Integrated communication and learning towards autonomous mobile radio networks

The integration of distributed and ubiquitous intelligence has emerged over the last years as the mainspring of transformative advancements in mobile radio networks. As we approach the era of “mobile for intelligence”, next-generation wireless networks are poised to undergo significant and profound changes. Notably, the overarching challenge that lies ahead is the development and implementation of integrated communication and learning mechanisms that will enable the realization of autonomous mobile radio networks. The ultimate pursuit of eliminating human-in-the-loop constitutes an ambitious challenge, necessitating a meticulous delineation of the fundamental characteristics that artificial intelligence (AI) should possess to effectively achieve this objective. This challenge represents a paradigm shift in the design, deployment, and operation of wireless networks, where conventional, static configurations give way to dynamic, adaptive, and AI-native systems capable of self-optimization, self-sustainment, and learning. This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of the fundamental principles and practical approaches required to create autonomous mobile radio networks that seamlessly integrate communication and learning components. The first chapter of this thesis introduces the notion of Predictive Quality of Service (PQoS) and adaptive optimization and expands upon the challenge to achieve adaptable, reliable, and robust network performance in dynamic and ever-changing environments. The subsequent chapter delves into the revolutionary role of generative AI in shaping next-generation autonomous networks. This chapter emphasizes achieving trustworthy uncertainty-aware generation processes with the use of approximate Bayesian methods and aims to show how generative AI can improve generalization while reducing data communication costs. Finally, the thesis embarks on the topic of distributed learning over wireless networks. Distributed learning and its declinations, including multi-agent reinforcement learning systems and federated learning, have the potential to meet the scalability demands of modern data-driven applications, enabling efficient and collaborative model training across dynamic scenarios while ensuring data privacy and reducing communication overhead.

6G enabled IoV scenarios with distributed intelligence mechanisms

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) paradigm has emerged in recent times, where with the support of technologies like the Internet of Things and V2X , Vehicular Users (VUs) can access different services through internet connectivity. With the support of 6G technology, the IoV paradigm will evolve further and converge into a fully connected and intelligent vehicular system. However, this brings new challenges over dynamic and resource-constrained vehicular systems, and advanced solutions are demanded. This dissertation analyzes the future 6G enabled IoV systems demands, corresponding challenges, and provides various solutions to address them. The vehicular services and application requests demands proper data processing solutions with the support of distributed computing environments such as Vehicular Edge Computing (VEC). While analyzing the performance of VEC systems it is important to take into account the limited resources, coverage, and vehicular mobility into account. Recently, Non terrestrial Networks (NTN) have gained huge popularity for boosting the coverage and capacity of terrestrial wireless networks. Integrating such NTN facilities into the terrestrial VEC system can address the above mentioned challenges. Additionally, such integrated Terrestrial and Non-terrestrial networks (T-NTN) can also be considered to provide advanced intelligent solutions with the support of the edge intelligence paradigm. In this dissertation, we proposed an edge computing-enabled joint T-NTN-based vehicular system architecture to serve VUs. Next, we analyze the terrestrial VEC systems performance for VUs data processing problems and propose solutions to improve the performance in terms of latency and energy costs. Next, we extend the scenario toward the joint T-NTN system and address the problem of distributed data processing through ML-based solutions. We also proposed advanced distributed learning frameworks with the support of a joint T-NTN framework with edge computing facilities. In the end, proper conclusive remarks and several future directions are provided for the proposed solutions.

Students' collective knowledge construction in the virtual learning environment ""ToLigado - your school interactive newspaper""

Introduction. The ToLigado Project - Your School Interactive Newspaper is an interactive virtual learning environment conceived, developed, implemented and supported by researchers at the School of the Future Research Laboratory of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Method. This virtual learning environment aims to motivate trans-disciplinary research among public school students and teachers in 2,931 schools equipped with Internet-access computer rooms. Within this virtual community, students produce collective multimedia research documents that are immediately published in the portal. The project also aims to increase students' autonomy for research, collaborative work and Web authorship. Main sections of the portal are presented and described. Results. Partial results of the first two years' implementation are presented and indicate a strong motivation among students to produce knowledge despite the fragile hardware and software infrastructure at the time. Discussion. In this new environment, students should be seen as 'knowledge architects' and teachers as facilitators, or 'curiosity managers'. The ToLigado portal may constitute a repository for future studies regarding student attitudes in virtual learning environments, students' behaviour as 'authors', Web authorship involving collective knowledge production, teachers' behaviour as facilitators, and virtual learning environments as digital repositories of students' knowledge construction and social capital in virtual learning communities.

Making distance learning E.R.O.T.I.C.: Applying interpretation principles to distance learning

Distance learners are self-directed learners traditionally taught via study books, collections of readings, and exercises to test understanding of learning packages. Despite advances in e-Learning environments and computer-based teaching interfaces, distance learners still lack opportunities to participate in exercises and debates available to classroom learners, particularly through non-text based learning techniques. Effective distance teaching requires flexible learning opportunities. Using arguments developed in interpretation literature, we argue that effective distance learning must also be Entertaining, Relevant, Organised, Thematic, Involving and Creative—E.R.O.T.I.C. (after Ham, 1992). We discuss an experiment undertaken with distance learners at The University of Queensland Gatton Campus, where we initiated an E.R.O.T.I.C. external teaching package aimed at engaging distance learners but using multimedia, including but not limited to text-based learning tools. Student responses to non-text media were positive.

A bot spooler architecture to integrate virtual worlds with e-learning management systems for corporate training

Joining efforts of academic and corporate teams, we developed an integration architecture - MULTIS - that enables corporate e-learning managers to use a Learning Management System (LMS) for management of educational activities in virtual worlds. This architecture was then implemented for the Formare LMS. In this paper we present this architecture and concretizations of its implementation for the Second Life Grid/OpenSimulator virtual world platforms. Current systems are focused on activities managed by individual trainers, rather than groups of trainers and large numbers of trainees: they focus on providing the LMS with information about educational activities taking place in a virtual world and/or being able to access within the virtual world some of the information stored in the LMS, and disregard the streamlining of activity setup and data collection in multi-trainer contexts, among other administrative issues. This architecture aims to overcome the limitations of existing systems for organizational management of corporate e-learning activities.

Estudo para a implementação de plataformas de e-learning no sistema de formação dos recursos humanos da saúde: o caso particular dos enfermeiros de um hospital privado

Mestrado em Intervenção Sócio-Organizacional na Saúde - Área de especialização: Políticas de Administração e Gestão de Serviços de Saúde.

E-sharing: development and use of learning objects repository

— In the new learning environments, built width digital technologies, the need to promote quality of education resources, commonly known as Learning Objects, which can support formal and informal distance learning, emerge as one of the biggest challenge that educational institutions will have to face. Due to the fact that is expensive, the reuse and sharing became very important issue. This article presents a Learning Object Repository which aims to store, to disseminate and maintain accessible Learning Objects.

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.

Modellus: Learning Physics with Mathematical Modelling

Tese de doutoramento em Ciências da Educação, área de Teoria Curricular e Ensino das Ciências

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.

E-learning frameworks: a survey

In recent years the concept of eLearning Framework emerged associated with several initiatives promoted by educational organizations. These initiatives share a common goal: to create flexible learning environments by integrating heterogeneous systems already available in many educational institutions. The paper provides an introductory survey on eLearning Frameworks. It gathers information on these initiatives categorizes them and compares their features regarding a set of predefined criteria such as: architecture, business model, primary user groups, technical implementations, adopted standards, maturity and future development.

Modelling a network of heterogeneous e-learning systems

In recent years emerged several initiatives promoted by educational organizations to adapt Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) to e-learning. These initiatives commonly named eLearning Frameworks share a common goal: to create flexible learning environments by integrating heterogeneous systems already available in many educational institutions. However, these frameworks were designed for integration of systems participating in business like processes rather than on complex pedagogical processes as those related to automatic evaluation. Consequently, their knowledge bases lack some fundamental components that are needed to model pedagogical processes. The objective of the research described in this paper is to study the applicability of eLearning frameworks for modelling a network of heterogeneous eLearning systems, using the automatic evaluation of programming exercises as a case study. The paper surveys the existing eLearning frameworks to justify the selection of the e-Framework. This framework is described in detail and identified the necessary components missing from its knowledge base, more precisely, a service genre, expression and usage model for an evaluation service. The extensibility of the framework is tested with the definition of this service. A concrete model for evaluation of programming exercises is presented as a validation of the proposed approach.

Interoperability on e-learning 2.0: the PEACE case study

The confluence of education with the evolution of technology boosted the paradigm shift of the face-to-face learning to distance learning. In this scenario e-Learning plays an essential role as a facilitator of the teaching/learning process. However new demands associated with the new Web paradigm require that existent e-Learning environments characterized mostly by monolithic systems begin interacting with new specialized services. In this decentralized scenario the definition of a strategy of interoperability is the cornerstone to ensure the standardization communication among systems. This paper presents a definition of an interoperability strategy for an e-Learning environment at our School (ESEIG) called PEACE – Project for ESEIG Academic Content Environment. This new interoperability model relies on the application of several coordination and integration standards on several services, controlled by teachers and students, and included in the PEACE environment such as social networks, repositories, libraries, e-portfolios, intelligent tutors, recommendation systems and virtual classrooms.

Learning management systems in higher education

The use of Laptops and the Internet has produced the technological conditions for instructors and students can take advantage from the diversity of online information, communication, collaboration and sharing with others. The integration of Internet services in the teaching practices can be responsible for thematic, social and digital improvement for the agents involved. There are many benefits when we use a Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Moodle, to support the lectures in higher education. We also will consider its implications for student support and online interaction, leading educational agents to a collaborating of different learning environments, where they can combine face-to-face instruction with computer-mediated instruction, blended-learning, and increases the possibilities for better quality and quantity of human communication in a learning background. In general components of learning management systems contain synchronous and asynchronous communication tools, management features, and assessment utilities. These assessment utilities allow lecturers to systematize basic assessment tasks. Assessments can be straightaway delivered to the student, and upon conclusion, immediately returned with grades and detailed feedback. Therefore learning management systems can also be used for assessment purposes in Higher Education.

Comportamento do consumidor digital: o caso do e-learning nas licenciaturas do ensino superior português

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentado ao Instituto de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Marketing Digital, sob orientação do professor Doutor Manuel Silva