Logger : agente de colaboração em um ambiente de aprendizagem utilizando software livre no apoio à educação a distância

O Ensino Colaborativo suportado por Computador, conhecido por CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning), utiliza-se de uma metodologia de ensino em que os alunos trocam idéias sobre assuntos que foram previamente pesquisados. O professor tem a função de moderador onde incentiva e orienta os alunos no processo de aprendizagem através da criação de cenários para motivação dos mesmos, sugerindo artigos e direcionando-os para os pontos mais importantes de cada assunto. Entretanto, para que se possa buscar uma interação apropriada entre o aluno e o ambiente de aprendizagem, se faz necessária à utilização de ferramentas que propiciem um maior controle sobre o sistema, permitindo assim, a monitoração das tarefas executadas pelo usuário, podendo direcioná-lo de forma correta na busca do aprendizado interativo. Busca-se, através deste trabalho, subsidiar o estudo de Lachi, permitindo a monitoração das ações através de um agente de colaboração, nos horários de aulas prédeterminados e fora destes horários, mantendo informações sobre a freqüência das interações realizadas e permitindo uma melhor orientação pelo responsável das atividades a serem executadas pelos alunos, através da captura das conversações realizadas num ambiente de Educação a Distância que utiliza Software Livre, o qual como resultado final proporcionará a análise das conversações com aplicação de um algoritmo de best search pelo professor, das ações dos participantes, no qual foi proposto por Lachi e agora implementamos parcialmente.

A Framework supporting collaboration on the distributed design of integrated systems

The work described in this thesis aims to support the distributed design of integrated systems and considers specifically the need for collaborative interaction among designers. Particular emphasis was given to issues which were only marginally considered in previous approaches, such as the abstraction of the distribution of design automation resources over the network, the possibility of both synchronous and asynchronous interaction among designers and the support for extensible design data models. Such issues demand a rather complex software infrastructure, as possible solutions must encompass a wide range of software modules: from user interfaces to middleware to databases. To build such structure, several engineering techniques were employed and some original solutions were devised. The core of the proposed solution is based in the joint application of two homonymic technologies: CAD Frameworks and object-oriented frameworks. The former concept was coined in the late 80's within the electronic design automation community and comprehends a layered software environment which aims to support CAD tool developers, CAD administrators/integrators and designers. The latter, developed during the last decade by the software engineering community, is a software architecture model to build extensible and reusable object-oriented software subsystems. In this work, we proposed to create an object-oriented framework which includes extensible sets of design data primitives and design tool building blocks. Such object-oriented framework is included within a CAD Framework, where it plays important roles on typical CAD Framework services such as design data representation and management, versioning, user interfaces, design management and tool integration. The implemented CAD Framework - named Cave2 - followed the classical layered architecture presented by Barnes, Harrison, Newton and Spickelmier, but the possibilities granted by the use of the object-oriented framework foundations allowed a series of improvements which were not available in previous approaches: - object-oriented frameworks are extensible by design, thus this should be also true regarding the implemented sets of design data primitives and design tool building blocks. This means that both the design representation model and the software modules dealing with it can be upgraded or adapted to a particular design methodology, and that such extensions and adaptations will still inherit the architectural and functional aspects implemented in the object-oriented framework foundation; - the design semantics and the design visualization are both part of the object-oriented framework, but in clearly separated models. This allows for different visualization strategies for a given design data set, which gives collaborating parties the flexibility to choose individual visualization settings; - the control of the consistency between semantics and visualization - a particularly important issue in a design environment with multiple views of a single design - is also included in the foundations of the object-oriented framework. Such mechanism is generic enough to be also used by further extensions of the design data model, as it is based on the inversion of control between view and semantics. The view receives the user input and propagates such event to the semantic model, which evaluates if a state change is possible. If positive, it triggers the change of state of both semantics and view. Our approach took advantage of such inversion of control and included an layer between semantics and view to take into account the possibility of multi-view consistency; - to optimize the consistency control mechanism between views and semantics, we propose an event-based approach that captures each discrete interaction of a designer with his/her respective design views. The information about each interaction is encapsulated inside an event object, which may be propagated to the design semantics - and thus to other possible views - according to the consistency policy which is being used. Furthermore, the use of event pools allows for a late synchronization between view and semantics in case of unavailability of a network connection between them; - the use of proxy objects raised significantly the abstraction of the integration of design automation resources, as either remote or local tools and services are accessed through method calls in a local object. The connection to remote tools and services using a look-up protocol also abstracted completely the network location of such resources, allowing for resource addition and removal during runtime; - the implemented CAD Framework is completely based on Java technology, so it relies on the Java Virtual Machine as the layer which grants the independence between the CAD Framework and the operating system. All such improvements contributed to a higher abstraction on the distribution of design automation resources and also introduced a new paradigm for the remote interaction between designers. The resulting CAD Framework is able to support fine-grained collaboration based on events, so every single design update performed by a designer can be propagated to the rest of the design team regardless of their location in the distributed environment. This can increase the group awareness and allow a richer transfer of experiences among them, improving significantly the collaboration potential when compared to previously proposed file-based or record-based approaches. Three different case studies were conducted to validate the proposed approach, each one focusing one a subset of the contributions of this thesis. The first one uses the proxy-based resource distribution architecture to implement a prototyping platform using reconfigurable hardware modules. The second one extends the foundations of the implemented object-oriented framework to support interface-based design. Such extensions - design representation primitives and tool blocks - are used to implement a design entry tool named IBlaDe, which allows the collaborative creation of functional and structural models of integrated systems. The third case study regards the possibility of integration of multimedia metadata to the design data model. Such possibility is explored in the frame of an online educational and training platform.

A expressão do FOXP2 : uma introdução ao estudo das relações entre genes e linguagem

A aquisição da linguagem é um processo invariavelmente dependente da exposição ao ambiente. Contudo, a mais famosa e controversa hipótese desenvolvida por Chomsky sustenta que a criança traz para o processo de aprendizagem da língua um conjunto de recursos específicos – a Gramática Universal – para superar a pobreza de estímulos do ambiente e construir uma gramática final adequada, composta por princípios universais e parâmetros fixados de acordo com a experiência na comunidade lingüística. A Gramática Universal é, assim, entendida como uma dotação genética, necessária, mas não suficiente, para a aquisição da linguagem. Para além da hipótese do inatismo – central à tradição gerativista – a relação entre genes e linguagem vem sendo investigada há muitos anos, com evidências significativas de transmissão hereditária e etiologia genética para diversos tipos de distúrbios de linguagem. Mais recentemente, em 2001, foi descoberto o primeiro caso de um gene, o FOXP2, implicado na habilidade de adquirir e desenvolver a fala e a linguagem. Este trabalho parte de uma introdução ao processo de aquisição da linguagem em uma perspectiva inatista (Capítulo I) para enfocar os aspectos centrais à organização biológica da faculdade da linguagem (Capítulo II), propondo, a partir da análise dos efeitos da mutação do gene FOXP2, uma discussão introdutória sobre como o estudo dos distúrbios do desenvolvimento da linguagem, avaliados a partir de suas características fenotípica e genotípica, pode contribuir para a exploração de questões fundamentais acerca do desenvolvimento lingüístico e cognitivo (Capítulo III).

Touch ‘n’ sketch: pen and fingers on a multi-touch sketch application for tablet PC’s

In many creative and technical areas, professionals make use of paper sketches for developing and expressing concepts and models. Paper offers an almost constraint free environment where they have as much freedom to express themselves as they need. However, paper does have some disadvantages, such as size and not being able to manipulate the content (other than remove it or scratch it), which can be overcome by creating systems that can offer the same freedom people have from paper but none of the disadvantages and limitations. Only in recent years has the technology become massively available that allows doing precisely that, with the development in touch‐sensitive screens that also have the ability to interact with a stylus. In this project a prototype was created with the objective of finding a set of the most useful and usable interactions, which are composed of combinations of multi‐touch and pen. The project selected Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools as its application domain, because it addresses a solid and well‐defined discipline with still sufficient room for new developments. This was the result from the area research conducted to find an application domain, which involved analyzing sketching tools from several possible areas and domains. User studies were conducted using Model Driven Inquiry (MDI) to have a better understanding of the human sketch creation activities and concepts devised. Then the prototype was implemented, through which it was possible to execute user evaluations of the interaction concepts created. Results validated most interactions, in the face of limited testing only being possible at the time. Users had more problems using the pen, however handwriting and ink recognition were very effective, and users quickly learned the manipulations and gestures from the Natural User Interface (NUI).

Avaliar na alfabetização: uma reflexão sobre as dificuldades docentes

Our work leads up to the context of evaluation during alphabetization process as a moment of an educational action cycle that requires planning, teaching and learning of reading and writing. It aimed to research the difficulties lived by teachers of a public elementary school during the specific task of evaluating children in the alphabetization process. This qualitative research took place as a case study at Emília Ramos Municipal School, in Natal, capital city of Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil. Semi-structured interview and questionnaire were used as fact-gathering proceedings. Two pedagogical advisers and seven teachers formed the group of research subjects. All of them worked with elementary school first cycle classes, in that school, in the year of 2003. The analysis shows that teachers difficulties concern to theoretic questions of conceptual and methodological orders, although these questions indicate an important knowledge of teachers about alphabetization and evaluation. Our reflection about these problems articulates two points: alphabetization and evaluation. Concerning alphabetization, we took reference on Psychogenetic studies of Ferreiro and Teberosky (1985) which emphasizes fundamental points for a coherent evaluation practice: a) objective knowledge is not a beginning data; it is a construction process, which the learner does not conquest step by step on a linear way; b) objective knowledge acquisition happens through a global re-construction, and some of them may seem mistakes if we consider conventional writing but these mistakes are constructive and necessary. We also took reference on Interactionist-constructivist theory. Here, Vygotsky (1984) proposes that writing must be specially understood as language, symbolical activity, cultural practice. So, acquisition of writing process, as language learning, must be understood as a development of abilities relative to symbolical and communicative activity of sense production. On this way, Hoffmann (1994) advises that is necessary to overtake current evaluation practices, limited by their terminality character, only pointing right or wrong questions. According to a new paradigm, valuation appears as one of the mediations by which teachers must indicate re-ordination of pupil s knowledge, and re-organize their own practices too. The comprehensions of these questions plays decisive part in order to overtake our difficulties in evaluating. Besides, it points a way to build a coherent valuate practice, with an emancipating character and able to create new teaching-and-learning situations, leading to a better alphabetization Pedagogy

Aplicações de Dispositivos de Microondas utilizando Substrato EBG/PBG para Comunicações Móveis

The modern society depends on an efficient communications system able to of transmitting and receiving information with a higher speed and reliability every time. The need for ever more efficient devices raises optimization techniques of microstrip devices, such as techniques to increase bandwidth: thicker substrates and substrate structures with EBG (Electromagnetic Band Gap) and PBG (Photonic Band Gap). This work has how aims the study of the application of PBG materials on substrates of planar structures in microstrip, more precisely in directional quadrature couplers and in rat-race and impedance of transformers. A study of the planar structures in microstrip and substrates EBG is presented. The PBG substrates can be used to optimize the radiation through the air, thus reducing the occurrence of surface waves and the resulting diffraction edge responsible for degradation of radiation pattern. Through specific programs in FORTRAN Power Station obtained the frequencies and couplings for each structure. Are used the program PACMO - Computer Aided Design in Microwave. Results are obtained of the frequency and coupling devices, ranging the frequency band used (cellular communication and Wimax systems) and the permittivity of the substrate, comparing the results of conventional material and PBG materials in the s and p polarizations.

A engenharia simultânea e o perfil da indústria de confecção da grande Natal/RN utilizando as ferramentas CAD/PDM e ERP

This work presents the research carried through in the industrial segment of confection of clothes of the Great Natal whose objective is to show the profile, enterprise and technological management as also the use of simultaneous engineering in the development of products. The research approaches two studies. The first one presents the current picture of the companies, synthesized through twelve variable. As, through fifteen variable it shows to the level of use of Simultaneous Engineering in the Development of Products and its amplitude in relation to the Integrated Management using tools CAD, PDM and ERP (Computer Aided Design, Product Management Date, Enterprise Resource Planning). The integration of these systems acts aiming the reduction of the cost and the development time of products. The reached results indicate that simultaneous engineering is a competitive advantage and becomes possible: to reduce the life cycle of the product, to rationalize the resources, to incorporate one high standard of the quality to the process and product as well as to personalize the product to take care of the global market. It is important to note that this work also is considered to contribute for the better understanding of the real companies situation of confection located at the Great Natal and its role in the economy of the State of the Rio Grande do Norte

O ambiente virtual na formação inicial de professores de alemão como apoio para o ensino e a aprendizagem da língua e a reflexão sobre ações docentes

Estudiosos dos campos da Educação, da Linguística Aplicada e da Formação de Professores de Línguas insistem hoje na grande importância da inclusão de Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) na formação inicial, bem como na necessidade de promover o desenvolvimento do pensamento crítico-reflexivo dos futuros professores. Tomando como pressupostos teóricos estudos acerca das características da sociedade de informação, dos ambientes virtuais e da formação de professores, este trabalho tem como objetivo discutir possibilidades oferecidas pela plataforma Moodle de aprendizagem na formação inicial de professores de alemão. Para tanto, apresentaremos diferentes formas de uso de ambientes virtuais e de ferramentas neles disponíveis, que demonstraram ser de grande valor no processo de formação de licenciandos, tanto em língua alemã, quanto durante suas práticas iniciais. As experiências apontam para um valor inestimável de ambientes virtuais no acompanhamento de licenciandos no processo de aprendizagem da língua e nas primeiras experiências com a docência.

A parentetização: estratégia de construção textual-interativa do chat educacional

Este artigo descreve, sob a Perspectiva Textual-Interativa, tal como definida por Jubran (2006a), a parentetização (JUBRAN, 1996, 2006b) em uma conversação síncrona mediada por computador, voltada para a esfera educacional, escrita em espanhol por participantes brasileiros - o chat educacional. Observamos que a parentetização constitui-se como uma das regularidades dos processos de elaboração textual. Trata-se, portanto, de uma estratégia de construção textual do chat educacional bastante produtiva.

Fractal analysis of leaf-texture properties as a tool for taxonomic and identification purposes: a case study with species from Neotropical Melastomataceae (Miconieae tribe)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)