Disseny i implantació d’una nova pràctica informàtica per promoure l’aprenentatge actiu de l’assignatura de Microbiologia II

En l’adaptació de les titulacions universitàries a l’Espai Europeu d’Educació Superior (EEES), cada cop té més importància l’adquisició de competències per part de l’alumne utilitzant les noves tecnologies de la informació. En aquest context, vàries professores de l’assignatura de Microbiologia II, obligatòria de tercer curs del Grau de Farmàcia de la Universitat de Barcelona, hem dissenyat una pràctica presencial innovadora utilitzant eines bioinformàtiques, per facilitar la comprensió de la docència teòrica i promoure l’aprenentatge actiu de l’alumne d’un bloc important de l’assignatura.

Enfrontar-se a la pràctica assistencial. Avaluació d'una activitat pràctica

Els estudis de Grau de Medicina inclouen 11 hores d'antropologia de la salut en l’assignatura d'Introducció a la salut de 1er curs. Per a aconseguir un aprenentatge significatiu els estudiants han de realitzar una entrevista de caràcter qualitatiu a un pacient crònic amb l’objectiu de conèixer la experiència de patir una malaltia, les repercussions físiques, psicològiques i socials derivades de la malaltia així com les representacions i significats sobre la malaltia i les necessitats sentides del pacient i/o de la família.

Significats compartits : La festa popular, el llegat cultural d'un poble. El cas de la Festa Major a Sant Pere Pescador

Aquest treball analitza la festa popular a través de l'estudi de cas de la festa major de Sant Pere Pescador: es presenta una manifestació concreta de la cultura popular i tradicional a partir d'una pràctica quotidiana. Exposem allò que dóna significat a la festa major, quin paper hi juga a la creació d'identitat i com la gent se l'ha fet seva.

Aprenent des de la pràctica Symfony2, aplicant mètodes i pràctiques àgils per construir SegundoUso.org

Desenvolupament d'una plataforma web que esdevingui un espai on les persones puguin oferir objectes que ja no utilitzen a altres persones, amb la intenció de fomentar o facilitar la reutilització en la societat.

How we experience immersive virtual environments: the concept of presence and its measurement

This paper reviews the concept of presence in immersive virtual environments, the sense of being there signalled by people acting and responding realistically to virtual situations and events. We argue that presence is a unique phenomenon that must be distinguished from the degree of engagement, involvement in the portrayed environment. We argue that there are three necessary conditions for presence: the (a) consistent low latency sensorimotor loop between sensory data and proprioception; (b) statistical plausibility: images must be statistically plausible in relation to the probability distribution of images over natural scenes. A constraint on this plausibility is the level of immersion;(c) behaviour-response correlations: Presence may be enhanced and maintained over time by appropriate correlations between the state and behaviour of participants and responses within the environment, correlations that show appropriate responses to the activity of the participants. We conclude with a discussion of methods for assessing whether presence occurs, and in particular recommend the approach of comparison with ground truth and give some examples of this.

How to redesign a virtual library website: a case study

This abstract presents how we redesigned, with user-centred design methods, the way we organize and present the content on the UOC Virtual Library website. The content is now offered in a way that is more intuitive, usable and easy to understand, based on criteria of customization, transparency and proximity.The techniques used to achieve these objectives included benchmarking, interviews and focus groups during the user requirement capture phase and user tests to assess the process and results.

Is my hand connected to my body? The impact of body continuity and arm alignment on the virtual hand illusion

When a rubber hand is placed on a table top in a plausible position as if part of a person"s body, and is stroked synchronously with the person"s corresponding hidden real hand, an illusion of ownership over the rubber hand can occur (Botvinick and Cohen 1998). A similar result has been found with respect to a virtual hand portrayed in a virtual environment, a virtual hand illusion (Slater et al. 2008). The conditions under which these illusions occur have been the subject of considerable study. Here we exploited the flexibility of virtual reality to examine four contributory factors: visuo-tactile synchrony while stroking the virtual and the real arms, body continuity, alignment between the real and virtual arms, and the distance between them. We carried out three experiments on a total of 32 participants where these factors were varied. The results show that the subjective illusion of ownership over the virtual arm and the time to evoke this illusion are highly dependent on synchronous visuo-tactile stimulation and on connectivity of the virtual arm with the rest of the virtual body. The alignment between the real and virtual arms and the distance between these were less important. It was found that proprioceptive drift was not a sensitive measure of the illusion, but was only related to the distance between the real and virtual arms.

Proxemics with multiple dynamic characters in an immersive virtual environment

An experiment was carried out to examine the impact on electrodermal activity of people when approached by groups of one or four virtual characters at varying distances. It was premised on the basis of proxemics theory that the closer the approach of the virtual characters to the participant, the greater the level of physiological arousal. Physiological arousal was measured by the number of skin conductance responses within a short time period after the approach, and the maximum change in skin conductance level 5 s after the approach. The virtual characters were each either female or a cylinder of human size, and one or four characters approached each subject a total of 12 times. Twelve male subjects were recruited for the experiment. The results suggest that the number of skin conductance responses after the approach and the change in skin conductance level increased the closer the virtual characters approached toward the participants. Moreover, these response variables were inversely correlated with the number of visits, showing a typical adaptation effect. There was some evidence to suggest that the number of characters who simultaneously approached (one or four) was positively associated with the responses. Surprisingly there was no evidence of a difference in response between the humanoid characters and cylinders on the basis of this physiological data. It is suggested that the similarity in this quantitative arousal response to virtual characters and virtual objects might mask a profound difference in qualitative response, an interpretation supported by questionnaire and interview results. Overall the experiment supported the premise that people exhibit heightened physiological arousal the closer they are approached by virtual characters.

Proxemics with multiple dynamic characters in an immersive virtual environment

An experiment was carried out to examine the impact on electrodermal activity of people when approached by groups of one or four virtual characters at varying distances. It was premised on the basis of proxemics theory that the closer the approach of the virtual characters to the participant, the greater the level of physiological arousal. Physiological arousal was measured by the number of skin conductance responses within a short time period after the approach, and the maximum change in skin conductance level 5 s after the approach. The virtual characters were each either female or a cylinder of human size, and one or four characters approached each subject a total of 12 times. Twelve male subjects were recruited for the experiment. The results suggest that the number of skin conductance responses after the approach and the change in skin conductance level increased the closer the virtual characters approached toward the participants. Moreover, these response variables were inversely correlated with the number of visits, showing a typical adaptation effect. There was some evidence to suggest that the number of characters who simultaneously approached (one or four) was positively associated with the responses. Surprisingly there was no evidence of a difference in response between the humanoid characters and cylinders on the basis of this physiological data. It is suggested that the similarity in this quantitative arousal response to virtual characters and virtual objects might mask a profound difference in qualitative response, an interpretation supported by questionnaire and interview results. Overall the experiment supported the premise that people exhibit heightened physiological arousal the closer they are approached by virtual characters.

Marketing education, distance learning and hypermedia : teaching 'current issues in marketing' in a virtual campus

This article reports on a project at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC: The Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona) to develop an innovative package of hypermedia-based learning materials for a new course entitled 'Current Issues in Marketing'. The UOC is a distance university entirely based on a virtual campus. The learning materials project was undertaken in order to benefit from the advantages which new communication technologies offer to the teaching of marketing in distance education. The article reviews the main issues involved in incorporating new technologies in learning materials, the development of the learning materials, and their functioning within the hypermedia based virtual campus of the UOC. An empirical study is then carried out in order to evaluate the attitudes of students to the project. Finally, suggestions for improving similar projects in the future are put forward.

Upward influence tactics in virtual work settings

The globalization of work within organizations has generated a greater need for all type of workers to exert interpersonal influence through technology-mediated communication tools. This paper contributes to the analysis of interpersonal relations in virtual environments from a specific perspective: the choice of upward influence tactics. We propose that virtualwork settings may impact the upward influence tactic selected, as well as thecommunication medium used to enact it. In particular, we study whether the types of upward influence strategies found in presence environments, are relevant in a virtual work context. This research also analyzes the link between communication media and influence tactics used. Preliminary results suggest that there is an influence tactic that is specific of virtual work relations, which may be called intermediation and consists of finding an intermediary that is well connected with the target and can help in defining the best approach by the agent.

Beyond the Net Generation debate: A comparison between digital learners in face-to-face and virtual universities

This paper is based on the hypothesis that the use of technology to support learning is not related to whether a student belongs to the Net Generation, but that it is mainly influenced by the teaching model. The study compares behaviour and preferences towards ICT use in two groups of university students: face-to-face students and online students. A questionnaire was applied to asample of students from five universities with different characteristics (one offers online education and four offer face-to-face education with LMS teaching support).

Herramientas digitales de trabajo colaborativo para comunidades de práctica (2ª Ed)

Peer-reviewed

Els recursos d'aprenentatge

Las autoras y autores de este libro ofrecen una descripción de la evolución general del e-learning apuntando los elementos clave hacia los que debe ir evolucionando. Parten de la experiencia y la práctica contrastada con las investigaciones sobre el tema. A lo largo de los distintos capítulos nos muestran cómo vive un estudiante virtual, su papel y la manera en que plantea y organiza sus actividades; nos acercan al profesorado analizando su rol en el diseño de la formación y la comunicación con los estudiantes; hablan de la colaboración, analizando cómo diseñar actividades colaborativas y señalando sus ventajas y límites; describen los diferentes recursos de aprendizaje que podemos disponer en el diseño de los cursos y, por último, acompañan nuestra mirada hacia el futuro próximo analizando las tendencias y los retos a los que debemos hacer frente para construir el e-learning del siglo XXI.

Los recursos de aprendizaje

Les autores i autors d'aquest llibre ofereixen una descripció de l'evolució general de l'e-learning apuntant els elements clau cap als que ha d'anar evolucionant. Parteixen de l'experiència i la pràctica contrastada amb les investigacions sobre el tema. Al llarg dels diferents capítols ens mostren com viu un estudiant virtual, el seu paper i la manera com planteja i organitza les seves activitats; ens acosten al professorat analitzant el seu reol en el disseny de la formació i la comunicació amb els estudiants; parlen de la col·laboració, analitzant com dissenyar activitats col·laboratives i assenyalant els seus avantatges i límits; descriuen els diferents recursos d'aprenentatge que poden disposar en el disseny dels cursos i, finalment, acompanyen la nostra mirada cap al futur proper analitzant les tendències i els reptes als que hem de fer front per a construir l'e-learning del segle XXI