can take a leading role integrating AR systems into weed economic thresholds software, thus, providing better opportunities for science and computer-based weed control decisions.

Training graduate students to be teachers

Pedagogic education of graduate students, when and where it exists, is restricted to theoretical courses or to the participation of the students as teachers' assistants. This model is essentially reproductive and offers few opportunities for any significant curriculum innovation. To open an opportunity for novelty we have introduced a new approach in "Biochemistry Teaching", a course included in the Biochemistry Graduate Program of the Biochemistry Department (Universidade Estadual de Campinas and Universidade de São Paulo). The content of the course consists of a) choosing the theme, b) selecting and organizing the topics, c) preparing written material, d) establishing the methodological strategies, e) planning the evaluation tools and, finally, f) as teachers, conducting the course as an optional summer course for undergraduate students. During the first semester the graduate students establish general and specific educational objectives, select and organize contents, decide on the instructional strategies and plan evaluation tools. The contents are explored using a wide range of strategies, which include computer-aided instruction, laboratory classes, small group teaching, a few lectures and round table discussions. The graduate students also organize printed class notes to be used by the undergraduate students. Finally, as a group, they teach the summer course. In the three versions already developed, the themes chosen were Biochemistry of Exercise (UNICAMP), Biochemistry of Nutrition (UNICAMP) and Molecular Biology of Plants (USP). In all cases the number of registrations greatly exceeded the number of places and a selection had to be made. The evaluation of the experience by both graduate and undergraduate students was very positive. Graduate students considered this experience to be unique and recommended it to their schoolmates; the undergraduate students benefited from a more flexible curriculum (more options) and gave very high scores to both the courses and the teachers.

Rigorous development of safety-critical systems

Nowadays, computer-based systems tend to become more complex and control increasingly critical functions affecting different areas of human activities. Failures of such systems might result in loss of human lives as well as significant damage to the environment. Therefore, their safety needs to be ensured. However, the development of safety-critical systems is not a trivial exercise. Hence, to preclude design faults and guarantee the desired behaviour, different industrial standards prescribe the use of rigorous techniques for development and verification of such systems. The more critical the system is, the more rigorous approach should be undertaken. To ensure safety of a critical computer-based system, satisfaction of the safety requirements imposed on this system should be demonstrated. This task involves a number of activities. In particular, a set of the safety requirements is usually derived by conducting various safety analysis techniques. Strong assurance that the system satisfies the safety requirements can be provided by formal methods, i.e., mathematically-based techniques. At the same time, the evidence that the system under consideration meets the imposed safety requirements might be demonstrated by constructing safety cases. However, the overall safety assurance process of critical computerbased systems remains insufficiently defined due to the following reasons. Firstly, there are semantic differences between safety requirements and formal models. Informally represented safety requirements should be translated into the underlying formal language to enable further veri cation. Secondly, the development of formal models of complex systems can be labour-intensive and time consuming. Thirdly, there are only a few well-defined methods for integration of formal verification results into safety cases. This thesis proposes an integrated approach to the rigorous development and verification of safety-critical systems that (1) facilitates elicitation of safety requirements and their incorporation into formal models, (2) simplifies formal modelling and verification by proposing specification and refinement patterns, and (3) assists in the construction of safety cases from the artefacts generated by formal reasoning. Our chosen formal framework is Event-B. It allows us to tackle the complexity of safety-critical systems as well as to structure safety requirements by applying abstraction and stepwise refinement. The Rodin platform, a tool supporting Event-B, assists in automatic model transformations and proof-based verification of the desired system properties. The proposed approach has been validated by several case studies from different application domains.

Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus outbreak in a pediatric intensive care unit: report of successful interventions for control and prevention

The objective of this study is to retrospectively report the results of interventions for controlling a vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) outbreak in a tertiary-care pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a University Hospital. After identification of the outbreak, interventions were made at the following levels: patient care, microbiological surveillance, and medical and nursing staff training. Data were collected from computer-based databases and from the electronic prescription system. Vancomycin use progressively increased after March 2008, peaking in August 2009. Five cases of VRE infection were identified, with 3 deaths. After the interventions, we noted a significant reduction in vancomycin prescription and use (75% reduction), and the last case of VRE infection was identified 4 months later. The survivors remained colonized until hospital discharge. After interventions there was a transient increase in PICU length-of-stay and mortality. Since then, the use of vancomycin has remained relatively constant and strict, no other cases of VRE infection or colonization have been identified and length-of-stay and mortality returned to baseline. In conclusion, we showed that a bundle intervention aiming at a strict control of vancomycin use and full compliance with the Hospital Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee guidelines, along with contact precautions and hand-hygiene promotion, can be effective in reducing vancomycin use and the emergence and spread of vancomycin-resistant bacteria in a tertiary-care PICU.

Perceptions of some teachers about the similarities and/or differences in teaching online versus in a classroom environment /

The introduction of computer and communications technology, and particularly the internet, into education has opened up some new possibilities for teaching and learning. Courses designed and delivered in an online environment offer the possibility of highly interactive and individually focussed teaching and learning experiences. However, online courses also present new challenges for both teachers and students. A qualitative study was conducted to explore teachers' perceptions about the similarities and differences in teaching in the online and face-to-face (F2F) environments. Focus group discussions were held with 5 teachers; 2 teachers were interviewed in depth. The participants, 3 female and 2 male, were full-time teachers from a large College of Applied Arts & Technology in southern Ontario. Each of them had over 10 years of F2F teaching experience and each had been involved in the development and teaching of at least one online course. i - -; The study focussed on how teaching in the online environment compares with teaching in the F2F environment, what roles teachers and students adopt in each setting, what learning communities mean online and F2F and how they are developed, and how institutional policies, procedures, and infrastructure affect teaching and learning F2F and online. This study was emic in nature, that is the teachers' words determine the themes identified throughout the study. The factors identified as affecting teaching in an online environment included teacher issues such as course design, motivation to teach online, teaching style, role, characteristics or skills, and strategies. Student issues as perceived by the teachers included learning styles, role, and characteristics or skills. As well, technology issues such as a reliable infrastructure, clear role and responsibilities for maintaining the infrastructure, support, and multimedia capability affected teaching online. Finally, administrative policies and procedures, including teacher selection and training, registration and scheduling procedures, intellectual property and workload policies, and the development and communication of a comprehensive strategic plan were found to impact on teaching online. The teachers shared some of the benefits they perceived about teaching online as well as some of the challenges they had faced and challenges they perceived students had faced online. Overall, the teachers feh that there were more similarities than differences in teaching between the two environments, with the main differences being the change from F2F verbal interactions involving body language to online written interactions without body language cues, and the fundamental reliance on technology in the online environment. These findings support previous research in online teaching and learning, and add teachers' perspectives on the factors that stay the same and the factors that change when moving from a F2F environment to an online environment.

Attitudes of second year diploma nurses in three community colleges toward the use of computers in the nursing role /

The effectiveness of various kinds of computer programs is of concern to nurse-educators. Using a 3x3 experimental design, ninety second year diploma student nurses were randomly selected from a total population at three community colleges in Ontario. Data were collected via a 20-item valid and reliable Likert-type questionnaire developed by the nursing profession to measure perceptions of nurses about computers in the nursing role. The groups were pretested and posttested at the beginning and end of one semester. Subjects attending College A group received a computer literacy course which comprised word processing with technology awareness. College B students were exposed to computer-aided instruction primarily in nursing simulations intermittently throughout the semester. College C subjects maintained their regular curriculum with no computer involvement. The student's t-test (two-tailed) was employed to assess the attitude scores data and a one-way analysis of variance was performed on the attitude scores. Posttest analysis revealed that there was a significant difference (p<.05) between attitude scores on the use of computers in the nursing role between College A and C. No significant differences (p>.05) were seen between College B and A in posttesting. Suggestions for continued computer education of diploma student nurses are provided.

A narrative journey of teacher reflexivity and authenticity in technological environments /

This qualitative narrative inquiry was driven by my desire to further explore my personal discovery that my utilization of educational technologies in teaching and learning environments seemed to heighten a sense of creativity, which in turn increased reflective practice and authenticity in my teaching. A narrative inquiry approach was used as it offered the opportunity to uncover the deeper meanings of authenticity and reflection as participants' personal experiences were coconstructed and reconstructed in relationship with me and in relationship to a social milieu. To gain further insight into this potential phenomenon, I engaged in 2 conversational interviews with 2 other teachers from an Ontario College in a large urban centre who have utilized educational technologies in their teaching and learning communities and I maintained a research journal, constructed during the interview process, to record my own emerging narrative accounts, reflections, insights and further questions. The field texts consisted of transcriptions of the interviews and my reflective journal. Research texts were developed as field texts were listened to multiple times and texts were examined for meanings and themes. The educational technologies that both women focused on in the interview were digital video of children as they play, learn and develop and the use of an audible teacher voice in online courses. The invitation given to students to explore and discover meaning in videos of children as they watched them with the teacher seemed to be a catalyst for authenticity and a sense of synergy in the classroom. The power of the audible teacher voice came through as an essential component in online learning environments to offer students a sense of humanness and connection with the teacher. Relationships in both online and face to face classrooms emerged as a necessary and central component to all teaching and learning communities. The theme of paradox also emerged as participants recognized that educational technologies can be used in ways that enhance creativity, authenticity, reflection and relationships or in ways that hinder these qualities in the teaching and learning community. Knowledge of the common experiences of college educators who utilize educational technologies, specifically digital video of children to educate early childhood educators, might give meaning and insight to inform the practice of other teachers who seek authentic, reflexive practice in the classroom and in on line environments.

Perceptions of intergroup bias : the roles of social projection and meta-stereotypes

Underlying intergroup perceptions include processes of social projection (perceiving personal traitslbeliefs in others, see Krueger 1998) and meta-stereotyping (thinking about other groups' perceptions of one's own group, see Vorauer et aI., 1998). Two studies were conducted to investigate social projection and meta-stereotypes in the domain of White-Black racial relations. Study 1, a correlational study, examined the social projection of prejudice and 'prejudiced' meta-stereotypes among Whites. Results revealed that (a) Whites socially projected their intergroup attitudes onto other Whites (and Blacks) [i.e., Whites higher in prejudice against Blacks believed a large percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced against Blacks (Whites), whereas Whites low in prejudice believed a smaller percentage of Whites (Blacks) are prejudiced]; (b) Whites held the meta:..stereotype that their group (Whites) is viewed by Blacks to be prejudiced; and (c) prejudiced meta-stereotypes may be formed through the social projection of intergroup attitudes (result of path-model tests). Further, several correlates of social projection and meta-stereotypes were identified, including the finding that feeling negatively stereotyped by an outgroup predicted outgroup avoidance through heightened intergroup anxiety. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings, investigating the social projection of ingroup favouritism and meta- and other-stereotypes about ingroup favouritism. These processes were examined experimentally using an anticipated intergroup contact paradigm. The goal was to understand the experimental conditions under which people would display the strongest social projection of intergroup attitudes, and when experimentally induced meta-stereotypes (vs. other-stereotypes; beliefs about the group 11 preferences of one's outgroup) would be most damaging to intergroup contact. White participants were randomly assigned to one of six conditions and received (alleged) feedback from a previously completed computer-based test. Depending on condition, this information suggested that: (a) the participant favoured Whites over Blacks; (b) previous White participants favoured Whites over Blacks; (c) the participant's Black partner favoured Blacks over Whites; (d) previous Black participants favoured Blacks over Whites; (e) the participant's Black partner viewed the participant to favour Whites over Blacks; or (£) Black participants previously participating viewed Whites to favour Whites over Blacks. In a defensive reaction, Whites exhibited enhanced social projection of personal intergroup attitudes onto their ingroup under experimental manipulations characterized by self-concept threat (i.e., when the computer revealed that the participant favoured the ingroup or was viewed to favour the ingroup). Manipulated meta- and otherstereotype information that introduced intergroup contact threat, on the other hand, each exerted a strong negative impact on intergroup contact expectations (e.g., anxiety). Personal meta-stereotype manipulations (i.e., when the participant was informed that her/ his partner thinks s/he favours the ingroup) exerted an especially negative impact on intergroup behaviour, evidenced by increased avoidance of the upcoming interracial interaction. In contrast, personal self-stereotype manipulations (i.e., computer revealed that one favoured the ingroup) ironically improved upcoming intergroup contact expectations and intentions, likely due to an attempt to reduce the discomfort of holding negative intergroup attitudes. Implications and directions for future research are considered.

Sleep and information processing in individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury

Individuals who have sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI) often complain of t roubl e sleeping and daytime fatigue but little is known about the neurophysiological underpinnings of the s e sleep difficulties. The fragile sleep of thos e with a TBI was predicted to be characterized by impairments in gating, hyperarousal and a breakdown in sleep homeostatic mechanisms. To test these hypotheses, 20 individuals with a TBI (18- 64 years old, 10 men) and 20 age-matched controls (18-61 years old, 9 men) took part in a comprehensive investigation of their sleep. While TBI participants were not recruited based on sleep complaint, the fmal sample was comprised of individuals with a variety of sleep complaints, across a range of injury severities. Rigorous screening procedures were used to reduce potential confounds (e.g., medication). Sleep and waking data were recorded with a 20-channel montage on three consecutive nights. Results showed dysregulation in sleep/wake mechanisms. The sleep of individuals with a TBI was less efficient than that of controls, as measured by sleep architecture variables. There was a clear breakdown in both spontaneous and evoked K-complexes in those with a TBI. Greater injury severities were associated with reductions in spindle density, though sleep spindles in slow wave sleep were longer for individuals with TBI than controls. Quantitative EEG revealed an impairment in sleep homeostatic mechanisms during sleep in the TBI group. As well, results showed the presence of hyper arousal based on quantitative EEG during sleep. In wakefulness, quantitative EEG showed a clear dissociation in arousal level between TBls with complaints of insomnia and TBls with daytime fatigue. In addition, ERPs indicated that the experience of hyper arousal in persons with a TBI was supported by neural evidence, particularly in wakefulness and Stage 2 sleep, and especially for those with insomnia symptoms. ERPs during sleep suggested that individuals with a TBI experienced impairments in information processing and sensory gating. Whereas neuropsychological testing and subjective data confirmed predicted deficits in the waking function of those with a TBI, particularly for those with more severe injuries, there were few group differences on laboratory computer-based tasks. Finally, the use of correlation analyses confirmed distinct sleep-wake relationships for each group. In sum, the mechanisms contributing to sleep disruption in TBI are particular to this condition, and unique neurobiological mechanisms predict the experience of insomnia versus daytime fatigue following a TBI. An understanding of how sleep becomes disrupted after a TBI is important to directing future research and neurorehabilitation.